In the rainforest, a young woman struggles to drag the body of a wild boar, all for the sake of...
In broad daylight, a man asks his female companion to do all the heavy lifting while he stands by and watches. Is this a failure of humanity, or a decline of morality?
Zhou Niannian bent her body slightly, laboriously dragging the wild boar's carcass.
After the rain, the ground was muddy, making the resistance even greater.
She exerted all her strength just to be able to pull the boar a short distance.
Even so, she was already out of breath.
"Heh... heh... ha..."
Her head spun, and she stumbled over a small stone, nearly falling.
Fortunately, she managed to regain her balance in the next second, only to step into thick, sticky mud.
"Ugh—"
She wore a disgusted expression. After finally pulling her foot out, her other foot sank deeper into the mud.
In this small area, it was like being trapped in an ocean of mud.
The yellowish, soft, soupy mud, if it had a smell, would be something indescribable, wouldn't it!
She couldn't dwell on it. The mere thought would involuntarily conjure up images of that indescribable thing.
No, she couldn't think about it anymore...
"Yue—"
Zhou Niannian couldn't help but gag, her face contorted in despair.
Forget it, just let it all be destroyed!
Her expression was so clear that no narration was needed to show it.
The viewers watching the live stream were almost dying of laughter at Zhou Niannian.
"Hahaha, Sister Zhou is enduring what she shouldn't have to at her age."
"Help, I feel like gagging too. That stuff under her feet looks like excrement. Did they walk into a cesspool? So disgusting!"
"To the one above, these things are a great form of camouflage for animals. So... yue~"
"Jiang Fan is truly outrageous. He was the one who wanted this wild boar, and he's also the one not working."
"He's just posing for the camera, it's not the first time, get used to it, that's just how he is."
The barrage of comments was diverse.
Some were mocking Zhou Niannian's plight, while others were criticizing Jiang Fan for not working.
In the camera's view, besides Zhou Niannian, who was working hard to drag the prey, there was also Jiang Fan, standing motionlessly beside her.
The contrast was too stark, and it was no wonder others had their reservations.
Some viewers were Zhou Niannian's fans, who had excitedly tuned in to watch the live stream. Seeing her teammate slacking off so severely, they couldn't help but voice their opinions.
However, these fans were exploited by those with ulterior motives, who then steered the narrative.
"This guy has always been like this. I felt something was off about him before. He even hurt other contestants by not warning them about the rain."
"I remember now, he was the one who got sick and burdened Sister Zhou, making her look for herbs and then getting lost? Because he was sick, they lost so much progress."
"Stop talking, his fans will come after you later."
"To the one above, remember to turn off private messages, and I wish you peace."
Not only was Jiang Fan not working now, but his past illness and taking the wild boar for himself were all things that could be used to attack him.
Even Jiang Fan's fans were used as targets for slander.
'Be careful, if you say something about him, his fans will come and curse you.'
Once this notion took root, the public's perception of Jiang Fan would naturally turn negative.
Conversely, it could even cause some fans to leave.
The effect was very significant.
When a tree grows tall, it is bound to be blown by the wind.
It was precisely because they saw Jiang Fan's survival skills in the wilderness that some people deliberately tried to manipulate public opinion.
Although public opinion would not affect Jiang Fan's performance in the competition.
Rumors could also kill.
There was only so much traffic in the live stream. If one Jiang Fan fell, the popularity of the contestants they supported could rise.
Wasn't participating in this competition for this very reason?
A group of live-streaming agencies were manipulating things from behind the scenes.
The competition organizers, however, were too busy to manage it.
Just monitoring those camera feeds was already a huge effort for them.
Moreover, Shark Live was a large and established platform, like a towering tree, and these agencies were merely birds nesting on its branches.
For some minor tactics that did not cross the line, they could turn a blind eye.
Because of this, the public opinion in the live stream intensified.
The commentator Lele looked at the comments and couldn't help but show a hint of worry.
A bad atmosphere in the live stream would also affect their commentary.
But even though she saw the clues, she couldn't say anything directly, so she looked at Bear Grylls for help.
Bear Grylls observed for a moment, and before others could be misled, he spoke up to explain.
"Jiang Fan is likely assessing which traces need to be concealed."
"If the initial signs of struggle are concealed too obviously, it would be too deliberate. Only their traces need to be removed."
"Only by distinguishing this can the best concealment effect be achieved."
"Look, he's making a move."
Following Bear Grylls's words, the audience, who had been arguing, quickly turned their attention.
They saw Jiang Fan picking up a dry branch and drawing marks on the footprints he had left earlier.
While cleaning his footprints, he retreated towards Zhou Niannian's direction.
Especially from the spot where the wild boar lay to where Zhou Niannian was dragging it, there were traces of two branches, along with Zhou Niannian's deep footprints.
Even someone unfamiliar with the wilderness would know which direction they had gone just by looking at these marks.
In this jungle of survival of the fittest, wild animals were very intelligent.
Seeing these traces, they would definitely pursue them.
While he wasn't afraid of encountering a giant python, given that they had just snatched its food, he would avoid contact if possible.
Snatching food from a snake's mouth was not as easy as it sounded.
Even Jiang Fan, after looking at his stats, decided to play it safe.
As Zhou Niannian huffed and puffed, dragging the prey, Jiang Fan carefully and meticulously cleaned up the traces behind her.
"How much longer do I have to drag this!"
"Another half hour."
"I'm really going to develop Popeye arms!"
"Congratulations."
Jiang Fan's reply caused Zhou Niannian to choke. She supported the prey with one hand and turned around angrily.
Zhou Niannian, who had initially had some reservations about one person dragging the prey, did not voice her complaints after seeing Jiang Fan's serious and meticulous demeanor.
Perhaps the other person was working much harder than she was.
Thinking this, she felt more balanced.
Some viewers noticed that Jiang Fan was covered in sweat at this moment.
It was impossible to say that he was slacking off.
Cleaning up traces was, understandably, a big job. To enjoy the spoils of their labor with a clear conscience, he had to do some preparatory work now.
However, there were still people with clouded judgment in the live stream, and comments like "slacking off" were still being posted.
The next second, the camera switched.
A long, brown body with brown arrow-shaped markings on its back.
Yellowish on the underside, covered in irregular brown cloud-like spots.
Its pair of sinister eyes met the camera.
The viewers watching the live stream instantly held their breath, as if the blood in their bodies was freezing, afraid that the giant python would strike at them through the screen.
Only when the giant python voluntarily shifted its gaze did they finally find their breath again, feeling weak all over.
"Damn! The giant python found its way back!"