Chapter 142
Considering the terrain limitations of the air-raid shelter and the need for more space for the little babies to play laser tag, the cameramen stopped following them, instead, the live broadcast switched between the fixed cameras inside the air-raid shelter.
Most of the cameramen and staff who usually followed the babies stayed outside, only a few entered the shelter, either standing in conspicuous spots, acting as NPCs providing clues to the treasure chests, or hiding in corners, out of the cameras’ view, as backup.
Cheng Tingyan followed a staff member, walking deeper and deeper into the air-raid shelter, after several turns, they finally stopped at what was said to be their starting point… a T-junction.
Along the way, Cheng Tingyan noticed that the setup here was quite different from her previous life. Although the air still had the unavoidable damp and musty smell of earth, both the floor and walls were clean. Perhaps because of the laser tag game, which required cover, there were many more wooden boxes, cloth bags, and standing boards compared to the simple treasure hunt in her previous life. It was clearly well-prepared, not like the… dilapidated remnants and trash… from her previous life.
The interior setup was quite different, but judging from the places they passed by, the open area seemed to be similar to her previous life.
Then… would there be an accident at that spot in this life too?
In her previous life, although it only took a month or two to recover from the fall and walk normally, the doctor at that time said it was just a sprain. But the lingering discomfort when walking, the faint pain during rainy days, the ankle that always swelled up after dance practice… That fall in the air-raid shelter truly caused her years of suffering.
The doctor’s misdiagnosis, her parents’ indifference, her own lack of knowledge, multiple factors turned a problem that could have been resolved quickly into years of pain. And putting aside the later consequences, the origin of it all was indeed here, in this air-raid shelter.
In her previous life, the six-year-old Cheng Tingyan fell while searching for treasures in this air-raid shelter, she rolled down the steps and hit a pile of debris in the corner. When those things fell on her, she instinctively protected her head and face, rolling on the ground, her panicked screams alerted the staff members hiding in the darkness, they turned on their flashlights and rushed over.
The shock and the sharp pain in her ankle made the young Cheng Tingyan just cry, she didn’t even think of looking back at the place where she fell.
Later, when asked what happened, Cheng Tingyan honestly said that she tripped on something and fell. But the program team couldn’t find anything that could have tripped her at the spot where she fell, they just comforted her, saying it was okay even if she was careless, no one would blame her, but she shouldn’t blame the program team for a setup error.
Cheng Tingyan was only six years old at that time, the program team kept saying they wouldn’t blame her but asked her to be honest, and Cheng Feiying, her only parent present, agreed with the program team, he even scolded her on the spot… Cheng Tingyan was young, but she wasn’t stupid, she could tell the difference between tripping on something and losing her balance.
However… the program team showed her the footage.
In the footage, they could see that there was indeed… nothing under Cheng Tingyan’s feet before she fell.
Compared to a six-year-old child’s perception, video evidence was undoubtedly more trustworthy.
And so, the injured Cheng Tingyan was scolded, lectured, then forgiven.
It was just an accident, the entire air-raid shelter segment was edited out, disappearing into the discarded footage, for everyone, it was over.
But for Cheng Tingyan, it was never over.
That clear obstruction in front of her ankle, the obstruction that even caused a moment of pain, how could it not exist, how could it just be her imagination?
The young Cheng Tingyan couldn’t understand it, and she couldn’t forget it.
It wasn’t until she grew up and learned more about the world that she realized videos could be edited, they could be fake.
But that was many years later, finding the discarded footage from a variety show years ago was almost impossible. And logically… if that video was truly edited, it wouldn’t have been kept until she wanted to find it.
Perhaps because she was unwilling to give up, or perhaps because she had some delusional hope of uncovering the truth, after growing up, Cheng Tingyan returned to this air-raid shelter twice. Once, when she was filming in Shudian, she came to take a look during her free time, but the air-raid shelter had been abandoned again, even the door couldn’t be opened. The second time, she came prepared, she found someone to open the door and even got a map of the interior.
At that time, Cheng Tingyan, after so many years, once again stood at the spot where she fell when she was six.
The dusty floor, there was no trace of the past.
That visit, that “accident,” it was still an unsolvable accident.
Who would have thought…
Now, Cheng Tingyan was back… after… a lifetime.
“The last team is in position.” The staff member said, raising his microphone, then turned to the two little ones holding hands. “Later, after I say ‘start,’ you’ll stay here and count to twenty, then you can move freely, use your water guns and water balloons to attack the other children, or look for clues to the treasure chests, do whatever you want. Okay… Start!”
After saying that, the staff member in black retreated, sticking to the wall, becoming part of the backup team hidden in the corners.
“Yan Yan, should we attack others first, or look for the treasure chests?” Wei Maomao asked, seeking Cheng Tingyan’s opinion as she silently counted in her mind.
“Let’s just walk around first?” Cheng Tingyan said, looking to the left of the T-junction.
Thanks to her previous life’s obsession with returning to take another look, she still remembered the layout of this place, they weren’t far from the spot where she fell in her previous life.
She was eager to see it.
“Then let’s just walk around.” Wei Maomao said, always following Yan Yan’s lead. “Yan Yan, I’ve finished counting to twenty, should we go?”
“Let’s go.” Cheng Tingyan said, turning left eagerly, but after taking just one step, she let go of the chubby paw and said, looking down, “The path is narrow, let’s walk one after the other, I’ll go first, you follow behind.”
In this life, the things in this show had changed a lot, Cheng Tingyan wasn’t sure what was ahead, she was willing to take the risk and see for herself, but it was best for this soft and chubby little bunny to maintain a safe distance from the unknown. If it weren’t for their earlier agreement to stay together, even returning one set of equipment to the program team, Cheng Tingyan would have tried to persuade the little chubby bunny to stay away from her for a bit.
Persuasion was impossible, suggestions… would also be immediately rejected.
“I’ll go first, you follow behind.” Wei Maomao said, quickly darting forward, trying to get in front of Cheng Tingyan.
Then in the next second… she was lifted by the back of her collar.
Wei Maomao, afraid of pulling Cheng Tingyan down, didn’t dare to continue running: “… “
Cheng Tingyan, who almost couldn’t hold onto the little chubby bunny: “… “
What else could they do? They could only continue walking forward carefully, hand in hand.
The cool, slender hand and the warm, soft paw were once again clasped tightly together…
The viewers in the live broadcast room were… laughing and crying!
“Hahaha, what’s going on! They started at the same time, the others counted to twenty, CEO Mao and Yan Yan, they only took their first step after sixty counts! At this speed, if this were a battle royale game, they wouldn’t even have opened their parachutes before landing, they would be eliminated instantly!”
“Why ‘just walk around,’ they clearly passed by Yueyue on their way here, hahaha, poor Yueyue, she immediately ran in the opposite direction after counting to twenty, it turns out no one was going to chase her! Poor Yueyue, she ran for nothing, and even encountered Shen Zilin’s pursuit.”
“Wang Zhizhi also encountered Cheng Rongrong, hahaha, bang, a direct hit, this is laser tag! As expected of Wang Zhizhi, who specifically asked to play this, he’s already chasing after Wen Dongyu!”
“Fight, fight, fight! Everyone fight! You two! Although you only have one set of equipment, but one can use the gun, the other can throw the water balloons, doubling the hit rate!”
“The other little babies have already entered the intense battle, chasing and hiding, searching and attacking, while our CEO Mao and Yan Yan, hahaha… holding hands, taking small steps forward, they don’t look like they’re playing laser tag, but minesweeping, hahaha!”
“Help! The treasure chests aren’t on the floor, babies! I can already see the treasure chest, it’s so big, you’ll see it even if you’re not so careful! Did they draw a minesweeper character card, hahaha, their tightly clasped little hands, so cute! I want to take a bite of both of them!”
…
Cheng Tingyan, of course, couldn’t hear a single word from the live broadcast room.
The distant cries of the other babies made her a bit nervous.
If they were caught in the crossfire, they might not be able to properly examine that spot… If the other babies got there first…
Wanting to see that place with her own eyes in this life, worried that other babies might get there first and have an accident, Cheng Tingyan held the little chubby paw tightly, trying to suppress her eagerness, she took small, steady steps.
Just as Cheng Tingyan, looking at the darkening path ahead, was about to have the little chubby bunny put on her night vision goggles, the little chubby paw in her hand suddenly moved.
“Yan Yan, look.” Wei Maomao said, pointing with her paw.
Cheng Tingyan followed her paw and saw a staff member squatting at the entrance of a side path on the right, which she hadn’t noticed, with a broken bowl in front of him.
Her destination was straight ahead, it had nothing to do with the right side.
“Is that the clue to the treasure chest the host mentioned? Should we go and ask?” Wei Maomao asked, tugging at Cheng Tingyan’s hand.
Cheng Tingyan glanced at the little chubby bunny and followed her pull, changing direction.
Okay, they would be quick, just listen, whether they would do it or not was another matter.
“Three items in exchange for a clue to a treasure chest~~” The staff member said, shaking the broken bowl in front of him, welcoming the customers.
Wei Maomao instinctively touched her pocket, uh… she came light, thinking about playing laser tag, she didn’t bring any snacks.
All she had left… Wei Maomao looked at the small bag of water balloons hesitantly.
If she used the water balloons for the exchange, what if a fight broke out before they found any ammo refills, and she didn’t have any water balloons left…
After hesitating for a moment, before Wei Maomao could even ask for Cheng Tingyan’s opinion, she heard a clinking sound, she looked down and saw… three buttons in the broken bowl.
The staff member and Wei Maomao looked up, surprised, at the same time.
“Three. Where’s the clue?” Cheng Tingyan asked, not wanting to disappoint the little chubby bunny, but also not wanting to waste too much time here.
The staff member: “… “ Wasn’t this task about making a choice between existing resources and unknown resources? Shouldn’t they normally choose to give up the three water balloons?
“Yan Yan, you…” Wei Maomao asked, looking around in shock.
“Here.” Cheng Tingyan said, pulling the little chubby bunny, she lifted the corner of her clothes and showed her. “Decorations.”
Wei Maomao let out a long sigh of relief.
The little one, from shock and worry to sudden relief, she was truly… super cute!
Even with so many things on her mind, Cheng Tingyan couldn’t help but gently scratch the little chubby bunny’s nose and chuckle. “You thought I removed the buttons I needed?”
Wei Maomao: “… “
She froze.
This also…
Although they had slept together many times these past few days, why… did this feel… like a special kind of intimacy.
Wei Maomao touched her nose, her ears burning.
“Excuse me, the clue?” Cheng Tingyan asked, after teasing the bunny with a smile, her expression returning to her business-like demeanor as she turned to the staff member.
“Go that way, straight ahead, there’s a limited-time treasure chest with a bunny plush inside.” The staff member said, pointing.
Cheng Tingyan looked in the direction he pointed, it was… the direction she was going.
“What’s a limited-time treasure chest?” Wei Maomao asked, after touching her nose and rubbing her ears.
“It’s… a treasure chest that will disappear if it’s not opened within two minutes, starting from now.” The staff member said with a smile, picking up the buttons in the bowl.
Run, babies!
Towards the treasure chest of fortune!
?
??
???
Time ticked by, the staff member looked at the two little babies in front of him, who hadn’t moved, he kindly reminded them, “The timer has started, why aren’t you going? It’ll disappear after two minutes! Two minutes, two minutes is one hundred and twenty counts, oh, only one hundred counts left… It’ll be gone soon!”
“Yan Yan, we said we would walk slowly.” Wei Maomao said, turning to Cheng Tingyan.
“Mmm, we’ll walk slowly.” Cheng Tingyan said, then reached out and pulled something.
Clink, clink, clink, three more buttons landed in the bowl.
“Three. What’s the clue to the next treasure chest?” Cheng Tingyan asked calmly.
The staff member: “… “
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