Chapter 193
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Chapter 193: The National Flower of Sankt Wolfgang, Charlotte
Dream Weaver Rabbit’s words caused a stir in the live stream, and the contestants present felt the pressure.
50 spots???
If distributed evenly, that means 25 qualifying spots for each competition area.
In other words, 84 people from Sea City will compete for 25 spots, and 83 people from Kyoto will also compete for 25 spots. This elimination rate is even more extreme than the worst-case scenario we expected.
The most important thing is that Dream Weaver Rabbit’s way of speaking means that these qualifying spots are shared. Only contestants who rise to the top fifty in the mixed battle between the two competition areas will earn their qualification.
This means that in extreme cases, it’s possible for all spots to be taken by one competition area, which could lead to the other side of "Dazzling Stage" announcing an abrupt end to the recording.
"Well, based on popularity, Sea City has a much better chance, right? The view count for Kyoto’s ‘Dazzling Stage’ is only half of Sea City’s."
"It’s hard to say, the competition format in Kyoto is different from here. To improve ratings, they have even more flair and intensity than Sea City, and the level of competition in the second performance is extremely fierce. People at the scene said that half of the 32 teams managed to excel on the spot."
Audiences who have seen the second performance imagined all kinds of conspiracies and couldn’t help but complain.
In the live stream, there was much discussion; some criticized "Dazzling Stage" for putting too much pressure on the young idols, while others compared them to strong teams next door, seriously discussing the chances of both fan groups, and some even began to look forward to the third round of performances, making everything quite chaotic.
As for the contestants, their ability to handle pressure had been greatly tested by Dream Weaver Rabbit over the past two months. After hearing the news, they were shocked for a moment, but then managed to recover.
This move was very much like Dream Weaver Rabbit and also like "Dazzling Stage."
Moreover… the contestants from both regions gathered on stage, stepping onto a grand platform in front of 15,000 spectators, betting on their own shine to determine the final winner—wasn’t that an exciting and anticipated scene?
—The stage decides fate.
Since Dream Weaver Rabbit was willing to gamble the future and viewership of the two regions in "Dazzling Stage," it was only right for them to bet on their own shine and future as well!
Chu Yuanqing glanced at Little Sakura, who was getting excited beside her. She understood that such a big change in the competition format was likely because Dream Weaver Rabbit had realized the four-month deadline.
This deadline forced the planning of "Dazzling Stage" to speed up.
If nothing unexpected happens, the other regions’ "Dazzling Stage" will be the same.
After the third round, just two more rounds, or even one, will determine the positions for debut. At that time, "Dazzling Stage" will surely confront the contestants and reveal some truths about the magical girls and Disaster Wave, moving forward with the rest of the plans.
Once it reaches that point, even if one can still take the stage as an idol, the weight of responsibility will be completely different from before, and they will inevitably face the Calamity Seeds, as well as the Disasters that emerge from them.
— Idol.
— Magical girl.
— Warrior defending human civilization.
These three stages progress step by step, and the cruelty faced as a simple idol will seem like child’s play in comparison later.
On stage,
Dream Weaver Rabbit cut off the live broadcast and turned off the projection screen, continuing to explain the rules:
"Of course, just like the team competition in the second round served as an appetizer, the third round also has other elimination methods before the official performance. Only the teams that succeed will get their tickets to participate in the show."
"To put it simply, the program group has arranged a commercial performance for each team, and the locations are varied, like Guangzhou, Suzhou and Hangzhou, Tianfu, Dongliu Island outside Daxia, and even the Sacred United Country beyond Donghong Federation."
The green-eyed cat cautiously climbed off the Pure White Witch’s thigh. With wise eyes blinking, she looked at the red-eyed rabbit in the distance. Her first reaction was that they were actually going out, and her second reaction was… isn’t this just like a public-funded trip with Honey Qing?!
Kirimi Miyuki felt very excited after hearing this.
After all, this is a commercial performance. Unlike stage shows, which have a different nature, a commercial performance is a necessary path for a mature girl group. Compared to making money through advertisements, variety shows, releasing albums, or transitioning to acting, commercial performances suit her much better.
Unfortunately, the group she used to be part of was the type that rarely got commercial performances. After finally getting a good opportunity, it all fell apart due to a scandal within the group.
Therefore, Little Sakura is quite obsessed with this.
On the other hand, she believes that because her fame is not widespread, the audience at commercial performances won’t see her through a "fan filter." So, if she can win recognition from the audience during the performance, it would be the highest praise for the stage and a great opportunity to improve herself.
Chu Wang Shu’s eyes sparkled. She felt like she had truly become a reserve idol, and now she was about to go for her first internship. She felt a bit nervous but also excited, and began to look forward to it.
Xie Qingxuan felt nothing; she took on some performance contracts, but the evaluation was not as good as when Little Qing was on stage.
As for the payment? It is not even close to what her sister transferred to humiliate her.
Dream Weaver Rabbit continued to explain the rules:
"The program group has prepared three dance pieces for your performances."
"These are also the pieces you can perform at the public shows, so in this sense, the performance can be seen as a special rehearsal. During this time, I will record the audience’s honest feedback and give you scores."
"The highest score for the performance is 100. Additionally, completing tasks assigned by the program group can also increase your scores. Only when the score reaches 100, will you be allowed to return from the performance location to the competition site to participate in the three public shows."
"This time, the program group will give you a lot of freedom; only a few staff members will be following you. All decisions will be made by the team itself, and your meals, accommodations, and transportation will be covered by ‘Dazzling Stage.’"
"Finally, there is a time limit: starting from tomorrow, if the teams have not arrived at the venue by 9 AM five weeks later, they will be considered eliminated."
After saying this.
The Dream Weaver Rabbit did not give everyone a chance to respond. It clapped its hands, and many projections intertwined in the sky, each virtual screen popping up in front of the 84 contestants, showing different options.
Whether it was choosing teammates, completing a short team, or finding a group to join, everything could be satisfied through the pool of information. The remaining 19 solo contestants were randomly formed into four teams within three seconds.
Five minutes later, the eliminated contestants left the stage by themselves.
The 84 contestants on site then took their seats, either in their original teams or newly formed ones, and began to draw locations for their performances as teams.
This was also a part that tested luck.
The contestants at the Sea City venue were not globally famous; their fame was limited to just one country, with Daxia as their main base and Sea City as the most important home ground.
In other words, holding performances in Sea City was the best choice because it was the easiest way to meet their fans, making them feel more satisfied.
Unfortunately, it seemed that everyone’s luck was not very good.
Qi Yushuang drew Jin City, a small third-tier city.
Chu Qiushuang drew the border, near the desert and the grasslands.
Fan Qiuling drew Cixi, which is not far from Sea City, so her luck isn’t too bad.
Chen Yining was very unlucky; she was the first one present to go abroad, heading to Dongliu Island for a performance, and even meeting a fan would be a victory for her. Plus, she had to deal with the challenge of a foreign language.
Lin Baor looked like she wanted to cry.
Ruan Wutong thought going to Dongliu Island would be fun.
Liang Xiaoxiao began to worry about going abroad for the first time.
As for the last one…
Well, Miss Choreographer thought Dongliu Island was a perfect place to play with childhood friends, and strange ideas began to swirl in her mind.
Tang Liuli playfully patted Little Sakura’s thigh and eagerly asked:
"Who will draw?"
Kirimi Miyuki didn’t care about the silly cat’s childish revenge; she complained,
"Don’t dwell on this, let’s draw quickly. Even though ‘Dazzling Stage’ is rich, there is no need to consider too many options. There are only a dozen or so in the pool. What if all the good ones are taken by the time we draw slowly?"
After speaking, everyone looked at a certain Pure White Witch.
Chu Yuanqing understood and tapped the screen with her little hand, and the corresponding information came up.
– Sacred United Country, Austria, Sankt Wolfgang.
For a moment, the little idols fell silent.
This distance seems too ridiculous, right? Just for a business event, how did ‘Dazzling Stage’ think to expand their business to Sacred United Country?
At this moment, no one complained about Chu Yuanqing’s bad luck; they all began to blame the awful red-eyed rabbit.
The green-eyed cat complained:
"What is the program group thinking? This distance would take a whole half day even by plane! Just one round trip gives us a whole day less to correct our mistakes. If we face delays, we’re already out!"
Kirimi Miyuki felt a bit down. If only they had drawn Dongliu Island, she might have been able to return to Hokkaido and introduce her teammates to her family.
Little Sakura didn’t dwell on her regrets for long and calmly added:
"Besides… no one will know us there, and the language barrier is a big problem. Does anyone here speak German?"
Tang Liuli speaks German, and Gloria, who belongs to the Sacred United Country, knows a bit of the language and can communicate fluently with the locals.
But the problem is…
The green-eyed cat imagined herself trying to talk to someone on the street and felt scared to the point of curling up under the table like an abstract line. But then she looked at the sakura girl, who claimed she couldn’t help, and a sudden feeling of superiority rose within her.
Hmph, the useless sakura girl! Only I can help Little Qing now!
If Sakura girl couldn’t show her talents, Little Qing would surely see her in a new way, right?
Tang Liuli thought about this and imagined being looked at by Chu Yuanqing with surprise, and enjoying a gentle touch from her. She felt excited and gathered her courage to say, with a stutter, that she could speak German.
But in the next moment,
"I can, at least I can manage normal conversations."
Xie Qingxuan "sneakily" interrupted the shy cat’s magic process.
Chu Yuanqing quickly followed and said:
"So can I."
Tang Liuli was very shocked, completely crushed; her dreams in her mind shattered, feeling so sad she wanted to crawl under the table and draw circles.
Chu Yuanqing was quick and lifted the green-eyed cat by its collar, curiously pinching its soft cheeks, successfully stopping the child from shutting down.
Chu Wang Shu was used to the embarrassing moments of her childhood idol. She chose to ignore them, only feeling that her knowledge was shallow. She secretly made up her mind to work hard and decided to memorize some everyday German phrases tonight so she wouldn’t hold her teammates back.
Kirimi Miyuki seemed to understand something. At that moment, she realized the reason for what "Dazzling Stage" was doing.
Since this show aimed to train a world-class girl group, they must nurture international connections in advance. Language was a challenge they had to overcome, as it was essential for interacting with fans and understanding different cultures.
Little Sakura began to reflect on herself. As an idol, the stage was of utmost importance, but things related to culture and understanding also needed nurturing and growth.
It’s a simple truth: if you don’t understand the culture of other countries and don’t know their preferences, how can you expect them to like you?
Therefore, this trip to Sacred United Country was a great chance for practice!
Chu Yuanqing felt something was off. The place they were going to sounded familiar, but she had only stayed in Daxia for 17 years and had never left the country, so it was probably just a feeling… right?
The little idols began to chatter excitedly.
"If there are staff members with us, we probably don’t have to book our own plane tickets, right? I guess the assistants will take care of the travel details."
"We need to find a place to practice dancing locally. Renting a hotel is not a problem, but finding a suitable dance studio can be quite complicated."
"Can’t we stay at the base and practice for a few weeks before going to Sankt Wolfgang? The facilities outside just can’t compare to the base. It feels like just the difference in practice spaces could slow us down a lot."
"That’s true; there are no AI trainers outside, and no virtual reality setups of that level. Not to mention the nutritional supplements and muscle memory training equipment."
Kirimi Miyuki analyzed seriously:
"This lists the performance locations, but we should really talk to the staff in charge of us to get the detailed information."
"But looking at the point system, aside from performances, we definitely have to complete other tasks to meet the return conditions. From this perspective, the sooner we arrive, the better."
Chu Wang Shu complained:
"This program used to focus a lot on stage dancing, but now it finally feels a bit like a variety show."
Tang Liuli remarked sharply:
"It is definitely true that the program group knows the elimination efficiency is too high. They are afraid that if it continues like this, there won’t be enough material for a few episodes after recording, so they intentionally set up a big event in the third round."
On stage, Dream Weaver Rabbit smiled when he saw everyone had finished drawing.
"Everyone, soon the program group will return your phones."
"From now until the end of the third performance, you all have the right to use electronic devices freely, but please remember the confidentiality rules of ‘Dazzling Stage.’ Do not leak any information about the program that has not been publicly announced."
"As for other things, each team will be assigned an assistant. She will create a WeChat group for you, where you can find information about performances and tasks. I won’t go into detail about that here."
After finishing, the red-eyed rabbit clapped his hands, announced the meeting was over, and vanished from the spot.
Chu Yuanqing walked out of the classroom with the crowd and returned to the dormitory with her teammates. The waiting smart robot at the door lifted a tray containing several phones.
Chu Yuanqing sat on the sofa, turned on her phone, opened WeChat, accepted a friend request from a contact named [Assistant], and was then added to a group chat called [Loving Family].
The staff member in the group is noted as Chen Xiaoxiao.
Yes, that sister who interviewed herself, gave her a little dinosaur keychain and cosmetics, did her makeup before the performance, and took her to a photoshoot for endorsements.
Chu Yuanqing recognized Chen Xiaoxiao very well; she knew her name right away. However, she didn’t type a greeting but waited until the other teammates were brought in before she started talking about some questions regarding the promotional event.
Chen Xiaoxiao had a very serious work attitude. She replied almost immediately and said that the passport, flight tickets, dance studio, and hotel would all be arranged on their side; they just needed to pack their bags today and go to the airport tomorrow, which made the little idols cheer.
As for the specific time of the promotional event, "Dazzling Stage" had already agreed with the other side that they could perform on any day within 45 days, making it very flexible, and there was no need to worry about not having enough training time.
Then, she sent out three tasks required by the program group.
— Street dance, to attract the attention and praise of a hundred people.
— Film a three-hour-long vlog, with no meaningless content allowed.
— Travel check-in, taking a group photo at ten random scenic spots in the country.
Completing these tasks would earn a total of 30 points, which, combined with the promotional event, would almost meet the comeback requirements.
Of course, there are more than three tasks to do. If we want to be careful, it is better to do a few more tasks.
Kirimi Miyuki gathered everyone to discuss for a while and decided to first plan a travel route with the final destination being Sankt Wolfgang, during which they would complete tasks like checking in at tourist spots and filming vlogs.
The street dance needs to be surveyed to check the safety and local customs, and to see if there are suitable places. In short, it has not been decided yet.
After that, the few of them returned to their rooms to start packing their bags.
…
…
At the same time, in the underground control room.
Dream Weaver Rabbit was scrolling through the task pool arranged by the program group.
There were also some more flashy tasks, like writing letters to fans, fulfilling a fan’s wish, or earning 500 yuan by street dancing in 24 hours…
The super AI slid the task list to the bottom and looked at a somewhat strange task, revealing a smile that was hard to explain.
——[Task: Visit the national flower born from Sankt Wolfgang.]
Dream Weaver Rabbit lowered its crimson eyes. Of course, it did not casually assign Chu Yuanqing so far away. Considering the weight of the other party now, performing outside the base would make people feel uneasy; the only place that ensured absolute safety was Sankt Wolfgang.
That place was always protected by shining magic that covered the sky, and even a nightmare type of disaster could not silently invade it. It was more powerful than ordinary shining magic, like an eternal blessing.
Thinking of this, Dream Weaver Rabbit smiled even more brightly:
"I really look forward to your meeting. The true nature of Donghong Amaterasu can only be measured by the saintess of the Sacred United Country, right?"
