After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety Shows-Chapter 95: Discoveries in the Dark

"A water monster?" After hearing Jiang Lingxi and Jiang Kaiyuan’s speculations, Xu Ai shook her head and laughed.

"I think the possibility of a water monster is slim. Don’t be misled by some online news. The conditions for water monster growth are quite harsh. There are over a thousand natural lakes worldwide, but fewer than ten report having water monsters. As for what Lingxi said earlier about shadows under the lake, it’s probably just a visual error caused by light refraction. Besides, Zhou Yi and I have been by this lake for over a day now and haven’t noticed anything unusual in the water."

Jiang Kaiyuan was somewhat convinced but still a bit unwilling, "Then why are there no animal tracks by the lakeside? With such a large water source, why don’t they come here to drink?"

This time Zhou Yi answered, "It’s possible some plants grow by the lake that animals don’t like. We’ve encountered this phenomenon before."

Xu Zhao reached out and patted Jiang Kaiyuan on the back, whose shoulders drooped, "Alright, stop dwelling on this, let’s eat." freēwēbηovel.c૦m

After speaking, he glanced in Jiang Lingxi’s direction and saw that she had already picked up the cub at her feet and was walking forward.

Lingering at the lakeside last, Xu Zhao was about to catch up with the others but couldn’t help turning back to look at the lake behind him.

Earlier, it didn’t seem like a big deal, but now looking at this lake, it seems excessively quiet.

The live stream room was filled with laughter.

—"Jiang Lingxi and her brother have quite an imagination, a water monster? Who could think of that?"

—"Xu Ai is still the professional here; anything capable of becoming a water monster would need to live for at least hundreds of years in this world. Natural selection rules out the possibility of seeing a lake and assuming there’s a water monster inside."

—"There’s probably no water monster, but maybe a big fish."

—"When I saw the two of them seriously discussing the possibility of a water monster by the lakeside earlier, I almost believed it."

—"Jiang Lingxi’s serious expression and her brother’s animated expressions are truly infectious!"

—"Oddly, I found the plastic siblings a bit cute; how does one break that feeling?"

For the first time in her life being called cute and unaware of it, Jiang Lingxi took the grilled fish Xu Ai handed her and silently took a bite.

Even though Xu Ai and Zhou Yi both denied the possibility of anything in the water, she felt there was some sense in their words.

However, she trusted her intuition more.

But since no one believed it, and the mention of a water monster could indeed cause panic among those here who were more timid, perhaps it was best to leave the topic at that.

As long as they didn’t go into the water, that existence she felt might be there wouldn’t come ashore.

Jiang Kaiyuan’s interest rose and fell quickly, and since the adventure experts present deemed the speculation unreliable, he quickly dismissed the idea of a water monster from his mind.

Yet, someone in the live stream room was silently watching the small section of the lakeside captured by a corner camera.

Xu Xingyuan was also asking Wei Ke at that moment, "Could there really be a water monster in the lake?"

Wei Ke paused for a moment, then gave him an ambiguous answer, "It’s hard to say."

From across the screen, without being onsite, one naturally couldn’t feel what it was really like.

But based on his observations of Jiang Lingxi over the past few days, this girl definitely wouldn’t make an unfounded speculation about a water monster in the lake without reason.

Regardless of whether there was a water monster in the lake or not, she must have sensed something unusual.

As everyone finished eating, they looked up to see the moon silently appearing in the sky, and a moon was also reflected in the lake not far away.

The moon in the sky stayed still, but a gentle breeze began to ripple the moon in the water, spreading continuous silver ripples.

Under this watery moonlight, no one felt sleepy for a while, so they simply sat together and chatted.

The relaxed atmosphere also affected the viewers in the live stream room, and discussions about the water monster quietly disappeared.

Until the moon was high in the sky, two people were left to keep watch while the others prepared to rest.

With more people in the group and only two girls, Jiang Lingxi and Xu Ai were not tasked with the night watch.

Xu Ai happily pulled Jiang Lingxi into the only tent to sleep, "Now that you’ve all gathered, I guess the program will finish recording tomorrow. Let’s just enjoy a comfortable night’s sleep and not worry about those big men outside."

Still holding the panda cub in her arms, Jiang Lingxi hadn’t quite come to her senses before being enthusiastically yanked into the tent.

Stepping outside again would inevitably be awkward, so she had to take the sleeping bag Xu Ai handed her and thanked her.

"No need to be polite, come on, one side for each of us, and let’s put the little cub in the middle. Finally, we get to experience sleeping with a panda cub."

Jiang Lingxi: "..."

At this point, she somewhat suspected that Miss Xu Ai actually intended to invite the panda cub, while she was just an accompanying addition!

Once Xu Ai, who was lovingly caressing the panda cub beside her, finally fell asleep, Jiang Lingxi, lying on the other side of the tent, slowly opened her eyes.

She didn’t want to sleep in an enclosed space with others, not out of disdain for their sleeping positions or habits, but because she simply wasn’t used to sleeping with others.

As an Emperor, how could she allow others to sleep soundly beside her?

In her previous life, throughout her entire existence, only by the side of her close maid Qing Yuan, under the protection of the Imperial Xuanyu Guards, and at most adding Shen Moqing, did she allow herself to sleep without any defense.

Even if she trusted others, it was never beyond tenfold.

A trust of no more than tenfold signified a possibility of betrayal to her, and how could she sleep soundly with that?

Not to mention, she was only meeting Xu Ai for the second time.

Slightly turning her head, she met the eyes of the panda cub looking at her.

The little guy probably slept too much in her and Jiang Kaiyuan’s arms during the day, so he wasn’t sleepy at this moment.

With a layer of tent between them, the sound of the wind outside was also greatly diminished. Except for the slight sounds made by those keeping the night watch, the entire jungle lakeside was enveloped in silence.

Jiang Lingxi gently patted the little one’s head and quietly looked up at the shadow slowly moving across the tent top.

The night deepened, and those watching the live stream gradually exited, falling into their own dreams.

Xu Zhao opened his eyes and nudged Jiang Kaiyuan, who was sleeping beside him, "Wake up, it’s our turn to keep watch."

The two went over to the campfire and did a brief handover with Yu Hui and Zhou Yi, who kept watch the first half of the night. Jiang Kaiyuan was about to sit on the log Yu Hui had just vacated when he saw the tent door not far away being unzipped from the inside, and Jiang Lingxi bent slightly as she walked out.

He quickly lowered his voice to ask, "Sister Xixi, why are you up too?"

Jiang Lingxi gestured with her hand and pointed towards the forest.

Jiang Kaiyuan instantly understood, "Be careful then!"

Jiang Lingxi nodded slightly and strolled towards the forest.

The further she got from the campfire behind her, combined with the tree leaves overhead blocking the moonlight, the forest was much darker than by the lake.

Yet, after reaching an appropriate distance, Jiang Lingxi still didn’t stop. She quickly passed through a small patch of woods and reached a quieter spot by the lake.

This part of the lakeside had only one large tree near the water, larger than any she had seen before, growing slantingly towards the lake. Nearly half of its branches and leaves hung into the water, seemingly weighed down by something heavy over the years, growing into a form that seemed forced to compromise.

Moonlight finally spilled down again, and Jiang Lingxi lowered her head, looking at the ground in front of her.

She saw the shadow of a huge entity quietly engulfing her own shadow.

At the same time, damp water vapor came creeping from behind...