Fake heiress tore up the script, acted lazy and dumb, and got eliminated.

Chapter 24: Woke Up Too Hard, Volcano's A$$ Wants to Puke

An hour earlier.

Just as the sky began to brighten, Chi Fengxiao rubbed his hair and climbed down from his hammock—only to find his hand soaked.

"Did it rain last night?" He looked confused, until a cold drop hit his head.

He looked up.

Right above him loomed a snake's head—huge, creepy, and staring at him like a sleazy uncle—mouth wide open, dripping saliva.

"F**k!!! Snake! Run!!!"

Chi Fengxiao's scream jolted everyone awake. He scooped up Chi Qian from her hammock and bolted.

The rest of the group caught one glimpse and nearly went into cardiac arrest, fleeing in terror.

Chi Fengxiao carried Chi Qian like a pro sprinter—long legs pumping, breathing only lightly after ten minutes of running.

Meanwhile, Chi Qian slept soundly in his arms, unmoving, dead to the world.

Sometimes, Chi Fengxiao genuinely admired her ability to sleep through literal death threats.

If they weren't running for their lives, he'd absolutely call her a rock.

"Uncle, go that way," Chi Qian muttered, still nestled in his arms, pointing lazily.

"You're finally awake," he growled, turning sharply. "I've been carrying you for miles!"

Chi Qian yawned, "The hammock was too small. I didn't sleep well. What's wrong with using Uncle as a free bed for a bit?"

Chi Fengxiao: "You're really treating me like furniture, huh?"

A bear's roar echoed through the trees.

They looked back—last night's bear and the snake were locked in combat, seemingly covering their escape.

Eventually, they escaped to flat ground, breathing heavily.

"Where are we?"

"No idea. Too busy running."

Everyone collapsed, exhausted.

Chi Fengxiao was pale from the effort. Chi Qian got off him, took out a lollipop, and shoved it in his mouth. "Quick, suck on this."

He blinked. "You saved this?"

"Mm-hmm. Grandpa said you've got low blood sugar."

That sweetness exploded in his mouth. So she'd picked this lollipop for him?

Everyone saw Chi Qian as a spoiled, reckless girl—but if you weren't someone she cared about, you'd never see how thoughtful she really was.

Such a good niece...

"Uncle, feeling better? Great. Time to get to work."

Chi Fengxiao: "..." So that lollipop was just a down payment?

"What now?"

"The snake's got a strong sense of smell. It'll come back."

That sentence turned everyone green.

"And," Chi Qian added, "it might've eaten people before."

How did she know?

Because she couldn't communicate with it—meaning it wasn't just a wild animal anymore.

"If there's a volcano nearby," Gu Hua said, sniffing, "I think I smell sulfur."

Qin Yue wrinkled his nose. "Smells like rotten eggs."

"Let's head up," said Ling Qian. "That snake won't follow us onto a volcano."

The others turned to Chi Qian. "What do you think?"

She waved it off. "Running won't work. We'll have to make gunpowder and blast the thing."

Ling Qian sneered, "You think you can just make gunpowder like that? Don't blow yourself up trying to act tough."

Chi Qian smiled sweetly, "If I pull it off, you kneel, call me Dad, and give me three kowtows?"

Gu Hua rushed to defend him, "He's just worried about you, Qian."

"Worried? Then go lick a toilet."

Ling Qian dragged Gu Hua off. "Let's go. Let her get herself killed."

Once the annoying people left, Chi Qian laid it out: "Volcano means we can find saltpeter and sulfur. Add charcoal... boom. That's your basic gunpowder."

"You guys find the materials. I'll do the rest."

Chi Fengxiao blinked. "You're seriously making gunpowder?"

She nodded, deadly serious. "Fist fights take too long. Blowing things up is efficient. Then..."

"Then we can look for the safehouse?" Shen Jing asked.

Chi Qian: "No, then we can eat breakfast. I'm starving."

Chi Fengxiao: "..." Of course.

As expected, the snake came back, bloody and furious.

Chi Fengxiao lured it into a trap. Once it fell into the pit, Shen Jing lit the fuse.

BOOM.

BOOM BOOM.

Explosions rattled the earth.

When Chi Qian peeked in, the snake was fried to a crisp—still twitching.

She didn't hesitate. Threw a sharpened bamboo spear and nailed its skull.

Dead for real.

And the air?

Smelled... kinda tasty.

"Hey, does snake meat taste good?" she asked curiously.

The Shen family shuddered. No. Just... no.

Chi Fengxiao slapped a hand over her mouth. "NO. YOU. MAY. NOT."

[OMG that was badass!!! That snake was THICC, and these four people just nuked it to hell!]
[It was all Chi Qian's plan—lure, trap, calculate blast radius... any step wrong, and they'd all be toast.]
[You monster! It's already burned to a crisp, and you still want to eat it?!]
[Let her eat it! Let her eat it! Kids don't learn unless they suffer!]

Chi Fengxiao dragged her away before she could jump into the pit and take a bite.

They found a hot spring at the base of the volcano.

Too hot for bathing, but good enough to cook a quick breakfast. Everyone rested.

Chi Qian, meanwhile, sat on a rock carving wood like she was playing Jenga.

Then they started climbing.

From the height, they might spot the hidden safehouse.

But halfway up—

Chi Qian stopped. "Don't move forward."

"What's wrong?"

"This volcano... it's about to erupt."

Shen Jing looked shocked. "This one's dormant. It hasn't—"

Before he could finish, the ground shook.

Chi Fengxiao: "RUN!"

Above, Gu Hua's group screamed in terror.

They'd gone all the way to the crater to give their livestream audience a scenic tour of nature's deadly beauty.

And then—

The volcano woke up too hard and its a$$ decided to puke.