Chapter 122: Why Is It Him Again

After Qi Jiajia and Xu Junze switched locations midway, they chose to head to the Roda Forest Game Reserve first, as it was relatively close to the Claw Valley Labyrinth.

They hadn't even entered the reserve when, upon seeing the map, their legs turned to jelly.

"It's this big?" Qi Jiajia’s mouth twitched, and for the first time, she regretted the decision to switch.

After all, they had already exhausted much of their energy in the Claw Valley Labyrinth. Now, being asked to navigate such a vast forest to find a specific animal for a photo was a true test of their limits.

Xu Junze noticed her subtle expression and couldn't help but laugh; he found it inexplicably amusing. She was the one who had proposed the switch, yet looking at her now, she seemed to be losing her nerve.

"Can't walk anymore, right?" Xu Junze teased.

Qi Jiajia slumped her shoulders and nodded weakly. From that moment on, she completely gave up on the idea of taking first place; she would just have to leave it to fate.

Just then, a staff member handed them a task card containing a photograph of an animal and the mission details.

"Take a vehicle into the Roda Forest Game Reserve, locate the puma, and take a photo together." Xu Junze read the contents aloud.

"Huh?" Qi Jiajia thought she had misheard. "Take a vehicle?"

Xu Junze handed her the card. "Yes, take a vehicle. We don't have to walk after all. Relieved now?"

Qi Jiajia smiled happily. "That's great! Otherwise, I would have wanted to go back to the Claw Valley Labyrinth."

"Don't be too happy yet. The animal we need to photograph is a puma..." Xu Junze reminded her.

Qi Jiajia realized this only then, and her expression turned tense again.

Fortunately, after carefully reading the fine print, they discovered they didn't need to exit the vehicle to take the photo with the lion. They only needed to maintain a distance of within three meters while remaining inside the sightseeing vehicle.

This didn't seem so difficult after all. Qi Jiajia suddenly felt they should have chosen these two projects from the start; they might have secured first place by now. The Claw Valley Labyrinth had consumed far too much of their time, but it couldn't be helped—Xu Junze hadn't been able to tackle the projects here at the beginning.

The pair took their camera and boarded the sightseeing vehicle, entering the reserve.

The ecology was primitive, and the roads inside were not easy to drive on—rugged, uneven, and winding, with plants growing wild.

The driver had no designated route and drove aimlessly, following his whims. Unless they specified a direction, he would just drive haphazardly.

After cruising around the forest for a long time, they had seen plenty of flora and fauna, but no lions. There were no signs or maps to indicate where the road led...

Qi Jiajia suddenly felt this was just another kind of labyrinth—completely clueless! The point was, she was now on the verge of being motion-sick from the road.

Heavens, this road was far worse than being on a boat at sea.

Finally unable to take it, Qi Jiajia hurriedly asked the driver to stop, requesting a breather.

Xu Junze examined the surrounding environment and judged, "I don't think the lions would like this density of trees. Let's look for a more sparsely forested area later."

Qi Jiajia was too dizzy to think. She slumped in her seat and smiled weakly at him. "You decide."

Seeing her in such distress, Xu Junze laughed. "Do you regret switching? At least you wouldn't have been motion-sick in the Claw Valley Labyrinth."

"A little, but it counts as a unique experience. I haven't been motion-sick in ages. Do you think the others ended up switching like us?" Qi Jiajia asked curiously.

"It's not impossible."

"I really want to send a message to Fangfei telling her not to come here, and just stay in the Claw Valley Labyrinth."

"Why send her a message?"

"What do you think?" Qi Jiajia pointed at her own weakened state. "I'm dizzy like this, and she gets seasick so easily. Coming here would be an even worse ordeal for her."

"Haha, that's true." Xu Junze then remembered how Ye Fangfei had suffered from seasickness earlier.

The two rested on the spot for a good while before instructing the driver to find an open area.

By now, they had leveled their expectations. They weren't in a hurry and even asked the driver to go slowly.

Eventually, they spotted the lions in a large field of yellow grass.

"Found them!" The two shouted excitedly in the vehicle.

The driver immediately turned back and hissed a "shh" at them!

Qi Jiajia and Xu Junze realized what they had done and immediately went silent.

Damn it, they had been roaming the reserve for so long, and the grueling journey had made them forget the rules they were told to follow before leaving.

The two or three pumas that had been lying in the grass suddenly raised their heads, startled by the unusual noise, and looked toward them.

Noticing the slowly moving vehicle, they stood up one by one, watched for a moment, and began to approach.

Qi Jiajia and Xu Junze stared at the approaching big cats, holding their breath, not daring to let out a sound.

The lead lion was on Qi Jiajia's side. She looked at it, and it looked at her, its eyes like those of a predator eyeing its prey.

Qi Jiajia couldn't help but swallow hard. Even though there was a wire fence outside, she was subconsciously terrified.

She felt uneasy under the gaze of the approaching lion. It got closer and closer, leaning against the window to look at her. Qi Jiajia felt a chill run down her spine and, as a reflex, leaned toward Xu Junze.

The moment she moved, the lion’s eyes lit up. It suddenly attacked, pouncing on the vehicle with a roar.

"Wuwuwu..." Qi Jiajia was so scared she wanted to cry. She scrambled toward Xu Junze, burying her head against him, but remembering the previous warning, she didn't dare scream and could only bite her lip, letting out whimpering sounds.

The other two lions ran to Xu Junze's side, clawing at the wire fence and roaring.

Xu Junze was also terrified in that moment, but being a man, he pulled Qi Jiajia into his arms, protecting her head with his hands so she wouldn't see the situation outside, while he kept his eyes on the lions' movements.

In the live stream—

[Such a terrifying scene.]
[Will they get eaten?]
[The production team is playing with fire.]
[Usually, they wouldn't attack without reason; it's because they were making noise.]
[They're hugging!]
[It's just a hug out of fear, what are you thinking?]
...

The lions fussed for a while, but realizing they couldn't get into the vehicle and perhaps finding it boring, they started sitting beside it, staring at them motionlessly.

Seeing that things had calmed down, Xu Junze exhaled, let go of Qi Jiajia, and patted her back, soothing her. "They've walked away."

Qi Jiajia's heart was still racing. She sat up and looked around outside the window, noticing the lions were still lingering, waiting for an opportunity but no longer attacking. She finally shed her inner fear.

With her nerves no longer on edge, she only then realized what she and Xu Junze had just done, and her face began to heat up again.

She lifted her gaze to look at Xu Junze, who was also watching her.

As their eyes met, they both felt a sense of awkwardness following the intense moment.

"Shall we take the photo quickly?" Xu Junze picked up the camera to ease the subtle tension between them.

"Okay, let's take it and leave quickly. It's too scary." Qi Jiajia brushed back her short hair, the awkwardness finally passing, and said with a smile.

Xu Junze picked up the camera, and the two smiled for a photo with the lions outside the car as the background.

After completing the task, the driver drove away, and the lions followed the vehicle for a short distance.

Realizing they couldn't catch up, Qi Jiajia became excited, raising her camera to snap pictures of the chasing lions.

Xu Junze sat beside her, smiling without a word.

...

Claw Valley Labyrinth.

Zhang Chen was getting increasingly frustrated as the map played tricks on him repeatedly. He felt the labyrinth was being extremely rude and scoffed at the people who designed such a game.

The further he went, the less patience he had. He felt that being immersed in this broken game was an insult to his intelligence.

Every time they were stuck at an intersection, his competitive spirit wanted to explode.

"Not playing anymore! What a piece of junk. Let's switch projects!"

After finally finding a viable route, they worked hard halfway through only to be stuck again. Zhang Chen flared up and told Ye Fangfei immediately.

Ye Fangfei was also quite tired from walking. She found a rock to rest on and, hearing Zhang Chen say he wanted to switch projects, looked up at the scorching sun. "Even if we switch projects, we won't be able to do them. Better to just give up and go back to sleep."

Zhang Chen sat down beside her. Hearing her suggest giving up, he felt that doing so would mean giving up their chance at a date tomorrow.

Although even if they didn't give up, it would be hard to get first place—after all, one group had chosen the other two projects, and if those were relatively easy, they might have already finished. If they switched over now to challenge them, it would be hard to catch up in time.

But giving up and going back to sleep would be such a waste of today.

It was hard enough that Ye Fangfei’s resolve had wavered today and she was willing to keep her partner; how could he let her go back to sleep so easily?

Today was their time for a world of two! Even if not for first place, it would be nice to go play other projects. Wasn't there a game reserve? That kind of place had beautiful scenery and was perfect for a date.

Besides, he was familiar with game reserves. When he was bored in the past, he would often take off-road vehicles with friends who liked photography to such places to challenge themselves by photographing various animals at ultra-close range. If they encountered fierce, large animals, the scene was quite exciting.

Thinking of this, Zhang Chen’s interest was piqued.

Going to play other projects was much more interesting than staying in this broken labyrinth.

Zhang Chen suddenly remembered that, including them, two other groups had chosen to challenge the Claw Valley Labyrinth.

He didn't believe that if he couldn't play this labyrinth game, anyone from those other two groups could succeed.

Thinking this way, switching now wasn't entirely without a chance of winning.

He was familiar with the situation in the game reserve. Wasn't it just finding an animal for a photo? It might be difficult for others, but he could complete it easily.

As for bungee jumping... Zhang Chen pursed his lips. Maybe others wouldn't dare either? If it turned out no one could complete all the tasks, the ranking might be based on the time taken to clear a single project, so there was still a chance.

Just do it!

As long as they didn't give up, there was still a chance.

Sorting out his thoughts, Zhang Chen made up his mind.

"Going back to sleep isn't a good idea, is it? We can switch projects if we get stuck here. Since we're already here, let's participate actively." Zhang Chen said with a smile to Ye Fangfei.

Seeing that he really wanted to switch, Ye Fangfei said, "We can switch, but let's agree beforehand: I'm not doing bungee jumping."

"I didn't say I wanted you to do bungee jumping." Zhang Chen chuckled.

"Then you mean you'll do it?" Ye Fangfei looked surprised.

"I..." Zhang Chen choked.

"We're both cowards with a fear of heights. Neither of us will dare to challenge bungee jumping, so switching to another place is just a wasted trip." Ye Fangfei said, seeing he was clearly afraid.

"..."

Two cowards...

Zhang Chen was inexplicably stung by her words.

He remembered the jungle suspension bridge from before. Ye Fangfei's partner was Lu Zhou, and with him protecting her, she was able to muster the courage to cross the bridge.

Now that it was their turn to partner up, they could only cower and not dare to challenge it.

The stark contrast was immediate, and Zhang Chen's competitive spirit as a man was instantly ignited.

"What if I dare to challenge it?" Zhang Chen said, lifting his chin slightly.

Ye Fangfei froze and suddenly laughed. "Don't be a hero; it's not necessary."

Zhang Chen: "..."

She was looking down on him!

His burning desire for a challenge was ignited. Zhang Chen stood up abruptly and said to the staff, "We're switching!"

Ye Fangfei: "..."

They really switched.

And their first stop was the Mount Park bungee jump.

The two went up to the bungee platform. Ye Fangfei tried to look at the height, and her legs immediately went weak, her heart trembling. She quickly moved away from the edge of the guardrail.

"Zhang Chen, forget it. Isn't it more comfortable to forfeit and go back to the guesthouse?" Ye Fangfei couldn't help but advise as she watched the staff attaching the bungee cords to Zhang Chen's feet.

Zhang Chen never looked down the cliff from start to finish. He felt that as long as he didn't look, he wouldn't be afraid.

He had made up his mind. He was filled with determination; he had to overcome himself!

Mainly, after successfully crossing the jungle suspension bridge last time, he felt he had become much braver. Moreover, his previous experience told him that facing such heights was just psychological fear, and it was actually very safe. There was no need to be afraid at all. As long as he ignored the fear in his heart and did it in one breath, after succeeding, looking back felt quite exhilarating.

Zhang Chen kept his head up, taking deep breaths to adjust his mindset.

Hearing Ye Fangfei's words, he licked his lips and suddenly became nervous again.

"How high is it?" he asked.

"Compared to the previous jungle suspension bridge..."

Before she could say "much, much, much higher," Ye Fangfei was interrupted by Zhang Chen.

"Forget it! Don't tell me!"

Zhang Chen swallowed his saliva. He decided to interpret what Ye Fangfei didn't finish saying as "lower than the previous jungle suspension bridge"...

Ye Fangfei could sense his fear and nervousness, but she really didn't understand why he was so insistent on challenging it.

Maybe he just wanted to break through his limits. Since the arrow was already on the string, she would encourage him...

"Good luck," she added.

The staff had already fixed the bungee cord to Zhang Chen and signaled that he could jump.

But Zhang Chen's legs went soft.

He gripped the railing of the platform with both hands, not daring to look down or take a step forward.

The staff encouraged him from the side, saying there was no need to be afraid and just to go for it.

Zhang Chen exhaled deeply several times, but after a long hesitation, he still hadn't jumped.

Ye Fangfei broke into a cold sweat just watching him. She told him to forget it, but he wouldn't; he was being stubborn with himself.

Zhang Chen shouted "Ah!" several times at the edge of the platform to bolster his courage, but even after shouting, his feet didn't move an inch.

The staff members were speechless.

"You guys... there haven't been any accidents, right?" Zhang Chen asked, his legs trembling.

Staff: "No, zero accident rate to date. It's very safe, please feel free to jump. Do you want me to give you a nudge?"

Zhang Chen: "No!"

This scene amused the viewers in the live stream.

Ye Fangfei originally didn't want to laugh, but she couldn't help it seeing this scene.

Zhang Chen vaguely heard her laughter and felt she was looking down on him again. He gritted his teeth, telling himself he must jump.

Damn it, isn't it just a leap? What's there to be afraid of? Coward! Zhang Chen cursed himself in his heart.

"Ye Fangfei!"

Zhang Chen suddenly shouted toward the opposite side of the mountain.

Ye Fangfei, being called, looked up.

"For you! I, Zhang Chen, am going all out!!!"

After shouting this, Zhang Chen hugged himself tightly, closed his eyes, and jumped down. The world went quiet.

...

In the live stream at that moment—

[Holy crap, he actually jumped.]
[Zhang Chen is so brave.]
[Why are my eyes watering for no reason?]
...

Ye Fangfei was surprised by Zhang Chen's leap.

He had managed to overcome his psychological fear; at this moment, Zhang Chen had to be said to be quite brave, and he deserved a thumbs up.

It's just that why did he shout that before jumping...

Anyone who didn't know would think she had told him to jump...

Before long, the mountain wind brought Zhang Chen's excited "Woohoo!"

Fine, he was clearly enjoying the jump.

Ye Fangfei didn't look at his posture swinging in the air, turned around, and took the elevator down.

...

At this very moment.

Xu Junze and Qi Jiajia had left Roda Forest and were heading toward Mount Park.

Wen Yiming and Chu Yao had finally found the lions they were looking for in Roda Forest, high-fived in excitement, and subsequently attracted the lions' encirclement.

As for Lu Zhou and Li Jiayan, they had walked through the last intersection in the Claw Valley Labyrinth.

A large exit sign was exceptionally eye-catching ahead. Lu Zhou pursed his lips and smiled; his previous deduction was correct, and this route could really get them out.

A sense of victory and joy at clearing the game welled up in his heart.

Li Jiayan also saw the exit, her eyes widening in surprise. She excitedly tapped Lu Zhou's arm and said, "It looks like we can get out!"

Lu Zhou smiled at her. "Yes."

At this moment, it felt as if all their physical and mental exhaustion had dissipated. Li Jiayan’s eyes grew moist, and she said, "Lu Zhou, you are so smart!"

Emerging from the labyrinth, Li Jiayan felt that Lu Zhou was even more reliable. He suddenly gave her a sense of immense peace of mind just by being by her side.

Fortunately, she had chosen to follow him to the end. Now they didn't need to switch locations; they had successfully cleared the level!

After leaving the Claw Valley Labyrinth and obtaining the location information for the gathering point, the two headed to the next location without delay—the Sky Observation Deck.

When they arrived, they saw no other guests, only staff.

Li Jiayan looked at the staff with excitement, her eyes filled with hopeful light.

"What place are we?" she asked.

"Congratulations, you are in first place." The staff member replied with a smile.

"Both of you will soon have a date privilege. From this moment until we notify you to make your choice, you can seriously consider which guest of the opposite sex you most want to have a secret date with tomorrow."

"Please keep the ranking you achieved today absolutely confidential and do not inform anyone."

"Before we notify you to make your choice, please do not disclose your intended date choice to anyone, including each other."

"If you violate these rules, the date privilege will be canceled."

Li Jiayan was so surprised she wanted to cry, and she and Lu Zhou said in unison, "Okay."

Live stream—

[Awesome, it's you again, Lu Zhou!]
[He's almost bagged all the production team's rewards.]
[It really is whoever is in his group gets first place, haha.]
[What kind of good luck charm is this?]
[He must have some superpower.]
...

At this time, Wen Yiming and Chu Yao were also on their way to this gathering point. When they arrived, Lu Zhou and Li Jiayan had already left the observation deck.

The two looked at the staff with expectation, only to be told they were in second place, and they were immediately disappointed.

"Who is in first place?" Wen Yiming asked.

"I cannot disclose that."

Wen Yiming and Chu Yao looked at each other helplessly, and were finally asked to keep their own ranking confidential.

"Who do you think is in first place?" Chu Yao asked for Wen Yiming's opinion.

"The production team said at the beginning that the Claw Valley Labyrinth was quite difficult. Whoever cleared it so quickly must be very familiar with this type of game project. I think it's Zhang Chen; after all, he works in gaming, so the labyrinth might be easy for him," Wen Yiming guessed.

"I had a subconscious guess that it might be Lu Zhou's group, but after your analysis, I feel it should be Zhang Chen and Fangfei," Chu Yao laughed.

"Why did you subconsciously think it was Lu Zhou?" Wen Yiming asked curiously.

"The previous rapport rewards were always won by his group, so subconsciously I felt it would be him... habit of thinking."

"It can't be him every time. Besides, it's impossible for one person to be so in sync with whoever they are teamed with? And today doesn't seem to test rapport."

The two chatted as they left the observation deck.

The staff member behind them: "..."

It really is him every time... it's just plain spooky.

Xu Junze and Qi Jiajia were the third group to arrive at the gathering point. When told their ranking, Qi Jiajia, who had long guessed they couldn't be first, was still surprised.

"I thought we were last. Is there actually someone later than us?" she laughed.

"Don't tell me you're actually proud of that," Xu Junze teased. "Other than first place, no other ranking has any meaning."

"Haha, that's true! I don't know who is in first place, I'm a bit curious." Qi Jiajia vaguely felt it should be Wen Yiming and Chu Yao's group.

Xu Junze also guessed it might be that group.

The group at the bottom was Zhang Chen and Ye Fangfei.

Told they were last, Zhang Chen's expression turned to stone. "Who is first?"

Staff: "Cannot say."

"You don't have to say it, just blink." Zhang Chen said, asking the names of Lu Zhou, Wen Yiming, and Xu Junze one by one, but the staff member didn't blink once during the whole time.

Zhang Chen was truly impressed.

"You also need to keep your ranking confidential," the staff reminded him.

"What if I don't keep it confidential?"

Zhang Chen expressed his dissatisfaction with this rule.

"If you don't..." The staff member swallowed. Thinking that they couldn't really do anything to them if they didn't keep it confidential, he said smartly, "Everyone else will know you are in last place, while you won't know what place they are in."

Zhang Chen: "..."

Ye Fangfei laughed on the side, inexplicably feeling that this staff member was quite smart and knew how to handle Zhang Chen perfectly.

The viewers in the live stream were already laughing hysterically.