Overwhelming Victory

Perhaps because the PR work had been done well, there were not many spectators at the venue today, but quite a few reporters had shown up. Cameras of every size packed the place, making it feel rather impressive!

Of course, there were also people specifically responsible for recording the event, since the competition was going to be broadcast on television.

Since this was a competition meant for publicity, it naturally needed to be entertaining. That meant selling personas was unavoidable.

The so-called "experts" invited by the major hotels had all been assigned various personas before appearing on stage, naturally with the aim of attracting every kind of audience, from children to the elderly. No demographic had been overlooked!

Even someone like Su Li, who looked as though he had come merely to make up the numbers, had been given a vaguely defined persona because he was from Donghai University.

The planners had asked Su Li to act a little wilder while eating. After all, defying people's usual impressions was what drew the most attention.

Su Li had no objections to that. No matter how he performed, he was guaranteed to win!

"Next, please welcome the contestants of Group Three: Wang Lin from Qilu Restaurant, Liu Feng from Zhenhu Stir-fry... and Su Li from Misty Rain Summer Wind..."

As one group's competition ended, the host announced another set of names.

At the same time, a group of staff quickly came onstage to clean up the mess and clear the area for the next group of contestants.

"Finally, it's my turn!"

Su Li sighed, then quickly walked up.

"Contestants, please get ready. The competition will begin shortly!"

After introducing everyone and finishing the promotional segment, the host announced that the competition had entered its preparation phase.

Standing before a table, Su Li silently estimated how much energy he could gain from eating several dozen bowls of braised-noodle soup.

But after only a moment, Su Li shook his head. As a computer science student, he really had no way to calculate the energy conversion ratio between dry batteries and braised-noodle soup.

Still, he guessed these noodles probably would not change his rank progress much!

While Su Li stared at the bowls of braised-noodle soup, a huge fat man at the neighboring table swept his gaze over the surroundings with an expression of kingly disdain.

From the look in his eyes, he was just short of openly mocking everyone present as trash!

This fat man was named Wang Long, a famous competitive eater in the country.

Wang Long had been invited this time with the goal of taking the championship. He had already looked into it, and not a single person capable of surpassing him was here.

As for this group-stage contest, Wang Long did not take it seriously at all. These bowls of braised-noodle soup were, at most, a warm-up!

"This program is sponsored by XX and others. The Group Three competition officially begins!"

As the host announced the start of the competition, the atmosphere at the venue instantly became lively.

The contestants, who had been utterly quiet moments ago, suddenly acted like starving wild dogs, each grabbing a bowl of braised-noodle soup and wolfing it down.

Swept up by the atmosphere, Su Li could not remain aloof either.

After hesitating briefly, he grabbed a bowl of braised-noodle soup and swallowed the noodles and broth in a single gulp.

Su Li was not worried about being unable to digest it. He could even eat metal, so what were a few noodles?

After finishing one bowl, Su Li did not pause for even a moment before grabbing another and swallowing it. Then he grabbed another...

Bowl after bowl, his movements were mechanical, without the slightest pause or deviation.

While Su Li ate wildly, Wang Long at the next table was naturally not idle either. However, Wang Long felt completely relaxed. His opponents were all amateurs; how could they compare to a professional like him?

Thus, even as he stuffed himself, Wang Long spared some attention to observe the others. The result satisfied him greatly. A bunch of trash—the gap between them and him was as vast as heaven and earth.

At that moment, the audience below began letting out cries of amazement at just the right time, making Wang Long even more pleased. Though he was using only half his skill, it was enough to shock everyone!

However, the host's voice suddenly rang out.

"Unbelievable! Unbelievable!"

The two consecutive cries of "unbelievable" left Wang Long stunned for a moment.

"Contestant Number 27, Su Li from Misty Rain Summer Wind, consumed twenty generously portioned bowls of braised-noodle soup in three minutes and thirty-four seconds!"

"And there was not a single bit of waste!"

The host's voice was impassioned, and Wang Long quickly came to his senses. Wasn't Contestant Number 27 at the table beside him?

Wang Long swiftly turned his head to look at the corner he had ignored.

A neat stack of empty bowls reflected an unusual gleam beneath the soft lighting.

Wang Long: "..."

Damn it, he even drank the broth. Where did this monster come from?

Below the stage, unlike the calm Su Li onstage, Xia Ke excitedly clapped along with the rest of the audience.

As she clapped, she said, "Dad, Dad, did you see that? Su Li is really amazing, right?"

"This is far more than amazing!"

Xia's Father's mouth twitched. He had not told Xia Ke that the fat man beside Su Li was actually a professional, and that Su Li would most likely struggle in this group-stage contest.

But who would have thought that Su Li would give him such a huge surprise, directly crushing everyone else?

Inviting him here had been an absolute steal!

"Xia Ke, I'll give you another red packet later. Send it to your classmate!"

Xia's Father seemed to remember something and hurriedly told Xia Ke.

"Okay!"

Though somewhat puzzled, Xia Ke nodded.

"Contestant Su Li, is this your first time participating in a competitive eating contest?" the host asked onstage.

"Yes." Su Li nodded.

"Then now that you have qualified from this group, is there anything you would like to say?"

"Uh..."

Su Li thought for a moment, then pointed at the clothes bearing the words "Misty Rain Summer Wind" in front of him.

"XX Road, XX Number. Misty Rain Summer Wind welcomes you!"

Host: ??!

"Haha, Contestant Su Li is truly humorous!"

"Thank you!"

PS: This new book is still a little sapling. Please give it some support!