DBAFSC Ch 55 : Survival Actions For Escaping (2)

The ancient-style garden appeared serene, but concealed hidden dangers.

Barely six or seven minutes into the race, the 15 fugitive guests and the 15 men in black had brushed past each other several times in the main shot.

Some of the male guests had even sprinted wildly, just managing to shake off their pursuers.

When the heart-pounding chase had hardly ended, the men in black could be seen pressing their earpieces with one hand from time to time, seemingly receiving new instructions, before turning to head towards their next target.

[Holy sh*t! They really do know where the guests are, right?]

[Good grief, the director → the final boss villain.]

[Bao Ruanruan was right after all.]

[Huh? What did she say?]

Viewers who hadn't been following her personal livestream had their heads full of misty water¹.

After discovering what happened, another wave of curious viewers flooded into Bao Ruanruan's personal livestream room.

"All participants, attention. There are eighty minutes remaining."

The director, Zhong Zeyuan, announced in a cold, anxiety-inducing voice.

In front of the camera, Bao Ruanruan had already slowly left the old mansion.

She had installed an infrared sensor on the main road leading out.

It would emit a beeping sound whenever someone passed through.

At that moment, she continued advancing towards Exit No.1 in the garden located to the left. Meanwhile, she kept her hands busy weaving the pruned green branches and leaves she had picked up along the way into strips, which she then tied onto her head.

With her camouflage make-up, from a distance, she actually looked like a guerrilla soldier hiding in the jungle.

Every 50 metres or so, she would stop, tilt her head to listen for the infrared alarm, and then look back to check the cameraman's position.

[Good grief, she's never trusted the cameraman.]

[Second Brother Cameraman, you're in danger now!]

[Bao Ruanruan: "Time to throw off Burden No. 2!"]

[Hahahahahaha.]

When the director's time announcement sounded, a flicker of 'just as expected' flashed across Bao Ruanruan's fair little face on camera.

[?]

"The first ten minutes are over."

"Second Brother, the director is showing off his power. He's about to take someone out."

Bao Ruanruan looked at the cameraman.

Then she made a praying gesture by pressing her fingers together.

It was as if she were bidding farewell to the unfortunate 1/15 guy who was about to be eliminated.

[!]

[Are you serious?]

[Bao Ruanruan, you're a bit too dramatic.]

But just as she lowered her clasped hands, Director Zhong Zeyuan's cold voice rang out.

"KK has been eliminated."

"KK was captured by the men in black and eliminated."

"All survivors, attention. The first teammate elimination has triggered a debuff. The remaining 14 survivors have been afflicted with dizziness and can't move away from their cameramen for one minute."

[No way! Bao Ruanruan actually predicted it right!]

[Bao Ruanruan, reveal your true identity! Are you a reincarnated fortune teller?]

[Are you secretly a scriptwriter for the production team?]

[Is this scripted?]

[Ah, now we really can't move.]

But in the very next second, Bao Ruanruan proved to everyone that she wasn't part of the production team.

After a moment's thought, she turned her camouflaged little face towards Cameraman No. 2 beside her. "Second Brother, it's time for you to hit the road."

The cameraman was busy filming her, but at that moment, his personal livestream camera shook violently.

Hit what road?

Which road exactly!

Are you sending me to the Western Paradise Road²?

She's so savage it's scary.

The cameraman shivered a little.

But Bao Ruanruan blinked innocently and said, "The director said the 14 of us can't move away from our cameramen, but he didn't say Cameraman Brother can't move on his own."

[!]

"Second Brother, head 45 degrees to the front left, keep going and stop at the entrance to the bamboo forest. Don't worry, you're just taking a step ahead."

Cameraman: "!"

[?? Is there a loophole?]

[Bao Ruanruan: "Finally, I've found a chance to unload Burden No. 2!"]

[Won't Kiddo Ruan be left with no camera then?]

[Sees through everything—cameramen are basically the guests' deadliest GPS trackers! Who needs camera angles! Bao Ruanruan, you're awesome! Watching her personal livestream feels so immersive, and she's deadly serious about this!]

After Bao Ruanruan finished speaking, she still followed the rules by staying in place.

Meanwhile, Cameraman No. 2 had to walk backwards helplessly.

He tried to film her for a bit longer.

But all he could see was her looking around, squatting down, and then starting a phone call.

"Qu Feifei, where are you?"

"Listen, ditch your cameraman now and head towards Gate No. 1 alone. You'll pick up a new cameraman at the entrance to the bamboo forest, so take him with you."

"Just do as I say and don't ask why."

"The first rule of that life-saving agreement you signed is to help me unconditionally, remember?"

Cameraman: "!"

[As expected, Number Two is also gone.]

[No. 2 hasn't even run much, he's still at full HP!]

[What's a life-saving agreement?]

[Hahaha, go educate yourselves… that life-saving agreement is a good thing~]

[Cameramen are the lifeline, so she keeps switching cameramen to confuse the director.]

[No, swapping cameramen in this round is clearly a way to break the director's dizziness debuff—the rule is that you can't move with your cameraman! By ditching the cameramen, they can move freely. Bao Ruanruan is using this chance to help Qu Feifei break free from the immobility debuff too!]

[Oh? She's helping other people now, too?]

[Director: "I really regret not paying attention in Chinese class back then, sob!"]

[Hahahaha, I'm dead—so today I'm going to have to switch through 15 livestream rooms, is that it?]

Bao Ruanruan didn't care about personal livestreams. All she could remember was what her manager had promised her:

As long as she survived for 45 minutes, she could ask for any reward she wanted

There were 14 survivors and 15 men in black remaining on the field.

"With every person eliminated, the number gap between the hunted survivors and the men in black will widen, putting us at an even bigger disadvantage."

Bao Ruanruan had a foxtail grass stalk in her mouth.

She had already reached Qu Feifei's cameraman and successfully switched to Qu Feifei's personal livestream channel.

"The last person standing will face a 15-person siege."

"To survive until the end, I must maintain my advantage."

[What advantage do you have?]

[A brand-new cameraman? Dying of laughter.]

[Ah, girl! I get it now! Qu Feifei, Lu Wenhao, and Yang Xueni all signed life-saving agreements with her on other variety shows!]

[D@mn... I get it, too! They all promised to do her a favour and not to harm her... they're people on the field who will unconditionally obey her!]

[What? She actually has such an OP item!]

[Now I see it. She's like the queen on a chessboard, and Qu Feifei, Lu Wenhao, and Yang Xueni are the rook, bishop, knight, and pawns! D@mn! No wonder she saved Qu Feifei just now.]

[So she needs to maintain her advantage, ultimately creating a situation of 4 versus 15?]

[Ah, she's playing a massive game of chess here!]

Both new and old viewers of the show were thrilled.

Never before had an artist been able to run circles around the production team like this!

She could even rally three others to form a united team to fight back

Now this was going to be a good show.

But just as everyone was watching, their blood boiling with excitement, a line of bold text, a VVIP mega-barrage, floated mercilessly across the livestream screen.

——Director Zhong Zeyuan from the production team: Then I'll first cut off Bao Ruanruan's right-hand allies! Qu Feifei's location at the bamboo forest entrance has been reported to Man in Black No. 2.

[!]

[Holy crap!]

[Director, are you spying on the chat!?]

[Danger! Bao Bao!]

[They've been discovered!?]

——Director Zhong Zeyuan from the production team: To all viewers who wish to watch this game of cat and mouse, please head over to the main channel. Man in Black No. 2 will arrive at the bamboo forest in 30 seconds to 'harvest³' Qu Feifei....

[!!]

[I'm going!]

[Fck fck f*ck!]

[See you on the main channel, comrades!]

[I'm off to spam the chat and curse out the director.]

The atmosphere escalated instantly, and everyone was holding their breath in intense suspense.

Originally, only half of those watching Bao Ruanruan's perspective were her real fans; the rest were just casual viewers.

They had initially followed her POV just for fun.

However, every move she made was so meticulously strategic, leaving no gaps in her calculations.

This instantly drew everyone into her first-person view, making them worry for her safety.

At this moment, Director Zhong Zeyuan went head-to-head with her, aiming to sever her supporting general, Qu Feifei.

This caused all the viewers to panic!

But just as everyone was watching with their blood boiling with excitement, a bold line of text—a VVIP mega-barrage—mercilessly floated across the screen of the live stream.

The viewers, fiercely protective, swarmed into the main channel, both angry and anxious.

[There are still 13 people left. Why are you targeting those two girls?]

[D@mn it, Director, I just want to see the two girls survive until the end together!]

[With you doing this, how are we supposed to discuss things in the chat now? You soulless Director!]

[Director, this is cheating! I'm going to report you!]

But soon, another line of the production team's official VVIP rainbow-coloured barrage floated across the main channel.

It was suspended in mid-air, pinned at the top.

It lingered for a long time.

——Director Zhong Zeyuan of the production team: Every five minutes, the cameramen will report each guest's location. The 15 men in black can obtain information on the location of *one guest from me, and *only one. At all other times, they will be searching blindly.

[Every five minutes! So that's how it works!]

[Important info, got it!]

[This round is over. Qu Feifei is basically a sacrifice and will definitely be eliminated. Bao Ruanruan, hold on through the next five-minute cycle and figure out the production's five-minute reveal pattern quickly!]

Sure enough, on the main channel's live stream feed, a broad-shouldered, long-legged man in black appeared. His face was cold, and he had a pair of sharp, eagle-like eyes that scanned the surroundings like searchlights.

He jogged forward the whole way.

Soon, the entrance to the bamboo forest appeared faintly on screen.

Amid a flood of 'bless' comments and folded hands emojis⁴, the faint silhouette of a cameraman walking through the bamboo appeared, sending hearts racing.

The man in black charged over instantly.

His speed was incredibly fast, like a wolf on the run.

There was absolutely no way the girl could escape!

But just as the barrage of the livestream chat was about to erupt with screams, the camera zoomed in…

All that appeared was Cameraman No. 2, with a bewildered face… and Man in Black No. 2, also with a bewildered face..

"I got caught?" Cameraman No. 2 was completely dumbfounded

The man in black was also stunned.

He looked left and right, then right and left again.

But there wasn't a second person around anywhere!

There was no sign of the escaping guest Qu Feifei!

Not even a shadow of Qu Feifei could be seen at the entrance to the bamboo forest!

[!]

[?? Qu Feifei didn't come!]

[Did she not listen to Bao Ruanruan?]

[My heart's in my throat now. Don't tell me she's moving slowly and still on her way?]

[Ahem, let me ask first: has the five-minute production location reveal time passed?]

[Yeah, it should have! We're at the 12th minute now.]

[Then can I say it now?]

[?]

[I've been watching Brother Lu's personal livestream. Just as the man in black reached the bamboo forest entrance, Qu Feifei appeared on Lu Wenhao's stream! They've decided to share a cameraman now!]

[!!!]

[Chariot-Elephant⁵ merge? Pfft.]

[Coincidence, or was this part of Bao Ruanruan's plan?]

[Let's go, let's go, the main livestream isn't fun to watch, hahaha.]

[@ZhongZeyuan, Director, keep floating those bullet comments, will you? You just said you were going to cut off someone's right-hand allies, hahaha, I'm dying of laughter! Come out and give us your '*speech of failure'.]

——Director Zhong Zeyuan of the production team: Let's see what happens in the next five-minute round!

The bullet comments instantly exploded with laughter.

This was also the first time in an escape reality show that the chief director had almost ended up in a head-to-head PK battle with the audience!

Everyone was laughing uncontrollably.

Many viewers on the main channel only realised at that point that he wasn't actually fighting the audience, but battling Bao Ruanruan.

Intrigued, groups of them flocked over to Bao Ruanruan's personal livestream feed

[This livestream, hahaha, is keeping me so busy!]

[Can't take a break for even a minute, it's like a workout!]

[Ruanruan, the director wants you to be careful at the 15-minute mark.]

On the personal stream, Bao Ruanruan's little camouflaged face popped up on camera.

"Third Brother, you've worked hard. Want some water?"

The camera shook helplessly in response.

"So, you still haven't answered my question: do you think we're safe now?"

Bao Ruanruan asked obediently.

The camera shook again helplessly.

Bao Ruanruan nodded. "You think it's unsafe, too?"

"Indeed. Right now, the men in black know our location every five minutes. It's very dangerous."

[!!!]

[D@mn! Did she peek at the chat?]

[How does she know!]

But the camera quickly shifted its focus from her little camouflaged face to what was behind her.

She could be seen standing on a small hilltop courtyard, looking down.

And down below was the entrance to the bamboo forest, where a game of cat and mouse had just taken place!

Bao Ruanruan raised her hand to check her watch. "I told Qu Feifei to move to the bamboo forest entrance at 10 minutes and 32 seconds."

"The man in black appeared at 12 minutes and 01 second."

"Preliminary conclusion: location leaks happen every five- or ten-minute intervals."

"To be cautious, I must change direction immediately after the next five-minute mark arrives."

[She actually looped around to spy on the bamboo forest from above!]

[Goodness! Such sharp instincts!]

Bao Ruanruan picked up her phone again and made a call. "You guys keep moving towards the bamboo forest and pick up Cameraman No. 2. Man in Black No. 2 has just left, heading southwest, so you take a different route."

She glanced at her watch. "Sync your time, it's now 16:13:12."

"Before 16:15:30, you need to split up."

"Between 15 and 16 minutes, don't stop moving."

"Over and out."

After speaking, she hung up the phone.

She turned her head, her creamy, fair little face looking seriously at Cameraman No. 3.

"Third Brother, which route do you think is the safest for us to take now?"

Cameraman No. 3: "???"

The camera shook slightly.

"Not moving? All right then, let's continue towards Gate No. 1."

"Let's regroup with Qu Feifei or Lu Wenhao."

Cameraman No. 3: "???"

[Hahaha!]

[Bao: "You're totally right. Go left? Then we'll go right!"]

[Red hot and totally dazed⁶.]

[Let's start a betting pool, how long do you think this Third Brother will last?]

[Feels like Fourth Brother is coming soon, squatting here to wait.]

Everyone in the livestream chat was incredibly hyped.

Bao Ruanruan's perspective was just way too fun to watch.

Many veteran viewers of the show no longer wanted to watch the main channel.

Because every time, the main channel would cycle through all the escape guests' perspectives, sharing the blessings of rain and dew equally⁷.

But most of the guests were pretty boring.

They were either busy forming alliances and running around in a fluster, or just hiding in one place and not moving at all.

Their actions showed no hint of strategy, wit or bravery.

Only on Bao Ruanruan's side did they finally get the rare chance to see her in a PK battle against the chief director Zhong Zeyuan, through the 15 men in black!

However, this was clearly just the audience's imagination running wild.

Bao Ruanruan didn't think she was fighting the chief director at all.

Pfft, how would she ever dare to challenge the Bronze Statue Formation⁸?

She just wanted to humbly survive the 90 minutes; that was all.

Bao Ruanruan quickly climbed down from the rock garden and started humming her self-made little song again.

"Walking alone outside, grass is my camouflage."

She checked the camouflage on her clothes and face.

"If there are footprints, first check the ground."

She crouched down and poked at the grass.

"If it's a single person's tracks, it's probably a man in black."

"Better not make any phone calls, or I might attract the bad guys."

[Pfft pfft pfft.]

[Sis, you're a genius.]

[Like hell! Can you even see any footprints on that ground?]

[Kiddo Ruan's scouting special skill makes another appearance.]

Over the next two minutes, Bao Ruanruan carefully scouted along the path leading to Garden Gate No. 1.

She looked up at the camera.

"Didn't see a d@mn thing."

[Hahahaha.]

"There are too many forks in the garden paths. The route I'm on right now, and the junction where I installed the infrared alarm earlier, haven't had any men in black pass through."

"This is good news, but also bad news."

Bao Ruanruan stopped fussing over the footprints and pulled out her phone to start sketching a rough map.

"I might need to change my strategy."

She listed out the names of the remaining contestants one by one, starting from No. 1 and checking each O and X on her chart.

Then she reached out and changed a few symbols.

[?]

[Didn't get it, good news and bad news?]

[Still keeping us in suspense, huh.]

[Of course, she can't say it out loud; she's got to watch out for the director overhearing, right?]

[I'm going to throw out a blind guess here: she hasn't run into any men in black along her path (the bamboo forest one doesn't count, as she lured him there), which suggests this garden space is huge. With 14 contestants and 15 hunters, there's a good chance they won't bump into each other, which is good news. But in this situation, the director will definitely start leaking contestant locations to the hunters, and he can choose whoever he wants. The bad news is that she's obviously on the director's radar now.]

[Let me add one more thing. As the number of surviving contestants decreases, the 15 men in black will find it even harder to locate them in this vast garden—it'll be like fishing for a needle in the ocean⁹… So I'm guessing she's realised this too. The show started with leaking locations every five minutes, but in the later stages, they'll definitely reduce that to every two minutes, maybe even every minute. That's going to be a massive problem for her.]

[Before this, she had been trying to form an alliance with Lu and Qu, and just now she was planning to regroup with them. But if their locations are leaked and the director ruthlessly sends half the men in black to block them, they'll all get wiped out in one sweep.

So I'm guessing she's changing her strategy and will be moving solo from now on.]

[! You're a technical genius, bro.]

[Don't leave after class, we need to talk.]

[Upvoting this comment.]

During the first fifteen minutes, Bao Ruanruan hid behind the artificial rock formation, using the greenery for cover while she scribbled and sketched on her phone.

She didn't move again.

It wasn't until the sixteenth minute that she started walking.

As expected, she didn't go looking for Lu Wenhao or Qu Feifei anymore.

However, before the seventeenth minute arrived, Director Zhong Zeyuan's cold, ruthless voice echoed through the garden.

"Liu Jiajia—out!"

"All remaining escapees, attention: the elimination of the second teammate has triggered a debuff. All 13 players are now entering Twin Night mode. From now on, you must form alliances in pairs to leave. Alliance requirement: exchange tokens with each other."

[We just figured out that Bao Ruanruan wanted to act solo, but now she's being forced to ally up? D@mn, director, you're definitely screen-peeking!]

[Wait a sec, there are only 13 people left… pairing them up in twos… that means one person is going to be out of luck.]

"Any escapee who fails to find an ally will have their location broadcast to all men in black between the 20th and 25th minutes."

"Twin Night begins now!"

[!]

[The director is really ruthless.]

But just as the bullet comments were firing off, Bao Ruanruan's cam feed showed her camouflage-painted face looking slightly surprised.

"The director and I are really in sync."

[?]

"Brother Jiang Xu and I have already exchanged tokens."

"We're safe from the 20th to the 25th minute."

[!]

"I've also exchanged tokens with Qu Feifei."

"We're safe from the 20th to the 25th minute."

[!!]

"Qu Feifei and Lu Wenhao should have exchanged tokens too."

"They are safe from the 20th to the 25th minute."

[!!!]

Bao Ruanruan did a quick count, "Our side has 4 people temporarily out of danger."

She checked her watch on the spot and made a call.

"Start moving at the 20-minute mark, see you at the bamboo grove."

[Pfft pfft pfft——]

[Oh my god, are the cameramen the tokens?!]

[Good grief, I gotta shout out—this is brilliant!]

[Hahahahahaha lol!]

[Director: "…spitting blood, do not disturb."]

After finishing the call, Bao Ruanruan turned to her No.3 cameraman with concern.

"Third Brother, you're definitely Qu Feifei's cameraman, right? She hasn't swapped you with anyone else, has she?"

"You're still you, right?"

"This is very important information to me, so don't lie, okay?"

Cameraman: "......"

[Pfft! Seriously, who else is out there swapping photographers besides you!]

[Single-handedly making viewers jump between four live-streaming channels non-stop! Yep, I'm talking about you, Bao Ruanruan! No one else!]

[She's once again predicting the production team's moves.]

[One person managed to keep four people safe during this five-minute round!]

[Respect, I'm convinced.]

But before Bao Ruanruan could get an answer from the cameraman, whose face was full of hesitation, her phone rang.

The camera panned over.

On the screen were three big characters—杨雪妮 (Yang Xueni).

Bao Ruanruan was momentarily surprised.

But she still answered the call.

"Xiao Bao, should we form an alliance?"

"I already have a life-saving agreement with you, so you don't have to worry about me betraying you. We're a good fit for an alliance."

"I'm at the East Mountain Pavilion. Where are you?"

Bao Ruanruan turned her phone volume to the lowest and put it on speaker.

Everyone watching the livestream could hear it.

[Good grief, another life-saving agreement.]

[Guess I'm being forced to catch up on all of Bao Ruanruan's variety shows now.]

[Didn't Yang Xueni and Bao Ruanruan not get along? Can't believe she's the one initiating an alliance. Surprised.]

[Eh, too bad, she no longer needs an alliance.]

[This round has already been cleared.]

But Bao Ruanruan, in front of the live camera, didn't hesitate and nodded immediately.

She even opened the hand-drawn garden map she had just sketched on her phone.

It was extremely crude, resembling kindergarten doodles.

But as the camera zoomed in, everyone realised that, ugly as it was, the map was actually useful!

Various landmarks were marked by triangles, circles and squares.

When she zoomed in with both hands to the top left of the sketch, it could be seen that the triangle marking the East Mountain Pavilion had the words 'WC Restroom' clearly labelled to its right.

There was even a realistic scale bar in an empty space at the top.

-: 100 metres.

[……She just drew this now?]

[Had she memorised the entire garden map? Even down to the accurate scale of 1:100? No way!]

Then, Bao Ruanruan wrote ‘Xueni' next to the East Mountain Pavilion on the map and nodded.

"I'll come and find you. Stay put."

[Still forming alliances?]

[Is that necessary? Safety first, girlie!]

[Did you guys even look at the map? The East Mountain Pavilion is less than 100 metres away from where she was already heading—the bamboo grove.]

[She's just conveniently picking up a teammate along the way.]

[+1, maintaining our side's advantage is necessary.]

Viewers in the comments section were split on whether forming an alliance was necessary.

But Bao Ruanruan wasn't so torn about it. After finishing the call, she looked at her hand-drawn map again.

It was based on the large map she had seen at the entrance to the garden before setting out.

She had memorised several important landmarks.

Now, she began marking down the known positions of the other guests, one by one.

Then, she focused on examining the path she had taken.

Starting from the garden's centre, she had headed steadily northwest to reach Gate No. 1.

The main road would pass through the bamboo grove.

However, at 200 to 300 metres intervals, there would be at least two branching paths.

The entire garden had four gates: east, west, south and north.

15 guests, 15 men in black.

So far, she had only encountered two black-clad pursuers: one at the starting point, and another who the production team had tipped off to stake out the bamboo grove.

Neither of these was a coincidence.

As for the other escaped guests, aside from those she had contacted herself, she had already run into Jiang Xu and was due to meet Yang Xueni along this road.

The odds of such coincidences were starting to feel a little too high.

Was it fate?

Bao Ruanruan put away her phone and glanced up at the camera.

A thoughtful look flashed across her eyes and disappeared.

Little snowman buddies from Group No. 1, did you see that?

Grandpa Snowman didn't lie to you.

It was your big sister who came looking for Bao Ruanruan.

She just loves coming to Bao Ruanruan to ask questions.

Bao Ruanruan nodded. "Let's go to the East Mountain Pavilion."

A werewolf could take someone away in the dark.

But this werewolf had spinal issues.

Years of wearing high heels and sitting incorrectly had caused her shoulders to become uneven and her back to hunch up, exposing her mediocre athletic abilities.

In a chase-and-escape game like this, she was as good as toothless.

However, Bao Ruanruan was a very cautious person.

Before setting out, she first untied her shoelaces.

Then she retrieved a life-saving agreement folded to the size of a tofu cube from beneath the pressed-down tongue of her shoe.

"Yang Xueni, this is the right one."

[Pfft pfft pfft!]

[Eyeshadow, reversible camo outfit, paper... what else are you hiding on you? If you pull out a stick later, I won't even be surprised!]

Bao Ruanruan remained very cautious.

According to the map, her original position was directly east of the East Mountain Pavilion, but she deliberately circled around to approach from the rear.

She stood under the shade of a tree, carefully observing her surroundings.

Only after confirming that Yang Xueni and her cameraman were the only people present did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Then she lowered her head to inspect the condition of the nearby lawn and the amount of dust on the plastic jogging track beside it.

She checked the area in front of and behind her to ensure no third person had been there.

Only then did Bao Ruanruan walk over and wave to Yang Xueni, who was standing in the pavilion.

"Sis Xueni, in accordance with the terms we agreed upon."

"If you make a move against me, you must declare your love for me."

"!"

Today, Yang Xueni was dressed in a vibrant lemon-yellow sports outfit, which made her feel almost like a lively eighteen-year-old.

But upon hearing Bao Ruanruan's words, she suddenly felt forty years older!

She was overwhelmed by sheer second-hand embarrassment!

Yang Xueni's eyelid twitched as she looked again at Bao Ruanruan's camouflage outfit and face paint, not to mention the random green leaves and twigs tangled in her hair.

Had she really got old?

Was this really how variety shows were supposed to be nowadays?

Yang Xue'ni forced a smile. "Xiao Bao."

She led her cameraman down from the pavilion, extending her right hand as she did so.

In her palm lay a green sycamore leaf.

"I didn't bring much to the show, so I can only offer this green leaf to a beauty as a token to exchange with you."

[Hahaha! What green leaf? She just wants to swap cameramen with you!]

[I'm dying of laughter! You probably have no idea what Bao Ruanruan's token is!]

Sure enough, Bao Ruanruan blinked and plucked a leaf from the grass crown on her head.

"What if someone comes to you one day holding a green leaf and claiming it's the token you gave to Bao Ruanruan?"

"Sis, will you be able to tell if it's real or fake?"

[Hahaha, she has a point. A token does need to be unique; that's only logical.]

"Make a special anti-counterfeit mark that's unique to you, Sis."

Bao Ruanruan suggested earnestly.

"From now on, when we see the leaf, it'll be as if we're seeing the person."

Yang Xueni: "......!"

So, you're saying I'm basically a fallen leaf now??

"Think about it. Figure out a special mark that no one else can copy. I'm going to the restroom first."

"Third Brother, wait here for me. I'll be back soon."

As Bao Ruanruan spoke, she pulled a tissue from her pocket.

With her hands clasped behind her back, she looked around to both sides before walking towards the restroom on the right.

As soon as she started walking, she left the personal live broadcast camera's frame.

The No. 3 cameraman politely filmed her back figure as she walked away, briefly showing the entrance to the women's restroom, before pulling the camera back.

Had he kept filming, the viewers would have scolded him.

It would have been considered "dishonourable conduct".

However, the No. 3 cameraman was a dedicated professional.

Even though Bao Ruanruan had walked away, he didn't stop filming.

He gradually moved the camera to focus on Yang Xueni's face.

Yang Xueni was a famous actress who was extremely sensitive to cameras, so she noticed it immediately.

Her red lips instantly curved into a bright smile. "Hello, friends from Bao Ruanruan's live stream! I'm Xueni."

[Hahaha, hi Sis, but this isn't Bao Ruanruan's live stream.]

[This is actually Qu Feifei's live stream, hehe.]

[Sis, you got this! I enjoy watching your movies too.]

The comment section was bustling with chatter.

Yang Xueni even took a few steps closer to the camera.

Originally, she had been standing at least three or four metres away from Bao Ruanruan's cameraman.

Now, she walked right over, giving everyone a close-up view of her stunningly beautiful face.

Yang Xueni smiled. "There must be Bao Ruanruan's fans here. What I'm about to do, please don't be mad. It's all arranged by the production team."

[!]

[???]

[!!]

Yang Xueni held the green leaf in one hand and used the other to take a small white card out of her sportswear pocket.

——Ms Yang Xueni, you are the 16th mutated Man in Black. You are to hide among the escapees.

——When Twin Night arrives, follow the director's instructions: approach an escapee, pretend to pair up with them, and then, during the exchange of tokens, grab their arm and 'out' them!

[!!!]

[Ah, you black sesame rice tangyuan¹⁰, all white on the outside but black-hearted inside.]

[Oh my God, Bao Bao, run!]

[Wait, what about that life-saving contract you mentioned before?!]

"The director asked me to go after Bao Ruanruan. I have no choice." Yang Xueni sighed, looking like a beautiful damsel before the camera. "But I've watched some of Bao Ruanruan's previous variety shows and noticed that she always takes out a life-saving agreement whenever she wants to use one."

"Her backpack was confiscated earlier, so she probably didn't bring it with her this time."

[!]

[She did bring it, Sis!]

[It's right there, hidden in her shoe tongue!]

[Hahahahaha!]

Yang Xueni's beautiful eyes glinted. "If she brought it and used it on me, I'll just accept it. After all, this is the production team's arrangement, I *really have no choice."

She gave a long explanation.

She wanted the audience to understand why she was about to betray her ally, so she explained everything in detail.

——The director had approached her the night before, revealing that she was a Man in Black, and that her real teammates were those 15 Men in Black, so she was fighting for her own side too.

However, Yang Xueni's lips moved rapidly as she explained passionately to the No.3 cameraman's lens.

Meanwhile, on the livestream, a slender figure in camouflage could be seen quickly circling from the right rear… closing in!

[!]

[I… WTF!]

Bao Ruanruan, with a cautious expression, silently circled back without making a sound.

She positioned herself behind Yang Xueni's cameraman from four or five metres away.

Wearing gloves, she tiptoed up and covered his mouth.

[!]

Holding him with one hand, she leaned close to his neck and whispered:

"Shh."

Her personal live-streaming viewers were all stunned.

The barrage of comments froze for a moment.

They watched as Bao Ruanruan ordered the cameraman to be silent, then took the camera straight out of his hands.

She took it.

And walked off.

The cameraman froze for a moment.

Then he quickly spun around and hurried after her!

The camera was his livelihood. He could lose Yang Xueni.

But he absolutely couldn't lose his camera!

……

With her back to everything that was happening, Yang Xueni still smiled earnestly at Bao Ruanruan's No. 3 cameraman. "Cameraman bro, you can't tell her anything later. Don't say a word. Cameramen aren't supposed to break the game rules by telling contestants extra information, right?"

[……]

[......23333]

[......Are you sure you don't want the cameraman to say anything?!]

[Cameraman: "Okay, kiddo."]

The camera started shaking quickly.

It was apparent that the cameraman was struggling not to laugh.

Finally, Yang Xueni noticed something was off.

She turned around in surprise.

"Is something wrong?"

It would take her a moment before she realised what was going on.

Because behind her, there was just an empty space.

There was no one there.

No danger.

It wasn't until a breath later that Yang Xueni's startled cry echoed through the livestream.

"Where's my cameraman?!"

"Did he also go to the restroom?!"

The camera shook violently.

Then, the cameraman walked over and handed his phone to Yang Xueni.

There was a voice recording.

"It's a pity, sister. By the time you hear this recording, I've already been gone for a long time."

Bao Ruanruan's soft and tender voice came through the phone.

[Pfft hahaha!]

"This proves that, in the end, you still chose to betray me and target the helpless, can't-even-truss-a-chicken¹¹ Bao Ruanruan."

[Pfft pfft pfft——]

Yang Xueni's expression changed dramatically. "Impossible! How did she find out?"

Bao Ruanruan's recording continued, "Remember, 100 times of ‘I love you' messages broadcasted across all platforms as a confession to me, and handwrite the core socialist values ten times."

Yang Xueni was dumbfounded. "She didn't go to the restroom just now?"

She finally realised where the problem was.

She had been too hasty and exposed herself!

"Werewolf Xueni, I'll remember you. Goodbye!"

The recording ended.

The No. 3 cameraman shyly spoke into the camera, "Then, Teacher Xueni, I'll temporarily take over as your cameraman."

Yang Xueni: "!"

"She can just do that? We haven't even exchanged keepsakes——"

Before she could finish, she realised it.

She glared at the cameraman in front of her.

They had exchanged keepsakes after all.

Big and obvious.

With no duplicates.

Absolutely unique.

Even more foolproof than the leaf as an anti-counterfeit mark!

——It's the cameraman himself!

[Pfft, hahaha! This is too good. I'm outta here, sis.]

[Switching livestreams, girls! See you in Yang Xueni's stream~]

[Hahaha, Sister Xueni, see you next time!]

This livestream, which initially belonged to Qu Feifei, instantly lost over four million viewers at once.

Meanwhile, Bao Ruanruan's little camouflaged face had already appeared in Yang Xueni's personal livestream feed.

She was carrying the camera herself.

She found a spot to sit and even tried to chat with Yang Xueni's cameraman.

"Fourth Brother, what's your surname?"

[Pfft pfft pfft pfft! Fourth Brother has really appeared!]

[Bao Ruanruan, you're too much, seriously. When is Fifth Brother coming?]

[Same, I'm waiting for Fifth Brother now.]

"Fourth Brother's ignoring me. That's fine. I'll say hi to the Snowmen in the livestream first."

Bao Ruanruan waved her small hand at the camera.

"You all saw it."

"It was Sister Xueni who made the first move."

[Pfft!]

[Snowmen: ......]

The Snowmen were utterly speechless.

Only then did they realise that they had to switch livestream rooms again.

They wanted to go to Bao Ruanruan's livestream.

But the moment they switched over, they were dumbfounded.

[Why is Jiang Xu showing up in Bao Ruanruan's personal livestream?]

[?? Have I jumped to the wrong channel? Where's Sister Xueni?]

Some Jiang Xu fans from the original room, who knew what was going on, kindly explained:

[Are you Yang Xueni's Snowmen? You're in the wrong place. You should be in Jiang Xu's room. Bao Ruanruan swapped cameramen with him.]

[!!]

But they were still in the wrong place when they rushed over there.

They had no choice but to return to Yang Xueni's room to ask again.

[Check Lu Wenhao's room; maybe your sister will be there.]

[No, it should be Qu Feifei's room!]

[Wake up! It's Jiang Xu's room, isn't it?]

Snowmen: "?"

They were completely confused.

Which livestream room is it exactly?

[Stop arguing, I've kept track. Ruanruan was with Camera No. 3 just now, which belongs to Qu Feifei. No. 2 is Jiang Xu.]

[Oh right!]

[Snowmen, it's Qu Feifei's! Sorry for my earlier mistake, there are too many 1-2-3-4s, I got confused too!]

Snowmen: "......"

The Snowmen, dishevelled in the wind¹², shed tears like melting snow.

At the 20-minute mark,

Zhong Zeyuan's pursuit order echoed through every channel.

"Twin Night, pairing failed: Xiao Qi."

"Your location will be exposed to all Men in Black anytime between the 20th and 25th minute."

"Please be aware."

The live chat was about to send a wave of condolences and prayers for singer Xiao Qi.

But suddenly, Director Zhong Zeyuan's helpless voice rang out again.

"Forget everything I just said."

[?]

[??]

"All Men in Black, attention! An escapee is breaking out at Gate No. 1."

"Attention, all Men in Black——————"

"Proceed to provide reinforcements immediately! I repeat: proceed to Gate No. 1 immediately!"

[!!!]

A flood of exclamation marks appeared in the comments across every personal stream and the main livestream.

Author's Note:

Bao Ruanruan: Who wants to play with you for 90 minutes? I'm outta here, I'm outta here~

Footnotes Full List

"一头雾水" (yītóuwùshuǐ) is an idiom meaning utterly confused or clueless, like being lost in a fog.
西天的路" (xītiān de lù: Western Paradise road) is a humorous metaphor. In Chinese culture, "西天" (xītiān: Western Paradise) refers to the afterlife, often associated with death, so this line sarcastically implies she's sending him to his doom.
"收割" (shōugē) is gaming slang meaning to eliminate or take out a target efficiently, often used in competitive or battle games to refer to an easy kill.
It's this 🙏🏻 emoji.
"车相合一" (chē xiānghé yī: Chariot-Elephant merge) is a metaphor from Chinese chess (象棋 xiàngqí). In the game, "车" (chē: Chariot) and "相" (xiāng: Elephant) are pieces with distinct roles, but here it humorously implies two players (likely Qu Feifei and Lu Wenhao) have combined forces, blurring their roles, much like the "car" and "elephant" pieces working as one.
"红红火火恍恍惚惚 (hónghónghuǒhuǒ huǎnghuǎnghūhū)" is a playful internet meme phrase. "红红火火 (hónghónghuǒhuǒ)" (red hot) usually means booming or lively, while "恍恍惚惚 (huǎnghuǎnghūhū)" (dazed/confused) is about being spaced out or dazed. Together, they humorously describe someone doing things energetically without a clue, but in a chaotic and entertaining way.
"雨露均沾 (yǔlù jūn zhān)" is an idiom meaning "to share the blessings of rain and dew equally," often used sarcastically to describe the practice of giving everyone a fair but dull amount of attention, with no focus on the exciting parts.
"铜人阵 (tóng rénzhèn)" (Bronze Statue Formation) refers to a legendary formation of Shaolin bronze men and is used here metaphorically to describe an overwhelming, near-invincible force (the director's team of black-clad pursuers). It emphasises how formidable the director's control is, making it ludicrous to think she could "fight" him directly.
"大海捞针 (dàhǎilāozhēn)" (like fishing for a needle in the ocean) is an idiom meaning an almost impossible search.
黑芝麻汤圆 (hēi zhīmátāngyuán: black sesame tangyuan): A sweet dumpling with a white glutinous rice skin and black sesame filling. Here, it's a metaphor for someone who looks sweet and innocent on the outside but is scheming or treacherous inside.
"手无缚鸡之力" (shǒu wú fùjīzhīlì: can't even truss a chicken): An idiom meaning someone is so weak they don't have the strength to tie up a chicken.
"风中凌乱" (fēng zhōng língluàn: disheveled in the wind): A humorous internet phrase describing someone as mentally or emotionally in disarray.

きつね's Info Corner

The game mentioned in this chapter is based on a real TV show called 'Run for Money'. It was originally created by Fuji TV in Japan in 2004. Contestants are a mix of celebrities, including actors, singers, comedians, artists and athletes.