Chapter 7: The Livestream Challenge

“I really thank you all!”

Hearing the urging voice from the communicator, Xu Hao’s heart raced with the fury of a man ready to fight, but he quickly composed himself and hoisted the bulky livestream setup, which looked more like a giant sound system, onto his back.

For this livestream, Tianchen Culture had invested in advanced, high-tech streaming equipment.

Once this device is placed within the designated zone, the production team can broadcast every angle of the contestants’ daily survival through satellite coverage.

All the livestream preparations were complete; the first of the ten contestants to position the device within the zone would see their survival challenge broadcast on the big screen.

Clomp, clomp! Though the equipment wasn’t overly heavy, slogging through the yellow sands felt like an insurmountable challenge.

For Xu Hao, half an hour was a significant ordeal—but for the other seasoned contestants, it was nothing more than a casual stroll. They handled the setup with the ease of wild bulls carrying a load.

“Challenge has begun!”

In a flash, within minutes, as the first split-screen broadcast began to reveal its images, the official livestream chatroom exploded with activity.

Perhaps it was the trending topic of surviving the wild or the effective promotion by Tianchen Culture—

At that moment,

the official livestream attracted over two million viewers, outnumbering even the audience during yesterday’s tool selection event.

“Hey? What happened to Lord Bei? Instead of foraging for food, he’s lugging an axe towards the oasis?”

Once viewers caught sight of Lord Bei’s actions, discussions erupted across the chat.

Fans of wilderness survival knew that Lord Bei was a daring contestant. Given his nature, one would expect him to dash off hunting for food—like desert scorpions and other nutrient sources—as soon as the challenge began.

But this time, he took the initiative to chop wood instead.

“Exactly!”

“This makes no sense!”

“Quiet down, everyone. There’s nothing baffling here. As expected, every contestant’s first task is to chop wood and build a shelter—and the sooner, the better!”

Amid the cacophony in the chatroom, some level-headed viewers began to share their thoughts.

“Hmm? But why?”

“What else is there? This isn’t a forest in the Arctic Circle or a tropical rainforest—it’s the arid, northwestern desert. In June, daytime temperatures can soar into the forties, while nighttime can drop to single digits or lower, not to mention the biting sandstorms.”

Therefore, if you have any sense, your first priority should be to build a sturdy shelter.

Otherwise, if you catch a chill, get sick, and can’t keep up, you’ll have to bow out of the challenge.

“But if you’re only building a shelter, what about food?”

“Food? First off, these contestants were well-fed yesterday and still have reserves in their system. Plus, the officials provided each one with a compressed biscuit and a bottle of mineral water, so there’s no need to hunt for food on day one.”

“That actually makes sense!”

“Exactly. Don’t believe me? Just wait—every other contestant is following the same plan.”

Sure enough, as time passed, other contestants began appearing on the split-screen, one after another, on the chat.

The second to appear was Lord De. In the eyes of the audience, he was a mix of daring and cautious; when facing the wild or deserted islands alone, he always demonstrated how to survive without any resources, especially excelling in desperate situations.

Just as expected, Lord De didn’t rush to hunt. Instead, he hoisted some wood and headed into the grove near the small lake.

The third to appear was Matt.

Being a conservative contestant by nature, Matt even sprinted into the woods.

Then came the fourth and fifth contestants. Within ten minutes, the split-screen nearly filled the chat. Unsurprisingly, nearly every contestant’s first move was to chop wood and erect a shelter.

However, many viewers soon noticed a problem.

“Wait a minute—what about the contestant named Xu Hao?”

“Exactly! Where’s this insider? Since he’s here just to ride the hype, he should have gone live immediately.”

“I even follow his private account!”

“Could it be that he got so spooked by the Tengli Desert environment that he bailed before even starting the challenge?”

“Who knows! That guy’s so pristine-looking, you’d think he’s never faced hardship.”

Fortunately, the chatter didn’t last long; soon Xu Hao’s figure flashed across the screen in the livestream.

But when viewers noticed his actions and the surrounding conditions, there was a brief moment of stunned silence before a flood of laughing emojis and ‘hahaha’ messages filled the chat.

One after another, the messages poured in—dense and rapid!

“Hahaha, this guy’s setup is ridiculously shabby!”

“Totally! The oasis where the other contestants are is really impressive—some even have a small lake of four or five hundred square meters, unlike Xu Hao’s which is barely five or six.”

“To be precise, it’s just a puddle!”

“And as for the woods, the others have lush, dense forests while his are sparse and dying, scattered haphazardly everywhere.”

“Judging by that, Xu Hao probably isn’t an insider. If he were, how else would he end up with such a lousy oasis?”

“Not necessarily; every contestant’s oasis is determined by a lottery. It just seems Xu Hao got the short end of the stick—a really unlucky draw.”

“Hey, what is he doing? Why hasn’t he gone to chop wood and build a shelter? Instead, he’s wandering around aimlessly with a shovel!”

“Who knows!”

“Could it be that he’s about to give up? After all, he doesn’t really have any wilderness survival experience, and being stuck with the worst oasis must have shattered his confidence.”

“That’s not out of the question!”

“Damn it! The rest of the contestants must have already started chopping wood and building shelters!”

Frowning in frustration and wiping sweat away, Xu Hao glanced at the sky, where the blazing sun was already half visible.

Despite his discontent, he had never been the type to give up simply because his oasis wasn’t ideal. With tremendous effort, he positioned the livestream equipment in the designated area and began his own survival plan.

While building a shelter was important, his immediate priority was to secure a stable, reliable water source.

The small puddle was surrounded by sparse mud, making it too risky to approach for water. Besides, the water there was probably undrinkable.

Thus,

the only way to obtain a stable water supply was to dig a well! The bottom of the sandy depression was fairly flat, and the surrounding area was dotted with withered reeds, proving that the former small lake was no minor body of water.

So, as long as he dug in an area with greenery on the outskirts, he wouldn’t have to dig very deep before water emerged.

As for the shelter?

He’d manage something for the night and deal with the shelter and food issues tomorrow.

“Where should I dig?”

After wandering for several minutes, glancing east and west and gesturing about, Xu Hao finally broke into a satisfied smile as his gaze settled on a few scattered camel thorn trees in the distance.

“That spot looks perfect!”

Muttering to himself, Xu Hao grabbed his shovel and headed that way.