Chapter Three: Barehanded Against the Wild Boar

A black-snouted, bristly, and pitch-black wild boar charged out from the undergrowth, blocking their path.

"Ah!" Qiao Le shrieked, jumping behind Shen Li and hiding, leaving only her head exposed. "I told you we were taking the wrong path! Look at this, now we’ve run into a wild boar!"

Shen Li attempted to slowly detour, but it was clear the boar had no intention of letting them go; it was already poised to attack.

She scanned her surroundings, calmly assessing the environment. Wild boars typically traveled in packs at night and slept in thickets during the day; they rarely attacked humans unprovoked.

So, what was the deal with this sudden appearance?

Since it defied logic, it could only be a trap artificially created by the production crew.

In her previous life, she hadn't encountered this hurdle. It was likely that because she had cleared the earlier stages too smoothly, the viewers had complained, prompting the crew to add this as a last-minute complication.

"Do something, hurry!" Qiao Le was extremely impatient. She wanted to run but didn't dare to, terrified that the boar might chase them. Besides, she was here to rehabilitate her image. Although Shen Li was loathed by the entire internet, she couldn't just abandon her and flee—how would that look for her own reputation?

Fine, she’d play the good person just this once.

Suddenly, she was shoved forward by Shen Li, who then hid behind her. "You selfish wretch, using me as a human shield!" Qiao Le’s eyes bulged with rage.

The immense windfall of public sympathy was heading her way, but she needed to stay alive to enjoy it.

"Shen Li, you are truly a selfish, self-serving person!" Qiao Le shouted, staring fearfully at the boar. She glanced back to see Shen Li swiping away on her virtual screen.

She was actually playing on her phone at a time like this!

—Can this Shen Li please get off the show? She’s disgusting!
—She’s completely finished now. Sacrificing her teammate to save herself.
—Shen Li, get out! The audience is god, and we don't want to see her!
—Support the ban on the murderer Shen Li!
—Shen Li is personally adding luster to her "murderer" title, hahaha. The fans are so happy.
……

The director, who had originally intended to have the technical department add a few more boars to torment Shen Li, waved a hand: "No need. She’s already digging her own grave."

A smug smile crossed his face, as if he could already hear the money calling.

Suddenly, his shoulder felt heavy. He turned around and jumped in fright, immediately uncrossing his legs and standing up: "Young Master Pei!"

"Well done." Pei Wenzuan stared at the screen, a look of contemptuous mockery curling his lips. *Shen Li, oh Shen Li, I will make you pay for my sister's death.*

*Go and accompany her to the grave.*

……

Shen Li seemed not to hear Qiao Le’s hysterical ranting. With her head down, her fingers moved rapidly across the virtual screen. Because she had activated the anti-peeping mode, no one could see what she was doing.

"Shen Li, I’ll never forgive you, even as a ghost!" Qiao Le struggled to evade the boar, but the fat, greedy beast, sensing human fear, lunged forward to tear into its prey.

"Don't come over here!"

"Ah! Shen Li, I hate you! You damn pig, don't come any closer, or I’ll—"

"Hmm?" Qiao Le’s threat died in her throat. She felt a firm hand grip her waist, spinning her around. A soft "Thank you" brushed past her ear.

Then, she and Shen Li swapped positions.

The boar paused for a heartbeat before lunging forward again. A cold, sharp arc touched Shen Li’s lips. "Goodbye," she whispered. She kicked the boar right in its exposed belly. The scene seemed to freeze, as if played back at 0.5x speed.

The entire production crew stared at the screens, eyes wide with tension. The audience in the livestream did the same. The viewership, which had just hit rock bottom, surged instantly, quickly surpassing the livestream of the top-tier celebrity next door.

—I’ll state this first: just because she saved someone doesn't mean she isn't selfish.
—Why play the saint? Pushing someone toward the boar just to look cool at the last second, how hypocritical.
—Shen Li, get lost! Murderer, get lost!
……

The comments scrolled by at a breakneck speed, all filled with vitriol toward Shen Li.

"There’s no way she can beat a wild boar."

"A joke. It’s absolutely impossible." The head of the technical department was very confident in the virtual boar he had created, already envisioning his performance bonus.

However, he witnessed an incredible sight and bolted from his chair: "How is that possible!"

In the footage, the boar was pathetic. After being kicked by Shen Li, it collapsed weakly, then crawled up wailing, only to be grabbed by Shen Li and spun rapidly, as if she were dancing with it.

Qiao Le was stunned: "Str-strong... strongman?" She was dumbfounded.

No one could watch this without feeling shocked.

After a few spins, the boar flew away like a shooting star and vanished into thin air. The technical director blinked, unable to believe his eyes, and checked the data screen.

It displayed: *Wild Boar: Deceased.*

—?????
—Should I even say anything?
—Uh, she, ah???
—Throwing a wild boar? Is that something a human can do?
—I saw her operating the virtual screen behind Qiao Le’s back. Did she pull some trick again?
—Even if she did, it’s because she has the talent to do it. I couldn't do that.
—Wait, so this boar was planted by the production crew on purpose?
……

The comments were in an uproar. The "Blacklist Team's" livestream had long since left the top-tier celebrity's stream in the dust. But no one cared about that now. The director, furious, grabbed the technical director by the collar: "You’d better tell me what is going on!"

The technical director trembled as he operated the data terminal, finally reaching a conclusion: "She hacked our system and changed the boar’s parameters, so..."

In short, Shen Li had changed the boar to "frail mode" and set its weight to that of an "ant," leading to this outcome.

The director opened his mouth to curse, but no words came out.

Having finished everything, Shen Li patted Qiao Le’s shoulder: "Thank you, my partner. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had the time to hack their system, and we both would have ended up as toast. You saved us."

Qiao Le’s mouth had been hanging open in shock, and upon hearing this, she scrambled to keep up with Shen Li: "You mean, when you pushed me to the front, you were hacking the production crew's system?"

"Yes." Qiao Le was shocked again. Was the crew's system something you could just hack whenever you felt like it?

She looked at Shen Li, her eyes filled with a glimmer of newfound awe.

*Slap!*

She gave herself a heavy smack in the face. Shen Li turned back, confused.

"What are you looking at? I’m just reminding myself not to be swayed by your manipulation. I still hate you very much!"

Shen Li sighed: "Fine, whatever you say." She walked a few steps and stopped. She turned around, and Qiao Le reflexively stepped back, nearly tripping: "Wh-wh-what do you want?"

However, Shen Li simply bowed: "I’m sorry. The situation was urgent and I didn't have time to explain. Using you as a shield was something I can't justify, but if I had explained, the crew would have known I was trying to hack the system. We’re two girls without any tools; there’s no way we could have beaten a wild boar."

Qiao Le, who had originally been full of resentment, was swayed. She stared blankly at Shen Li, examining her.

This person... she didn't seem quite that bad, did she?

No, no, no. She couldn't surrender just because her life was saved. Shen Li was still carrying the burden of a human life!

Her eyes flickered: "F-fine, let’s just go!" She hurried forward.

Shen Li watched Qiao Le’s retreating back, a faint smile touching her lips, and followed.