Chapter 238: Chapter 235: Grilled Seafood Plan

“`

The tide churned, and the white froth of the waves washed ashore.

Bi Fang dragged the life raft onto the beach with difficulty, his entire body creaking as if at its limit, yet his spirit was extremely excited as he forcibly kept going, dragging the raft ashore.

It’s so hard, I’m really having a tough time.

Bi Fang was drenched in sweat; it was one difficulty after another, a real test of strength…

He had manned the sail for a whole day and was just about to rest when he spotted the island. Then he paddled for several kilometers and had to hurry to drag the life raft ashore to prevent it from being carried away by the currents. Bi Fang even started to wonder if he would pee blood tomorrow.

His saliva was as sticky as glue. Bi Fang covered his wildly pounding heart, spat out a mouthful, then untied the towel knot, stuck his head inside to moisten his lips, tongue, and throat before taking small sips.

After retieing it, Bi Fang, looking as if a fairy had drained his vitality, threw his head back and collapsed onto the beach, with the foam-like waves kissing his feet.

[No way, he’s done already? Can’t someone swim a few kilometers? Isn’t this a sign of weak kidneys?]

[Damn, where is this? I’ve only been gone for three hours, and Master Fang has already stormed the beach?]

[I just got the notification and thought it was fake, but he actually hit an island, what luck!]

[Wu Hu! Taking off!]

[This is so thrilling! My uncle, who’s been paralyzed for years, saw this video and immediately jumped out of bed, running on the walls, and has been missing ever since.]

[Is Old Fang not moving anymore?]

[Yeah, what’s going on?]

The audience thought Bi Fang was just lying down to rest, but after discussing for over ten minutes, it seemed Bi Fang had no intention of getting up.

Is there a problem?

Jerret frowned, realizing this was not a simple matter and quickly asked the director of photography to bring the drone closer. As soon as it flew near his head, the faint sounds of snoring became clear.

Pondy and Jerret looked at each other.

He’d actually fallen asleep…

Bi Fang felt he had a nightmare, in which because of his increasingly strong physique, he was spotted by a coach and taken to participate in an athletic meet, aiming to bring glory to his country. After running a marathon and with the triathlon short on people, he, unrested, was conscripted and pushed into the water to start swimming…

“Holy shit, blood, it’s blood!”

Bi Fang suddenly woke up with a cold sweat on his back. He widened his eyes and looked around in a daze, realizing he was on a beach and not on a race track, and he hadn’t fainted in the bathroom.

“It was just a dream.”

Bi Fang held his head, feeling even more exhausted. His arm muscles were sore and swollen, and after struggling to recall for a while, he realized he had fallen on the beach and fallen asleep straight away last night?

“Boss, he’s awake!”

Third Brother, who was constantly monitoring the screen, immediately noticed Bi Fang’s awakening and quickly summoned the director of photography and Jerret. Watching Bi Fang, still somewhat bewildered on the screen, they waited until Bi Fang came to and nodded, before the live broadcast resumed.

As soon as the stream started, the Shuiyou flooded in.

[Damn, he just got to the island yesterday, and he f*cking fell asleep, making my hemorrhoids burst.]

[It’s so uncomfortable being half in, half out. Can we get something exciting?]

[What is this aggressive language? Can we keep it civil? There are kids in the live stream, you know.]

[Run away with Master Fang overnight]

“`

Bi Fang couldn’t help but laugh and cry as he mustered the energy to greet everyone, then hurriedly continued to tug the life raft further up.

“I almost got a fright this morning when I woke up because I fell asleep without pulling the life raft all the way ashore yesterday. I was really worried it might get carried away by the waves overnight. If you ever find yourself in this situation, be extremely careful. Not only must you keep the life raft from being touched by the waves, but you should also maintain a distance of at least three meters to prevent it from being swept away by the high tide at night.”

Heaving the life raft onto the shore, Bi Fang wiped off the semblance of sweat from his hand. Although he hadn’t slept well, it was more of a mental exhaustion, and his physical strength was quite recovered. It was just his upper arm muscles that were slightly sore.

“There’s a lot to consider when hauling a boat ashore. It’s not as simple as everyone thinks. First, you need to choose a good landing point that makes it easier for the boat to reach the shore or for you to be able to abandon ship and swim to land.

Next, lower the sails if you have them, observe the rocks, anchor towards the shore to slow the boat down; of course, if you don’t have an anchor, that’s fine too.

Remember not to land against the sunlight since it makes spotting rocks quite difficult, but using rocks we can take the time to adjust our direction.”

As he explained, Bi Fang continued to drag the heavy life raft, which looked light but was actually quite heavy.

If there were multiple choices, a sloping coast under the backwash is ideal, but the island was too small and there weren’t any big waves, as the water just flowed directly down both sides.

“We have to seize the opportunity and advance with the waves to prevent getting overpowered or turned around by the waves coming at us. Moreover, we must exert all our efforts to reach shore swiftly and accurately because once the tide changes, it could pull you back into the sea. That’s why I was so anxious yesterday.

If the tide falls, the boat could be pushed back into the deep sea.

This could cause the boat to take on water and become heavier, so make sure to tie yourself to the raft. Even if the boat capsizes and you’re injured or unconscious, you’ll still have a chance of survival; whereas alone in the waves, if you’re swept towards the rocks, it’s likely you’ll lose your life.”

“If you really can’t do it and have to abandon ship to swim to shore, it’s very easy to collide with rocks in the turbulent sea. We could wear more clothes to cushion the impact, and it’s better if you have a life jacket. When rushing towards rocks, lift your feet in front of you to take the brunt of the force on the soles of your feet. Bend your knees to absorb the shock.”

[Men can’t say they can’t!]

[Is getting ashore really that hard? Why do I feel like Old Fang is doing it rather easily?]

[Idiot, obviously Old Fang scoped out the place with his eyes, a master at landing on shore.]

Bi Fang, who had pulled the life raft ashore, stood up. He looked at the small island beneath his feet and was truly moved by his good fortune. Not only were there no reefs surrounding it, allowing him to drag the boat ashore smoothly, but the island also had a few trees, which were extremely rare.

“I’ve always stressed that the North Atlantic is windy, and many trees don’t grow well before they’re prone to being snapped by strong winds, making it very difficult for trees to thrive. But not only did these grow, they have formed a small grove.”

Bi Fang walked around the small island, a short journey measured in minutes. Although small and unlikely to host any wildlife, a careful count revealed that this island, less than three hundred square meters in area, actually had twenty-three trees!

All are good materials!

Bi Fang’s eyes gleamed, and he was all but drooling. After drifting at sea for a week, he had had enough of having nothing at hand; it was as if someone had provided a pillow just as he was dozing off.

And…

Bi Fang chuckled with a smirk, squinted his eyes, and said, “Who was it that bet I couldn’t find a tree stick again?”

[!]

[Careless of me, I didn’t dodge it!]

[Damn it, the host is shameless! Compensate my hard-earned Wolf Brush!]

[Damn it, there go my Wolf Brushes that I saved up for over ten years! All gone, just like that!]

[Regret at leisure—love life, stay away from gambling!]

[Slay Master Fang, loot the Wolf Brush! Here I come, and peace will reign once Wolf Fang has been secured!]

In the first few days of drifting, viewers had suggested that the exploration stick that appeared in every live broadcast couldn’t possibly show up again. A betting game was initiated, and in a matter of minutes, over a hundred thousand Wolf Brushes were amassed. By the time the betting closed, the number of Wolf Brushes reached a whopping million, marking the biggest betting game since the launch of the system!

The odds for those who bet against it were one to eighteen; bet one stick to win eighteen!

At that moment, the staff behind the scenes timely sent out the rewards. The staff were all very perceptive; such things didn’t even need to be mentioned. If Bi Fang just bent down to pick up a stick, the Tree Stick would appear once again, proving the point more than words ever could, and the Tree Stick made a return yet again!

[Hehehe, to refuse such courtesy would be disgraceful, indeed disgraceful.]

[It’s all thanks to the brothers elevating me, tearfully making eighteen times the profit, I’m so bad.]

[It’s the first time my wallet is this bulging, I’m a bit scared, should I hire a bodyguard?]

The Shuiyou who received the rewards were extremely showy, and Bi Fang looked at them with the urge to hit them, not to mention the audience who lost the bet, of course, Wolf Brush itself wasn’t worth much, it was just an entertainment section.

However, the effect was still very good, for just a little money, the atmosphere was whipped up, and under the leadership of top broadcaster Bi Fang, Wolf Fang’s development was getting better and better, not showing any signs of the decline it had experienced at the beginning. Instead, it was subtly beginning to overshadow Shark and Tiger Fang.

It’s said that employees were often seen looking at a picture of Bi Fang with a silly smile, wondering if they might even breathe on it and carefully place it on their office desk. Whether it’s true or false…

Speaking of which, seems like the annual PK is about to start?

When is it, does it start this afternoon?

Bi Fang stroked his chin, looking at the active Shuiyou and suddenly remembered that it was indeed happening. It’s a tradition in the live streaming circle, every year before the Chinese New Year there would be a giant week-long PK event, judging the popularity of the platform’s broadcasters using a set of public data including viewership, donations, and barrage comments.

In the past, this data was compared internally within the platform, but this year was a little different. The story goes back to when Bi Fang got his certificate; he learned that upper management intended to rectify the live broadcast platforms, and so this year they organized a joint event, where all broadcasters compete against each other, with data certified by a third party, no falsification allowed. If caught cheating, one would be blacklisted and banned from broadcasting for a month.

For broadcasters who live off their popularity, this is a huge punishment. It’s not strange for them to lose half their followers.

This is the first step in upper management’s rectification, a warning against data falsification by platforms. Who knows how many broadcasters couldn’t break through because the platform deliberately suppressed their data, forcing them to sign a series of overbearing contracts.

Bi Fang knew about this news half a month ago; Liu Qian told him over the phone. He remembered it, but because he had been busy fishing the past few days, he hadn’t thought about it. Now that his livelihood was secure, it popped into his head again.

All broadcasters ranking together?

And he didn’t feel the slightest bit of nerves; was this what they call “lonely at the top”?

Bi Fang felt his mental state wasn’t right. Ever since Goose started migrating their broadcasts, the number of people watching his live streams had risen to at least several hundred thousand, which made him somewhat arrogant, no longer taking the PK seriously.

To be honest, he, as a top broadcaster, was quite different from the top broadcasters of other platforms. If the top broadcasters of Shark and Tiger Fang were like precious sweaty horses, then Bi Fang was like a Golden-Winged Great Peng bird, grabbing hold of Wolf Fang and skyrocketing, a different level of prestige altogether.

The flattery of other platform’s broadcasters, no matter how hard they tried, couldn’t compare to his greatness. After all, he was a global broadcaster, not only unseen but unheard of, a crushing blow from a higher dimension.

When Bi Fang asked if the PK event was starting this afternoon, the audience all laughed.

[Master Fang, are you worried about this? Are you underestimating yourself or us?]

[Brothers, let the barrage fly, don’t let the time limit affect your silly hearts!]

[The event starts at 2 pm, it’s only 9 am now, save your energy]

[Master Fang is definitely going to be number one, but I still suspect foul play!]

[If there’s foul play, you get banned for a month, could you handle that?]

[Damn, why is it that when Master Fang is banned, the viewers are the ones worried? What kind of logic is this? It’s not logical at all!]

“Sigh!”

Mo Xiaoxian was live streaming, pleading for support from his top patron when the PK officially starts in the afternoon. But as soon as he opened Bi Fang’s live stream on his phone and saw the deluge of comments like tidal waves, he let out a little sigh.

The sigh wasn’t out of dejection, it was more of a sense of marvel.

He had been the hottest broadcaster on Wolf Fang for three consecutive years, but now it seemed that today he had no choice but to step aside and possibly fight for second place. No, with all platforms combined in this event, he could only strive for the top ten.

And there was no sense of unwillingness. To be honest, being first place was just a nominal title with no substantial benefits.

At this point, what limited a broadcaster’s growth was the platform’s ceiling. The more users on the platform, the more fans one could attract. Bi Fang’s arrival had forcibly raised this ceiling, and other Wolf Fang broadcasters all enjoyed the benefits. They were all thrilled, and they were more reluctant to see Bi Fang leave than anyone else.

If it had been their past achievements, they probably wouldn’t have made it into the top ten of the popularity list, but now they could contend for a spot, and all this was because of one person.

In response to this, Mo Xiaoxian could only say, “Master Fang, please step it up!”

Aside from Mo Xiaoxian, the other Wolf Fang streamers felt the same way.

If running a platform was like playing chess, then Wang Yongbo of Wolf Fang had undoubtedly made a divine move.

Especially Bi Fang’s “big thigh” accessory, the well-known female sycophant of Wolf Fang, Yao Lina.

If you knew Master Fang, you had to know his loyal sycophant, a woman who had followed him since Bi Fang’s first live stream on Wolf Fang, without missing a single one. Because she was beautiful and generous, many people would join her live stream for fun after Bi Fang signed off. And as she kept on sycophantically courting, she went from a modestly famous streamer to a big-time broadcaster. Many people mocked her for licking “thick leg hairs” off Master Fang’s leg.

Yao Lina didn’t take it as a disgrace but as an honor. In her words: “I licked it up with my own skills, if you’ve got the guts, you lick it too!”

Bi Fang chuckled and shook his head, no longer paying attention to the silly netizens, and turned to gather materials.

The first thing to do, of course, was to make a fire.

Having not eaten cooked food for a full seven days, he really missed the taste.

Brimming with energy, Bi Fang started roaming around the island. The situation was pretty much as he had expected—the little broken island didn’t have any animals, not even insects to be seen, just a few trees and grass.

After looking around, he barely managed to gather the necessary materials for survival, but from Bi Fang’s standpoint, they still weren’t quite satisfactory. There was no choice but to make do.

The classic Hand Drill Method.

After preparing a hole in a rock and making some tinder, Bi Fang huffed and puffed as he began his grand plan for fire-making.

The audience watched intently, having not seen Bi Fang use the Hand Drill Method since a long time ago. Last time he succeeded on his first try, so they figured it wouldn’t be difficult this time either.

Half an hour later.

Dammit!

“It won’t ignite!”

Bi Fang threw the tree stick in his hand and began to doubt himself.

[Master Fang has lost his touch]

[Qilin Arm has regressed, haven’t you been secretly getting a girlfriend behind our backs?]

[Moderate, Master Fang, women only affect the speed of your Fire-Making by Wood-Drilling!]

[Sister Na, come out, is it your fault?]

[That’s right, it’s me! No more pretending, I lay my cards on the table.]

Bi Fang, wordlessly choked, still explained the reason, “The island is too small, the moisture too high, and my arms are still sore. I can’t even drill up some char.”

There was no flint stone on the small island either.

Bi Fang frowned with concern. One glance at the small island told you what was there and what wasn’t, and he was certain that there was no flint stone. Just regular rocks wouldn’t produce sparks.

No way, Bi Fang was determined, the charcoal-grilled seafood plan couldn’t fall through!

If hand drilling didn’t work then bow drilling, if bow drilling didn’t work then saw drilling, if saw drilling didn’t work there was still pump drilling. He refused to believe that with so many skills, he couldn’t start a fire.

I’m definitely seeing fire today!

Charcoal-grilled seafood, wait for me!