66: The principle of priority occupation, the impending crisis

At this moment, in the high-level conference room of Japan, the atmosphere was eerie and fanatical.

"These Huaguo people simply don't understand how to enjoy a top-grade Grouper Fish; it's practically a waste of a heavenly gift!"

An official with an exaggerated Little Mustache shouted with a face full of disdain, spittle flying everywhere.

"They simply don't deserve to possess such good resources; sooner or later, these will all be in Japan's pocket!"

Another person chimed in, their eyes revealing greed and arrogance.

"Contestant Meichuan Neiku has already received our instructions. Soon, those resources will fall into our hands."

Someone else added triumphantly, as if victory was already within their grasp.

"News has also come from the Pretty Country side; their contestant Kalba will assist us in our actions."

"Hahahahaha..."

A burst of nauseating, wild laughter echoed through this gaudily decorated conference room filled with an eerie style.

They stared intently at Lu Fan's livestream room on the screen, their greedy eyes wishing they could directly plunder the resources within.

They kept slandering the Huaguo people, making no secret of their covetousness for those precious resources.

Meanwhile, in the Pretty Country on the other side of the globe, the populace had fallen into a state of frantic excitement.

Because their highly anticipated contestant, Kalba, was about to arrive at the upper reaches of the river Lu Fan had previously discovered.

The entire Pretty Country instantly boiled over, with major media outlets reporting the matter in headlines as if they had already incorporated the entire river into their own territory.

On the streets, people cheered and jumped for joy; in bars, the sound of beer bottles clinking was heard one after another, as everyone celebrated this upcoming "victory" in advance.

Kalba, the tall white contestant, was striding confidently toward that river.

The scene of himself being hailed as a hero by the entire nation after triggering the ten thousand times rebate had already surfaced in his mind; the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously, revealing a smug smile.

At this time, the people of Huaguo also noticed this news.

"What? The Pretty Country contestant also found that river?"

"Doesn't that mean they might also trigger the ten thousand times rebate?"

"Damn it, Great God Lu Fan's livestream must have exposed the river's location earlier."

"This group of insidious and cunning fellows is actually plagiarizing the fruits of our Great God Lu Fan's labor!"

The Huaguo high-level officials quickly convened an emergency meeting to actively discuss and prepare for any emergencies.

In previous years, in order to compete with Huaguo in technology, the Pretty Country had mined resources without restraint, leading to severe pollution of their domestic water sources.

Once they were allowed to catch their breath by obtaining a large amount of water resources through triggering the ten thousand times rebate, it was highly likely they would take unfavorable actions against Huaguo.

Finally, under the gaze of the whole world, Kalba arrived at the riverside.

He stood on the bank, straightened his back, and declared loudly: "Now, I, Kalba, am about to create history here and make the Pretty Country the biggest winner of this Wilderness Survival!"

Having said that, he impatiently began searching for so-called "resources" by the river, attempting to trigger the ten thousand times rebate.

However, as time passed minute by minute, Kalba's expression became increasingly unsightly.

He turned over every stone by the river, parted every patch of grass, and even jumped into the river to feel around, but he never received the long-awaited Wilderness Survival Announcement.

The Pretty Country audience also shifted from initial excitement to growing tension, with barrage comments in the livestream room rolling frantically.

"What's going on? Why hasn't the rebate triggered yet?"

"Kalba, hurry up!"

"Is there a problem with the Wilderness Survival system?"

"It must be because he hasn't drunk any water. Kalba, try drinking some water quickly!"

Just then, the cold and impartial announcement voice of the Wilderness Survival system rang out in livestream rooms across the world.

[Wilderness Survival Announcement]

[The same resource can only be triggered by the first person to discover it]

"The same resource can only have its rebate triggered by the first person." This short sentence was like a heavy bomb, instantly shattering the Pretty Country's beautiful dream.

On the streets of the Pretty Country, the previously cheering crowds fell silent instantly, leaving only a dead stillness.

People stared blankly at the phones or television screens in their hands, their faces filled with disbelief.

In bars, some people angrily smashed their wine glasses against the walls; the sound of breaking glass accompanied by people's curses echoed throughout the entire city.

And in the Pretty Country's conference room, the laughter of several high-level officials also came to an abrupt halt, their expressions frozen in that moment, filled with shock and anger.

"How is this possible?!" One of them suddenly stood up and slammed the documents in his hand hard onto the floor.

"The Huaguo people and this Wilderness Survival system must have colluded; this is absolutely unfair!" another person jumped up and shouted loudly, trying to find an excuse for their failure.

Meanwhile, the Huaguo livestream room was extraordinarily lively, a scene of jubilation.

"Hahahaha, let those guys try to steal a chicken only to lose the rice!"

"Great God Lu Fan is mighty! Being the first to discover it is just awesome!"

"Let's see if they still dare to look down on us Huaguo people!"

"Discovery by the first person—isn't this the Principle of Prior Occupation? Hahaha!"

Netizens expressed their joy and pride in the barrage comments one after another; the entire Huaguo was immersed in a sea of happiness.

But soon, some attentive netizens discovered a problem.

"I just realized that this Kalba was heading for the river from the very beginning."

"Right, starting from the second day after Great God Lu Fan triggered the ten thousand times rebate, he abandoned his Shelter and headed toward the river."

"He is currently at the upper reaches of the river, while Great God Lu Fan is at the lower reaches."

"According to the previous analysis by that 'Geography Expert' god, Kalba is definitely no more than 100 kilometers away from Great God Lu Fan right now."

"It's very likely he's heading for Great God Lu Fan; he's been traveling non-stop before."

At this time, Kalba, who was venting his emotions frantically by the river, also gradually calmed down.

He walked to the bank, an insidious smile appearing on his face, and murmured in a low voice: "Huaguo kid, you just wait for me!"

Indeed, Kalba was truly coming for Lu Fan.

As early as the day Lu Fan triggered the river's ten thousand times rebate—which was last week—he had received a barrage comment from the Pretty Country's high-level officials.

[Wilderness Survival Barrage (50 words per week)]

[Keep heading south, find the river, find an opportunity to eliminate Huaguo Contestant Lu Fan, and seize resources]

So he headed south all the way to find the river, while also waiting for an opportunity to eliminate Lu Fan and seize his resources.

Then, the previous day, when the announcement of Japan's Meichuan Neiku poisoning Contestant Otto was released, everyone learned that killing other contestants would grant half of their rebate resources.

Consequently, last night, Kalba received a new barrage instruction from the Pretty Country.

[Follow the river downstream, rendezvous with the Japan contestant, and cooperate to plot for the Huaguo resources]

Due to the characteristics of the Pretty Country's language, a single meaning often requires many words to express, so the Pretty Country's high-level officials didn't dare to send too much text.

After Kalba calmed down, he acted quickly.

He took his stone axe and felled trees in the surrounding woods, soon cutting down a pile of wood.

Next, he used tough vines to bind these logs tightly together, constructing a simple but practical Raft.

He intended to take this Raft downstream to speed up his rendezvous with Meichuan Neiku, attempting to realize their nefarious plot.