Chapter 4: Desert Survival: High Stakes and Unusual Choices

Meanwhile

Inside the rapidly distancing top-tier luxury car

The lawyer glanced at a document from the Yun Country Notary and looked at Xu Chen with worry. “Mr. Xu, isn’t five years too long? I hear that Old Six’s assets have dwindled to just two hundred bucks. Does the Chairman really believe Old Six can pull off a challenge to scoop up five million cash?”

“Win the challenge? It’d be a miracle if Old Six could last two or three days!”

Xu Chen immediately shook his head.

“Then how is Old Six supposed to live from now on? That desert is now his, but it’s completely worthless for development! Besides, the desert has been expanding at an alarming rate lately—

the villagers in the nearby communities, who’ve lived there for decades, are barely hanging on!

Not to mention him.”

The lawyer looked puzzled.

He recalled that when he went to negotiate for the desert with the local authorities, they nearly burst with happiness—granting him a clear green light all the way.

Nobody expected that a desert, notorious for being a headache, could actually bolster the local treasury.

“There’s no helping it. The old man is truly furious this time. He wants Old Six to learn how tough society really is, and that without the Xu Family, he’d be stuck in place!

It’s the only way Old Six will eventually fall in line with the family’s plans.”

“Besides, this desert is now his private property while none of the other heirs even get that chance!”

“As for how he’ll manage his life next…”

“He’ll have to figure it out on his own. Even if he resorts to scavenging, the Xu Group isn’t coming to his aid!”

After a pause, Xu Chen picked up his titanium phone and posted a message in the family chat: “Old Six, all the necessary documents have been signed. Now go notify the management in your respective companies.”

As the moon set and the sun rose, it was suddenly 10 AM the next day. In Yun Country, many people at work weren’t too shy about sneaking in some downtime—hiding in corners, slipping on wireless headphones, and tuning into KuaiDou’s live stream.

They were watching Tianchen Culture’s broadcast live from the KuaiDou studio.

Although the stream had barely begun, the viewer count had already soared past a million, with chat messages flooding the screen nonstop.

“Have the challenge contestants stepped out yet?”

“They just did!”

“I can’t believe even Lord Bei and Lord De have joined this desert survival challenge!”

“Lord Bei is known as a man at the top of the food chain! And Lord De, dubbed the modern Robinson Crusoe—they’ve seen every kind of scenario. This challenge should be a breeze for them, right?”

“No! You’re completely off base!”

“This survival challenge is anything but easy. Sure, I’d believe a hundred-day survival on a deserted island or in a rainforest, but a desert? Finding food and shelter from relentless sandstorms is a real struggle.”

“Doesn’t that make it all the more fascinating?”

“Otherwise, why would millions be watching?”

“Oh my god, Matt is here too! Known as the Child of Nature, his survival skills are legendary.”

“These three should be the top picks for the challenge!”

“Not so fast. Besides Matt, there’s Cody, Josie, Mike, and an Aussie bloke—a motley crew of survival experts. Who knows who’ll last until the end?”

“Hey, there are two contestants from the Long Kingdom!”

“I know one of them—his name is Zhu Qiang, a pretty solid competitor. But the other? His card says Xu Hao, and I’ve never heard of him in the wilderness circuit!”

“Let me look him up!”

“No need. If Tianchen Culture picked him, he can’t be that weak.”

Whether it’s the oppressive city life or mankind’s primal yearning for nature, within less than half an hour the live viewership had climbed to five million—and still rising.

At the event site, the ten contestants began choosing their tools.

According to the rules,

each contestant, besides the three basic supplies officially provided—a 100-day supply of salt, compressed biscuits for the first day, and a bottle of mineral water—may select an additional ten tools from a list provided by the organizers.

“I choose a machete, waterproof tarp, sleeping bag, fish hook and line, a 50-meter trap rope, axe, bow and arrows, a roll of cling film, and a slate.”

Before long, Lord Bei was the first to announce his selection.

Unsurprisingly,

the live chat exploded when the audience saw Lord Bei’s choices.

“What’s going on? Lord Bei didn’t pick a pot or a firestone!”

“Calm down. For Lord Bei, that’s perfectly normal. He’s never used a pot when cooking, and starting a fire with friction is second nature to him!”

“Even if that makes sense, why opt for a fish hook and line? And what’s with the slate—what good is that?”

“I heard that the drop zone for these ten contestants is by an oasis in Tengli Desert. These oases usually feature a small lake, maybe full of fish. And that slate might just serve as his pot!”

“Exactly!”

And so, amid the chatter, the other frontrunners—Lord De, Matt, and the rest—made very similar choices, differing only slightly by forgoing the pot and firestone.

Then the camera shifted. When every viewer saw the tools chosen by the final contestant, Xu Hao, everyone was stunned—even the staff on site could hardly believe their eyes.

No explanation was needed,

simply because the clean-cut youth had chosen a large shovel, an axe, a saw, a plane, a file, a hand chisel, a firestone, a cooking pot, a waterproof tarp, and a bundle of rope.

This bizarre toolset looked nothing like standard survival gear—it resembled more the kit of a carpenter heading out to work.

“Mr. Xu Hao, are you sure about these choices? Once selected, you can’t change them!”

On stage,

an attentive staff member couldn’t help but remind him.

The other contestants exchanged bewildered glances at Xu Hao.

“Yes!”

In front of the camera, Xu Hao nodded once more.

Indeed, these were the tools he settled on after a long night of deliberation.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to choose more useful items like fish line and hooks or a bow and arrows—he simply had no clue about fishing or archery, so they’d be of no use to him.

“Alright! Since Mr. Xu Hao has finalized his choices, let’s have each contestant step forward and draw their landing zone number. We’ve marked ten oases, each numbered for this challenge.”

Onstage, noticing Xu Hao’s nod, the elegant staff member refrained from further comment and promptly moved on to the next activity.

Meanwhile, the live chat exploded with criticism: “This is ridiculous! Xu Hao doesn’t even have basic survival sense.”

“Exactly. Without a bow and arrows, how is he supposed to hunt?”

“And what about the cling film? In the blistering desert heat, if you don’t wrap your catch and bury it in the sand, it’ll spoil in two days.”

“A large shovel, saw, plane, file, and hand chisel? Is he just trying to get attention?”

“I’m about to dig up his background right now.”

“Heh, I bet he’s even less capable than I am!”