I Struggle to Survive in a Girl Group [Transmigration] - Chapter 35

Faced with such a steep price,

the room fell into silence.

Yu Tingbai pondered for a moment before asking, “How much life value do the other background stories require?”

Shelley replied, “‘Christine and Beth,’ ‘Rosa and Arthur,’ and ‘The Nancy Family’ each require 70 life points, while ‘About Dream Town’ requires 60 life points.”

It seemed that with their current life values, they could barely afford all the background stories. However, after the exchange, everyone’s life value would be nearly depleted.

Moreover, there was another critical issue.

An Qing asked, “Are the stories you tell true? You’re not lying to us, are you?”

If the clues they exchanged with so much life value turned out to be fake, it would be a huge loss.

Shelley smiled and said, “That’s for you to judge.”

An Qing:

Is this a scam shop?

At that moment, Wen Ling, standing at the back, whispered, “We have to make the exchange. Regardless of the stories themselves, the audience has followed us this far, and their curiosity has been piqued. If we don’t trade clues with Shelley, it’s like teasing them without delivering, which would leave a bad impression.”

So thorough truly worthy of being the team leader.

An Qing was filled with admiration. Logically speaking, she had been in the girl group longer than Wen Ling, but in her previous world, she was so obscure that she had never participated in any variety shows. How could she have considered the program’s effect?

Yu Tingbai suggested, “I recommend that everyone except Wen Ling exchange one clue with Nancy. This way, we can keep one life as a safety net for the team, reducing the risk of a total wipeout, while also giving the audience a thrilling sense of danger.”

Yi Zhuo agreed, “We can skip ‘About Dream Town’ for now.”

Judging by the title alone, ‘About Dream Town’ seemed less important compared to the other stories. Moreover, based on the previous plot, it appeared that the more valuable clues required higher life value costs.

As the team leader, Wen Ling still wanted to participate, but the others vetoed her idea, and she had no choice but to comply with the team’s decision.

Now the question became: who was willing to deduct 90 life points to obtain the most expensive and valuable clue?

Shen Siqi cautiously raised her hand and said, “How about I do it? Keeping me around is just a burden anyway.”

She was fully aware of her limitations. Having recorded for over a day, she hadn’t contributed much to the team and had relied on others, which left her feeling somewhat guilty.

An Qing shook her head repeatedly, “No, no, you’ll die.”

Shen Siqi had 95 life points left. Deducting 90 would leave her with only a sliver of health, making her extremely vulnerable.

Shen Siqi insisted, “But I’m not really useful alive.”

“We’re a team, don’t you get it?”

An Qing was both amused and exasperated, lecturing the youngest member like a mantra, “It’s best if we don’t lose anyone. The ideal outcome is for everyone to survive.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she noticed Yi Zhuo looking at her with disbelief. An Qing simply ignored it, pretending not to see.

In fact, since the group’s formation, Yi Zhuo’s genuine confusion had surfaced several times. Clearly, she still wasn’t quite used to An Qing suddenly becoming a good person.

Wen Ling also tried to persuade her, “Siqi, don’t say that. We’d be lonely without you.”

Yu Tingbai added, “The entertainment value is important too.”

Shen Siqi was moved to tears and solemnly promised, “Alright then, after we get out, I’ll give each of you a car.”

The others: That really isn’t necessary.

Thus, the candidates for the life-draining task became An Qing, Yu Tingbai, and Yi Zhuo, all with full health bars.

Yi Zhuo hesitated slightly.

After spending so much time with her teammates, she had become increasingly aware of one thing, she and they were simply not from the same social class.

Although no one had ever excluded her because of her background, the more familiar she became with them, the more she could feel that deeply ingrained gap.

The group’s atmosphere was already quite harmonious now, and even An Qing, whom she had disliked the most, had become more tolerable. She really wanted to step up and take on the challenge ahead. But the show was only halfway through filming. If she got eliminated this early, how much screen time would she have left once this episode was edited?

She had no connections or backing, so she needed enough screen time, exposure, and popularity to avoid being left behind by the others.

Yi Zhuo clenched her fingers slightly, her eyes dimming.

At that moment, Yu Tingbai spoke up, “I’ll do it.”

Yi Zhuo was taken aback, thinking of Yu Tingbai’s family debts, and her inner struggle intensified.

Yu Tingbai’s situation wasn’t much better than hers, was it? If that was the case, then she…

Just as she was about to speak, An Qing’s overly dramatic voice rang in her ears.

“No, I won’t allow it! No one is to compete with me today!”

Yi Zhuo:

This CP promotion is just too exaggerated!

Can this act even continue?

But she also knew that An Qing was doing this to naturally take on the risk for the others.

Yi Zhuo lowered her gaze, a hint of warmth flickering in her eyes.

Yu Tingbai was clearly cringing at her antics, her expression management faltering. “What are you doing?”

An Qing: “I want to try something thrilling.”

Yu Tingbai: “You”

“I have no such worldly desires,” An Qing interrupted her. She held Yu Tingbai’s hand, her gaze profound as she said, “To me, health points are just numbers.”

She knew about Yi Zhuo’s inner struggles and stubbornness because she had been through similar times herself. So, she decided to lighten the mood in this way.

Moreover, if she stepped in for Yu Tingbai, it would be a heroic act to save the beauty. Such a perfect opportunity to gain favor was not something she would ever let slip away.

An Qing didn’t care about screen time or exposure. With her current financial stability, she wouldn’t starve, and she could do what she loved. Compared to before, she was already coming out ahead.

Shen Siqi’s eyes sparkled with admiration. “Wow, An Qing, you’re so cool!”

Yu Tingbai seemed to want to say something but held back, finally conceding, “Fine, you do it.”

After a pause, she added, “I won’t let you get eliminated.”

“About Christine and Beth.”

Sherry leaned back on the sofa and began telling the first story.

The others sat across from her, listening attentively.

Earlier, they had followed the plan and made a deal with Nancy. Currently, Wen Ling still had 75 health points, the highest among them. Yu Tingbai and Yi Zhuo had 30 points left, while Shen Siqi had 25. An Qing had the least, with only 10 points remaining.

“Christine is a terrifying woman who practices dark arts, with a promiscuous nature and countless lovers. But her bed partners often mysteriously disappear before long no one knows where they go or if they’re still alive. Beth is just one of many such partners, likely doomed to share the same fate as those before her.”

Shirley’s account closely matched the clues they had uncovered during the day. After a brief, hushed discussion, the group listened as she began the next story.

Shirley continued, “Rosa is a wealthy older woman, forty years old. Arthur is a poor young man with nothing but good looks, half her age. Their union is one of convenience she seeks his beauty, he covets her wealth.”

“Moreover, Arthur has always been anxious. While there are plenty of young and attractive people, wealthy ones are hard to come by. He fears Rosa might meet someone more striking and change her mind, so he too turned to dark arts. Legend says that consuming the bones of the young can preserve one’s youth forever. Thus, he began his experiments.”

An gently stroked her arm, shuddering with goosebumps. She never imagined that Arthur’s trips to the graveyard to eat corpses were for this reason.

Wen Ling nodded. “That’s understandable.”

Yi Zhuo: ???

What’s understandable? Captain, watch your words!

She had long noticed that Wen Ling had a peculiar way of thinking, quite different from the norm.

But it was intriguing.

Yu Tingbai turned with a smile to Shen Siqi, who looked horrified, and asked, “Are you still eating?”

Shen Siqi wailed, “No, no more!”

Earlier that day, driven by extreme hunger, she had mistakenly thought Arthur was sneaking snacks in the graveyard.

Could they please edit out such an embarrassing moment in post-production?

After a brief pause, Shirley began to speak about her own family.

“The Nancy family leads a very happy life.”

Her words left everyone momentarily stunned.

By any normal standard, the Nancy family could hardly be described as happy, could they?

Ignoring their questioning looks, Shirley went on, “Mother Shirley is beautiful and gentle, Father Cole is mature and steady, and daughter Nancy is well-behaved and sensible. They live a quiet, peaceful life.”

And with that, the story ended. When pressed for more details about Nancy’s family, Shirley fell silent.

The group exchanged bewildered glances, struggling to accept this version of reality.

If Shirley was lying now, how much truth was there in the stories she had told earlier?

Regardless, they still needed to hear the final clue.

Before Shirley could speak, Wen Ling tentatively asked, “I have one more question, where have all the other townspeople gone?”

Wen Ling’s question echoed the confusion in everyone’s minds. This town seemed as if it had been plucked out and placed in some isolated dimension.

Since she now had the highest health points, it fell to her to take the risk of asking.

But Shirley merely replied indifferently, “I don’t remember.”

She then proceeded with the final story on her own.

“In Dreamy Town, there’s a legend: if you go to Witch Spirit Valley to pray, as long as your desire is strong enough, your wish will come true. Every year, visiting Witch Spirit Valley for blessings is a fixed tradition in the town. Everyone participates, and many outsiders join in the excitement too.”

Sherry’s tone was dry. “Unfortunately, an accident occurred on the way back from this year’s blessing ceremony. A minibus crashed through the guardrail and rolled down the hillside.”

Finally getting to the main point, everyone held their breath and listened intently.

The plot had mentioned that among the town’s residents, one had already died, and they all believed this accident was the cause of the death.

Sherry continued, “Among the passengers on the bus, I know of five.”

Wait, the newspaper had mentioned that seven locals were identified among the passengers. How did it become five in Sherry’s words?

An Qing’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, and she couldn’t help but shiver.

“Five outsiders, all young girls.”

Sherry grinned, revealing a sweet yet terrifying smile.

“You should know who they are, right?”