14: Courage training task

Back in the room, Chen Fang closed the doors and windows tightly, pulled out an electric mosquito swatter from his suitcase, and transformed into a Thor-like Tennis Prince.

After a series of crackling, electrifying sweeps, he lay on the bed with his legs crossed and opened the system.

Over the past 10 days, plus today's show premiere, the total negative emotion value in the system had soared to 212,100.

Besides the lottery, the system also had a mall, but skills cost millions, so for now, the lottery was more suitable for him.

Chen Fang hesitated for a moment, then decided to spend 100,000 to draw 10 times, leaving 112,100.

“System, give me a ten-pull!”

As soon as his voice fell, a series of electronic sounds echoed in his mind—

[Thank you for your patronage]

[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained 1 Pill of Thousand Cups No Drunk! Drink your fill, even if you drink yourself to death, you’ll be able to die with a clear mind!]

[Thank you for your patronage]

[Thank you for your patronage]

After five more “Thank you for your patronage” messages, Chen Fang’s face darkened. Could it stop displaying such disheartening messages?

Finally, the last draw brought up a gift package.

[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained a Five-Choice Food-Themed Music Gift Package.]

Chen Fang frowned slightly.

Food-themed? What use was that?

[Includes musical scores, lyrics, arrangement information, etc. Please select one from the following five works.]

[1. “Cotton Candy”]

[2. “one meat and one vegetable”]

[3. “Onion”]

[4. “Bo Bo Chicken”]

[5. “Sugar”]

Chen Fang breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, only “Bo Bo Chicken” was truly about food; the others had themes that could evoke empathy from the audience.

First, rule out “Bo Bo Chicken.”

Among the remaining four songs, “Cotton Candy,” “Onion,” and “Sugar” were all love songs.

A wise man does not fall into a river of love; he was already drowning, so why would he need love songs? All love songs were excluded for now!

The peach blossom tree could die for a while; please let the money tree bloom first, thank you.

The last song, “one meat and one vegetable,” was a song of remembrance for a deceased loved one. It was originally written for a deceased mother.

In his previous life, his parents died in a car accident when he was two years old.

In this life, his parents were alive and well, working as teachers in the Faculty of Arts at a university. Their names and photos from their youth were identical to the photos of his parents from his previous life, as if he had regained something lost.

He was excited but also scared. Having been in this world for 10 days, he only dared to talk to them through chat software. Firstly, he didn't know how to face them, and secondly, if they met or video-called, he might break down and make them worry. It was better to adapt for a few more days before contacting them.

Chen Fang took a deep breath and collected his thoughts.

Although his parents were alive, he could claim externally that this song was written for his grandmother.

There was a cemetery on the mountain behind Qingtan Village. If they passed by, he could sing a song there, making the audience cry a storm and racking up a wave of negative emotion points.

That settled it.

Chen Fang selected the music, and the music gift package for “one meat and one vegetable” appeared in his backpack.

Clicking “Extract,” the lyrics, musical score, and arrangement information flooded into his mind.

Estimating the room's soundproofing was good, Chen Fang turned off the lights, sat by the bed, looked at the moonlight outside the window, and softly practiced humming the song.

“Moon is bright, wind is light, have you ever visited my dreams…”

Along with the singing, the atmosphere in the room gradually quieted down.

Outside, the night deepened.

The show crew members successively fell asleep.

...

The next day, everyone walked around and chatted with the locals.

The show crew quickly uploaded last night’s recording online, promoting tonight’s courage challenge.

The day quickly passed, and night fell at 7:50 PM.

The crew, after a day and a half, started live streaming again.

Because of effective daytime promotion and the appealing gimmick of “celebrities entering the deep mountains late at night to test their courage for corpse driving,” 150,000 people poured into the live stream as soon as it began.

The host, He Xing, stood under a yellow light, finished his opening remarks to the camera, and walked up to Chen Fang and the other three with a bucket of bamboo sticks. “Please, the four of you, draw lots for grouping. We will form two pairs and proceed along two different mountain paths to the target location.”

The four raised their hands to draw lots.

Zhao Jin picked one up and saw a large “Two” written on it. She glanced at Pan Pengpeng’s slip of paper, saw the “One” on it, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Pan Pengpeng was a green flashlight. Two green lights swaying in the woods looked like a pair of glowing eyes, which was quite scary.

Zhao Jin glanced to her right. Chen Fang’s hand held a “Two,” and her eyes lit up.

The biggest white flashlight! Oh my, she was going to win by just lying down, wasn't she?

The audience in the live stream, following the camera, saw the slips of paper in the hands of the four.

[Ah? Chen Fang grouped with a girl, isn’t that inappropriate?]

[He wouldn’t do anything to Zhao Jin halfway, would he?]

[How come Zhao Jin looks quite happy? Does she like scumbags? Wake up, sister! This kind of scumbag says he loves you, but he has a whole neighborhood in his heart!]

[Chen Fang’s haters are sick, aren’t they?! What can he do in front of the camera? Are Zhao Jin’s fans also crazy? Spreading rumors about their own idol?]

[Stop arguing, I came to see corpse driving, to see the horror atmosphere. Why are the bullet comments spewing out like they’ve had an enema?]

[Exactly, can’t you just watch the content properly?]

At the scene, Chen Fang took the route card for the second group from the host.

The mission route for the second group was—

1. Pass through the cornfield and you will find a dilapidated stilt house that has been abandoned for many years.

2. Go around to the back and pass through a gloomy forest.

3. Arrive at a large cemetery, find the highest tombstone, and pick the phoenix tree leaf placed on the tombstone by the Old Master.

He Xing held the microphone. “Next, we will split into two live streams to continue broadcasting for everyone. Let’s count down 3 seconds to begin this mysterious adventure. Three, two, one. Go!”

After the four guests waved to the camera, they immediately set off.

Chen Fang and Zhao Jin, accompanied by two cameramen, walked towards the cornfield.

Although they only had one live stream screen, considering they would be climbing mountains in the pitch-black night, the show crew arranged for two cameramen to follow them and take turns responsible for the live stream.

Chen Fang followed the winding, narrow stone path, passing by mud-roofed wooden houses, until he reached the village entrance, where a cornfield appeared before him.

The recently planted corn had sprouted tender green shoots. The air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and trees.

Outside the village, without the illumination of streetlights, and with cloudy weather, the dirt road ahead was pitch black.

Zhao Jin pulled out her flashlight, turned it on, and a faint green light illuminated the path ahead. The light effect was limited, only illuminating a width of about three meters.

Zhao Jin slightly turned her head and saw Chen Fang pulling out a flashlight from his backpack, and her lips couldn’t help but curve upwards.

Her luck was really good today, being grouped with the holder of the brightest white flashlight! She was truly going to win by just lying down.

Just as she thought this, she saw Chen Fang press the flashlight, and a weaker circle of green light appeared on the road.

Zhao Jin’s smile instantly stiffened a bit. “The... the flashlight was given to the wrong person?”

“I swapped with Pan Pengpeng. Are you scared?”

“Haha, no, of course not.” Zhao Jin forced a smile. But looking at the faint green light on the ground, and hearing occasional rustling sounds, she couldn’t help but shiver. After all, there was a cemetery on the mountain.

In the live stream, the screen was pitch black, with only two green lights illuminating the path.

The scattered light shone on Chen Fang and Zhao Jin’s faces, making both their figures glow green.

[The show crew is so mean, hahaha.]

[I just came to see Chen Fang scared.]

[Whether he’s scared or not, I don’t know. But I’m truly scared.]

[Me too! He’s weak-willed, will he be so scared that he hides behind Zhao Jin?]

The two passed through the cornfield. The sky was overcast, blocking the moonlight, and only a faint green light remained on the path.

Zhao Jin surveyed the pitch-black surroundings, couldn’t help but hug her arms, and casually chatted in a relaxed tone: “Brother Chen, there are no ghosts in the world, this is a materialistic world, right?”

Chen Fang chuckled, “It would be good if there were. Find a group of Taoist priests, get a talisman, drag the ghosts to a factory, you don’t even need to pay them five insurances and one housing fund, let them work 24 hours a day. The more they work, the heavier their resentment, and the heavier their resentment, the more they can work, automatically upgrading the industrial chain, right?”