Chapter 172
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Chapter 172: The Golden Retriever Prepares for a Night Raid, and the Rules for the Second Performance
At the moment Dream Weaver Rabbit spoke in the live stream, it had already opened as per usual, and millions of viewers heard this super AI’s passionate speech, leading to a flurry of bullet comments and remarks:
"Isn’t ‘Dazzling Stage’ already more absurd than a normal idol show? The first round was fine, but in the second round’s team competition, [Heart Flow] is blooming everywhere, completely evolving to the point of having little singing."
Even though Dream Weaver Rabbit hasn’t mentioned the related segments yet, the audience who know the rules understand that not all 168 contestants can move forward; some contestants will surely not be able to form a five-member team.
Right now, the fourth episode hasn’t aired yet, and since ‘Dazzling Stage’ has only ever opened live streaming for Grade A contestants’ Stage Battles, who will be eliminated is completely an unpredictable surprise for the viewers.
Of course, Chu Yuanqing’s team is not included in this; their advancement was witnessed by millions of viewers, and their stage is still being talked about passionately on major platforms.
Well, on the other hand, Chen Yining’s team, having switched from Ji Shuzhu and not advancing through the Stage Battle, naturally didn’t start a live stream, making them somewhat mysterious in the eyes of the audience.
However, it is clear that Grade A contestants cannot be eliminated, so the ones who are anxious now are the fans of other contestants and those viewers who cheer for pretty girls.
The trainees on site seemed to ponder, gaining insight from Dream Weaver Rabbit’s words.
Chu Yuanqing thought of many things; this remark applied not only to the idols themselves but also fit the definition of magical girls. Perhaps the high-pressure environment created by "Dazzling Stage" was meant to spark the burning desire for dreams deep within the little idols.
Only by holding firmly to this belief and repeatedly immersing oneself in deep focus fueled by this wish can one hope to create a phenomenon known as the "Heartbeat" and weave a miracle called "Cocoon of the Heart."
Therefore, it is necessary to push, to compete, to have external assistance, and to undergo personal transformation.
All the seemingly cruel and harsh rules of "Dazzling Stage" actually follow this core idea. By advancing in the most straightforward manner along the path arranged by Dream Weaver Rabbit, one can naturally become the best magical girl while maintaining their idol identity.
Unfortunately, the only little idol currently following this straightforward path, purely driven by dreams and dancing, and who has been steadfast and confidently moving forward, is Kirimi Miyuki alone.
For the others, even if their "Heart Flow" is not inferior to hers, and even if their qualifications as magical girls surpass hers, it is challenging to transform to that degree in the most straightforward, stable, and traditional way.
However…
Chu Yuanqing could see that the troubled children around her were slowly starting to love this industry.
For example, Tang Liuli wanted to escape the shadows of her past and seriously give back to her fans as an idol.
Another example is Xie Qingxuan, whose stubborn wishes have not changed, but she has begun to experience the joy of the stage, becoming more lively and vibrant.
Both of them changed themselves on stage; otherwise, Tang Liuli wouldn’t share her true thoughts and feelings with the audience through "Heart Flow," and Xie Qingxuan wouldn’t choose to give back all her shine on stage, painting the picture of a dream.
So, the planning of "Dazzling Stage" may not be without reason.
Chu Yuanqing started to find it strange; she gradually realized that, whether as the super AI Dream Weaver Rabbit or the entire design of "Dazzling Stage," it seemed they did not see idols and the stage just as a shell to create magical girls, but really cared about it.
Could it be… that even if the truth about the little idols is revealed, they will still continue to shine on stage?
The green-eyed cat did not understand what its "master" was thinking and showed no intention of seeing the big dreams created by Dream Weaver Rabbit. Instead, it boldly rubbed its face against the Pure White Witch’s skirt, perfectly shaped and rounded thigh, which felt both full and soft. It felt as if it was sealed by Honey Qing’s thigh, unable to get up at all!
Little Sakura watched with deep eyes, coldly laughing in her heart, foolish Liuli Cat, you just keep lying on Little Qing’s thigh; your status will soon return to that of an unthreatening pet.
Letting go at the right time is also a kind of strategy!
The golden retriever felt a bit envious and thought that the "master" lacked a practical spirit. After all, the knee pillow had already been tried, shouldn’t they now try something more exciting?
Chu Wang Shu felt embarrassed and began to doubt if she had chosen the wrong idol. She couldn’t help but poke Tang Liuli’s soft, collagen-filled face, feeling her heart soften and getting completely melted by cuteness.
Although Liuli didn’t have the style of a senior, she was very cute.
Because she was so cute, there was no wrong choice.
Chu Yuanqing felt her inner thigh tickle from the other person’s breath. The soft flesh hidden in the shadow of her skirt tingled, and her waist instinctively leaned back. She quietly covered the socially anxious cat’s mouth and nose with her hand to stop the breath from tickling her further.
The green-eyed cat, trying not to suffocate, had to move her little head toward her knee. She sadly lowered her thick eyelashes, feeling like she missed out on a youthful treasure, and buried her face in the edge of her skirt, taking a deep breath.
Chu Yuanqing’s expression was serious. She pressed her lips together, thinking she could not indulge any longer. She gently tapped Tang Liuli’s head with her small hand, then, like kneading dough, she pinched her soft face hard to warn her.
Kirimi Miyuki was a bit unhappy and bit her teeth in frustration.
How could you reward her, Little Qing, when Liuli is like this!
Chu Wang Shu caught sight of this scene from the corner of her eye. She continued to sit straight like a good student who was seriously listening, looking at the distant Dream Weaver Rabbit, but secretly couldn’t help reaching out to pinch Tang Liuli’s cheek.
Xie Qingxuan watched this scene, deep in thought.
So… even by smelling, Little Qing can feel something?
Since there are exactly four Grade A contestants here, the series of interactions among the little idols was almost completely recorded in the live broadcast, sparking a flood of bullet comments:
"Genius! Discharged from the hospital!"
"Does Dream Weaver Rabbit know you all were daydreaming in class? I’m dying of laughter."
"If this team can debut together, it feels like there will be a bunch of group fans❤️❤️❤️."
Chu Yuanqing’s popularity was off the charts, and her teammates also stood at the top of the pyramid, leading to a chaotic mix of CP fans, each interpreting this interaction in unique ways. In a flash, everyone indulged in sweetness, creating a world where only loyal fans and anti-fans were hurt.
"How frustrating, Honey Qing is innocent and easy to fool. Is there any difference between this and a sheep entering a wolf’s den?"
The excitement in the live stream chat was as usual.
Dream Weaver Rabbit looked around at the contestants’ reactions, its crimson eyes squinting slightly. It smiled and said:
"Before I announce the list of those advancing this round, I have some good news for everyone."
"To allow for more unexpected Shining Stages in the upcoming competitions, the program group will continue to grant everyone access to the [Heart Flow] development room."
These words ignited hope and ambition in the hearts of many contestants like wildfire.
Especially for those high-ranking contestants who had been defeated by [Heart Flow], their eyes sparkled with excitement when they heard this news. They were determined to see their hard work bear fruit and use their own [Heart Flow] to overcome those who had once defeated them, reclaiming their honor!
Everyone wants to debut, and everyone wants to be the Carry Center.
They came here not to be anyone’s stepping stone, but to shine on a grand stage, to show their brilliance to the world, and to become world-class idols!
Chu Yuanqing frowned slightly; she had basically figured out the Heart Flow development room this month.
At the very bottom of this base, there was a large number of low-level Calamity Seeds buried. Dazzling Stage used either technology or magic to extract their essence, filtering and transforming it layer by layer into a substance similar to magical energy.
In the end, it flowed into the development room’s sleeping pods, providing support to the contestants inside, forcing the creation of a Cocoon of the Heart.
But the problem was that a cocoon woven from disaster aura could not nurture the deepest wishes, only capturing the surface desires of the host and weaving them into the so-called Heart Flow ability.
On the other hand, a cocoon woven in this way was too impure, not aligning with the qualities of a magical girl, and due to its insufficient strength, it lacked the potential to merge with the Artificial Lantern.
In other words, these little idols only obtained a false item; it was impossible for them to become magical girls through this.
And right now, Dream Weaver Rabbit said this clearly to encourage more contestants to create their Cocoon of the Heart.
This meant that Dazzling Stage either wanted to gamble with lives to produce more magical girls or had other plans for this group of contestants.
Chu Yuanqing’s expression was serious as she whispered to herself:
"No matter which one it is, I must give these children an extra layer of protection."
"If I use the ‘Pure White Ode’ and use a stage’s gathering magic to wish for it, perhaps I can achieve the result I desire."
On stage, Dream Weaver Rabbit glanced this way, showing an enigmatic smile, and said softly:
"Now, I will announce the list of those who have advanced."
As her words faded.
In the multimedia classroom, in teams of five, sequences appeared one after another above their heads, clearly showing the order of advancement.
The sequence for Chu Yuanqing’s team is number 6, meaning they are the sixth team to advance.
The sequence for all members was quickly captured, ranging from number 1 to number 32, representing 32 teams—160 competitors—who have advanced.
In other words, 8 competitors did not succeed in forming a team.
Because the fourth episode has not aired yet, the live broadcast intentionally did not show the direction of those failures. This scene surprised the audience and caused quite a stir.
However, for the contestants who could watch the other people’s live battles, Dream Weaver Rabbit’s words were just a mere formality.
Dream Weaver Rabbit showed a look of compassion. It seemed to regretfully sigh and said:
"Unfortunately, in this round, eight contestants were unable to form a team."
After saying this, this super AI revealed its true form, showing an eager smile and opened its arms, continuing to say:
"Everyone, according to the agreement made a month ago, we have now arrived at my favorite voting segment."
As the voice faded, a virtual projection popped up in front of all trainees except for those eight contestants, displaying only two options and a 120-second countdown.
"Eliminate or not eliminate, it is up to you to decide their fate."
"Of course, you can choose not to vote, and the program group will treat it as a default abstention."
After Dream Weaver Rabbit finished speaking, a giant screen popped up in front of the stage to record the changes in the votes in real time.
Chu Yuanqing didn’t think much and quickly cast her vote; she voted to not be eliminated.
Although from her own perspective, being eliminated from "Dazzling Stage" seemed like a good thing, after her experience in the last performance, she understood how precious a stage with live audience was in these young idols’ eyes.
On the other hand, since Dream Weaver Rabbit would eliminate half of the participants in this round anyway, she felt there was no reason to stop these kids from getting another chance to perform on stage.
After Chu Yuanqing voted, the four young idols beside her, as well as Liang Xiaoxiao who was observing from afar, followed suit and all chose to not be eliminated.
Lin Baor was more kind-hearted, and Ruan Wutong didn’t want to think too much, so they both voted the same way.
Chen Yining didn’t see the other teams as a threat at all, and Miss Choreographer didn’t care either, so they both chose the option that showed their team’s confidence.
Thus, the two strongest teams on the surface finished voting within ten seconds, taking the lead in a big way.
Moreover, the athletes from those high-quality teams had a certain ease that was unique to the strong.
These lovely girls do not think that having one or two more teams of rivals is a big problem. Since they all want to appear more likable on camera and gain better popularity, they naturally do not want to make things harder for those eight contestants.
So, in the first thirty seconds, the number of votes for "not eliminated" on the big screen was surprisingly much higher. It seemed that those who had extra courage or were a bit naive voted without hesitation.
This situation made it quite awkward for those who wanted to vote for "elimination."
Vulnerable groups always find it easy to earn sympathy, especially since the cost of elimination in "Dazzling Stage" is very high. If it is not necessary, no one wants to be the bad person who sends someone home.
For a moment, these people either waited and watched or chose to cast a blank vote.
Only those trainees lacking confidence or being held back by their teams still chose "elimination."
Two minutes later,
Dream Weaver Rabbit looked at the votes and couldn’t help but express his genuine admiration:
"The goal of ‘Dazzling Stage’ has always been unity and friendship. I am very pleased that you all had the courage to welcome a few more competitors."
"So, the program group will use the big spinning wheel to randomly select 5 people from these 8 to form teams. The remaining 3 participants will have their qualifications canceled and will be completely eliminated."
With that said.
The beautiful sisters, who had just returned from hell to heaven, could barely hold back their tears. They felt as if they were on the edge of a cliff, their blood running cold, fearing they might be the unluckiest one. Some of them looked up at the projected spinning wheel, some simply buried their heads to avoid looking, and some couldn’t handle the pressure and teared up.
Ten seconds later, the answer was revealed.
Dream Weaver Rabbit seemed to think this was not worth the suspense and had no intention of hiding it from the audience. It allowed everyone to see who the three eliminated participants were, clapping its hands with a calm expression and showing a businesslike smile, saying:
"Luck is also a part of strength."
"Alright, the three eliminated participants can leave now to pack their bags. The staff will arrange transport to take you away from the venue."
The venue fell silent, filled with a gloomy atmosphere.
One of the eliminated participants was a Grade B trainee from Qinghe Entertainment. Her skills were above average in the competition, but due to bad luck, she started with inexperienced teammates and didn’t join the cheating alliance, making her journey quite unfortunate.
C1 lost once and was chosen to leave.
B1 lost once and moved back to C1.
C1 lost once and returned to the waiting area.
Again and again, until they finally squeezed into the A1 area, there were no teams left to challenge them. They had to wait until the time ended and were pushed into the loser group. Now, they weren’t even picked and faced elimination.
The competition system for teammates is like this: as long as they haven’t stepped into the **Heart Flow** area and secured a place for guaranteed advancement, even with the strong Grade A skills, there is still a chance of failure, and they might not form a complete team.
This Grade B player has many fans; the comments in the live stream flooded the screen like snowflakes, clearly showing their dissatisfaction with such a unfortunate way of elimination.
Unfortunately, Dream Weaver Rabbit paid no attention to the comments in the live stream, and completely ignored the few who had their dreams shattered and could no longer become idols. It turned to the other players, its smile even more genuine, and continued to say:
"Alright, after these boring stages, we can finally arrive at the part you all have been looking forward to."
"That is— the rules for the second performance."
"This performance will also take place outside the base, from nine in the morning until the end of the evening competition."
"The program group will randomly select five thousand audience members on the official website to come and watch. Currently, a total of 33 teams will each have one team drawn for a PK (player kill). Since this is not a whole number, one team will be lucky and automatically advance."
Dream Weaver Rabbit looked around and smiled, saying:
"The rules for winning and losing are very standard, decided by votes from the live audience."
"What is special is that when the audience votes for a team, they can choose to vote for one player or just for the whole team."
"These two types of votes are called individual tickets and group tickets, which will automatically be added together during the PK to form the team’s total votes against the opposing team."
"At the same time, the winning side on stage will receive two thousand group tickets."
"During the final count, group tickets will be distributed evenly among all team members, converting into their individual tickets. The program group will rank players based on their individual tickets, and all players in the bottom 50% will be eliminated!"
The atmosphere in the venue suddenly became lively.
The trainees all clearly understood the rules of the regular auditions and quickly grasped the format of the second round.
This time, "Dazzling Stage" did not include any gimmicks; it was mostly similar to regular audition performances and was a serious stage competition. The only thing to note is that the program group kept the group and individual elements very separate.
Although Dream Weaver Rabbit did not clearly state how many votes the audience could cast, as long as it was not limited to one vote, this rule means that even if a team wins in the stage competition, it does not guarantee that all members will advance.
It is a simple truth: if one member of the team shines too brightly and takes all the votes from the other teammates, the group ticket assigned may not be enough to place them in the top 50%.
In other words, in the second performance, whether or not they can secure the Carry Center directly affects the number of individual tickets they can get.
It can be imagined that with this rule, the competition for the Carry Center among the 33 teams will be more intense than before.
At this moment,
Fan Qiuling cast a wistful glance at a certain Stage Tyrant, feeling somewhat relieved that the other was chosen by Chu Yuanqing. Otherwise, with Xie Qingxuan’s showmanship, a normal person teaming up with her would not shine at all; in fact, it seems likely that they wouldn’t even get a single individual ticket.
The golden retriever did not realize she was being talked about negatively; she sat upright, listening to the rules, while secretly daydreaming about all the various tips for girls’ night out that she planned to showcase later. She remained in a daze until Dream Weaver Rabbit finished explaining all the rules, and only then did she awaken from her trance and follow her teammates out of the classroom.
The night in Zhelong Town spreads everywhere.
The virtual environment in the underground base also changes.
The green-eyed cat thinks it has won too much today.
Little Sakura looks over the whole scene and secretly holds the drinks, making sure no one targets Honey Qing for a special attack.
Chu Wang Shu is feeling a bit troubled about how many individual tickets she can get in such an excellent team.
However, it is clear that although Dream Weaver Rabbit emphasizes the importance of individual tickets, everyone still has no plan to change the Carry Center and continues to leave it to Kirimi Miyuki, who won in rock-paper-scissors, to train as usual.
After finishing training, Chu Yuanqing gave her lovely daughter a knee pillow for a while, patted her head, and spent a warm time watching television together before tying her hair into pigtails like a mother and going to the kitchen to cook for the little idols.
During this time, she kept thinking about important matters, and only after the meal did she break her train of thought to quietly treat Little Sakura, who had been compromising today, to prevent her from showing a sad look.
The day is coming to an end.
Chu Yuanqing soaked in the bath, her pure white hair blurred in the mist, as her golden eyes, clear as autumn water, glanced at the little yellow duck that was bumping against the gentle curves. She poked it aside with her fingertip, then pulled it back with her magic thread, playing quite seriously.
At that moment, a loud knocking sound came from outside the door.
It was Xie Qingxuan.
