Mu Fu understood the situation clearly—they had no time to waste. She quickly composed herself, pushing her fear aside.
Once Wen Shu saw that she had calmed down, he went to gather the luggage left for them by the crew. Worried she might get too tired, he carried everything himself—one large pack on his back and one in each hand.
Seeing how hard he was working, Mu Fu immediately rushed over and took her own bag. Wen Shu was already carrying more than his share—how could she just let him do all the work?
“You don’t need to. I can handle the weight,” Wen Shu said, gently blocking her hand.
Mu Fu insisted, “No way. I can’t let you carry everything. We’re a team—I have to help too.”
Her eyes were still a little red from crying, but her tone left no room for argument. Wen Shu hesitated, then relaxed his grip just long enough for her to quickly sling the bag over her shoulder.
“If it’s too much, promise you’ll let me know,” he said.
“Promise!”
With their packs in place, they finally took a moment to see where they were.
The crew had dropped them in a relatively flat clearing surrounded by towering, leafy trees—at least ten meters tall, packed so close together they created a thick, green canopy overhead.
Mu Fu glanced around, a little lost. “Wen Shu, what do we do now?”
He pointed ahead. “Our top priority is to find a safe spot to set up camp. When we were still up in the air, I noticed a mountain that way. Let’s check it out.”
He rummaged through the survival pack from the crew and pulled out a machete—strong and sharp, good for cutting through brush, gathering wood, or even defending against animals if necessary.
Wen Shu took the lead, hacking away at the overgrown plants. “Stay right behind me and be careful,” he told her.
“Okay!” Mu Fu replied, tagging along behind him obediently.
Both of them had small chest-mounted cameras, so the two cameramen followed closely behind Mu Fu to get their footage.
The forest was thick with tall grasses, especially sharp ones like wild barley, and tangled vines with thorns. Even though Mu Fu wore long sleeves and a hat, her hands and face still got scratched here and there.
Wen Shu, focused on cutting a clear path, didn’t notice that she was quietly getting scratched and scraped behind him.
After a while, the group finally broke through the dense forest.
Just beyond the trees was a river—not too deep, maybe three or four meters wide, with smooth round stones scattered along its shore.
The place the crew had dropped them was one of the areas pre-selected for safety and survival—nothing too wild, but still enough of a challenge.
Wen Shu looked around, thoughtful. “Since we’ve got a water source here, I think we should camp on that little hill we passed earlier. It’s sheltered from the wind and not far from here.”
Mu Fu nodded with a quiet hum. That’s when Wen Shu noticed the marks on her face. He carefully took her hands and saw that they were scratched too.
He frowned. “When did this happen? Why didn’t you say anything?” There was a flicker of frustration in his tone.
The backs of her hands were covered in faint but numerous scratches—so many they made her fair skin look raw and painful. Mu Fu tried to pull away, but he didn’t let her. In the light struggle, her already sensitive skin turned a deeper red.
His frown deepened. “Don’t move.”
Mu Fu tried to brush it off. “It’s really nothing. Just a few small scratches.”
But Wen Shu’s heart was burning with a strange mix of guilt and anger. He knew it was impossible to avoid all injuries out here, but still—he hadn’t noticed, hadn’t done anything to prevent it. And now she was hurt.
“From now on, don’t push through the brush with your hands,” he said seriously. “I’ll cut you a stick to help clear the path, alright?”
Mu Fu pouted slightly, looking up at him. “Alright…” She didn’t know why he was suddenly acting so strict.
Her voice was soft, almost childlike—it made his heart ache. Wen Shu couldn’t help himself. He reached out and patted her head gently over her hat. “Good girl. Once the camp’s set up, you can take a break.”
Mu Fu nodded, her voice barely a whisper. “Mm.”
Wen Shu told Mu Fu to wait and disappeared briefly into the woods. When he returned, he had three branches. He quickly trimmed off the smaller twigs until each was about a centimeter thick—just right for walking sticks or clearing brush ahead.
He handed one to Mu Fu, then gave the other two to the cameramen, before leading the group back to the small hillside they’d spotted earlier.
The hill was only about a hundred meters from the river—perfect for fetching water without too much trouble.
They arrived quickly.
The slope wasn’t too steep, and the trees were nicely spaced out, making it ideal for setting up a camp.
They chose a flat, gentle patch of ground to build their base. Everyone put down their backpacks and started clearing the site. After installing a few mini cameras around the trees, even the cameramen joined in—they’d be living here too, after all, for the next three days.
First, they cleared the weeds, picked up stones, and smoothed out the ground by filling uneven spots with dirt.
While Mu Fu’s group was busy setting up, things were progressing on the other side as well.
Not long after Mu Fu and Wen Shu had jumped, it was Bian Jincheng and Bai Tingting’s turn.
Bai Tingting had been extremely nervous about the parachute jump. While Bian Jincheng remained polite at first, her constant stalling eventually wore down his patience.
“If we don’t go now, we’ll be sleeping in the open tonight!” he said, a little annoyed.
And he was right—they still had to find a suitable place to camp, not to mention a water source.
Eventually, the two of them made the jump safely. Their landing spot wasn’t far from Mu Fu’s group. The show’s team had dropped everyone along the river, from upstream to downstream, so Bian Jincheng’s group had landed just slightly downstream of Mu Fu’s.
Although “slightly” still meant over a kilometer away. If they felt up to it, they could follow the river upstream and find their teammates.
But today, there was no chance for everyone to reunite. Some time had already been lost on the way here, and even more during the slow parachute descents. The later someone landed, the less daylight they had to work with. On top of that, the jungle was full of unknown dangers and rough terrain. Even following the river upstream wouldn’t guarantee a smooth path.
So, for today at least, a full group reunion just wasn’t possible.
The place where Bian Jincheng and Bai Tingting landed was less ideal than Mu Fu’s—there were more trees, and their parachutes nearly got tangled in the branches. Thankfully, Bian Jincheng reacted quickly and managed to steer them through safely.
It wasn’t the smoothest start, and it seemed like a warning that the rest of the day might not go so smoothly either. And sure enough, not long after entering the forest, Bai Tingting encountered a venomous snake.
Just like Wen Shu, Bian Jincheng had taken the lead, clearing a path through the undergrowth. But somehow, the snake ended up right in front of Bai Tingting.
She froze. Her face went pale and her entire body trembled—she’d never seen a snake before. “There’s… there’s a snake…” she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper.
The cameraman behind her realized something was wrong and quickly came forward to help.
All the cameramen assigned to follow the guests had jungle filming experience and were physically fit. Their presence was like having two extra bodyguards along the way.
The snake—clearly venomous—was staring right at Bai Tingting. The cameraman didn’t dare ask her to move back, afraid the snake might strike if startled.
They took a moment to assess the situation carefully. Luckily, the snake didn’t look like it was about to attack. Seizing the moment, Bian Jincheng stepped in and used a stick he’d picked up to gently nudge the snake’s body, trying to guide it away.
After a tense few seconds, the snake finally slid off into the trees.
Everyone let out a breath of relief.
Bai Tingting, having just faced the snake up close, couldn’t hold back her emotions anymore. Once she felt safe again, she suddenly threw her arms around Bian Jincheng, sobbing uncontrollably.
Bian Jincheng stood stiffly, unsure of what to do with his hands. In the end, he awkwardly patted Bai Tingting on the shoulder and said gently, “It’s okay now. The snake is gone.”
Still choked with tears, Bai Tingting mumbled, “Don’t… don’t say the word ‘snake.’ You can’t ever say it again.”
“Okay, okay, I won’t,” Bian Jincheng said softly, trying to soothe her.
Seeing the way Bai Tingting had stared down the snake without completely falling apart, Bian Jincheng’s impression of her shifted slightly. Until now, he had thought she was delicate, fragile, and a bit of a burden. But it surprised him—she’d had the courage to look a venomous snake right in the eye.
After that scare, the rest of their day went relatively smoothly.
They eventually found a river, but given the time, they decided to set up camp on a clearing about ten meters away.
After Bai Tingting and Bian Jincheng came Fang Yuhang and Fan Xinjie. Their landing went smoothly. Unlike some of the other female guests, Fan Xinjie wasn’t scared of skydiving—in fact, she found it thrilling and fun.
Once they touched down, they also quickly found water and a place to stay.
The last to land were Pang Chuan and Xie Shirui. Xie Shirui was terrified. The moment they hit the ground, she buried her face in Pang Chuan’s chest, like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand at the first sign of danger.
Pang Chuan’s embrace made her feel safe. Her cheek was pressed against his chest, and she could clearly hear his heart racing.
After they landed, Pang Chuan made sure to shield her from harm, keeping her behind him and protecting her from getting scratched by branches.
Meanwhile, over on Mu Fu’s side, things were progressing well. After some hard work, they finally cleared out a proper space. Everyone was drenched in sweat.
Wen Shu divided the area into different zones: one for sleeping, one for cooking, one for firewood, and one for sanitation. The tents were set up at the highest point, followed by the cooking and fire areas, and finally the hygiene zone at the bottom.
They added a bit of height where the tents would go, packing down layers of dry branches and leaves to level the ground.
The tent Mu Fu and Wen Shu set up was about two meters wide and long, and roughly one and a half meters tall—just enough for two people to sleep in.
Looking at the tent they had built, Mu Fu felt her face grow warm and her eyes sparkle with shyness. Her cheeks flushed pink as heat rose up her neck.
They were going to be sharing this tent tonight. Purely innocent, of course—but still… they’d be together for the next three days.
Wen Shu seemed to realize the same thing. He clenched his fist and coughed lightly into it, looking slightly embarrassed.
Axolotl Translations 
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