Chapter 144: A Hardworking Baby
Chapter 144: Chapter 144: A Hardworking Baby
「Three hours later.」
The group that had gone out in search of food returned to their temporary camp, dejected.
"You guys are back!"
"Did you find anything?"
The men on night watch immediately crowded around.
"Umm..." The members of the foraging party lowered their heads guiltily.
Under the expectant gazes of the others, they pulled out several lemmings from their coats.
The night watch: ???
"Did the lemmings commit some kind of cardinal sin?"
"But that’s no reason to bring back their entire clan..."
The foragers hung their heads even lower.
’Was this what they wanted?!’
The more they thought about it, the angrier they got, and they began to vent their frustrations.
"The animals were insane today! We actually caught a few Arctic Rabbits! But a snowy owl snatched one, and a Snow Wolf got the other!"
"We couldn’t hold on to the rabbits! So we tried fishing!"
"We went to the shore and used lemming meat for bait. It worked, and there were plenty of fish, but!"
"Then a gang of thieving sea elephants showed up! Snatched our catch and ran!"
"Do they even eat fish?! Why would they steal them?!"
Even the drone following them couldn’t bear to watch.
[I hereby declare them the unluckiest people on the show, bar none.]
[Sea Elephant: Our motto is to take advantage of a crisis. We don’t care what you caught, we’re snatching it first~]
[Hahahahaha, they’re not hunting prey, they’re just being "delivery guys" for the Arctic animals!]
[The snowy owl, Snow Wolf, and sea elephants took turns hijacking their haul. They should just switch careers and become zookeepers, haha.]
[I feel bad for them for a second. That kind of luck is just off the charts, even for the Arctic.]
The group fell silent. This was not going to be easy...
「Morning of the third day of the show.」
When the group woke up, they made do by roasting the lemmings.
The others ate without batting an eye, but Gu Zhen just couldn’t accept it.
’This is worse than prison food!’
She held the roasted lemming for the longest time, unable to bring herself to take a bite.
Jiang Yifeng and Ye Zexi, on the other hand, ate calmly.
Jiang Yifeng was a frequent wilderness explorer, so running out of food was nothing new. When he was desperate enough, he’d even eaten live insects.
Compared to that, a roasted lemming was practically a fragrant delicacy.
As Ye Zexi ate, he wasn’t stingy with his praise. "How’d you cook this? It’s delicious!"
’This is a miracle!’ he thought. ’I’m actually eating cooked! Hot food! On this show without relying on Gu Zhao!’
’No more starving! No more endless walking! And no more worrying about being chased by animals!’
’All I have to do is stay in the tent! And wait to be fed!’
’Why didn’t anyone tell me before?! Being a hostage is awesome!’
Gu Zhen silently scooted away from the two men.
Especially Ye Zexi.
’Isn’t he a rich young master? How can his tastes be so...unique?!’
’They wouldn’t resort to cannibalism if they get hungry enough, would they?!’
The bullet comments were having a field day.
[How is Ye Zexi so visibly more optimistic now that he’s away from Ye Zuiyi?]
[How could he not be? With Ye Zuiyi, he starved three times a day. The only food he got was wild vegetables burned to charcoal, stolen fruit, or just enough water to fill his stomach.]
[Ye Zexi: This is the life! I want to be a hostage forever!]
[Ye Zuiyi: So the love is gone, is it?]
After the meal, the group gathered together.
Worry was written on everyone’s faces. "This little bit of food isn’t nearly enough. We need a lot more energy out here, and these lemmings were barely a mouthful."
"The animals are just... too cunning. We can’t catch anything."
Shi Wu pondered for a few seconds. "Then let’s not hunt animals."
"Let’s take a lesson from the contestants."
Twenty-one: "You mean rob them?"
"Right now, they only have two adults, Zhong Siqi and Song Zhe. The rest are kids. Our chances of success are high."
"Didn’t Gu Xulin run off? Besides, we have no idea where they are now."
"It’s got to be easier to find them than to keep getting robbed by animals."
The men from the previous hunting trip looked at the sky, at the ground—anywhere but at the speaker.
’How did this get pinned on us?!’
"Ahem." The leader coughed lightly into his hand. "Alright, we’ll do as Shi Wu says. Ten men will stay here to guard the camp and the hostages. The rest of us will split into two groups and search."
"Whether you find them or not, you must be back here to regroup in three hours!"
Everyone agreed.
There were two drones with them. One stayed behind, while the other wobbled about for a good while before randomly deciding to follow one of the groups.
「Meanwhile, at Gu Zhao’s tent.」
"Why does it sound so noisy outside?" Song Zhe, now awake, twisted his neck in confusion.
The others had woken up as well.
Zhong Mingrui yawned. "I don’t hear anything."
Zhong Siqi ignored him, his expression serious. "There’s definitely something out there."
The two other hostages were speechless. "You’re only hearing that now? It’s been noisy outside for a while."
"We tried calling you, but you were sleeping like the dead! Not a single reaction!"
"It’s one thing for the kids, but how could you two adults not wake up?!"
The rebuke made both Song Zhe’s and Zhong Siqi’s ears turn red.
’With Gu Zhao around, we subconsciously feel safe...’
"Ahem. We’ll do better,"
The two men humbly admitted their mistake. After all, the hostages were just worried about their safety.
"Huh... Big King, why’d you switch cuddle pillows?" Zhong Mingrui asked, curiously eyeing the motionless little penguin in Gu Zhao’s arms.
Song Yi was also extremely curious. "Is it alive?"
Gu Zhao was still half-asleep. Their chatter roused her slightly, and she looked down to see a baby penguin sleeping soundly in her arms.
It was fluffy and warm.
"Wasn’t I sleeping with the little fox?"
She looked utterly bewildered.
Outside, the little fox heard Gu Zhao’s voice, immediately shook the snow from its fur, shot a glare at the crowd of animals gathered there, and then scrambled into the tent.
"Sister!" The little fox happily snuggled into Gu Zhao’s arms.
It then considerately picked up the penguin in its mouth and tossed it into Zhong Mingrui’s lap.
"Sister~ lots of animals have come over."
The little fox nuzzled its head against Gu Zhao’s chin.
Puzzled, Gu Zhao got up, holding the little fox, and walked out of the tent.
The three kids followed closely behind.
The moment they stepped out of the tent, their jaws dropped.
"Whoa!"
Zhong Siqi and Song Zhe heard the commotion and rushed out, only to be stunned by the sight before them.
On the snow-covered ground, a massive crowd of animals turned their heads in unison to look at Gu Zhao.
The drone flew out of the tent and ascended high into the air for an overhead shot.
[Oh my god! When did so many of them get here? What did I miss?]
[Holy crap! Is that a Snow Wolf cub?! So cute!!]
[Why are those two rabbits fighting?]
[Huh? Why does almost every animal have something in its mouth?]
Gu Jiao was ecstatic. "Our army has assembled itself!"
Zhong Mingrui gulped. "And so has breakfast!"
Song Yi shouted, "All hail Big King!"
Far from Gu Zhao’s tent, a lone figure struggled through the snow.
He staggered forward a few more steps before collapsing into a snowdrift.
Gu Xulin, lying face down in the snow, struggled to turn over and look up at the sky.
"Gu Xiao Zhao... do you even remember you have a brother?"
"If you’re going to pack up and move the whole base, you could at least leave me a forwarding address..."
Gu Xulin was exhausted and starving.
"The drone... oh, right, I think it crashed..."
"Gu Xiao Zhao, your brother is about to kick the bucket..."
A penguin waddled by, and seeing something blocking its path, it simply stepped right on top of it and kept going.
Gu Xulin turned his head to the side, trying to prevent the ill-mannered penguin from stepping on his face, his last shred of dignity.
"You stepped on a person... that’s a fine..."
The penguin jumped, startled, and began to trample all over him in a panic.
When it calmed down, it peered down cautiously. "Are you a lost little one that nobody wants?"