Chapter 18
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This chapter is edited by Rain. Thank you for your contribution!
Chapter 18: Chu Yuanqing Looks Cute When She’s Lost in Thought
The audience in the livestream continued to hit the keyboard.
“Ah, she’s so cool, I love her so much.”
“Haha, I want to be like her, I’m a thousand times cooler than her.”
“I can only say, the Great Devil has always been like this, her strength is not inferior to Xie Qingyu who received the Purple Microstar back then.”
“Not really, since Xie Qingyu debuted with Carry Center, their group’s streaming views are close to reaching 6 billion, Great Devil is still a bit behind her sister’s level back in the day.”
“It’s really hard to judge at the same time, these sisters are truly born idols.”
“Yes, otherwise why would she be called Great Devil? Even without her star background, just based on her talent, she might not even be surpassed by Ji Shuzhu in competition mechanisms, let alone in other aspects.”
“When Xie Qingxuan announced her participation, it was like securing a debut spot.”
As the dust settled at Carry Center, the competition in the upper circle also reached its conclusion. In a total of 97 minutes of waiting, all 101 seats in the venue were filled.
Most of the audience in the live stream room also started to feel that something was not right at that moment.
“If the show ‘Dazzling Stage’ agreed to let contestants withdraw freely, why are the prepared seats fixed at 101?”
“Is this a test? Only allowing the first 101 players who entered to participate?”
“Oh no, I suddenly recalled Chu Yuanqing’s reaction before, when she entered, she circled all the seats, then sighed that there were only 101 seats.”
“Oh dear, could there be a trap?”
The mentors started entering the arena one after another, with a lineup as strong as predicted: the newbie actress Luo Siling, the well-known singer-composer Zhao Dapan, the rap star Jiang Chi, and the award-winning choreographer Chen Baijiu.
The trainees were sitting in their seats, discussing spiritedly, but like the audience, they felt that the lineup of mentors lacked a bit of excitement.
The earlier actions of “Dazzling Stage” were too explosive, raising expectations too high, which caused the luxurious lineup of mentors that would be impressive in a regular talent show to seem very ordinary now.
Quickly, a bright rainbow light fell onto the mentor’s seat, giving everyone a big surprise.
Suddenly, Dream Weaver Rabbit appeared again, wearing a little suit, grinning and bowing to everyone. Then, opening its arms, it said:
“Welcome, contestants, to the ‘Dazzling Stage.’ I am the head mentor and project leader, Dream Weaver Rabbit.”
“To avoid any misunderstandings, I’d like to clarify that the super AI, Dreamweaver, developed jointly by the Donghong Federation and the Sacred United Country, is in charge here.”
“Only the top leaders of the different countries, who lead the project, have the authority to directly influence my decisions and votes on the stage.”
“So, statistically speaking, I will be more fair to all the contestants on the stage than any other mentor.”
Dream Weaver Rabbit smiled, revealing the significant news, then floated in the air, overlooking the seats on the stage, and continued:
“Now, it’s time for the highly anticipated stage segment that the audience in the studio has been waiting for.”
“Of course, before that, I need to address some small questions that the audience might be curious about.”
The words fell silent.
With futuristic technology, thousands of live-streaming bullet comments were displayed in a 3D form in the sky, creating a wonderful and peculiar sight.
Dream Weaver Rabbit, surrounded by bullet comments flowing like rivers, casually grabbed one and, with crimson eyes squinting in delight, said:
“Oh, it seems that some attentive viewers have noticed that the program group originally prepared only 101 seats.”
“Do you want to know why it wasn’t announced in advance?”
“The answer is – this is a test of courage and awareness.”
“If the number of contestants was revealed to be only 101 beforehand, the initial hesitation of those who might have wanted to participate would be overpowered by anxiety and urgency due to the possibility of missing out on the opportunity.”
“And due to the herd mentality, some people would then choose to participate unnecessarily, becoming unwanted impurities in the show.”
“Similarly, the limit of 101 seats is also to eliminate impurities.”
Only the top 101 players at the advanced level are eligible to appear on the live broadcast and the first episode of the show.”
“As for the 67 players who chose to compete but were ranked outside the top 101, their desire to achieve their dreams and become idols was overshadowed by the other trainees present.”
“As a punishment, they could only perform for the first evaluation on another stage that would not be shown to the public, and they clearly fell behind right from the start.”
The sound of voices faded away.
The audience absorbed this huge amount of information, and the reactions it triggered—whether rebounds, doubts, angry outbursts, admiration, or disgust—materialized in physical form, transforming into a growing sea of bullet comments floating around Dream Weaver Rabbit as if to overwhelm it.
But it was pointless.
Dream Weaver Rabbit appeared almost bored, effortlessly crushing the bullet comments into fine pieces of light rain that drifted down. It indifferently stated:
“There is a saying that is quite true: recklessness is closer to courage than cowardice,”
“The program group doesn’t need all the trainees present to meet the selection criteria, as long as they reach the highest value in terms of mathematical probability.”
At the same time, in the corner seat,
Chu Yuanqing’s cold and delicate face was filled with confusion as if shocked by a terrifying message, her pupils unfocused and empty.
Strange, what is this red-eyed rabbit talking about?
Audience? What audience?
Isn’t this show supposed to go through recording, editing, review, and other complex processes before being uploaded online?
Haha, I get it, this is talking to the audience watching the show in the future!
Yes, that must be it!
The girl glanced up at the shattered sea of light, her pupils like mirrors reflecting the fragmented bullet comments.
– [Ha, Chu Yuanqing looks cute when she’s daydreaming! I want…]
？！！！
Suddenly,
This retired hero, former middle-aged office employee, and current magical girl encountered the heavy reality as if the sky was falling, and crashed.
Chu Yuanqing’s world crumpled, almost turning into a grayish-white character from an anime, about to self-destruct and vanish like ascending to the heavens, ignoring her daughter poking her shoulder in bewilderment, like a motionless doll.
Dream Weaver Rabbit held a virtual microphone, with a bright smile, and continued:
“Similarly, with punishment comes reward.”
“To execute this mechanism, the performance order will be determined by the sequence in which the contestants enter.”
“Now, the first contestant to perform is the first one to enter under pressure—Chu Yuanqing!”
The voice faded away.
In the live-stream room with millions of people watching, and hundreds of players on the stage, completely ignoring Chu Yuanqing’s crazy urge to call the police, all eyes focused on seat number 101.
