Sophie Mo was still grumbling when suddenly the communicator on her body buzzed: "Round one is over. Charles Yin and Cecilia Gu win!"
Sophie Mo and Julian King were both stunned. "What? They've already found it?"
Julian King was a bit more relaxed—he never really cared about winning or losing the first round anyway.
After all, he came here to build relationships, not to play games!
Sophie Mo looked genuinely defeated and cried out, "How could it be so fast! Did they cheat or something?"
The guy carrying the camera quickly replied, "They're broadcasting live over there too, so there's absolutely no cheating!"
Sophie Mo was pretty shaken and only snapped out of it after a while. "Alright, so what do we do next?"
Someone immediately answered, "Everyone gather in the village for round two and wait for the next task."
Charles Yin and Cecilia Gu, along with Sophie Mo and Julian King, quickly followed directions and made their way to a small mountain village.
This village was seriously tiny—maybe only a dozen or so households in total.
The houses were really run-down, and the village paths were paved with crooked stone slabs, giving the place a unique charm.
Even Cecilia Gu, who came from the humblest background among them, had never seen houses this dilapidated. She couldn't help but ask, "Why are the houses here so old?"
Someone explained to her, "All the young people from this village have gone out to work. Only the elderly who don't want to leave their homeland are left. The fields are up on the mountain, so harvests depend on the weather. Young folks can't handle this tough life, so most have left."
Cecilia Gu nodded.
It seems like a lot of rural areas are like this nowadays.
Except for a few coastal provinces and cities where the countryside is super wealthy, most rural areas in central and western China—especially those with poor transportation—rarely see young people return.
Population moving to cities is something every country goes through.
China's no exception.
Once all four had gathered, Cecilia Gu and Charles Yin got ready to open the treasure box.
Julian King couldn't help but blurt out, "Make sure you pick a good task!"