Big Shot Ch.54.2

Chapter 54.2: An Unconventional Group Variety Show (4)

Although they weren’t hungry, it was a rare opportunity to find food, so they decided to eat as much as they could. They also discussed using their clothes to carry some, just in case they got hungry later in the evening or the next day.

While they were eating, Shen Xiu used grass and leaves to weave two simple baskets. “Use these to carry them.”

Seeing what Shen Xiu handed them, everyone looked at him with even more admiration.

As expected of Shen Xiu, he always managed to do things that amazed them, using the most ordinary expressions and actions.

The warmth in their gazes made Shen Xiu feel a little uncomfortable, and he lowered his head awkwardly. “Go ahead and pick them.”

Hearing his calm voice, everyone lowered their heads and carefully selected the largest loquats, gently placing them in the grass baskets.

—

At this moment, Duan Mingfei, who was forcing himself to take a different route, was covered in mosquito bites on his arms, face, and neck. To make things worse, he had been wandering around the same spot several times.

As the mood setter, Xuan Yushu comforted him, “It’s okay, no rush. Let’s take it slow.”

Duan Mingfei, who wanted to win Xuan Yushu’s favor, was now feeling irritated by his words.

Being the team leader was just a joke—he didn’t do anything but wait for Duan Mingfei to lead.

Annoyed, Duan Mingfei said, “I must’ve made a mistake. Let me think it over again.”

He kept comforting himself in his mind. This godforsaken place was full of trees, and Shen Xiu’s situation surely wasn’t much better. They were all in the same boat, and if they were both struggling, there was no need to panic.

[Aw, I feel so sorry for my Brother Ming, this production team is terrible.]

[Team A already has wild fruits, and here we don’t even have any mosquito-repelling plants. As expected, I’m sure Master Xiu did some serious calculations after looking at the map!]

[So pitiful, they’re having a group picnic on that side, while we’re doing extreme survival here, hahaha.]

[Oh, good news! My Xiu Xiu found wild chestnuts too!]

[My sisters understand sarcasm.]

Shen Xiu didn’t expect that after leaving the open area with the loquats, he would soon encounter a wild chestnut grove when they re-entered the forest.

The wild chestnuts were clearly untouched, with chestnut trees everywhere surrounded by fallen chestnuts that had been washed into the soil by the rain, sprouting into small chestnut trees.

It wasn’t yet chestnut season, and most of the chestnut spiky shells were still green, slightly splitting open as they hung on the trees.

Chestnuts hurt when they fall, but Shen Xiu didn’t want to miss out on something that could be eaten.

Shen Xiu told the group, “They’re small, but they’re edible. I want to pick them.”

Xiang Yueting looked up and saw the overlapping green spiny balls on the tree branch. His eyes filled with fear. “Can… can this be eaten?”

Although he knew that Shen Xiu was ruthless, he didn’t expect it to be this extreme!

Shang Yu sighed. “It’s obvious you’ve never seen a chestnut before. These are chestnut spiny balls, and the chestnuts are inside.”

Xiang Yueting had indeed never seen one before. “Amazing!”

Jiang Yanxi said, “If it can be eaten, just pick it!”

Song Chengwang nodded. “No problem.”

The nine of them worked together, and they were very quick. Soon, their pants pockets were full of chestnuts. They wrapped some chestnuts in leaves and placed them in their arms before continuing on their journey.

Wild chestnuts were small, about the same size as the loquats they had picked earlier. As they walked, they ate, their fingers, which had been pricked by the spiny balls while peeling the chestnuts, didn’t seem to matter at all.

Shen Xiu walked at the front, talking as he walked.

“This route only has one place that requires a rope. The rest of the route can be traversed by foot, but it’s a bit long. I’ll be walking faster. If anyone gets tired, remember to let me know to slow down.”

Because the team included Qiao Pengyi, among the three routes originally planned by Shen Xiu, Route A was the shortest, requiring crossing a river and a steep slope; Route B was longer than Route A but only had one steep slope to descend; Route C was the longest but didn’t require crossing any steep slopes or rivers.

In Shen Xiu’s mind, Duan Mingfei was taking Route A, and they were taking Route B, which was longer. Based on Duan Mingfei and Xuan Yushu’s pace, they needed to speed up to reach the destination and plant the flag ahead of time.

“Got it.”

“OK.”

At 4 PM, they arrived at the only steep slope on Shen Xiu’s Route B. The area was surrounded by dense shrubs, and only this exposed rocky area could be descended.

Shen Xiu untied the rope hanging from his arm and tied it to the base of a large tree. He tugged it and looked at his companions. “Who’s going down first?”

It wasn’t that Shen Xiu didn’t want to go down; he had to stay at the top and be the last one to descend, so he could collect the rope. This way, the rope wouldn’t be left behind and cause accidents if wild animals in the mountains got tangled in it.

Shang Yu spoke up: “I’ll go. I do a lot of rock climbing.”

Hearing this, Shen Xiu felt relieved and handed the rope to Shang Yu.

The slope wasn’t very steep; it was just a bit long. With the rope tied and pulled in hand, it was safe to go down.

Shang Yu safely landed on the flat ground below and untied the rope from his waist. Shen Xiu pulled the rope back up…

Half an hour later, only Shen Xiu remained at the top. He untied the original rope and, thinking about the aerial live broadcast, with Teacher Qiao’s forehead camera also broadcasting, he bent down to shield the knotting process with his body. He then tied a rescue knot he had learned while working at a climbing gym.

Shen Xiu had used this knot many times at the climbing gym and wasn’t afraid. He kept the rope tight and remained careful and cautious until he finally reached the bottom and could relax.

Shen Xiu untied the rope from his waist and shook his hand holding the rope a few times to loosen it. The rope above the slope slackened and was pulled down by Shen Xiu.

The team members: “!”

They had only heard of this knot, but who would actually go and learn it? As expected of Shen Xiu—truly exceptional!

[It’s said that if you loosen this knot even a little during the process, you’ll really end up in the hospital.]

[I’ve closely observed the knot. It’s not a s**cide descent knot; it’s a bit safer than that, but… not much safer. If you’re careless and pull on the nearby rope, you’ll still end up in the hospital. Fortunately, it’s Boss Shen Xiu using it, with incredible self-control. Everyone else, please don’t try this easily. Stick to using the dead knot.]

[No wonder Shen Xiu avoided the live camera when tying the knot. He probably didn’t want people to see how it’s done.]

[As a mature blood cultivator, seeing Master Xiu in action now shocks me, but I don’t find it strange anymore. After all… this is Master Xiu! There’s nothing in the world that Master Xiu can’t do!]

After descending the steep slope, and walking for another two hours, Shen Xiu led the team to the campsite he had planned when looking at the map. He set up some obstacles around it with branches and rope, so that if animals approached during the night, they would be able to detect them in time from the central area.

Qiao Pengyi said, “Don’t worry, everyone. If we encounter any unavoidable circumstances, such as wolves or anything else, I will contact the production team, and they will ensure our safety.”

Although this wasn’t a primeval forest, it was still in a forest. After hearing Qiao Pengyi’s words, Shen Xiu still wasn’t completely at ease.

Therefore, in addition to Qiao Pengyi, Shen Xiu made arrangements for the nine of them to take turns keeping watch at night.

This wasn’t camping; the surrounding area was a vast, rolling forest. As nightfall approached, the environment looked particularly dangerous. The team had no objections to Shen Xiu’s arrangements.

[It’s only a little past six, and it’s already dark. The surroundings look so terrifying.]

[In such an environment, to still think of spreading hay on the ground and using it as a blanket for warmth—who would’ve thought that the usually cold-hearted Master Xiu would be so considerate and gentle? I love him so much!]

[LMAO, Master Xiu has already covered two-thirds of the journey today, leaving just one-third to go. Meanwhile, Duan Mingfei, over at the other side of the river, is still setting up camp after sacrificing two chances to ask for help. He really doesn’t fear being washed away while he sleeps tonight. Poor Director Xuan is too scared to sleep.]

—

The night passed, and by 6 AM, the sky was fully bright.

Surrounded by mountains, no one could sleep peacefully here, and everyone woke up early.

The chestnuts and loquats from yesterday’s shaking were still left, so the group sat together, eating and chatting.

When Shen Xiu saw the chestnuts and loquats placed on the center green leaves, he could clearly tell that everyone was controlling themselves, eating less because they were worried about getting hungry later.

Shen Xiu reached out and divided the remaining wild chestnuts and loquats into exactly ten portions, placing them in front of each person.

Afterward, Shen Xiu, under the puzzled gazes of everyone, nervously explained, “Around 11 AM, we’ll reach the destination and catch the production team’s lunch.”

Once the task was complete, they would be able to eat the meals provided by the production team.

“Well, then I won’t hold back!”

“Finally, I can finish them off! God knows how tempting they’ve been to look at.”

“Who isn’t? These two days have been the hungriest two days of my life!”

Everyone said, as they eagerly finished eating their portions.

Qiao Pengyi: “?”

Aren’t they all trusting Shen Xiu this much? Doesn’t anyone doubt whether what Shen Xiu says is accurate?

At 11:08 AM, Shen Xiu’s team reached their destination point B. Shen Xiu took the blue flag off his back, planted it in the designated spot, and turned to look at everyone, visibly relieved. “Task complete.”

Watching Shen Xiu plant the flag and turn to announce this exciting news with his calm and indifferent expression, Qiao Pengyi raised his wrist and saw the time indicated by the hands, shocked. “It really is around 11 o’clock!”

Could it be that every step that happened over the past two days was really calculated by Shen Xiu? Is that why he remained so calm?

Xiang Yueting wore a proud expression, as if this was nothing unusual. “Of course!”

Xia Wenhao also felt proud. “Captain Xiu has never been wrong!”

[He can even accurately calculate the time to complete the task. Shen Xiu is amazing!]

[Basic skills, basic skills. If you don’t believe it, go watch the live replay of Youth Unstoppable~]

[Group A and Group B are truly on different levels. Incredible.]

[No wonder he’s my Demon King Xiu. He managed to trap Duan Mingfei with just a little strategy. Hahaha, so devious! Today’s Xiu Xiu is the scheming Xiu Xiu, I love it!]

Group A’s coach, Hu Jiayan, descended from a helicopter above, landing in front of Group A. With a wide smile, he loudly announced, “Congratulations to Group A for completing the task. The production team will donate one million yuan in scholarship funds to impoverished mountain areas!”

Upon hearing this, Shen Xiu let out a sigh of relief.

—

Meanwhile, Duan Mingfei, with peeling lips and a pale face, dragged his hungry, exhausted body out of the forest. After walking for only a few minutes on the grass, the sound of the helicopter approaching could be heard from above.

Xuan Yushu, walking behind Duan Mingfei, wasn’t in much better shape either.

Duan Mingfei looked up and saw a familiar figure descending from the helicopter—Coach Wei Chengwen, whom he had sought help from twice.

Seeing Wei Chengwen walk up to him, Duan Mingfei was confused. “Coach, I didn’t ask for help.”

He had already used his last chance for assistance, and if he used it again, Group B would be eliminated. He would rather die than use it again.

Wei Chengwen, with a professional tone, replied, “I know. I’m just here to inform you that you failed. The task for this episode is over.”

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