MMB Chapter 46 A New Journey: Living Alone in the Wilderness
Chapter 46 A New Journey: Living Alone in the Wilderness
With only a week left before the competition, Yuan Linghan, who had chosen to stay in Beijing, finally received an email from the organizers. The challenge location was still the Arctic Circle, known for its frigid climate, and the rules were similar to those of previous seasons.
The ten pieces of equipment brought by the contestants must also be reviewed by the organizers to ensure they do not violate the rules before they can be used. Yuan Linghan only plans to bring a custom-made bow and arrows, an axe, a hunting knife, and a saw.
The other six pieces of equipment are a rainproof cloth, a fire starter, a fishing tackle bag provided by the organizer, paracord, a sleeping bag, and up to three pounds (about 2.7 catties) of salt. These items can be collected by the participants free of charge upon arrival at the assembly point.
In fact, the organizers also provided equipment such as composite bows and arrows, but Yuan Linghan felt that the equipment he customized was more convenient to use. However, before departure, all of his customized equipment needed to be mailed to the organizers for inspection.
The remaining supplies, such as clothes, shoes, and toiletries, were also provided by the organizers. Upon learning that Yuan Linghan was about to depart, Chen Duling even took three days off to personally see Yuan Linghan off at the airport.
Seeing the girl who had specially taken leave to return, Yuan Linghan said with a wry smile, "Dudu, although a hundred days is a bit long, true love transcends time. I suspect you have ulterior motives!"
"For others, a day apart feels like three autumns. If we don't see each other for over a hundred days, how many autumns will that be! What ulterior motive would I have!"
"I suspect you're trying to drain me dry!"
Teased, Chen Duling blushed and said, "No way! I'm so delicate, how could I possibly drain you dry, you bull!"
Even so, the two still cherished their time together. Meanwhile, netizens who followed Yuan Linghan were curious about where this guy who dared to fight the giant python had gone. After the show ended, he rarely appeared online.
After Yuan Linghan boarded the plane and left, Shen Jian, who helped manage the video account, also released a pre-made video. The video content was very simple, containing only the two words "going to war," but it instantly caused a stir among netizens.
Those who previously mocked Yuan Linghan for not being worthy of being compared with foreign wilderness survival experts still stubbornly insist that he definitely won't last more than a few days after learning that he is going to participate in the most popular "solo wilderness survival" challenge abroad.
Some critics even commented directly, "With his mediocre skills, he'll definitely be the first to be eliminated!"
"This is it! We're going to lose face internationally. Doesn't he know his own limitations? How dare he participate in a competition like this? We're just waiting for him to fail miserably. Let's see if he'll still have the face to come back then."
There were strong supporters and strong opponents. But these netizens had no idea that Yuan Linghan rarely paid attention to online comments. For him, doing his best was enough; he didn't need to care about others' opinions.
Whether it's praise or criticism, just let it be!
In fact, the organizers of this program were initially opposed to having contestants from the East participate in the competition. In their view, China, where guns and hunting are prohibited, simply lacks the soil and conditions for wilderness survival.
Since the company, KeAiPai, recommended them, they couldn't ignore it. Furthermore, the recommender, Tom Knuth, sent the organizers a video of about ten minutes. After watching the video, the organizers finally agreed to give up one spot.
What truly surprised the organizers was that Douyin (TikTok's Chinese version) proactively contacted them, hoping to acquire the online streaming rights for this season's challenge. Previously, videos from the competitions had been almost entirely reposted for free in China.
It was rare for a company to be willing to spend money, so the organizers naturally wouldn't turn down the opportunity. Only now did the organizers realize that giving Yuan Linghan a spot in the competition might be the key to their show's success in entering the Chinese market!
For Doumi, although purchasing the copyright wasn't cheap, their previous experience with the desert island survival video showed them that many Chinese netizens enjoyed watching this type of video. With official authorization, other video companies wouldn't dare to repost it.
What the outside world doesn't know is that Yuan Linghan, who signed a two-year exclusive agreement with Douyin, received a signing fee of two million yuan after tax. Company president Zhang Chengming even promised Yuan Linghan an additional five million yuan bonus if she won this season's championship.
Faced with the extra reward offered by Zhang Chengming, a senior company executive asked in bewilderment, "President, is such a generous reward necessary?"
"Is a prize of five million really that much? We've already secured the exclusive rights to the Wilderness Solo Challenge, and with him participating this season, the show is sure to generate a lot of buzz. As long as there's buzz, we can use this opportunity to attract more young users."
Many people online are pessimistic about him right now. But if he does win, do you think his commercial value will skyrocket? And don't forget, this show has a large and loyal audience in other Asian countries as well.
If he perseveres to the end, he'll at least qualify for the title of "Number One Wilderness Warrior in Xia Kingdom." Given his online popularity and influence at that point, do you really think a five million yuan prize is a lot?
After this explanation, the higher-ups suddenly understood, realizing that Zhang Chengming's level of understanding of issues was indeed different from theirs, which allowed him to become president. But for Yuan Linghan, the five million yuan bonus was already practically his.
After a hundred days of hard work in the wilderness, one can earn more than ten million. That daily income is probably higher than what Chen Duling earns now!
After a long flight of more than ten hours, he finally arrived in Canada, where the filming location was. As soon as he stepped out of the airport, he saw Tom, who had come to pick him up, which surprised him somewhat.
Tom seemed to sense his confusion and smiled, saying, "Ling, aren't you surprised?"
"I am indeed a bit surprised! Although I don't know much about the company you work for, Aipai, surely a regional manager like you wouldn't be so enthusiastic towards someone as insignificant as me?"
Tom readily agreed, saying, "Ling, would you be surprised if I told you I'm optimistic about your future?"
"Why? As far as I know, there are many wilderness hunters in the Hunter's Guild who are higher level than me, right?"
"Indeed! But even high-level hunters are often no match for mutated beasts. Even with firearms, very few survive encountering mutated beasts in the wilderness. You, however, are different!"
After hearing the explanation, Yuan Linghan had his own guess, but he said aloud, "It seems I offered too little for that mutated python. But I want to say that I will always keep my promises."
Seeing that Yuan Linghan understood what he meant, Tom was naturally pleased. He then took out a document and handed it to Yuan Linghan, saying, "This is information about the region where this challenge will take place. I hope this information will be helpful to you."
"Thanks!"
To Tom's surprise, Yuan Linghan, who hadn't even looked at the documents, suddenly asked, "Tom, I have a question that might be a bit presumptuous. Does this show have a script and underground gambling operations, as mentioned online?"
"Ling, why do you think that?"
"Because your show isn't live, but rather pre-recorded and edited. Although there are contestants who win each season, only one contestant actually wins, and other popular contestants always suddenly withdraw for various reasons."
This outcome inevitably raises suspicions that the sudden withdrawal of popular players may have been due to external interference. The most likely explanation is the existence of underground betting operations. Betting companies may exert pressure or offer incentives, ultimately becoming the biggest winners behind the scenes.
While these are just speculations and suspicions, there's no smoke without fire, especially given the prevalence of gambling overseas. People place bets on boxing matches, ball games, and other sporting events; who can guarantee that there aren't so-called behind-the-scenes manipulators behind this program?