Wake Up, This is Not a Dating Show! Chapter 15

Chapter 15 Hunting Time (Part 6) “Hunting Time” officially begins…

Ye Nai kept one hand in his pocket, flipping the card inside.

“Right now, only the two of us on the field have won special rewards from the individual battles,” he said unhurriedly. “If we truly are on the same team, we could totally share what our rewards are with each other, couldn’t we?”

“Indeed.” Yi Xingzhi agreed. “There’s no rule saying teammates can’t inform each other.”

“And making things clear will make it easier to formulate tactics,” Ye Nai added.

“Mhm, that makes sense.”

“So, you agree?” Ye Nai stared intently into his eyes, trying to catch any trace of hesitation.

However, Yi Xingzhi simply nodded. His calm eyes revealed nothing.

“Alright.” Ye Nai took the card from his pocket and held it up in front of Yi Xingzhi’s eyes. “Mine is this. What about yours?”

Yi Xingzhi also pulled out a card. It read “Verify Identity”.

“What is this for?”

“I can choose any member of the Blue Team to verify if they are the undercover agent.”

“And what was your verification result?”

This time, Yi Xingzhi paused slightly and didn’t answer immediately.

Ye Nai could actually understand his reservation. The fact that Yi Xingzhi agreed to exchange information with him so quickly had already exceeded his expectations.

After all, this was a battlefield. Any easy trust could lead to irreversible consequences. Being cautious was normal.

Just as he thought Yi Xingzhi wouldn’t disclose any further, he heard him speak again.

“Yin Tianhan is the undercover agent.”

Even though there was a possibility Yi Xingzhi was lying right now, upon hearing this sentence, Ye Nai believed it was true.

“Makes sense. If it were me, I would have chosen to verify him too.”

Starting from the basketball game, Yin Tianhan hadn’t been as invested as the other two members of the Blue Team, missing all his free throws. Later, during the “Don’t Do It Challenge”, he even “accidentally injured” his teammate, Fu Tingyuan.

In the final challenge, he made a mistake right from the start and acted as if he were struggling immensely. He was indeed highly suspicious.

At this point, Ye Nai was 80% convinced of Yi Xingzhi’s teammate status.

“Then the next steps are simple. Protect Yin Tianhan, and kill off…” He thought for a moment and changed his mind. “Defend against Pei Ze.”

Before Pei Ze committed any explicit acts of sabotage, it was better to just keep their guard up, just in case.

“What are you guys whispering about? I thought I heard my name.” Pei Ze returned out of nowhere and eyed them suspiciously. “I feel like I can’t trust anyone right now!”

“Fine, then let’s split up later,” Ye Nai said expressionlessly. “You’re on your own.”

Pei Ze paused and emphasized, “But I overheard the core of their tactics!”

Ye Nai didn’t make a sound, waiting for him to continue.

“They’re going to coordinate!”

“And then?”

“And then…” Pei Ze scratched his head. “They spotted me, so I hurried back.”

Ye Nai: “…”

Why did he have any expectations for this idiot?

While talking, the group arrived at a clearing surrounded by woods. Tall and short barriers of various kinds were set up in the middle, somewhat resembling a live-action CS arena, but the area was vast, and the paths were as intricate as a maze.

Let alone hitting an enemy, just finding out where they were would be difficult.

“This is the location for the final ‘Hunting Time’,” the host introduced. “Guests from both teams, please find a place to hide. Once you hear the voice announcement, you can start moving. Guests hit by a sandbag will enter the elimination zone.”

The entrance was set up right in the middle of the arena. Upon entering, the two teams claimed their respective sides and headed deeper inside.

Ye Nai carefully surveyed the layout of every corner, simultaneously considering which places could be used to set up ambushes.

He hadn’t gone far before Pei Ze had already disappeared. Only Yi Xingzhi was still nearby, also familiarizing himself with the terrain.

“Later, I’ll go meet up with Yin Tianhan first,” Ye Nai said. “I’ll see if I can coordinate with him to launch a surprise attack on the Blue Team while they’re off guard. You don’t need to come with me. Too many people will make noise and alert the enemy.”

“Okay.” Yi Xingzhi nimbly tossed the sandbag in his hand, looking as if he were deep in thought, but said nothing more.

Not long after, a passionate male voice broadcasted, sounding like a supermarket clearance sale announcement: “‘Hunting Time’ officially begins. Please grab your weapons and prepare to attack. Good luck, everyone!”

To avoid hindering the guests’ movements and exposing their locations, the directing team didn’t assign cameramen for one-on-one tracking. Instead, they filmed using cameras set up along the paths.

Ye Nai held a sandbag in each hand, ready to launch an attack at any moment.

Before charging, a final trace of defensiveness prompted him to glance back in Yi Xingzhi’s direction. After confirming that the other party truly had no intention of attacking him, he turned back and ran forward.

He ran quite fast in the first half. Only when he approached the center of the arena did he slow down and lighten his footsteps.

For a moment, the entire forest was eerily quiet, save for the occasional bird call. Between the varying heights of the barriers, not a single figure could be seen. It felt as if he was the only one navigating through it.

Finding a wide wall he had spotted earlier, Ye Nai stood behind it. From here, he could see the situation in almost all directions, and it wasn’t easy to expose himself.

He adjusted his angle a few times to observe the Blue Team’s direction, but saw no one. It wasn’t until he looked towards the edge of the arena that he noticed some movement.

Whether blown by the wind or brushed by someone passing, a tree branch over there swayed.

Keeping close to the barrier, Ye Nai slowly moved towards that spot, listening intently. He could already faintly hear weak noises, like the rustling of shoes stepping on fallen leaves.

His hands involuntarily tightened, fingers digging deeply into the sandbags.

Crunch, crunch. The sound drew closer.

Ye Nai readied himself to throw and also planned his retreat route. If there were more than one opponent, he would immediately run back.

He stared intently at the direction of the sound. Suddenly, a figure darted out. He was just about to aim when he realized it was exactly who he was looking for: Yin Tianhan!

But Ye Nai still didn’t completely drop his guard. After all, he still couldn’t be 100% sure that the information Yi Xingzhi gave him was true.

He moved sideways a bit from behind the barrier, shifting to a position where Yin Tianhan could spot him, but which remained highly concealed from other angles.

“Oh my god!” Yin Tianhan was severely startled by the upper half of a body suddenly popping out. He let out a low cry, but upon clearly seeing it was Ye Nai, he immediately raised both hands in a gesture of truce and mouthed, “Don’t shoot, don’t shoot, friendly!”

Ye Nai felt a bit more reassured and flashed an “OK” gesture.

Seeing that he actually knew, Yin Tianhan was quite surprised. He had originally been having a headache figuring out how to prove his identity. This saved him the trouble. He directly pointed behind himself, signaling Ye Nai to follow him.

Ye Nai had only taken a few steps towards him when Yin Tianhan suddenly sped up and started running, shouting as he ran, “Wait a minute, wait a minute, give me a chance, don’t shoot me!”

It was the spitting image of someone being relentlessly pursued.

Ye Nai immediately understood the play. He quickened his pace and followed.

Upon reaching a densely barricaded area, Yin Tianhan slowed down. He turned his head and gave Ye Nai a look, then subtly pointed with his hand hanging by his side towards a certain wall, signaling that there was an ambush behind it.

Ye Nai quickly located a nearby spot for emergency evasion, then continued approaching the area.

When the distance closed to just a few meters, Yuan Lei suddenly rushed out from behind the wall. The sandbag in his hand appeared even faster than he did, flying straight at Ye Nai.

Ye Nai was already prepared. He dodged behind his cover, avoiding the strike. When he peeked out again, Yuan Lei had already raised his second sandbag, ready to continue the attack.

But before he could throw it, Yin Tianhan grabbed both of his arms from behind and shouted, “Hurry!”

Seizing the opportunity, Ye Nai swiftly hurled his sandbag at Yuan Lei.

“Wow, you traitor!” Yuan Lei struggled fiercely, realizing what was going on.

Seeing that he was about to be hit, he twisted the hand holding the sandbag and blindly threw it backward at the person behind him.

Ye Nai’s sandbag hit Yuan Lei squarely on the shoulder, while Yuan Lei’s throw missed entirely and didn’t hit Yin Tianhan.

However, right at that moment, a third sandbag flew out from nowhere, hitting Yin Tianhan’s arm with perfect precision.

Ye Nai immediately looked around alertly, but saw no one.

The attacker didn’t seem intent on continuing the assault either, and things fell silent.

“Who threw that?” Yin Tianhan was completely stunned.

He had thought he was the safest one right now: the Blue Team didn’t know there was an undercover agent, and the Red Team had already successfully made contact.

Just as Ye Nai was about to speak, the broadcast suddenly sounded: “Yuan Lei eliminated. Yin Tianhan eliminated. Ye Nai eliminated.”

As if afraid someone didn’t hear clearly or wouldn’t believe it, the announcement was repeated two more times.

“I’m eliminated?” Ye Nai’s eyes widened. “I wasn’t even hit, how am I eliminated?”

“Sorry about that.” Yin Tianhan put his hands together, looking apologetic. “I’ll explain it to you later.”

The elimination zone was located outside the arena, making it impossible to see the situation inside. Those still in the game couldn’t hear what was being said over here either.

The three walked to the elimination zone and sat side-by-side. Only then did Yin Tianhan continue, “I didn’t tell you yet. The reward the Blue Team got in the final team round was a ‘Counter-kill Card’. Whoever hits the cardholder will be eliminated along with them. Brother Yuan said you guys would definitely focus your fire on Yuan Lei because he has the strongest combat power, so he gave the card to him.”

Ye Nai digested this for a moment and realized, “So, you clearly could have taken Yuan Lei out yourself when he was off guard. But to avoid dying with him, you had me kill him? Borrowing a knife to kill someone, nice move, smooth.”

Just a moment ago, he had been feeling sorry that Yin Tianhan went offline so quickly as an undercover agent. Now, that shred of pity vanished entirely.

“His ‘beating you at your own game’ move wasn’t bad either!” Yuan Lei said excitedly. “I suggested he lure the enemy deep and lead you into my ambush zone. And look what he did! He did lead you over, but to kill me!”

“Hey, don’t say it like that,” Yin Tianhan waved his hand. “I figured my identity hadn’t been exposed, so I had a bit more of an advantage than Nyle. It’d be easier for me to get close to the enemy and make a move. Who knew I’d get taken out too?”

Ye Nai suddenly thought of a question. “Then do you guys know who the Red Team’s undercover agent is?”

“Isn’t it Pei Ze?” Yin Tianhan said. “I watched the games. You and Xingzhi were the only ones seriously participating. He was basically slacking off the whole time. Isn’t that obvious enough?”

“I didn’t even know there was an undercover agent before,” Yuan Lei said. “If there has to be one, I also think it’s probably Pei Ze.”

“Oh, so this undercover agent hasn’t made contact with the Blue Team yet,” Ye Nai mused thoughtfully.

“That’s the rule set by the production team,” Yin Tianhan explained. “Undercover agents weren’t allowed to reveal their identities to anyone before ‘Hunting Time’, otherwise I would have told you guys a long time ago.”

“Good thing someone took you out. That’s true divine justice!” Yuan Lei smiled, relieved. “Thinking about it this way, it’s not bad. Trading one for two, not a loss.”

“One for one,” Ye Nai corrected him.

He stood up and walked over to Yin Tianhan. “Actually, getting me to hit Brother Lei was a lucky accident. I’m the only one who can hit him and still live.”

Under their confused gazes, Ye Nai kept a straight face and revealed his card. Written in large text were three words: “Revival Card”.

Yuan Lei: “…”

Yin Tianhan: “Smooth.”

Ye Nai patted Yuan Lei’s shoulder in consolation, then turned to Yin Tianhan. “However, for your operation of equally backstabbing teammates on both sides, all I can say is, you deserved this death.”

With that, he took large strides back towards the arena.

Now, he would become the player holding the most initiative on the entire field.

After all, the only person who knew he could revive was Yi Xingzhi.

Translator’s Note:

• “CS arena” refers to Counter-Strike, meaning a paintball or laser-tag style area with obstacles.
• “Borrowing a knife to kill someone” (借刀殺人) is a classic Chinese stratagem meaning to trick someone else into doing your dirty work.