Chapter 102: Mysterious Delicacies!

"Ouch!"

As soon as he stepped onto the acupressure mat, Jiang Lun couldn't help but let out a sharp cry.

It hurt!

A needle-like pain shot straight from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Cold sweat instantly broke out all over his body, and he felt a sudden, jolting sense of clarity.

"Oh... oh, oh!"

Painful groans echoed from all around the field. Jiang Lun glanced at the other teams, then at Deng Fei, who had already cleared the first obstacle. He gritted his teeth; winning or losing didn't matter, but he couldn't lose face. If a girl like her could handle it, how could he, as a man, drag her down?

He continued to run, but after only two steps, he was besieged by pain again.

"What do I do? How am I supposed to run like this?" Jiang Lun couldn't help but shout out loud.

Just then, Sun Wu, carrying Tong Zhiya on his back, sped past him. As they brushed past, he looked back and reminded him, "Kid, run faster! It doesn't hurt as much when you're running!"

"Really?"

Jiang Lun took it to heart. He focused his energy, gathered his strength, and charged forward at a sprint.

It was slightly effective, but even so, he had to stop and start, taking nearly ten minutes to reach the first obstacle.

It was a vaulting horse made of haystacks. Jiang Lun didn't hesitate, planting his hands and leaping over. He made it, but his hands suffered, stung badly by the hay.

"Good grief! There’s danger at every turn!" Jiang Lun complained after clearing the obstacle.

Looking at the other teams, You Chao and Qin Xin were already in the lead, having cleared the second obstacle and preparing for the third. Sun Wu and Tong Zhiya had also just passed the second, and while Li Donghe and his partner were behind, they were catching up fast.

"Oh no! We're falling behind!"

Afraid to waste any more time, Jiang Lun ran toward the second obstacle. Although this stretch was also paved with acupressure mats, the protrusions were significantly smaller than the previous section, making it much less painful to step on.

The second obstacle consisted of three circular oil drums that they had to crawl through. Jiang Lun didn't even think; he dived through at a speed that even the cameraman hadn't anticipated.

Clearing the third and fourth obstacles in succession had exhausted two-thirds of his stamina, and half an hour had already passed. What looked like just a few minutes on television was unexpectedly exhausting to actually film.

"Jiang Lun! Hurry! We absolutely cannot finish last!" Deng Fei was the first to complete her task, and she was cheering loudly for him now.

Unlike the other teams, where the men had to take care of the women, and where veterans like You Chao were intimately familiar with the show's games, Jiang Lun was a newcomer. Experiencing such an intense game for the first time, he was naturally slower.

Their original plan had been for Deng Fei to leave him behind and focus on finishing first. Since their final score would be the sum of both members' times, if Deng Fei could take first place, Jiang Lun wouldn't end up in last place even if he took a bit longer.

"I'm coming!" Hearing Deng Fei's call, Jiang Lun took one last deep breath and charged toward the fifth obstacle.

The fifth obstacle was a very steep slope, about four meters high. The goal was to climb up, ring the copper bell, and slide down.

Jiang Lun rushed to the base and tried to scramble up without thinking. To his complete surprise, he hadn't even taken two steps before he tumbled back down.

"Ouch!" Jiang Lun clutched his head in pain.

Deng Fei immediately ran over to help him up. "What's wrong? Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Jiang Lun waved his hand. "I'll try again!"

"Go for it! We still have plenty of time! Li Donghe and his partner haven't even made it up yet!"

"I know!"

After saying that, Jiang Lun walked to the base of the slope to attempt the climb a second time.

Deng Fei made sure to remind him, "Lean your body forward! Don't lean back!"

"Got it!" Jiang Lun followed her instructions and carefully began to climb.

...

"Ding-a-ling!"

"Yeah!"

The copper bell rang out crisply. Jiang Lun cheered, waved his arms, and slid down the other side of the high platform.

Deng Fei immediately ran over and gave him a big hug. "That was great! You did it!"

At this point, only Li Donghe and Zhang Ziling remained. Keeping the team spirit alive, everyone went over to cheer for them.

The pair cleared the fourth obstacle and arrived at the steep slope. Li Donghe scrambled up the incline, and Zhang Ziling stepped on his body and then his shoulders to reach the top and ring the bell.

Free of the burden, Li Donghe used his hands and feet to scramble up in an instant.

The moment they all finished, the four teams cheered and high-fived each other.

The director then spoke: "Now, I will announce the results. But before that, let's look at the rewards. First place gets a luxury lunch, second place gets a mid-range meal, third place gets a budget meal, and as for fourth place..."

The director paused.

Li Donghe looked at him anxiously. "Tell us! What does fourth place get? Please don't say nothing at all!"

The director chuckled. "We'll reveal that later!"

"Oh man! I hope I didn't just guess that right!" Li Donghe frowned, looking indignant. Zhang Ziling added pitifully, "Director, please, be kind to us! We're already in last place!"

The director ignored them and said, "I will now announce the results!"

Everyone held their breath, staring at the director's lips as he spoke slowly: "First place: You Chao and Qin Xin! With times of 32 minutes 47 seconds and 33 minutes 36 seconds, for a total of 66 minutes 23 seconds!"

"Yeah!" You Chao raised his arms in victory. "A feast! A feast!"

Qin Xin, his partner, was equally excited. After arriving last on their tricycle earlier, they finally felt vindicated.

The director continued: "Second place..."

"That's definitely us, no doubt," Sun Wu said confidently.

To everyone's surprise, the director smiled. "Second place: Deng Fei and Jiang Lun! With times of 21 minutes 23 seconds and 50 minutes 04 seconds, for a total of 71 minutes 27 seconds!"

"Huh?" Jiang Lun was stunned. "We're second?"

Everyone was as surprised as he was, and they all turned to look at Deng Fei.

"You only took 21 minutes and 23 seconds?"

"My goodness! Fei, I didn't see that coming!"

"A hero among women! I'm impressed!"

Sun Wu finally realized what happened and pointed at Deng Fei. "Strategy! It was a strategy! You two played us!"

"Played what?" Deng Fei spread her hands, looking bewildered.

Sun Wu said, "The rest of us were busy taking care of our guests, and you just took off running!"

"You're all men; it's only right that you take care of the women," Deng Fei replied.

Jiang Lun added, "I told Sister Fei to go ahead so she wouldn't be distracted by me and wouldn't be slowed down. That's a form of looking out for each other!"

"Fine, fine... whatever you say is right! I just want to see how far behind we were," Sun Wu said, waving his hand to show he wouldn't hold it against them.

Jiang Lun chuckled and exchanged a high-five with Deng Fei, their rapport perfect.

"Third place!" the director announced. "Without any suspense, that's Sun Wu and Tong Zhiya, with 38 minutes 04 seconds and 38 minutes 53 seconds, for a total of 76 minutes 57 seconds!"

"Sigh!" Sun Wu slumped. "So close!"

You Chao laughed, "Don't be discouraged, you're not as miserable as Li Donghe and Zhang Ziling!"

"Hahaha..."

This jab made everyone laugh. Even Li Donghe couldn't stop grinning. "Hey, let me tell you, our team isn't weak, okay?"

"That's what happens when you drive a car!" You Chao added, "A blessing in disguise!"

The director laughed too. "Alright, now for the fourth place results!"

"Don't announce it, we don't want to hear it!" Li Donghe covered his ears, shaking his head.

"Read it, you have to read it!" You Chao insisted. "We want to mock him properly!"

"Fourth place: Li Donghe and Zhang Ziling!" The director ignored them and read, "With times of 63 minutes 23 seconds and 64 minutes 01 seconds, for a total of..."

"Don't read it, don't read it!" Li Donghe pretended to stab himself in the heart. "Pfft! Director, you've dealt me ten thousand points of damage!"

This made everyone laugh even harder. Jiang Lun couldn't help but say, "Brother Dong, you don't have to act, the editors will add the effects later!"

"Haha... Jiang Lun has learned to throw shade too!"

"Look at that, our newcomer has been corrupted by this show!"

"..."

By the time lunch arrived, it was nearly two o'clock. Each team received food based on their ranking.

You Chao's luxury lunch was incredibly rich and extravagant, featuring hairy crabs, lobster, and a variety of local delicacies.

The meal for Jiang Lun and Deng Fei was nothing to sneeze at either; although it was mid-range, it was mouth-watering. They started eating immediately, not standing on ceremony.

Sun Wu's team had it a bit rougher, with just a bowl of fried noodles and a plate of pickled greens each.

As for Li Donghe and Zhang Ziling, their table was completely empty. The director still hadn't revealed their reward, and the two of them just sat there, staring and drooling at everyone else's food.

Finally, Li Donghe couldn't take it anymore and shouted, "Ah! Director, it can't really be that we get nothing, right?"

"There is something!" The director smiled. "It's still being prepared, we'll reveal it in a moment!"

"What kind of thing takes this long to prepare?" You Chao looked up from his pile of food, staring at the director with a look of disbelief—clearly questioning, "It can't be that the last-place team gets something better than our first-place meal, right?"

"You'll see in a minute!" the director laughed.

"Huh?" Sun Wu put down his chopsticks. "Director, let me tell you! This won't do. Even if they don't get better than first or second, if they get better than us, I'm really not going to stand for it! Tell us, what is it?"

"I can't say yet!" The director shook his head, smiling. "They'll have to reveal it themselves later. You guys just eat your food!"

"I can't eat if you don't tell me!" Sun Wu said. "If it's actually better than ours, this bowl of noodles is going to be hard to swallow!"

Jiang Lun looked up, chewing his food as he said, "Teacher Sun, don't worry, it's probably just a bottle of mineral water or something!"

"No way? Mineral water takes this long to prepare?" Sun Wu looked unconvinced.

"Dinner is served!"

Just then, a loud shout rang out. Two people dressed as chefs appeared before them, each carrying a tray covered by a mysterious metal dome.