Chapter 10 Shrimp Trap.

Chapter 10: The Shrimp Trap

Yan Ke, a 24-year-old office worker, was scrolling through her terminal during her morning commute, as usual.

In the Interstellar Age, work was no longer confined to physical locations, with many opting for remote work. Unfortunately, Yan Ke’s job was one of the few that still required in-person attendance, forcing her to drag herself to the office every day for the dreaded 8 a.m. start.

As she opened the Interstellar Network’s trending page to catch up on the latest buzz, one hashtag immediately caught her eye:

“This Isn’t the Wilderness Survival I Imagined? What does this mean?”

Yan Ke considered herself a casual fan of wilderness survival. Though she had no intention of experiencing it firsthand, she followed numerous live streams of survival experts from various star systems. She was curious to see how this particular scenario stood out.

She swiped on her terminal and clicked into the hashtag, which led to a recorded live stream clip. The title was succinct: “Words won't do it justice—just watch. (PS: Dieters, proceed with caution.)”

Yan Ke was puzzled: *What does wilderness survival have to do with dieting??*

*Whatever,* she decided to watch it first.

She clicked on the video, and a virtual screen unfolded before her, projecting an immersive 3D image where every blade of grass and tree was vividly detailed, making her feel as if she were right there on the asteroid where the show was filmed.

This kind of virtual screen was far larger than the electronic screens of the Blue Star era and crystal clear, offering an immersive viewing experience. There was no need to worry about the large screen disturbing others, as the projection was transmitted via a special signal wave that only the terminal’s owner could see.

This brain-wave link was extremely convenient—viewers didn’t need to type out comments manually; they simply needed to think it, and the text popped up on the screen.

On the starline, almost everyone seemed to be staring blankly at the air in front of them, but in reality, they were immersed in the vast, boundless virtual world.

As the recorded live stream began, Yan Ke’s vision was filled with lush greenery. Leaves rustled gently in the wind, and though the signal couldn’t replicate everything, she felt as if she could almost sense the breeze herself.

Her morning commute fatigue seemed to fade slightly. Wide-eyed, Yan Ke focused intently as she continued watching.

Soon, several people appeared in the projection. Yan Ke recognized a few of them: the currently hottest celebrity Sheng Xingyao, the singer Ruan Qing whom she had always liked, and of course, her mother’s long-time idol, Best Actor Qin.

Yan Ke had a rough idea of what show this was. It had always been highly popular with sky-high ratings, but she had never watched it herself. In her opinion, it was just another show that used the guise of wilderness survival to have a few idol celebrities make fools of themselves for the audience’s amusement—far from genuine survival in the wild.

But since she had already clicked on it, she kept watching. She also saw Shen Tong and another young man she hadn’t seen before, though he was quite good-looking…

In the projection, the group was engaged in some operations she couldn’t quite understand. The young man deftly split the bamboo in his hands, placed fish inside, and set it over a fire to cook.

Yan Ke was puzzled. *What was this—performance art?*

*Why would anyone cook fish over a fire instead of using a pot?*

Her curiosity was piqued, and she eagerly sought answers.

The video was clearly edited, skipping the waiting process and jumping directly to the scene where the young man opened the bamboo tube.

As steam billowed out, the screen was filled with fish that looked, smelled, and surely tasted exquisite, completely dominating Yan Ke’s field of vision.

Yan Ke: !

*What—what is this!*

This seemingly sketchy method had actually cooked the fish, and it looked perfectly done!

What followed were scenes of the guests tearing into the steamed fish like starved animals, accompanied by Ruan Qing’s incredibly vivid commentary that made viewers feel as if they were tasting the tender, flavorful fish themselves.

*Help, she suddenly understood why the title warned dieters to proceed with caution.*

That morning, she had only hurriedly gulped down a tube of nutrient paste to save time—ahhhhh!

It was even her usual favorite flavor, strawberry-chocolate-milk, but now it paled in comparison to the glistening, oily fish.

Rubbing her flat stomach, Yan Ke clicked on the video’s comments section in despair.

As expected, most people were just as shocked as she was.

“! What kind of sorcery is this?”

“That’s not possible! I just want to know why the bamboo tube didn’t burn!!”

“The video is obviously doctored and cut together to grab attention. How can anyone believe this? You must have zero common sense...”

“Am I the only one whose takeaway is that the fish looks incredibly delicious? I just finished eating, but now my mouth is watering.jpg”

“Do you think you have it worse than me? I stumbled upon this video at 1 a.m.! Can’t avoid it, no matter the time!”

“Can someone please share the recipe? I want my Household Robot to make this for me.”

Yan Ke liked the comment asking for the recipe and continued scrolling.

“Wait, is no one curious about who the guy with dark hair in the video is? He seems really skilled at cooking.”

“And he’s so good-looking too. Can cook and handsome—he’s my dream guy, wuwuwu.”

“Um… I’m not sure if I should say this, but judging by the cast, this should be ‘Wilderness Survival,’ right? The guest list was announced a while ago and matches the people in the video.”

“So who is this? I don’t recognize him, but he looks vaguely familiar.”

“Let’s use process of elimination. This should be… Yu Xin.”

Yan Ke’s eyes widened instantly. *Yu Xin?!*

She had followed the entire saga of the wealthy family’s mix-up drama, so of course she knew who Yu Xin was.

But now, she was being told that this strikingly handsome and charismatic young man in the video was Yu Xin?

*What kind of galactic joke is this!*

The comments below were equally confused.

“????”

“Who?? Yu Xin?? That good-for-nothing phony heir who was kicked out of the Yu family??”

“Are we sure it’s not someone with the same name? I know what Yu Xin looks like.”

“Exactly. Yu Xin is so useless—why would the show invite him unless they’ve lost their minds?”

“Wait, I went to check. It really seems like it’s Yu Xin… not a case of same name. It’s that phony heir, Yu Xin.”

“Thinking about it, it kinda makes sense. With the way he used to dress, who could ever really see what his face looked like? Now that he’s cut his hair and cleaned up, of course he looks different.”

“I dug up some old photos of him. The eyes, nose, mouth, and face shape all match. This really is Yu Xin. Holy crap.”

“Wasn’t he supposed to be a useless pretty boy? Since when do pretty boys have skills like this??”

“Maybe he bribed the show… isn’t it easy to pull strings like that? He’s really going all out to clean up his reputation. Disgusting.”

"But wasn't it said that he was kicked out of the Yu family with nothing? How could he possibly have money to bribe the show's producers?"

"After all, he lived as the young master of a rich family for over a decade. It’s only natural he’d have some savings."

"Exactly, we day laborers can’t even imagine the life of a young master. Who knows if his adoptive parents gave him a few million star credits as parting money?"

Under this comment, the blogger personally replied: "This is indeed the Yu Xin you all know, but I guarantee with my reputation that this video is absolutely not edited to be misleading or for clicks. As for what Yu Xin is really like, I highly recommend everyone see for themselves by watching the show."

"To be honest, I used to be one of those who disliked Yu Xin, but after watching Wilderness Adventure, I've come around on him. I sincerely suggest everyone watch the show before making judgments."

The blogger’s response was quite sincere, but it was immediately met with a wave of skepticism:

"?Even the fake Yu has people defending him now? Taking bribes to lie??"

"I’ve been a fan of your channel for so long, but I never expected you’d stoop this low. I'm out, unfollowing."

"Unbelievable. Some people will defend anyone. How many star credits did Fake Yu pay you to treat us like fools?"

Comments like these, full of doubt, popped up one after another, quickly forming a huge comment chain. The blogger didn’t argue back, just kept urging netizens to watch Wilderness Adventure for themselves.

After reading all the blogger’s replies, Yan Ke suddenly got really curious about the show. She decided she had to see for herself what kind of magic the legendary fake young master, Yu Xin, had that made people change their minds.

***

Meanwhile, the guests were completely in the dark about what was happening online. Even after the livestream ended, they weren’t allowed to use any communication devices. Like people back in old times without gadgets, once night fell, they had nothing to do but sleep. As usual, they began another day of livestreaming.

But unlike the previous day, a large wave of new viewers suddenly flooded into the chat:

"Reporting in from the hashtag tourist group!"

"Tour group +1, heard the Yu family’s fake young master is surprisingly impressive on this show. Came to check it out."

"I’m from the fact-checking crew. Here to see how the show is going to such lengths to clean up the image of Fake Yu."

"Trash show, all acting. Pushing Fake Yu so hard, aren’t they afraid it’ll backfire?"

"Seriously, the first two seasons had such good reputations. Did they change the team or something? How could they invite a useless scumbag like Yu Xin? No shame in chasing views."

"Might as well rename it 'Scandal Whitewashing Convention.' Ruined the show’s reputation."

The regular viewers were baffled:

"Can someone tell me what’s going on? Woke up to a whole different vibe."

"Yeah, why are there so many strange accounts here?"

"Seems like Yu Xin’s fish cooking clip from yesterday went viral. Not surprising it attracted new viewers."

"Looks like many haven’t watched the earlier episodes. Why do they have such a hate boner about Yu Xin?"

"Maybe binge the earlier streams before hating on Yu Xin? Don’t just talk without knowing the facts."

"Can’t wait to see what delicious food Yu Xin makes today, hehe."

After reading the chat explanations, most regular viewers guessed what had happened: Yu Xin’s cooking video had trended, and many people, like them initially, still saw Yu Xin as the useless fake young master, hence suspecting the show of fabricating content to clean up his image.

Many long-time viewers who had gradually changed their opinions of Yu Xin felt a sense of smug superiority. Instead of arguing with the newcomers who criticized Yu Xin without context, they mysteriously advised them to catch up on the earlier episodes.

After all, these newcomers needed to experience the same humbling moment they had gone through, right? Hehe.

They were already looking forward to seeing these new viewers’ worldviews getting rocked.

On the other side, the guests were starting to wake up.

"Yu Xin! What are we eating today?" Ruan Qing eagerly asked Yu Xin bright and early.

The early tension they felt toward Yu Xin had completely vanished. She looked at him eagerly, her eyes shining.

Just kidding—in the eyes of a foodie, Yu Xin = amazing cook = an angel, okay!

Yu Xin had already planned this out while catching fish yesterday. Calmly, he instructed the others to cut more bamboo, choosing stalks that were thinner and more flexible.

The bamboo forest here seemed endless; the amount they had cut so far was just a drop in the ocean, so there was no need to worry about damaging the environment.

"Today, I’ll show off another trick," Yu Xin rolled up his sleeves. "Can anyone here not eat shrimp?"

"Shrimp!" Sheng Xingyao’s eyes lit up. It was one of his favorite foods—low in calories, so he could eat to his heart's content!

"But are there even shrimp here? And if there are, how do we catch them?" Shen Tong worried.

"Are we going to use sharpened bamboo sticks like yesterday? But shrimp are so small, how can we spear them..."

"Don’t worry about that," Yu Xin nodded toward them. "See this bamboo? I’m going to make a shrimp cage—lure them into a trap."