Chapter 10

At this moment, Shen Jinfeng felt a touch of nostalgia for the days when he carried out his missions alone.

He reminded himself three times in his heart: He was now the leader of a team. He was now the leader of a team. He was now the leader of a team.

Moreover, unlike his previous missions where he could choose his subordinates or pick his leaders with autonomy, this small team was a mess left behind by the original owner, which he had to manage.

He looked up quietly for a moment.

He Erwang’s face was twisted in misery, his gaze fixed on the empty air above.

"Boss, what do I do? I can't get down."

[I'm speechless. I thought He Erwang might not be able to climb up, I thought he might fall, I thought he might get hurt, but I never imagined he’d get stuck because he was too scared to come down.]

[The way he’s clinging to that tree trunk looks like a toddler hugging its mother; you couldn't pry him off even if you tried.]

[Actually, you can't really blame him. It’s over ten meters high! Even I get heart palpitations when I look down from the fifth-floor railing at school.]

[What do we do now? What are the odds of He Erwang overcoming his phobia on the fly?]

[Is he just going to stay up in that tree waiting for death instead of overcoming his fear?]

[I feel like Shen Jinfeng and Qi Xiu are having a mental breakdown. They thought their teammate was a pro, but it turns out he’s worse than a total novice.]

#HeErwangClingingToTreeUnableToDescend quickly climbed the trending topics.

It was obvious that He Erwang had the agility; if he would just dare to look down, getting out of the tree shouldn't be a problem. But it was just as obvious that he couldn't overcome his psychological fear, and the situation seemed almost unsolvable.

No one placed their hopes on Shen Jinfeng and Qi Xiu. The entire team’s equipment was pathetic. With a tree this high and no ladders or helicopters, even if there was another person who could climb, how could they possibly drag someone else down? That would be far too dangerous.

Just as everyone was discussing it, and even Sun Xinping in front of the screen was brainstorming how to handle this—surely they couldn't have a guest fail and drop out on the very first day of "What Kind of Person Are You?"—the Shen Jinfeng on screen stirred, his eyes flickering as he let out a very soft sigh.

If the "What Kind of Person" program weren't a virtual space with impeccable audio quality, no one would have heard it.

But before anyone could express sympathy or criticism for his sigh, the cool-featured young man took off his backpack, placed it on the ground, and pulled out a long "rope."

It was not a rope from the real world. It was a "leaf rope" woven from leaves, so long that its length couldn't be judged by the naked eye.

[Holy cow, where did that leaf rope come from?]

[I was watching from Shen Jinfeng’s perspective just now; he gathered a bunch of leaves when he walked away. He made it earlier.]

Shen Jinfeng wrapped one end of the leaf rope around his right hand, tied a knot, and looked up. He walked toward the coconut tree where He Erwang was stranded as casually and calmly as if he were taking a stroll in a garden.

His movements were nowhere near as flamboyant or aggressive as He Erwang’s had been. He simply placed his hands on the trunk, and in a few short breaths, he seemed to walk diagonally up the tree. In the blink of an eye, he was sitting right beside He Erwang.

He patted He Erwang on the shoulder. "Come, hold the rope."

[! I’m not eloquent enough to express this, so I’ll just say it: Holy crap!]

[I just blinked, and he "walked" up the tree?]

[I never thought someone could walk up a tree. He Erwang climbed for over twenty minutes, right? Did Shen Jinfeng even take twenty seconds?]

[No, I’m seriously starting to suspect that "What Kind of Person" has secretly evolved. Can they upload martial arts skills into people now?]

[What kind of max-level Taekwondo, Karate, or Judo is this? This is legendary Chinese Kung Fu!]

[So cool! Aaaaaah!]

[I want to try it too!]

[Try it? You’ll try it and then die.]

[My god, is Shen Jinfeng some kind of secret descendant of an ancient martial arts lineage?]

[Still, even if he got up there, it’s useless.]

[To the person above, don't speak too soon. Have you forgotten how many times you've been slapped in the face? Big Boss Shen always has his ways.]

[Exactly, I actually believe Shen Jinfeng can surprise us. He definitely has a plan!]

Shen Jinfeng indeed had a plan.

While He Erwang was dumbfounded and subconsciously obeyed by grabbing the other end of the leaf rope, Shen Jinfeng looped it around him, binding him tightly from his armpits to his waist and knees.

"Boss, what are you—"

Before He Erwang could even process what was happening or finish his sentence, he felt his entire body suddenly suspended in mid-air. He widened his eyes in terror and let out a sharp shriek—"Ah!"—before being pushed out by Shen Jinfeng.

Shen Jinfeng held one end of the leaf rope while the other was securely tied to He Erwang’s entire body, with several meters of slack to adjust. Like a person flying a kite, he held the "spool" and lowered He Erwang from the top of the tree. Since the rope wasn't long enough, he let He Erwang down while turning his body, leaping and stepping down the leaves from the treetop.

Before anyone could react, He-the-Kite-Erwang had already been "delivered" to the ground.

Shen Jinfeng jumped down a beat later and helped He Erwang up. He brushed his hand naturally over He Erwang’s purple hair, which was fluttering in the wind. "Are you alright?"

He Erwang was dazed, his eyes vacant. He looked up at the top of the coconut tree, where he had spent over an hour convinced it would be his burial ground, and then looked at the leaf rope that had naturally fallen off after landing.

"I'm fine." The way he looked at Shen Jinfeng had clearly changed. It was as if a rebellious teenager had suddenly laid eyes on Ultraman.

Qi Xiu, standing to the side, also looked at Shen Jinfeng with stars in his eyes. "Boss, you’re too amazing!"

Prompted by him, He Erwang racked his brain for a long time. His eyes lit up. "Boss, you are my god!"

[Pfft, I was having a late-night snack and sprayed my soda everywhere.]

[What do I do? As a fan, I really don't want to acknowledge this idol anymore. Unfollowing for a minute.]

[What's wrong? He Erwang put it perfectly. Aaaaaah, Big Boss Shen, you are my god!!!]

[Oh no, I think I hear voices.]

Shen Jinfeng calmly packed the leaf rope back into his bag. "It’s getting late, let’s go back."

The two nodded obediently. However, when He Erwang crouched down to pick up the fruits of his hour-long ordeal—two remaining coconuts—he glanced at the vast coconut grove. "Boss, should we pick a few more coconuts?"

"Since you're too lazy to go up, let me go up!"

Shen Jinfeng: "???"

"And then I'll bring them down for you?"

He Erwang pursed his lips in embarrassment. How could he explain that he felt like he had just been on an aerial slide, and it was so much fun? It was his first time, he had no experience, and he hadn't fully appreciated it—could he have another chance? But obviously, he couldn't say that.

So, he pursed his lips and said, "Two coconuts aren't enough for us to eat."

"Boss, let's take a few more back. How about we make coconut fish tomorrow?"

Shen Jinfeng’s footsteps paused; he was swayed. Coconut fish was delicious.

Perhaps because the first mission 888 took him on was in a zombie world, he had been starved to the point of misery there. As a total novice at the time, he was a little trash, and after struggling to complete the mission, for a long time afterward, whenever he saw food, he couldn't help but want to eat it and hoard it.

Seeing Shen Jinfeng turn around, He Erwang was eager. "Boss, this time I’ll go—"

Before he could finish, he saw Shen Jinfeng casually pick up a few stones and toss them toward a nearby coconut tree. The tree had plenty of coconuts—six, to be exact. In an instant, all six coconuts dropped to the ground.

!

He Erwang: "..."

It was that simple? It was that easy?

He recalled Shen Jinfeng’s expression—one of wanting to say something but stopping—when he had volunteered to pick the coconuts earlier, and a wave of heat rushed from his neck to his ears. What exactly had he been struggling so hard to do earlier?

Help, this desert island might not be suitable for his survival.

Qi Xiu looked at Shen Jinfeng with more than just gratitude; his worship was overflowing. "Boss, you are simply too amazing!"

Shen Jinfeng nodded, signaling them to pick up the coconuts and head back. Now that he knew about this coconut grove and the endless fish in the sea, the difficulty of surviving on this island was much lower than he had anticipated.

Qi Xiu obediently cradled the coconuts and followed Shen Jinfeng. "Boss, let me carry your backpack?"

Shen Jinfeng initially wanted to refuse, but when his eyes swept over Qi Xiu’s backpack, which was still empty, he changed his mind. "Let's swap. Give me yours."

Qi Xiu hurriedly took off his backpack and handed it to Shen Jinfeng. Then, he watched as Shen Jinfeng casually grabbed a handful of withered grass with blade-like leaves from the roadside and stuffed them into his newly acquired empty pack.

...Fine. Whatever makes the boss happy.

Why wouldn't this grass be useful? Wasn't the rope used to save He Erwang made of leaves?

He followed Shen Jinfeng’s lead, grabbed a handful of grass that looked similar, and asked, "Boss, are you looking for this grass?"

Shen Jinfeng: "!"

"Put it down!"

You’re calling this Aconitum, which can kill with a single trace of blood, "grass"?

Qi Xiu was so startled his hands shook, and he threw the Aconitum he had just picked onto the ground. "W-what’s wrong?"

Shen Jinfeng was concise: "It’s poisonous."

Qi Xiu was shocked. "Then, Boss, why did you pick so much..."

Shen Jinfeng followed his gaze to the mugwort he had just stuffed into his bag and remained silent for a long time.

"Do you think they look the same?"

Qi Xiu observed them carefully for a long time and said with a guilty conscience, "I feel like... there's no difference."

Shen Jinfeng: "Be good, don't pick wild grass on the side of the road in the future."

Qi Xiu nodded blankly.

[My god, who understands the gold content of that "be good"?]

[So charming, help! Look at Qi Xiu’s face, he’s like a boiled shrimp! Who gets it? If a handsome guy who looks perfect in every way said "be good" to me, I’d give him my life.]

[Pfft, I’m seeing some greasy literature vibes. I reasonably suspect the attribute of the person above.]

[I’m dying of laughter. Is Qi Xiu playing me? How is there no difference between these two types of grass?]

[I just looked it up. One is the mugwort everyone knows that can repel mosquitoes, and the other is Aconitum, which in ancient times was used to coat swords to kill with a single strike.]

[Then why didn't Shen Jinfeng explain it? Why didn't he educate Qi Xiu?]

[Uh, is education useful? Even if he explained it, would Qi Xiu be able to tell them apart? Simply declaring "don't pick wild grass on the side of the road" is enough. Do you really expect Qi Xiu, who can't see the difference between mugwort and Aconitum right in front of him, to go out and pick "wild grass"?]

[By the way, what is He Erwang doing?]

Shen Jinfeng and Qi Xiu, who had walked some distance away, remembered their other teammate who had suddenly lost his presence.

Qi Xiu looked back in confusion. "Where’s He Erwang? Why hasn't he followed us?"

Shen Jinfeng looked back as well.

He saw He Erwang holding a handful of stones, tossing them at a coconut tree. One flew into mid-air, one hit the trunk, one almost hit himself, and one finally hit a coconut, but the coconut didn't even shake as much as it would have in a breeze...

He Erwang used up the stones in his hand and eagerly crouched down to pick up a second batch. "If I practice more, I’ll definitely be able to hit it."

Shen Jinfeng: "..."

Bullet comments: [...Help!]

[So funny, hahahahahahaha!!!]