As Qu Qiuyan stepped down, the previously suppressed incident once again sparked heated discussions. With the platform's complete unblocking, these trending topics dominated the charts all day long. The Liu Chenyan incident completely transcended the entertainment circle and became a topic of national debate.
The outcome of this matter seemed already predictable...
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
The plot of "Law of the Jungle" finally reached its climax.
The game time was approaching its end.
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The players who had been wantonly slaughtering lower-tier animals and frantically collecting points finally discovered a terrifying fact—
There were fewer and fewer Rabbit cards on the island, while the number of Wolf cards belonging to their own kind was increasing.
Although they had been searching for traces of Rabbit cards while plundering points, the players who could still remain on the island and wildly loot points were almost all ruthless individuals who had snatched Wolf cards. Most Rabbit cards had been forcibly absorbed during their process of plundering other players, and they naturally wouldn't actively target the remaining Rabbit cards. Thus, the final Rabbit cards were automatically reclaimed by the organizers when players died.
Not only Rabbit cards, but Fox cards suffered the same fate.
These people had accumulated many points on the island, but they almost exclusively held Wolf cards in their hands.
And due to the rule that Wolves meeting their own kind would deduct points, the top-of-the-food-chain cards they had wantonly seized now became tools that threatened their lives. After all, according to the original rules, players could only leave the island after using all their cards.
But now, almost everyone they encountered had Wolf cards, with even Fox cards being rare. No matter how they fought or plundered, there was likely only one outcome: when meeting their own kind, both sides suffering losses, with points deducted for both.
Thus, after all their busy efforts, they might end up losing many points instead, or even directly lose their lives.
These players, blinded by money and greed, who had plundered points without any restraint, were suddenly dumbfounded.
They suddenly realized that the Rabbit cards on the island were limited.
—No, Rabbit cards had always been limited, but what was unlimited was human selfishness and greed.
They only knew how to plunder mindlessly, never considering that everything before them was temporary. They arrogantly thought they controlled their destiny, unaware that the law of the jungle had always been cruel.
"I wonder if you've ever learned a term called 'ecological balance' before."
Lin Yu'an said as he walked.
"Wolves are the natural enemies of rabbits. On the surface, rabbits seem naturally disadvantaged, being preyed upon by wolves—they are born into a predator-prey relationship."
"But actually, in the long-term dynamics of simple ecosystems, wolves and rabbits have never had a one-sided crushing relationship, but rather a balanced relationship of mutual constraint. When other complex factors are excluded, if rabbits decrease in an ecosystem, wolves will also be forced to decrease due to insufficient resources."
"In nature, 'strength and weakness' are not absolute. Temporary disadvantage is not absolute disadvantage."
"It's just a pity that by the time they figured all this out, it was already too late to apply this simple demand relationship."
Lin Yu'an looked at the large stack of Rabbit cards he had accumulated in his hand, slightly curled the corners of his lips, and glanced at Xu Ning.
"Of course, the jungle law belonging to animals is indeed that simple, but the jungle law of humans is much more complex than theirs."
Xu Ning didn't speak, just carefully wiped the Tang sword in his hand.
Not receiving a response, Lin Yu'an wasn't angry either. He simply walked directly to Xu Ning's side and said meaningfully: "But there's another term called 'ecological disturbance.' Simply put, it's when an ecosystem, under natural or human influence, temporarily causes changes in the food chain structure, but without destroying the ecological balance. Instead, over time, it returns to balance or creates a new balance."
Xu Ning's wiping motion paused slightly, then he raised his head and looked coldly at the person before him.
"So occasional ecological disturbances by native top predators could be seen as adjustments and protections for the jungle ecosystem."
Lin Yu'an was no longer afraid of Xu Ning's gaze, still wearing a smile on his face, but when he spoke, his eyes carried mockery and coldness...
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"Cut." Ren Changwen observed the camera shot, then showed a satisfied smile on his face, "Xiao Liu, you've worked hard today. You can leave early."
Liu Zehang let out a long breath: "Great, finally passed."
This scene was where Lin Yu'an shed his harmless facade and truly revealed his fangs.
Throughout this journey, he had maintained the image of a disadvantaged little white rabbit, but unknowingly, the little white rabbit ultimately reversed the situation and became the winner of everyone.
Director Ren's requirement for Liu Zehang was to perform the transformation from white to black.
As for Xiao He... he didn't need to act, he was purely a mischievously wicked wolf. What followed would be entirely his action sequences of going on a killing spree.
"Brother Xiao, good luck with what's next! I'm heading out first, hehe!"
Liu Zehang waved at Xiao He with a grinning expression.
Xiao He put away the prop sword in his hand and also waved at Liu Zehang: "Bye~"
After Liu Zehang left with his agent Cheng Xue, Liu Rulan slowly strolled over with her arms crossed: "You two are like elementary school kids after school."
Xiao He: "...Sister Liu, I've noticed you're getting better at metaphors lately."
Liu Rulan shrugged: "This is called being good at observing life—alright, I came to talk to you about something else."
Xiao He then became serious and listened attentively: "Go ahead."
Liu Rulan: "Liu Chenyan's entire family is being investigated by the authorities. They'll most likely go to prison."
Xiao He understood in his heart but showed surprise on his face: "They're really being investigated?"
"With such a huge uproar online, they were bound to be investigated. It's just that all the details of these matters need to be thoroughly investigated and confirmed—it's impossible to proceed that quickly. Getting results within a month is already incredibly fast." Liu Rulan explained, "This outcome can be considered satisfactory for everyone now."
Xiao He quickly asked: "So where are Liu Chenyan and the others now—"
"Liu Chenyan has been arrested, 'Fearless Journey' has been indefinitely suspended, and several other relevant personnel from the program team have also been invited for 'tea.'"
Liu Rulan's tone was emotional: "He completely destroyed 'Fearless Journey,' that national-level veteran program."
Xiao He instead sneered: "A program that can't even guarantee safety measures should be suspended sooner rather than later, to avoid setting a bad example in the industry."
"Hmph, that's true too."
Liu Rulan then expressed agreement.
"By the way, since this matter implicated many people, several program guests who were involved in the capsizing incident on the program have also spoken out." Liu Rulan handed her phone to Xiao He, "This is the common 'hindsight' phase in domestic entertainment. When Liu Chenyan's power was strong, they didn't dare to speak about these things. Now that Liu Chenyan's family has fallen, they're hyping up the previous drowning incident again."
"Among them, both Xu Yin and Huang Ziqian, whom we rescued back then, have expressed gratitude on Weibo. Do you want to reply personally, or should I reply on your behalf?"
Xiao He glanced at it and said casually: "Sister Liu, you reply for me. Just respond normally and politely."
When they rescued those people and brought them ashore back then, those two directly took an ambulance away without even saying hello.
Considering their situation was indeed urgent, Xiao He thought it was fine—what mattered was that they were safe. But afterwards, these two also remained quiet like chickens cooperating with the program team, not responding to any online discussions about the "capsizing incident," not even thanking Xiao He privately.
Now that "the matter has died," they know to "offer milk." Xiao He found it quite meaningless.