Successfully bringing contestant No. 2 back to the starting point, Zhang Laoge sat back in his chair with satisfaction, only to suddenly hear the Program Team stifling their laughter beside him: “Um… don’t worry, we’ll explain this to your wife.”
Upon hearing this, a bad premonition immediately formed in his heart, and his gaze instinctively sought out the troublemaker among the guests.
Wang—Su Yan.
Su Yan noticed Zhang Laoge’s look and gave him an innocent smile.
The live chat exploded, noticing the silent interaction between the two, nearly laughing themselves silly.
“Hahahahahahaha”
“I didn’t expect it to be this funny before I came in!”
“‘Yan Jing’: Hey! I just found you an old ‘top’!”
“Wait upstairs? Don’t you know who’s top and who’s bottom?”
“Zhang Laoge’s confused + scared look hahahahahaha”
“Zhang Laoge is really smart, he immediately guessed that it was ‘Yan Jing’ stirring things up.”
“Who else? ‘Yan Jing’ is the only one here who loves causing trouble.”
“Let’s have a moment of silence for Zhang Laoge, then I’m standing with Zhang Laoge as the top!”
“Zhang Laoge: You have no heart!”
Zhang Laoge shivered all over, suspiciously turning around to question the Program Team: “Is it her causing trouble?”
On the other end, a cough was heard, followed by a hesitant reply: “Ahem, well, you better focus on your work first. We still need to control the scene here, so we won’t tell you for now!”
Then they abruptly vanished.
Zhang Laoge called out to the Program Team a few more times but received no response.
He suppressed the uneasy feeling in his heart and started cueing the process: “The game continues!”
At this moment, only contestant No. 6 remained on the track. He looked helplessly toward Su Yan and her group: “Come on, at least help a little! Don’t you all want that 100,000 yuan prize?”
Su Yan decided to quit while ahead, standing up with a smile: “I’ve recovered enough, so I’ll help you. Do you have any ideas? We can’t just rush blindly.”
No. 6 knew charging straight ahead wouldn’t work and frowned deeply: “I think our only chance is to catch it off guard from behind. Otherwise, there’s no chance to touch it.”
Su Yan nodded, giving a subtle hint: “That’s true, but the host seems to have a cheat code — he knows our every move. How can we surprise it?”
This sparked inspiration in No. 6, who started pondering why the host knew all the movements behind him: “Could it be… there are actually eyes on the back of its head?”
Su Yan expressionlessly turned his head toward Zhang Laoge: “Say that again to the host’s bald head. What’s behind its head?”
No. 6 was silent for a moment: “Then let’s change our approach.”
Su Yan looked at him leisurely.
If this guy could come up with a reliable plan, she wouldn’t mind cooperating.
But if he was hopeless, he’d just be the comic relief in this show.
“I think maybe it can sense the surroundings itself. No matter what we do behind it, it can sense us,” No. 6 guessed uncertainly.
Su Yan raised one eyebrow: “Then isn’t this game a bit too hard? If it knows our every move, there’s no way we can pass.”
Her intention was to tell No. 6 that Zhang Laoge could only sense specific areas, but he obviously misunderstood: “Then we shouldn’t focus on being undetectable. We should focus on making it unable to stop us.”
Su Yan was stunned for a moment, then thought over her own strategy and nodded: “That’s also a way to look at it.” Though it wasn’t quite the method she wanted to tell him.
No. 6 became more convinced his idea was right.
Confidently, he said: “What if all six of us rush together, and when it calls out ‘freeze,’ we all stand still. Even if it bothers a few and sends them back to the starting point, it won’t be able to get everyone back within a minute. Then we can touch it!”
It had to be said — this was a great idea. But Su Yan immediately realized he had made the same mistake she had: ignoring the second half of the game.
They not only needed to touch the host, but also all return to the starting point without being caught.
Using his plan, they definitely couldn’t complete the latter task.
But should she warn him?
Su Yan hesitated and glanced at the “Confucian Merchant.”
More than forty minutes had passed, and she had promised the battle would end within an hour.
If she told No. 6 about the risk, he’d keep thinking of new plans and likely go overtime.
Considering this, Su Yan sighed.
Maybe it was better to give the Nick Star viewers a bit of excitement — watching everyone pass wouldn’t be all that fun.
No. 6, seeing Su Yan silent for a while, assumed she agreed with his plan.
Excited, he shared it with the others.
Contestant No. 2’s eyes gleamed with surprise.
Could this guy really have come up with a reliable plan?
Could they finally win this time?
The “Confucian Merchant” looked thoughtful after hearing the plan and glanced at Su Yan.
Naturally, he spotted the huge flaw in the plan.
Su Yan couldn’t have missed it either, but she hadn’t pointed it out.
Was it because of time?
The “Confucian Merchant” glanced at his watch and then smiled at her gratefully.
Contestants No. 1 and No. 4 didn’t see the problem in the plan, but No. 4 worriedly asked: “How can we all get past the obstacles the host sets together?”
No. 2 didn’t want No. 6 to take all the spotlight and quickly explained: “Isn’t it easy? Look, the two of us already worked together to get past that obstacle. As long as one person clings to the obstacle, the rest can break through.”
Su Yan recalled the previous situation and suddenly remembered the host could dig a Big Pit to trap everyone.
She warned: “Also, the host’s obstacles might include Big Pits or Nail Formations, so if you feel something’s off, jump away immediately.”
No. 4 nodded in strong agreement: “Right, that’s exactly what trapped us last time. If ‘Yan Jing’ hadn’t helped, we wouldn’t have gotten out.”
While they discussed, Su Yan approached the “Confucian Merchant”: “Confucian God, can you cooperate a bit? If they fail, the game can end.”
The “Confucian Merchant” nodded and stepped onto the track.
Under No. 6’s arrangement, the six divided into two groups of three on two tracks, with one person assigned to cling to obstacles and the other two to break through.
If anything went wrong, they would immediately scatter.
Zhang Laoge naturally sensed the contestants’ movements, his expression amused.
As the groups rushed to the center of the tracks, he willed a Big Pit and a vine to appear on those two tracks.
However, the three prepared there were not easily trapped.
They quickly jumped to the adjacent track and continued forward.
Zhang Laoge was surprised and immediately raised another vine on the other track.
But it was useless; as soon as the vine appeared, the contestants nimbly leapt over the Big Pit and jumped back to the original track.
Because that track already had the Big Pit obstacle, no new obstacles could appear there shortly afterward, so it remained clear.
Meanwhile, the other group of three also successfully passed two people.
The five-person squad marched toward Zhang Laoge.
At this point, Zhang Laoge understood their plan perfectly — they wanted to rush together, believing he couldn’t simultaneously bother five people within a minute, ensuring someone would touch him.
He sneered coldly.
It was time to teach these naive kids a lesson.
Thinking so, he didn’t even bother to stop them, letting the five approach.
No. 6, seeing Zhang Laoge’s calm demeanor, felt an inexplicable bad feeling.
Why hadn’t he called a stop yet?
This wasn’t what he expected.
But victory was so close now; retreating wasn’t an option.
He gritted his teeth and slapped Zhang Laoge’s back.
At the same moment, everyone spun around and fled.
But Zhang Laoge’s speed was incomparable.
The Program Team invited him as a substitute host not only because, like the Faceless Lady, he could connect the tracks, but also because of his incredible speed.
Su Yan had succeeded before only because she had stunned him.
This time, Zhang Laoge was prepared.
Within seconds, No. 6 was caught in his hands.
“Game failed.”
No. 6 and No. 2’s faces turned ashen.
There was no way — after experiencing death once already and dealing with so much mental strain, they had completely forgotten about this rule.
Having failed twice, they no longer had a chance to win.
So the game automatically teleported them out, leaving only Su Yan and the other three.
Su Yan looked at Zhang Laoge with a conciliatory expression: “I suppose you don’t want me to crash through the screen again, right? How about this — just count us as winners?”
Zhang Laoge recalled the feeling of being hit like a cannonball, swallowed nervously, glanced at Su Yan with difficulty, and then asked the Program Team: “Since it’s already decided, can I just announce they passed?”
The Director glanced at the screen and firmly refused: “How can we do that? This is a proper game; it should embody the spirit of never giving up. We can’t just give up on the experience because we know the result.”
Meanwhile, the Director’s screen was flooded with live comments.
“Ahahaha, is it time for my favorite part again?”
“I want to see Zhang Laoge get knocked out!”
“Reject her! Reject her! I want to see the cannonball!”
“How can we cheat? Of course, they have to try again! (dog head)”
“Hahahaha, we can’t let her pass so easily!”
“I’m getting an Elastic Rope, anyone want to join?”
“Me! Me! Just hope it’s as good as ‘Yan Jing’s’!”
Zhang Laoge nodded sheepishly upon hearing this, then said to Su Yan: “No, we have to go through the process. You guys go ahead, I can take it!”
Su Yan pursed her lips silently.
You can take it, but the problem is I can’t!
Does only the one being knocked feel bad?
Remember, force is mutual, the one who hits also feels the pain!
With a sour face, Su Yan prepared the props again, then—
Bang!
Fire!