After Transmigrating as the Northeast CEO's Pampered Little Husband - Chapter 45

“Welcome, everyone, to the Orange Blossom Summer Gala! I’m your host, Ou Li! This exclusive livestream is brought to you by Sheng Hua Motors of Lu Chi Tian Xia and Qi Chen Technology of Huan Yu Interstellar. Today…”

The livestream for the Orange Blossom Summer Gala utilised Qi Chen Technology’s hovering livestreaming devices, which were not yet on the market. These brand-new tracking cameras could replicate the scene to the greatest extent, providing livestream users with a sensory experience that was as synchronised as possible.

“The rules of this competition have been sent to your respective message centres. Please form teams or proceed according to the requirements…”

The host, dressed in a mini-skirt, provided an impassioned commentary beside a helicopter. The assembled content creators would take the sponsor’s cars to the designated mountain forest location to begin this Summer Gala’s livestream competition.

“Streamers who do not secure a balloon and arrive at the gathering point within the stipulated time will face the penalty of elimination and lose the qualification to participate in the subsequent games. So, everyone, you must give it your all!”

Once everyone had arrived at the drop-off point, the host would switch the livestream feed from backstage to continue the commentary. All livestream feeds would be broadcast simultaneously on the Orange Blossom app. In the pinned position of each section, every user could watch up to four streamers’ adventures simultaneously and vote to support their favourites. Follower counts and tips would account for 50% of the streamer’s final score.

“I declare the competition officially open!!!!”

With the host’s final words, the hovering livestream drones began tracking the streamers, transmitting the images to the platform.

“Let’s go.” Gu Jiaoyang glanced at the map and called for Zhu Zhengwen to lead the livestream drone into the forest.

The location selected for this wilderness survival was Dragon Tiger Mountain, west of W City. This forest connected to the Tao Dong Mountain Range, which marked the country’s north-south divide. Unlike the Tao Dong Mountain Range, which teemed with wildlife, Dragon Tiger Mountain only hosted some wild monkeys and man-made temples. The forest was vast, but the danger was minimal.

However, as a restriction, all streamers were only allowed to carry a small knife, a lighter, and a bottle of mineral water. As for food, the streamers had to figure it out themselves.

Of course, to accommodate the majority of streamers who were clueless about the edibility of wild species, the organisers had prepared some foodbarely enough to stave off hunger hidden throughout the jungle as concealed supply points.

The first survival match required everyone to find balloons hidden in the jungle within the set time, specifically before 5:00 PM. Obtaining a balloon would provide clues to the gathering point. Those who failed to meet up by the deadline would be eliminated from the following competitions. To increase the element of confrontation, there were only nine balloons in total, while there were thirteen of them.

“The map marks the help points and the boundaries. It’s such a massive forest; where should we start looking?” Zhu Zhengwen looked at the map as he walked. Subconsciously, he treated Master Gu Jiaoyang as the backbone of the team, naturally directing all questions to him.

The livestream drone beside them filmed dutifully with a low hum, capturing Zhu Zhengwen’s subconscious reliance without missing a beat.

“Here. Head forward. There’s a stream nearby. If people can’t find the hidden supply points, they’ll go to the stream on the map to catch fish. After all, compared to mushrooms that no one can identify and game that carries diseases, fish is the simplest food source. The organisers will definitely place balloons around there. Gathering people creates difficulty and conflict; that’s the setup for generating traffic.”

Gu Jiaoyang stood in the shade of a tree, glanced at the map in his hand, and traced a few lines on it with his finger, determining their route. He calmly took a few sips of water before leading Zhu Zhengwen towards the stream to the west.

“Impressive. Truly worthy of being the Great… Greatly Intelligent Person!” Zhu Zhengwen was about to habitually flatter him by calling him ‘Great Master’, but realising they were livestreaming, he hurriedly changed his tune, awkwardly turning ‘Master’ into ‘Greatly Intelligent Person’, which didn’t sound intelligent at all.

Zhu Zhengwen was sharp enough; whenever a third party was present, he never addressed Gu Jiaoyang as ‘Master’ directly, reserving that title for private moments. In this regard, the guy was surprisingly cautious.

Gu Jiaoyang smiled faintly. Stepping through the lush summer grass, he felt the ceaseless wood spirit energy from the forest slowly soothing his soul. The small circulation within his body quietly began to respirate, converting this pure, gentle spiritual power into his body, compressing it, and storing it as his own strength.

Compared to the green belts in the city, the purification power of a forest was incomparable to any man-made green space. Once his magical power advanced a step further, he could create a Spirit Gathering Array to cultivate at home.

Then, he could introduce Mr Dai to cultivation as well, without worrying about spiritual energy depletion or being unable to temper the body.

“Why do these mosquitoes always bite me and not you guys?” Li Lili sprayed floral water all over herself incessantly, scratching the bumps on her legs with her other hand and complaining loudly.

“Maybe you’re just too fragrant.” Her companion, Liu Nuo, waved the air in front of her nose. The smell of Li Lili’s floral water was too strong and overpowering, so she quickened her pace, not wanting to breathe the same air.

“Honestly. Maybe my blood just tastes good.” Li Lili frowned, shooing away the mosquitoes. In her mind, she cursed the brand of floral water she had just promoted from head to toe.

Forget about not repelling mosquitoes; it was actually attracting them!

But the livestream drone behind her was still working dutifully, and she couldn’t let her persona crumble.

“Hey, there’s someone ahead.” Liu Nuo used a dry stick she had picked up to part the bushes in front and ran into Gu Jiaoyang’s group.

“Hey, handsome! Want to team up?” Liu Nuo was evidently somewhat familiar. Rather than just two girls in this strange place, she preferred encountering reliable males. Even if one looked underage and the other was a large, chubby man, it was better than two girls being all alone.

“Nuo Nuo!” Li Lili’s eyes flashed with displeasure upon seeing Gu Jiaoyang, but she concealed it well. Hearing Liu Nuo suggest teaming up, she couldn’t help but feel angry.

A balloon only counted for one person. What was the point of the four of them teaming up? Who would get the qualification for the next round?

But Liu Nuo had already spoken, and it wouldn’t look good to contradict her in front of the camera.

“What’s wrong, Lili?” Liu Nuo thought Li Lili was calling her for something, so she turned back, looking puzzled.

“Nothing. I was just saying, it’s great to meet people. If we work together, we can walk out of here faster!” Li Lili timely put on a façade of a simple, innocent white lotus for the drone, failing to notice the fleeting, inexplicable look Gu Jiaoyang cast her way as he approached.

Something was wrong.

Gu Jiaoyang, whose senses were acute, greeted Liu Nuo while his eyes quickly swept over Li Lili behind her.

“Hello, I’m Liu Nuo from the Beauty Section. This is Li Lili from the Lifestyle Section.”

“Hello, we are both from the Food Section. My name is Gu Yangyang, and he is…”

“I know him! He’s Piggy! I watch his streams often! Hahahaha!”

“Eh? I didn’t expect to be so famous hahahaha…”

Gu Jiaoyang didn’t mind the girls joining. As a man, he still possessed some patience and tolerance towards the opposite sex.

Zhu Zhengwen and Liu Nuo were both chatterboxes. Once together, they started chatting about everything under the sun within a few sentences. Gu Jiaoyang didn’t speak much; aside from his flirtatious banter with Mr Dai, his usual personality was more akin to his original world—somewhat cold.

“Turn here, watch your step.” Gu Jiaoyang patted Zhu Zhengwen’s shoulder, reminding him not to focus solely on chatting up girls and to watch the road. He didn’t really want to bother with Li Lili over there; after all, the hostility radiating from her was too obvious.

Even if she pretended well in front of the camera, she couldn’t hide it from Gu Jiaoyang’s keen senses.

“The stream should be ahead. I think I hear it!!! Let’s go! Race you there!” Liu Nuo was as lively as her makeup suggested. Zhu Zhengwen, a smiling, white, chubby man, was happy to frolic with Liu Nuo. The two began speed-walking, with Zhu Zhengwen deliberately acting like he was struggling, making Liu Nuo laugh heartily.

“Wait for me, you stinking Piggy, you heartbreaker!” Gu Jiaoyang shouted happily, but his body dishonestly maintained his own pace, letting the two of them drift further away.

On the other side, Li Lili was maintaining her posture for the camera, so she couldn’t walk fast either. She could only follow behind Gu Jiaoyang, using a branch to tap around just as he did.

“We’re here.”

After walking for less than half an hour, they arrived at the stream. Although marked as a ‘small stream’ on the map, it wasn’t actually small; at least ten Zhu Zhengwens lying head-to-toe across it wouldn’t reach the other bank.

“Come look, there really are fish here!”

Liu Nuo used her knife to sharpen a branch, kicked off her shoes, and dashed into the water, looking determined to secure today’s lunch. Not wanting to be outdone, Zhu Zhengwen grabbed a branch and entered the water too. Although the stream was wide, the current wasn’t strong at all, and it was clear and shallow enough that they could easily get up if they fell.

Gu Jiaoyang confirmed there was no danger around, then stood by the stream using spiritual power to cheat, scanning the surroundings for balloons.

Just as Gu Jiaoyang stood on a rock, a sudden voice from the Overseer System in his head shook his brain with pain, nearly causing him to slip into the water.

“Attack? A virus system is near me? Can you detect the target?” Gu Jiaoyang steadied himself, his expression unchanged as his gaze quickly swept over Liu Nuo and Li Lili, feeling extremely annoyed.

Sure enough, even if he lived his life quietly, these defective systems insisted on causing trouble for him.

Attack feedback in progress… Data capture failed… Data capture failed.

Damn it, I’ll hit you, you son of a turtle! Daddy lost his ranked match because your attack cut the connection!!! Don’t run if you have the guts!

“Little Zhi? You there? Hello?”

Gu Jiaoyang stood on the rock, silently watching the scenery. He only felt a sudden emptiness in his mind, and Little Zhi was gone.

He didn’t go off to fight someone, did he?

…What exactly has my system been through…

Gu Jiaoyang climbed down from the rock in one breath. He felt like a shocked father whose well-behaved, studious child had suddenly become obsessed with e-sports and started swearing under bad influences.

You are no longer that serious, unoptimised good boy.

Attack data compilation complete. Exporting data for you.

The voice in his head was the system’s default prompt tone. Little Zhi, who had gained a personality after the upgrade, hadn’t returned yet. Gu Jiaoyang’s gaze finally settled on Li Lili. After all, compared to Liu Nuo, Li Lili’s hostility towards him made her look much more like the virus system that had suddenly attacked him.

However, just as he shifted his gaze to Li Lili, Liu Nuo, who was spearing fish, suddenly screamed.

“Ah! It hurts!!!” Liu Nuo suddenly clutched her head and screamed. It startled Zhu Zhengwen, who was holding a branch nearby, causing his pale, fatty flesh to jiggle. He nearly slipped and sat in the stream. He froze for a moment before moving towards Liu Nuo with concern.

“What’s wrong?”

Zhu Zhengwen supported Liu Nuo, who was unsteady on her feet. Liu Nuo closed her eyes and shook her head. After a while, she withdrew her hand as if embarrassed. “I’m fine. Something bit my foot just now; it gave me a fright.”

Liu Nuo patted her chest after speaking, looking quite shaken.

“You should go ashore first. There might be river crabs down there. It wouldn’t be good if you got pinched. I’ve got thick skin and flesh, I can handle it. Maybe we’ll have extra river crabs for dinner tonight!” Zhu Zhengwen displayed his concern and gentlemanly manner, letting Liu Nuo go ashore while he continued to spear fish in the stream.

It’s Liu Nuo?

Gu Jiaoyang noted the situation, feeling a bit confused. Was Liu Nuo really frightened by something biting her foot, or was it a backlash from System Little Zhi’s counterattack?

I spit on you, stinking brat, stealing a whatsit!

“Little Zhi? Who is carrying the virus system?”

Gu Jiaoyang sensed it the moment Little Zhi returned and asked immediately.

It’s Liu Nuo. That virus system is Number 014. Unlike other virus systems, which bind to users and cannot be removed, only this guy has a ‘Wandering Characteristic’. It can shuttle between multiple users and isn’t affected by the user.

“Wandering Characteristic?”

Exactly. This is the only virus system that can exist without the user sensing it. It can reside in the user’s brain like a shadow, secretly harvesting energy without being perceived by the user. I just went and had a battle with him; I took a chunk of his energy before he ran away.

“Ran away? Does Liu Nuo know she’s being hosted?”

Doesn’t look like it. 014 hasn’t built a fortress in Liu Nuo’s sea of consciousness. She’s likely being hosted unilaterally.

“Is there any problem with Li Lili?” Gu Jiaoyang looked thoughtfully at Liu Nuo, then asked about Li Lili.

Should be no problem. Virus systems actively attack. I just tore into 014; if Li Lili was also hosted by a virus system, the one in her brain wouldn’t have stood by and watched. Virus systems are linked; they are closely related. If one weakens, the others are affected to a certain degree.

“So our enemies are quite united then?”

Gu Jiaoyang sighed inwardly. This piece of meat, Mr Dai, was really hard to eat. Just one bite and he had to face all these invisible, intangible enemies. Who knew what trouble he’d encounter later on?

Dear User, I have some very unfortunate news. Although I severely injured 014, due to the fact that 014 isn’t good at combat, he fled. He might host anyone around you at any time, or he might have already gone to report your information to this world’s highest-level virus system, 003.

“That’s 003 on Xichuan Bai, right? So that guy is our final boss? It’s really complex. A book evolving into a real world actually has so many loopholes.”

Yes. We Overseer Systems and these loophole-exploiting virus systems, especially the high-level viruses, are sworn enemies until death.

I admit there was a gambling element in choosing not to unbind from you after the upgrade, but from now on, between us and the virus systems, one must die!

“Where the meow did you learn that phrase? Also, why didn’t you say earlier that we could unbind???! And is it ‘one must die’? It’s called ‘both of them must die’!!!”

Gu Jiaoyang was nearly scared to death by the sudden Chuunibyou tone of the Overseer System. Just ask yourself: your enemies are lurking experts who want your life at any moment, yet your teammate is obsessed with e-sports and has assimilated an edgy personality. Could you stay calm?

“Big brother, calm down. Forget it, forget it.” Gu Jiaoyang comforted Little Zhi, whose Chuunibyou soul was burning with the desire to go face-to-face with the virus system again. helplessly, he added a few more layers of spiritual shields and divine sense detection to himself.

Wandering Characteristic… isn’t that just an assassin? In his original world, they were called Dark Hunters, specialising in taking money for lives. Fortunately, 014’s attack power was low, but being caught off guard and disgusted by it was still very unpleasant.

“Liu Nuo… are there any inducing conditions for the virus system’s hosting?” Gu Jiaoyang suddenly asked, looking at Liu Nuo, who was still examining her toes. His face showed concern but hidden beneath his gaze was something more complex.

Detection invalid. 014 is very cunning. The only information we can grasp is the trace left the moment he attacked us.

“Understood.” Gu Jiaoyang stretched, picked up the map, and waved at Zhu Zhengwen not far away.

“Piggy, I think I’ve guessed where the balloons are!”

“Really? Then let’s go check quickly. I can’t catch these fish anyway. If it’s not far, let’s find the balloons first?” Zhu Zhengwen grabbed his stick and dragged his trainers as he hurried towards Gu Jiaoyang. As he left, he didn’t forget to give Liu Nuo a hand, scratching his head foolishly after receiving her thanks.

“Then let’s go find the balloons first.” Li Lili, who had been sitting aside resting, also stood up to join them. She stuffed the floral water into her bag. Because the area by the stream was open and breezy, the mosquitoes were no longer swarming her.

“Let’s go then!” Gu Jiaoyang gave a brilliant smile, leading them towards the direction his spiritual power had sensed.

Someone with no ill intent, and someone radiating malice… what exactly does 014 rely on to choose a host?

Gu Jiaoyang walked at the front of the group, back to the camera. A hypothesis was faintly forming in his heart, waiting to be proven or disproven.

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