Script Introduction ends here.

In that instant, Feng Bujue's sight shifted drastically, and he regained control of his body.

"What's going on?" Jue-ge felt uncomfortable the moment he regained consciousness, because… he was completely buried in the sand, with only his head exposed.

[Random loading complete. The character you are playing is Number Nine, Stephen Carbon.] The system prompt appeared at the appropriate time.

"Even if I'm Carbon, you don't have to bury me…" While complaining, Feng Bujue didn't forget to exert force, trying to jump out of the sand, but…

[Important Reminder: Your equipment slots, inventory, skill slots, and Ling Energy Weapon have been locked. Basic physical attributes will simulate Stephen Carbon's level.]

"Another limitation… Well… I was mentally prepared for this when I chose single-player Nightmare mode…" Feng Bujue immediately gave up struggling because he knew it was a waste of effort. "Think of it this way… at least the character I'm playing is in decent physical condition."

Obviously, Jue-ge was already thinking about the "playing" aspect while watching the introduction of the characters. He knew the system wouldn't let a male player use the body of a sexy female celebrity (Luo Han); nor would it let him play the referee and host (Clamsills); therefore, he must be playing one of the remaining nine.

Now that he'd randomly gotten Stephen Carbon, it was undoubtedly good news. From the opening CG, Stephen Carbon looked to be around forty years old, of moderate build, and without any obvious disabilities, making him a pretty good body…

[Important Reminder Two: In this script, physical energy will be lost as you experience hunger, thirst, fatigue, pain, and other physical sensations.]

"Hmm… just like on Chomag Island, I need to find my own way to alleviate these things, right…" Feng Bujue muttered after hearing this, "In any case, the most urgent thing is… to get out of here first."

Despite saying that, Jue-ge really didn't have any good ideas. Given his current physical condition, escaping on his own without the aid of items or skills was almost impossible.

"Hey! Stephen, looks like you're in a bit of trouble." Suddenly, a voice rang out.

The voice came from behind Feng Bujue. Since Jue-ge couldn't turn his head, he could only slightly turn his face and look at the other person out of the corner of his eye.

"Belles?" Jue-ge didn't get a good look at the person, but based on his build and voice, he was sure it was Clamsills.

"That's right, it's me." Clamsills said, walking around in front of Jue-ge and squatting down, facing him. "How's the sunbathing, buddy?"

"Not… not good." Feng Bujue's acting skills kicked in smoothly. He put on an expression somewhere between nervousness and seriousness, and gave the answer a normal person would give. "I think… I'll dehydrate quickly like this."

"That's right, the sand on the beach…" Clamsills replied, grabbing a handful of sand in front of Jue-ge, "is exposed to the sun every day, so the temperature is very high… and it can burn your skin in severe cases." As he said this, he wasn't looking at Jue-ge at all, but at the camera lens following closely behind.

The level of technology in this universe seemed to be quite high. The camera filming Jue-ge and Clamsills wasn't being carried by anyone; instead, it was hovering and filming automatically, similar to the technology used by the_Bruce and his crew in *I, JOKER*.

"Why are you giving the audience a science lesson at a time like this…" Feng Bujue thought to himself.

Jue-ge also saw the floating machine, but he didn't show any surprise. Seeing something like this in a game world really wasn't that strange.

"Okay, I don't think the audience wants to see you quit at the start of the game." Clamsills said, taking off the large backpack on his back and reaching out to dig away the sand around Jue-ge's neck. "Let me give you a hand, buddy."

Before he finished speaking, he had already scooped away a large pile of sand.

In less than three minutes, he had dug away all the sand above Jue-ge's chest and used his two strong arms to pull him out of the sand.

"Are you okay? Stephen." Clamsills asked in a very relaxed tone, not even panting after doing all this in the hot sun.

"I'm fine." Feng Bujue pretended to be very grateful and replied, "Thank you, Belles."

"You're welcome, it's my job." Clamsills responded, "Guidance and supervision, remember?"

"Yes… I remember." Feng Bujue didn't say much, just giving the most basic answers.

Jue-ge had dealt with many different types of NPCs in many different scripts, so he knew very well that in this situation, it was better to say less and listen more.

"Let me see… long-sleeved T-shirt, dress pants, leather shoes…" Clamsills then began to size up Jue-ge's outfit, reciting his observations and commenting, "Do you think you're here on vacation, Stephen?"

Clamsills' actions were undoubtedly for show. As a member of the production team, he naturally knew what the contestants were wearing when they arrived on the island; he was just making a routine comment.

"No… I…" Feng Bujue also understood the common techniques used in reality shows. He deliberately made an awkward expression and stuttered out half a sentence.

"Forget it, now that things have come to this, you can only conquer the wilderness in front of you with these clothes." Clamsills interrupted him and turned to open his large backpack.

[Each time you encounter Belles, you can retrieve one item from your inventory through him (multiple consumables stacked in the same slot will be retrieved in their entirety).]

In that moment, the system prompt appeared, and subtitles floated before Jue-ge's eyes.

"You know the rules, Stephen." Clamsills squatted next to the backpack, looking down and rummaging through it. "Tell me, which survival item do you want to take from me?"

For most people, this setting would be a test. Because the inventory in the game menu was locked, players couldn't see what items they had in their bags. In other words… players had to rely on their memory to choose an item they needed from among their many items.

But for Feng Bujue, this was a piece of cake: "I want… the wjQ-308 military shovel." Not to mention that he only had thirteen items in his inventory now, even if he had twenty-three, thirty-three… he could give the answer immediately.

"Oh, a very good choice, I would have chosen that too." Clamsills quickly took the military shovel out of the large backpack and handed it to Jue-ge. "So…" he looked down at his watch, "it's noon, twelve-ten on the first day, the competition has been going on for ten minutes…" He paused, glanced at the camera, "Stephen, are you ready to hear your first clue?"