Chapter 24
The day before leaving for Leia Continent, Yomi received a last-minute notice from the production team: every guest was only allowed to bring one item.
The little suitcase Yomi had worked so hard to pack instantly became useless. He opened it again, hesitated for a long time, and in the end chose a knife for self-defense.
The knife looked very much like the treasured blades Yomi had seen before in old wuxia dramas. Its appearance was exquisite, its edge sharp, and the sheath was carved with many runes, carrying an ancient and mysterious air all on its own. Yomi liked it very much.
This was a gift Lynn had given him after hearing he was going to join the show. Yomi had no idea it was actually a doll-sized accessory blade designed by a niche toy store, while also serving as a fruit knife.
He had chosen it seriously. If he brought food, sooner or later it would all be eaten. But a knife had far too many uses. Besides self-defense, it could be used for cooking, chopping wood, and even hunting.
Early the next morning, when Yomi got up, he did not see the Crown Prince anywhere. Naturally, he assumed the other party had been busy with work lately. After saying goodbye only to Karl, he boarded the aircraft arranged by the production team not long after and headed confidently toward the distant Leia Continent.
Before the livestream officially began, the guests were not allowed to meet one another, so inside Yomi’s aircraft there were only him and several staff members.
From time to time, the staff glanced at the knife he was hugging in his arms, their expressions seeming to say: this little knife really does make a decent decorative prop.
The aircraft moved very fast. All Yomi could see from inside was one patch of cloud after another. Enjoying the scenery outside the main city district simply was not possible.
When the pilot reminded him they were about to arrive at Leia Continent, Yomi was still rapidly flipping through all kinds of survival guides on his light-brain—because the moment he stepped out of the aircraft, his light-brain would be shut down. For the next seven days, he would be completely cut off from the internet.
At least to the naked eye, the environment of Leia Continent did not look as terrifying as Yomi had imagined. It was somewhat similar to the tropical rainforests in his impression, except that all the plants were much larger and stranger in every possible way.
The aircraft landed on a flat clearing.
And the moment a guest stepped onto the ground, they would appear in the livestream.
Holding the knife carefully, Yomi stepped down. At the end of the path directly ahead stood a tall wooden cabin, and outside the door was a Snaran over three meters tall, seemingly a staff member, who was currently waving at him from afar.
Yomi narrowed his eyes to look, then quickly ran over. He ran so fast he nearly flung the knife out of his hands.
[Is that Yomi?]
[Aaaahhh it is! So Mimi’s Daily Life really is Yomi?!]
[I guarantee Teacher Mimi’s glamour shots today are going trending]
[He looks so good in real life… a perfect doll face]
[How can he be this small?]
[The director’s expression is so funny, like he just saw somebody else’s little pet sprinting wildly toward him and is excited but doesn’t dare show it]
[Mimi, don’t rush! Slow down those little legs…]
The one waiting for Yomi at the door was none other than Director Kurt, who had been waiting a long time already. Once the two met, Kurt struggled hard to suppress the urge to bend down and scoop him up, dutifully playing the role of an NPC as he opened the door for him. “The fourth challenger to report in, Yomi, has arrived. Please come in.”
Yomi gave him a serious nod and walked into the cabin while lightly out of breath.
The moment he entered, he felt three different gazes land on him.
Yomi turned and smiled at them.
There were already three people inside. To be more exact, three guests.
Because only one of them—a young man at least 1.8 meters tall—matched Yomi’s impression of what a “person” looked like.
As for the other two, one looked like a humanoid robot warrior straight out of a cartoon show, while the other was close to his height but had absolutely no human shape at all. It looked like one soft, squishy lump, with no limbs, only two cartoonish eyes and a mouth—
That was literally a slime, was it not?!
[Hahaha I feel like Mimi got shocked!]
[If not for this show, I wouldn’t have known there were so many weird and strange Snaran outside the main city district]
Yomi noticed that all of them were staring at him. Flustered, he hurried to find a place to sit and said in a tiny voice, “Hello, I’m Yomi.”
At that moment, the livestream screen had already displayed the guests’ detailed introductions.
The cool wolf-tailed handsome boy — Mond: 1.86 meters tall, nineteen years old, descendant of the werewolf clan from the Dire Beast Desert. Although he is the smallest individual in his entire clan, his strength is enormous!
The humanoid robot — Arlo: 3 meters tall, age unknown, a robot that gave birth to a soul in the Extreme Cold Camp. Though he does not have a complete human form, he can already manifest a human face—an existence like a miracle.
The guest suspiciously resembling a blue slime? — Jane: twenty years old, possesses a giant humanoid form, but in original slime form is only 1.7 meters tall, a rare Snaran with an enormous gap between original form and humanoid form!
A doll-faced boy holding a fruit knife? — Yomi: 1.7 meters tall, eighteen years old, the sole known member of an unknown race from the Black Miasma Wasteland? Currently the smallest humanoid body in official records! Near-perfect humanoid form!
[What do you mean “holding a fruit knife”? What is wrong with your show? That is clearly Teacher Mimi’s super cool big blade!]
[I thought Group B would all be small-sized Snaran, but the difference is still this big. Look how scared that little one is]
[Their “different” doesn’t mean different in height…]
Yomi looked around from the corner, investigating the room. Just as he was about to hop down from the chair to go look around inside the rooms, a shadow suddenly fell over him from above.
He looked up, only then realizing that the other three guests had silently surrounded him in a circle.
Yomi hesitated and took a step back. As a result, the huge robot at the front immediately stepped one pace closer to him.
Trying to hold back his fear, Yomi attempted to go around them—but the moment he moved, the knife in his hand was taken away!
“My name is Arlo,” the robot said, holding his knife. “You’re holding the knife wrong. You should hold it like this.” That mechanical hand demonstrated a professional knife grip.
…Ah, so he was teaching him.
“I learned it, thank you.” Yomi stretched out his hand to take back his knife.
Arlo had originally intended to return it, but halfway through, after staring down at the tiny figure below him, his eyes rolled once, and suddenly he stopped moving.
Yomi thought he had suffered some kind of mechanical malfunction, so he jumped up to grab it. But just as his hand was about to touch the handle, that mechanical arm suddenly raised the knife and began swaying it from side to side.
?
Yomi: “…Give it back.”
Arlo lowered it a little. “Here, here.”
Yomi stood on tiptoe to reach for it, and Arlo raised his arm again. “Come, come.”
“……”
[…What is this?]
[What is he doing? Did he really start treating Teacher Mimi like a cat? Too much!]
[Give it back to him already!]
[Don’t bully Mimi]
Yomi angrily knitted his brows. Just as he was gathering himself to say something, the other person surrounding him—the young man who was only a bit taller than him—suddenly leapt up, snatched back the knife in one handsome move, turned, and handed it to him. “This robot probably has some kind of data malfunction. His brain’s not right, don’t mind him. Hello, my name is Mond.”
“Thank you.” Yomi gripped his knife tightly. He had a natural fondness for this young man whose build was closer to his own, so he smiled at him.
Mond froze, then returned to his seat with reddened ears.
“My name is Jane. You’re so small!” The slime circled around him. “So tiny and pitiful. I told you the food in the main city is terrible. Come back to my hometown with me, I’ll feed you until you’re full!”
Yomi gave him an awkward look, politely declined the kindness, and moved farther away from him just in case one careless bounce from the other party flattened him by accident.
At that moment, the director’s shout came from outside.
All four people inside lifted their heads together. They knew the final Group B guest had arrived.
In the livestream, countless viewers waited eagerly for this “different” guest to appear. Just as they were wondering how different he could possibly be, they were immediately dumbfounded by the enormous monster who appeared in the camera.
At first glance, it was clearly a body in original form, over 4 meters tall, with demon horns and demon wings. Just from those two features alone, everyone could already guess his profession—he absolutely had to be someone related to combat strength.
Snaran with demonic original forms were all born fighting machines.
Sure enough, the corresponding introduction frame appeared on screen:
Louis: 4.5 meters tall, twenty years old, a disabled Snaran who has lost his humanoid form, formerly worked as a mercenary.
[?]
[What is this? Since when does having no human form count as “different”?]
[After he goes in… are we sure he won’t scare that little sweetheart unconscious?]
[Stop arguing. Disabled Snaran really are very different, aren’t they? Isn’t it a good thing the show is paying attention to that?]
[Praying for Teacher Mimi. I’m not afraid of the dangers of Leia Continent, I’m only afraid he’ll get stepped on to death by the guests!]
[Wuwuwu… how exactly has Yomi survived all these years?]
[…]
Yomi stared at the familiar monster in front of him and blinked once. For quite a while, he said nothing.
Members of the royal family did not publicly reveal their original forms, and many original forms were not unique anyway. For example, the demon horns that Ansius’s humanoid form would reveal—many highly combat-capable Snaran also had demon horns.
And the general public, who had only recently seen the Empire’s Crown Prince attend events in human form, would sooner die than believe that this disabled Snaran openly appearing on the show could possibly be their Crown Prince Ansius.
By the time Yomi thought of that, Ansius had already walked straight toward him.
He did not introduce himself. Instead, with a very clear purpose, he bent down and crouched before Yomi, then handed him the only item he had brought—
A strawberry mini-cake.
Everyone inside the room: “?”
[Wait… they know each other?]
[The top supporter in Mimi’s Daily Life is called Louis. It can’t be him, can it?]
[I’m speechless, I really am. I suspect this big guy joined the show just to chase his idol]
[Guests can only bring one item. Everyone else brought survival gear and he brought a little cake… don’t start crying later!]
Why had Ansius appeared in original form? Yomi had absolutely no idea what was going on, but he did know that the Crown Prince’s disability could not be exposed. Even though the shock inside him was enormous, his expression remained calm. “Hello, my name is Yomi.”
He was pretending not to know him. After all, he had no idea what the other party’s situation was right now, and this was the safest response.
The monster froze, looked at him for a while, then once again pushed the little cake closer to his hands. He was very patient. When Yomi lowered his head and hesitated, he said hoarsely, “I’m Louis.”
“……”
Oh, Louis?!
Yomi sucked in a deep breath.
Just now all his attention had been on why the Crown Prince was participating in the show, so he had forgotten this part!
Louis! The top supporter who tipped him, the “elderly man living alone” who had asked him to choose an online nickname…
So it had been Crown Prince Ansius all along!
A long while later, Yomi stood up. It was as if he had just been hit by a sudden storm. His head drooped at once in utter weakness, and he accepted the little cake without any spirit at all. When the director came in and called for them to gather, he walked over with the same arm and leg moving together, then stood there as if his soul had left his body.
[What happened to Teacher Mimi? Why does he suddenly look so tragic!]
[Obviously he got frightened. Louis, just you wait]
The monster did not seem to have expected Yomi to react like this. Step by step, he followed close behind Yomi, occasionally bending down to look at his face as if trying to figure out what was wrong.
Yomi would not speak to him at all, as though he truly did not know him.
Now that all the guests had arrived, Kurt said excitedly, “Very good! Group B is now fully assembled, and Group A is gathering in another cabin as well. From now on, we’ll be using jammers to shut off your light-brains. For the next seven days, you won’t be able to activate them. If you need emergency help or need to contact us, you can only use the special phones provided by the production team. Of course, everyone, please don’t be nervous. Our show is live-broadcasted, and the staff will be paying constant attention to your condition!”
Mond urged, “Just hurry up and tell us the mission!”
“Haha, don’t rush!” Kurt cleared his throat, and only after sweeping his gaze over the little figure he favored did he continue, “You won’t be matching with your partners for the main mission until tomorrow at noon. Before that, all you need to do is stay together inside the cabin until noon tomorrow! Everyone can use this chance to get familiar with one another. Exploring the nearby surroundings in advance is also a great idea!”
Mond was obviously an impatient sort of young man. He gave a cold snort. “Boring. You talk too much.”
Kurt slipped away with an embarrassed laugh. “Then I’ll be leaving first. I’ll be cheering on all of you wonderful and different people from behind the cameras!”
[Tomorrow is when they match partners, but today they’re putting the same group together in one livestream—just for the sake of stirring up drama?]
[Definitely. Group A’s guest list was announced ages ago. The people in Group B probably already have the partners they want. Putting them together now is obviously to watch them tear each other apart, right?]
[Who says Group A has to pair with Group B? Is there no chance for same-group pairings?]
[Impossible. I was just watching Group A’s stream—some of them have even awakened skills. At a time like this, anyone would want to partner with the strongest person.]
[This stage is just deliberately creating drama! I just came out of Group A’s livestream, they’ve already started fighting! Absolutely hilarious]
[Jinwen from Group A is already fighting someone over the right to match with Yomi!]
[Ahhh I also just came from Group A, I couldn’t stand the palace politics over there. Which one is Yomi? Has this side started fighting yet?]
[See for yourself… the one surrounded in the middle]
The audience who had come running over from Group A stared at Group B’s livestream in excitement. When they saw the five guests start assigning rooms, only to discover there were only four rooms in the cabin, their hearts immediately leapt up into their throats.
Still, most people were watching with an attitude of expecting a good show.
[The production team is really stirring things up. Deliberately creating topics, huh?]
[Tsk tsk, that little one is finished. He can’t beat anyone. He’s definitely going to get pushed out]
[See? Everyone’s already got their eyes on him…]
And indeed, the moment they realized how many rooms there were, the atmosphere slowly changed.
Several pairs of eyes quietly turned toward Yomi.
Nervously, Yomi walked to the living room, trying to find a place where he could sleep. But after only a few steps, he was surrounded.
The slime stared at him with a huge red face. “Um… um… mm…”
“Yomi.” Mond squeezed the slime aside, stuck one hand in his pocket, turned his head away, and said, “Our size difference isn’t too big. We could make do in one room…”
“Little baby,” Robot Arlo flung Mond away with one swing of his arm and opened his arms toward Yomi in a gesture of wanting a hug. “Little baby, oh, my little baby. Mommy will hold you while sleeping!”
[Uh… where did this development come from?]
[Are you people insane?!]
[Was this robot in childcare work before? He directly identified Yomi as a baby based on size?]
[Teacher Mimi is baby! Who dares question it?]
Awkwardly, Yomi lowered the knife he had been tightly gripping. Before he could respond, there came a sudden bang, and the robot in front of him was kicked away by the tall monster with one foot.
Yomi: “……”
The monster bent down and moved close to the little person. All the danger in his golden pupils had disappeared, replaced with a gaze full of coaxing softness. He carefully and gently lifted Yomi up. Seeing that Yomi did not shake his head, he immediately carried him into Room Number One.
[Help! Put Teacher Mimi down!]
[He doesn’t even dare cry after being lifted up high, poor little Mimi]
[Louis, you bastard! You’d better not scare Mimi into tears]
[No, wait, where is the room battle I was expecting?]
[Wrong place. This is Mimi battle]
Yomi knew that aside from the changing room and the bathroom, every other place here had cameras. Fortunately, he had long since become used to being lifted high by Ansius, so he was not scared anymore. He simply continued pretending not to know him.
But his reaction and expression gradually made the monster panic a little.
After entering the room, the monster set him down properly, then stuffed the room key into his hands in a territory-marking kind of way. He lowered his head and looked at him for a while. Still not getting any response, he suddenly bent down and crouched as if apologizing, then carefully used his claws to stroke Yomi’s little ram horns…
The result was that the horns were rubbed until they looked sleek and glossy, even rounder and shinier than before!
[…So he was just giving the horns a little beauty treatment?]
[Giving Teacher Mimi’s horns a highlight, is that it?]
Yomi was not angry at all. He simply felt that he was carrying out his work duties and doing his best not to reveal the Crown Prince’s secret. So once he sensed the other party’s obvious attempt to make peace, he could no longer just sit there without responding. In a low voice, he asked, “Why did you come?”
The monster lowered his gaze and looked at him.
“To take care of Mimi.”
“……”
Yomi found it incredible. But his original work had already been incredible enough, and by now there was no more room left in him to be more shocked… After sighing, he said seriously, “Then we’ll share a room. I can just sleep on a small blanket.” After all, the two of them had already been sleeping in the same bedroom all along, even if a tiny castle stood between them.
Ansius did not say yes or no, but the faint movement of the wings behind his back already exposed his excitement.
At that point it was still early. The rooms had already been assigned. After searching around the cabin a little, everyone received another piece of bad news—
There was no food here.
Yomi cut the little cake into five pieces and shared it with everyone.
Only Jane shyly accepted it. The other three guests refused to eat.
Yomi had no idea whether they disliked it or were simply trying to act tough. He did not force them. He only ate his own piece, left the rest in the room, and, holding his knife, prepared to go outside and explore the surroundings. Maybe he could even find some food before nightfall.
Jane did not go out. He seemed already to have decided that tomorrow, once the time came, he would partner up with someone from Group A. Patting his springy, jelly-like body, he said, “I want to pair with that Joseph. He’s a prince, so the show definitely won’t dare let him go hungry. Hehehe… Mimi, you’re so small, tomorrow you’d better grab onto somebody strong too. I’ll help you pick one out!”
Yomi: “……” Thank you very much.
[I actually can’t argue with that…]
[The production team is definitely going to be furious. The official account is still promoting how the guests struggle and work hard, hahaha]
[Mimi holding a knife is such a brave little warrior!]
Aside from Jane, everyone else went out.
They split up to move separately. Holding his knife, Yomi puffed out his chest and marched toward the west, his tiny body taking aggressive, determined little steps.
After walking only a few minutes, he gradually heard footsteps approaching from behind—rustling, rustling, rustling, right there behind him… Yomi immediately raised his knife and turned around, then quickly let out a sigh of relief.
It was Ansius.
Ansius had somehow picked a fruit somewhere as well. Without a word, he immediately fed it to Yomi’s mouth.
The fruit was not big, only about the size of a strawberry. Before Yomi could even react, he had already opened his mouth and taken it in. After chewing a few bites, his eyes went wide and round.
So sweet… so unusual, so delicious!
[That’s lingzhi fruit, a fruit only found on Leia Continent! You can’t even buy it now!]
[I was lucky enough to eat it a few years ago. It’s super delicious. This fruit is also supposed to strengthen the body. On Sna Planet it’s the kind of fruit everyone wants but no one can get…]
[They say it grows at the very top of giant Leia trees… which means this guy just flew off to find that?]
[Fine then. If he’s already chasing his idol, at least make sure Teacher Mimi gets fed a little fatter]
Yomi had not been in a bad mood to begin with. It was only because he had suddenly come to such a strange and dangerous environment that he could not help feeling nervous. But now that he had eaten a heavenly fruit he had never tasted before, his mood became beautiful all over again!
“Louis,” he said, knowing there were cameras around and beginning to adjust in advance to using this name. His eyes sparkled brightly. “You wait here. I’ll find something delicious for you too.”
How harmonious and loving that sounded—little partners working together to explore, trading tasty things with each other.
Once he made up his mind, Yomi instantly became full of energy. He quickened his steps and kept exploring farther forward.
The monster’s eyes followed him closely, but not wanting to interfere with him, he maintained a distance that was neither too far nor too near.
To be honest, the scenery here was extremely beautiful. Yomi always felt as though he were exploring some natural wonder. Let alone the towering giant trees—even the little saplings by the roadside looked like miraculous creations in his eyes.
The road became rougher and rougher. Very soon it turned into an uphill slope. Yomi sniffed the air and caught a faint fragrance… coming from that tall patch of weeds ahead.
And the monster following behind him also caught a special scent—
Lingzhi fruit!
The monster looked up, narrowed his eyes at the giant tree above, and, without a second thought, suddenly flew upward.
Even on Leia Continent, lingzhi fruit was a rare and precious fruit. Considering that the audience would also want to watch the process of harvesting lingzhi fruit, the aerial drone chose to follow Louis closely.
The monster wasted no time. Once he reached the crown of the giant tree, he swiftly picked the ripe lingzhi fruit, protecting the tiny fruit with great care in his claws.
But after returning to the ground, the monster clearly intended to feed the newly picked fruit to Yomi. He quickly stepped forward a few paces, then suddenly stopped and looked around everywhere.
The little person who had been here just moments ago…
Was gone!
At first the monster’s expression was blank with confusion, but it very quickly turned into panic.
A few seconds later—
[What the hell happened? Why does the camera look cracked?]
[Did he go berserk or something?]
[Holy shit, what is this horror movie angle of a monster looking for someone, stop filming him aaahhh]
[Where’s Yomi? What’s happening, don’t scare me?!]
Just as the comments were turning into total chaos and even the production team had become so alarmed they were preparing to rush to the scene, the cracked camera suddenly captured a sight that left everyone dumbstruck.
In the corner of the shot, the bushes moved slightly.
A tiny, soft little figure crawled out from the undergrowth. Topped with his small ram horns, Yomi excitedly waved the red fruit in his hand—the one he had already torn open and taken several eager bites from—and cried out with his mouth smeared red, “Dragon fruit! There’s actually dragon fruit here…”
The panting monster stood frozen, staring at him. That deeply unsettling aura around him was quickly fading, yet the blood-red color in his eyes told the audience that he was still tense inside.
Yomi raised his head and wiped his face, completely unaware that he had turned himself into a little messy red-faced cat. “What’s wrong with you?”
The monster strode over quickly. Without saying a word, he lowered his head and licked at that little face—
[Noooo…]
[He’s eating him! Somebody save Teacher Mimi!!!]
[Hehehe, little Mimi secretly put on lipstick! His tiny mouth turned into a big mouth! [slurp]]
