Chapter 5

“Rip!”

After climbing ashore, Xiao Yi shivered involuntarily at the northern wind, his skin instantly covered in goosebumps.

When he jumped into the water, he hadn’t paid attention to this, but now he realized this place truly deserved its reputation as the Arctic Circle.

In September, the weather here had already turned chilly; the moment he emerged from the water, it felt bone-chilling.

After tossing the stunned whitefish onto the shore, Xiao Yi swiftly dressed himself.

If catching a fish made him catch a cold, that would be truly ridiculous.

Yet Xiao Yi’s movements at this moment sent the female fans watching outside the livestream into a chorus of wails.

“No! I want to see his six-pack abs!”

“Honestly, his physique isn’t that impressive—I definitely didn’t drool watching.”

“I suspect those six-pack abs are fake. If the streamer wants to prove it, let me touch them.”

“Isn’t this a wilderness survival livestream? Shouldn’t we be shocked that the streamer is some kind of monster who punched a fifty-pound fish unconscious underwater? Why is the vibe so weird?”

“Yefeng Tingyu sent the streamer a special gift: Phoenix Dance Across the Nine Heavens ×10”

“Yefeng Tingyu sent the streamer a special gift: Phoenix Dance Across the Nine Heavens ×10”

“Yefeng Tingyu sent a gift!…”

…

…

Yefeng Tingyu: “Forget the wilderness challenge—come back and stream!”

“I checked—Yefeng the big shot’s gone mad! Big shot, I’ve got six-pack abs too, please adopt me!”

“I don’t get it—where did I lose? Was I just not as fierce as the streamer?”

“Yefeng the big shot is clearly the number one female fan in the music app.”

Fortunately, Xiao Yi didn’t know about the gifts being sent in the livestream—if he had…

He’d have dropped to his knees and shouted, “Big shot, please adopt me!”

To be honest, Xiao Yi was a man with immense pride—but… the money these women offered was simply too much.

Meanwhile, Beiye and the other three in the main livestream were left speechless the moment Xiao Yi climbed ashore.

Recalling their own earlier comments, they had no idea how to explain themselves to the viewers.

Of course, not everyone was focused on the abs—Beiye, deep in thought in the main livestream, seemed to have transformed into a scientist.

This… defies science! How could a human possess such immense strength?

Cai Luo Han, who had felt a bit of schadenfreude watching Xiao Yi jump into the lake, now felt like he’d swallowed a fly.

Yang Qingning, however, stared fixedly at Xiao Yi’s abs, silently telling herself, “I’m not a fangirl!”

“Lovely Yangyang sent the streamer a Carnival gift ×1!”

“Boom, boom, boom!”

“…”

“…”

At that moment, the water’s surface suddenly rippled, and two speedboats swiftly approached.

When the rescue personnel saw the whitefish on shore and Xiao Yi adjusting his clothes, they were utterly baffled.

Weren’t they called because there was an emergency requiring immediate rescue?

Was someone worried this guy might drown? What a joke?

Xiao Yi also stared curiously at the rescuers; their eyes met, and his mind was filled with question marks.

The music app’s staff, watching this unfold through the livestream, were likewise speechless.

What an utterly unpredictable guy.

“Hey, what’s going on here?”

Finally, Xiao Yi spoke up first.

The rescue team leader, however, was momentarily stunned by the question—how was he supposed to answer?

Luckily, his phone rang at that moment; after answering it, he turned to Xiao Yi and said:

“Sorry, there was a misunderstanding!”

Before Xiao Yi could react, the two speedboats vanished from his sight.

Truly, they came and went in a flash.

Xiao Yi wasn’t stupid—he hadn’t realized it at first, but now he understood what had happened.

Still, he didn’t dwell on it; he quickly pulled out his knife and began processing the whitefish. With this fish, he wouldn’t lack food for a while.

But some viewers, seeing this, started joking in the livestream.

“Rescue always arrives one step too late!”

“How could the Fish King possibly fear water?”

“You came to rescue me? Are you insulting me?”

“You know nothing about my fists—I landed two solid punches. Ask the whitefish.”

…

…

“Before grilling the fish, cut several slits into the flesh—if possible, marinate it first so the flavor penetrates better…”

Bored, Xiao Yi began muttering to himself.

Back at his makeshift “home,” darkness had fully descended; Xiao Yi didn’t rest a moment, immediately building a fire and preparing his pot.

After removing the bones, the two fish yielded forty to fifty pounds of meat—enough to feed him for a long time.

“Is this even a survival show? I suddenly feel starving.”

“I can already smell the grilled fish—I can’t take it! Guys, I’m out—I’m going to have beer and barbecue.”

“Comrades, go watch Wu De’s livestream! He’s starving right now—you’ll instantly lose your hunger, he looks so pitiful.”

“No way—I love cooking shows. This guy doesn’t seem to be surviving—he’s living. Born with divine luck.”

“Squirrel Sister is the only true god—she started with four squirrels.”

“Who’s Squirrel Sister? I’ll check out her livestream.”

“Liu Hong, a volunteer with the African Wildlife Conservation Association. Her archery is insane—on par with the Butcher’s fish-catching skills.”

“Five arrows, four moving squirrels—she could compete in the Olympics.”

“If I had to pick a chosen one, I’d pick Rabbit Lord, who succeeded by waiting by the stump—what a sight that was.”

Humans are social creatures; loneliness is clearly the greatest enemy of this challenge.

Only one day in, and Xiao Yi, accustomed to city life, already felt his hands had nowhere to rest.

Xiao Bing reminds you: the streamer has twenty-seven minutes left of live chat opportunity. Start it?

Smelling the fragrant fish broth beside him, Xiao Yi froze—he hadn’t expected that turning off the chat would restore the remaining time.

One hour per day of live chat access was a privilege granted by the music app.

After all, they weren’t just a production company—they created this show primarily to drive traffic and promote their livestreaming business.

“Start!”

Xiao Yi naturally had no reason to refuse—he was bored out of his mind, and chatting with the chatroom wasn’t bad.

“Wow! The streamer’s finally not cold anymore!”

“Then don’t turn on the chat!”

“Bro, those three punches underwater were seriously cool!”

“Handsome guy, got a girlfriend? What about me?”

…

…

Once Xiao Yi turned on the chat, every kind of comment poured in.

Seeing this, Xiao Yi smiled inwardly.

Though some comments weren’t polite, they made him feel the pulse of life.

His mood lifted naturally, and he began replying to select chat messages.

When he saw someone ask what his plan was for surviving a hundred days alone in the Arctic Circle:

Xiao Yi fell into thought—he still felt confident about gathering food.

But the cold was a tougher problem; he could endure a few days, but staying warm was another matter.

And Xiao Yi absolutely refused to tough it out for a hundred days in this miserable shelter.

This wasn’t how a man with a system should behave—he intended to live comfortably.

So he resolved in his heart: starting tomorrow, he’d build his own wooden cabin.

And to build the cabin, he’d start with the Northeastern kang.

After all, in winter, with a kang under you, the whole world is yours.

He then replied to the viewer who’d asked, instantly sparking a storm of reactions in the livestream.