Chapter 54: Unexpected Shifts at Tianchen Culture Headquarters

This is your room card. Please keep it safe!

Two minutes later, the check-in procedure will be complete.

“Thank you!”

Taking the room card, Han Xiaoqing moved toward the elevator with her luggage.

“What’s going on? Is there a major event at Mingsha County in Wei City? This is the third beautiful guest heading to Mingsha County today! And we’ve received loads of inquiries about that area lately.”

As Han Xiaoqing stepped into the elevator, the check-in agent turned to a colleague with a puzzled look.

“It must be the Tengli Desert in Mingsha County. I heard there’s some wilderness survival challenge going on!”

After a brief pause, her colleague responded.

“But that survival challenge ended long ago. This time, a new round is underway in Ning’an. Logically, these tourists should be heading there!”

Yet, the number of visitors over the past couple days has even exceeded those during the Mingsha County event.

The agent shook her head.

Being a native of Wei City, she happened to know a bit about these challenges.

“I really don’t know!”

“That’s odd!”

As the moon set and the sun rose, a new day began right on schedule, unmoved by the joys and sorrows of ordinary people.

At the Tianchen Culture Headquarters in Haishi, Yang Yuan answered a call with a resigned expression. The conversation outside was so loud that it could be clearly heard at the doorway: “Yang, your wilderness survival event has started, yet visitor numbers remain stagnant—no different from last year!”

“Qi, hold on! Nothing happens overnight!”

Yang Yuan took a deep breath.

The call was from Qi Haoyong, chairman of Ning’an Culture and Tourism Group.

“Overnight? You at Tianchen Culture hyped this event for days. Still, you complain there wasn’t enough build-up?”

Discontent dripped from Qi Haoyong’s tone.

For this wilderness survival challenge, Ning’an Culture and Tourism Group spared no expense—pre-burying tools and releasing prey like pheasants, rabbits, and even camels—but the tourist turnout fell far short of expectations.

“Qi, you don’t understand everything! Over in Mingsha County, there’s a real troublemaker. After his previous antics and building a log cabin, he recently partnered with a small company to launch a quirky homestay project. Along with our seed players still working on their log cabins, the whole survival challenge has underperformed.”

But don’t worry—

Once our challenge contestants start building pavilions, we’ll catch up and regain the buzz!

Yang Yuan continued his explanation.

Tianchen Culture used to be a strong A-side, but ever since foreign challengers refused to join a second round, we’ve been on the back foot.

“Oh, I see!”

Qi Haoyong paused for a moment.

“Right then. Qi, rest assured. Everything is under Tianchen Culture’s control. Worst case, our wager period lasts three months. If by then visitor numbers don’t hit the target, not a penny of our 20 million wager will be spared.”

Yang Yuan’s words served to reassure both Qi and himself.

“Then have your host start building the pavilion right away,”

“No problem.”

Within moments, the call ended with a series of beeps from Qi Haoyong’s phone.

“Twenty million in penalty fees…”

After hanging up, Yang Yuan leaned back in his chair and massaged his temples.

Tianchen Culture has a strong foundation, yet projects launched under its management not only yield no profit but sometimes even incur losses of tens of millions—there’s simply no way to account for this to the board.

After a long pause, Yang Yuan dialed another number. Soon, Liu Qing arrived at the office.

“Yang, did you need me?”

Liu Qing asked softly.

“Yes. Any update from Xu Hao’s side?”

Yang Yuan looked up at Liu Qing.

“Since yesterday evening’s live broadcast, Xu Hao hasn’t gone live again. Based on his promise to his fans, he should be busy preparing wood for a pavilion right now.”

“Oh? Is Xu Hao starting his pavilion tomorrow?”

“It’s more likely the day after tomorrow or even later. Many fans who came for the spectacle haven’t arrived yet; tomorrow would be unlikely.”

Liu Qing mused for a moment before speaking.

“The day after tomorrow? When is Zhang Chi planning to start his pavilion?”

“Well, it’ll probably take another three or four days. He just began his challenge today with the log cabin.”

“A log cabin? Forget it—the log cabin has lost its appeal. Tell the staff to inform Zhang Chi at the Shelter: just set up a simple lean-to and start on the pavilion immediately. We need to be flexible!”

Yang Yuan pounded his desk in discontent.

If the audience isn’t interested in log cabins, why build one? It would only give Xu Hao’s fans more reason to mock and stir up trouble. “So you’re saying we should get ahead of the game?”

“Exactly!”

“Right. Once Zhang Chi’s pavilion is up first, Xu Hao’s will lose its charm.”

Liu Qing nodded in strong agreement.

“Then what are we waiting for? Get moving!”

“Yes, Yang.”

At eleven in the morning, under a blazing sun,

in a corner of the desert in Ning’an, Zhang Chi was sheltering beneath a poplar tree in an oasis while engaging endlessly with his live audience.

Although this challenge was clearly imitating Xu Hao’s, Tianchen Culture still wouldn’t assign Zhang Chi locations like Challenge Zone No.7, the small lake, or the oasis, even though the area was quite spacious.

For food, he had an identical setup to Xu Hao’s; Zhang Chi easily secured several jumping rabbits and some wild onions, sand grains, pre-prepared by the Production Team.

“Guys, don’t just chat—send some little gifts! Live forever at ninety-nine!”

While interacting, Zhang Chi actively coaxed the viewers to send gifts.

His streaming style was typical of live hosts—everything revolved around receiving gifts and selling products.

To be honest, Zhang Chi wasn’t satisfied with the current viewer count.

He’d expected that mixing a wilderness challenge with Tianchen Culture’s promotion would double his fan base, but the numbers barely increased by three or four thousand.

“Tiezi, the gifts are good, but when will your log cabin be done?”

An old fan inquired.

“Log cabin? Forget it!”

Zhang Chi waved his hand dismissively.

“Forget it? Then why not?”

Many fans expressed their confusion.

“What else? Ever since yesterday, trolls have flooded the chat, saying we’re just rehashing what Xu Hao did. So, I’m switching to a pavilion to show them that if Xu Hao can pull it off, so can I.”

Instinctively, Zhang Chi glanced at the distant Shaji.

Over there, the Production Team had pre-buried nails, wood glue, and other components. If preparations started by this evening and they managed to get help tonight, the pavilion could be completed by tomorrow or the next day.

“Exactly! I support you, Tiezi!”

“Absolutely. I’m all for getting the pavilion up first!”

“Tiezi, make sure you beat Xu Hao to it so we can all get back at his live stream!”

Zhang Chi’s die-hard fans, who filled the chat, instantly rallied behind him.

“Don’t worry, everyone. I, Zhang Chi, won’t let you down! Once the pavilion is up, please share it everywhere!”

Zhang Chi declared confidently.

“Tiezi, rest assured—we’ll spread the word,”

“Then what are we waiting for? Start sending those gifts!”