Rebirth 09: Starting from taking charge of Running Man on CCTV

When the bus came to a stop at the entrance of Baihutan Scenic Area, the fourteen people on board were still immersed in the afterglow of the Xuanwu Lake Curling Tournament.

Zheng Kai's hair was still dripping wet, and he was huddled in the seat with a towel wrapped around his head, looking just like a stray cat soaked by the rain.

Huo Jianhua sat in the back row by the window, looking out the window with a blank expression, but the tips of his ears were still red.

Yuan Hong came over and patted him on the shoulder.

"Brother Hua, that ramming you did just now was really impressive."

"Shut up."

"It's just that the direction is slightly off..."

I said shut up.

Yuan Hong wisely withdrew.

As the car door opened, the July heatwave, carrying with it the unique humid atmosphere of Hengdian, rushed in.

As soon as everyone got off the bus, before they even had a chance to look around, four stagehands came running over pushing two large carts.

The cart was piled high with neatly folded clothes.

Dark gray, one-piece, made of thick, waterproof fabric, covering from the neck to the ankles, with a zipper extending from the chest to the chin.

"Teachers, please change into the designated outfits for the third level."

The stagehand spoke in a businesslike tone, sorting the clothes by size and handing them over one by one.

Yang Mi was the first to take it, unfolded it, and looked at it.

"What's this? A jumpsuit?"

She held the clothes up to her body and then turned to look at Liu Shishi.

"Shishi, look, don't you look like a penguin in this?"

Liu Shishi took her own dress and touched the fabric.

"It's a bit thick. Won't I get heatstroke wearing this in July?"

Tang Yan had already started putting it on, and with the zipper halfway up, she took a picture of herself in front of her phone's front camera.

"They're quite cute, all round and chubby."

She spun around and flashed a peace sign at Yang Mi.

Yang Mi immediately leaned over, and the two of them put their heads together and posed for the phone.

"Come on, Shishi, come here too!"

Liu Shishi was pulled over, and the three girls, dressed in gray jumpsuits, laughed together in front of the camera.

On the other side of the bus, the Running Man cast had a completely different style.

Shen Teng pinched the sleeve of his waterproof suit and rubbed his thumb and forefinger back and forth a couple of times.

His brow furrowed.

"wrong."

Chen He was looking down at his zipper when he heard this and looked up.

"What's wrong?"

Shen Teng brought the cuff to his nose and smelled it, then flicked the fabric.

"Based on my understanding of director Chen Yang, this thing is definitely not meant to keep us warm."

He spoke slowly, but every word carried the sorrow of someone who had been through it all.

"This is definitely to protect against some disgusting thing."

Chen He's expression changed.

"Don't scare me."

"I wasn't trying to scare you." Shen Teng looked at him with a smile, but that smile was full of pity. "Think about it, why did he make us wear bodysuits last time?"

"To die for society."

"Yes. So why are we wearing waterproof suits this time?"

Chen He's right eyelid twitched suddenly.

He subconsciously looked around, trying to find some clues in the environment.

However, the entrance to the scenic area only has a parking lot and a few big trees, so you can't see anything else.

"My right eyelid is twitching," Chen He said weakly. "Brother Teng, every time my right eyelid twitches, it's never a good thing."

"Then your right eyelid must twitch quite frequently throughout your life."

"Can't you say something nice?!"

Deng Chao had already changed. He tugged at his collar and stretched his arms a couple of times.

The waterproof suit was indeed thick; after putting it on, I felt bulky and my movements weren't as agile.

He glanced at the three beauties from the Legend of Sword and Fairy series who were still taking selfies opposite him, and his lips twitched.

Naive.

too naive.

Li Chen silently zipped the zipper all the way up and turned to look at Deng Chao.

The two looked at each other for a second without saying anything, but their eyes were full of unspoken understanding that "disaster is imminent".

Wang Baoqiang didn't care. After putting on the waterproof suit, he looked down at his round body and grinned.

"Hey, don't I look like someone from our village who works in the lotus pond when I wear this?"

Zheng Kai had just dried his wet hair when he had to put on this airtight outfit again, which made him extremely irritable.

"It's so hot! Can't you make an opening in this shirt to let it breathe?"

"No." The stagehand replied expressionlessly.

Baby was the last to change. She tied her hair into a high ponytail, revealing a clean little face.

The waterproof suit looked unusually large on her, with the sleeves extending far beyond her waist. She swung her arms, looking like a gray teddy bear.

"Are you done?"

Chen Yang's voice came from the front of the crowd.

He stood on the stone steps at the entrance of the scenic area, holding the big red megaphone in his hand, and still wearing the python robe—but the whisk had been replaced with a hiking stick.

"Come with me after you've changed."

He turned around and took the first step.

Fourteen grey penguins followed behind him, marching in a grand procession into the depths of the scenic area.

The road was lined with dense bamboo forests, which blocked most of the sunlight, but the sweltering air still made people sweat profusely.

After walking for about five minutes, the bamboo grove gradually thinned out.

The view ahead suddenly opened up.

Everyone stopped at the same time.

Before us lies a massive, octagonal-shaped artificial lake.

The lake water is emerald green, reflecting the white walls and black tiles in the distance.

But everyone's attention was firmly drawn to what was in the very center of the lake.

A huge circular platform.

It has a steel frame structure, wooden plank flooring, and a diameter of at least fifteen meters.

At the center of the platform is a giant disc that is slowly rotating.

The machine's roar was deep and continuous. The disc surface was coated with anti-slip paint. The rotation speed was not fast, but the unstoppable sense of uniformity gave people a strange sense of pressure.

Like a giant, slowly spinning wheel of fate.

But these are not the main points.

The key point is the ring around the outside of the disc.

Dark brown.

Viscous.

Bubbles were rolling around.

It exudes a strong, earthy smell.

Muddy pool.

A complete circle of mud, at least two meters wide, encircled the rotating disc like a moat.

The surface of the mud gleamed in the sunlight, and occasionally bubbles would rise from the depths, bursting with a "glug" and splashing out a few drops of brown mud.

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

It lasted for a full five seconds.

Then Yang Mi's voice broke the silence.

"no……"

Her smile had completely vanished.

She turned her head, looked at her waterproof suit, and then at the circle of mud.

Then I took another look at the waterproof suit.

I looked at the mud pit again.

"This outfit is for..."

"To prevent mud." Liu Shishi's voice was very soft, but every word was trembling.

Tang Yan had already taken two steps back and covered her mouth with both hands.

The three girls, who were happily taking selfies thirty seconds ago, suddenly had expressions on their faces as if someone had pressed the pause button.

On the Running Man team's side, Chen He completely exploded.

"I knew it!"

He put his hands on his head and spun around twice.

"Waterproof suits never mean anything good! Director Chen, you have no heart! You really have no heart!"

Shen Teng stood still, his hands in the pockets of his waterproof suit, his expression as calm as if he were watching the weather forecast.

"What did I just say?"

He turned and glanced at Chen He.

"Disgusting stuff."

"Can you please stop being so calm?!"

"What good would it do to be uncalm?" Shen Teng chuckled. "Anyway, I can't outrun that spinning wheel."

Wang Baoqiang took two steps closer and peered into the mud.

"This mud... is similar to the lotus ponds in our village."

He turned around and grinned at everyone.

"When I was a kid, I used to catch loaches in this mud every day. There's nothing scary about it."

"Brother Qiang, your childhood seems so different from mine." Chen He's voice was trembling with tears.

On the other side of the Legend of Sword and Fairy camp, Hu Ge and Huo Jianhua looked at each other in bewilderment.

Hu Ge's expression remained gentle, but the curve of his lips was noticeably stiff.

He looked down at his waterproof suit, then looked up at the circle of mud around him.

There was only one thought in my mind.

His image as a "male god in period dramas" will be completely exposed today.

Wallace Huo was more direct.

He stared at the mud for three seconds, then slowly closed his eyes.

Yuan Hong patted him on the shoulder from the side.

"Brother Hua, are you alright?"

"not good."

"and you......"

"Don't talk to me."

Huang Zhiwei stood at the very back. His height of 1.88 meters allowed him to see over everyone's heads and have a clear view of the entire field.

He was silent for a few seconds before speaking his third sentence of the day.

"How deep is this quagmire?"

No one could answer him.

Chen Yang stood at the edge of the venue, where four or five track cameras were already in place, their lenses aimed at the fourteen stunning faces from different angles.

He was very satisfied.

The response was even better than he had expected.

Exquisite mechanical devices paired with a primitive and rugged mud pit.

A clash between industrial aesthetics and wildness.

A battle between idol glamour and mud.

This is the core appeal of reality shows: pulling celebrities down from their pedestals and throwing them into the most down-to-earth environments to see their most authentic reactions.

In 2009, no variety show dared to do this.

No director would dare to throw a popular idol into the mud.

But he dared.

Because he knows that what the audience wants to see is never a flawless star.

What audiences want to see is the moment when celebrities become ordinary people.

The wails, jokes, and playful pushing and shoving lasted for nearly two minutes.

Chen Yang had waited long enough.

He slowly and deliberately raised the large red megaphone.

He cleared his throat.

The sound wasn't loud, but it had extremely strong penetrating power.

"Quiet."

One word.

The entire room fell silent instantly.

Fourteen pairs of eyes turned to look at him.

Some were fearful, some were desperate, some were resigned, and some were curious.

Chen Yang stood in the sunlight, the gold threads of his python robe reflecting a dazzling light.

He smiled.

That smile was gentle, calm, and without any aggression.

But everyone present read the same message from that smile.

What follows will be terrible.

"Welcome everyone to the third level."