Substitute Alpha Gets Confessed to by Her Ex’s Aunt on a Survival Variety Show – Chapter 33
by Little PandaThe Fourth Airdrop
Wristband Date: April 24
Current Time: 6:51 AM
To-Do List:
- Obtain the antihistamine from the airdrop.
- Trade honey with Huang Heshan for medicinal herbs (if possible, try to secure a consultation with Yu Yan).
- Prepare to move the shelter to the vicinity of the Toa River.
Current Action: Contesting the fourth airdrop supplies.
The sun was just rising, its light already blanketing the beach. Liu Yinxi lay prone in the tall grass at the border of the coconut grove and the rainforest, clearing her thoughts as she waited for the helicopter.
She and Nan Huaixu had divided the labor as they had before. Liu Yinxi was responsible for grabbing the airdrop, while Nan Huaixu hid in the woods to provide backup, waiting for the right moment to act.
Two minutes later, the roar of rotor blades sounded from the southern sky.
Liu Yinxi’s ambush spot was very close to the location of the last airdrop.
The sound of the aircraft grew louder overhead. Liu Yinxi stared at the approaching helicopter, her brow suddenly furrowed.
The helicopter, emblazoned with the fiery 《Survivor》 logo, flew over the ocean. Before it even neared the beach, it dropped an airdrop crate over the shallow sea.
The crate plunged into the water, sending up a few splashes. It sank for a moment before slowly bobbing back to the surface.
The sound of the helicopter was still getting closer.
The aircraft reached the edge of the coconut grove and deliberately hovered over a dense cluster of trees. It dropped a second airdrop crate, letting the parachute get snagged on the treetops, leaving the crate to dangle and sway in mid-air.
As Liu Yinxi tracked the helicopter’s drops, she scanned her surroundings for any movement. It was completely silent, with no sound other than the aircraft.
She was certain that Huang Heshan, at the very least, had already arrived. And with Yuan Fang’s shrewdness, she wouldn’t be late now that the airdrop location was known. But not a single contestant had made a move. It seemed the production team’s dirty tricks had left everyone stumped. The airdrop crates were scattered and would be difficult to retrieve; everyone was hesitating, trying to decide which target to choose.
The helicopter rumbled in a circle over the coconut grove, dropped a third airdrop crate as it passed a towering sea cliff, and then departed in a showy display.
Four teams of contestants.
Three airdrop crates.
This meant one team would be returning empty-handed.
The interval between airdrops would lengthen as the competition progressed. It had already gone from “one drop every three days” during the novice period to “one drop every five days.” The intervals would only get longer. For contestants surviving in a perilous primeval rainforest, missing even a single supply drop was a tremendous loss.
Liu Yinxi pushed herself up from the grass, her gaze shifting between the sea, the coconut trees, and the cliff, her mind racing.
She had thoroughly studied the airdrop segments in her reading system. The original book mentioned that the fourth airdrop was scattered, but it didn’t specify the drop methods or locations. This was because the original plot revolved around Ying Luoling’s perspective. Ying Luoling was teamed up with Huang Heshan, and Huang Heshan had gone to get the airdrop alone. Since Ying Luoling hadn’t participated, she naturally didn’t know the details.
Liu Yinxi could only deduce the contents of the airdrop crates from later events in the book.
The original novel stated that when Huang Heshan returned with the airdrop and met Ying Luoling, she was soaked to the bone. The supplies they had obtained were saline solution.
By process of elimination, she could first rule out the crate in the shallow sea.
Further on in the original plot, on the afternoon of the airdrop day, Huang Heshan went out hunting, and Ying Luoling took a roasted rabbit leg to find Xue Yunshao.
During her chat with Ying Luoling, Xue Yunshao had mentioned that thanks to her rock-climbing hobby, she was able to get the vitamin effervescent tablets.
By process of elimination, she could now also rule out the crate on the cliff.
That left the last crate, the one hanging from the coconut tree. That had to be the Cetirizine.
Liu Yinxi shot forward like an arrow, sprinting toward the tall coconut tree with the parachute caught in its fronds.
At the same time, a nimble figure leaped from the coconut grove into the sea, and another person appeared in the direction of the sea cliff.
All the contestants had locked onto their targets.
The old coconut tree was straight and tall, nearly twenty meters from top to bottom—about the height of a seven-story residential building. Climbing to the top without any safety equipment was extremely dangerous.
This kind of height was nothing new to Liu Yinxi from her past climbing training. They were often required to scale tall trees or abandoned buildings.
With a sturdy vine rope wrapped around her waist for protection, Liu Yinxi used the rough texture of the coconut tree’s bark to quickly scramble upward.
The parachute, caught on a giant coconut frond, swayed in the wind. The weight of the crate pulled it downward, some distance from the very top of the tree.
Liu Yinxi climbed to a height just below the airdrop crate. She wrapped her legs around the trunk, held on with her left hand, and raised her slingshot. With her right hand, she drew back the rubber band, aimed at the base of the frond holding the parachute, and let a stone fly.
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack…
On the eleventh strike, the coconut frond finally bent under the force. The parachute slid down the angled surface of the leaf, and the airdrop crate, now free, plummeted to the beach.
Thump!
The moment the crate landed, Liu Yinxi checked the situation on the ground.
Nan Huaixu was already waiting under the tree for her. When she looked down, Nan Huaixu had already picked up the crate and was looking up, giving her a thumbs-up.
A smile touched Liu Yinxi’s lips. She returned the gesture, then adjusted the vine rope at her waist and began her slow descent.
From selecting their target to running, climbing, and providing backup, the two of them hadn’t needed to communicate at all.
The moment Liu Yinxi had sprinted for the coconut tree, Nan Huaixu had understood her choice.
And the moment Liu Yinxi had tied on the vine rope, she had been certain that Nan Huaixu would be under the tree to secure the crate.
Nan Huaixu hadn’t made a single sound the entire time Liu Yinxi was climbing. The tree was high and the task was dangerous; there was no room for even the slightest distraction. Any words of encouragement or caution would have only interfered with her teammate.
Liu Yinxi landed steadily and walked toward Nan Huaixu with a smile. She raised her hand against the sunlight, and Nan Huaixu, understanding, raised her own to meet it in a high-five.
Tacit understanding.
It was the glue of teamwork, the catalyst for a win-win situation.
Nan Huaixu hefted the airdrop crate. This one was small and light; she could hold it with one hand. “What do you think is in the box this time?”
Nan Huaixu had seen the label on the crate, but Liu Yinxi wouldn’t have been able to see it while climbing, as the labeled side had been facing away from her. Nan Huaixu assumed she didn’t know yet.
Liu Yinxi pressed her palms together, faced the sun, and prayed piously, “Antihistamines, antihistamines, please give us antihistamines…”
Nan Huaixu opened the small airdrop crate with one hand and held the bottle of Cetirizine up before her eyes. “Wish granted.”
Liu Yinxi’s mouth opened in a delighted gasp, her eyes shining. “Wow! That’s amazing! I told you, Teacher Nan has a consecrated mouth1. You’re someone who adds flowers to brocade2, who meets calamity and transforms it to auspiciousness3.”
Nan Huaixu laughed. “My mouth isn’t that amazing. I’m starting to think it was a good thing that little bee stung you.”
“No, it wasn’t.” Liu Yinxi’s expression changed in an instant, and she pouted with lips that had finally, completely, gone back to normal.
Nan Huaixu put the medicine bottle away and looked at the slip of paper inside the crate:
Fourth Airdrop Supply List (※ indicates supplies contained in this crate)
Saline solution 20ml * 8 vials
Vitamin effervescent tablets 36 tablets * 1 bottle
※Cetirizine tablets 25 tablets * 1 bottle
“Putting aside my personal rhinitis problem,” Nan Huaixu said regretfully, “I think the saline solution is the most important. We could use it to clean wounds. Our homemade saltwater solution can can’t compare to sterile saline.”
Liu Yinxi’s tone was firm. “But you need the antihistamine most right now, so the Cetirizine is the most important. I can make crude saltwater, but I can’t make antihistamines. That makes this totally worth it.”
Nan Huaixu looked at her, her eyes full of apology. “Sorry. I feel like I’m dragging our team down a bit.”
“The real problem would be you feeling unwell and not having the energy to handle high-intensity survival for a long time. At all times, you need to consider your own safety first. A little more self-care, a little less anxiety and self-blame.”
Liu Yinxi smiled faintly.
“Nan Huaixu, just you standing here is the greatest source of morale for this entire team.”
Nan Huaixu’s expression was calm in the sea breeze and sunlight, but a closer look revealed the smile hidden in the depths of her eyes. “Is that so.”
Liu Yinxi just smiled and didn’t answer.
Only someone who had faced the wilderness alone could know how important it was to have companionship, to have a spiritual anchor to communicate with, when surrounded by the vastness of nature.
Some people were naturally quiet and might say they didn’t need company, but retreating to the mountains and facing the wilderness alone were two completely different concepts. A hermit could choose to have basic life necessities, while a survivalist in the wild had only countless unknown dangers.
A companion, a conversation—that was a hope for survival.
Liu Yinxi picked up her backpack from the ground and walked toward the edge of the beach where the waves lapped at the sand.
She saw Huang Heshan pushing an airdrop crate as she swam over, about to come ashore.
Nan Huaixu saw her too. They still had a trade to make, so they hurried over without a moment’s delay.
The water’s surface churned. Huang Heshan broke through the waves and shook the water from her hair.
The moment she set foot on shore, the two people waiting for her closed in.
“…” Huang Heshan clutched the small airdrop crate under her arm, her gaze a warning as sharp as a knife: Don’t even think about snatching it.
Worried about a misunderstanding, Liu Yinxi pointed to the crate in Nan Huaixu’s hand. “Huang-jie, we’re not going to snatch it. We already got one.”
Nan Huaixu nodded, holding the crate a little higher for her to see.
“?” A flicker of confusion appeared in Huang Heshan’s eyes. She walked around them. If you already have one, what are you doing here?
The two followed a few steps behind her. “Huang-jie, we—”
Huang Heshan let out an irritated tsk and turned back. “Not trading.”
Liu Yinxi opened her backpack and took out a glass jar filled with cut honeycomb. A hand-woven grass rope was tied around the jar, decorated with a beautiful frangipani flower—a special touch from Nan Huaixu to make it more appealing.
“Honey! Fragrant, sweet honey! It’s delicious, easy to store, and a quick source of sugar and energy. Perfect for a survivalist with high energy expenditure like you.”
Liu Yinxi kept pace with Huang Heshan, energetically promoting her house brand, “Xiao Liu’s Choice.”
At the mention of replenishing sugar, Huang Heshan’s gaze lingered on the honey jar for a moment.
Liu Yinxi struck while the iron was hot. “Wild honey isn’t easy to get. Huang-jie, you’re an expert, so I won’t even tell you how miserably I got stung by wild bees for this. Our price is cheap. We want to trade for some of your medicinal herbs—any kind will do—plus one chance for you to treat us.”
Huang Heshan turned her head away without a second thought.
Liu Yinxi pursued her relentlessly. “Huang-jie, Huang-jie, just tell us how many herbs you think is a fair trade. We can negotiate!”
Huang Heshan’s strides grew wider.
The audience in the live-stream room was getting anxious for Liu Yinxi:
【Aiya, Liu’er, it’s hopeless (shrug)】
【Huang is not someone you can reason with. They should have tried to talk to Yu Yan from the start.】
【Don’t worry, don’t worry, Manman hasn’t used her secret move yet (smirk)】
【Liu Yinxi, where’s your mouth? Did you forget the script Manman taught you? (tearing hair out)】
【So anxious! Are they gonna make the trade or not?!】
Seeing that Huang Heshan was about to enter the coconut grove, Liu Yinxi raised her voice and hollered, “Huang-jie, you really can’t miss out on this amazing honey! Omegas love to eat honey. It’ll make them happy.”
The figure ahead seemed to slow down slightly.
Nan Huaixu took a swift step forward and linked her arm through Liu Yinxi’s. In a soft voice, she said, “Yinxi, this honey is so sweet. It’s so delicious. I love it. When we get back to the shelter, I want you to make me another bowl of honey water.”
【???????】
【Wait, Nan Huaixu, you!】
Huang Heshan stopped in her tracks. She turned around, her gaze falling on the hand Nan Huaixu had linked with Liu Yinxi’s arm.
“The herbs. How many do you want?”
【???????】
【Wait, Huang Heshan, you!】
【(Laugh-crying emoji)】
【They’re trading! It worked!】
【The second Huang-jie heard that eating honey brings happiness, she became so generous: Don’t ask my price, just tell me what you need.】
【Manman’s script really worked! As expected of my Manman, the award-winning Best Actress (proud)】
【Our Manman sacrificed herself for the team. She touched Liu Yinxi just to trade for herbs QAQ】
【Manman, can you please let go of her arm now! Stop holding onto Liu Yinxi! (biting a handkerchief)5】
【Um, sorry, but I think I’m kinda shipping this6… It must be my fault, ahhh!】
Footnotes
- Kāiguāng zuǐ (开光嘴): ‘kāiguāng’ (开光) is a ritual for consecrating an item, believed to imbue it with divine power. ‘Kāiguāng zuǐ’ or ‘consecrated mouth’ is slang for someone whose predictions or declarations uncannily come true.
- Jǐnshàngtiānhuā (锦上添花): this chengyu means to add something beautiful to something that is already beautiful, making it even better.
- Féngxiōnghuàjí (逢凶化吉): this is a common Chinese idiom meaning to turn a bad situation into a good one.
- Dàngjī (宕机) is computer terminology for a system crash, but is used in modern slang to mean being so shocked or overwhelmed that one’s brain ‘freezes’.
- Yǎo shǒujuàn (咬手绢) or biting a handkerchief is a classic, often theatrical gesture from anime and manga used to express intense frustration, jealousy, or repressed anger.
- Kè dào le (嗑到了): literally ‘to have gotten a hit/dose’. ‘Kè’ (嗑) means to crack something with one’s teeth, like sunflower seeds, but in fan slang it means to consume content about a romantic pairing. ‘Kè dào le’ means you’ve found something satisfying to ‘ship’.
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