Chapter 32: Reaching New Heights of Madness! Even Reba Got Taken Out! [Monthly Votes Requested]

“Buhau!”

“Hu Ka must have been drunk earlier; now the alcohol is hitting him, and he’s completely out of it!”

“Teacher Huang, hurry and make a bowl of sobering soup for Hu Ka to help him sober up!”

“After he’s ruined me like this, you want me to serve Hu Ka?!” Teacher Huang wept bitterly. “I’ve lived half my life eating all kinds of things, but never this much mud. In just a short while, I feel like I’ve swallowed at least half a pound of sludge—no, maybe a whole pound!”

“Sobering soup? I need to book a gastric lavage doctor for tonight first!”

“Who hasn’t gone through this?” Deng Chao wiped the black mud off his face, utterly defeated. “I’ve fought in the entertainment industry for half my life, but I’ve never felt this pathetic!”

“He said I’m no good! In all these years in entertainment, when have I ever been mocked like that?” Chen Chi’s face flushed red. “It’s an insult—an insult to my dignity! You can call me fat, skinny, even ugly—I don’t care. But how dare he say I’m no good!”

“He even wants to take on apprentices. Did I say anything wrong?” Li Chen looked ready to cry.

Chen Chi said, “You getting apprentices isn’t unfair at all. The powerhouse of the Running Men crew being casually handled by an idol who only relies on looks—I suggest you add ‘Respect Master Hu Ka’ to your Weibo nickname tonight so you can ride his popularity!”

“Believe it or not, I’ll punch you to death!” Li Chen snarled.

Chen Chi laughed, “Tonight, you’ll dream of being swept off your feet by Hu Ka’s flying leg sweep! When you get up at night to pee, Hu Ka will suddenly rush out from the shadows and give you a sliding tackle!”

“You’ll toss and turn all night, cursing that all your years of training were wasted. When you go to the rooftop to clear your head, Hu Ka will tackle you from behind, sending you flying. Just as you wake up, thankful it was only a dream, Hu Ka comes again in a slide tackle. You wake up again—it’s a dream within a dream!”

Li Chen was speechless.

A man’s clenched fist speaks louder than words, and as his knuckles cracked with a ‘click-click,’ Black Bull Red warmed up for battle!

Chen Chi sneered, “Big and bulky isn’t as good as lean and muscular. All those tendons on you are useless!”

Li Chen swung a flying leg sweep, knocking Chen Chi into the mud pit.

Bang! “Taking apprentices, huh!”

Bang! “Sliding tackles, huh?”

Bang! “Flying leg sweeps, huh?”

Bang! “You think I don’t know? Still sliding tackles?!”

Chen Chi moaned, “Ugh… no good, gotta train more!”

Li Chen fell silent for two seconds, then, muscles bulging, he strode fiercely toward Lu Ming.

Suddenly, their eyes met. Looking utterly mad—the same Hu Ka who had turned the whole production crew upside down—he quietly turned back and launched another sliding tackle, bringing down the barely steady Chen Chi again. “If this were before, I’d argue with him, but now, I sympathize with the younger generation!”

“Bro, the past is the past, the present is the present. If you keep measuring now by then, why don’t you compare yourself to when you were just born?” Chen Chi lay in the mud, smirking. “Like I said, no good! Train more!”

Li Chen was speechless.

“Chao’er, give me a hand and hold him down!” Li Chen demanded.

Deng Chao asked, “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to rip that foul mouth apart!”

Chen Chi said, “Li Chen, I’m sorry! I admit I spoke a bit loudly just now, but now that Hu Ka’s gone wild, we need to prioritize the bigger picture and restrain him first!”

“Who’s going?” Li Chen was genuinely afraid of being tackled again.

At that moment, Wang Baoqiang and Reba, winners of the game round, hurried over. Before anyone could speak, all eyes fell on Reba.

“What are you all looking at me for?” Reba blinked.

Deng Chao said earnestly, “Xiao Di, maybe you should go. Even if Hu Ka is crazy, he wouldn’t tackle his own teammate!”

Reba looked at the wildly rampaging Lu Ming from afar and timidly said, “I’m a little scared.”

“You don’t need to be scared at all. Don’t forget, Hu Ka used to be a simp. As the saying goes, ‘A tiger’s nature is hard to change.’ He’s probably already figured out how to flatter you!” Wu Qian said, mockingly, as if he’d figured out Lu Ming’s character.

“Yeah, heroes can’t resist beauties. You’re so beautiful, and you’ve spent so much time with Hu Ka. You must hold a special place in his heart!” Teacher Huang nodded affirmatively.

Chen Chi agreed, “Reba is definitely a goddess. I bet Hu Ka will use the alcohol as an excuse to confess to you soon!”

Reba was speechless.

She was genuinely a little scared, but with all these industry veterans praising her beauty and calling her a goddess, who could resist?

More importantly, she truly felt she was just as good as Sister Zheng in every way. Maybe outsiders saw Lu Ming as a despised simp, but to her, this man was a breath of fresh air in the entertainment industry—bearing a face that could mesmerize thousands of girls while selflessly devoted in love, constantly humbling himself to please his partner. Who would believe that?

Thinking back to how Lu Ming single-handedly held off everyone, choosing to be pinned down and attacked in the mud just to give her and Baoqiang a chance to win, Reba was deeply moved.

Little Hu Ka—others couldn’t see the treasure in you because they lacked vision!

Today, let me soothe your wounded heart!

Imagining taming Lu Ming later made her heart race wildly. With thoughts swirling, Reba held her head high and strode forward, waving toward the distance: “Lu Ming, stop!”

---

Lu Ming, raging and sweeping all before him, vaguely heard someone calling his name. He turned, and though his vision was blurred by heavy intoxication, he caught a glimpse of Wu Qian sneering, mouthing, “Hu Ka, damn you!”

“Still not full?!” Lu Ming roared as he charged.

The crew’s screams drowned out what Lu Ming actually said, but through his lip movements, Reba understood he meant, “Not done yet?”

So Reba and Lu Ming charged toward each other.

In the blurry vision, because Wu Qian stood behind Reba, their shadows overlapped, making it seem like Wu Qian was mouthing, “Damn it, what the hell!”

Lu Ming sped up fiercely, sprinting hard!

Reba smiled brightly, raising her arm for a high five.

“See!” Wu Qian sneered. “A simp will always be a simp. I told you, nature never changes!”

“He’s been faking it all morning; finally, he can’t hide it anymore.” Teacher Huang sneered.

Everyone was thoughtful, but the next moment, they all gaped, eyes wide in utter disbelief, as if witnessing something impossible.

“Holy crap!” X5

Reba’s smile froze. She felt the world spin wildly, and with a thud, she fell face-first into the wet mud pit!

“Reba!!”

“Holy hell! Is this still the Hu Ka I know?! Did I see demons or gods? My eyes!!”

“Alice, the sky is falling!”

“Who said Hu Ka is a simp? When he goes crazy, he’s ruthless—even tackles his own teammates!”

“A heartless devil, but honestly, I kinda enjoy this!”

“This is how the number one godlike face in entertainment should act!”

“‘Heroes can’t resist beauties,’ ‘Reba holds a heavy place in Hu Ka’s heart,’ ‘Hu Ka is about to confess to Reba.’”

“Ha ha ha, no hero, no status, sliding tackle confession—Hu Ka is nuts!”

“That scared me! I thought their mutual chase would spark romance, and I was ready to ship them, but you show me this?!”

“Hu Ka: Love? Who can a broken heart love!”

“I’m dying laughing!”

“We salute you, role model!”

The barrage of comments exploded instantly.

As countless fans saw their goddess Reba, radiant just moments ago, now sprawled helplessly in the mud after Hu Ka’s sliding tackle, their composure shattered. Many even doubted their own eyes!

That was Reba—the goddess none dared to disrespect even in dreams!

How dare Hu Ka publicly tackle the soft, delicate goddess of entertainment like that? How rude!

Reba sat quietly in the mud, instinctively wiping mud from her face, staring at the one who had knocked her down in disbelief. Before she could see Lu Ming’s expression clearly, a blob of black mud flew and splattered on her flawless face!

Her mind buzzed; she was utterly stunned.

Chen Chi’s eyes rolled back dramatically: “Eek!!!”

Deng Chao: “Hiss…”

“Xiao Di, I’m sorry!”

“Is this still the Hu Ka who simped over Sister Zheng until he had nothing left?!” Wu Qian was shocked, feeling an unfamiliar emotion toward the abstract figure before him.

Teacher Huang was dumbfounded: “Hu Ka now and then are two extremes!”

This time, the mud completely ruined Reba’s beautiful face, leaving no clean spot. She sat helplessly in the mud pit, her bright eyes full of confusion. Her pitiful appearance shattered the hearts of countless stunned fans.

Then the fans’ emotions completely lost control, flooding the comments with the warmest and most affectionate greetings to Lu Ming.

“Hu Ka, you have no heart!”

“You’re not human!”

“My watch’s heart rate alarm went off from anger! I’m going to take down Hu Ka for Reba!”

Seeing everyone flee after he arrived, Lu Ming lost interest, sat quietly in the mud, and pondered life.

Everyone sighed with relief that he finally settled down, then rushed to check on the director.

Although Lu Ming was quite a handful, in the end, only the director and screenwriter were psychologically traumatized. Everyone else was unharmed after all, since it was just soft mud—at worst, they had eaten a few extra mouthfuls of sludge.

The Running Men crew didn’t mind at all. This was a game segment, and such explosive results only enhanced the show’s effect. They didn’t care in the slightest; in fact, they thought Lu Ming’s antics were good for publicity. The live stream alone had turned the trending charts into their backyard. Once the episode aired, their value would skyrocket even higher.

The stakes behind this were enormous for these mid-tier artists who’d been stagnating or fading in the entertainment industry. Suddenly, their dim careers were illuminated once again.

Such a blessing deserved a celebration banquet afterward…

Only the director and screenwriter felt deeply wronged, crying out in despair.

Wang Baoqiang was unfazed:

“Director, you said it yourself earlier: this is pure natural mud, non-toxic and harmless, moisturizing and good for skin health. You told us to go wild and just treat it like a facial mask. Lu Ming literally shoved your head into the mud for a full cover—what’s there to complain about?”

The director and screenwriter nearly choked on their words.

“So we should thank Hu Ka, right?!”

Though internally cursing, they had indeed said this before and couldn’t refute it now.

Especially since Hu Ka was the show’s—and everyone’s—cash cow, and he started acting illogically whenever he drank. They didn’t dare to question him!

The shaken director had planned to call a break, but seeing the live stream numbers, he swallowed his grievances and grabbed the mic, calling everyone to their positions. The music played; recording resumed.

When the game restarted, Lu Ming noticed everyone’s wary glances and was puzzled but said nothing.

Because two teammates had already won and held a huge lead, Lu Ming didn’t rush to compete. He watched from the sidelines, waiting until the other two teams each had a winner. Then he launched a fierce attack in the third round, unsurprisingly ending up last standing. All three won, and the Blue Team was first to finish this segment.

After the game, the director handed them a clue card:

“Among your three team members, two are traitors!”

“They are all under 40 years old!”

Under 40?

Only Teacher Huang was over 40 in the Running Men crew, so the traitors couldn’t be him. Everyone else, including the teammates before them, were suspects!

Reba gasped, looking at Lu Ming in shock: “You tackled me on purpose just now… could it be…”

“I didn’t! You’re lying!” Lu Ming waved his hand.

After the intense activity, he was somewhat sober and quickly denied his earlier blunder.

Reba pressed on, “Just admit if you tackled me or not!”

“It was an accident.”

“It was on purpose!” Reba pouted. “Anyway, I feel something’s off about you. Either that or you have a grudge against me!”

“No, have you heard this saying?” Lu Ming tried to redeem himself.

“What saying?” Reba asked.

“‘To beat is to care, to scold is to love.’ In my hometown, if you like a girl, the best way to confess is to tackle her. As the saying goes, a girl’s blush speaks louder than words—if she blushes, it means she likes you too. So I tackled you because I like you, because I love you!”

Reba: “...Tackling isn’t the same as harassing. Thanks for the tip! Also, most girls blush because they’re angry!”

“Most importantly, why do your words make me feel so itchy inside?!”

No one in the industry had ever confessed to her like this before. Experiencing someone openly say they liked her made Reba feel she’d never believe in any foolish romance again.

Lu Ming: “Can I take that as a response?”

Reba fiercely stomped on Lu Ming’s foot: “This! Is! The! Response!”

“…”

As the two bantered, Wang Baoqiang, holding the clue card, shouted in disbelief like he’d uncovered a huge secret, his expressions exaggerated.

“What?!”

“What’s with that reaction?”

“Pretending? Just pretend then!”

The other two teams were curious. Deng Chao and Chen Chi aggressively tried to grab the card, but Wang Baoqiang quickly handed it to Lu Ming, and they backed off.

“It’s not pretend. This clue’s super important. I’m sure you’ll suffer big losses if you don’t know!” Wang Baoqiang bragged.

His over-the-top reaction made everyone’s curiosity itch like ants crawling, but with no one leaking anything, they had no choice but to suppress their curiosity and gather for a group photo in front of the camera.

“Run, brothers!”

The director announced everyone would meet at Happy Valley at 7 p.m. for the final game and then ended the live stream.

There was nothing left to film. Covered in mud and exhausted after two hours of intense struggle, they all needed a hot shower to recharge for the fierce brand-tag battle ahead.

…