Chapter 164: Ye Jincheng Is Not Dead
Chapter 164: Chapter 164: Ye Jincheng Is Not Dead
"Zhenghao, you can’t think like that! We’re teammates now. Since we have some experience, it’s only natural that we shoulder our responsibilities and look out for them!"
"Otherwise, what did the show invite us here for?"
Every word was a subtle attempt to guide the online viewers to criticize the other guests and the director.
"Come on, we need to go give them a proper apology." Yu Weitao hurried toward the beach.
Yu Zhenghao was indignant, but since his older brother was going, he had no choice but to follow, trailing behind angrily.
The two of them returned to the beach where they had first landed, only to find it completely empty.
’Where are the other guests?’
Yu Weitao felt a surge of panic. ’Those guests couldn’t possibly be stupid enough to venture deep into the island, could they?’
He had assumed the guests would be gathering some thick branches nearby, then waiting for them on the beach, too scared to go anywhere else.
But the beach was completely empty!
Yu Weitao grew even more annoyed with the guests. ’So incompetent, yet they still run off on their own!’
’So selfish!’
"Brother, they’re not here... It’s only going to get more dangerous at night. Where could they have gone?" Yu Zhenghao’s brow furrowed. He, too, was disgusted and angry with this group of useless, disobedient guests.
"If they’ve really gone deep into the island, then it’s dangerous..." Yu Weitao said, his face grim and indecisive.
’Should I play the righteous hero and go look for them, or should I just give up?’
’If we go looking for them, we could run into danger ourselves... But if we don’t, we’ll definitely be hounded and attacked by those celebrities’ die-hard fans.’
’Although, getting hate is still a form of engagement.’
Yu Zhenghao didn’t want to search for them. He had no desire to look after people who were courting death. "Brother, let’s just go back and focus on our own survival."
"Since this is a TV show, if they get into trouble, the director will definitely send people to rescue them."
’I’m so smart for figuring that out,’ Yu Zhenghao thought.
Yu Weitao heard him and thought his brother had a point. But they were on a live broadcast; he still had to put on an act.
His eyes flickered toward the drone’s camera. He deliberately raised his voice and declared solemnly, "No!"
"If they’re really in danger, the production crew won’t be able to get to them in time. We have to look for them... If we search the periphery and still can’t find them, then we’ll conserve our energy and wait for daylight before searching deeper."
"Otherwise, without weapons, we’d just be easy prey if we go in there."
Yu Zhenghao started to object but stopped when he saw Yu Weitao rub his own shoulder.
It was a secret signal they had agreed on before the show, meaning "play it by ear."
Yu Zhenghao could only swallow his retort. "Okay."
Holding their sticks, the two of them began shouting into the surrounding darkness.
"Teacher Gu! Teacher Zhong! Are you out there?!"
Yu Weitao shouted, suppressing his inner indignation.
’A bunch of performers, and they expect to be called ’Teacher’?!’
Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t check their phones and had no idea what was happening with the other guests.
But when viewers switched over to the other streams, figured out what had happened, and then came back, they were furious.
[Those other guests are so rude! They were asked to gather some branches and they complained it was too hard! If you can’t handle a little hardship, what the hell are you doing on a survival adventure show?!]
[I agree with the poster above, so rude! They won’t work, won’t team up, and don’t even give a heads-up! Good thing Da Yu and Little Yu weren’t counting on them to do anything.]
[It must be so tough doing a show with celebrities. Da Yu and Little Yu have to babysit them.]
[It was clearly your boys who started it, preaching at the Monkey King! Spreading rumors about him when they had no clue what was going on! And you talk about being polite?!]
[We’re not idiots. Those two never wanted to include the other guests from the start. It’s a good thing the others went off on their own, otherwise they’d still be sitting on the beach, soaking wet, waiting for those two senile fools to come lead them.]
With each side feeling they were in the right, the viewers started a full-blown argument.
But in the end, they were steamrolled by Gu Zhao’s fans.
They were all Gu Zhao’s "monkey soldiers" now. If you didn’t have the shameless attitude of an Emei Old Friend, you couldn’t even claim to be one of the Big King’s monkeys.
The Emei Old Friends are shameless.
And Gu Zhao is shameless, too.
"Ah, just let me spoil you all! What can I do if animals are just drawn to me?~" Gu Zhao was wearing a quick-dry base layer, her other clothes set aside on a wooden frame to dry.
Her lap, her back, and the space all around her were covered in fluffy baby Gray-cheeked Long-armed Apes.
The infant Gray-cheeked Long-armed Apes were tiny, clinging to Gu Zhao like little plush toys.
Their bodies were covered in soft, pale-golden or creamy-white fur. The characteristic gray patches on their cheeks had yet to appear, leaving only a faint pinkish hue.
Gu Zhao let out a sigh of pure bliss. ’So fluffy and warm... this is heaven!’
The others weren’t so lucky. While they weren’t freezing, they were being treated with constant disdain.
Clinging to them were adult Gray-cheeked Long-armed Apes, their faces screaming reluctance.
The adults received no kindness whatsoever; the apes looked at them with such disgust it seemed they were one wrong move away from spitting on them.
The children fared better. Female Gray-cheeked Long-armed Apes held them close, keeping them warm.
Some of the female apes were even thoughtfully grooming them, picking through their hair for who-knows-what.
Seeing their hair getting thoroughly messed up, the kids looked like they wanted to cry but couldn’t, their mouths set in miserable pouts.
Meanwhile, the Malay Bear was curled up beside Gu Zhao, with eyes only for her.
Gu Xulin was fuming. ’I totally copied what it did just now!’
’And what happened? Gu Zhao just told me I had something wrong with my head!!’
’Song Zhe’s idea was terrible!’
’Gu Xiao Zhao is blind!’
No fire was lit inside the cave, yet everyone was exceptionally comfortable.
"Xiangxiang~ can we come in?" A soft, sweet voice drifted in from outside the cave.
The Gray-cheeked Long-armed Apes immediately grew vigilant. The competition for her affection had arrived!
The Malay Bear was even more displeased. Who was this, trying to steal its mate?!
Gu Zhao called out an affirmative, and a dozen or so monkeys poked their heads inside.
In the faint moonlight filtering into the cave...
...Gu Zhao and the others got a clear look at their visitors.
They were small, their bodies covered in soft, olive-green fur. The fur on their bellies was a creamy white, and the very tips of their tails were a splash of red.
"Sister~" the lead monkey called out, its voice just as soft.
A bolder one ran right up to Gu Zhao, offering her a handful of berries.
"Chyuu~ Sister, eat~" The little monkey’s voice trailed off with a slight warble, sounding incredibly clingy and cute.
In truth, its tiny paws could only hold a few berries.
Gu Zhao accepted them, her heart melting into a puddle.
Seeing this, the baby Gray-cheeked Long-armed Apes looked utterly betrayed.
But Player Gu’s fickle heart had already moved on.
While they vied for her affection...
「Meanwhile, in a remote part of the Southwest Indian Ocean」
A small boat drifted aimlessly, having been at sea for who knew how long.
A man lying in the boat opened his eyes. He fumbled for his supplies, finding only three compressed biscuits left in the pack.
Ye Jincheng opened one and took a bite, then picked up a half-empty bottle of water and took a small sip.
After regaining some strength, his eyes filled with hatred. ’Ye Kui! Ye Zexi! Ye Zuiyi! How could the Ye Family have produced three scourges like them!’
Ye Kui’s reckless mouth had thoroughly enraged those people, making them think the Ye Family had developed ulterior motives.
Operating on the principle of "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go," they had launched a surprise attack, a total massacre!
If he hadn’t used his own father as a shield, he would have been riddled with bullets!
Thankfully, he’d always kept a card up his sleeve. He had built an underground tunnel from the Ye Family estate leading directly to the nearby coast. He had escaped on a yacht he’d prepared long ago, fleeing for a long time and switching vessels several times before ending up on this small wooden boat.
’They’ll never catch me!’ he thought.
A violent coughing fit seized him, his throat raw with pain, but it was nothing compared to the hatred festering in his heart.
’But the one I hate most is Gu Zhao! If it wasn’t for her, the Ye Family would never have fallen this far!’
He pulled a stolen phone from his clothes, turned it on, and searched for Gu Zhao.
The first thing that caught his eye was a trending topic.
#GuZhao!PlayerOfTheAnimalKingdom#
He glanced at the photo: Gray-cheeked Long-armed Apes, Red-tailed Monkeys...
He scrolled through other clips from the live broadcast, noting the island’s vegetation and animals.
He deduced that Gu Zhao... was also in this part of the ocean!
"What a fateful encounter," Ye Jincheng laughed, a grim smile on his face.