Chapter 179
"Mom, Xiao Qing absolutely cannot be in a group with these bad women! Something's definitely off about this group. The Great Demon King has a tendency to favor girls, the Sakura Girl is cunning, and Tang Liuli even dared to ask for a lap pillow in public. Every single one of them is a lesbian???"
"Waaaaaah! As a die-hard fan of Qing Bao, I can't even imagine how they're secretly plotting against my innocent Qing Bao! Today, my hands are trembling! Today, my heart is breaking!"
"Damn it, Qing Bao is innocent and easily fooled. How is this any different from a sheep entering a pack of wolves?"
The level of madness in the Live Broadcast Room was as high as ever.
The Dream Weaver Rabbit observed the reactions of the contestants, its scarlet eyes narrowed slightly, and it smiled, saying:
"Before announcing the list of those who have advanced, I have some good news to share with you all."
"To ensure that the subsequent competitions feature more unpredictable and dazzling performances, the Program Group will continue to grant everyone access to the [Flow State] Development Lab."
These words spread like wildfire, igniting the hope and ambition in the hearts of many contestants.
Especially those high-rated players who were defeated by [Flow State], their eyes shone brightly upon hearing this, and they were filled with renewed vigor, hoping that their hard work would bear fruit and that they could use their own [Flow State] to defeat those who had defeated them and avenge their previous defeats!
No one doesn't want to debut, and no one doesn't want to be the Center position.
They came here not to be anyone's stepping stone, but to step onto the dazzling stage, to shine their own light on the world, and to become world-class idols!
Chu Yuanqing frowned slightly; she had basically explored the [Flow State] development lab this month.
At the very bottom of this base lie a large number of low-level [Calamity Species]. Flashdance uses technology or magic to extract their "blood and essence," filtering and transforming them layer by layer until they condense into a kind of idealistic substance similar to magic.
Ultimately, they were poured into the hibernation pods in the development room and provided to the players lying inside, serving to forcibly catalyze the emergence of the [Cocoon of the Heart].
The problem is that the cocoon woven from the material of disaster energy cannot nurture the deepest desires; it can only capture the host's most superficial desires and weave the so-called "Flow State" ability.
On the other hand, a cocoon woven in this way is too impure and does not fit the characteristics of Magical Girl. In addition, the strength of the structure is insufficient, making it impossible to integrate with an artificial lantern.
In other words, these Little Idol are only getting fakes; it's impossible for them to become Magical Girl through them.
Right now, Dream Weaver Rabbit's statement is clearly intended to encourage more players to cultivate [Cocoon of the Heart].
This means that either Flash Dance is trying to gamble with human lives to increase the chances of producing more Magical Girl, or they simply have other plans for this group of contestants.
Chu Yuanqing's expression was serious, and he murmured to himself:
"No matter which one it is, I need to add an extra layer of insurance for these children."
"If I could use [the Pure White Aria], and the magic of a stage performance to fulfill my wish, perhaps I could achieve the result I desire."
On stage, the Dream Weaver Rabbit glanced this way, revealing a smile that was hard to decipher, and said softly:
"Now, let's announce the list of those who have advanced."
The words had barely left his mouth.
Inside the multimedia classroom, teams of five students faced a series of challenges appearing above their heads, clearly indicating their advancement order.
Chu Yuanqing's team is number 6, meaning they are the sixth team to advance.
The sequence of all members was quickly determined, going directly from number 1 to number 32, representing 32 teams—160 players—that had advanced.
In other words, eight players failed to form a team.
Because the fourth episode had not yet aired, and the Live Broadcast Room deliberately avoided showing the direction of the losers, this scene surprised the audience and caused quite a stir.
But for the players who can watch the live streams of other players' matches, Dream Weaver Rabbit's words are just a formality.
The Dream Weaver Rabbit showed a pitying expression, as if it were filled with regret, and sighed, saying:
"Unfortunately, eight players failed to form a team in this round."
After speaking, the Super AI revealed its true colors, revealing an expectant smile, opening its arms, and continuing:
"Ladies and gentlemen, as agreed a month ago, we have now come to my favorite part: the voting."
As soon as the voice fell, a Virtual Projection popped up in front of all the trainees except for the eight contestants. It showed only two options and a 120-second countdown.
"Whether they are eliminated or not is up to you to decide their fate."
"Of course, you can also choose not to vote, and the Program Group will assume you abstained."
After Dream Weaver Rabbit finished speaking, a giant screen popped up in front of the podium to record the changes in the two vote counts in real time.
Chu Yuanqing didn't think much of it and casually cast her vote; she voted for no elimination.
Although from her own perspective, being eliminated from "Flash Dance" was a good thing, after the experience of the last Public Performance, she understood just how precious a stage with a live audience was in the eyes of these Little Idol.
On the other hand, since Dream Weaver Rabbit would eliminate half of the participants in this round no matter what, there was no reason for her to prevent these children from getting another chance to step onto the stage.
After Chu Yuanqing voted, the four Little Idol next to her, and even Liang Xiaoxiao who was secretly observing from afar, all followed suit and chose not to be eliminated.
Lin Bao'er was kind-hearted, and Ruan Wutong was too lazy to think too much, so they both followed the crowd and cast the same vote.
Chen Yining didn't consider the other teams a threat at all, and the choreographer didn't care either, so they all chose the option that made their side appear calm and composed.
Thus, the two strongest teams on the surface finished casting their votes within ten seconds, largely playing a leading role.
Moreover, the players in those high-quality teams all possess the composure unique to the strong.
These pretty girls didn't think having one or two more competitors was a big deal. Plus, they all wanted to be more likable on camera and build better public image, so naturally they didn't want to kick those eight contestants when they were down.
Therefore, in the first thirty seconds, the number of votes for "not eliminated" on the big screen was overwhelmingly large, as if those who had plenty of time or were naive had all chosen without hesitation.
This situation puts the contestants who want to vote for elimination in a rather awkward position.
Vulnerable groups are always easy to sympathize with, especially since the elimination cost in Flash Dance is extremely high. If it's not necessary, no one wants to be the bad guy who sends the other person out of the game.
For a time, these people either waited and saw or simply abstained from voting.
Only trainees who lacked confidence in themselves or were simply dragged down by the team still chose [elimination].
Two minutes later,
Looking at the vote count, the Dream Weaver Rabbit couldn't help but offer a sincere compliment:
"FlashDance's motto has always been unity and friendship, and I am pleased that you all have the courage to put forward more competitors."
"Then, the Program Group will use a spinning wheel to randomly select 5 people from these 8 to form teams. As for the remaining 3 contestants, they will be disqualified and eliminated."
He finished speaking.
Those pretty girls who had just returned from hell to heaven and barely managed to hold back their tears felt as if they were standing on the edge of an abyss. Their blood turned cold, and they were afraid that they would be the unluckiest ones. Some of them looked up at the projected spinning wheel, some simply buried their heads and refused to look, and some couldn't bear the pressure and their eyes reddened.
Ten seconds later, the answer was revealed.
Dream Weaver Rabbit seemed to think it wasn't worth keeping everyone in suspense, making no attempt to blur out the names in the Live Broadcast Room. It let the viewers see who the three eliminated contestants were, clapped its hands indifferently, and gave a professional smile:
"Luck is also a part of strength."
"Alright, the three eliminated contestants can now leave. Go to your dorms to pack your belongings, and the staff will arrange transportation for you to leave the competition venue."
The entire room was deathly silent, filled with a gloomy atmosphere.
One of the eliminated contestants was a B-Class trainee from Qinghe Entertainment. Her skills were above average in the competition, but due to bad luck, she was matched with terrible teammates at the beginning and did not participate in the match-fixing alliance, making it a very unfavorable start.
C1 lost once and was selected.
B1 suffered a defeat and was relegated to C1.
C1 suffered a defeat and returned to the waiting area.
The cycle repeated until they finally squeezed into the A1 area, but there were no teams left to challenge them. They waited until time ran out, fell into the loser's bracket, and have now been eliminated without being drawn again.
That's how the teammate competition works. As long as you haven't stepped into the [Flow State] realm and secured a guaranteed advancement qualification, even with A-Class hard skills, there's a chance you might fail and not be able to form a complete team.
This B-Class contestant had quite a few fans, Live Broadcast Room chat was flooded with comments, clearly expressing dissatisfaction with such a regrettable elimination.
Unfortunately, the Dream Weaver Rabbit ignored the comments in the Live Broadcast Room and overlooked the several eliminated contestants whose dreams were shattered and who could never become idols again. Looking at the remaining contestants, its smile became even more genuine, and it continued:
"Alright, after all these tedious parts, we've finally arrived at the part you've all been most looking forward to."
"That is, the rules for a second Public Performance."
"This Public Performance will also be held outside the base, from 9:00 AM until the end of the competition in the evening."
"The Program Group will randomly select 3,000 viewers from the official website to watch. Currently, there are a total of 33 teams, and one team from each team will be randomly selected to compete. Since it is not a round number, one team will be lucky enough to receive a bye and advance."
The Dream Weaver Rabbit looked around and said with a smile:
"The rules for winning are standard; the outcome is decided by a vote from the live audience."
"What's special is that when viewers vote for a team, they can choose to vote for one of the players, or they can choose to vote for the entire team."
"These two types of tickets are individual tickets and group tickets, which will be automatically added together during the PK (player versus player) round to determine the team's total votes for the PK against the opposing team."
"At the same time, the winning side on stage will receive two thousand group tickets."
"In the final tally, the group votes will be evenly distributed among each member of the team, becoming individual votes. The Program Group will then rank the contestants according to their individual votes, eliminating the bottom 50% of contestants!"
The atmosphere in the venue became enthusiastic.
The trainees were all very familiar with the rules of a regular audition and quickly grasped the format of the second round.
This time, "Flash Dance" didn't do anything fancy. It was basically the same as a normal talent show Public Performance, a very serious stage competition. The only thing to note is that the Program Group separated the group and individual elements very well.
Although Dream Weaver Rabbit didn't specify how many votes the audience could cast, as long as it's not limited to one vote, this rule essentially means that even if someone wins the stage PK, it doesn't guarantee that everyone will advance.
It's a very simple principle: if one person in the team is too outstanding and steals all the votes from the other teammates, the group votes allocated to them might not be enough to squeeze into the top 50%.
In other words, whether or not you can secure the Center position in the second Public Performance directly affects the number of votes you receive.
It's easy to imagine that with this rule in place, the competition for the top spot among the 33 teams will be even more intense than before.
At this moment,
Fan Qiuling glanced at a certain Stage Tyrant with a lingering gaze. She was beginning to feel somewhat fortunate that he had been chosen by Chu Yuanqing. Otherwise, given Xie Qingxuan's stage presence, a normal person paired with him wouldn't be able to shine at all. To put it bluntly, they probably wouldn't even get a single individual vote.
The Golden Haired Doggy was unaware that she was being "talked about." On the surface, she sat up straight and listened to the rules, but in reality, she was daydreaming, thinking about all the little tricks she would use that night. She remained in this daze until the Dream Weaver Rabbit finished explaining all the rules, at which point she snapped out of her reverie and followed her teammates out of the classroom.
Night fell over Zhelong Town.
The virtual environment of the underground base also changes accordingly.
The Green Eyed Cat felt it had won too much today.
Little Sakura looked down over the entire scene, secretly pulling and tugging at the water container to prevent anyone from taking advantage of Qing Bao.
Chu Wangshu was somewhat troubled, wondering how many individual votes she could get from the audience in such an excellent team.
However, it was obvious that although Dream Weaver Rabbit emphasized the importance of individual votes, no one planned to change the Center position at the last minute. They still entrusted it to Kiriwake Yayoi, who won the rock-paper-scissors game, and continued training as usual.
After finishing her training, Chu Yuanqing let her Little Cotton-padded Jacket rest her lap on her knees for a while, patted her head, and spent a warm time watching TV together before braiding her hair like a mother and going to the kitchen to cook for her Little Idol.
During this time, she was thinking about serious matters. Only after dinner did she break her train of thought and quietly reward Little Sakura, who had been aggrieved that day, to prevent the other from showing any resentment.
The day is drawing to a close.
Chu Yuanqing took a bath in the bathroom. Her pure white hair was hazy in the steam. Her clear golden eyes glanced at the little yellow duck that had bumped into the undulating curves. She poked the naughty thing aside with her fingertips, then pulled it back with Magic Thread, playing quite seriously.
Just then, there was a series of knocks on the door.
It was Xie Qingxuan.
Volume 1: Chapter 173. The Smile of the Pure White Witch, A Burning Love. (5K)
In the bathroom,
Chu Yuanqing's face was serious. Almost the instant she heard the knock on the door, she used her Magic Thread to throw the childish little yellow duck into the sink to show her innocence. She didn't like playing with such children's toys; she only squeezed them when she was bored!
Outside the door, Xie Qingxuan waited obediently for a while. Then, a Magic Thread emerged from the crack in the door and, in place of its master, turned the lock, opening the door and allowing him to enter Chu Yuanqing's room.
The Golden Haired Doggy slammed the door shut and locked it. Glancing at the smudged mist on the bathroom glass door, her platinum eyelashes fluttered a few times as she asked:
"Is Xiao Qing taking a bath?"
Chu Yuanqing submerged her head in the warm bathtub water, letting the gurgling sounds rise to the surface. Her flawless white hair floated in the water, and large expanses of her milky-smooth skin were indistinctly visible through the shimmering bubbles...
Damn it, just thinking about what Qingxuan is here for makes me feel so ashamed!
No, this way of escaping is too stupid.
Chu Yuanqing popped her head out of the water. No longer childishly burying her head in the sand, she straightened her beautiful back, placed her hands on the edge of the bathtub, and slowly curled up her long legs until... she gave up struggling, and with a look of utter despair, she stood up.
Splash, splash.
Large water droplets splashed up, as if hitting the glass wall with floating ice and mint, then slid down the curve of the legs, creating ripples in the bathtub and blurring the reflection of the scenery on the water's surface, like pieces of broken glass pieced together.
Chu Yuanqing lowered her eyes and sighed. She took a step forward, her toes touching the cold floor, when she heard a thud. She subconsciously turned her head to look at the bathroom door, only to see Xie Qingxuan naturally push the door open and enter, blinking his innocent eyes and looking at her curiously.
"Nice."
Xie Qingxuan earnestly praised the mermaid-like scene of emerging from a bath. As she spoke, she put the basket of clothes aside, casually removed her equipment, picked up a childish-looking toy, and without hesitation, soaked in the bathtub filled with the other person's bathwater while Chu Yuanqing was in a daze.
Splash, splash.