Chapter 62

Li Yong immediately called the rescue team to notify them of the rescue mission; Wu De isn’t some monster like Xiao Yi.

Moreover, as their wilderness challenge show grew increasingly popular, many official bodies were paying attention, so no major mistakes could be allowed—or tolerated.

But after the call connected, Li Yong’s expression turned even more grim.

The rescue team told Li Yong that under the heavy snowfall, helicopters couldn’t take off directly—the risk level was too high.

And in this vast, snowy darkness, speedboats were also prone to getting lost in Lake Rhine.

So to safely reach Wu De, they’d have to wait until daylight at the very least.

But daylight was still about two hours away, and even after that, the rescue team would need at least another hour and a half just to reach Wu De’s location.

Yet if Wu De was truly buried under the snow and couldn’t free himself, waiting this long might mean it was already too late.

After all, this was the Arctic Circle under a blizzard, and Wu De hadn’t eaten for days—his physical condition must have dropped to its lowest point.

At this moment, not only Li Yong was distressed; many viewers who enjoyed watching Wu De suffer were also frantic.

Although Wu De’s livestream was comparatively dull and boring compared to Xiao Yi’s or Wu En’s, they loved this very plainness.

“Could Wu De really be in trouble! This snow is insane!”

“I warned him before—his shelter was far too flimsy; winter here is dangerous—but he never improved it. So lazy.”

“Wu De isn’t like you think—he needs physical strength to repair his shelter, and strength burns food. Does he even have enough strength or food to fix it?”

“Why can Xiao Shen build a heated wooden hut, but Wu De doesn’t even have the strength to repair his shelter? Why not hunt?”

“Are you new here? Do you think everyone’s as insane as Xiao Shen? Wu De hunted plenty when he had strength—but his region is just too barren.”

“To be honest, all these wilderness areas are barren, but Wu De’s survival skills are far worse than others’, so this outcome isn’t surprising.”

“That’s true. Wu De’s biggest advantage is enduring hunger; his other wilderness skills are inferior to everyone else’s—maybe only comparable to Zhong Yicheng. But in my view, Wu De is the closest to ordinary people. Xiao Shen is more like a mutated human—that’s why I love watching Wu De’s livestream.”

“Guys, shouldn’t we be worrying about Wu De’s safety right now? What’s the point of all this talk?”

“Right, we should be worried about Wu De’s safety—but sadly, after this, he’ll probably quit the competition.”

…

…

“Wu De applies to withdraw from the ‘Wilderness Challenge: 100 Days in the Arctic’ competition.”

At that moment, the control room received Wu De’s distress signal; hearing Xiao Bing’s voice, Li Yong, who had been worried, suddenly brightened.

The fact that Wu De had activated the distress signal meant he was still alive.

Soon after, Wu De’s livestream reconnected and the video feed resumed.

At that moment, both the control room and the livestream viewers saw Wu De’s situation.

Wu De, having just crawled out of the ruins, first used fallen timber to prop up a triangular frame, then covered it with a tarp.

Then he searched the ruins for dry wood and sandgrass he’d stored for winter, and used his pocket flint to light a fire for warmth.

Seeing this, Li Yong quietly exhaled in relief; with this much wood, Wu De could probably survive four hours.

He then told the staff beside him, “Keep watching Wu De’s livestream—I’m going to call the rescue team again and see if we can find a way.”

But after Li Yong left, Wu De pulled off a shocking move: to warm himself further, he set fire to the ruins of his own shelter.

In Wu De’s view, since he’d already sent the distress signal, the rescue team would arrive soon—he didn’t need to conserve wood anymore.

He even had the leisure to sit there and smile toward the drone.

“Xiao Bing, open the chat—this is probably my last time chatting with viewers on this show.”

“Friends, it seems I overestimated my wilderness survival skills. On the tenth day of the challenge, I already started missing my wife and child.”

“But then I remembered how I taught my son: a man must endure loneliness and possess unwavering resolve. So I kept going—I had to stand by my words and be a role model for my son.”

“But today, through my own experience, I’m telling my son one thing: if you face a situation you know could cost your life but can’t change, you must decisively give up—don’t make pointless sacrifices.”

“Wu De’s right—you’ve already done great!”

“True. Even without Wu De’s hunger trials, the show loses some fun—but safety comes first.”

“Bro Wu De, go home, train hard, and see if you can come back next time—then crush the grand prize.”

“Wu De’s suffered a natural disaster—just come back already!”

“Haha, Wu De’s fans are the most Buddhist! But great—I love this vibe.”

…

…

After Wu De finished speaking, the livestream chat was flooded with comforting messages.

But then, suddenly, a voice came through the drone, interrupting Wu De as he read the chat.

“Contestant Wu De, please keep the fire burning. Our rescue team will reach you in approximately four hours.”

Li Yong was now speechless—he hadn’t expected that, in the time it took to make one phone call, Wu De had burned down his own shelter ruins.

“Whoosh.”

Hearing this, viewers saw a whooshing sound, then Wu De vanished from sight.

When they saw him again, he was frantically smothering the fire he’d just lit in the shelter ruins.

Wu De hadn’t expected the rescue team to be this cruel—they’d take this long to arrive?

Damn this show! Damn this weather!

“…”

“…”

Seeing this, viewers in the livestream couldn’t help but tease him.

“Cough, cough—normally this situation should feel tragic, but I couldn’t help laughing. Sorry, Wu De.”

“Sorry, Wu De, haha, haha—let me laugh a bit longer. This production team is heartless—they waited until Wu De lit his shelter on fire to tell him the rescue team’s arrival time.”

Wu De is so pitiful! You’re the one who’s suffered the most from my Ningningzi’s cursed predictions.

“Wu De’s life is so hard—who did he offend? Sorry, Wu De, let me laugh a bit!”

“Sorry, Wu De!”

“Sorry, Wu De!”

…

…

Wu De’s livestream chat was now completely covered in “Sorry, Wu De,” and his viewer count broke two million for the first time—even during nighttime.

Li Yong in the control room felt awkward; although this was the kind of show effect he wanted, he’d never actually intended this outcome.

He couldn’t help glaring at the intern beside him, then silently prayed for Wu De.

None of these contestants ever gave him a moment’s peace.