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Chapter 314: 311: Preventing Theft
Chapter 314: 311: Preventing Theft
Chapter 314: Chapter 311: Preventing Theft
Sunshine bathed the plains, and the wind grazed the earth, waving through thousands upon thousands of small yellow flowers that concealed the naked brown soil left bare after the heavy winter snows had melted.
The wilderness was vast, as if blanketed with a layer of golden sunlight.
“Spring is here,”
Bi Fang stood on the field, and the air rushed into his nose, so fragrant that he knew without looking that in front of him was certainly a vast expanse of lush green.
From February to March, everyone witnessed the Rocky Mountains welcoming spring through drones, watching as the colors of the land transformed time and again.
The wind brought moisture and warmth from the Pacific Ocean, the snowline on the mountains continuously rose, the huge ice armor cracked, and the cracks flowed with snowmelt, sweet as honey.
The long-silent earth was again exposed under the sun, breathing fresh air to its content, and tender grass squeezed out of the ground, like emerald green spring water gushing from deep within the earth, spilling over the undulating wilderness all the way to the horizon.
The first to bloom were the spring flowers.
Their vitality was so strong, they scattered like wild grass across the entire world, planting their own flags in every corner of the Earth.
They grew prostrate on the ground, sprouting branches from the leaf axils, producing long flower stems, and blooming with soft yellow five-petal flowers. The tide of soft yellow blossoms overcame the green of the wild grass, stretching endlessly to the sky, forming a huge, boundless flower meadow.
Full of life and vigor.
Even the viewers felt joy in their hearts, in modern society, how many have the opportunity to be this close to nature and to spring?
In these ten or so days, such a change truly made one feel the existence of “spring,” rather than it being just a concept in a book, or a hurried glimpse during a tense weekend.
Worse yet, for those without even a weekend off…
A true genesis from nothing.
“There’s only half an hour left.”
Bi Fang rolled up his sleeves, revealing the contest-standard watch, which now displayed a countdown that had gone from the initial 299:59:59 to the current 000:31:12.
“Has Mugalen arrived?”
“He’s already on his way.”
Pondy pointed to a tiny figure in the distance, draped in a vast bear skin, with a massive bear head resting on Mugalen’s own head—if one didn’t look closely, they might actually believe a brown bear was approaching.
And one wouldn’t want to be mistaken for a real bear and get shot.
Poachers were not rare these days; a bear’s worth was far beyond one hundred thousand Ugly Gold, and walking in the forest in a bearskin could accidentally lead to getting shot.
From afar, Mugalen also spotted the helicopter parked by the road, and raising his thumb at the drone’s camera, he shouted toward Bi Fang and the others.
“Am I the first one?”
Bi Fang nodded with a smile, “If no miracles happen in the remaining half hour, then indeed you are.”
“Ha!”
Mugalen laughed loudly, utterly pleased with the outcome.
But with half an hour still to go before the program officially ended, he wasn’t in a hurry, settling himself naturally onto the helicopter, dropping onto the seat and rocking it back and forth as he exhaled a long breath.
Damn, it’s comfortable here; he’s going to be a commentator from now on.
Half an hour later, the miracle ultimately did not occur; Ava and Lisa were nearly a hundred kilometers away from human settlements, failing to cross over.
The production team sent out helicopters to pick up each contestant one by one, discussing the final award ceremony process.
Bi Fang and the other judges discussed together, first and second place were undoubtedly Mugalen and Ji Zuodong, but the third…
Who should it go to?
The judges had a dispute—between Avrilisa and the guy who survived in the Wilderness for twelve days, who should take third place?
After all, crossing is harder than staying in one place to survive. Even though they didn’t succeed, Ava and Lisa are women, who are naturally physically weaker, so they should be given extra care. It’s only fair to relax the standards a bit for them…
“Alright, Aojinka third!”
The judges were noisy and contentious, Bi Fang grew frustrated listening and directly settled on the third place.
“Ah, this…”
The judges looked at each other in dismay. Those who supported Aojinka were naturally happy, while those who didn’t felt as if they were choked with discomfort. They had listed so many conditions, yet the other side didn’t even glance at them.
Bi Fang scorned with a curl of his lip, thinking these Ugly Country People judges must have been brainwashed.
A failure was a failure; there weren’t that many reasons to it.
He absolutely respected Ava and Lisa for their will and ability. Women’s natural conditions are indeed weaker, but if that becomes a reason to skew fairness, then that is the truest form of disrespect.
What real strong woman would need your pity?
As for these judges, if Lisa came over, one punch would turn them into whining creatures.
And this wasn’t fair to Aojinka either. He had gotten the win on his own merit, indeed persevering for twelve days, catching small game continuously—clear evidence of his true skills. He knew how to find animal tracks, his shelter was solid and colorful, he even constructed fences, indeed very impressive.
Jerret naturally had no objections to this decision. When he previously invited Bi Fang over, he had made it clear that Bi Fang was the chief judge with the final say, while the others had only a voice for suggestions.
Disagree?
Sure, go and bring over a black bear first, then talk. If you can’t, just hold it in.
Seeing that no one else had any objections, Bi Fang came over to Mugalen, grabbed his hand, and lifted it up high.
“Then let’s congratulate Mr. Mugalen Abufus Viller, our champion! The king who conquered the Rocky Mountains, the brave man who hunted brown bears!”
The staff immediately brought the trophy over, engraved with Mugalen’s full name, along with a large check.
Mugalen cared nothing for the fancy trophy; he was there for the one hundred thousand Ugly Gold, but when he took the check, it wasn’t for one hundred thousand, it was a full six hundred thousand!
The audience almost stopped breathing when they saw it—six hundred thousand?
Isn’t that nearly four million Red Tickets?
Holy smokes!
Mugalen was stunned, wondering if the show’s crew had made a mistake.
Jerret, meanwhile, explained with a smile, “Actually, it was Bi Fang’s idea. He felt that one hundred thousand didn’t match your performance, so he suggested including all the tips from the audience within those two days, as well as any tips collected during the segments you appeared in. Our show’s staff just rounded it up. Other survivors got their share too—whatever tips they received during their on-screen appearances, we gave it to you guys.”
Second place Ji Zuodong and third place Aojinka also received checks; looking down, they saw that the amounts were indeed several times higher than what had been initially set!
Even Ava and Lisa, who failed the challenge, got a share. As long as they persisted, they received prize money, making their half-month of hardships worthwhile.
Suddenly, the live broadcast room was filled with congratulations and cheers. No one had any complaints about the first place winner, Mugalen—they truly felt happy from the bottom of their hearts to hear that the prize money increased.
Similarly, there were praises for Bi Fang’s character. After all, he didn’t really need to give out that money, and nobody took it for granted that Bi Fang shouldn’t take it.
If it weren’t for him, the show would not be as hot as it is now. It might have been possible in the future, but certainly not in the first season.
The audience willing to tip generously were basically there for Bi Fang.
After all, as a new show, no matter how exciting or popular it would become, there would be a delay—usually, it’s the viewers who watch the recordings later. There is no way it could have attracted such a large audience during live broadcast like it did now.
A reward of over a million Ugly Gold was considered a generous gesture in any show and laid the best foundation for Wilderness Arena. Even if Bi Fang didn’t come in the future, the Discovery Channel had the confidence to carry it forward.
It was a win-win for everyone!