Chapter 36: Desert Trials and Corporate Woes

It’s a pity that viewers remain mere onlookers, unable to truly feel the chill of the desert—especially that eerie sensation of rain and wind seeping into the Shelter at night.

The next day, although the rain was much lighter than on the first, it still wouldn’t let up. By 8 p.m., even the highly regarded Qiao Te Ti had thrown in the towel. A former special forces soldier who once partnered with Matt, he too fell by early evening.

At that point, only six of the ten contestants remained.

On the third day, the rain in the Tengli Desert eased noticeably. It was now intermittent—sometimes stopping, sometimes resuming.

Many viewers assumed things would ease up for the contestants, but the real hardship was just beginning. Mike and Aussie Bloke had to bow out after catching colds from the biting cold.

These two were true experts, yet reality is unforgiving—past prowess offers no extra mercy.

“Only four remain!”

“No kidding. Things are looking grim.”

“I just took a glance at Lord De’s condition; he seems much worse than yesterday.”

“Right now, only Xu Hao appears unaffected. I even saw him taking a stroll with Zhu Qiang a while ago.”

“Hmph, with a log cabin and charcoal at his disposal, how could he be fazed?”

“I should’ve voted for him from the start—but alas, the voting window has closed.”

“You said it!”

On the fourth day, the conditions in the Tengli Desert were similar to the second day, with a light rain that simply wouldn’t stop.

At noon that day, one of the three top contestants, Matt, announced his withdrawal from the challenge.

He claimed that all the firewood stored in the Shelter had been burned up and, showing signs of a cold, he pulled out for his own safety.

Matt’s fans were quick to voice their disbelief.

But reality remains unyielding.

On the fifth day, the weather held steady, and the remaining contestants managed to endure.

On the sixth day, the Tengli Desert still saw light rain—though much less than the day before.

It looked like another calm day until early evening, when one of the Wild Gods, Lord De, declared his withdrawal.

His excuse? A shortage of stored food—continuous rain had made it impossible to forage, forcing him to call for rescue.

By the seventh day, conditions in the Tengli Desert had improved slightly. Drizzles still fell occasionally, but not in a soaking barrage. Only the increasingly bitter desert winds persisted.

Just as many viewers believed the renowned Lord Bei had weathered the worst and might continue, at noon…

Lord Bei too placed a rescue call.

Trouble sure comes in threes.

His Shelter hit a snag—the rain had soaked the dwindling firewood, leaving no dry fuel, forcing his exit! Now, only Xu Hao stood as the sole competitor.

With Lord Bei’s withdrawal, the official live stream erupted into chaos.

“What the heck? How couldn’t Lord Bei hold on?”

“I think he got complacent!”

“If only he had built his Shelter a bit better, maybe he could’ve kept going.”

“No way. Building a Shelter has never been his strong suit—his talent lies in scavenging for food and navigating harsh terrain.”

“That leaves only Xu Hao now!”

“A lone survivor!”

“What’s he up to now?”

“Don’t even mention Xu Hao. Just his name gets on my nerves.”

“Why?”

“This guy’s been living the high life these past two days, as energetic as ever, completely unaffected. And if that wasn’t enough, he even squeezed in time to craft two straw capes and was out with Zhu Qiang digging for steps—planning to repair his octagonal pavilion once the skies cleared.”

“That impressive?”

“You bet. In the rain, he even took a break to feed two wild chickens with sand grains. Infuriating, isn’t it?”

“Haha, that’s nothing. Wait till you hear the next part.”

“What did he do next?”

“After days of light rain, small green sprouts mysteriously appeared behind his log cabin. Even the fence he built started sprouting Dry Willow—they were coming back to life!”

“Just those grass lattices?”

Some viewers flooded the chat with incredulous emojis after seeing that comment.

“Aye!”

“Why?”

“What else? When Xu Hao set up the grass lattice, he essentially buried all the seeds in the sand. With several days of rain, sprouting was inevitable.”

“And the fence?”

“That fence was probably buried too deep—the wooden stakes were placed in the loess. After seven days of rain, sprouting is only natural.”

“I really wonder if this guy is just lucky or genuinely skilled.”

“Hey, is he streaming his progress live over there?”

“Seems like he’ll go live this afternoon. He’s busy constructing wooden steps right now.”

“Then I’ll check it out later. If that area turns green combined with his log cabin, it should have a unique charm.”

“I’m coming too.”

Sharp-eyed viewers in the live stream noted that Xu Hao’s desert area was becoming increasingly livable, though Tianchen Culture was too busy to monitor his progress.

“What? Giving up on the challenge?”

In the CEO’s office, Yang Yuan looked at Liu Qing, his face filled with astonishment.

“Yeah! Matt and Lord De have already headed to Su Province International Airport, and just now Lord Bei’s team called to say they booked return flights for the day after tomorrow.”

Liu Qing wouldn’t even dare to meet Yang Yuan’s gaze.

Though Lord Bei, Matt, and the others lasted longer than anticipated, overall, the situation was still under control—until complications arose just as they were about to communicate the next steps.

“Why? Don’t they want to pocket the five million bonus?”

Yang Yuan leaned in so close his face nearly touched Liu Qing’s.

“Their team said surviving 100 days in the desert was nearly impossible, with success so unlikely that they’d never try again in the future.”

Liu Qing explained in a hushed tone.

“But can it really be the same? This time, they faced extreme weather. When they take on Ning’an next time, there won’t be such issues.”

“Yang Yuan, I’ve already explained it to their team.”

“And then?”

Yang Yuan’s voice rose to a near roar.

The contracts for the second challenge with Tianchen Culture and Ning’an Culture and Tourism Group had been signed. And now they’re telling him this?

“They claim that even without non-stop rain, a successful challenge is impossible due to the severe lack of food! And they also said…”

Liu Qing’s head dropped lower and lower, almost to her chest.

“And what else did they say?”

“They mentioned that while challenging in the wild, they observed several large animals leaving the area, suspecting we’d cleared it in advance.”

“This!”

Yang Yuan was instantly stunned.

That’s right. After taking over Tianchen Culture, he was the first to issue the drone clearing order. He believed everything was flawless, yet they still uncovered traces of it.

“Yang Yuan, what now? These foreign contestants are set in their ways. They’ll never collaborate with Tianchen Culture again.”