Chapter 1385 - 1381: Waking Up in the Apocalypse
The recording location for the third installment of the reality show is not domestic, but rather an abandoned military base in a neighboring country, with the intriguing theme of "Apocalypse Arrives."
As soon as the official social media released a preview, netizens were all ablaze. Apocalypse? The production team really went big, trying to simulate an apocalyptic environment to torture the guests—eight guests, including four female guests.
At the thought of the apocalypse, the spectators naturally thought of a zombie siege.
"Is it for real, will there be zombies?"
"The director is a genius, daring to film with this theme, feeling sorry for the guests."
"Feeling sorry for the guests, hopefully the ladies won’t be scared by the zombies."
"Is the production team planning to add a story background to the survival show? Wow, this is quite a 6666666 move."
Netizens excitedly grabbed their small stools, bought soda and sunflower seeds, waiting eagerly for the third episode of the variety show.
While online discussions were heated, Chloe Winston and others assembled at Imperial City Airport, where the production team chartered a flight directly to the recording site. After everyone boarded, the domestic staff posted the third episode preview on Weibo, depicting how after the second episode, the guests accidentally traversed a time-space tunnel during their flight and landed in an apocalypse thousands of years into the future, trapped in a deserted town, needing to fend off zombies and find the Time-Space Portal to return to modern times.
The production team indeed added a story background, even adding a time-travel element, although time-travel gags are common in variety shows; most shows travel to ancient times, while "Let’s Date" is more brutal, traveling to an apocalyptic future instead.
The preview was pre-recorded by the team, using special effects and real scenes from the abandoned military base. The moment it released, everyone gazed at the crumbling walls and deserted town, feeling a sense of desolation and horror, reminiscent of watching "The Walking Dead," although the preview’s image quality leaned more towards cinematic, instantly captivating netizens.
Of course, the guests had no idea; the production team hadn’t even disclosed the filming details this time.
Once everyone boarded the plane, they donned headphones and eye masks, gradually falling into a deep sleep, only waking to eat the plane meal and drink water, sleeping soundly like pigs afterward.
Chloe Winston awoke to find a strange silence around her—no airplane noise, no voices, only the sound of strong winds gusting by.
Alertly opening her eyes, the plane had landed at some unknown time, leaving her the sole waking person in the cabin, while the accompanying cameraman aimed his equipment, filming, unsure for how long.
Chloe shook Wendy Starling awake, speaking softly, "Wendy, wake them both up, I’ll take a look outside the plane."
Wendy rubbed her eyes, asking, "Chloe, have we landed? Why didn’t Desmond wake me?"
Chloe’s dark eyes gazed at her for a moment, stating steadily, "There are only us four female guests in the cabin, the male guests are all missing, I’m going outside the plane to take a look."
Wendy was slightly confused, grabbing Chloe’s hand without fully understanding the situation.
"Remember this episode’s theme?" Chloe opened the luggage compartment, finding everyone’s luggage missing, furrowing her brow.
"Apocalypse Arrives, so what’s the production team pulling this time?" Wendy noted the empty cabin, with only four female guests and the cameraman, a chilling feeling climbing her spine, trembling as she said, "There won’t really be zombies, right?"
Chloe nodded, saying, "Not only are there zombies, but we must also find our teammates, uncover this episode’s task, complete it, and return home."
Wendy went to wake Vicky Webb and another guest while Chloe disembarked, seeing the scorching sunlight—it should be past noon. The small Airbus rested on the runway, surrounded by a desolate scene, the small abandoned airport with no control tower, only a convenience store and gas station.
The convenience store’s sign had fallen, some bloodstains lingered on the walls, and the glass was coated in thick dust, entirely reminiscent of the apocalypse, devoid of vitality and human presence.
Wendy also disembarked, stunned at the sight before her, the sheer desolation suggesting this was a corner forsaken by God. Were it not for the camera filming them, Wendy would suspect she had truly arrived in the apocalypse.
"Before dark, we need to find a shelter. Are you skilled in fighting?" Chloe turned to ask.
Wendy blankly shook her head, replying, "I have a dance background; when acting, I mostly wave swords for show, it’s just a fancy display, useless in a fight."
"Then if we encounter zombies, don’t get bitten." Chloe smiled slightly, flexing her fingers, whispering, "Don’t go into the convenience store. Let’s split up and see if there are any cars—this place is vast, the production team must have left transportation for us."
"Okay, why can’t we go into the convenience store?" Wendy asked blankly, as Chloe walked away elegantly.
The abandoned airport wasn’t large, the duo split up to search, eventually finding a vintage Beetle outside the convenience store—a bright yellow, cutely explosive model with large headlights, round like a plump pumpkin.
Chloe took a liking to the car at first sight, trying it out, finding it still runnable. She stepped on the gas, picking Wendy up mid-road, then driving back to the plane where Vicky Webb and another guest also disembarked, quietly conversing, faces slightly cold as they saw Chloe driving up.
"We’re leaving, if you two want to come with, get in the car." Chloe said drily.
"We’re not leaving, there’s food in the plane, conserving strength until teammates come is the wisest choice." Vicky Webb rejected elegantly coldly; she absolutely wouldn’t follow Chloe’s orders, nor would she become subordinate to Chloe.
Even a fool could tell this shoot teeming with peril; without knowing the game rules and with the male guests all vanished, staying safely in the plane, with food and drink, was preferable to seeking death outside.
Weighing her options carefully, Vicky Webb directly refused Chloe.
Wendy Starling was slightly hesitant; her relationship with Chloe and Wendy wasn’t good; going out, these two might not take care of her. Since Vicky decided to stay, she stayed to accompany her.
"I’m not leaving either." Wendy said.
Chloe shrugged, not saying a word more, stepped on the gas, taking Wendy and the cameraman on the road.
Meanwhile, the male guests gradually woke up, finding themselves trapped in a run-down standalone house with a yard, surrounded by zombies outside, without any food or water inside. The director of the show, smiling, announced the game rules: "There are 50 roaming zombies throughout the town, various scattered supply and weapon packs. Outside the house are 20 zombies; getting bitten by a zombie leads to immediate zombification and elimination. The game rules are: the female guests must rescue the trapped four male guests, avoid zombies, survive and locate the Time-Space Portal, and return."