Chapter 603: The Drone Deploys! |
Downstairs in the hot spring area, Hu Pei was already preparing to have the program team pack up and leave, freeing up space for other rescue personnel.
However, considering that Wu Chuyi was still conducting search and rescue in the pine forest, he kept a small group waiting in place.
Just then, he suddenly heard the hum of propellers coming from not far behind him.
The sound instantly told him a drone was approaching.
Hu Pei turned his head in shock. “Did the rescue team get up here this fast?”
Then he spotted a familiar young man standing nearby.
The young man was casually dressed in cargo pants, with a black fleece jacket thrown on, holding a computer in his hands, and was currently expressionlessly controlling two drones in front of him.
“Tea… Teacher Xiao?”
Hu Pei was stunned. He was about to tell the nearby cameraman to start recording when he realized the program team’s photographer had already beat him to it, standing not far from Xiao He and filming.
But this time, he did a fantastic job!
With this footage captured, how could he worry that this episode wouldn’t be a massive hit?
As the final instructions were input, the two drones slowly rose in front of everyone, gradually blending into the night sky. Only the faint sound of their rotors still proved their existence.
Finally, Xiao He looked away from the computer, his gaze distant as it swept over the distant snowy mountains and the darkness. He tapped the enter key—
“Swoosh, swoosh—”
A gust of wind swept by, and the two drones flew completely out of sight.
Xiao He’s expression was so serious that Hu Pei didn’t dare to approach him. Only after the drones had flown far away did he cautiously take the cameraman to check Xiao He’s computer screen, hoping to see the drone’s footage—
But to their surprise, Xiao He’s screen wasn’t displaying the standard drone control interface. Instead, it was filled with lines of jumping code.
“Huh?”
Hu Pei was taken aback, swallowing hard, and asked in confusion, “Teacher Xiao, why isn’t there a drone control interface on your screen?”
“Real-time image transmission is too inefficient and drains a lot of power. The signal might not be stable either, so I modified the underlying code of these two drones. I set up a temporary AI system specifically for snow rescue. It handles the search and calculations itself, coordinating and dividing the work. By analyzing biological heat sources and movement patterns, it can identify regional biological traits and provide simultaneous feedback. This makes the search and rescue operation faster and more efficient.”
Since the drones were working on their own, Xiao He patiently explained everything to Hu Pei.
Hu Pei was utterly stunned.
Although Hu Pei didn’t understand code or computers, he had friends who flew drones and knew how difficult snow rescue could be.
Yet in Xiao He’s words, these challenges seemed to melt away, no longer posing any real problem.
For the first time, Hu Pei looked at Xiao He with genuine admiration. “Teacher Xiao, why did you ever think of joining the entertainment industry?”
Hu Pei knew Xiao He’s resume well. Xiao He was a computer science graduate from Hu University.
At first, Hu Pei had assumed Xiao He’s computer skills were just average, not as impressive as his star power. But now, seeing Xiao He’s code in action, he truly understood just how exceptional Xiao He was.
This kind of excellence meant Xiao He could succeed even if he weren’t a celebrity.
At this moment, Hu Pei felt a deep, sharp regret—regret for not pushing harder, for not insisting that Xiao He become a permanent cast member of this season’s *Journey Across Mountains and Rivers*.
This was the true “MVP All-Rounder”!
What had he been missing out on!
Hu Pei subtly pressed his hand to his heart, comforting himself that next season there would still be a chance. Next time, he would cling to Xiao He’s leg and beg, if that was what it took, to get him as a permanent guest.
As for that Wu Chuyi guy?
Oh please, who was still going to play along with that arrogant kid? It was all just for the persona—why did he take it so seriously!
Looking at the reassuring Xiao He in front of him, and thinking about Wu Chuyi who insisted on going up the mountain with others, Hu Pei’s heart ached even more.
Meanwhile, the people on the mountain weren’t doing well either.
—
“I can’t go on… I can’t climb anymore.”
The short-haired girl stopped on the cliffside, her voice trembling.
“Wuwu… I want to go home—”
Another girl also stopped, tugging at the other’s clothes. “Hang in there a little longer. Once we get over this side, we can go down the mountain. Don’t give up.”
“But I’m so cold, and my hands hurt so much, wuwu—”
The short-haired girl completely broke down, sobbing so hard her hands were shaking.
The two paparazzi at the front also stopped.
“Oh, I told you from the start we shouldn’t have brought these two along.”
The taller, thinner paparazzi grumbled in complaint.
The other paparazzi, wearing a cap, also grew impatient and shouted back, “You two were the ones who begged to come along. Now what are you crying for? Hurry up and climb. Unless you want to spend the night on this snowy mountain? Then we’ll just go on ahead.”
Actually, the whole thing wasn’t that complicated.
These two paparazzi had long been infamous in the industry circle for being unscrupulous. For money, they would dare to photograph anything. Their most notorious achievement in the circle was lurking in the wilderness to secretly film a male celebrity using the restroom, then selling the footage for a sky-high price to one of his stalker fans.
They had absolutely no morals or professionalism.
Because of this, regular fans never contacted them and even wished they could tear them apart. The only people who reached out and traded with them were the most obsessive stalker fans in the circle. So, to put it bluntly, it was a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
As for the two girls following behind them, no need to guess—they were Wu Chuyi’s stalker fans.
Originally, the two paparazzi had heard there was a slope nearby where they could slide down on their butts and reach the back mountain of the hot spring hotel. So, they planned to give it a try and see if they could score big—capturing first-hand footage of the stars soaking in the hot springs. If they could also shoot something that couldn’t be broadcast, even better. One trip down, and they could live off the profits for three years.
As for the two girls, they were the pre-ordered buyers for these paparazzi.
But when they heard about the paparazzi’s plan, the two girls got excited too. After a quick discussion, they decided to pay the paparazzi an extra sum to take them along.
They wanted to see their idol soaking in the hot springs with their own eyes.
The girls who made this request were, of course, naive and foolish. They had completely overlooked the dangers and terror of this trip. And the two paparazzi, being money-grubbing opportunists, didn’t even consider the safety issues once they heard the girls were offering a hefty reward. They just put their heads together and brought them along.
And now look at the result.
Sliding down the slope on their butts hadn’t been dangerous at all. They thought they were lucky, breezing through it. But when it came time to climb back up with their bare hands, they finally understood how hard it was.
On top of that, visibility was terrible at night. Unlike the big city with lights reflecting everywhere, they only had the flashlight they brought and the moonlight above.
It wasn’t much different from groping in the dark.
After a while of walking and stopping, the two girls finally couldn’t go any further. They collapsed onto a large rock.
As for the two paparazzi ahead, whether intentionally or not, they kept walking farther and farther away, seemingly unaware that the two behind them had stopped. They just kept moving forward with their heads down.
By the time one of the girls tried to beg them to stop and wait, the two paparazzi had already completely disappeared into the vast darkness.
At that moment, both girls’ faces turned pale. They belatedly realized they had now reached a dead end.