Chapter 77: Viral Z-Words

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Viral Z-Words

Renee Morgan walked, stopping now and then, and Zara Chapman quickly caught up to her with Wendy Aldridge.

"Renee, wait for us!" Zara said, as if nothing had happened, her expression calm as she tugged Wendy along toward Renee.

Renee couldn’t find any wild vegetables, but spotted a patch of wild red berries. She used to eat these as a kid. After testing the flavor and finding it familiar, she didn’t hesitate and picked them, popping berry after berry into her mouth.

Zara saw her eating straight after picking, her eyes lit up but she complained: "Hey, why don’t you wash them first? Pick some, wash them, then eat."

Renee had eaten quite a lot, picking all the ripe wild red berries till none remained. These looked plentiful, but once picked and eaten, they barely filled her up—a hunger suppressant they were not.

Zara had hoped for a taste, but Renee didn’t leave her any, just two tiny unripe berries left. Zara grew increasingly angry: "Renee, what the hell? Couldn’t you leave me some?"

Renee looked up at her: "You stood there all that time, I thought you didn’t want them."

Zara: "..." She had just assumed Renee would pick, wash, and share them with her.

Renee ignored Zara’s sour expression, shouldered her pack, and walked on ahead.

Wendy Aldridge hesitated repeatedly, then finally mustered the courage to speak: "Renee, let’s make peace. No matter what happened, just blame it on me, I apologize, I hope you can forgive me."

Renee glared coldly at her: "Right and wrong, the cameras are witness, the instructors make the call. If you have any grievances, explain it to them."

Wendy hadn’t expected Renee to be so ruthless: "So this can’t be settled privately?"

As she spoke, Wendy’s eyes were already red, big teardrops rolling down: "I... it wasn’t really me, but if my family saw this, they’d be heartbroken. Renee, please, for their sake, don’t let them suffer, okay? My grandparents are already up in years. If they find out about this, I don’t know if they can handle it. Renee, you have a grandma too, they’re old, it’s not easy for any of them... sob, sob..."

She stood before Renee, head down, voice as soft as a mosquito’s, looking in front of the camera as if Renee was bullying her to tears—the audience couldn’t hear what she uttered.

Renee couldn’t figure out Wendy’s angle—at this moment she played the family sympathy card, trying to get Renee to soften and settle things privately. If society worked like that, chaos would reign. Anyone who screwed up or broke the law could just say, ’I’ve got old folks and kids at home.’ What justice would victims have?

"Wendy, are you threatening me with your family?" Renee wasn’t afraid of drama; if Wendy wanted to play dirty, she’d play dirty right back.

Wendy lifted her head in shock, a flash of shame on her face. She’d lowered her voice on purpose, not wanting to be too pathetic on live camera, but how could Renee twist it like this?

"I... I didn’t mean that," Wendy whispered tearfully, biting her lip. "I just..."

"Just what?" Renee stared at her. "This was your own doing. What does it have to do with your grandparents?"

Well, now the viewers all knew Wendy was playing the family pity card, hoping Renee would let it slide.

To the viewers, Wendy’s behavior was basically an indirect confession of cutting the rope—otherwise, why would she act so guilty?

Wendy clenched her teeth, almost losing control of her expression.

Renee scoffed inwardly—if it were in a dream and she didn’t know Wendy’s true character, maybe she’d be moved by such antics, mistaking them for momentary stupidity. But once she knew Wendy would do anything to get what she wanted, she could see right through these manipulations.

Renee couldn’t care less about Wendy and Zara’s sour faces, turned her head and strode away.

Zara and Wendy suffocated with anger, but the wild deserted mountain spooked them, so they hurried after Renee.

Just as their hunger got dizzying, the group bumped into Lynn Miller, Sean, and Taylor.

The three looked a mess, faces full of panic.

Lynn spotted Renee and was thrilled: "Morgan, thank goodness! I finally found you, nearly died of fright..."

Renee glanced at the other two, greeted them, and told Lynn to slow down and explain.

Lynn, panting, pointed at Taylor: "This guy lured a tiger here. Scared the hell out of me."

Renee looked at Taylor’s shaken face, waiting for his explanation.

Taylor didn’t care much about others, but when he met Renee, he couldn’t risk anything and confessed honestly.

Turns out, he and Brown were starving and found some wild mountain chickens. They chased after them, and ran into a tiger.

He and Brown split up and ran, finally bumping into Lynn and Sean. The three dashed into the jungle, each scrambling up a tall tree. The tiger couldn’t reach them, and eventually turned away.

When they confirmed the tiger had truly left, all three scrambled down and ran in the opposite direction. That’s how they met up with Renee and the others here.

Renee’s face grew serious—she hadn’t expected an actual tiger here. This really was the wild kingdom.

Wendy and Zara turned pale, terrified.

Just then, Lynn’s camera switched to the main feed. The livestream viewers knew something big was up. With Kyle Beckett’s camera having switched earlier too, Lynn must be in trouble.

Soon, viewers watched Lynn and Sean meet, then encounter a rattled-looking Taylor.

Taylor was shouting in English: "Run, fast, faster, faster!"

Behind him appeared the black-and-gold striped tiger. The three dashed into the forest, quickly finding a big tree to climb.

They had ropes in hand; even if the tree lacked low branches, they could climb by using the rope.

The tiger could climb, but Taylor and the others had knives. Before the tiger could get up, their blades kept it at bay. After a long standoff, the tiger lost interest and left.

Knowing a tiger was in that direction, everyone could only go the other way.

Taylor kept feeling danger behind him, glancing over his shoulder every few steps.

The others followed, tense and alert. Wendy and Zara gripped their emergency survival whistles, ready to sound the alarm the moment things got dangerous.

Who knows if it was just their bad luck, or Taylor’s jinx—soon enough, they ran into another tiger. Everyone nearly dropped dead from fright.

"Run, split up!" Taylor, experienced, spun around and dove into the jungle.

The others hesitated for a second, then followed him into the jungle.

"Split up! Split up! Don’t bunch together!" Taylor shouted urgently.

The others: "..."