Gentle's group of five never expected that this cave would be a gathering place for venomous snakes.
In the jungle, these venomous snakes were scarier than the large wild beasts. When encountering wild animals, they could still fight back and even heal from any injuries.
But venomous snakes were different, a small bite from them could easily lead to an unknown fate.
The group involuntarily retreated into the cave, but before they took two steps back, they noticed that the lush green vines inside the cave were entwined with snakes.
It seemed that these snakes had sensed the intrusion and were poking their heads out, some wriggling towards them.
Both before and after were snakes, and snakes have extremely fast reaction speed, which is not something that people can match. Therefore, the few people who were surrounded by the snakes didn't know what to do at all.
Is being bitten to death by the snakes their fate after all?
At this moment, someone recalled Wen Yao's words and truly regretted not heeding them in the beginning.
If they had listened to Wen Yao earlier, they wouldn't have encountered these. Maybe they would have already been comfortably sleeping in a safe cave.
Unfortunately, there are no "ifs" in this world, and the reality in front of them is particularly cruel.
"The production team is just watching us being surrounded by the snakes, they really won't intervene?" The speaker was trembling all over, his voice low, afraid that he might anger these terrifying creatures with even a slightly louder voice.
"Didn't you see the contract? How could the production team care about your life or death?"
"Even if it's death, I don't want to be bitten to death by these venomous snakes." Thinking of these cold and ugly creatures entwining around him, Yuan Bing immediately felt weak in the legs.
Among the five people, Dong Binrui was relatively calm. He bit his lip, and his Adam's apple moved a few times, saying, "Right now, we have no other choice but to bravely charge out."
"Charge out?" The few people looked at the dozens of snakes crouching at the entrance of the cave, and swallowed nervously.
"I have studied snakes and similar animals before. Actually, this season is the hibernation season for snakes, but due to the climate on this deserted island, the snakes have not entered hibernation. However, if you look at their state, they are not as energetic as usual, which is why they haven't actively attacked us."
Upon closer examination, it was true that these snakes were also very cautious around them, and currently both sides were in a standoff.
"Our clothes are made of special material, and although the snakes' teeth are sharp, it's still a bit difficult for them to bite through. So, everyone should try to cover their skin with their clothes and not expose bare skin."
At this moment, everyone had no better ideas and could only follow Dong Binrui's instructions.
"Because the commotion of charging out will surely provoke these snakes, we must act together and persist in our actions. No matter what happens in between, even if we are bitten, we cannot stop. Do you all understand?"
"Okay." The few people nodded heavily.
As Dong Binrui tightened his clothing's zipper, he looked at Wen Rou, who was trembling with fear at the moment, feeling completely confused.
Dong Binrui instructed, "Wen Rou, don't be afraid. Just follow me closely and charge outside with determination."
Wen Rou bit her lip, staring with frightened eyes, and nodded seriously.
Then, following Dong Binrui's countdown of "3, 2, 1," the few people began to sprint out with all their might.
At this moment, the heavy rain outside the cave seemed to be their salvation. They were eager to embrace it.
They had taken shelter in the cave to avoid the rain at first, so they didn't go deep into the cave. The distance to the entrance was less than five meters, which would usually take only two to three seconds. But now, this short two to three seconds felt particularly long, because they were gambling with death.
The snakes, once stepped on by people, became active in an instant, swiftly attacking these unexpected guests. Soon, some people felt that they had been bitten by snakes, but even so, they did not stop.
After desperately running out of the cave, they ran a distance to make sure they were at a safe distance from the snakes before stopping.
By this time, the heavy rain had subsided, and the thunder and lightning had also stopped.
The few people sat exhausted on the ground, too afraid to recall what they had just experienced. The entwining snakes were rolling crazy on their pant legs, creating a sensation as if thousands of ants were crawling in their hearts, an indescribable terror.
The first to rush out of the snake cave, Dong Binrui checked himself to confirm that he was not injured, and then asked, "How are you all? Who has been bitten?"
Zheng Wen held his ankle, looking at the four small blood holes that were bleeding, feeling very scared, not knowing if the two snakes that bit him were poisonous.
However, on the island, eighty percent of the snakes were likely to be venomous, so he had to quickly deal with the wounds.
Zheng Wen quickly took out a fine thread from his bag and tightly bound his ankle, isolating the wound. Then he took out two transparent plastic bags and said, "Can someone help me suck out the snake venom?"
Yuan Bing had also been bitten by a snake and was currently preoccupied, not paying attention to Zheng Wen at all, while another guest named Zhou Qi clearly did not want to take the risk.
Although the plastic bags served as isolation, there was still a certain risk in sucking out the venom, and he was not willing to take the risk.
This left only Dong Binrui, who took the plastic bags intending to help, but suddenly realized that someone was missing.
"Oh no, Wen Rou did not follow us and is still in the snake cave."
The others just realized that they had not felt Wen Rou's presence at all during this short journey.
Zhou Qi looked at Zheng Wen, whose lips had begun to change color within a few minutes, and it was obvious that the snake was venomous.
If they were to rescue Wen Rou, it was not possible to let the two injured people go again, so it was inevitable that he and Dong Binrui had to go, but he didn't want to go through the gates of hell again.
Zhou Qi said, "There's no way, we can't go in again!"
Upon hearing this, Dong Binrui fell silent.
Although he truly felt uneasy seeing his companions in danger, they definitely could not enter the snake cave again.
Zheng Wen, sitting on the ground holding his ankle, anxiously shouted, "We definitely can't save Wen Rou, let it go for now."
"Yeah, in this kind of situation, we are preoccupied; let's not take any more risks."
Yuan Bing knew that Dong Binrui and Wen Rou had a good relationship, but no matter how good their relationship was, it was not worth risking their lives for.
After witnessing this scene, the audience in the live broadcast couldn't help but sigh.
"This show once again teaches us that we can only rely on ourselves in crucial moments."
"Although Zheng Wen and Yuan Bing are right, the way they kneeled down to Wen Rou before and now completely ignoring her is truly disgusting."
"While Wen Rou is bad, being bitten to death by so many snakes is too cruel, I can't bear to watch."
"Wouldn't Wen Yao really go and save her sister? This is too cruel."
"Why should Wen Yao go and save her? Because Wen Rou has bullied her for so many years? Anyone who thinks Wen Yao should go and save her is crazy. Do you think Wen Yao is a saint? Is it worth risking for Wen Rou?"
"The rain stopped, and Wenyao came out of the cave alone. Is she coming to find these people?"
"Wow, this light work, even the drone can't keep up. Don't blur the picture..."
...
Dong Binrui glanced at the snake cave in the distance, sighed in his heart, and was about to take out the first aid kit from his bag to help Zheng Wen and Yuan Bing with their wounds, but then saw a person appear in front of him.
The sudden appearance of the figure gave the four people a big scare. But after recognizing it was Wenyao, they instantly recalled the warnings she had given them at the beginning.
If they had just listened to Wenyao from the beginning, they wouldn't have had to go through all of this.
They regretted it deeply. Seeing Wenyao at this moment, they thought she had come to mock them, and they were so embarrassed that they didn't dare to speak.
Wenyao glanced at the injured pair and saw the sharp teeth marks, knowing that they must have already entered the cave.
Their situation was much better than she had expected; at least they were able to escape.
However...
She asked, "What about Wenrou?"
"That cave is a snake nest. As soon as we entered, we were surrounded by snakes. There was no other way but to break out with determination. But Wenrou didn't come out with us. We don't know how she is now," Zhou Qi explained.
Dong Binrui, upon seeing Wenyao, hurriedly said, "Wenyao, hurry and save your sister. I'm afraid it'll be too late..."
Before Dong Binrui could finish his sentence, Wenyao snatched the safety helmet from his head and then disappeared in front of their eyes.
In an instant, Wenyao arrived in front of the cave. She adjusted the light on the helmet to the brightest and shone it into the cave. Everywhere the light reached, it was full of snake figures, but Wenrou was nowhere to be seen.
Although Wenyao thought that Wenrou deserved everything that happened, she hadn't fully understood the situation and had recklessly participated in this program.
Even though that was the case, she was the original host's sister. If it were the original host, she definitely would not have just stood by.
So, for the sake of the original host, Wenyao decided to save Wenrou this time, even though it was unrelated to her anymore after this incident.
Wenyao looked into the cave. It was too dangerous to just rush in, she had to draw the snakes away first.
She looked up at the snake vines at the mouth of the cave. After the heavy rain, the snakes on the vines had disappeared. They must have all gone into the cave to seek shelter.
Wenyao quickly pulled down a few snake vines, crushed the leaves to release the strongest scent of the vine, and then bunched them into a ball and threw it on the ground.
The snakes sensed the strong scent of the vine and indeed followed the vine ball.
Seizing the opportunity, Wenyao entered the cave, gripping her long sword, ready to cut any snake that came too close to her into pieces.
Perhaps because Wenyao's hands had touched the sap from the vine, as soon as she entered the cave, the snakes started crawling towards her frantically.
In the flashing of the sword, Wenyao had already cut countless snakes, but without hitting fatal spots, these snakes were still moving, attempting to attack her.
There were too many snakes in the cave, and it was nighttime. Her vision was obstructed, but the snakes' eyesight was not. Plus, snakes were among the fastest-reacting animals. If she stayed any longer, she would likely suffer from their venomous bites.
Wenyao quickly surveyed the cave, searching for Wenrou's figure, and finally saw her in a corner.
Wenrou lay motionless on the ground. A snake of the thickness of an arm was coiled around her neck, with some small snakes also wriggling around her body, looking frightening.
Wenyao swung her long sword and mercilessly stabbed the big snake coiled around Wenrou. However, as the snake was wrapped around Wenrou, she didn't dare to use too much force, so the snake only suffered a minor injury.
The injured snake quickly fled from Wenrou, and Wenyao promptly used her sword to drive away the remaining small snakes on Wenrou's body. Then, carrying Wenrou, she swiftly left the cave.
The audience in the live stream was left dumbfounded. When they finally reacted, the barrage on the screen was the most unified in history.
"Wenyao is amazing!!!"
Dong Binrui clearly had not expected Wenyao to actually rescue Wenrou. He stared at the two in a daze, so excited that he was stuttering.
"W-Wenyao, how did you do that? Those were full of poisonous snakes. Many chivalrous figures in martial arts stories ended up defeated by just a tiny poisonous snake."
Wenyao glared at Dong Binrui, and then laid Wenrou on the ground.
She first checked her breathing and then felt her pulse. "She's still alive."
After confirming that Wenrou was still alive, she then examined her wounds. The most obvious were the two large teeth marks on her neck, likely from the snake bite.
Wenyao pinched Wenrou's flesh, squeezing out the dirty blood inside and checking its color.
The blood was bright red, the bite wasn't deep, and besides, the snake, most likely a python, was either non-venomous or the venom was not fatal. Usually, those with odd colorations are the venomous ones.
Thinking of the small snakes coiling around Wenrou, Wenyao quickly checked for any other wounds on Wenrou's exposed skin, but it was unblemished.
Just as she sighed in relief about Wenrou's fortune, she noticed that Wenrou's clothes had a small tear on her arm. When she opened it, she saw three pairs of teeth marks on the inside of Wenrou's forearm.
The teeth marks were very small, but the area around the bite had turned black, indicating a potent venom.
Dong Binrui saw this and asked, "Do we need to suck the snake venom out?"
"No, I'll have to excise this part of the flesh."
"What? No, the wound will get infected." There were no medical conditions on the deserted island; an infected wound could be fatal.
"The venom hasn't spread widely yet. By cutting out this part, she has a chance at survival. Otherwise, if the snake venom spreads throughout her body, it's a dead end!"
"Give me the knife."
Removing a piece of flesh from the arm, how terrifying. But Dong Binrui dared not say anything and trembled as he handed the knife over.
The tip of the knife traced out an area on the fair arm. Then without any hesitation, Wenyao cut off the piece of flesh with the six teeth marks. The pain made Wenrou wake up with a scream, and then she fainted again.
The translation of the text is as follows:
Stop the bleeding, apply medicine, and bandage the wound, all in one go.
After doing all this, Wen Yao stood up and said, "I've done what I needed to do. Can she survive or not?"
She was speaking to Dong Binrui, but also to the original body, after all, no matter how gentle or vicious Wen Yao was, she shared the same blood as the original owner.
After speaking, Wen Yao was about to leave when Zheng Wen suddenly grabbed her.
"Wen Yao, don't go, save me... please save me." Although it was just a bite on the ankle, he felt that he was already on the verge of death.
Now, Zheng Wen didn't trust anyone else, only Wen Yao.
Wen Yao had created too many miracles. If she was willing to save him, he would definitely survive.
Wen Yao glanced at Dong Binrui's ankle and then at his face. His lips had turned black, indicating that the poison had spread.
There wasn't much flesh around the ankle, and there were also veins on the foot.
The only way to survive, perhaps...
Wen Yao said, "It's a matter of amputation."
Hearing the word "amputation," Zheng Wen's eyes widened. "How is that possible! Wen Yao, don't scare me."
Modern medical conditions could control the spread of snake venom, without the need for amputation. But now, on a deserted island, they had nothing. However, the risk of amputation was too great, and it was easy to die from excessive bleeding.
Wen Yao was also at a loss. She pushed away Zheng Wen's hand and said, "Just consider it as me scaring you."
After saying this, Wen Yao left.
When Wen Yao was not around, Lu Yunxi didn't dare to sleep. She nervously guarded the entrance of the cave, worrying about Wen Yao and herself.
She remained on edge for an hour until she finally saw Wen Yao's figure.
Wen Yao held a long sword in her hand, walking towards her with a straight posture. She had no signs of injury, which relieved Lu Yunxi.
She eagerly asked, "Yao Yao, what's the situation over there?"
Lu Yunxi didn't know where Wen Yao had gone, but based on Wen Yao's character, she must have gone to save Wen Rou and the others.
"It's okay." The situation was much better than she had imagined.
She had thought that none of them would escape from the snake cave, but unexpectedly, they had managed to come out. Two of them were uninjured, proving how strong the human survival instinct was.
Upon hearing this answer, Lu Yunxi's worries were finally put to rest.
When Wen Yao said "it's okay," the situation must be optimistic.
However, in reality, it was not the case.
After escaping the threat of snake venom, Wen Rou developed a high fever due to getting wet in the rain and inflammation of the wound. Zheng Wen's snake bite was not properly treated, and the next day, he too had a fever caused by the snake venom.
Both of them were completely delirious from the fever and could not walk at all.
Dong Binrui offered all the fever-reducing medicine they had, but the situation did not improve. It even worsened.
Yuan Bing was lucky; he was bitten on the finger, and the snake that bit him might not have had strong venom. Only his whole hand was swollen, but he was concerned only about himself.
They had encountered many challenges in the last few days, such as yesterday's heavy rain and mistakenly entering the snake cave, which resulted in a loss of a lot of things.
Not only were they running out of food, but they were also running out of tools. In addition, they had two patients to take care of, making Dong Binrui and Zhou Qi panic.
Just a small part of their time on the deserted island had passed, yet they were already in such a predicament. They were unsure about the path to take in the future.
In the afternoon, they made the last package of compressed biscuits into a paste with water and added some wild vegetables. It was extremely unappetizing, but the three of them forced it down their throats.
Their stomachs didn't feel full at all; instead, they felt even hungrier.
Zhou Qi looked at Dong Binrui and then at Yuan Bing, finally settling his gaze on the two patients inside the tent.
He remained silent for a long time before tightening his grip, as if he had used all his strength to speak, "Brother Dong, Brother Yuan, we cannot continue carrying Wen Rou and Zheng Wen."
Dong Binrui and Yuan Bing lowered their heads without responding. Zhou Qi continued, "If we continue like this, we will also be worn out."
They were already in poor physical and mental condition due to the lack of food and warm clothing. Taking care of two hopeless patients was like doing useless work and wasting energy.
Zhou Qi knew that Dong Binrui and Yuan Bing had already had this thought, but out of humanity, morality, and concern for the current audience of the show, they hesitated to speak up, afraid of being criticized after the show ended and being unable to live with themselves.
Zhou Qi was not a big shot; he had participated in the show for the high pay. So, as long as he could survive, it didn't matter how he would be criticized later.
Dong Binrui and Yuan Bing didn't mind being the bad guys; he would be the one.
"The rules of the survival show on the deserted island were made clear from the beginning. Since they chose to participate, they were ready to leave their lives on the island. So, there's no need for us to persist anymore. Everything we have done for them in the past few days can be considered as fulfilling our duty to them."
"Brother Dong, Brother Yuan, the premise of saving someone is that we have the capability to do so. But now we simply don't have that capability."
After Zhou Qi's words reached this point and Dong Binrui and Yuan Bing still remained silent, he stood up and said, "I'm sorry, if you are not ready to give up on them, then I can only choose to leave. I really can't carry these two anymore."
With that, Zhou Qi picked up his backpack, preparing to go separate ways from them.
After looking at each other, Dong Binrui and Yuan Bing said, "We give up."
After saying these words, they seemed to have exhausted all their strength.
It wasn't because they were close to the two patients, but in the face of human life, even strangers could not be indifferent. It was human nature.
They carried Wen Rou and Zheng Wen out of the tent and placed them under a tree. Then, with a deep sense of guilt, they quickly left.
At this moment, the live broadcast room was quiet, with no barrage on the screen.
All the audience fell silent because they couldn't pass judgment on the right or wrong of the three people. In this environment, as Zhou Qi said, they had done all they could.
As for Wenrou and Zhengwen, the audience had disliked them before, but now, seeing them being abandoned, they didn't have the heart to say "they deserve it."
"Yunxi, have you seen any fish over there?"
"No."
"Then there's no hope for today, but the tide should rise tonight, which will make it easier. Let's go inside the woods to check if there's any catch from the traps we set yesterday."
"Okay."
"Don't go that way, come this way."
Wenyao had long legs and liked to take big steps. Luyunxi had to jog to keep up. While running, Wenyao said, "We've been on this deserted island for a full two weeks now. The production team should report on the latest conditions of the guests today."
Last time, three people lost contact, and four were seriously injured. What would be the situation this time?
Just as Wenyao was thinking this, she heard the voice from the mini-speaker on her sleeve.
"Congratulations to everyone, the one-month survival on a deserted island has reached its halfway point."
"During the past week, three more guests have left the view of everyone. The remaining guests must take good care to protect themselves. We and the audience are looking forward to your safe return."
Upon hearing this, Luyunxi sighed and said, "Someone else has died, the casualties of this season's show are too severe."
The production team did not use the word "death" directly, but the meaning was clear, leaving the view of everyone actually meant death or loss of contact.
Wenyao recalled the male guest who disappeared last time and muttered, "Have they really all died?"
"Otherwise, where could they go? They haven't appeared again after the show ended."
Wenyao's doubts intensified, but she couldn't provide a reasonable explanation.
"YaoYao, it seems like we've taken the wrong path. This isn't where we set the trap."
Wenyao had been thinking, and she didn't even notice that they had gone in the wrong direction. It was Luyunxi who reminded her, and they had deviated from the path for quite some distance.
Returning the same way was too troublesome, so she pointed ahead and said, "Let's go around from here."
"Okay."
However, after they had taken a few steps, they saw Wenrou and Zhengwen leaning against a tree. Luyunxi was startled and then bravely went over to check their breathing.
"YaoYao, they're still breathing."
Wenyao looked at the two people in a state of unconsciousness, shook her head, and walked forward.
"Let's go, we can't save them."
Upon hearing this, although Luyunxi was unwilling in her heart, she still withdrew her hand and caught up with Wenyao.
Wenyao had surveyed the area and found no large animals around, so it was relatively safe. The two of them planned to catch some fish after the tide rose, so they didn't go far and just lit a fire pit nearby and set up a tent.
At night, Luyunxi tossed and turned in the tent. She couldn't sleep with the thought of Wenrou and Zhengwen on her mind.
Although she felt helpless, abandoning them while they were still alive made her conscience uneasy.
After much contemplation, Luyunxi finally decided to go back quietly to check on Wenrou and Zhengwen's condition, even though she couldn't do anything. She just wanted to go back and see.
She knew Wenyao's temperament, so she didn't want to alarm Wenyao and quietly slipped out alone.
It wasn't far, and there weren't any dangers nearby.
Wenyao was a light sleeper, so she was very aware of any movement around her.
So she was aware when Luyunxi went out and knew what she was doing, but Wenyao didn't stop her and let her go.
But after nearly an hour, Luyunxi still hadn't come back. It was late at night, and although there were no wild animals nearby, there were still other small dangers lurking.
Wenyao was worried about Luyunxi and immediately prepared to go out and check on the situation.
But as soon as she came out of the tent, she saw Luyunxi coming back.
Luyunxi's gait was very stiff, making her look somewhat awkward, but Wenyao couldn't laugh. Instead, she felt that Luyunxi's face looked extremely tense, as if she had encountered a huge fright.
She hurriedly asked, "Yunxi, what's wrong? Did you encounter something?"
Luyunxi looked at the mini drone in the air, bit her lip, and tried hard to keep herself calm. Then she shook her head and said, "It's nothing. It's late; let's go back to the tent and rest."
After saying that, Luyunxi went into the tent. The mini drone needed to maintain a certain distance for tracking and filming, so it wouldn't enter the tent.
Wenyao understood Luyunxi's intention from her words and quickly followed her into the tent.
As soon as she entered the tent, Luyunxi immediately handed her a piece of paper.