Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 141

You Have Triggered a Mandatory System Task

Bracelet date: June 30.

After the rain, consecutive sunny days sent temperatures soaring. The plants in the field had wilted a bit under the scorching sun.

            

Liu Yinxi watered the sweet potatoes, then plucked the few remaining ears of corn to dry in the sun.

While she was at it, she tended to the small wildflowers Nan Huaixu had transplanted.

Though they didn’t look like they were doing very well.

            

For now, food wasn’t a concern, but other things were rather worrisome—the sweltering heat, mosquito bites, and all-around physical discomfort. The one silver lining was the solar-powered mini fridge their fans had sent, which could keep food fresh and make ice for cooling down.

The electronic calendar reminded Liu Yinxi that this was the last day of June—congratulations on surviving another month in 《Survivor》!

Liu Yinxi laughed and took a bite of a banyan fig, sweet juice flooding her mouth. She remarked, “She really can hold out. She still hasn’t been eliminated.”

            

Nan Huaixu held a stone pencil, sketching a design on the ground. She wanted to use wooden planks and bamboo vine to build a barrel for bathing. Back when she filmed movies, she had learned vine weaving along with this kind of handiwork. They hadn’t been able to bring the big white barrel from the treehouse, and washing wasn’t as convenient as with a wooden barrel. Since moving to the lakeside, they’d only been able to do sponge baths, and it had been a long time since they’d had a proper soak.

Nan Huaixu turned to Liu Yinxi, who was sitting by the fire pit roasting quail. “You mean Luoling?”

“Yeah.” Liu Yinxi raised her wrist, pointing at the bracelet’s electronic calendar. “Next month is July. It should’ve been our ultimate showdown with Huang Heshan and Yu Yan, but now there’s a small fry¹ wedged in between. Tch. What a buzzkill.”

            

Mid-sentence, Liu Yinxi suddenly stopped.

A thought struck her. She was inside a novel, and Luoling was the novel’s protagonist. Didn’t that mean this world had special treatment for Luoling?

Because in the original book, Xue Yunshao had been eliminated first, so Xue Yunshao withdrawing early this time wasn’t a big deal. But Luoling had won in the original book.

            

Hmm…

Liu Yinxi pondered for a moment, then smiled. Whatever.

She’d already transmigrated into a book. She was a bug-level existence—she should be superior to the original heroine. Since the Transmigration Reading System hadn’t restricted her behavior, she could eliminate Luoling.

            

Nan Huaixu said, “As long as no one helps Luoling, she won’t last long. You’ve already set a flag² for her. I’d say eliminating her is a matter of these next few days.”

Liu Yinxi felt there was a hidden meaning in her words and quickly cleared herself of any suspicion of colluding with the enemy. “I absolutely didn’t!”

Nan Huaixu gestured toward the east side of the lake. “There’s a kind-hearted younger sister over there.”

            

“You mean Xiao Yu-jie?”

“Mm.”

“No way. Huang Heshan wasn’t happy about the pearl incident—Xiao Yu-jie stopped helping people after that.”

            

“Is that so? You observe quite carefully.”

“.” She suddenly had no idea what to reply. Liu Yinxi scratched her head.

Nan Huaixu frowned, pressing one hand against her lower abdomen and rubbing gently. Seeing Liu Yinxi finish roasting the quail and wrap them in banana leaves, Nan Huaixu handed her the wooden plank. “You do it.”

            

Liu Yinxi obediently took the plank. “Oh.”

【(doge)】

【Xixi really is something, why bring up Luoling at all (rolling eyes)】

            

【Liu Yinxi’s EQ is only at its peak when Fei Tuoma is around (adjusting glasses)】

【Manman’s stomach hurts, right? QwQ】

【Making a bucket like this without adhesive—won’t it leak?】

            

【Wood planks swell when soaked.】

【It’s so hot here, just find a small waterfall and rinse off~】

【I can’t even imagine how many pounds of grime the guests will scrub off after the competition (going crazy)】

            

【Since Manman and Xixi settled by the lake there’s been nothing fun to watch. I’ll come back when the final winner is decided. Bye, sisters (bye-bye)】

【Is this just going to be a stalemate? When will they finally crown a champion?】

【I think… Yu Yan isn’t looking good, so it won’t be too long.】

            

【What exactly is wrong with her? Is she really that seriously ill? Why doesn’t she request outside help?】

【Huang-jie said she’d call several times, but Yu Yan won’t let her.】

【Don’t worry too much. She’s a medical professional—she definitely knows her own condition.】

            

【Liu Yinxi is a flag master (allow me to grieve)】

【Huh?】

【Just mentioned Luoling and she’s about to do something major.】

            

【?】

【Holy crap, what’s Luoling doing?!】

The prolonged rainy spells recently had depleted most of Luoling’s food supply. Without Xue Yunshao’s repairs, the shelter and shade umbrella had been damaged by the heavy rains. Luoling had no choice but to go out foraging for supplies.

            

She walked eastward along the lakeshore under the tree canopy, hoping to find a vantage point to scout for traces of the guests’ activity on the east side of the lake. Huang Heshan wasn’t easy to talk to, but Yu Yan was kindhearted. If she played the pitiful card and pleaded with Yu Yan, there was a chance Yu Yan would agree to a simple exchange or hand over some trivial supplies.

After walking for a while, Luoling felt a dull ache in her lower abdomen and her legs were sore. She found an exposed tree root to sit on and rested, massaging her belly in circular motions.

Her period was almost over but hadn’t fully ended yet. The sanitary conditions in the wild were poor, her diet lacked nutrition, and she hadn’t been sleeping well. This time the cramps were especially severe—she could only walk slowly, leaning on a stick.

            

If only she could find Yu Yan and ask if she had any medicinal herbs to help regulate things.

After sitting for a few minutes, she suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of her neck, as if something had stung her. Luoling reached back to swat her neck. Her palm touched something wet, cold, and slimy. She screamed and yanked the wet, slippery thing off. Bringing it in front of her face to look—it was a yellow-and-black striped, slippery-skinned bug. Luoling nearly fainted on the spot.

“So disgusting! Die, die, just die!” Luoling hurled the bug to the ground. It tumbled and writhed. Luoling wiped her hand on her hem in disgust and noticed a speck of red on her palm—it looked like her blood…

            

It was drinking her blood?!

Luoling scrambled away from the damp tree root, frantically beating the undergrowth with her stick. She found many bugs just like the one before. They clung tightly to the blades of grass, arching their bodies and crawling with an eerie speed, converging on Luoling.

“Aaaaaah! It’s so disgusting! Die, all of you disgusting bugs, die!” Luoling snapped, swinging her stick wildly. But it had no effect on the dense swarm of bugs, thick as black rain. It even sent a few bugs flying into the air, and they landed on the ground even closer to her.

            

“What are these?!” Luoling’s face went pale with panic. No matter which way she turned, bugs were closing in. She was so terrified she burst into tears. “Help! Help!”

【Holy crap, what is that?!】

【Gross!】

            

【My scalp is tingling, all my hairs are standing on end!】

【This is the real tropical rainforest—the bugs alone are scary enough to kill you (crying and making a scene)】

【I screamed for help louder than Luoling—I was eating! Threw it all up TAT】

            

【Oh my mama! So many mountain leeches! Scared me to death!】

【Breeding season, by the lake, after heavy rain—mountain leeches’ activity buffs are fully stacked. Luoling’s period gives off a scent; in a leech swarm she’s basically a walking, tasty blood bag (terrified)】

【Oh man, I’ve encountered them hiking. They chase after you.】

            

【How do you repel them?】

【Ancestral demon-repelling salt (doge)】

【Spraying alcohol works too.】

            

【(shocked)】

【Is Luoling trying to burn the bugs by lighting a fire?】

【Is she burning bugs? She set the trees on fire (losing it)】

            

【Oh my goodness!】

【It’s burning!!】

Panicked by the swarm of leeches closing in around her, Luoling used a fire striker to ignite her stick and tried to burn the mountain leeches off the leaves. The bugs nimbly dodged. The soil by the lake was damp and hard to ignite. In her panic, Luoling waved the torch around frantically and accidentally set several nearby trees alight.

            

Sizzle-crackle! The upper trunks, dried out by the blazing sun, caught fire and burned rapidly. The canopies overlapped, branches and leaves intertwined—sparks jumped to all the surrounding trees.

Luoling was dumbstruck. She had never encountered anything like this. Tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes. “I didn’t mean to, I didn’t mean to… Wuwu, what do I do, what should I do?”

The fire drills she’d learned about always involved fire extinguishers and fire hydrants—but where would you find firefighting tools in the wilderness? The lake was nearby, but there was still some distance from here to the water’s edge, and she had nothing on her—how was she supposed to use lake water to put out the fire?

            

Luoling wiped her tears and cried for help to Robot Dog. “Someone come put out the fire! Come save me! Production team, I know you can see this! Save me! Wuwuwu.”

【Call them already!】

【This is killing me—didn’t you bring the satellite phone?!】

            

【At least try to fight the fire! When it was still small, you could’ve grabbed wet mud and smothered it—there was plenty of time!】

【If this turns into a forest fire, it’s serious (scared)】

【I want to know if the production team regrets inviting Luoling to the competition. If it burns seriously, won’t they have to pay back everything they’ve earned (allow me to grieve)】

            

Smoke drifted in from the west.

Liu Yinxi had gone out alone, exploring the route to the northern Zhida Meadow. She had just passed through a stretch of dense forest and caught sight of the lake’s shimmering surface when she smelled acrid smoke.

Something was on fire.

            

From what she could tell, the blaze wasn’t large yet, but with today’s blazing sun and wind blowing down from the mountains, conditions favored the fire. She had to intervene immediately.

Liu Yinxi hurried to a sparser patch of vegetation. The fire wasn’t far from her, and she could faintly hear cries for help. She immediately pulled out the satellite phone from her pack and alerted the production team about the fire, then sprinted toward the flickering flames.

As the firelight drew closer, Liu Yinxi made out a blurry silhouette amid the smoke and flames. She frowned. The fire was bigger than she’d expected. The rescue team would arrive soon. There was no need to risk injury by rushing in—she had already done what she could.

            

Liu Yinxi turned to leave, to avoid the flames reaching her, when suddenly a red alert popup appeared before her eyes.

Her eyes went wide. Was this—a Transmigration System task?

She’d been in this book for months now, and this was her first time encountering a task. So the system wasn’t dead after all—it was alive.

            

「System Warning!」

「Transmigration System emergency protocol activated!」

「User liuyinxi, you have triggered a mandatory system task: Rescue the protagonist.」

            

「You have not yet completed this world’s main storyline transformation task. Until then, the foundation that sustains this book—the protagonist cannot lose her life, or this world will cease to operate.」

「Please cherish your hard-won rebirth opportunity.」

Meaning that if Luoling died now, she would vanish too?

            

Liu Yinxi broke into a dead sprint. Splash—she plunged into the lake, then charged into the firelight wrapped in her soaking-wet jacket.

Sorry, Teacher Nan—might not make it home on time tonight.

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