"There’s a river less than two kiloters away, why are we looking for water?"
"..."
The air was eerily silent for a mont.
Everyone present, including the production team, was baffled. The crew quickly checked the GPS to verify Nora Scott’s information.
Nelson stamred, "No, how do you know?"
Nora replied casually, "Been here before."
???
Everyone: Are you sure you’ve just ’been here’ and not made it your ho?!
Andrea walked over, furrowing her brows, looked Nora up and down, then glanced at the production team as if they had given Nora a heads-up. She asked with a hint of displeasure, "Are you sure?"
"Positive."
Andrea sneered, "Then you lead the way."
"Sure."
Faced with Andrea’s provocation, Nora shrugged indifferently.
Andrea had initially assud Nora didn’t know the way, but hearing her agree so easily, Andrea froze, her expression stiffened, but she thought that the crew had prepared thoroughly just to boost Nora.
The top influencer Nora, who in the industry doesn’t know her?
As an actress without representative works, she skyrocketed to fa as a comic artist and through two variety shows, always relying on her image, pretending to be all-knowing and omnipotent.
Andrea always scoffed at such stars who thrived on packaging.
"It’ll get dark soon, what if we can’t find it?" Valeria Young interjected at just the right ti, quietly muttering afterward, "Wasting ti."
Nora chuckled, "Fine, we have enough water anyway."
They hadn’t planned to camp by the river, so they were well-equipped with plenty of water for drinking and daily use.
When Andrea ntioned looking for water, she found it odd, so she just casually ntioned the river.
"..."
Valeria, who expected to see Nora at a loss, didn’t know what to do when Nora conceded so easily.
But Andrea, thinking of the used-up drinking water and pride on the line, had to find a drinkable water source. If Nora’s directions led them to a river, it would help her greatly; if not, it would discredit Nora.
No downside either way.
She proactively suggested, "Since you say there’s a river, let’s check it out. It’s only a kiloter or two, it won’t take long."
Nora didn’t respond directly but looked at the others.
Except for Valeria, everyone else nodded in agreent, having no objections to the decision.
And so it was decided.
This ti, Nora led the way.
anwhile—
The crew privately verified Nora’s claim—less than two kiloters from their current location, there was indeed a river. To be precise, 1.6 kiloters.
Everyone exchanged glances.
"Isn’t Nora too familiar with the northwest?"
"Her hotown really isn’t in Sand Delta?"
"Nora’s sothing else! Everything looks the sa here, no landmarks, how does Nora rember so clearly?!"
...
Nora lived up to expectations.
As if she had an invisible GPS, she led them on a straight path, and in under half an hour, they arrived at the riverbank.
A long river appeared in view, waters flowing gently, vegetation coming back to life, and under the dim night sky, a patch of oasis erged in the vast land, offering a visual cleanse.
Valeria was speechless.
Andrea was speechless.
Nelson clicked his tongue in amazent, "There really is one." He turned to Nora, "You must have done a lot of howork beforehand!"
"...Not bad."
Counting her years of accumulating knowledge, she indeed had done quite a bit of howork.
Oliver Scott leaned in eagerly to Nora, "Sis, shall we camp nearby?"
A breeze blew, Nora sniffed lightly, then looked up at the starless night sky and said softly, "It might rain tonight, we should keep a distance from the riverbank."
Valeria, standing nearby, heard this and deliberately muttered, "The sun was so big during the day, this is a desert, how could it possibly rain?"
Her voice was just loud enough for everyone to hear.
Clent Winter and Marcus Shaw frowned simultaneously.
Valeria’s animosity towards Nora was too obvious, especially after Andrea appeared. On one side trying to flatter Andrea, and on the other, mocking Nora, her attitude was unmistakable.
Yet at this mont, Andrea nodded in agreent, "It’s indeed unlikely to rain. But having crisis awareness is good."
While saying it, she even gave Nora a look of approval like an expert.
Nora: "..." Thanks, but no need for approval.
She simply couldn’t be bothered to retort.
*
The campsite was chosen by Andrea, very close to the riverbank, sheltered from the wind but at the bottom of a slope.
Nora Scott could almost suspect this guide was a fake.
Outdoor survival expert.
Expert?
Taking off her sunhat, Nora looked indifferently at Andrea giving commands, frowned slightly, and said, "This won’t do."
"Oh?"
Andrea, who was about to assign tasks, gritted her teeth and took a deep breath to suppress her anger but couldn’t hold back—she had been tolerating Nora for too long.
Always arguing, pretending to be a professional, where does she get the nerve?!
Finding the river wasn’t without the show’s crew reminding them!
Andrea asked sharply, "Why not?"
Nora’s voice was slightly cool, "The wind’s strong, and falling rocks could easily injure soone."
"Ha," Andrea sneered, "We’re close to the river, making it easy to fetch water. The ground is firm and flat, the tents won’t easily blow away. It’s the ideal camping spot. Sure, falling rocks could hurt, but when have you seen rocks just fall down easily?"
Finishing her sarcasm, Andrea felt much relieved, and then spoke again, "Maybe you did a lot of prep before we ca, but theory is always just that. Practice and experience are the real truth. I hope you won’t doubt my abilities as a guide—"
Andrea’s words were left hanging.
Because Nora simply couldn’t be bothered to listen to her babble, she turned and scanned the others, asking, "Who will co with ?"
"I will!"
Clent Winter was the first to respond.
"I will."
Oliver touched his nose, stepped forward, and smiled at Nora.
Marcus Shaw didn’t speak but also stepped forward, clearly expressing his stance.
Nelson and Valeria Young remained in place.
Apparently, they couldn’t understand why, out of the blue, Nora would argue with Andrea over campsite selection.
Valeria, of course, was biased towards Andrea.
First, because Andrea’s professional skills were credible, and Nora was just a rookie; second, because Andrea treated her well, while Nora always seed to target her.
Nelson hesitated for a mont, remained silent, but leaned towards Andrea.
After all, despite everything, Andrea was indeed a survival expert... In the wilderness, who would you trust if not the expert, especially over soone with no experience like Nora?
As Andrea said, Nora must have done a lot of preparation beforehand, which is why she’s so confident. And just having successfully found the river probably inflated her confidence, making her think she could surpass soone as expert as Andrea in survival skills.
... Understandable.
But Nelson decided to stay put.
This kind of confrontation put Andrea in a worse mood, glaring at Nora in warning, "I advise you not to be so stubborn."
"Let’s go."
Nora didn’t bother to acknowledge Andrea, not even sparing her a glance, simply exchanged words with Clent and the others, and turned to leave.
The three imdiately followed.
After a few steps, Clent, as if nothing had happened, cheerfully waved at those left behind, "See you later!"
—There’s a food reward segnt for completing tasks later.
"..."
Andrea’s face darkened like the bottom of a pot.
!!!
Let them go. Hopefully, a strong wind tonight blows away their tent, leaving them to cry in the night!
*
The campsite Nora chose wasn’t far from Andrea and her group.
But, first, there was no slope, eliminating the risk of falling rocks; second, it was farther from the riverbank to avoid being flooded during a rise in water level.
On usual days, Nora wouldn’t have the need to argue so much with Andrea. But tonight... the weather didn’t seem to favor them, and she didn’t want to be caught dealing with unexpected events in the rain in the middle of the night.
Encountering rain in the desert wasteland was indeed rare. However, when it did happen, the rainfall was trendous.
Camping on a slope might as well be courting disaster.
The original plan of the show was to have the guests split into two groups for subsequent tasks, so seeing them make a fuss and split into two camping areas, the production team allowed them to quarrel and set the tense atmosphere, simultaneously dividing themselves into two teams for filming.
Once both groups had their tents set up, the team suddenly handed out mission cards, notifying them of their next task—
Dinner’s food: snake.
Task: The guests have to catch it themselves.
The snakes were prepared by the crew, bought from the market. Soone had earlier set them up at the two sites. The guests, divided into two groups, would capture as many as they could within the stipulated ti, which would serve as their dinner.
The team with the most catches would be awarded a chicken and a fish.
After reading the mission card, Clent then looked up slowly, casting a fiery gaze at Nora.
Nora chuckled.
—Wasn’t this just prepared for her?
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