"A 12-hour countdown? Are they asking us to reach the designated target within 12 hours?" Xu Yi rubbed his chin and voiced his suspicion.
The person who just walked in was Yun Qing, a teammate who had signed up with Su Yan.
Her phone and Lu Ke's phone started ringing immediately. When they answered, they found it was the staff confirming their location.
A minute later, Su Yan burst in.
"Quick, we need to get to the airport now; there's a special plane waiting for us."
Xu Yi hadn't expected the timetable to be so tight.
"Yan, don't you think this show is a bit rushed, like it appeared out of nowhere without any prior promotion?" Xu Yi voiced his concern once he got into the car.
"Are you thinking of backing out?" Su Yan gave Xu Yi a sharp look.
"No, I still want to earn a few million and change my life." Xu Yi grinned.
"Then what's the struggle? Once you go, you'll find out. This show is on a national level, and it's a multi-nation collaboration, which is already quite unusual. But as long as the show is real and effective, that's what matters." Yun Qing chimed in.
"The wilderness is brutal. I hope you can last a day out there." Su Yan glanced at Lu Ke through the rearview mirror and said nothing more.
Once the car left, it wasn't long before an escort vehicle appeared. The whole city was unimpeded, all green lights. The car sped incredibly, reaching 150 km/h, and took just 20 minutes to get to the airport.
A military transport plane was already awaiting them, showcasing the power of the nation to Xu Yi.
Such scenes were playing out globally.
It seemed they were gathering the world's strength to host this wilderness survival show.
The experience on the military plane wasn't pleasant; Xu Yi felt dizzy upon disembarking.
What surprised Xu Yi was that Lu Ke had also managed to endure it.
After getting off the plane, they were taken to a massive indoor plaza filled with soldiers, which made Xu Yi increasingly aware that this show was something extraordinary.
"Welcome, challengers, please come collect your clothes, backpacks, and locator watches. Change your clothes, and once everyone is here, the challenge will begin," a guide announced through a loudspeaker.
Then, Xu Yi, Lu Ke, and Su Yan went to collect their clothes and backpacks together.
After providing his height and weight, Xu Yi received a set of clothes and two backpacks, which were quite heavy, clearly packed with equipment.
Xu Yi hadn't expected the organizers to be this generous, preparing so many items for them to take into the wild.
Included were undergarments, and Xu Yi changed into the full set.
After changing, he looked at Lu Ke, who was rather comical in camo gear. Her petite frame meant nothing fit her properly, like she'd borrowed Xu Yi's clothes that she couldn't fill out.
Likely, the organizers hadn't anticipated such a petite adult, so they hadn't prepared sizes that small.
The hall was silent, and no one engaged in conversation, waiting patiently.
With soldiers all around, the atmosphere was somber and oppressive, weighing heavily on the participants from around the world.
As more people arrived, they changed and collected their backpacks, wearing the peculiar locator watches.
"Alright, all team members are here. Everyone stand up and follow the yellow arrow," a voice called out, followed by the sound of saluting.
"Everyone, salute."
Clearly, this was directed at the soldiers.
Xu Yi felt something was amiss, but it was too late for him to back out now.
A large, circular metal door appeared in the hall, and those at the front disappeared as they passed through.
Taking a deep breath, Xu Yi grabbed Lu Ke with one hand and her backpack with the other, heading towards the door.
Then, the hall echoed with a voice: "Player Group 77 has entered."
Passing through the door, Xu Yi felt like he was free-falling from a great height, continuing for an unknown duration before it stopped.
"Lu Ke, where are you?" Xu Yi shouted, realizing no one was around him.
Then, everything brightened.
Xu Yi finally saw Lu Ke.
Except, she was only in her undergarments, with just the locator watch on her wrist, everything else had vanished.
"Ah!"
Lu Ke screamed and covered her eyes.
Xu Yi was in a worse state, down to just shorts, bare-footed as well.
"Each player, please choose 3 pieces of equipment, no more. Violation will result in immediate termination."
Termination?
Xu Yi felt a jolt in his heart, then noticed thankfully there were clothes to choose from, to avoid being completely bare.
He was fine, but Lu Ke wasn't.
Especially with live streaming on the official website.
Actually, there were quite a few items to choose from.
A 25 cm diameter stainless steel pot, a machete, an engineer shovel, a short crossbow, a Swiss Army knife, a windproof lighter, a fishing net, a box of antibiotics... and other items.
"Xu Yi, what should we choose? Shoes and clothes are considered separate items." Lu Ke noted that the clothing was bagged separately, and the shoes were elsewhere.
Xu Yi checked, two pairs of shoes were available in both his and Lu Ke's sizes.
So, Xu Yi first handed a pair of shoes to Lu Ke, then his size clothes to Lu Ke: "Don't wear the clothes yet, wait until we reach our destination."
They had undergarments, which was somewhat acceptable.
Then, Xu Yi picked a stainless steel pot, engineer shovel, short crossbow (without crossbow arrows), and a box of antibiotics.
Seeing Xu Yi finish choosing, Lu Ke frowned: "Xu Yi, don't you want shoes? I think we can skip the clothes for a pair of shoes instead."
She knew the clothes Xu Yi chose were for her, not for himself.
Staying in undergarments was feasible!
"No need, I can make straw shoes."
"Then choose shoes in your size, I'll only be here for a few days anyway..." Lu Ke's eyes reddened as she spoke. She really didn't want to die.
"You won't; I have a feeling your illness won't matter in this challenge," Xu Yi said, putting the antibiotics back and choosing something else instead.
Given the system's quick-effect body strengthening potion for Lu Ke, antibiotics seemed unnecessary.
A sleeping bag might be more essential, Xu Yi thought.
"We're done choosing!" Xu Yi looked up and announced.
"I wonder what Su and Yun will choose to prepare, and if we'll meet them?" Lu Ke whispered.
"All players have entered. Player Group 77, are you ready to enter the survival challenge zone?" a voice answered Xu Yi's query.
Xu Yi glanced at Lu Ke, then replied, "Yes!"
"Wishing you success in your challenge."
As the words ended, Xu Yi and Lu Ke found themselves on a beach.
"It's an island, better than I expected!" Xu Yi looked up at the sky, noticing two spherical drones above them, unsure of their flight principles.
Just then, a window lit upon the live streaming site, exciting viewers who had been waiting for hours.
After all, surviving 500 days would win them a ten-billion-dollar grand prize.