"Kick Jiang Fan out of the competition! Such a cold-blooded person shouldn't get any attention!"
"Someone with a lack of virtue doesn't deserve fans."
"If you don't want to watch, then don't. Why are you jumping around here instead of switching to another stream?"
Even though it was late at night and time to sleep, the popularity of Zhou Niannian and Jiang Fan's livestreams remained sky-high.
Over a million people were watching in the livestreams. Despite the mixed crowd and many people with ulterior motives, it was still a surprising number.
With such popularity, the commentators couldn't call it a night and stayed in the livestreams, fighting off their drowsiness.
Lele covered her mouth and yawned, trying to be inconspicuous.
Normally, she would have been asleep by this time. She didn't expect to be broadcasting so late tonight.
It was all the fault of the troublemakers in the livestream who brought up 'popularity' and 'fans'. Their intentions were too easy to see.
She tried to perk up and asked, "Bei Ye, do you think Jiang Fan's actions were right or wrong?"
As soon as she spoke, her slightly aching brain sent out a warning.
Lele inwardly cursed herself.
Her mouth moved faster than her brain, and she had said the wrong thing.
Bei Ye frowned upon hearing her question.
However, it wasn't an unanswerable question.
"The law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, has always been the rule. Anything is normal for survival, there's no right or wrong."
"Besides, the Burmese python didn't guard its food well, so the outcome can't be blamed on Jiang Fan."
Bei Ye's tone was calm, clearly supporting Jiang Fan's actions.
In fact, he still didn't understand what these Longguo people were focusing on.
It was just picking up leftovers, not illegal.
Thanks to Bei Ye's words, the bullet comments quieted down a bit.
Those with ulterior motives in the livestream, seeing that they couldn't cause trouble, simply exited and went to other platforms to stir up public opinion.
In the dim little room, the eerie glow of the computer illuminated the middle-aged man's face.
"Okay, understood."
"Don't worry, boss, I guarantee the mission will be completed."
After hanging up the phone, he looked at the opened Weibo and a certain video site, rubbing his hands together as he smiled with ill intent.
"It's time for a big show!"
...
Public opinion online quietly fermented.
However, the contestants in the rainforest were unaware of the outside turmoil.
At night, the sounds of insects and wind were very clear.
Occasionally, the roars of beasts and rustling in the grass could be heard.
The nights in the rainforest were always lively, with all sorts of nocturnal animals prowling about.
If one had light sleep, they would have been woken up countless times by such sounds, unable to sleep at all.
When Jiang Fan opened his eyes, it was still pitch black around him.
Reflected on the tent, besides the orange glow of the fire, was a dark human figure.
After a brief pause, he picked up the military knife beside him and stepped out of the tent.
The campfire at the campsite sent up clouds of smoke, making crackling sounds.
The tongues of flame leaped, as if alive, adding a touch of difference to the silent night.
Zhou Niannian sat before the campfire, hugging her legs, quietly watching the flames, seemingly lost in thought.
Her face was pale, her eyes somewhat unfocused, looking as if she had just had a nightmare.
She just sat there quietly, without a word.
Hearing movement beside her, Zhou Niannian did not change her posture.
The scorching flames danced, danced, as if someone's heart.
After a long while, a voice finally spoke.
"I just dreamed... that Daixiaomei, Muzhi, Piaolaoshi, and the others I used to play with encountered a giant python here and were swallowed whole."
"From foot to head, their faces kept changing. At first, it was them, and then it became me."
Zhou Niannian's voice was soft and ethereal, as if she had been struck.
The scene from the nightmare replayed in her mind.
The more she recalled, the more her brain felt like it was about to burst.
Every part of her body trembled.
Her hands and feet turned cold.
The lingering fear she hadn't felt during the day, countless thoughts, now surged in her mind.
She felt ashamed of her own complacency.
The mere thought of a giant python potentially appearing at their campsite made her unable to sleep properly.
Zhou Niannian dared not look at Jiang Fan, nor did she dare to think about how he would despise her if he knew her thoughts.
'Weak,' 'hypocritical,' labels that seemed to have exploded onto her in an instant.
She hugged her legs tightly, burying her head within them.
A brief moment of peace might as well have lasted a year.
A hand landed on her head and gently rubbed it.
"Giant pythons rarely attack camps with bonfires, and with Xiao Hei to keep them in check, it's not easy for a python to harm someone."
"Besides, if it were really easy to pose a danger to the contestants, the organizers would have taken measures."
"Sleep well and conserve your energy."
It was rare for Jiang Fan to say so many words at once.
He had once stayed alone in the wilderness, challenging nature, and had gone months without speaking a word.
After transmigrating, he spoke a little more, but comforting someone was a first.
Facing Zhou Niannian's red eyes, he was silent for a second before calmly saying,
"Trust the professionals."
"...Okay."
Zhou Niannian was convinced.
Jiang Fan's words made a lot of sense. If there were any dangers, the organizers would surely deal with them.
Her complaining here was useless.
It was better to sleep early and conserve energy.
Trusting professionals was much better than worrying about it herself.
Zhou Niannian took a deep breath, perked up, and nodded.
She stood up and walked towards her tent. As she stepped inside, she seemed to remember something, and turned to Jiang Fan with an apologetic look.
"Sorry for disturbing your sleep. Rest early."
Jiang Fan said nothing to this, watching Zhou Niannian enter the tent before returning to his own and lying down.
However, the situation backstage was not as relaxed as they imagined.
The director, who should have been asleep, sat in the conference room with a serious expression.
"So, you mean there's no way to solve this problem?"
"We can only say the danger is too great."
On the large screen in the conference room was the face of the rescue team leader, who looked helpless at the moment.
"If we feed it, we have to open its body, and we can't guarantee we won't be attacked."
"This Burmese python is huge; being constricted by it means death."
"We can deal with it, but it will create a lot of noise. If we have to deal with it, we might attract surrounding contestants to watch."
"A contestant with no self-preservation ability is just easy prey, making casualties more likely."
"Unless we clear out other contestants, we can't safely release this python."
But doing so would disrupt the flow of the competition, or rather, completely ruin this competition.
The rescue team leader's words made everyone in the room fall silent.
The director rubbed the pen in his hand and, after a while, asked,
"Are there no other options?"