Chapter 178: Origin Vehicle, Activate!

"Whenever we went out to crowded places the first two times, our manager always found out."

"After careful thought and reflection, I really think going to lounge bars is too dangerous!"

"I think so too!"

Sima Shaozhe finally chimed in with a conclusion.

Lin Yu had been quietly observing the surrounding environment all along and hadn't been listening seriously to their analysis.

"Don't you guys have a feeling?"

The sudden question left the other two a bit baffled.

What is it, bro?

Lin Yu had been keeping his eyes on a taxi behind them.

He didn't know if it was just his imagination.

He somehow felt that that car had been following them the whole time.

"I suspect your managers might already know about your plan."

Sima Shaozhe's face instantly turned pale.

"You're not trying to scare me, are you?"

Looking in the direction Lin Yu was pointing.

Holy crap!!

Really or fake?! Someone really was tailing them!

Sima Shaozhe panted heavily, wearing the exact same panicked expression as Wang Fei, and looked at Lin Yu.

"Tactician, what do we do now?"

"Should we wait for death, or just die right here?"

Lin Yu thought for a moment and directly asked the driver.

"Uncle, do you know about primordial spirits?"

"Primordial car, start!" The driver slammed the steering wheel hard.

With a whoosh.

The ground-hugging vehicle vanished in an instant.

The other two sitting in the back seat...

Felt exactly like they were flying!!

...

The taxi drifted down the road, quickly leaving the following taxi far behind.

The driver slowed the car down and pulled off a drift.

He swung the car to a halt right in front of a barbecue restaurant.

Seeing the pale faces of Wang Fei and Sima Shaozhe in the back,

He calmly offered a reminder:

"Throw up in the car, that's five hundred."

Wang Fei and Sima Shaozhe froze, then scanned the QR code to pay.

"Don't mess around! I still have to pick up passengers!!"

The uncle simply made a "u-uh" hand gesture.

The two were helpless.

What's this? You give them money and they don't even want it?

...

After getting out of the car, Lin Yu looked at the plaque above the destination.

He curled his lips into a smile.

"Learning to be smart now, even knowing to pick a hot pot place?"

"All is fair in war." Wang Fei, the mastermind behind the whole thing, wore a proud smile.

"There's a lot of foot traffic at this hot pot restaurant. Even if they really chased us here, we can just find the most conspicuous spot, spot anything suspicious right away, and bolt."

"Anyway, there are so many people. If they really ask later, we'll just say they saw wrong."

"Right, right, right! Just deny it to the death and we're done!"

Sima Shaozhe chimed in with another summary.

Lin Yu looked at the two of them, then back at the hot pot restaurant's sign.

The logic made sense.

The key was...

"Why pick a spicy hot pot restaurant in the middle of the night? Aren't you afraid of getting the runs? Do you guys not plan on sleeping tonight?"

Wang Fei scratched his head: "We had no choice, did we? In the middle of the night, besides this place, everything else is barbecue."

"Eating barbecue and chugging beer would've been fine too, you know?"

Wang Fei: ......

Umm.

If he mentioned right now that he had completely forgotten about that option, would he get beaten up?

...

The three of them chose a table on the second floor by the railing, where they could look right down at the entrance.

Of course, if anyone came in looking too stern, they could choose to escape directly through the back door beneath the stairs.

This was simply the best spot for sneaking out to eat hot pot while being terrified of getting caught by their managers!

The three of them comfortably began enjoying the hot pot and ordered a few bottles of iced beer.

With the piping-hot hot pot base, what was boiling was far more than just the red chili oil!

What burned and boiled here was pure, unadulterated everyday life!

A bite of spicy beef, dipped thoroughly in the well-mixed sauce.

The burning, spicy sensation hitting the taste buds inside the mouth.

Taking a sip of ice-cold beer right after.

The feeling could simply not be any more refreshing!

Halfway through the meal, Wang Fei suddenly brought up a topic.

"Both of you arrived quite late. Do you know the rules of this competition?"

"Go ahead."

Sima Shaozhe and Lin Yu spoke in unison.

The two looked at each other and clinked their beer glasses together.

"Bottoms up!"

"Good brother!"

Wang Fei choked on the chili, coughed violently for a few moments, and even coughed up tears.

He took a sip of beer to calm his nerves, then continued.

"I heard them say the rules for this competition changed again."

"They aren't going to invite people from the national team again, are they?"

The three of them looked at each other.

Everyone had been tormented by the production team before, and everyone was terrified they would pull the same old tricks!

Luckily,

Wang Fei debunked the rumor online.

"Don't worry, this time they've arranged for the judges, mentors, and guests to perform together. Then the judges' and mentors' scores will be combined with the contestants', and the highest score wins."

"The judges for this round are the audience! Of course, the judges can also vote and score each other."

"But at the end of the day, off-site scores carry a higher weight, so this match is all about fan count."

Sima Shaozhe looked confident. "Then I'm definitely going to win!"

He was a top-tier流量 star after all, with a total follower count exceeding ten million across all platforms!

With fans casting one vote after another, how could he lose this match?

"Oh, please, spare me. Everyone knows your company's methods for hyping people up. You claim tens of millions of followers across platforms, but in reality, a lot of them are dead accounts, right? Otherwise, they're just a bunch of brainless stans supporting blindly."

"I can only say your company's PR and publicity departments are quite competent. I still remember when you first debuted, I could see your face everywhere."

"If I remember correctly, didn't you get flamed for two-and-a-half years just because of your self-introduction on some idol survival show?!"

Wang Fei's words shattered Sima Shaozhe's composure.

Weren't we supposed to be good brothers? How come I'm the only one getting hurt?!

...

The three chatted cheerfully, completely unaware that someone was gradually approaching them.

That person looked nervous, wore a military-green trench coat, and had messy hair; he didn't look like a regular diner.

But his target was very clear.

Taking advantage of the moment when the waiters weren't paying attention, he sneaked up to the second floor and then walked toward the railing area on the second floor.

For no other reason than the fact that from this spot, he could look down and see the entire layout of the hot pot restaurant, allowing him to make a quick retreat at any time.

His hand remained hidden inside his coat, and nobody knew what he was concealing.

The three of them, still chatting away, didn't realize he was approaching.

"Sigh, let's all do our best! I hope you guys won't get trampled too badly by my fans, haha!"

"Oh, oh, oh, Teacher Sima, make sure you don't get cried to tears by your zombie followers~"

"How could I possibly have zombie followers? In my magnificent capacity as—"

Before Sima Shaozhe could finish shouting "top-tier star," Wang Fei timely covered his mouth to interrupt his spell-casting.

He had known for a while that there was a traitor among them.

This kid Sima Shaozhe often drank a bit of alcohol and then crazily chanted his catchphrase about being a top-tier star, no wonder he attracted unwanted attention.

"Sit down, we all know you're a top-tier star, you don't need to advertise it."

Wang Fei stared at him as he sat back down, while Sima Shaozhe glared at him with wide eyes.

What's the deal? Aren't people allowed to speak the truth anymore?

Meanwhile.

That man in the military-green coat had already closed in on their table, scanning back and forth among the three of them before finally choosing the one who looked the thinnest.