Chapter 42: Entering the Forest

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Entering the Forest

This reality show, live broadcast, is currently the hottest program around. In just a few days, thanks to international station coverage, it’s swept the globe. People are curious about the combat abilities of the Mercenary Guild, and also about this mysterious training base.

Now, seeing these giant posters, it feels as if the veil of mystery over the base has been lifted, and everyone is instantly excited:

[Hey, did you all hear? The Merrick Base is basically the ultimate battleground for all the big-name international clubs. Their arena matches pull in tens of millions just for a single fight.]

[Ugh, everyone’s watched the live footage from when they first entered the base, right? I heard the eight guys in Team One are here just for the huge prize money, probably for these arena matches.]

[Wow, I really wanna see those guys get up on the stage and fight. Hope the live broadcast doesn’t end too soon.]

[Actually... what I wanna see most is Renee Morgan fight in the arena... A direct descendant from a Zhonglia Martial Arts Clan, imagine Zhonglia kung fu winning the prize money here. Just the thought is thrilling.]

[Ha, everyone knows the Merrick arena matches are brutal—win the huge prize money and you’ll barely have half your life left. Renee has some skills, but if she really went to that kind of hellish battleground, she’d probably be scared shitless, let alone actually win anything.]

[Hey now, Morgan’s an entertainer. Even with a martial arts background, her skills are just for action roles and stunt work. Aren’t you guys taking this way too far?]

[...]

The online fans were arguing non-stop. The camera switched to Team One’s members, sitting in the car, hands resting on the window, gazing at the giant posters with deep, exotic eyes, shining with excitement.

In Merrick, professionals like them—if not for the show, they’d probably never have the chance to enter here in their entire lives, not even take a single step. But this place? This is where their ultimate dreams can come true.

They firmly believed that as long as they got in, there was hope.

The car passed other arenas, and Lynn Miller and the others kept yelling in amazement. Renee Morgan just rolled up some tissue, stuffed it in her ears to block out most of the noise, pulled her hat down over her face, leaned her head, feeling the gentle breeze, half-asleep with her eyes closed.

By the time the car reached its destination, it had been over an hour.

The instructor jumped off first, followed by the others getting off, trailing behind him, and entering a heavily guarded checkpoint.

The guards confirmed the instructor’s identity, then let them pass.

After passing the checkpoint, they found themselves surrounded by fenced areas. Looking around, there were several entrances and exits, plenty of lush trees—landscape very similar to domestic forest parks—dark and quiet, impossible to see through.

At some point, a man appeared on the road ahead and walked toward them. After a brief exchange with the instructor, he took the information cards for the sixteen people about to enter the base forest.

"OK, their info was all registered in advance yesterday. Just waiting for you to confirm. No one else is allowed past this point. There’s a lounge over there, you can go rest." He pointed at a row of white cabins nearby, then turned to the director team staff: "The forest is filled with high-tech hidden cameras. They’ve got tracking systems. If you want to use their cameras for the live broadcast, you can come with me to the control room."

No one expected the base forest rules to be so strict—not just loaded with high-tech hidden cameras, even staff couldn’t go in.

The production staff all breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Clearly, broadcast from inside the control room was way easier than following them into the actual forest.

Zara Chapman couldn’t hold back and spoke up again: "Instructor, Lionel Lincoln and I don’t have toolkits—does that mean you can’t track or locate us?"

The instructor turned to speak with the man again, then took a box from him. He pulled out a bunch of red cords, each with a whistle hanging from it, and handed them out according to the names on them.

"This is an emergency survival whistle. Also your tracking system. When you enter the base forest, if you run into danger, your body can’t take it, can’t keep going, just blow the whistle and someone will come take you out. Of course, inside, the hazards are unpredictable—injuries are likely. You’ve still got a chance to back out." The instructor’s tone was serious.

Zara’s plan went bust again. She glanced at Renee out of the corner of her eye, cursing inside—if Renee hadn’t messed things up that day, she wouldn’t have walked away empty-handed with no toolkit, and wouldn’t be in such a passive situation now.

Renee took the cord from the instructor—her name etched on it, the whistle made of iron, small and delicate. She put the cord around her neck, tucked the whistle inside her shirt, keeping it safe.

All preparations done, the base forest staff stated the rules one final time: "Starting from the moment you enter, the clock starts. If you last 72 hours and make it out, the challenge counts as a success—even a minute short is a failure. And... if you encounter danger you can’t resolve, don’t try to tough it out, blow the emergency whistle immediately—that also counts as a failed task. If you’re in extreme danger but don’t blow the whistle in time, that’s on you; everything’s voluntary. We take no responsibility whatsoever—even if you lose your life over this, we won’t be held legally responsible."

He held the information cards and continued: "You still have a chance to take back your card and cancel the challenge."

For Renee and the others, once they agreed to enter the base forest, there was no need to sign any paperwork—the acceptance protocol on the info card would automatically kick in.

Team One members had no objections; they agreed to enter the base forest.

Team Two members hesitated briefly, but in the end, all voted yes—they’d go into the base forest, too.

If you can’t last, you’re free to quit—there’s no real downside. But if you manage to stick it out for 72 hours, you’ll get a base pass and move up a class. No matter how you look at the deal, it’s a win-win.

The base forest staff saw there were no objections, took the info cards, and left. Soon, new staff arrived to lead both teams inside.

The live feed went completely black, but the chat was still exploding with activity—viewers clearly super hyped:

[I’m a Real Man—this show deserves to be called the boldest broadcast of the year, the gutsiest reality show ever.]

[Haha, definitely the most successful work this year too—washed-up celebs, fresh faces with zero reputation, average nobodies, and an allegedly real Mercenary Guild team all pulled together a show that became a global phenomenon. The investors must be laughing all the way to the bank.]