235: Chapter 235 This guy is the number one cheater in the Chinese server!

The next day.

The forty-seven-word resolution draft from the United Nations dominated global media headlines.

"Oil Hegemony Tournament: The Highest-Stakes Reality Show in Human History!"

YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok completely exploded.

Netizens from countries predominantly populated by The Caucasian and Black people started a carnival party.

[ This rule was tailor-made for us! ]

[ When it comes to physique and strength, if North America claims second, who dares to claim first? ]

[ I strongly suggest changing the rules to pure hand-to-hand combat! We have The Rock! We have Tyson! ]

[ East Asians with that kind of physique going to participate in a survival game? To play as NPCs? ]

[ They probably can't even carry a thirty-kilogram backpack, right? ]

The official media of the East acted extremely quickly.

In the early hours of the next day, a registration website with a red background was simultaneously launched across all major platforms.

The rules were simple and brutal.

Any verified public figure with over 15 million followers across all platforms could apply.

Below it followed three lines of bold red warning text.

[ Selected participants must undergo three months of fully enclosed, ultra-high-intensity militarized special training. ]

[ The competition process carries an extremely high risk of death or disability. The organizers only provide basic rescue, and the risk of unforeseen danger is extremely high. ]

[ Registration requires signing a life-or-death waiver; serious inquiries only. ]

The registration period was three days.

The training list would be announced in one week.

The domestic internet instantly boiled over.

Big V's, celebrities, and influencers with tens of millions of followers, who usually jumped around on the trending searches more happily than anyone, were all silent now.

Netizens started frantically tagging various celebrities.

[ Where are those brothers and sisters who buy trending searches every day to brag about their dedication? Come out and walk a few steps! ]

[ Can those traffic celebrities who go to the emergency room for a paper cut dare to sign a life-or-death waiver? ]

[ Entertainment celebrities can't do this job; we have to look to our sports circles. ]

[ Can we send the national football team there? Even if they don't get a ranking, at least they can work on their physical fitness! ]

[ Seconded! If the national football team goes, I'll donate a month's salary for their travel expenses! ]

[ Forget the national football team; don't go abroad and embarrass us. What if they can't even pass the first level? ]

One week later.

At 8:00 PM.

The Ministry of National Defense's official website and major official media outlets simultaneously released a list of sixty people for the special training.

Thirty men, thirty women.

All were top-tier figures from various industries.

Olympic weightlifting champions, Sanda kings, and extreme sports bloggers.

Those from the entertainment industry accounted for less than one-fifth, and they were all talented actors who usually portrayed tough guys or action heroines.

Netizens scrolled to the bottom of the list.

The last line for female contestants: Jiang Rumu.

The entire internet exploded.

[ Holy crap! Queen Jiang is actually going?! ]

[ She's a wealthy heiress; why is she joining in on this deadly commotion?! ]

[ This involves signing a life-or-death waiver! Is she crazy?! ]

Netizens started frantically searching the list for another name.

They flipped through it from beginning to end three times.

Nothing.

The person could not be found.

Weibo trending search number one instantly dropped: #Li Li Absent#

Followed immediately by: #Li Li Coward#.

The comment section was immediately overrun.

[ He usually acts so high and mighty in reality shows, but when he encounters a life-threatening job, he turns into a coward hiding in his shell? ]

[ When he received the August 1st Medal before, I thought he was a hidden big shot, but it turns out he's a fraud! ]

[ Queen Jiang's taste is truly something; she found a gigolo who can only share the good times but not the hardships. ]

[ I feel bad for Jiang Rumu; she's risking her life while her boyfriend hides in the orphanage farming. ]

[ What kind of man is he! I'm unfollowing! ]

[ Does this kind of coward deserve to represent the East? Get off the internet! ]

Chengdu, Mount Qingcheng.

Li Li sat on the ridge of a field, holding a black rubber hose, watering tomato seedlings.

A phone stand was set up next to him.

A 24-hour global uninterrupted live stream was underway.

The chat was full of people scolding him.

Various languages were mixed together, densely covering the screen, making it impossible to even see his face.

Li Li didn't even look up.

Jiang Rumu, wearing camouflage and carrying a thirty-kilogram tactical backpack, ran down from the mountain path.

Sweat dripped down her chin, hitting the yellow soil and creating dark muddy spots.

Her steps were unsteady, and her chest heaved violently.

Walking to the edge of the field, she unbuckled the straps and threw the backpack onto the ground.

It kicked up a cloud of dust.

She took out her phone; the screen lit up with notifications, all of which were trending topics scolding Li Li.

Her thumb jabbed forcefully at the screen.

Li Li turned off the faucet.

"Boss Jiang, take a break. Don't argue with the netizens."

Jiang Rumu didn't stop.

"They can scold me."

"But they can't scold you."

She switched to her main Weibo account and posted an update.

[ I'm willing to do it; mind your own business. ]

The attached image was of Li Li's back as he squatted on the ground watering.

The entire internet was now in a complete frenzy.

[ Her love-struck brain is beyond saving! ]

[ What kind of spell did this man cast on her?! ]

[ You can't save someone determined to die; I wish you two a lifetime together! ]

10:00 PM.

The top ten trending searches were all occupied by negative topics about Li Li.

The official account of the central media suddenly posted a long article.

It was the highest-level notification on the entire internet.

There was no extra nonsense.

Only two images and a paragraph of text.

[ Regarding the recent online controversy over the selection of the East's representative team for the Oil Hegemony Tournament, we hereby issue this statement. ]

[ Our country's first confirmed team for the competition has officially completed registration today. ]

[ Male contestant: Li Li. Female contestant: Jiang Rumu. ]

[ Because some of the initiating countries of the tournament (USA, Israel) were extremely wary of Comrade Li Li's personal abilities, they strongly obstructed his participation multiple times during the preliminary closed-door meetings. ]

[ After much negotiation, the other side proposed an extremely unreasonable additional condition: Comrade Li Li is strictly prohibited from participating in any form of physical or tactical special training within the three months leading up to the competition. ]

[ Furthermore, he must accept 24-hour, no-blind-spot global live monitoring to ensure he has no militarized preparations. ]

[ In order to consider the bigger picture, Comrade Li Li has accepted the above harsh conditions. ]

[ The reason Comrade Li Li is not on the special training list is that he has been forced to forfeit his eligibility for special training. ]

[ Saluting every warrior who fights for the country. ]

The entire internet.

Dead silence.

For a full five minutes.

The refresh rate of the comment sections on all major platforms was zero.

Netizens' brains collectively crashed.

Then, the servers faced an unprecedented flood of traffic.

[ ?????? ]

[ Am I blind, or was the official account hacked?! ]

[ The US and Israel... extremely wary?! ]

[ Wary of a layman who came out of a Dating Reality Show?! ]

[ To keep him from training, they forced him to live stream 24 hours a day?! What kind of absurd targeting is this?! ]

[ Case closed! That F-35 in Okinawa was definitely flown back by him! Otherwise, the US wouldn't be so afraid of him! ]

[ I'm sorry, Dean Li! I was scolding too loudly just now! I'll slap myself! ]

[ One person forced two superpowers to change the rules! This is literally a hacker in real life! ]

[ Queen Jiang isn't love-struck either! She's going on a campaign for her husband! ]

[ It's getting fired up, damn it! I'm locking this CP in, I've swallowed the key! ]

[ To make a superpower so afraid that they won't even let him do push-ups, what kind of heaven-defying things has Li Li done?! ]

The foreign internet exploded simultaneously.

Twenty million East netizens instantly poured into the YouTube live stream room.

[ Come to watch the monkey! Let's see what the man who scared the wits out of the US is doing! ]

Foreign netizens also frantically poured in.

On screen.

Li Li was wearing a white tank top that cost nine-point-nine including shipping.

He was squatting in the yard.

Holding a large cattail leaf fan in his hand.

Fanning a coal stove.

A pot of pork rib soup was stewing on the stove, bubbling and steaming.

Xiao Chai was wagging its tail nearby, leaning in to lick the ash on the stove.

Li Li kicked the dog away.

The foreign netizens' screens were full of question marks.

[ This is the East's secret weapon?! ]

[ What is he doing? Is he performing some kind of mysterious Eastern ritual?! ]

[ He looks like he couldn't even beat a chicken! ]

[ Did our country's top brass lose their minds? Defending against this kind of person?! ]

The White House.

The Oval Office.

President Trump stared at Li Li on the screen, who was fanning himself.

Mark stood in front of the desk.

"Sir, the East's official media has made our conditions public."

President Trump grabbed the pen on the desk.

He snapped it with force.

Snap.

It broke into two pieces.

"Idiots!"

"Who told you to propose those conditions!"

"Now the whole world knows we're afraid of a cook from the East!"

Mark lowered his head.

"This was strongly requested by the representative from Israel."

"They said that even letting Li Li do ten more push-ups would be irresponsible to the lives of the other countries' contestants."

President Trump slammed the half-pen onto the table.

"Fuck!"

Orphanage.

Li Li ladled the cooked pork rib soup into a thermal container.

He tightened the lid.

He carried the container and walked to the camera.

He leaned close to the camera.

His left canine tooth was exposed.

"USA, Israel."

"Three months later."

"Wash your necks clean and wait for me."

He turned and walked toward the back mountain.

The night fell.

The wind on the back of Mount Qingcheng carried a chill.

Jiang Rumu sat on the hillside.

Sweat dripped from her chin onto her camouflage uniform, staining it a dark color.

Li Li walked over.

He placed the thermal container on her lap.

Jiang Rumu unscrewed the lid.

It was steaming hot.

The aroma of pork ribs drifted out.

She looked up.

Li Li pointed to the mountain path in the distance.

"Finish this bucket."

"Thirty-kilogram weighted, plus a five-kilometer night run."