Free Web NovelChapter 35: Chapter 35: If I Want It, It Must Be Mine
After seeing off Tong Jianfeng and his daughter, Gu Zhao felt hungry too.
"Gu Zhao... this is the task card we found. It’s for you." Tang Yuexuan handed the card over.
She looked a little guilty. ’And to think I targeted Gu Zhao because of Tong Jianfeng...’
Gu Zhao didn’t take it. "Thanks, but we don’t need any more cards."
Gu Xulin held up a thick stack of cards. "The one thing we’re not short on..."
Just then, a Golden Monkey swung over from a tree. It glanced at the cards in Gu Xulin’s hand, then at the one in its own.
Without hesitation, it scrambled down the tree, holding the card out to Gu Zhao.
"Human, I have one of these too. For you." The Golden Monkey scratched its head, looking quite gentle.
Gu Xulin tilted his chin, motioning for Tang Yuexuan to look.
’See? We’re not hurting for those.’
After thanking the Golden Monkey, Gu Zhao took the card.
Task Card: Clean three restrooms. Reward: Five bananas.
"How stingy," Gu Xulin remarked, leaning over to take a look.
Tang Yuexuan looked at her card as well. "My task is to collect photos of fifteen different types of birds. The reward is a small bag of rice."
Zhong Mingrui clutched his stomach, looking glum. "Big King, I’m so hungry."
"All you do is cause trouble for Big King. I’m not like that. I could never bear to rush Big King," Song Yi said smugly. He thought this was a very considerate gesture; Big King was sure to be touched!
The next second, his stomach let out a loud GROWL.
Song Yi: ...
His face turned bright red.
Zhong Mingrui said, "You might not have the heart to rush her, but your stomach does."
The Golden Monkey tilted its head and scampered off.
Gu Zhao and the others sifted through the cards, trying to find an easy task that rewarded them with good food.
But as they looked them over again and again, they discovered...
All the tasks were total scams.
For example, brushing the teeth of five hippos rewarded a single head of cabbage.
Cleaning a snake den rewarded two tomatoes.
Successfully matchmaking for a single tiger rewarded one watermelon...
Was this a case of, "Well, at least you’re not working for free. You may not get a full meal, but you definitely get exhausted"?
Tang Yuexuan and her sister said goodbye to the group and went to start their task.
Back with Gu Zhao’s group, everyone was waiting for her to speak.
After all, Gu Xulin had to listen to his young partner, and the young partners from the other two teams listened to Gu Zhao.
So in the end, everyone was waiting for Gu Zhao to give the order.
[At Gu Zhao’s command, the army of hungry ghosts will march!]
[Gu Zhao is bearing a weight far beyond her years. Since she’s already carrying so much, can she add me to the load?]
Gu Zhao didn’t want to do a single one. She just wanted to lie down and do nothing.
’Mugging someone still seems like the easiest option,’ she thought. ’But who could I even mug?’
She glanced at Ye Zuiyi and Ye Zexi, but their pockets were even emptier than hers.
’Damn, I reported him too early. I should have given them a few cards and waited for them to finish the tasks before I ratted out Tong Jianfeng!’
Ye Zuiyi felt Gu Zhao’s gaze and instinctively hid behind Ye Zexi.
When she realized what she had just done, she felt incredibly aggrieved!
’What is wrong with this world! Aren’t I supposed to be the protagonist?!’
’How am I getting pushed around this badly by a villain?! Is no one going to step in?!’
’Where’s my plot armor hack?!’
Suddenly, she thought of someone from her past life—the man who had always put her first.
’It’s almost time! He’ll be here soon!’
The thought made her much happier, and even her gaze toward Gu Zhao relaxed a little.
’Gu Zhao! When that time comes, it’ll be your turn to exit the stage!’
"Human!!"
"Little One!"
"Baby~"
Countless voices flooded into Gu Zhao’s mind. For a moment, she felt just like she did when that unscrupulous system gave her a cheap, knock-off "golden finger" ability.
Her head swam...
’I need to lie down.’
Luckily, Gu Xulin was there this time. He grabbed Gu Zhao just as she started to fall.
"What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?" Gu Xulin asked anxiously.
"BE QUIET!!" Gu Zhao suddenly yelled.
Gu Xulin laughed in exasperation. "Gu Xiao Zhao, you’re taking this too far! It’s not like I even wanted to show concern for you, and you’re being so dramatic!"
"Uh, Big King’s brother, I think she was talking to them," Zhong Mingrui said, his mouth hanging open as he stared in shock at the crowd of animals opposite them.
There were all sorts of monkeys and other animals.
[Is this the rallying power of the Monkey King? It’s just a small scene, don’t act like you’ve never seen the world. But I came prepared, so I’m different—I’m watching this on my knees.]
[Gu Xulin: "You’re being so dramatic."]
Song Yi’s eyes were also shining with excitement. "Our Big King is so cool!"
Gu Xulin: "Well, you might be a bit dramatic... but on second thought, you’re also kind of cute. I guess I’ll go back to being concerned about you..."
Zhong Mingrui: "Eww~ Big King’s brother, in ancient times, you’d totally be the type to be a treacherous court official."
Zhong Siqi awkwardly clamped a hand over his brother’s mouth.
’Give him an inch and he’ll take a mile.’ If you don’t shut him up for three days, he’ll be on the roof tearing up the tiles.
At Gu Zhao’s command, the animals instantly fell silent. They formed a line and began to speak one by one.
At the front of the line was the Golden Monkey from before. "Human, have some bananas!"
It was holding six bananas.
It was filled with pride. It had specifically counted the number of people so that Human could easily share with her companions!
’Later tonight, I’ll secretly bring more just for Human! So she can have them all to herself!’
"Oh, my, how embarrassing! We’re really fine. It’s just that the director won’t give us any food, but it’s okay, we’re very resilient. A little hunger is nothing. It’s just that my brother here has stomach problems, and I might get so hungry I stop growing... but really, it’s fine."
The animals panicked when they heard this.
They silently cursed out that director while stuffing food into Human’s hands.
"Human! Take this and eat! We’ll feed you! We definitely won’t let you get so hungry you stop growing!" the Golden Monkey said earnestly.
Gu Zhao looked deeply moved. "You’re all so wonderful. You’re my real family!"
"Fourth Brother, what are you gaping at?! You’re just going to let my family members hold all this heavy stuff? And you guys! Hurry up and help my family carry their load!" Gu Zhao sighed, seeing the others just standing there slack-jawed.
’So unobservant.’
’I mean, back when my roommate was eating shit, I at least had the presence of mind to hand him a napkin to wipe his mouth.’
"Give them to us, give them to us! We are the Big King’s most loyal ministers!!"
The two little ones were busy as bees.
Before long, all six of them had their arms piled high with food.
Seeing this, the animals thoughtfully helped deliver everything to their cabin.
Gu Xulin took charge of cooking lunch.
He might not have looked like a young master who knew how to cook, but the food he made was... truly just average.
After eating and drinking their fill, everyone was lying around in a food coma.
The director watched them sleeping soundly, so worried that he lost a few more hairs.
Not that he had any hair to begin with.
The director sighed. ’Isn’t this supposed to be a survival show?’
’Why has it turned into a napping show?! This isn’t right!’
’Who would want to watch this?! What if my audience leaves?!’
Then he looked at the bullet comments.
Bullet Comments: [Why isn’t she waking up! Why isn’t she waking up!]
[I’ll just keep watching! I’m going to see exactly when she wakes up!]
[Come on, let’s play cards while we wait. We need two more players, hurry! I’ll start with a pair of threes.]
[Can’t beat it. Next!]
The next time Gu Zhao woke, it was because she was startled awake by a commotion.
It sounded like someone was having a meltdown outside the door.
"I want this one! I don’t care!"
"This cabin is already occupied. Let’s find another one," a gentle female voice coaxed.
"So what if it’s occupied? If I want it, it’s mine." The tone was exceptionally arrogant.
