The Death Knell

The night breeze was slightly cool, and after several awkward conversations, even a good old guy like Clark didn't know how to restart the conversation.

The dashboard emitted a faint light, and the three of them were submerged in darkness. Only the streetlights shone into the car from time to time, making a few people's faces briefly bright.

Su Ming's broken car was being towed, and from time to time there would be sounds of parts disintegrating. He rolled down the car window next to him, intending to take a breather. He was really unlucky today.

Planet Daily is located in the Xinterui District in the center of the metropolis. It is a large delta at the mouth of a river. There are many high-rise buildings here and it is the area with the highest density of wealthy people.

And paupers like Su Ming can only live in the Queen's Park area on the south bank across the river. Although it has a good name, it is actually a chaotic area where migrant workers, illegal immigrants, and major gangs gather.

He knew that even if successful reporters like Clark and Lois couldn't afford real estate in New Terry, they could rent an apartment in the city center. They were sending themselves home because The route is definitely the opposite.

Looking at the rolling river water under the bridge like a black ribbon, the round moon was dimly projected on it. For some reason, Su Ming always felt that there was a bat shape on the moon, which was very strange.

Nature is truly amazing.

"Are you and Louise dating?"

Su Ming moved the topic away from himself and became concerned about the two of them.

Clark rubbed his palms and scratched his short black hair: "No... not yet, that..."

"No, we are not dating."

Louise said very directly that she was focusing on the road ahead. Her driving skills were not very good and she was always worried about hitting something when driving at night, especially on a hazy moonlit day like today.

Metropolis is a city by the sea, and it often gets foggy at night.

Clark stiffened for a moment and sighed imperceptibly. The two of them were partners and hung out every day, but he had a small idea and wanted to take this relationship further.

However, whether it was a lack of opportunity or some other reason, the careless Louise was completely unaware of this.

Maybe to her, Clark is a colleague, friend, brother, and partner, but it just doesn't mean that.

Clark felt that he acted very obviously, and even many colleagues noticed it, but Louise would say this when faced with such a problem...

"He's my bestie."

Louise gave the standard answer as always. She turned on the turn signal and turned off the bridge, while Clark secretly covered his heart.

Heartbroken.

Clark liked her very much and would do everything she wanted, but this turned into an unmanly behavior and Louise regarded him as a gay best friend.

He wished he had superpowers, like the superheroes in the comics, who could do heroic rescues and the like. That would be very manly, and Louise would definitely be moved.

However, that was just a fantasy. They were all just ordinary people. Yesterday, he cut his finger while chopping vegetables. The blood flowed wildly and he almost couldn't stop it.

He is 6 feet 3 inches tall, weighs 235 pounds, and is full of muscles, but such a strong man has a very shameful secret.

That is, he is not only anemic, but also severely dizzy. Just the small wound on his hand made him pale and dizzy all day yesterday.

Su Ming looked at Clark sympathetically. Happy lives are all similar, and unfortunate people have their own misfortunes.

He finally found a place where he was better than Clark, even though he was a pauper, had a phobia of fire, and had average luck.

But he has a girlfriend.

Thinking of the girl who was as weak as a narcissus, Su Ming couldn't help but smile.

Clark instantly understood why Slade first looked at him sympathetically and then smiled obscenely. He must have been thinking of his girlfriend.

Slade is a well-known show-off in the editorial department. He always carries a photo of himself and his girlfriend close to his body and shows it to new colleagues when they come.

Although his girlfriend is very beautiful, has an elegant temperament, is delicate and delicate, but this is not the reason why you tell everyone you meet, right? Clark still covered his heart, twitched the corners of his mouth a few times, and made a smile.

"come on."

Su Ming spoke slowly to Clark, and the streetlight illuminated his face.

Clark stole a glance at Louise who was driving, and nodded firmly to Su Ming, he would not give up.

So the topic between the two turned to TV shows again, and both of them were very interested in the recent wilderness reality show.

Penguin TV has aired a new reality show, which will send a dozen contestants to a dozen different uninhabited desert islands. The survival process will be broadcast live on the entire network, and they will be eliminated if they faint from hunger.

On a desert island, you have to create your own food, clothing, housing, and transportation, and in the end there is only one winner left, and that person will receive millions of dollars in rewards provided by Iceberg Enterprises.

Su Ming really wants those millions of dollars, but unfortunately, he can't even make a fire. Even if he doesn't know about survival, he still knows that he can't survive without fire in the wild. But Clark, judging by his physical fitness, should be the favorite to win the championship. .

However, Clark's own family knew about their own affairs. The place where the show lived was either a rainforest or a swamp. If he was scratched by a tree branch, or killed a mosquito, and fainted on the spot when he saw blood, that would not be a disgrace to the whole United States. What?

So the conversation between the two gradually changed from urging each other to participate in the next season to evaluating current players.

"I think that guy with a bald head and a big beard and tattoos all over his body looks like a Harley Party guy. What's his name?"

Su Ming made gestures with his fingers, but he just couldn't remember the name.

"Arthur Curry, do you think he can win the championship?" Clark said his name. He was obviously more familiar with the program than Su Ming. After speaking, he showed an expression of disapproval: "He is physically strong and has good wilderness survival skills. , It’s a pity that he is a landlubber and can’t swim at all. This season is an island competition, so his food sources are much less than others.”

Su Ming scratched his head and put away the camera next to him: "Then who do you like?"

"Malcolm Merlin." Clark said with great confidence: "Although he is a little older, he shot a bird for dinner with a homemade bow and arrow on the first day. His hunting skills are very powerful."

Su Ming shook his head. He obviously disagreed with this view: "But this week he lost his myopia glasses. Now he stretched out his arms and couldn't even see his own fingers. Although he found a banana tree, there was no flesh. If you eat similar food, you won’t be able to hold on for long.”

Clark also scratched his head. What Slade said did make sense: "That's right, but in this way, the final winner will be too difficult to guess."

Louise, who was driving the car, raised her eyebrows and looked at the two of them from the corner of her eyes: "What do you think this is for?"

"Oh? Don't you know? Iceberg Enterprise has an activity where you can make guesses based on real-name information. As long as you spend a small amount of money to bet on the contestants before the day after tomorrow, if you guess correctly, you can take someone to the Iceberg Restaurant in Gotham City to enjoy the candlelight for free. dinner."

Su Ming explained, and took out his mobile phone to show her the voting interface.

Clark also planned to try his luck. If he could win the lottery, he would take Louise there. After all, the restaurant was expensive and not something that reporters could afford.

It's just like Slade said, everyone has advantages and disadvantages, and they are all very obvious. He doesn't know who to guess who will win, and he still hasn't made up his mind until today.

Louise seemed to understand. She stretched her neck and looked at the road ahead. The car lights only illuminated a small area.

"I watched that show online, why don't you bet on Gianna Hudson?" Louise raised a hand and waved it twice to strengthen her tone: "She has no obvious advantages except that she is beautiful, and her body is weak. She has no survival experience and is still blabbering, but I think she might win."

"Ah, it's impossible." Su Ming waved his hand with a disdainful expression on his face: "She looks like a supermodel and only eats a little bit of weeds every day. How can she compete with other people?"

"That's not a weed, it's a wild vegetable." Clark corrected some mistakes first, and then he turned to look at Louise: "But to be honest, she sometimes talks to herself alone, and her mental state is obviously unsustainable. How long.”

"Hmph! Isn't it okay for a girl to be alone on an isolated island and talk to herself to relieve her boredom?" Louise glared at Clark.

"Okay...but she talks too much. Every day when she opens her eyes, she talks to her side. When she lies down at night, she has to say good night to the air person next to her. Don't you think it's creepy?"

Clark didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As a female contestant on the show, of course he would pay attention.

After all, compared to other muscular men, Miss Hudson, who only wears a white three-point swimsuit, is more attractive to watch. But good-looking is good-looking, and if it involves free dinner, of course you have to choose the strong bet.

Louise sighed and looked at the two men sympathetically.

"You guys, you must know that this program is a reality show. The key is the 'show'. Although the Iceberg Restaurant is very big, it only has less than 500 tables. If there are too many winners in the online voting, how will it be arranged? Even if the winners can be If the meals are spread out over 365 days a year, what’s the cost?”

Su Ming touched his chin. His bare chin always felt uncomfortable: "You mean..."

Louise nodded and expressed her guess:

"I just took a look at your phone. So far, there are at least tens of thousands of people betting on those strong men, and Gianna only got dozens of votes. Obviously no one is optimistic about her... so I Guess, Bingshan Enterprises will manipulate the results in the second half of the show."

"Ah? How to control this?"

Clark frowned, subconsciously disgusted with these shady methods. Su Ming understood. After all, the boss of Bingshan Group was famous for being obsessed with money.

"For example, she sent someone to secretly release some chickens with broken legs on a deserted island, claiming that they were pheasants that she caught. Or she secretly buried a box of old Coke under the beach and was 'accidentally' discovered by her. As long as there was food and A source of drinking water where she can survive until the end of the world.”

Louise smiled and nodded, her little smug eyes drifting over: "That's it, the more underdogs win, the more benefits Bingshan Enterprise can get. Not to mention that they only need to prepare thirty or forty tables by then. Dinner is enough, even the controversy caused after the results come out are powerful advertising effects."

Clark shook his head, his thick-browed face full of helplessness: "Although I don't want to think of others so badly, what you said really makes sense."

"I've already voted, and I'm going to give it to Gianna. It looks like she is indeed an actress." Su Ming shook his cell phone. He thought Louise's statement was correct. Bingshan Enterprise's moral integrity has always been low: "Even if it's a conspiracy, it has nothing to do with me. It doesn’t matter, I just want that luxurious dinner!”

Clark also took out his mobile phone, opened the browser and logged into his account to cast a vote, but he still looked at Louise in despair: "Darkness, your thoughts are too dark."

Louise stopped the car angrily and said to him: "Here we are, go help Slade untie the trailer, or you will see a darker version of me."

Clark pushed open the car door and ran away.