Chapter 94: Trouble

At this point, Pei Jin could only resign himself to catching rainwater in a pot.

Lin Yuan pulled on a waterproof jacket and turned to the others. “Which of you is willing to come with me?”

Gu Qi shrank back a little and pointed at the women behind him. “I—I’ll stay here and protect them. We can’t have no men here.”

Lin Yuan’s gaze swept past him. Yan Feixing volunteered at once. “I’ll go with you.”

Pei Jin hesitated. Seeing how cool the cave was, he put on his hat. “I’ll go with you too.”

Lin Yuan nodded. “Then the three of us will go gather dry firewood. Hou Yue and Gu Qi stay here. If anything happens, contact us by phone.”

No one objected.

So Lin Yuan, Pei Jin, and Yan Feixing set off.

Gu Qi breathed a sigh of relief. It was raining so heavily outside; what if they ran into danger? Still, standing in place was chilly too. He folded his arms and rubbed them for warmth.

Xu Yunzhuo, on the other hand, was not cold. Smart enough to bring a cotton coat, she knew the rain would not stop anytime soon. The only trouble was that rainwater would keep flowing into the cave, making the ground damp.

She looked at Hou Yue. “Teacher Hou, let’s find a way to block this entrance. At the very least, we should stop the water from running down through this bend.”

Hou Yue looked at the slightly slanted hollow outside the cave. Whenever it filled up, the water seeped inward. Though slowly, it still left the ground wet.

Gu Qi let out a scornful laugh. “Do you really think we’ll be stuck here that long? Fixing it now is just a waste of time and effort.”

Xu Muning added to his words, “Exactly. The rain will probably stop in an hour or two. There’s no need.”

Ning Qinghuan, Xie Zhiyuan, and Hu Biting said nothing.

Xu Yunzhuo was already rolling up her sleeves and getting to work, searching the cave edge for stones to fill in the sloped patch.

Hu Biting felt a little guilty and got up to help her collect them.

Xie Zhiyuan did not move. Seeing Xu Yunzhuo begin to perform her diligent, hardworking persona, Ning Qinghuan gritted her teeth and stepped forward to tidy the cave, saying gently, “You fill that in. I’ll clear out the pebbles and trash in the cave.”

Xie Zhiyuan seemed about to move, but Xu Muning quickly took her hand and looked at her pitifully. “Sister Zhiyuan, stay with me. The work is being handled already, and the cave entrance is so small there isn’t even enough room to stand. We should stay out of the way.”

Xie Zhiyuan looked conflicted and hesitant, but in the end, seeing how pitiful Xu Muning appeared, she sat beside her. “All right.”

My God, the more I look at Xu Muning, the more disgusting she gets. Xie Zhiyuan clearly wanted to help, but she was forced to stay and keep her company. Is she a three-year-old? Can’t she see the whole team is busy?

I can’t stand it. No wonder she’s in Gu Qi’s group; the two of them are a perfect match. Would it kill her to lend a hand? The weather forecast for Harbor City says the rain won’t stop until tonight. If they want to leave now, they’re dreaming. Bad luck all around. The show had to pick this day to film, and they’re the ones suffering for it.

I really want to go in there and slap Xu Muning. I get it now—the show crew is using her to draw the fire, right? Well, mission accomplished. I’m suddenly looking at Xu Yunzhuo with a hundred times more favor.

There really is no harm in comparison, hah. They actually managed to make me like Xu Yunzhuo. I’m dying of laughter.

Xu Muning had no idea she was being torn apart across the entire internet. She was still feeling smug because she did not have to work.

She had not come on the show to suffer and slave away. She only wanted to get close to Pei Jin. Who cared about their lousy task?

By the time Xu Yunzhuo finished with the slope outside, an hour and a half had already passed. A large group of people were so hungry their stomachs were growling.

It was already one in the afternoon. They had only eaten breakfast and had not even had lunch.

The aluminum pot had caught half a pot of rainwater. Seeing that it was about enough, Xu Yunzhuo carried it inside to let it settle before use.

Time ticked by little by little.

Even the livestream chat grew anxious.

Why is there no footage of Pei Jin’s group anymore? They couldn’t have run into something, could they?

The rain is too heavy. The drone had no choice but to land in a tree. Once Pei Jin and the others went into the woods, they disappeared from view.

What are they going to do? The production team needs to find a solution now! If someone dies, do you think this is a joke?

Are you kidding? What could the production team possibly do? There are at least ten of them in there. Whatever danger they run into, they have to rely on themselves. The show has been hyping up survival from the very beginning—did you think they were joking?

They should be fine. Don’t forget they still have phones. There’s signal; they can call.

The comments were in an uproar.

Meanwhile, Xu Yunzhuo looked at the darkening sky.

Even though it was only around two in the afternoon, the world had already gone black as ink.

She opened her phone. The temporary numbers for all ten of them were saved inside, each with a name attached.

Xu Yunzhuo called Yan Feixing directly.

No answer.

Then she called Lin Yuan. It rang, but no one picked up.

She looked at Pei Jin’s number, hesitated, and then reluctantly dialed it.

Thankfully, Pei Jin’s line connected. But before Xu Yunzhuo could even speak, a thunderclap exploded outside along with the sound of something heavy smashing to the ground. Pei Jin’s call was forcibly cut off.

Oh no, oh no, something happened! Hurry and save Actor Pei!

Those three are absolutely in trouble. Otherwise why wouldn’t they answer the phone? And the one call that did connect was cut off the moment a sound came through!

I’m dying of anxiety. What kind of ridiculous survival show is this? I’m furious. Why didn’t they even arrange any security in the mountains?

It was not only the viewers watching. Xu Jingsi was watching too.

Since learning that her son had lost contact, she had been crying for an hour straight. Kneeling before Old Master Pei, she wailed, “Dad, I only have this one son. If anything happens to him, how am I supposed to go on living? Dad, please send people to rescue Jin at once.”

Old Master Pei’s face was dark. His hand tightened on the armrest, his expression cold as frost. “Pei Jin has nothing to do with the Pei family anymore. Until he admits his mistakes, I will not acknowledge him as a descendant of the Pei family, nor will I waste a single cent or a single person on him.”

Xu Jingsi stared at him in disbelief. She had long known Old Master Pei was cold-blooded, but she had never imagined he could be so indifferent even toward his own grandson, all because Pei Jin had once defied him.

Tears in her eyes, Xu Jingsi got to her feet. “If you won’t go, then I will! I’m going to find my son!”

Old Master Pei slammed his hand hard against the armrest. “If you dare step out of this door, then get lost with Pei Jin!”

Xu Jingsi froze.

She bit down hard on her lip. Pei Jin had already acted willfully and run off. As his mother, she could not leave. She had to guard his interests. Taking a deep breath, she swallowed her humiliation and stepped back, silently praying that Pei Jin would be safe.

Xu Yunzhuo looked at her phone and then up at the others, her expression grave. “Something’s happened to them. We have to go find them and bring them back.”

She swept her gaze across the group. “Which of you is willing to go?”

Outside, thunder and lightning raged with terrifying force.

Thick bolts of lightning seemed ready to tear the sky apart, while the torrential rain came rushing down, and the trees were blown wildly to and fro.