Chapter 36: The Anaconda Disaster – Starting with Scoundrels

[The player has successfully entered the world of Anaconda (1997).

Role: A host personally invited by the female lead, Terri, to accompany her expedition in search of the Shirishama tribe.

Mission: Be killed by the BOSS.]

At the edge of the Amazon rainforest, the sky was an almost painful shade of blue, with not a single cloud to soften the blazing white sun overhead.

Women sat beneath shelters woven from palm leaves, stitching fishing nets with bone needles while fanning themselves with banana leaves and chatting idly.

The heat was unbearable. Warm, humid air clung to every inch of skin.

The men simply went shirtless, revealing bronze-toned bodies as they lounged at the open-air bar, drinking lazily.

It was an ordinary day, until a boy stepped out of an otherwise unremarkable taxi.

Immediately, every eye turned toward him.

“Oh my God!” the bartender exclaimed excitedly, nudging the man beside him. “Hyman, look!”

The man swirled the drink in his glass with little interest and cast a casual glance over his shoulder.

“What the hell…”

He stood up at once, his burning gaze locking onto the newcomer.

The boy wore nothing more than a simple T-shirt and shorts, exposing soft, flawless pale arms and legs. His blue eyes were clearer than the brilliant sky itself, and his black hair looked fluffy and silky, perfectly matching his gentle appearance.

Because of the region’s climate and heritage, nearly everyone living around the Amazon had sun-darkened skin. Amid them, the boy looked like a marshmallow dropped into a pile of chocolate, hopelessly out of place and impossible not to notice.

The worst part was that he seemed completely unaware of the attention he attracted.

If someone handed him something, he thanked them politely. If it looked interesting, he took a bite. If it didn’t, he still accepted it courteously instead of throwing it away.

He had almost no sense of caution.

Hyman’s throat tightened.

Draining his glass in one gulp, he strode over and blocked the boy’s path.

“Hi, sweetheart. Why are you here all alone?”

Faced with the shameless flirt, Jiang Shulan had no interest in responding.

[System, turn off the translator. I’m speaking Chinese.]

Holding onto his backpack strap with one hand, he waved politely with the other.

“Hello. I don’t speak English. Could you please move?”

No matter what the man said, Jiang Shulan pretended not to understand.

Tilting his head apologetically, he shook it.

“I need to find my friend. Goodbye.”

He tried to walk around him, but the man casually extended an arm and blocked his way again.

“Can’t I at least have your name?”

Jiang Shulan shook his head, growing irritated.

If the man’s arm hadn’t been thicker than his thigh, he would already have rolled his eyes and run off.

Fortunately, he realized the man genuinely couldn’t understand Chinese.

“You’re so annoying, you creep! Want my name? I’ll give you a punch instead!”

Outwardly, though, he maintained the image of a helpless foreigner who couldn’t understand a word.

“Please move. Don’t make me hit you.”

No one nearby understood Chinese either.

Seeing such a beautiful boy seemingly in trouble, several locals hurried over, perhaps hoping to rescue him, and maybe earn themselves an unforgettable romantic encounter.

“Hey, bro,” one villager began, intending to persuade the stranger to leave.

Then he recognized him.

“…Hyman?”

The boy glanced toward him with pleading eyes.

His heart skipped a beat.

But this was Hyman.

“Sorry for interrupting. Carry on.”

The villager immediately fled.

Jiang Shulan sighed helplessly.

Lowering his head, he covered his eyes with one arm and unleashed his ultimate survival technique…

Pretending to cry.

A wise person knew when to yield.

Unexpectedly, the man stopped talking.

Just as Jiang Shulan thought the strategy had worked again, something cool touched his wrist.

Hyman had somehow slipped a bracelet onto him.

Mistakenly believing Jiang Shulan truly couldn’t understand English, he even gestured that he wasn’t allowed to remove it.

Jiang Shulan nodded obediently.

The moment he had the chance, he bolted.

Flexible and adaptable, that was one of his strengths.

Anyone waiting for Hyman to leave so they could approach the beautiful newcomer immediately abandoned the idea.

A passerby muttered, “Isn’t he just some boat captain? Why’s everyone so scared of him?”

“You have no idea. He’s the eldest son of the ** Group. He came here just for entertainment. Make him happy and he might hand you a villa. Make him angry, and because his family invests in construction, transportation, and heavy machinery, he can make sure you never find work anywhere.”

“I’ve even heard rumors their family is involved in… this.”

The speaker pressed his thumb and index finger together like the shape of a gun against his forehead.

“…Got it.”

The passerby shrugged and wisely gave up.

“Hey, Shu! Over here!”

The documentary director, Terri, had long chestnut hair, sharply defined features, slightly arched brows, and focused eyes that radiated fierce determination.

Jiang Shulan’s eyes lit up.

Jogging over, he greeted her in fluent English.

“Hey, Terri. You’re even prettier than you looked in our video calls.”

“Thank you.”

Terri led him aboard the boat and introduced everyone as they walked through the cabins.

“This is Kale, my boyfriend. That’s Danny, our cameraman. And this is Warren, who’ll be co-hosting the documentary with you.”

A short-haired woman smiled and stepped forward.

“Hi. I’m Denise, the producer. And this is my boyfriend, Gary, our sound engineer.”

“Hang on.”

Jiang Shulan pulled out his phone and pretended to check a message.

“I just need to confirm I came here to host a documentary and not to compete in a beauty pageant.”

How was everyone this ridiculously attractive?

Oddly enough…

It made him feel safer.

His remark drew laughter from everyone present.

Terri then led him into the wheelhouse.

“We also hired a guide named Mateo. And our captain is… Hyman…”

The moment Jiang Shulan stepped inside, he froze.

He turned to leave immediately.

Behind him came the man’s amused voice.

“Sweetheart, I’m Hyman. Your captain.”

Your.

Both “your captain” and “the captain belonging to you.”

Terri looked between them.

“You two know each other?”

Jiang Shulan blinked with innocent blue eyes.

“Nope. Don’t know him. Never met him. No idea what you’re talking about.”

“Sweetheart, stop pretending.”

Hyman smiled knowingly.

“I heard every single word you said when you greeted everyone earlier.”

His expression slowly lost its humor.

“Every. Single. Word.”

With heavy brows, a high nose bridge, thin lips, and a sharply defined jawline, his naturally stern features looked especially intimidating when he wasn’t smiling.

After thinking desperately for several seconds, Jiang Shulan managed only one response.

“…Oh.”

Terri understood immediately.

The two had obviously had some kind of disagreement.

That wasn’t ideal for the expedition ahead.

But since Jiang Shulan clearly didn’t want to discuss it, she decided to ask her boyfriend instead.

Seeing her leave, Jiang Shulan hurried after her.

Hyman didn’t follow.

Fine by him.

Quietly slipping a hand into his pocket, Jiang Shulan discovered that his wrist was bare.

The bracelet was gone.

Growing up in southern China, he had rarely seen tropical vegetation. At first he remained distracted by the awkward encounter with Hyman, but before long he became absorbed in the rainforest’s scenery.

The weather was gorgeous.

Sunlight streamed through the open window beside his bed, illuminating the dense greenery outside.

He picked up his phone to record a video.

Suddenly, another hand entered the frame.

Without the slightest hesitation, it took the phone from him.

Then, with practiced familiarity, it opened his contacts list and carefully examined every saved name.

Only after confirming there was no suspicious person did it hand the phone back.

The entire sequence happened so smoothly that Jiang Shulan’s brain completely shut down.

By the time he recovered his senses, a new contact had already been added.

The name read,

“Husband.”

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