Chapter 144 - Winner Takes All
translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
––“The condition is that you have to hide your ident.i.ty? You can’t use your face?!”
Snow Leopard Entertainment Building entrance.
As the 125 guest contestants ran out like arrows released from the string, the fans outside were excited and full of energy, “Brother, ahhhh, brother!!!”, “Where’s my son?! There’s so many people, they’ll crush my baby flat!”
The fans were very excited, and they screamed one after another, but the bustle outside soon turned stagnant.
There were 125 guest players.
They were all wearing dark sungla.s.ses, dark masks, baseball caps, dark green military jackets, and they were all 170-190cm. Who could tell who their brother was?!
The players waved anxiously to their fans and then rushed out the door. There was a few seconds of silence amongst the fans, and then another clamor could be heard, “Ah Yuan is the one who dyed his hair white!” “Caesar is the fattest one!” “Little Witch! Ahh that one who was running at the back is my son, he even turned around and bowed to everyone. Do you have to be so well behaved––”
In the most disorganized area of the chaos, there was another commotion amongst the fans, “Go Little Witch! Go Little Witch!––”
This group of fans stood together messily. They were dressed in fancy clothes and didn’t have any support colors. They didn’t even have support cards or hand held props. On the contrary, there were still some people holding fried chicken and flowers in their arms. It didn’t seem like they were here to support their idol, and it was more like they had been in the midst of shopping then decided to come over to watch the show.
Amongst them, only a few scattered fan leaders were projecting video clips of their idol above the crowd, but it was unknown where they’d gotten them from as there were brand watermarks all over them.
A group of fans from a certain boy group finally couldn’t help themselves, “You guys… where’s your management? How come they didn’t organize anything?”
The little sister who was chewing on fried chicken was in a great mood, “Management? She’s still driving over! Hehe, we arrived here before her.”
The group fans were startled, “… You guys-you guys didn’t even know that they were starting up here? Why is it all so haphazard?”
The little sister: “We really didn’t know! We’re not professionals at this, and we haven’t chased stars in the past! My son was originally locked up in the Crosson factory in the suburbs; who knew that he would be let out to play today?! I was also just coming out of the spa with my best friend when I heard the news, but I rushed over as soon as I could! Cheer for Little Witch, make mama happy!”
“……” The group fans were dazed, but they were still kind and reminded them, “Haven’t you gone too far in fixing up the photos?”
The little sister stuck out her chest, “No! What fixing up are you talking about! My son looks just like that! Here, I’ll show you a photo of my son-in-law, this one riding on the Pterosaur––”
Off-site, over 100 contestants finally reached the entrance to the maglev subway.
“Just now, the fans were calling…who…it-it was so loud…Could it be that…amongst- amongst us is a super popular…big…boss…” Zhuang Fan, the leader of team 12, was almost out of breath. Maybe if he huffed more, he could even start a rap flow, but at this time, he had to use one hand to support himself against a post.
After a brief period of communication, he’d quickly found out the backgrounds of the other four. There was Lolo, a well-known virtual compet.i.tive game anchor, Chen Shao, who was the designated cold one in a boy group, Hudi, who was a 16 year old trainee without any experience, and Wu Jin, who had full appearance points––
Zhuang Fan was silent for a second, then blurted, “Aren’t you tired from running?!”
At this time, in team 12, other than Wu Jin, the other 4 people were pale, and their chests were heaving violently. Only Wu Jin stood nearby in a well-behaved fashion, “I’ve been trained professionally in survival compet.i.tions…”
Zhuang Fan suddenly understood, “Got it. Dance training, for muscle explosiveness!” Then, he quickly dispelled any doubts in his heart and solemnly pulled out the task card.
Earn 1000 credits by 4PM.
They couldn’t reach out to their fans.
They couldn’t rely on their appearances, so they had to wear sungla.s.ses and masksk2013;k2013;Zhuang Fan was going crazy, “We can’t rely on our faces. Isn’t this reducing my advantages in the court?!”
“k2026;k2026;” Wu Jin finally figured out that this was a boast, but then Zhuang Fan patted Wu Jin on the shoulder with some pity, “Little Witch is even more miserable!”
Hudi nodded and said solemnly, “Brother Wu, it’s okay. We’ll carry you for this round. You can carry us when we have to use our appearances to fight in the future.”
Wu Jin was soon moved by his teammate’s loyalty. He looked at the small text at the bottom of the task card.
Zhuang Fan: “100 credits will be deducted if any team member removes their mask, and it’s 200 credits for sungla.s.ses––if we all remove everything and do a striptease, we’ll have to compensate the program group with 10,000 credits??”
The five of them all leaned in together to figure out the task. Wu Jin suddenly felt a burst of heat at his neck, as though there were eyes on him from very far away. His hair stood on end, and his scalp felt numb.
He turned back abruptly, but there was nothing but a stream of pedestrians behind him.
Zhuang Fan was still strategizing, “Judging from the current lineup, our team is strongest in rap and appearance, and weakest in vocals and… fighting. This is a little difficult, but in this round, we can try to disguise our strength first. The so-called ‘real is false, and false is real’––”
Wu Jin looked into the distance, “Brother Fan! People are getting on the subway!”
Zhuang Fan pumped his legs, “… What are you standing there for, let’s go! Run!”
All the trainees had to take the subway from here to the northern suburbs. There were many people around the entrance, and the subway tickets were clearly marked. The price was 2 credits/person. Before Wu Jin could react, Zhuang Fan had already started off in a familiar manner and went to find a restaurant, “h.e.l.lo, uncle! We’re shooting a variety show with five cameras! The ratings are up to 300 million. We’ll read your advertis.e.m.e.nt 50 times as long as you give 10 credit. What do you think, big guy?”
The owner agreed readily, “Alright. Remember, this place is called White’s Hot Pot. Take your 10 credits!”
Zhuang Fan accepted the shop’s business card and handed it to Wu Jin, “The captain has more important things to do. In any case, we’ll take you along for this round, so you read it!”
Wu Jin exclaimed, then read out properly, “White’s Hot Pot, Blue Moon Bay building 67, mushroom soup base…”
A quarter of an hour later, they finally arrived in the northern suburbs.
Zhuang Fan asked Hudi, “What now, should we find a place to dance first?”
Wu Jin was very serious, “White’s Hot Pot, Blue Moon Bay building 67…”
Hudi: “Okay! But there’s no accompaniment…”
Wu Jin looked straight at the camera, “White’s Hot Pot…”
Zhuang Fan waved his hand, his entire body radiating the light of a savior, “It’s fine, I know how to beatbox.”
The remaining three people were overjoyed and looked at Zhuang Fan with respect. Zhuang Fan was much more comfortable after showing off and was just about to turn back to instruct Wu Jin when he saw that Wu Jin was still reading, “White’s––”
Zhuang Fan: “Stop hot pot-ing! You’ve already read it 50 times, right? Why are you still reading?”
Wu Jin hurriedly explained, “There’s still 6 times. The camera was turned off just now on the subway.”
Zhuang Fan: “… I said 50 times, and you’re really reading it 50 times. Ah, why are you so silly. Alright, let’s start! ––Little Witch, what are you doing, standing there in a daze??”
Wu Jin looked back, his expression puzzled, “Is there someone following us?”
Zhuang Fan: “Nonsense! Isn’t it all the cameras that are following us?!”
In the public square of the northern suburbs, there were countless cameras rushing over, and more and more pa.s.sers-by gathered together around it.
Team 12 chose a location that wasn’t considered remote, but the area across the street was quickly occupied by another group. At this time, the players were penniless, and they had almost all chosen to perform on the streets. Before Zhuang Fan could begin, the group across the street quickly marked out their area. Their beatboxing sounded out, and the other four people started the seaweed dance.
“……” Wu Jin’s eyebrows twitched. He couldn’t bear to look at the other group’s ugly stampede and imbalanced center of gravity.
Zhuang Fan sneered, “They’re another rap-dancer group.” Hudi and Chen Shao looked equally concerned. As they were all boy group trainees, they’d heard of their fellow compet.i.tors who hadn’t made their debuts in the circle. If Wu Jin and the shy game host Lolo were ‘outsiders’, then the group across from them were undoubtedly ‘insiders’.
In the distance, other groups with vocals were singing songs. Zhuang Fan didn’t hesitate and directly started a rhythm. Hudi screamed shrilly and gestured, and Chen Shao began to break dance.
“……” Wu Jin’s eyebrows twitched again. Zhuang Fan’s rhythm was more accurate than the team across from them. Chen Shao’s dancing was very explosive, but it was completely unable to keep up with Zhuang Fan’s beat. Chen Shao’s control of his muscles wasn’t complete, and his moves relied on toprock and handstands, but he couldn’t even execute a freeze.
Although the pa.s.sers-by couldn’t understand it, they could still vaguely sense his inadequacy. Soon, there were pa.s.sers-by cheering and praising the opposite side.
Wu Jin hurried over to Zhuang Fan, “Captain! Can I dance?”
Zhuang Fan waved his hand, “Don’t come out until the last minute. You’re the only dancer in our team. There are at least 26 dancers out of the 125 players. Please protect your ident.i.ty first.”
Wu Jin: “Oh… then I’ll ask again later!”
Zhuang Fan: “……”
To the side, Wu Jin whispered a reminder, “Captain! Speed up.”
Zhuang Fan stilled, then frowned, “It can’t be faster. Chen Shao can’t keep up.”
Wu Jin spoke softly, “Without running in, he can’t keep up even if the rhythm is slow. The rhythm is for the audience, it’s enough if the heavy beat is slow.”
Zhuang Fan suddenly came to his senses and called his teammates to start over. When the drum beat started up again, Chen Shao missed two eight beats, then fully integrated into the rhythm. After Zhuang Fan sped up the pace, he dazzled the audience with his skills––
Zhuang Fan gave Wu Jin a thumbs up.
10 minutes later, the first pa.s.ser-by gave team 12 their first reward––5 credits.
To the side, the little trainee Hudi had also finished warming up. Lolo took the initiative to suggest that since he couldn’t help out here, he would split up with his teammates to try something else. Wu Jin watched as Lolo entered a virtual network club, and when he started up the machine, the radio announcement rang out leisurely, “Number 99 in Area B, Zone 7, the strongest king is online!”
The broadcast went out three times, and people around him looked over in amazement.
Lolo spoke shyly, “I’ll see if I can accept any training orders. 30 credits an hour isn’t a problem, but from now until 4 o’clock… there’s only six hours.”
Wu Jin was in awe, “No rush. We’ll deal with it slowly.”
After leaving the virtual club, Wu Jin didn’t immediately meet up with his teammates again but instead stood by the side of the road for a long time before exploring the square.
5 credits in 10 minutes. Team 12’s performance income was too small. Even in the 21st century, it was too horrible to consider. Zhuang Fan’s strength was there, which meant there was only one possibility left––
Around the square was an endless flow of people. Wu Jin’s gaze moved around quickly. There were too many dancers, too many rappers, and very few visitors stopping by. In the distance, it was much more lively. Wu Jin could see that Red had marked out a s.p.a.ce and was rapping, while Zuo Botang had obtained ink and paper from somewhere and was now selling landscape paintings. Ming Yao was performing a sword dance in a corner of the street that allowed him to watch his captain…
Wu Jin stopped looking and quickly rejoined his teammates.
On that side, Zhuang Fan’s throat was already dry from all the beatboxing, and his rhythm could no longer really keep up––Wu Jin patted him on the shoulder, then cupped his right hand. A low yet precise and powerful beat emerged from his throat.
“……” Zhuang Fan was shocked, “How can this be? You’ve also learned how to b-box?!”
Wu Jin nodded repeatedly.
After Hudi finished dancing, Wu Jin gestured for his teammates to gather together, “Here in the northern suburbs square, there are rappers and dancers. It should be something that the program group arranged deliberately, and now there’s a certain degree of direct compet.i.tion.”
This kind of direct compet.i.tion meant that the visitors would feel an aesthetic fatigue.
Visitors moved from the east side of the square towards the west, and had long become tired of watching the same type of performances. The harvest from rap and dancing shouldn’t be so low, but because of all the similar performances, the income was far lower than Lolo’s game playing and Zuo Botang’s painting.
“There are two solutions.” Wu Jin stretched out two fingers. It might be because he’d eaten too much with the big boss last week, but he seemed a little chubby, “First, we can leave the square and dance elsewhere.”
Zhuang Fan rejected this right away, “Little Witch, is this your first time partic.i.p.ating in a variety show? The cameras are arranged around the square. Even if we leave, the program team will pull us back.”
Wu Jin nodded, “Then, the second plan.”
They all looked at him at the same time.
Wu Jin spoke earnestly, “The square fountain is where there is the highest traffic flow. It’s also the square’s visitor entrance. We have to move over there.”
Hudi shook his head like a rattle drum. “That… that guy is over at the fountain.” During the show, contestants couldn’t reveal the ident.i.ty of the opponents they knew, but the other two trainees frowned at the same time.
They obviously knew who Hudi was referring to.
Hudi lamented, “He’s very strong, at the debut level. We can’t beat him if we’re there. Also, he won’t leave even if we go over there…”
Wu Jin looked across the distance to the fountain where many visitors had gathered together.
“Well, there’s only one prime location.” Wu Jin raised up his small round face and spoke determinedly, “Let’s go––Ah, captain, can I dance now?”
“……” Zhuang Fan was slightly inferior when it came to b-boxing and didn’t have sufficient confidence. He couldn’t help but start to think about how he’d had this rapper Wu Jin read out the hot pot advertising, “Alright, alright, let’s cross this hurdle first.”
Wu Jin’s eyes brightened.
Zhuang Fan asked, “How do we take over the fountain area?”
Wu Jin removed his outer jacket and lowered his baseball cap. By the time he looked up again, his body carried a powerful presence that was quite different from how he’d appeared when he was reading the hot pot advertis.e.m.e.nt. He spoke, “Only one team can remain. It’s very simple.”
“Hip-hop battle, winner takes all.”
Juurensha: Dance battle time!!!
xiin: cue s.e.xy little witch!