Chapter 408: Temple Master Ning, Please Stop Talking

Gorillas didn't have a particularly sharp sense of smell, so Ning Fei wasn't worried about them tracking his scent.

He had already left the gorillas far behind during his earlier sprint.

When the viewers heard Ning Fei planned to spend the night here, tension flared in the stream again.

"With so many huge black gorillas around, he still dared to stay here. What guts!"

"An ordinary person would have wet their pants in terror!"

"You have to admire him. There is nothing else to say!"

"I have a feeling tonight is going to be a sleepless night!"

The survival show was broadcast live twenty-four hours a day. At night, while some contestants slept, the cameras focused on those still scrambling to find shelter. If everyone was asleep, the broadcast simply showed the night scenery.

However, there were always some who remained active after dark.

Out here, apart from Ning Fei in his wooden cabin, very few people could sleep peacefully.

"Nights in the forest are much more terrifying than the days,"

"It's too hot during the day, making night the prime time for animals to be active."

"Because of that, I have three hours to find a safe place to rest."

Ning Fei looked at the dense forest around him, his voice calm and steady.

He made his way through the trees. A little further ahead, a wide river appeared.

From the bank, the current looked fast and the water ran deep—so deep the bottom was completely obscured.

"This river is very clear, and there aren't many weeds on the surface. That means the amount of plankton or small fish in this part of the Tropical Rainforest is relatively low."

"The murkier the water, the more dangerous it is. There could be anything lurking inside."

"Clear water, on the other hand, is much safer."

"I worked up a sweat running all the way here. Since I have to cross the river anyway, I might as well take a dip."

Ning Fei said as he stepped up to the riverbank.

A few days ago, after completing a task for the Production Crew, Ning Fei had received a Waterproof Bag. He wrapped all his belongings in it and stuffed it into his satchel, slinging it over his shoulder.

He strapped the Longsword to his back.

Judging by the surroundings along the river, the woods in his current area were simply too dense. A quick glance revealed nothing but thick vines and towering, lush trees. It was impossible to find a suitable place to camp for the night.

So, Ning Fei decided to swim across and check the other side.

Back when he was on the outskirts of the island, there had been a river nearby too, but he had only used the water to wash his face and wipe down his body. He had never actually gone in.

A large group of female viewers had dubbed those moments "Temple Master Ning's fan service."

The river on the outskirts had flowed through countless unknown areas before reaching that point, meaning the water was likely teeming with parasites.

Here, however, the current was rapid and the water was crystal clear. It wasn't far from the source, making it much safer.

"Now, I'm going to swim across."

"The water here is clearer, so it's safe to take a swim."

"Unless I have terrible luck and run into piranhas."

Ning Fei told the viewers in the stream.

"Temple Master Ning, please stop talking!"

"I swear your mouth is cursed. Please don't jinx it."

"He couldn't be that unlucky, right?"

"Relax, the water is crystal clear. Where would piranhas even come from?"

Right at that moment, Ning Fei suddenly heard the violent rustling of trees behind him.

It seemed the troop of black gorillas hadn't given up after all. They had tracked him down.

Ning Fei adjusted his gear and glanced back. Then, he wrapped his satchel around the Longsword and, with a flick of his arm, hurled it.

He tossed all his belongings straight to the opposite bank of the river.

Right at that moment, the troop of gorillas burst from the treeline.

Ning Fei glanced back at them and smiled.

"See ya, big guys."

With that, he executed a clean, stylish dive into the river. With a strong kick, he slipped beneath the surface.

The huge troop of black gorillas stood on the riverbank, furiously pounding their chests like berserker infantry from Red Alert.

On the stream, the scene looked absolutely terrifying.

The center of Doom Island was undeniably fraught with danger!

The river was deeper than it looked. From the bank, the current hadn't seemed too rapid, but swimming in it was a completely different story.

Navigating the rushing water was incredibly difficult.

Swimming against the current was far harder than anyone could imagine.

That was why most people would simply choose to drift with the flow.

Ning Fei swam toward the opposite bank at a leisurely pace. He was taking his time, enjoying the relief the cool water brought from the stifling heat.

Right then, Ning Fei suddenly felt that something was wrong.

A moment later, his Danger Perception skill triggered, blaring a warning in his mind.

Ning Fei breached the surface. Treading water, he turned to look in the direction his Danger Perception had pointed him.

A small, twenty-centimeter-long fish with crimson eyes and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth leaped out of the water before plunging back into the river.

Following that, several more identical fish breached the surface, leaping and diving in rapid succession.

"Holy crap, they really are piranhas!"

Ning Fei cried out in alarm. All traces of his previous relaxation vanished. He switched to a full freestyle stroke, his arms churning the water as he sprinted for the opposite bank.

The viewers were stunned.

Everyone had just been joking around earlier. Who would have thought the jinx would actually come true?

Now, Ning Fei was in genuine, deadly danger.

He hadn't been in the water for long. If he swam back, he could easily escape the piranhas.

But the troop of massive black gorillas was still waiting on that shore.

He had no choice but to push forward.

To Ning Fei, crocodiles weren't scary. They were just oversized beasts; clamp their jaws shut, and they were nothing more than giant toys.

Venomous snakes weren't scary either. In the water, they were rarely aggressive and were usually just there to cool off.

But piranhas were absolutely the most terrifying creatures in the Amazon basin.

These things were violently aggressive, and they almost always hunted in swarms.

A massive school was rushing right toward him. If they swarmed him, they would rip him apart bite by bloody bite. Worse, if he lost the strength to struggle in the water, the piranhas would strip him down to the bone!

Ning Fei would rather swim back and fistfight the gorillas than face off against a swarm of piranhas.

Water violently splashed in the river.

The viewers finally got to see exactly how fast Ning Fei could swim.

"Holy fuck! There really are piranhas!"

"Temple Master Ning, swim faster!"

"His swimming speed is insane! Even Phelps would eat his dust."

"Human potential really is limitless in life-or-death situations."

"Good lord, those piranhas are terrifying!"

"Doom Island is horrific. How does it have so many dangerous things?"

"Christ! That's lethal!"

The atmosphere in the stream, which had briefly lightened, instantly grew tense again.

Not far behind Ning Fei, the massive swarm of piranhas was closing the distance.

The only reason they were leaping out of the river was because there were simply too many of them; they were crowded out of the space beneath the surface.

It was a horrifying testament to just how many piranhas were teeming in the water.

Ning Fei could feel two of the piranhas nearing his legs. His skin even brushed against their slippery bodies.

The sensation sent a chill down his spine.

In the very next second, those fish would latch onto his legs, arms, and waist, effortlessly tearing away chunks of his flesh.

"Suppression Card!"

Fortunately, Ning Fei had plenty of trump cards.

He activated the Suppression Card, paralyzing the entire school of fish for a precious moment.

Taking advantage of the pause, he surged toward the bank. Grabbing the edge of the shore, he hoisted himself out of the water with a powerful heave.

The entire sequence had been a pulse-pounding thrill ride.

Just then, the violent flapping of a fish's tail broke the silence.

Ning Fei sat on the bank and looked down, only to realize that a piranha had locked its jaws onto his pant leg and was stubbornly hanging on.

Getting a clear look at the terrifying fish, all the viewers gasped in horror.