Chapter 2
Not acting rashly before confirming there was no danger nearby was a habit Shen Jinfeng had developed ever since he started doing missions.
Now that he had regained his freedom, he followed that habit one last time, keeping his eyes closed while staying clear-headed as he received the memories originally belonging to this body.
Then, in his heart, he sighed helplessly.
888 had said that it had gone through countless hardships and racked its brains to choose a retirement world that would absolutely satisfy him.
Young, rich, handsome, with no parents and no attachments.
Those were indeed his requirements.
But… 888 was always half-baked when it came to missions.
When choosing an identity, it had ignored his main point: retirement.
Being young was necessary. After all, this was his final world; he could not arrive only to die after a few years.
Of course, there was no need for him to start over from infancy either.
So, twenty-two years old. A perfect age.
Rich—this was a necessary condition for lying flat and enjoying retirement. 888 had done nothing wrong there.
No parents, no attachments, alone and unburdened. That was the freest state of all.
He had completed 999 quick-transmigration missions and was used to coming and going alone.
But what the hell kind of identity had 888 created for him?
An unemployed drifter with nothing to his name would have been the freest.
But 888, of all things, had arranged for him to become this young man—only twenty-two years old, yet actually a big shot!
At twenty-two, he had graduated with a master’s degree from one of the world’s top universities. He had been a genius since childhood, dominated the stock market, stood proudly in the business world, maxed out taekwondo, judo, and karate, and was proficient in swimming, gliding, extreme sports—practically everything.
Shen Jinfeng slowly opened his eyes.
He had been thoroughly tricked by his old partner, 888.
For a moment, he thought it might not be bad to simply lie there until the end of time.
He had completed missions in 999 quick-transmigration small worlds. Even if this were a novel protagonist, it would have to be the kind of novel protagonist written with no logic whatsoever to be this ridiculously overpowered, right?
Human energy was limited. For an ordinary person, mastering even one thing in a lifetime was already not easy.
How could so many skills be piled together like this?
Most importantly, the original owner was also a hardcore wilderness exploration enthusiast.
At present, he was out adventuring with his companions and was suspected to be the leader of this team.
The current situation was that this little team, acting on a sudden impulse, had recklessly run off to explore an undeveloped deserted island like they were asking for death.
They had been driving a ship that cost a fortune when they encountered a huge wave.
All six of them had been swept by the waves onto this beach.
888 called this a retirement world?
Shen Jinfeng sat up, just in time to see the broken ship drifting away with the waves.
He roughly estimated the distance and the remaining strength in his body.
This body seemed a little weak—one of those that was even weaker than an ordinary adult man.
Fine… he would not chase after it.
With the effort it would take to swim over now, he might as well build another boat from scratch.
He did not know how long the original owner had been unconscious. What he felt right now was this: his first experience in his retirement world felt like he had been starving for three days.
However, the good news was that the original owner had at least protected his last backpack during the storm. If he remembered correctly, there was still some food inside.
Shen Jinfeng looked around and did not go wake his still-unconscious companions.
They were not familiar with each other. It would be awkward if they woke up.
He only sat up, reached to the side, and dragged the backpack into his arms.
[This guy finally moved. If he still didn’t move, I was going to think he’d been scared stupid.]
[Oh ho, there’s food in the backpack! Let’s count. Two packs of bread, one, two, three compressed biscuits? And one bottle of water. No way, isn’t this too shabby?]
[Shouldn’t we be used to it by now? Would the production team stop unless they forced the guests into a desperate situation?]
[I wonder if the other guests have food.]
Just as the bullet comments were discussing heatedly, Director Sun Xinping made a gesture toward the publicity team. “You can announce Shen Jinfeng’s persona now.”
The publicity team leader looked at the persona entry that had long been prepared, his eyes flickering slightly.
Still, he sent it out.
On major social platforms such as Weibo, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu, as well as on the livestream screen, beside Shen Jinfeng’s high-definition face, the persona implanted by the production team appeared.
[Name: Shen Jinfeng
Identity: Graduate of a top university; leader of an exploration team
Skills: Wilderness survival-related skills, three foreign languages, sharp financial insight, excellent combat ability
Personality: Responsible leader who unites and protects his teammates; brave and resourceful; selfless]
When the parentheses beside “wilderness survival-related skills” and “excellent combat ability” were expanded, what appeared was a densely packed list—
A big shot persona.
Once the persona was announced, it immediately caused an uproar in public opinion.
Without any capital stepping in to buy traffic, this “persona” climbed up the trending searches almost purely naturally and at high speed.
[Exploration leader? The production team arranged a boss role for Shen Jinfeng?]
[No, production team, do you have some misunderstanding about Trash Shen? Top university? Trash Shen graduated from a diploma mill. Three foreign languages, sharp financial insight, excellent combat ability—which one fits him?]
[Let me tell you a joke. If the production team implants a persona saying I know qinggong, then I can fly.]
[I don’t really understand the production team’s weird move, but to be fair, the initial setting in the personality column is really good. In previous seasons, very few guests were initially implanted with this many positive traits.]
[Exactly. We don’t expect him to be a good team leader, but if he can manage to be united, responsible, and courageous—even thirty percent of the persona would already be pretty good.]
[As expected, he has someone backing him. With so many scandals, he actually got such a good initial persona.]
[Such a good initial persona? If you think that, why don’t you try it yourself? Why do I feel like the production team is setting him up to be praised to death? Who could possibly pull off this persona?]
[I can already predict the trending searches for the next month. Let’s wait and watch Shen “Big Shot” dominate everything. Then, probably like last season, the whole team will spend every day arguing.]
[The whole team? The other guests haven’t even appeared yet, and someone is already mocking on credit?]
Just then, a second voice finally appeared in the livestream.
“Fuck, I’m starving to death.” A fierce but clearly weak voice rang out.
The livestream image focused on the newly speaking man at just the right moment.
What entered the audience’s eyes was a young man with purple hair and delicate features that carried a bit of youthful softness.
His hair color and looks matched perfectly with the profanity he had just spoken and the weak, breathless voice that could barely come out.
They complemented each other beautifully.
[He Erwang!!! He Erwang actually came to “be human” again. Looks like his manager can’t stand him anymore. No, maybe even his dad can’t stand him anymore.]
[Pfft hahahahaha, forgive me for laughing unkindly. This is the first time I’ve seen He Erwang looking like his kidneys are failing.]
[Ahhh! My baby actually came to my favorite variety show!]
He Erwang was currently one of the hottest rising stars in the entertainment industry. He came from an idol background and had astonishing traffic.
Any random Weibo post saying “Good morning” could break one million likes in a single day.
With his naturally gifted appearance, top-tier professional ability, and rumored extremely powerful family background, even if he could not summon the wind and rain in the entertainment industry, he could at least move forward without obstruction.
He had both capital and popularity, which had cultivated his arrogant, sharp-tongued personality. Wherever he went in the entertainment industry, if he saw something unfair, he would start roasting it.
Coincidentally, outside the show, he had once roasted Shen Jinfeng.
For a while, the bullet comments watching the drama poured in endlessly.
However, He Erwang’s massive fanbase, who rushed over after hearing the news, occupied the comment section within just a few minutes, fighting to give their idol a grand entrance.
Xiao Li looked at the real-time rising data and exclaimed, “Director, the viewer count suddenly increased by five million!”
Sun Xinping’s eyelid twitched. “Good heavens. No wonder he’s a top traffic star.”
He actually had this many active fans!
“What Kind of Person Are You?” was itself a hugely popular variety show and had built a fan foundation over its first two seasons.
Therefore, the brilliant data at the start of the broadcast had been within Sun Xinping’s expectations.
But since the broadcast began, the real-time viewer count had still been continuously rising.
Without a doubt, although Shen Jinfeng was popular through scandals, popularity was still popularity.
Being able to attract people to come curse at him was a skill in itself.
But He Erwang was different.
Sun Xinping had expected He Erwang’s traffic to be good, but he had not expected it to be this good.
In truth, he had misunderstood.
The sudden rise in viewers was indeed partly because He Erwang’s active fans had arrived.
But more of them were passersby who were interested and wanted to come watch He Erwang’s drama.
There was also a portion made up of fans whose own idols had been attacked by He Erwang before. They came beating gongs and drums, wanting to watch He Erwang overturn live.
“As expected of one of my trump cards,” Sun Xinping muttered to himself. Among the guests of season three, He Erwang had the greatest traffic if one looked only at popularity.
The atmosphere was heated, perfect for releasing his persona.
At the very moment when He Erwang on the screen was so weak he almost could not lift a finger, his persona was also publicly displayed.
[Name: He Erwang
Identity: A young master from a wealthy family who longs for wilderness survival and wants to prove his independence to his parents
Skills: Good physical coordination; can climb trees to collect bird nests
Personality: Polite, sensible, knows when to advance and retreat, enjoys team cooperation and helping others]
[Pfft, hahahahahahahaha, I’m really going to die laughing. Sorry, I’m a fan and I’ll laugh first.]
[Let’s not even talk about the identity. It’s pretty fitting. There’s no issue with physical coordination either. After all, as an idol, He Erwang’s professional ability is flawless. But can climbing trees to collect bird nests really count as a skill? Hahahahaha.]
[Can the production team’s targeted intent be any more obvious? With this personality setting, once my Brother Wang leaves the show, let’s see whether he’ll still be polite. Won’t he roast you all to death?]
[Polite, sensible, knows when to advance and retreat, enjoys team cooperation—every single one steps precisely on a landmine. The production team really knows how to set personas.]
[One word: brilliant.]
[I’m so curious now. What would it look like to make He Erwang be a gentle, polite person?]
[No… did none of you hear He Erwang’s first sentence after waking up?]
[Silence…]
[Silence +1]
[It’s over. The “Being Human” production team has encountered the fastest Waterloo in history.]
Sun Xinping looked at the bullet comments, and the corner of his mouth also twitched.
No, when your mind only holds the impression that you are a polite person, why would you blurt out a curse word?
He Erwang’s first sentence after waking up just now had been: Fuck, I’m starving to death.
Could it really be that one’s nature was hard to change?
But even if it was hard to change, it should not be completely unchanged from the very start, right?
Fortunately, in the next second, He Erwang used practical action to prove that the persona implanted by the production team was still clearly effective.
Because, very obviously—
He Erwang, who seemed so tired he had no strength, lay on the ground and froze for two seconds.
Then, in a very small voice and a tone full of doubt, he asked himself a question.
“That didn’t seem quite right?”
“What I just said was a bit vulgar.”
“How was I supposed to say it again?”
“I’m so hungry.” After a long while, He Erwang finally succeeded in organizing polite wording.
