Trembling At A High Altitude

A few days later.

Having roughly understood the scoring rules, Li Teng and seven other extras sat in front of the café.

He didn't recognize any of these seven extras.

But the café...

It always felt like he had been here before.

At exactly noon.

A black car stopped in front of the café.

Two bodyguards in black suits stepped out first, followed by a tall, fair-skinned young man in formal attire and a wide-brimmed hat.

The young man wasn't wearing a mask and his movements were very graceful, giving off the impression of a Western noble.

Privately, Li Teng thought that the man would be perfect for the role of a vampire in a Western film.

Why does he look so familiar?

Had he seen him somewhere before?

"Hello, everyone, I am Liu Shiyuan. You can call me Director Liu or Brother Liu," the young man introduced himself to the eight extras.

"Hello, Director Liu!"

"Brother Liu, please take good care of us!"

The seven extras all tried to cozy up to the young man.

Li Teng hesitated and said nothing.

Liu Shiyuan scanned the group and paused slightly when his gaze fell on Li Teng, revealing a mysterious smile.

"Quiet down, everyone. Next, I'll briefly introduce the performance you're about to take part in," said Liu Shiyuan.

Liu Shiyuan continued to speak.

"The play you are about to perform in is called 'Race of Life and Death'."

"Soon, a vehicle will take you to the performance site.

"The performance site is a large stadium.

"You will be running a five-thousand-meter race there.

"This will determine how well you perform in the show.

"This is also your first performance in Film and Television City.

"So, please do your best to play your roles well.

"All right, without further ado, I'm sure you are all looking forward to it, right?

"Let's go!"

After Liu Shiyuan's brief explanation, a bus approached from the side of the street and stopped in front of them.

Everyone boarded the bus in turn.

The bus started and drove around the streets of Film and Television City for about half an hour, eventually stopping in front of the gates of a sports arena.

Under Liu Shiyuan's lead, everyone entered the sports arena.

The NPCs for the 'Race of Life and Death' performance, such as referees, had been waiting inside the sports arena.

"Brother Liu, this performance seems a bit unfair!"

As a chubby man stood at the starting line, he couldn't help but bring up his concerns to Liu Shiyuan, who was talking with a referee at the time.

"Oh? What's unfair about it?" Liu Shiyuan asked.

"Look at me, I'm so overweight. I hardly ever exercise and I've been starving these past few days. I'm so weak that I can barely run five hundred meters, let alone five thousand. There's no need for a competition; I'll surely come in last," the chubby man said, looking at Liu Shiyuan with a pleading expression.

"Aren't they the same as you? Starving for the past few days, being overweight is not a disadvantage! Because you're heavier, after starving for a few days, you have more residual energy than the others, you might even last longer than them.

"Furthermore, if you lack exercise, that's a personal issue of yours; it has nothing to do with fairness or unfairness,"

Liu Shiyuan responded to the overweight man.

"Sigh... but I really can't run!" the overweight man sighed.

"I can't run either," a frail woman spoke up.

"At my age, is it appropriate for me to run with these young people?" an elderly man also chimed in.

"Can we not run that far? Five kilometers is too hard," a few other extras spoke up.

"If you don't want to run, then drop out! However, I must remind you that the first one to drop out will end up in last place; think it over carefully. Everyone get ready, the referee is about to fire the starting gun," Liu Shiyuan added a few words and then walked to the side and stood still.

"On your marks...bang!"

The referee quickly fired the starting gun.

Eight extras scrambled to the front, vying to run ahead.

Li Teng, who had been silent until now, ran to the front, while the overweight man indeed fell to the back, and the frail woman managed to stay in the middle of the pack.

The track was about four hundred meters for one circuit.

The overweight man hadn't completed a single lap when his face turned pale, he gasped for breath, and he had to stop, resting his hands on his knees and struggling to support his body.

"Keep it up!" Liu Shiyuan cheered the overweight man from outside the track.

"Director, Brother Liu, would it break any rules if I lay down on the track?" the overweight man asked Liu Shiyuan. He simply couldn't hold on any longer and wanted to give up, but doing so would mean finishing last.

He decided to try to stay on the track as long as possible; maybe someone else would drop out before he did?

"You can pretend to fall and not be able to get up; that wouldn't break any rules," Liu Shiyuan thought for a moment and then answered the overweight man.

"Thank you, Brother Liu," the overweight man quickly ran a few more steps and then collapsed on the track.

Afterward, he lay face up on the ground.

Lying down was so much more comfortable!

Before long, the overweight man saw someone approaching on the track behind him.

"I'm supposed to be the last one, why is there someone behind me?" the overweight man raised his head to look.

He noticed a young man running toward him, who seemed to be named Li Teng from the earlier introductions?

Looking at his facial expression, he was clearly in discomfort, but his eyes were determined, seemingly prepared to finish the entire distance?

It was a long time after Li Teng passed that another person ran by.

It was the elderly man, who appeared to exercise regularly despite his age, resulting in the second-best stamina.

"Young man, why are you lying down?" the elderly man ran to the overweight man's side, already pale and panting heavily; he had presumably run about eight hundred meters, reaching his second lap, and was close to his limit.

Using the conversation with the overweight man as a chance to stop, he slowed down, trying to keep his body upright.

"Old sir, you can pretend to fall and then lie down on the track to rest for a while. I asked the director, and it's not against the rules," the overweight man kindly informed the elderly man.

"Mmm, I do need a rest," the elderly man staggered a few steps, then lay down beside the overweight man.

Soon, others also lay down following the overweight man's suggestion.

After a while, those lying on the ground saw Li Teng running past them again.

"Which lap is he on now?"

"The third lap, right?"

"Could it be that he intends to complete the whole five kilometers?"

"He's really pushing it! After starving for a few days, if you run five kilometers, I doubt anyone would hold up."

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

"I have a proposal, why don't we discuss this and convince him to stop running? Then all of us can lie down here together. If no one reaches the finish line, they can't decide the winner, and without a winner, there's no last place, right?" the overweight man suggested to the others.