Chapter 2 The River Water is Salty.

Chapter 2: The River Water's Salty.

"This blasted production team really pulled a fast one!"

Before the guests arrived, the production team had never hinted at any rule changes for the season. Everyone assumed it would be business as usual, just like the previous two seasons—celebrities roughing it in the wilderness for a while and then calling it a day.

Little did they know, the production team had silently orchestrated such a massive surprise.

With contracts signed and everyone already on set, backing out was clearly out of the question.

The issues raised in the live comments were, of course, also on their minds. Even the usually composed actor, Qin Shizhen, couldn't help but show his dismay.

[Are they regretting joining the show now? Hahaha.]

[Look at Sheng Xingyao’s face of utter disbelief—I’m dying of laughter.]

[As expected, Wilderness Adventure is forever the GOAT.]

After announcing the rules, the staff, as per routine, confiscated the guests’ personal belongings, including their personal terminals. They then left the set with the items, leaving behind only five bewildered guests and a mountain of supplies.

“What do we do now?” Shen Tong was the first to break the silence.

“No idea. If I’d known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have come,” Sheng Xingyao complained bluntly.

“We’ll just have to take it one step at a time,” Qin Shizhen sighed.

Yu Xin remained silent, walking over to examine the supplies provided by the production team.

In his opinion, the items were quite comprehensive: machetes, daggers, waterproof tarps, several deep aluminum mess tins, sleeping bags, flashlights, basic seasonings, a fairly large stew pot, a kettle, insect repellent, flint, and more, along with a day’s worth of nutrient packs and drinking water for each person.

There were even some primitive weapons mixed in—bows, arrows, slingshots, and the like—likely provided for hunting.

He crouched down, carefully sorting through the supplies, but others didn’t see it that way.

[What’s Yu Fake doing over there? Putting on an act?]

[Does he think casually flipping through the stuff will make us believe he knows what he’s doing? LOL, everyone knows he’s useless.]

[What’s he pretending for? Disgusting. He’ll be crying and begging to leave in a few days, hahaha.]

[Are these bows and arrows relics the production team dug up from some museum? Are they really expecting them to hunt with this?]

[Wilderness Adventure or The Croods?]

No matter how much the live comments mocked, without their terminals, Yu Xin couldn’t see them and was completely unbothered. He picked up the bow, testing the draw weight to get a feel for it.

It was a lightweight bow, but Yu Xin still struggled to draw it. The original owner of this body was a complete shut-in. Though Yu Xin had been exercising daily to improve since taking over, it was still far from his original physical condition.

*I still need to train harder,* Yu Xin thought, as he tested a few of the knives. They were all sharpened, incredibly so.

While he focused on testing the tools, the others couldn’t help but glance his way.

They had all heard something about Yu Xin and didn’t have the best impression of him. No one had spoken to him voluntarily the entire way.

Shen Tong muttered under her breath, “What’s with him? Acting like he actually knows what he’s doing.”

Among them, Qin Shizhen knew the least about Yu Xin. He came over and asked, “Yu… Xin, right? Do you know how to use this bow?”

Yu Xin wasn’t great at interacting with strangers. He simply replied, “Yeah,” without elaborating.

[Yu Fake is so rude! The great Qin Shizhen lowers himself to talk to him, and all he says is ‘yeah’?]

[Exactly! Who does he think he is, still acting like the young master of the Yu family? Putting on airs.]

The live comments were indignant, but Qin Shizhen remained easygoing and pleasant. “Let me give it a try too.”

He picked up the bow and strained with all his might, barely managing to draw it fully, let alone use it for hunting.

“Whoa,” he exclaimed in surprise. “This bow is really tight!”

He’d handled bows during filming before, but they were always props. This was his first time touching a real bow.

Yu Xin glanced over. “Your form is off. You could easily pull a muscle like that.”

He stepped in to correct Qin Shizhen’s bow-holding posture. Just then, Sheng Xingyao also came over. “What are you guys talking about, Teacher Qin?”

He glanced awkwardly at Yu Xin. “And… Yu Xin.”

He actually had some history with Yu Xin. The original host had once publicly confessed to Sheng Xingyao on the StarNet and even chased after his schedule.

In the Interstellar Age, same-sex reproduction issues had been resolved, and sexual orientation was no longer a big deal. Relationships between men and women, men and men, or women and women were as normal as eating and drinking. Love across species wasn’t unheard of, let alone just across genders.

But Sheng Xingyao had never responded to him. The original host persistently pursued him for over a year. Sheng Xingyao had been worried Yu Xin would pester him again on the show, but to his surprise, Yu Xin acted as if he didn’t know him and hadn’t said a word to him.

[Ahhh! Yao Bao, don’t go over there! Stay away from Yu Fake!]

[Some people have no shame. Our Yao clearly isn’t interested, yet he has the audacity to chase him onto the show.]

[I can’t stand it. Can Yu Fake just leave on his own?]

“Oh,” Qin Shizhen said, “Xiao Yu was just teaching me how to draw the bow. Want to give it a try, Xingyao?”

[Actor Qin is so gracious. Yu Fake clearly knows nothing, yet he’s covering for him by saying he taught him.]

[Yao Bao, don’t! That guy will definitely use this chance to get handsy!]

Sheng Xingyao shared the fans’ concerns, but the bow looked too cool. He couldn’t resist and took it anyway. “What’s so hard about this? I’ve got muscles. Drawing a bow is nothing.”

As he spoke, he glanced sideways at Yu Xin out of the corner of his eye, only to find him quietly testing a military knife, his elegant fingers twirling it into a flashy spin. He didn’t even look their way, revealing only half of his delicate profile and snow-white ear.

Sheng Xingyao paused, feeling inexplicably warm in the face.

Yu Xin… really seemed different.

Qin Shizhen enthusiastically guided him instead. He refocused and tried drawing the bow, but with all his strength, he only managed to pull it halfway. Stunned, he blurted out, “Damn, this bow is so tight!”

[HAHAHAHAHAHA.]

[I just saw Yu Fake draw it fully. How is Sheng Xingyao worse than him?]

[Yao Bao just wasn’t ready! He’ll definitely get it next time.]

Qin Shizhen stifled a laugh as he corrected Sheng Xingyao’s posture. Sheng Xingyao tried again, his face turning red with effort, and finally succeeded.

The two girls saw this and also came over to try. Sheng Xingyao joined in on the side, offering chaotic advice, filling the live stream with cheerful energy.

By the time they snapped out of it, they realized only the four of them were left on site.

Wait a minute? Where’s Yu Xin??

[Did anyone notice when he left?]

[Did Fake Yu run away?]

[Hilarious, this place is hundreds of thousands of light-years away from the Imperial Star. How could he run? Turn into a mecha and fly back??]

Yu Xin took a combat knife for self-defense and wandered around the nearby woods.

This area was completely pristine. Towering ancient trees blocked out the sky, and lush shrubs grew densely beneath them, teeming with life.

Yu Xin took a deep breath, cut a tender branch with his knife, and brought it to his nose. The fresh scent of greenery instantly filled his nostrils. The corners of his mouth lifted in a pleased smile—for the first time, he felt that coming to this dimension might not be so bad after all.

But there were still plenty of troubles to deal with.

Thinking about his current situation, Yu Xin sighed deeply.

To put it bluntly, Yu Xin had social anxiety. The thought of being stuck with a group of strangers under the camera's gaze, watched by millions, made him deeply uncomfortable.

He didn’t venture too far, just explored the nearby area before heading back.

As soon as he returned, Shen Tong confronted him, her tone sharp: "Yu Xin, what’s wrong with you? Do you even know where we are? Taking off like that creates problems for everyone—don’t you get it?"

[Exactly, what's Fake Yu up to now? If he doesn’t want to be here, he should just leave!]

[Way to go, Miss Shen! That’s the woman I admire, haha.]

Yu Xin didn’t bother explaining that he could handle himself. He simply apologized softly.

"I just took a walk around nearby. I didn’t go far."

Shen Tong snorted coldly. "I don’t need your apology. Just make sure you don’t hold us back. Don’t try to stir up trouble—we’re not your parents, here to clean up your mess."

With that, she turned and walked away, ignoring Yu Xin completely.

Like most viewers, she was biased against Yu Xin, assuming he was either throwing a tantrum or seeking attention.

The peacemaking Best Actor Qin stepped in to smooth things over: "Alright, alright. Since Yu Xin is back, let’s focus on setting up camp. Who knows how long it’ll take."

Yu Xin caught the underlying meaning in his words and asked, "You’re planning to set up camp here?"

"Yes, this spot is open and shaded, and there’s probably water nearby. It’s a good location."

"But it’s not suitable here," Yu Xin unexpectedly objected.

[???]

[What is Fake Yu talking about? Who does he think he is? What gives him the right to object?]

[I thought he might have changed a bit, but he’s still the same fool. Does he still think he’s the young master of the Yu family, expecting everyone to revolve around him?]

[He’s just trying to cause trouble for attention. Casting him was a mistake—he’s like a bad apple spoiling the bunch.]

Although the guests couldn’t see the live comments, they were equally perplexed by Yu Xin’s objection. To them, it seemed like he was just causing trouble.

"Yu Xin," Sheng Xingyao couldn't keep his distance any longer. He stepped forward and said impatiently, "If you don’t want to help, just step aside. Can’t you stop causing trouble? Do you really want everyone to hate you?"

He almost added, "Don’t bother—no matter what you do, I won’t pay you any attention."

Yu Xin’s past persistence had left a deep impression on him. This time, when Yu Xin didn’t cling to him as before, he thought Yu Xin had finally given up. But now, it seemed Yu Xin was resorting to his usual attention-grabbing stunts.

Sheng Xingyao was much taller than Yu Xin, and his stern expression had an intimidating presence.

Yet Yu Xin calmly looked up, meeting his gaze without flinching, and said softly, "I’m not causing trouble."

This time even the usually diplomatic Qin Shizhen seemed unwilling to defend Yu Xin. The quiet Ruan Qing also watched him with disapproval.

The atmosphere grew tense, and the live comments exploded with criticism directed at Yu Xin. Even the production team assumed Yu Xin was just stirring trouble, though they didn’t intervene.

Then, Yu Xin’s clear voice, like flowing water, broke the silence: "I’ve looked around. This area is flat because it’s the mouth of a river, which has created a small plain."

"You’ve all read the materials provided by the production team, right? This place has a climate similar to Earth’s subtropical monsoon climate, and it’s currently the rainy season. That means it could rain at any moment. If we set up camp here, there’s no telling if it might rain overnight. If it does, the river could overflow. This area is low-lying, and the camp would likely flood."

"If that happens, all our supplies would be underwater."

The production team went quiet. They had intentionally chosen this spot, hoping to capture the guests’ frantic efforts to salvage their supplies when the camp flooded.

They hadn’t expected Yu Xin to figure out their scheme. It seemed he had done his homework—something they hadn’t anticipated.

Yu Xin continued, "And most importantly, there’s no water source here."

Although his earlier points seemed reasonable, Sheng Xingyao disagreed with this one. He retorted, "How can there be no water source? You just said this is a river mouth. We even heard the sound of water on our way here. How could there be no water?"

[Yao Bao is right—I saw a river nearby earlier.]

[Exactly, Fake Yu is talking nonsense.]

[I thought he had prepared well, but he’s showing his true colors now. What a show-off.]

"When I say there’s no water source, I mean there’s no drinkable water," Yu Xin crossed his arms and said calmly. "The water in this river is salty."

[???]

[I’ve lived this long and never heard of salty river water. That's ridiculous.]

[Let me tell you a joke: river water is salty. LOL.]

[Does Fake Yu have any common sense? He should just shut up and stop embarrassing himself.]

Shen Tong almost laughed in disbelief. She tossed her curls and said mockingly, "Yu Xin, are you hearing yourself? Salty river water? Are you suffering from heatstroke or something? You’re talking nonsense."

"Don’t believe me?" Yu Xin raised an eyebrow and picked up a portable kettle from the equipment on the ground. He handed it to Sheng Xingyao. "Go get some water and see for yourself. Just a reminder—water in tropical areas is full of bacteria and microorganisms. It must be boiled before drinking."

[Go ahead, Yao Bao and Miss Shen, expose Fake Yu!]

[I’ll bet—if that water is really salty, I’ll write an apology to Yu Xin with my butt.]

[I’ll wager 100 star coins that Fake Yu is talking nonsense.]

Sheng Xingyao clearly thought the same. He took the kettle and said confidently, "Fine, I’ll test it. But if you’re wrong, you have to follow orders and stop making trouble for the rest of the trip."

Yu Xin gave a soft chuckle and agreed. "Deal."

Sheng Xingyao went to fetch water. The river was close by, and he soon returned with a full kettle.

Yu Xin observed with curiosity and even helped him start a fire.

"You brought back so much water—it’ll take forever to boil," Yu Xin remarked, instructing Sheng Xingyao to pour out half of it. They had gathered some firewood earlier, and the fire burned strong. Soon, the water was boiling.

Once the water had cooled enough to drink, Sheng Xingyao, who was parched, eagerly took a big sip.

Shen Tong said sarcastically from the side, "Yu Xin, you'd better remember what you promised and stop pulling these stunts..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Sheng Xingyao, who had just taken a sip of water, sprayed it all out with a *pfft* sound.

Author's Note:

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I've mostly forgotten all my high school geography knowledge... If there's anything unreasonable, please point it out for me (bows).

Still asking for bookmarks/follows and comments!