Both old men clicked their tongues in amazement: “Impressive! One go and she nailed it!”
They’d been sitting here acting and trying for ages, but they always messed up somewhere.
They hadn’t expected this young lady’s focus to be so impressive!
Shao Yuye’s eyes lit up, and a smile slowly spread across his lips.
Hearing them praise her, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride inside.
The two old men carefully checked Shen Wanwan’s sheet—clean, clear, not a single mistake!
The one named Old Chen laughed out loud: “Hahaha, Old Zhang, see? I won the bet!”
Old Zhang snorted coldly, “Fine, I admit it’s possible someone could count from 1 to 100 without a mistake. You’ve verified it, fine!”
The two men laughed heartily, and the victorious Old Chen turned to them, excitedly saying:
“Thank you both for helping me. Here, let me call my son. You’ve spent quite a bit of time helping me, so I’ll have him give you a ride.”
Just as Shao Yuye was about to ask what he meant, a crew member who had been following their team stepped forward with joy and announced:
“Congratulations! You’ve completed the hidden mission and gained Old Chen’s help!”
Shao Yuye: ???
The live comments exploded:
[What the heck?! A hidden level?!]
[Shen Wanwan is kind of amazing!]
The old man pointed toward a cable car station not far from the pavilion and said, “Go ahead, my son is over there. He’ll take you wherever you want to go!”
[Who just said she was wasting time? Time to eat your words!]
[She doesn’t even need to hike—straight to the destination by cable car~]
Even when they were already sitting inside the cable car, Shao Yuye was still dazed.
“How did you know it was a hidden mission?”
Shen Wanwan replied concisely, “The hiking stick.”
Something as blatant as that, placed so plainly by the production team—it practically screamed hint.
Shao Yuye : “…”
He hadn’t thought there was anything unusual about it.
On the real-time progress board, their team jumped straight from level 0 to level 2.
And with that jump, the thrill of bypassing two levels instantly surged up.
Damn, he’d thought they’d be stuck at the bottom forever, and now suddenly—they were first?!
She really is his sister! Her brain just works!!!
When Shen Wanwan and Shao Yuye stepped lightly off the cable car, Zhang Yiran and Jin Xiaoyu finally arrived at the same checkpoint, exhausted and dripping with sweat, barely alive.
Even though they were drenched in sweat, the pride of being in the lead made both Zhang Yiran and Jin Xiaoyu feel it was all worth it.
That is, until they saw Shen Wanwan and Shao Yuye.
Clean and fresh.
Especially Shen Wanwan—she looked exactly the same as she did in the morning before departure.
Jin Xiaoyu looked at them, then at herself and Zhang Yiran, who looked like they’d just been fished out of a lake—and completely lost it.
She didn’t even want to see people anymore, wuwuwu!
Zhang Yiran, curious, asked, “How come you two got to take the cable car?!”
Did they really climb to the top already?
Shao Yuye carefully helped Shen Wanwan step down from the cable car, while Shen Wanwan succinctly answered, “We completed a hidden mission.”
Zhang Yiran was stunned.
“Hidden mission?”
He looked confused for a moment, then suddenly his eyes lit up:
“Those two old guys in the pavilion, right?!”
Shen Wanwan nodded.
Zhang Yiran clutched his head, groaning, “Damn! Why didn’t I think of that?!”
He and Jin Xiaoyu were actually the first ones to encounter the hidden task!
Being the sociable type, when they passed the pavilion and heard the two old men chatting, he casually responded to them. One of the old men asked for help, but in his eagerness to get ahead with Jin Xiaoyu, he happily declined—
“Ah, sorry, sir! We’re in a rush!”
And just like that, they missed the hidden mission.
Zhang Yiran immediately started beating his chest in regret, but quickly pulled himself together.
“Well, this is good too. Being in the lead all the time is boring, we need someone to compete with to make it fun!”
At this, Shao Yuye let out a cold snort and cracked his knuckles.
“Exactly.”
The live comments were in hysterics:
[Hahahahaha! Brother Ye : You want to be in the lead? Did you ask me first?]
[That’s right! Brother Ye and his team are the real number one!]
[Waaaa! The competition just got spicy!]
But at this moment, only a few people were still watching the livestream.
Most fans and casual viewers were busy on Weibo, gossiping under the trending topic #Biggest Scandal In Extreme Challenge#
Countless people were passionately speaking out in defense of Shao Yuye.
His fans, the ‘Yu Yu’s even posted a series of ten pointed questions aimed at the production team—questioning why someone like Shao Yuye, who brought traffic and viewership, worked hard, and chased his dreams without any backing, was being trampled on and humiliated like this.
Passersby, after reading these heartfelt posts and already aware of the long-standing tension between Shen Wanwan and Shao Yuye, started sympathizing with Shao Yuye as well.
As public opinion grew more intense, the cries for answers from the production team became deafening. The show’s head producer, who had been closely watching the online reaction, could no longer sit still.
He posted a Weibo statement, claiming the show had no script and denying any coercion of Shao Yuye to take care of Shen Wanwan.
But the ‘Yu Yu’s fired up with righteous fury, weren’t buying a word of it.
Very soon, Shao Yuye’s manager, Brother Li, also posted a Weibo under the name of the studio, explaining to everyone that there was no such shady manipulation going on.
But obviously, it didn’t help…
The ‘Yu Yu’s left messages under the studio’s Weibo post:
[Sigh, even the studio was forced to come out and clarify.]
[Shen Wanwan really can cover the sky with one hand—what power!]
[Brother Li, why are you being such a coward? We’re not afraid of them! Let’s fight them head-on!]
Brother Li looked at the replies and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Come on now.
Shao Yuye had had a rough few years, true. But he’s a top-tier star—with name recognition, a powerful fanbase, and strong spending power. What show would dare suppress him? You’d have to be stupid to try!
But such rational voices were quickly drowned out.
The ‘Yu Yu’s were fully in battle mode, determined to confront the capital powers represented by Shen Wanwan head-on.
Especially since countless marketing accounts started churning out dramatic exposés to ride the wave of popularity.
Clearly, someone was stirring the pot and intentionally trying to incite trouble!
As the situation began spiraling out of control, the show’s planner had no choice but to ask the executive director:
“What do we do now? It’s not just Shao Yuye’s fans anymore—the entire internet has taken the bait. Everyone’s saying our show is full of shady manipulation, and now fans of other guests are on edge too. They’re saying if Shao Yuye’s the victim today, it’ll be someone else tomorrow…”
The planner became more and more frustrated as they spoke.
“This scapegoating is so unfair to us!
“As for Shen Wanwan… judging by how angry everyone is, if this isn’t handled properly, she might end up getting boycotted out of the industry…”
The executive director looked at the outrage online and sighed helplessly.
“If clarifying won’t convince them, then let reality do the talking!”
The planner was confused:
“What do you mean?!”
Half an hour later, all the guests received air-dropped maps from the production team.
The ‘Criticism Cabin’ and ‘Truth Cabin’ had been opened for a limited time.
Within an hour, guests could follow the map to these two cabins to take part in a test. If they passed, they would earn a deluxe lunch.
Food was no small matter.
All the guests immediately dropped whatever level they were on and headed for the two cabins.
To maximize their odds of winning, Zhang Yiran suggested splitting up from Jin Xiaoyu.
Shao Yuye made the same suggestion.
He’d go to the farther ‘Truth Cabin,’ while Shen Wanwan would head to the nearer ‘Criticism Cabin’.
The ‘Truth Cabin’ was actually the closest one to level 2’s checkpoint.
Shen Wanwan looked at him with a complicated expression, as if she had something to say but held back.
Was all this really necessary?
But since he was her older brother and had suggested it, she didn’t argue and simply nodded softly.
Shao Yuye was a little worried.
It was obvious what the ‘Criticism Cabin’ would involve.
He asked with concern, “Maybe you shouldn’t go. Just wait here for me?”
Even after so many years in the industry, harsh comments could still upset him at times.
And the negativity surrounding her wasn’t any less than his—he was worried she might not be able to take it.
Shen Wanwan smiled:
“I’m not that fragile.”
“Alright, just don’t force yourself.”
Shao Yuye turned and ran toward the ‘Truth Cabin.’
Zhang Yiran had been giving last-minute advice to Jin Xiaoyu, but when he saw Shao Yuye run off, he didn’t finish his sentence and bolted after Shao Yuye.
Caught up in the atmosphere, Jin Xiaoyu suddenly got nervous.
Not wanting to be left behind by Shen Wanwan, Jin Xiaoyu also sprinted toward the ‘Criticism Cabin’.
But Shen Wanwan didn’t even try to run.
She strolled leisurely in the direction of the ‘Criticism Cabin,’ and along the way, called out to the quiet 001.
“Still angry?”
Ever since she snapped at it earlier, the little light orb had stayed angry, sulking in silence and curling itself up into a tight ball.
001 : {Don’t even think I’m gonna talk to you. My mouth is sealed shut.}
Shen Wanwan was amused: “Won’t you feel sad not talking?”
001 : {Hmph! My answers don’t matter anyway.}
Shen Wanwan’s voice turned magnetic and gentle: “How could that be? You’re the cutest little light orb in the world—the one and only adorable system. How could your answers not matter?”
001 : OvO
Its originally white body began to turn a faint pink.
{Even if you flater me, I won’t be happy…}
But its voice was already full of joy.
Shen Wanwan kept teasing the little light orb:
“I never flatter anyone. I always speak the truth.”
That did it.
The little light ball couldn’t hold back anymore—it turned entirely red and pressed its warm glow against her cheek:
{Alright then, what do you want to say?}
Such an easy-to-please little thing.
Shen Wanwan’s eyes curved slightly as she asked, “The trekking pole by the pavilion earlier—was that placed there by the show as a hint on purpose?”
001 : {It was left by the male lead!}
Shen Wanwan hadn’t expected that answer. She paused in silence.
“…Okay, got it.”
By the time she reached the ‘Criticism Cabin,’ Jin Xiaoyu had just failed her test and was penalized with a 5-minute delay before she could try again. She stormed out of the cabin angrily.
Seeing Shen Wanwan, Jin Xiaoyu puffed out her cheeks and kindly warned:
“Hey, I wouldn’t recommend going in. You’ll go mad!”
Shen Wanwan smiled.
“Is that so?”
She pushed open the door.
Meanwhile…
Shao Yuye had already arrived at the ‘Truth Cabin,’ but a line had already formed. Inside was Li Yan answering questions, and ahead of Shao Yuye were Jiang Yuan and Qi Luozhou.
“….”
At that moment, he suddenly realized a glaring bug.
He turned to Zhang Yiran, who had also run all the way there and was panting heavily behind him, and asked in utter confusion:
“We could’ve just queued for the ‘Criticism Cabin’ over there. Why did we run all the way here instead?”
Zhang Yiran : “? Uh huh?”
—Wait, we could’ve done that?!
—Did we… run for nothing?!
He stared at Shao Yuye with a blank look.
The two of them locked eyes, equally dumbfounded for a few seconds—until Shao Yuye was the first to admit defeat.
“……”
He gave up.
The bullet comments (live chat) exploded with laughter:
[Hahahahaha! Right?! I was just thinking the same thing earlier… Now, Brother Ye : I truly admire you, you troll!]
[I was happily watching Brother Ye climb up the rankings, but now? This is too hilarious!!!]
[I’m laughing to death, these brainless competitive stunts are killing me LOL!]
Zhang Yiran was a bit down for a moment, but quickly cheered himself up and slung an arm around Shao Yuye’s shoulder:
“No worries. Since we’re here, might as well go with the flow. We’ll run back together later.”
Shao Yuye imagined that scenario and suddenly had a deep epiphany—
People always have to pay the price for their own stupidity.
Just then, the cabin door opened, and Li Yan came out, head hanging low.
“Pfft. Just a heads-up—the questions inside are sharp.
“I only told the tiniest little lie…” He held up his thumb and index finger close together. “Just this tiny of a lie—and they still caught me!”
Everyone in line immediately stood straighter.
It seemed this so-called ‘Truth Cabin’ might sound harmless by name, but was clearly on par with the ‘Criticism Cabin’ in cruelty.
Other than Qi Luozhou, everyone ahead of Shao Yuye had failed in varying degrees.
This only added more pressure for those still waiting in line.
The cabin was only open for one hour total. Failing a test meant getting penalized, and that plus the time spent waiting… Even with good luck, you’d only get to answer two rounds max.
When Shao Yuye entered the cabin, the staff greeted him with smiling faces and had him place his hand into the polygraph machine.
“Welcome to the Truth Cabin. We will now ask you 10 questions. Please be sure to answer truthfully—no lying.
“If you lie, you’ll get a little shock~!”
The polygraph was said to detect lies by measuring physiological responses like heart rate under stress.
Shao Yuye, who had never been good at hiding his feelings, simply nodded.
“Alright.”
“Then let’s begin with the first question—
“According to online rumors, Shen Wanwan used her backing to pressure and bully you at work. Is that true?”
Shao Yuye : “?”
What the hell kind of question is that?!