Chapter 67
Even more bewildered than Shen Jinfeng were the viewers watching the livestream and the staff members in the production team’s control room.
The people on the screen had been perfectly fine, talking normally, and then as they talked, they disappeared like characters in a xianxia drama?
And honestly, it did not look like the power of technology. It looked more like a group of people had become spirits after the founding of the nation.
[Wh-what’s going on? Did I accidentally wander into a supernatural film set?]
[Holy crap. My huge Ye God was talking to Big Boss Shen, and then he was gone? My huge group of Little Qi, Little Purple Hair, Brother Mo, and Shengsheng had barely said a word, and then they were all gone too? Is it because they realized the deserted island was fake? Were they forcibly logged out? Then why is Big Boss Shen still there?!]
[Dazed and dizzy. I feel like all the blood in my body is boiling right now. Too awesome. Unfortunately, I have no education, so one “awesome” will carry me through the world!]
[This counts as a broadcasting accident, right? But why did I get scared for a second, then suddenly get excited?! The plot of Big Boss carrying everyone, discovering the truth of the world, and directly breaking through the virtual world is way too cool! The production team must be scared to death right now, right? In a complete mess, right? Hahaha!
Although I watched the previous seasons too, I always felt like the guests in the variety show were being controlled. They were too weak. Even if their true nature was kind, they were constantly in dangerous and difficult situations. But this season, up until now, it feels like watching Big Boss and the others counter-kill the production team!]
[I declare that this scene is definitely a classic in variety show history, enough to go down in domestic entertainment history!]
[Hahahahahaha, please be human! It really is classic. So classic that Big Boss watched his little companions disappear one by one, while he himself was still there. Big Boss is dumbfounded. I’m dumbfounded too.]
[Laughed to death. Look at Big Boss Shen’s expression! I’ve never seen Big Boss stunned like this before. He even rubbed his eyes in disbelief!]
[If someone suddenly disappeared in front of me, I would seriously scream from fright, okay? But Big Boss already guessed the truth of the deserted island almost perfectly, so he probably understands what caused it. The fact that he can stay this calm right now makes him a model for our generation!]
[Hey, stupid production team. Either send the others back in, or let Big Boss out too. After all, Big Boss’s wish to the meteor shower was to leave! But I still want to watch the livestream, so I choose the first option! Hehe.]
At first, the viewers had been scared. Then they could not help boiling over, screaming, worshipping, analyzing, and watching the drama unfold.
Because the current scene really did have a certain comedic effect.
Shen Jinfeng stared blankly around at where the other five people had just been sitting. He lowered his eyes, and no one knew what he was thinking.
After quite a while, he lay back down on the beach again.
He looked up at the sky once more. “Hey, bro? Can you hear me?”
“You deliberately left me here alone?”
His tone was mild, but there seemed to be a hint of threat in it.
[Hahaha, Big Boss Shen’s threat: You deliberately left me here alone? If you don’t let me out, I’ll make things difficult for you!]
[Although this is hilarious, is there something wrong with the production team’s equipment and code? Why are there so many problems this season? The previous seasons ended without any guest forcibly logging out. Shouldn’t the technology be more mature now?]
[The previous seasons also didn’t have a Big Boss who discovered the truth and carried the whole show…]
[So is the production team really doing this on purpose?]
The production team, which was being regarded by both Shen Jinfeng and all the viewers as doing it on purpose: “…”
No, if they were really that capable, would they have let the other guests out?
Wouldn’t they have pinned everyone down on the deserted island and livestreamed for two months?
The staff had collectively gone stupid. “Why… why did Ye God and the others disappear?”
“They completely believed they were in a fake world! So they got out? Then do we need to hurry and contact the people in the nutrition room who are responsible for monitoring the guests’ physical data?”
In fact, the truth was already obvious.
Qin Ye and the others had clearly walked a path no predecessor had ever walked before. On the subjective level of consciousness, they had distinguished the illusion of the virtual world.
Their consciousness should have awakened and come out from inside.
But the strange thing was that Shen Jinfeng, who had been the first to confirm it and had convinced everyone else of his conclusion, had not come out!
This was too unbelievable!
The director had really made a fine wish.
How was that a wish? Wasn’t that more like a crow’s mouth?
Everyone collectively set down their work and stared in shock at the screen, temporarily unable to come back to their senses.
Or rather, their brains were still crashing, and they could not react to what they should do next.
“Is there a bug in our program and equipment?”
“That makes no sense. Why did Ye God and the others, who were only persuaded later by Big Boss Shen, come out, while Big Boss Shen himself is still inside?”
Goat felt like his CPU was about to burn dry.
His fingers flew rapidly across the keyboard, almost smoking from the force.
Bug, bug, find the bug. Where was the bug?
What was wrong?!
Sun Xinping called the staff responsible for watching the guests’ physical conditions with a dark face. “Which guests are about to wake up now? Are they conscious?”
The staff on that side were also urgently checking the equipment.
Because the production team’s estimated livestream duration had been two months.
Although there had been backup plans, this kind of sudden spontaneous awakening of the guests’ consciousness was their first time encountering it.
Therefore, whether the guests’ physical condition was currently good, whether the connection between their consciousness and the virtual deserted island had been severed, and whether the equipment was operating normally enough to support the guests waking up all required inspection and verification.
After all, this involved brain consciousness. The slightest carelessness could cause unpredictable consequences.
Sun Xinping did not rush them either. “Report to me after the checks are complete.”
He temporarily hung up and immediately assigned the most urgent tasks.
He looked toward the publicity team leader. “Old Qian, have your people contact each guest’s manager and inform them of the situation. Ask if they want to come over. If they do, prepare to receive them properly.”
Old Qian nodded and turned to get busy first.
Sun Xinping looked toward Xiao Li again. “Contact a nearby five-star hotel and book five—book six rooms. Then coordinate with Old Qian and book rooms for the staff coming over later too.”
With such a big incident happening, the guests’ managers, companies, or family members would definitely come rushing over soon.
Maybe some of them would come with lawyers to negotiate.
Just thinking about it made his head hurt.
But it was already almost nine at night. By the time those people arrived, it would probably be ten. He could not let them come all the way here and then rush back overnight.
Because the guests had all woken up unexpectedly early, he definitely had to pull them in to renegotiate the contract and discuss what to do next.
Yes, discuss.
He could not act tough anymore.
Most of the guests this season were either famous or, in some way, “different.”
He did not dare offend He Erwang or Qin Ye no matter what.
Qi Xiu’s mysterious and unpredictable metaphysical skills also made him a little afraid.
As for Shen Jinfeng, Sun Xinping felt like he was almost developing a psychological shadow because of him!
It had only been a few days, and this person had directly “bankrupted” his show! Add to that all the skills he had revealed on the deserted island…
After so many years in the entertainment industry, Sun Xinping still knew how to judge whether a person was someone he could afford to provoke.
The only ones left were Gu Shengsheng and Mo Fan, who might be relatively easier to bully.
But there was no need to single out two honest people to bully.
He was already in a complete mess and was not in the mood.
Besides, from the look of things, these two had also made a comeback. Their future might very well be boundless.
Forming a good relationship now was the wiser choice.
Most importantly, all the guests on the deserted island had become as close as blood brothers.
What was the difference between offending one and offending the whole group?
Sun Xinping could at least see the situation clearly.
Therefore, although such a big accident had happened tonight, this anger could not be vented at the guests.
On the contrary, he had to coax them into a good mood.
Later, he would inevitably have to act humble and discuss what to do with the show afterward.
Moreover, judging by the current situation, it probably would be impossible to come up with a solution that satisfied everyone tonight. It was late today too, so the best plan was to let the guests go to the hotel and rest after coming out, then talk tomorrow.
Of course, the most urgent thing now was to bring the guests out.
In about a minute, the staff who had been checking the equipment and the guests’ physical data called him back. “Director, the guests are conscious, their physical data is good, and the equipment is operating normally. They’re about to wake up completely. Should we let them out on this side?”
Sun Xinping nodded over the phone. “Alright. I’ll come over right away.”
He named several staff members. “You, come with me.”
“Xiao Zhao, go prepare tea, drinks, fruit platters, and so on.”
The staff members he called hurriedly stood and followed behind him.
Their faces all showed faintly suppressed excitement.
Yes! They were about to see the guests in person!
Although they had seen them before, after recording these past few days, they had almost become die-hard fans just like the netizens, alright?
The feeling was different now!
The group hurried outside. Goat suddenly turned his head, his tone anxious. “What about Big Boss Shen?”
“Big Boss Shen is still on the deserted island and hasn’t come out!”
“He’s still asking why we left him there alone! Are we not responding?”
The group’s steps froze.
Sun Xinping: “…Just deal with him however you want. I’ll go over there and check Shen Jinfeng’s physical condition and consciousness data.”
Although the data from that side could be transmitted here in real time, clearly, the data only showed that Shen Jinfeng’s condition was normal and good.
It had been like this all these days.
But normal, his foot!
Now that he was going over to receive the other guests, he would observe exactly what was going on with Shen Jinfeng.
Goat watched Sun Xinping irresponsibly finish speaking and then vanish in front of him. He was dumbfounded.
The nutrition chambers where the guests were placed were not on this floor because of environmental requirements.
Sun Xinping had just issued a pile of orders and had basically assigned work to all the staff.
Now, only a few members of the technical team were left in the control room.
Because the livestream had not ended.
Shen Jinfeng was still lying all alone on the beach, watching the meteor shower.
The meteor shower was still falling. He did not continue questioning them. He merely watched alone expressionlessly.
The bullet comments were already cursing.
[It’s been so long and there’s still no movement. Does the stupid production team have something on their mind? Smile.]
[@Old Dog Sun, you’d better not tell me you really left Big Boss Shen alone on purpose.]
[Sob sob sob, I feel so heartbroken. Just now it was so lively, but now only Big Boss Shen is left alone on the beach. Big Boss Shen doesn’t look happy at all. He looks so lonely.]
[Exactly. Even if he knows the truth now, being targeted alone would still make anyone unhappy!]
[No matter how beautiful a meteor shower is, what’s the point of watching it alone? Stupid production team, don’t force me to mail blades to you! Hurry up and let my Big Boss out or send the others back in!]
[Sob sob, I can temporarily not watch Big Boss tonight. Seeing Big Boss like this is making my heart break. Sure enough, the occasional vulnerability of a strong person is the most heartbreaking.]
If Shen Jinfeng saw this bullet comment, he would probably be speechless.
He was only thinking about whether the research team that had designed this virtual world was incompetent or deliberately targeting him.
At the same time, he faintly felt that something was not quite right.
Qin Ye and the others’ “disappearance” seemed to have suddenly triggered some mechanism.
Why did it fail when it came to him? He was certain the others had not done anything more than he did.
The radar that had been tricked several times before began flashing wildly in his mind.
Aside from the possibility that the “research team” outside this retirement world was a pitfall—
There was also another possibility: 888 might be the pitfall!
The corner of Shen Jinfeng’s mouth twitched. His fingers, curled at his side, slowly clenched into a fist.
He had better not find out that this stupid system had another problem!
But he really could not understand it.
As soon as he came to the retirement world, 888 had hurriedly run off. Logically speaking, it should not have had time to trick him.
In the control room, Goat’s sharp eyes noticed that Shen Jinfeng had suddenly clenched his hand into a fist, and his body trembled hard.
QAQ. He was scared.
The technical team member beside him noticed it too.
The member swallowed and carefully pointed at the screen. “Team leader, the bullet comments are cursing us to death.”
“And is Big Boss Shen getting impatient? His expression looks so cold. His fists are clenched. It feels like he’s in a max rage state.”
“I think so too. Hiss. We shouldn’t anger Big Boss Shen, right? And this really is our problem. It must be a bug in the machine!” another person concluded decisively.
“When the director left just now, he said we could do whatever. Should we think of a way to temporarily comfort Big Boss Shen first? He kept asking us to hint to him before.”
Goat had a headache. “Hint what?”
“If we directly say bug, that won’t work, right? We’ll be cursed to death by the audience… Although the audience probably guessed it too. But as a hint, should we just tell Big Boss Shen to wait a little?”
“Then what method should we use to hint?” Goat hesitated.
“From the beach right now, it looks like the only things visible are stars and sand? How about making a few lines of text appear using the stars or floating sand?”
Goat’s temples throbbed. “How did you even come up with such an absurd method!”
He irritably patted his own head. Then inspiration suddenly struck him. “Got it!”
He lowered his head and began typing furiously on the keyboard again.
A few minutes later—
On the screen, everyone saw a white pigeon, probably “Flies Fast,” flap its wings and suddenly fly out of the wooden cabin, heading toward Shen Jinfeng.
It was only when “Flies Fast” landed in front of him and lightly pecked his arm that Shen Jinfeng spared it a glance. Then his gaze focused.
There was actually a tiny rolled-up paper tied to Flies Fast’s leg.
He reached out and removed the little paper roll. Seeing that its task was complete, Flies Fast flapped its wings and flew back toward the wooden cabin.
Shen Jinfeng opened the paper and saw a line clearly printed in regular script.
[Sorry. Please trouble yourself to stay on the beach for another hour. You can finish watching the meteor shower, okay? (heart) (P.S. The meteor shower still has one hour left.)]
Shen Jinfeng: “…”
So they really had deliberately left him here alone?
His earlier suspicion toward 888 scattered. Now, he only found the situation somewhat funny.
The person controlling things outside had left him alone inside so he could finish watching this meteor shower?
Because he had deliberately said there would be a meteor shower, were they now satisfying his wish? Although this behavior looked more like “revenge.”
He rubbed the stiff, clumsy “heart” shape on the paper.
Fine. He lay back down in peace.
Not having to use his brain was best.
Then he would wait a little longer.
[Pfft, Big Boss is actually pretty easy to comfort. He believes them just like that.]
[Isn’t that obvious? Big Boss doesn’t have his memories about the production team right now, and he doesn’t know what kind of people this stupid production team is. I bet one hundred spicy strips that there must be some bug! But it probably isn’t a big problem. Still, it’s clear the production team has given up. They actually directly used a pigeon to send Big Boss a message hahaha! The pigeon finally came in useful and completed its mission.]
[It might really just be to let Big Boss finish watching the meteor shower? No matter what, treasure this last hour! I’m going to stay glued to the screen and watch Big Boss. I won’t leave for even one step!]
[Sob sob, I’m worried about what happens next. Will this season of What Kind of Person Are You continue? If Big Boss and the others all recover their memories, then if they return to this deserted island without the production team’s “personas” supporting things, it feels like it won’t be as interesting.]
[Whatever. Personas or no personas, I feel like even if the production team tries a few more times, Big Boss will still see through the flaws, hands on hips confidently. I only need to keep seeing Big Boss, Ye God, Little Purple Hair, Little Qi, Shengsheng, and Brother Mo, all six of them, continuing to be there!]
In the control room, Goat and the others saw that Shen Jinfeng had temporarily been soothed and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Next, it depends on the director’s side. One hour should be enough to think of a solution, right?” Goat murmured to himself.
“Definitely! Big Boss Shen definitely has to come out. Even if the director doesn’t want to let him out, I bet Ye God and the others will cause a fuss when they wake up and don’t see Big Boss. They’ll definitely pressure the director into letting Big Boss out!” the team member beside him replied without hesitation, eyes shining.
“What a pity I didn’t get to go to the scene, ahhh! When Big Boss Shen disappears from the screen later, meaning he’s come out too, can we all go over and take a look?”
Goat was tempted. “Okay!”
On the other side, Sun Xinping, the main character being discussed by the technical team, had already rushed to the nutrition room with a group of staff.
Because the guests’ consciousness had to be connected to the virtual world, while their bodies remained outside—
During the show’s recording, the guests’ bodies were all entrusted to the production team, who provided nutrition chambers and maintained their physical condition.
The nutrition chambers not only supplied the nutrition the human body required, but also handled daily cleaning and included massage and various other functions.
It could be said that each day’s maintenance cost was an astonishing sum.
And opening the nutrition chambers, connecting the guests’ consciousness to the virtual world, or stopping the nutrition chambers to awaken the guests burned money even more.
Now, the show had only recorded for a dozen or so days…
When Sun Xinping saw the nutrition chambers, he felt like his heart was bleeding.
However, in truth, this season had already earned more than the previous season.
And now, there was no choice but to open them.
After all the staff reported to him, he could only helplessly wave his hand. “Let the guests out.”
“By the way, what’s Shen Jinfeng’s current situation? Has his real-world consciousness still not awakened?”
The staff scratched their heads, also unable to understand it. “Yes. Big Boss Shen’s real-world consciousness has not awakened. It’s very strange. We checked the device, and there are no problems.”
Sun Xinping frowned. He could not understand either.
“Make sure Shen Jinfeng’s physical condition and consciousness are both fine. Can he be awakened normally?”
“Yes. We just checked three times. It’s just that if we awaken him normally, it will take about half an hour.”
Sun Xinping nodded. This was also an old tradition.
“Director, should I start the program to awaken Big Boss Shen?” the staff member asked.
Sun Xinping said, “Mm. Start.”
After all, he had thought of what the technical team had thought of as well.
No matter what, they could not let Shen Jinfeng spend the night alone on the deserted island tonight.
The other staff temporarily moved in soft sofas, fruit platters, and drinks.
About five minutes later, Qin Ye and the others fully awakened.
With the staff’s assistance, they walked out of the nutrition chambers.
Clearly, all five of them were still a little dazed. They looked at each other, digesting the memories that had returned to their minds and merging them with their experiences on the deserted island during this period.
Sun Xinping only greeted them briefly and then said no more.
Very tactfully, he personally brewed each of them a cup of warm water, then sat quietly to the side and waited for one of the guests to speak first.
This was also an old tradition.
What Kind of Person Are You had now reached its third season. The guests from the first two seasons had also needed time to recover after coming out.
In fact, one moment, they had still been shocked by Shen Jinfeng’s guess but had subconsciously chosen to believe it. The next moment, they had returned to the real world and verified his judgment. Everyone’s mood was extremely complicated.
For all these days, they had actually been recording a variety show in a virtual world!
And if not for Shen Jinfeng, they would have had to keep recording for more than another month!
Qin Ye leaned back on the sofa and rubbed his brow bone. His entire aura seemed to warn strangers to stay away.
He restored the sequence of events in his mind and understood that he had been thoroughly tricked by Madam Yun.
The production team had actually treated him alright. They had only replaced his few years in the entertainment industry with later memories from Qin Group.
But… on the show, no wonder he had had such a strong subconscious urge to find someone to fall in love with.
He was truly laughed into anger. Madam Yun was probably the one who should come to the entertainment industry.
She had tricked him into participating in a variety show, saying she would never urge him to go on blind dates again.
But the most outrageous thing was that he had actually found himself and another guest—the little captain on the deserted island—mutually attracted to each other…
Qin Ye’s dark eyes were obscure and unreadable.
Wait. Where was Shen Jinfeng?
He suddenly raised his head.
At almost the same time, He Erwang, who was sitting beside him, had a complicated expression and felt like his brain was about to explode.
No way. Had he behaved that stupidly on the show?
And his favorite boss—Shen Jinfeng.
Why was he completely different from the Shen Jinfeng in his impression?
No, he had not been familiar with Shen Jinfeng before anyway.
But he had publicly dissed Shen Jinfeng before!!!
Help. How was he supposed to face Boss now?
Thinking of this, he raised his head and swept his gaze around. He also noticed something was wrong.
Where was Boss?
He and Qin Ye spoke almost at the same time. “Where is Little Captain / my Boss?”
Gu Shengsheng, Qi Xiu, and Mo Fan beside them seemed to have had some switch awakened too.
They also suddenly raised their heads, their gazes shooting straight toward Sun Xinping. “Where is my Boss?”
