Chapter 260: The Little Mermaid, Once Disliked by All, Becomes the Group’s Darling (5)

Chapter 260: The Little Mermaid, Once Disliked by All, Becomes the Group's Darling (5)

Qing Yuan was fuming.

He had just gone to fetch some food, and now there were so many pests swarming around his food!

These pests gave off a foul stench, which he really disliked.

Qing Yuan lashed his dragon tail, sending waves churning across the seabed.

Despite his rage, Qing Yuan couldn't stand the thought of the little one going hungry.

He moved closer to the round hole, his front claws gripping the belly of the big fish.

He had earlier tucked the ice fruit inside the big fish, and now all he needed to do was squeeze the fish's belly to shoot the ice fruit out.

A pure white ice fruit suddenly burst out of the round hole onto the ice.

It landed with a thud, rolling right up to Song Chuyi's tail.

Song Chuyi flicked the white fruit with his tail, letting out a soft "Huh?"

"What is this?"

Beside him, Xu Ru gulped and said, "Ice fruit."

"They go for a million each on the market."

"It holds a single drop of ice water, worth ten bowls' worth, and the flesh inside is not only edible but also boosts health and vitality."

Ice fruits are incredibly rare, found only in the deep sea and nearly impossible to locate.

She never imagined she'd stumble upon an ice fruit here.

"This single ice fruit gives us enough water for ten days."

Ten more days means they can scavenge for other supplies, and perhaps they really can survive until the end of the show.

Xu Ru was already plotting their next move in her mind when, the next second, ice fruits came shooting out of the round hole, scattering around Song Chuyi.

Everyone was left speechless at the sight.

Not only the guests but even the viewers were floored by the sheer number of ice fruits.

For a moment, they didn't know whether to be glad they weren't in the show or to envy the guests for getting so many ice fruits.

Song Chuyi caught everyone's stunned expressions.

He picked one up, but finding it too slippery, quickly set it back down.

"These ice fruits are a bit dirty. Who can help me wash them?"

"One ice fruit for each person who helps."

Without a second thought, the six guests dove in to help wash the ice fruits.

These were ice fruits! Even if they didn't drink them, they could sell them after the show ended.

This is a rare treasure, valuable but hard to find.

However, there's no water nearby, so they have to go far to find some to clean these ice fruits.

Among the six guests, some have had devious thoughts, wanting to take the ice fruits and leave.

Xu Ru noticed and scoffed.

"Can you survive without Song Chuyi?"

"Song Chuyi obviously doesn't want to see us kill each other, which is why he's generously giving us food and water."

"As long as we stick close to him, won't we survive until the show ends?"

This survival show runs for just a month. As long as they endure this month, they can receive a substantial amount of money.

They can also make a request to the production team.

They all have their own agendas and will do anything to make it through.

Xu Ru had braced herself for a fight to the death before coming here, but now with Song Chuyi around, she just needs to stick close to him to survive.

If that's the case, why kill each other?

Xu Ru clutched the ice fruits tightly, said nothing more, and went to wash them.

Lu Hewen glanced at the guy and followed.

Not long after, Xu Ru saw Anshan approaching, still holding a few ice fruits in his hands.

He must be used to cleaning; he washed them super fast, done in just two minutes.

"I'll bring these to Song Chuyi; he's probably thirsty."

With that, he hurried off.

Xu Ru gritted her teeth, "Damn! Anshan's playing dirty!"

He actually wanted to please Song Chuyi first! How despicable!

She had to hurry up and finish washing the ice fruits to get back!

While everyone was busy washing, Anshan had already brought the ice fruits back to Song Chuyi.

"Here you go, Brother Song."

Song Chuyi grabbed an ice fruit, cracked it open with his tail, and sipped slowly.

The water inside was actually pretty good.

Anshan, standing by, swallowed hard; he hadn't had a drink all day and was parched.

But without Song Chuyi's say-so, he didn't dare make a move.

Xu Ru was right; they had to stick close to Song Chuyi.

That was their only shot at survival.

That little round hole was definitely odd; maybe it was part of Song Chuyi's special power.

Song Chuyi was unaware of the inner workings of An Shan's mind. After taking a few sips of water, he glanced at An Shan.

"Why aren’t you drinking?" he asked, grinning.

"You’ll have to open it yourself—I’m not helping!"

An Shan's eyes lit up. "Wait, I can really have a bingbing fruit?"

"Sure," Song Chuyi waved dismissively, "Grab one, but leave the rest where they are."

He gestured toward the spot next to the dried fish.

An Shan’s face lit up with excitement. He grabbed a bingbing fruit and hurried off to the side to figure it out.

As the others trickled back, Song Chuyi handed out bingbing fruits to each of them.

Everyone was parched, so they eagerly accepted and went off to hydrate.

After a short break, Song Chuyi finally shared his plan.

"I’m thinking we should build an ice house here," he announced.

"I’ll hire you, cover three meals a day—what do you say?"

No one objected—they were just focused on making it to the end of the show.

A little work was no big deal!

Pleased, Song Chuyi nodded. Everyone teamed up, grabbed some food, and headed out to gather materials for the ice house.

Meanwhile, Song Chuyi wandered over to the small round hole and playfully flicked his tail at the entrance.

He was certain Qing Yuan was down there.

But with the thick ice between them, communication was impossible.

Song Chuyi tapped into his clever mind, his fingers brushing against his fish tail as he pondered.

He winced, biting his lip as he carefully plucked off a scale.

The coffee-colored scale gleamed like polished glass in the sunlight.

He dropped the scale into the hole, his voice gentle and teasing.

"Consider this your meal fee."

The tiny scale fluttered down, landing softly in Qing Yuan’s palm.

He bent down, inching closer, and took a cautious sniff.

It smelled so sweet.

Curious, he stuck out his tongue and gave it a tentative lick.

It was sweet!

He wanted to lick it again, but found that the tiny fish scale had disappeared.

Qing Yuan was furious, circling around the small round hole.

Where was his sweet little fish scale?

Where was his tiny, sweet scale!

Who had stolen his sweet fish scale!

The furious Qing Yuan churned the deep sea, making the fish tremble, clueless about why the usually gluttonous giant had gone berserk.

Unable to find the small fish scale, Qing Yuan approached the small round hole and let out a mournful whimper.

His sweetness was gone.