Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Seeing so many positive comments, Cong Ruyi relaxed a lot. Realizing her beauty might help Shennong Star gain more votes, she felt pumped up. Upon hearing the mockery from Berry Star, she didn’t back down at all, only wanting to roll up her sleeves and fight.

Even when a beauty is mad, it’s still a sight to behold.

Cong Ruyi slightly furrowed her brows, her long lashes fluttering as she picked up the Pantao that the logistics team had just placed on the table and held it next to her cheek. She teased, "Beauty, beautiful fruit, delicious food—being too perfect might just be a crime. After all, if you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight. Envy and rumors are inevitable; we just have to endure them."

Her eyes sparkled, showing the struggle of being too good, a burden she had to carry alone, filled with both reluctance and helplessness.

Her clever comeback, using finesse to deflect a heavy hit, created a full program effect, amusing many viewers.

Mao Hao, who was on the receiving end of the retort, wasn’t as smooth as Cong Ruyi. A sneer was plastered on his face, and his sharp, sarcastic words were about to spill out. Seeing things go south, the host immediately put on a wide smile and took over the conversation:

"Miss Cong, hello! We’ve been waiting for days, and finally, you’ve stepped up to the challenge. Shennong Star must’ve shelled out a lot to get you, huh?"

The host directly pointed the finger at Shennong Star’s supposed fear of the challenge.

In fact, a young girl who relies on her looks is easy to manipulate, with only a bit of cleverness. Just hit her weak spot, and she’ll fall right into your hands.

Having been a host for so many years, he wasn’t about to lose his edge to a rookie.

But he didn’t know how harsh Cong Ruyi’s previous living conditions had been. Berry Star, which only knew how to toss a few jabs, was much easier to deal with compared to her unpredictable "good brothers" who would drag her off for experiments when they couldn’t win an argument.

"Our bad about that. At first, we thought it was a scam, so we didn’t respond. Suddenly, you initiated a PK battle, and we didn’t expect it to really be you," Cong Ruyi put down the Pantao, the peach scent lingering in the air, almost distracting her. However, she kept her focus and didn’t let her cravings mess with the PK battle. "After the Lord received your PK battle invitation, she was so thrilled she couldn’t sleep a wink, saying how kind you were to immediately offer to advertise for us as we’re about to launch a batch of fruits. You’re really Shennong Star’s saviors!"

Her words left the host, a ten-year veteran, so stunned he nearly choked.

The first part sounded normal, just a clumsy excuse, but what was she saying after that? Had Shennong Star lost it? Saying they were kind? Calling them saviors? And being thrilled all night?

For a moment, the host didn’t know if he was sleepwalking or if the Shennong Star Lord was.

The oddness in Cong Ruyi’s words put the host on edge, but more than that, he felt disdain.

Shennong Star must be up to something. This Cong Ruyi is lying, just trying to save face in front of the audience. In reality, Shennong Star is probably in a mess internally!

But the host faintly felt that something was off. If Shennong Star really had no way to deal with Berry Star, how could they be so bold to say that before the showdown? Aren’t they afraid of being proven wrong immediately?

However, that possibility was too small. He didn’t buy that a newbie planet could outshine Berry Star’s long-standing rep.

The host thought a lot, glancing at Mao Hao. His Lord seemed clueless, only hearing the surface of the words, and the sneer on his face grew sharper, turning into biting sarcasm that spilled out.

"I say, is Shennong Star out of its mind?! Berry Star is advertising for you? Hahaha, that’s the funniest joke I’ve heard this year. Can you even come up with ten different fruits?"

This time, the host didn’t smooth things over. Mao Hao’s words were what he wanted to know too. Although the words were harsh, the logic was sound. Even the chat didn’t find anything wrong.

Cong Ruyi’s words had scared all the Shennong Star fans into silence. When they recovered, they were filled with worry.

Shennong Star fans were on the verge of tears.

Although Shennong Star is truly great, and the food is delicious, we shouldn’t boast so much! How are we going to handle this later?

The fans were in a panic, but the Shennong Star live stream remained orderly. Soon, ten types of fruits were placed on the table, a dazzling array of reds and greens, with vibrant fruits filling the corners of the table, almost overflowing from the screen. Compared to the various berries on Berry Star’s table, which looked mostly the same, Shennong Star’s fruits were not only more visually appealing but also gave off a grander impression.

Cong Ruyi gracefully waved her hand over the fruits, not saying a word, but her actions slapped Mao Hao’s face resoundingly.

The chat blew up, with eyes glued to the Shennong Star live stream, unsure whether to marvel at Yiyi’s beautiful hands or the abundance of Shennong Star’s fruits.

Not only were there many, but unlike Berry Star’s cloned berries, which only differed in color, size, and taste while being extremely similar in shape, Shennong Star’s fruits looked incredibly unique. Some had patterns, some had spikes, some were round, some were long—each shape and flavor seemed vastly different.

[Can those things be eaten? Has anyone tried them? Shennong Star fans, come out and talk!]

[Shennong Star fans, haven’t tried them, completely clueless. The lord has done something huge, how come there was no hint of it at all!!!]

[I really love this woman! She always secretly farms without telling us. When will the fruits be available? I can’t wait, not even a bit!]

[Shennong Star fans, keep calm. Is it possible that these various things are just fakes? They don’t look edible…]

[Your berries are the ones that can’t be eaten, they look like they’ve been artificially colored!]

[Exactly!]

[Shennong Star fans, I’m doing this for your own good. We’ve tried the berries, but you’ve never seen or tasted those Shennong Star fruits. How do you know they won’t be awful?]

……

The comments were in an uproar, attracting more and more bystanders to the live stream. Seeing the unfamiliar fruits on Shennong Star’s table, they were filled with immense curiosity and stayed in the live stream, waiting to taste them through sensory sharing.

The intensity of the PK battle between Shennong Star and Berry Star gradually peaked, landing on the front page of the Lord’s Charisma Competition. It even attracted a wave of new users to register accounts, which thrilled the organizers of the Lord’s Charisma Competition. They quickly had programmers keep the live stream running.

At such a critical moment, the live stream couldn’t afford to crash. This level of popularity was rare!

Both sides had presented ten types of fruits, and the planetary PK battle was on the verge of starting.

Mao Hao had just been outplayed by Cong Ruyi and was eager to start the first fruit comparison to embarrass Shennong Star.

It was as if he had a sudden realization. Instead of rushing to show off his berries, he generously let Cong Ruyi present her fruits first.

Since Berry Star already had an advantage in the competition content, Cong Ruyi naturally didn’t hesitate, but she wouldn’t let him get the upper hand.

“Oh, Lord Mao, isn’t this a bit unfair? I’m afraid if we go first, everyone might vote for us, and you’d be at a disadvantage,” Cong Ruyi said.

Mao Hao sneered, “I have confidence in our berries. You go first, so you don’t lose too badly!”

After he finished, the Berry Star live stream erupted in laughter.

Mao Hao felt he had gained some ground and was feeling great.

Cong Ruyi shrugged lightly and said to the live stream audience, “I did warn him. Don’t say I took advantage of them later.”

Yun Wan had already discussed the order of the fruits with Cong Ruyi. The first to be presented was the rather ordinary banana.

The golden peel was slowly removed, revealing the white, delicate flesh. The live stream’s sensory sharing was already active, and the number of people connected to it kept increasing. However, after connecting, they didn’t smell anything special.

Impatient viewers had already started to complain.

[What is this? It’s not even fragrant. Just a long strip—can it be good?]

[I’m feeling disappointed. At least Berry Star’s berries are fragrant. This one has no smell, so it must taste bad!]

The noisy comments didn’t distract the focused Cong Ruyi. After peeling the banana, she didn’t eat it directly. Instead, she placed the flesh on a pristine white plate, cut it into small pieces with a knife, and used a small fork to pick up a round slice and put it in her mouth.

Once cut, the plain banana suddenly looked more appealing.

[Honestly, this thing called a banana was quite ugly, but after cutting it and using a small fork to eat it piece by piece, it looks elegant and beautiful… Oh my! The texture!]

[Oh my, so soft and chewy!]

[Pros: soft, chewy, and sweet. Cons: lacks moisture, but the flavor is amazing! The lack of moisture is a downside, but it’s precisely because of it that the banana becomes so soft and chewy, making it even more delicious!]

Although bananas have their shortcomings, overall, the pros outweigh the cons. With their novel texture, they have captivated the vast majority of the audience. The blue bar on Shennong Star's live stream quickly shifted left, shrinking the red bar to a tiny segment. Almost all viewers who tried the banana voted for Shennong Star.

Mao Hao glanced at the screen, his face darkening. The number of votes Shennong Star received wasn't overwhelming, but it was much more than he had anticipated. Was that so-called banana really that delicious? Those voters are probably Shennong Star's fanatics!

Mao Hao was livid. Had he known, he wouldn’t have let Shennong Star go first just to save face. Those people might have turned against Shennong Star and become fans of Berry Star after tasting their berries.

The host, however, wasn’t as troubled as Mao Hao. He was well-versed in live stream data, and the ratio of tasters to voters for Shennong Star indicated that the banana was indeed something special.

Without time to ponder further, the host had to proceed with the schedule, asking Mao Hao to taste the 01 blueberry. Under the expectant gazes of the Berry Star staff, the number of tasters surpassed that of Shennong Star. Mao Hao was just beginning to feel a hint of pride, thinking that even their worst berry variety was better than Shennong Star's offering. Unfortunately, before he could boast about their berries, the blue bar suddenly surged again.

Berry Star's red bar, no longer at zero, gradually increased, fluctuating but never crossing the center line to overtake the blue side. Instead, it seemed like a dying beast, feebly defending its already short red bar.

Mao Hao’s eyes bulged like saucers.

What the heck? Everyone was tasting Berry Star's fruit, so why were the votes going to Shennong Star?

Mao Hao couldn’t understand. His blood boiled, and he slammed the table in anger, shouting, "Isn’t vote rigging wrong?!"