Their Punching Bag Became The Storm novel Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Trying to set up a persona?

The production team had clearly planned this timing for the resumption of filming.

There was no way Chase would leave Emily alone to handle a night mission on this wild island.

He had to stick by Emily’s side and keep her safe.

There were ten contestants in total.

Five men and five women.

Except for Emily and Whitney, who were both ordinary people, the other eight were all second–tier stars in showbiz.

Though the show was extremely dangerous and full of unknowns, its main selling point was authenticity.

And honestly, this kind of vibe was exactly what viewers were into these days.

It was the top reality show in the industry right now.

So even though joining the show was risky, famous celebrities still flocked to it one after another.

That’s also why Emily kept pestering the Anderson family until they let her debut on

this show.

On the male side, besides Ryan, the legend of the industry, and Chase, the popular idol, there was also Henry Howard, an award–winning actor in his forties who was a real powerhouse.

Then there was the champion from a boy band talent show, just eighteen years old, totally into parkour and extreme sports, and riding a wave of popularity right now.

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And there was Jason Smith, an actor under Anderson Group, who was basically brought in to look after and fawn over Emily, playing her leading man in a historical romance drama.

Just like Kayla on the female side, he was there to highlight Emily’s presence.

Then there was Nora Lynn, a mid–tier star who got her start in an overseas girl group. She looked like a total sweetheart, but deep down she was cool and fierce. She grew up learning opera and had some legit fighting skills.

And there was Bella Ferrell, the lead actress in a hit drama, who’d gained a ton of fans thanks to her strong female lead role.

This lineup was more than enough to keep the show trending.

So Darian didn’t turn down Emily and Whitney, the two non–celebrities.

Chapter 13 Trying to set up a persuna?

Even though Real Survival was a live show, there was no way they could broadcast 24/ 7 and not give the contestants any breathing room.

The live stream would end at 10 PM every night.

But because of the accident and heavy rain this afternoon, the live stream had been paused.

So the production team decided to extend tonight’s live stream until midnight. Darian grabbed a megaphone and shouted to the contestants, “Thanks to the heavy rain, you guys missed out on your dinner mission. No one’s had a single bite yet. “So tonight, your mission is simple: earn your dinner.

“Alright, time to split into teams. Head out across the wild island and hunt down as many ingredients as you can. We’ll rank you by how much you bring back.

“The top teams get first pick on trading with us for seasonings and cooking equipment.

“And for the team in last place, well, tough luck. You all are going to bed hungry tonight.”

The contestants immediately started wailing and complaining.

Everyone clutched their growling stomachs, grumbling about how ruthless the production team was.

One of them muttered, “No wonder the production team gave us that knowing look when we asked about dinner earlier.

“Guess they were setting us up for this all along.”

Darian, unfazed by their accusing stares, continued, “Supposedly for everyone’s safety, we’ll be using drones for tonight’s live stream.”

A few of the female contestants went pale. “No camera crew with us?”

Darian just smiled and shook his head. “Nope.”

One of the girls thought, ‘This isn’t about our safety at all.

‘Clearly, it’s all about making the show more dramatic.

‘Without a camera crew following us, there’s no one to make us feel safe.’

Darian kept smiling and said, “It’s 8:30 PM Centlandia Time. At 11 PM, the drones will guide you back here to regroup, so no one gets lost.”

The contestants just stared in silence.

Nora glanced at the pitch–black forest and rubbed her face. “You guys are so sly, saying it’s to keep us from getting lost, but really, you just want to scare us half to death!”

Chapter 13 Trying to set up a persona?

Darian’s eyes crinkled with a sly smile, like a fox. “How could that be?”

“Since this is what the production team decided, we should respect their arrangement,” Emily suddenly spoke up.

Emily glanced at Nora, her eyes shining. “None of us have any objections, so Nora, don‘ t overthink what the production team is doing. I’m sure they wouldn’t want any of us to get hurt.”

Anyone could see Emily was working hard to craft her image with those words.

She was trying to redeem herself after her reputation took a hit because of Whitney. She wanted everyone to see she was willing to follow the production team’s lead and face any challenge head–on.

And of course, Emily was low–key calling Nora out for being overly sensitive.

Nora’s face flushed with anger, her big, sweet eyes wide as she glared at Emily, cheeks puffed up with indignation.

She thought, ‘I was just joking around. Since when does that count as malicious speculation about the production team?‘

But seeing Chase standing right behind Emily, Nora decided to keep her mouth shut.

She didn’t dare talk back, not with Emily’s status hanging over her.

Kayla and Jason, of course, just nodded along, totally backing Emily up without a second thought.

Nora’s face turned even redder, her cheeks puffed up in frustration.

She let out a huff and turned her head away.

‘If I can’t afford to mess with them, I can just stay out of their way, Nora thought.

Just then, an icy, indifferent voice cut through the air. “Sorry, I have a question.”

The voice stood out sharply, breaking the moment.

Everyone turned to look.

Whitney stood there, her face calm, one hand lazily shoved in her pocket–she looked completely relaxed, with an inexplicable slyness about her.

Emily fixed her gaze on Whitney’s stunning face, a hint of jealousy flickering in her eyes, but her tone remained soft. “Whitney, I know you don’t like me, but I’m just trying to help everyone settle down and cooperate with the production team…”

As she spoke, she bit her lip in a show of grievance, looking all hurt and aggrieved.

Chase, still sore from the slap Whitney gave him earlier, said coldly, “Some people really need to stop letting their personal drama mess up the show for everyone else.” “Since I’m here for the show, of course I’ll follow the production team’s rules,” Whitney

Chapter 13 Trying to set up a persuna?

said, shooting them a frosty look. “If you know I don’t like you, then stay out of my way and don’t bother talking to me.”

With that, she turned to Darian. “Miss Lynn’s point is, if we’re just being watched by drones in pitch darkness, we can’t see a thing. Forget about hunting for ingredients. It‘ s way too easy for someone to get hurt out there.

“So, shouldn’t you guys at least give us some gear?”

Whitney’s tone was icy, her voice low but every word crisp and clear, making sure everyone heard her.

The other contestants immediately got the message and jumped in, complaining,” Yeah. Darian, at least give us some flashlights or something. You can’t seriously expect us to just grope our way through the dark, right?”

Darian was speechless.

He shot Whitney a long look, then nodded. “Alright, every contestant gets a flashlight.”

Since they were pairing up, that meant each team would have two flashlights.

At least they’d have some light.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Whitney added, “And we need raincoats and rain boots. After that heavy rain, the whole wild island is muddy and soaked.”

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