Chapter 76 Transaction

When Clamshells heard Jue Ge's request, his expression changed slightly. After two seconds, he raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Heh... you sound very confident, Stephen." At this point, he paused slightly, imperceptibly glanced at the hovering camera beside him, and then continued, "But... your request doesn't quite conform to the rules of the competition..."

"What does that matter?" Feng Bujue interrupted the other party. "According to the normal process, it should be 'receive an item for each challenge accepted,' right?"

Although Jue Ge didn't know the complete rules of the competition, he roughly guessed this point based on the information he had.

"That's right," Clamshells replied, his answer also confirming Jue Ge's deduction.

"Then..." Feng Bujue continued, "What's wrong with my current request?" He spread his hands, "I'm not asking you to give me all five items at once... I just want the challenges." He tilted his head, using a rather deceptive tone, "The program team's idea is nothing more than... letting the contestants listen to the content of a challenge first, and then choose an item to complete it... that is, the 'accept one, choose one' setting." He showed a confident expression, "And I... only need to take one item to do five challenges. Objectively speaking... this is not an excessive request, but rather a concession, isn't it?"

"Heh... you're very good with words, Stephen," Clamshells replied with a smile, almost without thinking, "But you can't fool me." He took off his backpack and put it on the ground, "First of all, I don't need you to tell me... what 'our program team's idea' is." He raised his hand, palm up, making some gestures to match his words, "Secondly, your request is not a 'concession' either. In fact, it's a very effective means of obtaining information... I think you're also aware of this in your heart." He shook his head gently, "Third... regarding requests like this that clearly deviate from the rules, even if I personally have no objections, I have no right..."

Sasha... chichi...

Just then, the walkie-talkie on Clamshells' body rang.

"Bell, can you hear me? I'm not deaf yet, please reply immediately when you hear this." The voice of Haimeilong came from the walkie-talkie.

Clamshells immediately picked up the walkie-talkie and said, "I'm Bell, please speak."

"Take a few steps forward and stand with Mr. Tan. Hold the walkie-talkie between the two of you," Haimeilong replied.

Clamshells didn't reply, he just raised his head, glanced at the camera lens beside him, and then did as the director said.

About five seconds later, Clamshells stood one meter in front of Jue Ge, holding the walkie-talkie at shoulder height (his own shoulder, not Feng Bujue's).

"Mr. Tan, can you hear me clearly?" At this time, Haimeilong on the other end of the walkie-talkie spoke again.

"Yes, very clear," Feng Bujue replied.

While responding, Jue Ge's mind was also rapidly thinking about the other party's identity and purpose.

"I'm the general director, Haimeilong. We met before the competition, do you remember?" Haimeilong added.

"Hmm..." For the sake of caution, Feng Bujue chose to respond vaguely. Neither admitting nor denying...

After all, the person who had met Haimeilong was "Stephen Tan" himself, not the current Feng Bujue. Jue Ge didn't know what was going on now.

"Bell, you can hear me too, right?" Haimeilong didn't suspect Jue Ge's answer, and he went on to say something to Bell.

"I can hear you," Clamshells replied.

"Okay... then, I'll get straight to the point..." Haimeilong said, "First of all... our conversation will not be recorded in any way. So, I'll just say it directly... Mr. Tan, I want you to lose."

"What did you say?" Feng Bujue's eyes changed, and his tone sank.

"Don't get excited yet, let me finish," Haimeilong continued, "Mr. Tan, your previous performance was very good, even if we put aside those crazy performances you did to confuse us... your other abilities are also at the highest level of all previous competitors." He changed the subject, "Therefore, you must lose."

If someone else heard this, they would definitely ask, "Why?"

But Feng Bujue didn't ask, because he had already thought of a conclusion: "Oh... the so-called 'the strong shall not win' principle, right?"

"Ha! So you understand this too," Haimeilong replied with a smile, "Mr. Tan, it seems you are also very proficient in our industry's techniques... I must cooperate with you in the future if I have the opportunity."

"Ah... I've also watched some reality shows. I've seen through your little tricks long ago," Feng Bujue said weakly, "In addition to 'maintaining balance,' there's also a set of rules that... the strongest one must not win. Whether it's cooking, singing, dancing, makeup, or wilderness survival... in short, the one who wins in the end is definitely not the strongest one. This way of doing things... makes the show seem suspenseful and interesting, and subconsciously conveys the concept that 'it's not the strong who win, but the winners who are strong,' as if there is some kind of positive energy in it. But to put it bluntly... behind it is just a dirty transaction full of copper stench."

"Mr. Tan..." Haimeilong's tone changed slightly after hearing Jue Ge's words, "You..." Suddenly, he raised his voice, "...It's so great that you can understand us! Hahahaha!" He actually laughed out loud, "Since that's the case, you should have guessed what I'm going to say next, right?"

"Of course," Feng Bujue also laughed. He gave the camera a "you know" expression, and then said, "Say it... the content of our 'deal'..."

…………

On the other side of the island, more than ten minutes later...

At this time, Graybeard was standing by the railing of the submarine deck, facing the sea, brushing his teeth and washing his face.

The cup he used for brushing his teeth was specially made. The handle of the cup was installed on the top, so that it would be convenient for him to hook it up with a hook...

His towel was also specially designed, very much like a mop that could be wrung dry by turning the handle. As long as he cooperated with one hand and one hook, he could wring the water dry.

"Captain, Tom and the others are back." The report of a crew member interrupted Graybeard's washing.

Graybeard spat out the water in his mouth, turned around, and blew on the foam on his beard: "Fuh-- what's going on? Why are they back so soon?"

Before he finished speaking, he had already limped towards the other side of the deck.

From a distance, Graybeard saw Tom's figure, and he immediately shouted, "Bastard! You're back after only taking a shit? Are you messing with me?"

"I wouldn't dare..." Tom quickly shook his head and waved his hands, replying with a look of panic, "Captain... please listen to my explanation."

"Tell me quickly, what exactly is going..." Graybeard paused at this point, because he found that behind Tom and the other crew members who had gone to scout, there was also someone sitting...

It was a white man, who looked about thirty years old, with brown eyes and brown hair, long hair and a scruffy beard, wearing a retro-style suit.

"Who is this hippie?" Graybeard walked up to Tom, squinting at the stranger sitting on the deck.

"Reporting to the captain, this is a prisoner I caught in the woods by the beach," Tom replied.

"Prisoner?" Graybeard walked up to Lie Neng with a suspicious look on his face, looked at the latter and asked, "Kid, what do you do? Why are you on this island?"

"Huh?" Lie Neng sat on the ground like a pool of mud, replying lazily, "I want to ask you? What are you doing? Extras arranged by the program team? Why did you forcibly bring me to this submarine?" While speaking, he had already looked Graybeard up and down, and then, he actually laughed, "Heh... buddy, who designed your look? Your clothes and getup are all outdated... Also, how long has your director not watched pirate movies? These days, pirate captains are generally played by handsome men with a decadent appearance but elegant temperament. How can you find a... uh... no offense to you... how can you find such a rough uncle to play the role?"

When he finished speaking, everyone's movements on the deck... stopped.

For a time, people could only hear the sound of the sea breeze.

A full minute later, Graybeard came back to his senses and realized that his ears were not playing tricks on him.

So, laughing in anger, he asked Lie Neng a question with a friendly expression: "This young man, what's your name?"