Global Collapse-Chapter 508 - 477: I Split_1
Gu Mian remembered that the guest invited to that particular variety show was much like him now.
However, when that program was broadcast on TV, it had already been edited, and all the swear words were bleeped out and replaced with asterisks. But now, it was a live broadcast, and his choice of words was quite civilized, so everyone could hear what he was saying.
Fatty was secretly watching the people around him, who were all intently staring at the screen on the vehicle's ceiling. He lowered his head, abashed, as if ashamed of having such a foul-mouthed teammate.
"But where on earth does the Doctor learn this kind of nonsense?" Fatty wondered. "He usually seems so serious; I never expected him to talk like this."
Now, Fatty wouldn't even be surprised if Gu Mian suddenly spouted a couple of dirty jokes.
As he thought about this, he looked up and glanced at the people nearby again.
They were still staring intently at the screen; a few even had intriguing smiles on their faces.
Fatty's gaze went past those smiling faces and out the vehicle window to the distant sky.
Grayish-brown clouds roiled in the sky, looking as if they were about to press down on the earth. From within the heavy clouds, occasional deep rumbles sounded—muted thunder.
Fatty took a deep breath; his nostrils filled with the scent of an impending downpour.
The weather was about to turn.
He suddenly felt a little lost.
By the time the host got up from the floor, Gu Mian, having finished his performance, had already casually shut the door behind him. All she had time to hear was a SLAM!
When she looked up again, all she saw was the tightly closed door.
"It seems this guest is still as audacious as ever," the host mused. "I wonder if he'll learn his lesson after this program and genuinely repent..."
Fatty saw the host on the screen give a strange, chilling smile.
"According to Miss Liu, eight years ago in this world, anyone who violated the Law Code would be tied up in the street and subjected to public condemnation. To think that only eight years later, they've come up with something like this again... The people chosen for the program won't be directly sentenced. Is this considered dodging a bullet?"
Fatty couldn't tell if this was societal progress or regression.
Eight years later, the Old World, through the Metamorphosis program, gave people a chance to avoid punishment. Logically, forgiveness and tolerance should signify progress in human nature...
But Fatty felt somewhat perplexed.
Is this really progress...?
As he pondered, he turned to look at the program crew sharing the vehicle. Seeing the smiles on their faces again, Fatty suddenly had a chilling realization.
The people of this world never followed the Law Code for the sake of rules. They were envious, selfish, and took pleasure in others' suffering. These people didn't live to obey the Law Code; on the contrary, the Law Code existed because of people like them.
The Law Code created countless violators, and these violators, without exception, all became tools for the amusement of the masses.
And now, this situation was becoming even more severe.
From the very beginning, this was never a so-called world of rules.
This was a Paradise of envy and madness, a Human World for countless twisted individuals.
Fatty's hair stood on end. He looked up at the closed door on the screen. Gu Mian had now become a plaything for everyone; countless eyes were fixed on him, eager to see him end up sobbing, begging for mercy, and repenting.
This would bring them immense satisfaction.
It dawned on Fatty; he suddenly had an idea of how previous players had managed to clear this instance.
As long as the audience was sufficiently satisfied, and one simply went along with the will of the masses, the filming could be completed smoothly.
But he knew Gu Mian would never appease them. He might even do as he'd said before: punch the common folk, kick the 'parental' authorities, and in the end, tear up the Law Code itself.
Thinking of this, Fatty broke out in a cold sweat. "Will the Doctor's misdeeds implicate innocent bystanders like me? No, I have to pretend I don't know him..."
Meanwhile, Gu Mian had already boarded the vehicle.
The original mode of transportation was supposed to be a plane. However, Liu Ruyan had mentioned that this world's technology level wasn't great. Considering his own luck, Gu Mian suspected that taking a plane in this instance would lead to a crash. So, after throwing a tantrum, he boarded a train with his beloved guitar.
He heard that the four guests were heading to the same destination, but the other three had taken different modes of transport.
Meanwhile, the program's popularity was skyrocketing.
Just as Yang Yongxin didn't like to 'treat' well-behaved children, this world's audience also had little interest in overly compliant guests. Everyone's focus was on the group of four, primarily Gu Mian.
Due to his choice of transportation, Gu Mian arrived at the destination much later than the other three, who had already been waiting for a long time.
The show was being broadcast live, so while waiting for Gu Mian, the other three hadn't just been sitting idly by; they were tidying up the house.
It was a dilapidated-looking mud hut with a thatched roof. After inspecting it, Gu Mian suspected it would leak if it rained.
Their filming location was a small village nestled in a mountain ravine. They had driven along a winding mountain road for quite some time before finally spotting it. The village was mostly populated by the elderly, women, and children; young people were scarce.
In this world with its low level of development, the economy was naturally also poor.
All the houses in this village looked somewhat precarious. There were hardly any properly constructed buildings; most were mud-brick houses.
In the center of the village stood a slightly larger structure, supposedly where the village children attended classes, though it could hardly be called a school.
The roads were all dirt tracks, so uneven that one could easily sprain an ankle walking on them. A few resilient weeds poked through the soil. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
Dusk had fallen. The sun was half-hidden beyond the horizon, leaving only a faint, indistinct arc of light.
When Gu Mian arrived at the hut, he saw Chu Changge, expressionless, carrying a leaking bucket. Chu Changge then proceeded to pour all the water from it onto the cement floor.
Gu Mian: "...What are you doing?"
"Mopping the floor," Chu Changge replied, setting down the bucket and pushing up his glasses.
A cameraman was filming nearby.
Gu Mian could imagine the audience in front of their screens bursting into HAHA laughter at this.
Facing the camera, the sole female guest, Accompany Me Next Year, gave an awkward laugh, then quickly snatched the bucket from the floor, saying, "Here, let me do it..."
The show hadn't officially begun. According to procedure, the director would assign them tasks when it formally started. These tasks were decided by the audience, much like the variety shows they'd seen on TV. They might be tasked with earning a certain amount of money or collecting several buckets of manure.
The current live broadcast was just a warm-up; the official proceedings wouldn't begin until tomorrow.
However, the audience willingly spent their time glued to their television sets, eager to see how the guests would endure their first night of hunger and cold.
The place where Gu Mian and the others were staying couldn't even be called a house. It was merely four walls with a thatched roof on top. Naturally, the four guests couldn't each have their own room.
There weren't even any beds.
Gu Mian spotted a pile of rags heaped in a corner of the room. Stroking his chin, he asked Chu Changge, "What's that stuff?"
Chu Changge glanced casually at the dim corner. "Beds."
Gu Mian: "..."
A dedicated cameraman stood in the corner of the room, shouldering his camera. Several lenses were trained on them, capturing their every move and word, broadcasting it all live to television screens.
In the studio, the host was laughing cheerfully. "Alright, all four guests are now in position! Next up is everyone's favorite segment: the tasks! While watching tonight's live broadcast, you can send suggestions to the production team for tasks you'd like to see specific guests undertake. We will select the most popular requests and assign them to our guests!"
