Chapter 8: Desert Trials and High Stakes

A few minutes later

Xu Hao stopped in front of several saxaul trees.

Where there’s greenery, water is never far away—that’s common sense.

Besides, this well was frequently used, so it couldn’t be too far from the planned shelter.

Moreover, the shelter had to be in a wind-protected area, free from shifting sands and red willows; clearly, the slightly elevated, flat ground facing the wind was the best choice.

And this spot was less than fifty meters from that flat area—a perfect distance.

Once he had the means, he’d even build an earthen wall around it, turning it into the quintessential Northwestern farmhouse retreat.

“Let’s get to it!”

Determined, Xu Hao wasted no time rolling up his sleeves and began digging at the saxaul trees.

Though he’d never specifically practiced wilderness survival, his basic knowledge told him that in the desert, work after eleven was out of the question.

And what about digging the well?

As a doctoral student specializing in ancient building restoration, such a task was a piece of cake.

After all, ancient architecture involved countless techniques—including those used in constructing and excavating old wells. With the right methods and a few labor-saving tools, drawing water in a single day was no problem.

Haishi, Tianchen Culture Headquarters Building

Meeting Room — Xu Chen and a group of directors from the company were glued to a large screen that broadcast live feeds of the ten challenge contestants in their respective areas.

“Xu, Xu Hao’s luck has really run out—he’s been stuck in the worst oasis. I doubt he’ll last much longer!”

Market Director Wang Wu couldn’t help but let out a wry chuckle as he watched Xu Hao begin to dig at those saxaul trees.

In his view,

Xu Hao’s failure to immediately cut trees and set up a shelter was a sure sign he was on the verge of quitting the challenge.

His current half-hearted digging was merely to avoid a complete loss of face.

“Him? I never expected him to last more than three days. What about the others? If he drops out, won’t they all quit in a few days?”

Xu Chen glanced at the data just delivered by the staff and rubbed his temples in frustration.

A couple of early withdrawals were normal, but if every contestant quit, something would be seriously wrong with the event.

“Others? Xu, I’m confident the rest are fine!”

Wang Wu replied, puzzled.

“Take a look at the latest data—the northwest region of Long Kingdom is predicted to experience a prolonged spell of heavy rain over the next fourteen days, right in our challenge area.”

“Continuous rain?”

Wang Wu was taken aback.

Although the climate in the northwest had grown a bit milder over recent years, such non-stop rain was still exceptionally rare.

But then again, Wang Wu reasoned, there wasn’t much to worry about. “Xu, the contestants have all brought waterproof tarps and sleeping bags, so their shelters should be able to fend off the downpour.”

“Rain aside, what about the temperature? In the desert, several days of rain could send nighttime temperatures plummeting below freezing—and once the rain starts, it’s hard to keep a fire going if the wood gets wet!”

Xu Chen leaned back in his chair.

That was his greatest worry.

Because this was a desert challenge, the contestants were scantily clothed, and hypothermia would be disastrous.

“This…”

Wang Wu’s tone turned grave.

“Xu, what now? The challenge has already started. Postponing until the rain stops isn’t an option.”

“Alright, notify all the contestants immediately. Inform them of the weather forecast for the next fourteen days so they can prepare—stock up on dry firewood as much as possible!”

After a long pause, Xu Chen sighed.

There didn’t appear to be a better solution at the moment; he could only hope these wilderness survival experts had their own tricks to stay warm.

“Got it, I’m on it!”

“Wait a minute—has the voting portal been set up?”

Just as Wang Wu turned to leave, Xu Chen suddenly remembered something and asked.

It turned out that to create buzz and draw viewers for the wilderness survival challenge, Tianchen Culture had organized an online voting event.

Every citizen could cast a vote for the contestant they believed had the best chance.

If the chosen contestant managed to survive a hundred days in the desert, Tianchen Culture would randomly select ten lucky viewers from the voters.

Each of those ten would receive a reward of 500,000.

“Xu, the portal is ready!”

Wang Wu nodded.

“Excellent. The voting portal will open officially at noon!”

“Understood!”

As the saying goes, amateurs watch the show while the insiders see the nuances.

By 11 AM, the official KuaiDou live stream had drawn six million viewers, setting a new record for wilderness survival challenge programs.

Interestingly, the live chat wasn’t filled with chatter about Xu Hao—instead, most comments revolved around the contestants’ shelters.

In their eyes, Xu Hao was already throwing in the towel; someone who wouldn’t even set up a shelter was hardly worth noticing. They speculated that tonight’s live stream would explode in views, and by tomorrow, his withdrawal would be officially announced.

“Is Lord Bei planning to build that triangular lean-to shelter?”

“At first glance, it looks like an A-frame! In this challenge, every contestant is constructing A-frame shelters—square ones can’t handle the Tengli Desert’s sandstorms.”

“But isn’t his progress a bit slow?”

“Heh, what can you do? Lord Bei and Hu Yang are taking their time. Hu Yang—what kind of tree is that? A thousand-year-old tree that just won’t budge! Look at Lord De and Matt; they went with dry willow, so their progress is much quicker! Especially Matt—he’s already set up the basic tripod. All he needs is to lay the waterproof tarp and secure the corners, and his shelter will be complete!”

“Using Hu Yang just wastes time. I’m not too worried about Lord Bei; with his strength, he could hold out for days even without a shelter.”

“Exactly! Didn’t you notice that while chopping, Lord Bei already made some impressive gains?”

“Huh? What did he manage to gather?”

“He snagged a hedgehog and a few desert scorpions—at least he’s secured tomorrow’s rations.”

“That good? Lord Bei truly lives up to his name!”

“Absolutely!”

As the live chat buzzed with comments, a colorful pop-up reignited the audience’s excitement.

“What? The official voting portal is now live?”

“Then what are we waiting for? Vote with your eyes closed if you must!”

The viewers already knew that even if they correctly predicted the successful contestant, the final pick would still be random—but in their eyes, this event was far more reliable than a lottery.

At least it was genuine!

“Who are you all planning to vote for?”

“Need I say more? Of course, choose between Lord Bei, Lord De, and Matt. As for the others… well, that’s up to you!”

“Really? That confident, huh?”

“No choice there!”

“In my opinion, don’t underestimate any contestant except Xu Hao. Take Zhu Qiang, for example—within just one morning, his shelter is nearly complete, and he’s already binding it with a waterproof tarp. What more does he need?”