Chapter 72 Transaction

Clamshells' expression changed slightly when he heard Brother Jue's request. Two seconds later, he raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Heh...you sound very confident, Stephen." He paused slightly, subtly glanced at the hovering camera beside him, and then continued, "But...your request doesn't quite conform to the rules of the competition..."

"What does that matter?" Feng Bujue interrupted. "According to the normal process, shouldn't it be 'receive an item for each challenge accepted,' right?"

Although Brother Jue didn't know the complete rules of the competition, he roughly guessed this point based on the information he had.

"That's right," Clamshells replied, his answer confirming Brother Jue's conjecture.

"Then..." Feng Bujue continued, "What's wrong with my request then?" He spread his hands. "I'm not asking you to give me all five items at once...I just want the challenges." He tilted his head, using a rather deceptive tone. "The program team's idea is nothing more than...letting the contestants listen to the content of a challenge first, and then choosing an item to complete it...that is, the 'accept one, choose one' setting." He revealed a confident expression. "And I...only need to receive one item to do five challenges. Objectively speaking...this is not an excessive request at all, but rather a concession, isn't it?"

"Heh...you're good with words, Stephen," Clamshells replied with a smile, almost without thinking. "But you can't fool me." He took off his backpack and placed it on the ground. "First of all, I don't need you to tell me...what 'our program team's idea' is." He raised his hand, palm up, making some gestures to match his words. "Secondly, your request is not a 'concession' either. In fact, it's a very effective means of obtaining information...I think you're clear about this in your heart." He shook his head gently. "Thirdly...for requests that are obviously inconsistent with the rules, even if I personally have no objection, I have no right..."

Shasha—chichi—

Just then, the walkie-talkie on Clamshells' body rang.

"Bell, can you hear me? I'm not deaf yet, reply immediately if you hear me," the voice of Hai Mei Long (Haven't Gone Deaf) came from the walkie-talkie.

Clamshells immediately picked up the walkie-talkie and said, "I'm Bell, go ahead."

"Walk a few more steps forward, stand with Mr. Tan, and hold the walkie-talkie between the two of you," Hai Mei Long replied.

Clamshells didn't reply. He just raised his head, glanced at the camera lens beside him, and then did as the director said.

About five seconds later, Clamshells stood one meter in front of Brother Jue, holding the walkie-talkie at shoulder height (his own shoulder, not Feng Bujue's).

"Mr. Tan, can you hear me clearly?" At this time, Hai Mei Long on the other end of the walkie-talkie spoke again.

"Yes, very clear," Feng Bujue responded.

While responding, Brother Jue's mind was also rapidly thinking about the other party's identity and purpose.

"I'm Hai Mei Long, the chief director. We met before the competition, do you remember?" Hai Mei Long added.

"Hmm..." To be cautious, Feng Bujue chose to respond vaguely. Neither admitting nor denying...

After all, the person who had met Hai Mei Long was "Stephen Tan" himself, not Feng Bujue at this moment. Brother Jue didn't know what was going on.

"Bell, you can hear me too, right?" Hai Mei Long didn't suspect anything about Brother Jue's answer, and he went on to say to Bell.

"I can hear you," Clamshells replied.

"Okay...then, I'll get straight to the point..." Hai Mei Long said, "First of all...there will be no record of our conversation. So, I'll be blunt...Mr. Tan, I want you to lose."

"What did you say?" Feng Bujue's eyes changed, and his tone sank.

"Don't get excited, let me finish," Hai Mei Long continued. "Mr. Tan, your previous performance was very good. Even aside from those crazy performances you did to confuse us...your other abilities are also at the highest level of previous competitions." He changed the subject. "Therefore, you must lose."

If someone else heard this, they would definitely ask, "Why?"

But Feng Bujue didn't ask because he had already come to a conclusion: "Oh...the so-called 'strongest doesn't win' principle, right?"

"Ha! So you understand this too," Hai Mei Long said with a smile. "Mr. Tan, it seems you're also very proficient in our industry's techniques...I must cooperate with you in the future if I have the chance."

"Ah...I've also seen some reality shows. I've seen through your tricks long ago," Feng Bujue said weakly. "In addition to 'maintaining balance,' there's also a set of rules...the strongest one must not win. Whether it's cooking, singing, dancing, makeup, or wilderness survival...in short, the one who wins in the end is definitely not the strongest one. This kind of method...makes the show suspenseful and entertaining, and subconsciously conveys the idea that 'it's not the strong who win, but the winners who are strong,' as if there is some kind of positive energy in it. But to put it bluntly...behind it is just a dirty transaction stained with copper stench."

"Mr. Tan..." Hai Mei Long's tone changed slightly after hearing Brother Jue's words. "You..." Suddenly, he raised his voice, "...it's so great that you can understand us! Hahahaha!" He actually laughed loudly. "Since that's the case, you should have guessed what I'm going to say next, right?"

"Of course," Feng Bujue also smiled. He gave the camera a "you know" expression, and then said, "Speak...the content of our 'deal'..."

...

Meanwhile, more than ten minutes later, on the other side of the island...

At this time, Greybeard was standing by the railing of the submarine deck, facing the sea, brushing his teeth and washing his face.

The cup he used for brushing his teeth was specially made. The handle of the cup was installed on the top, so that it was convenient for him to hook it up with his hook...

His towel was also specially designed, very similar to the kind of mop that can be wrung dry by rotating the handle. As long as he cooperated with one hand and one hook, he could wring out the water.

"Captain, Tom and the others are back." A crew member's report interrupted Greybeard's washing.

Greybeard spat out the water in his mouth, turned around, and blew on the foam on his beard: "Fuh—what's going on? Why are they back so soon?"

Before he finished speaking, he had already limped to the other side of the deck.

From a distance, Greybeard saw Tom's figure, and he immediately shouted: "Bastard! You're back after only taking a shit? Are you messing with me?"

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare..." Tom quickly shook his head and waved his hands, replying with a look of panic, "Captain...please listen to my explanation."

"Hurry up and tell me, what exactly is going..." Greybeard paused as he said this because he discovered that behind Tom and the other crew members who went to scout, there was also a person sitting...

It was a white man, who looked to be about thirty years old, with brown eyes and brown hair, long hair and a scruffy beard, wearing a retro-style suit.

"Who is this hippie?" Greybeard walked up to Tom, squinting at the stranger sitting on the deck.

"Reporting to the captain, this is a prisoner I caught in the woods by the beach," Tom replied.

"Prisoner?" Greybeard walked up to Lie Nong with a suspicious look on his face, looked at the latter, and asked, "Boy, what do you do? Why are you on this island?"

"Huh?" Lie Nong sat on the ground like a puddle of mud, replying lazily, "I still want to ask you? What do you do? Are you extras arranged by the program team? Why did you forcibly bring me to this submarine?" While speaking, he had already sized Greybeard up and down, and then, he actually laughed, "Heh...brother, who designed your look? The clothes and makeup are all so outdated...also, how long has your director not watched pirate movies? These days, pirate captains are generally played by handsome, decadent-looking men, how can you find a...uh...no offense to you...how can you find such a rough uncle to play the role?"

When he finished speaking, everyone's movements on the deck...stopped.

For a moment, people could only hear the sound of the sea breeze.

A full minute later, Greybeard came back to his senses, realizing that there was nothing wrong with his ears.

So, smiling in anger, he asked Lie Nong a question with a friendly face: "What's your name, young man?"