Chapter 109

Chapter 109

Mao Hao's words left the barrage and the live broadcast room in silence for a long time, and the host even felt his vision go dark.

Their own lord couldn’t make sense of this voting pattern, but he was very clear about it. If Shennong Star brought out their best fruit against their worst, then Shennong Star's victory was deserved. They lost because they underestimated their opponent. As long as they brought out a better quality fruit in the next round, they could turn the tables. But the real issue was Mao Hao’s impatience.

Not only did he fail to understand the situation, but he also baselessly accused Shennong Star of cheating. The audience was not stupid.

Sure enough, as soon as Mao Hao raised his doubts, the chat was flooded with sarcastic comments, and even the fans of Berry Star were very unhappy.

[Seriously, what’s the deal with 01 Blueberry? The fans of Berry Star know it well. Why even bother cheating? Can we not bring out these already eliminated qualities? I really can't vote for it!]

[Exactly! I really want to vote for our own side, but seriously, one is leagues above the other. As long as the taste buds are not malfunctioning, it's obvious which is better!]

[Banana is fragrant and glutinous, what the hell is 01 Blueberry? It’s not even in the same league as the banana!]

[Can the person in front change the adjective? Toes and such, I feel a bit uncomfortable.]

In the first fruit competition, Shennong Star's banana completely defeated Berry Star's 01 Blueberry and received absolute praise from both sides' audiences. Even those who didn't particularly like bananas felt that, whether in terms of texture or taste, bananas were better than 01 Blueberry.

The chat’s brutal honesty left Mao Hao in an awkward position, and he suddenly realized that Shennong Star was not unprepared. Their own side had brought out the worst fruit that had already been eliminated from the market, resulting in a very crushing defeat.

He’d been way too cocky, but next time, he didn't believe Shennong Star could be so lucky again!

But Mao Hao certainly wouldn't admit his own problems in public. He shot the host a glance.

The host had no choice but to cover for his lord and pin the blame on the logistics team: "Did the logistics department bring the wrong fruit? The originally scheduled competition fruit wasn't 01 Blueberry. This has already been eliminated by us."

Mao Hao followed the steps laid out by the host and said: "The entire logistics department will have their year-end bonuses deducted. What are they even doing?"

Logistics Department: ...

Logistics Department: Oh my God! What does this have to do with us?

The entire logistics department of Berry Star looked at their minister, hoping he could give a clear answer. Are they really going to dock our pay?

The logistics minister knew Mao Hao's nature well. It was uncertain whether he would really make them take the blame, but there was no other way now. He had to calm his team down and keep the live broadcast going.

These small employees didn't know the situation of Berry Star, but having worked at Berry Star for seven years, she knew the ins and outs. In fact, Mao Hao was not the lord of Berry Star.

"It's okay, we’ll play it by ear. The lord won’t just dock our pay without good reason." The logistics minister was referring to the real lord.

With Berry Star's morale stabilized, the live broadcast continued.

For the second competition, both Mao Hao and the host wanted to seize the initiative, but Mao Hao had pretended to be generous earlier and now kept his mouth tightly shut, not wanting to say another word. This matter still fell to the host.

"To keep things fair, we’ll try Berry Star’s fruit first this time. Does anyone have any objections?" the host asked.

Cong Ruyi wiped the corner of her mouth with a tissue, the taste of banana still lingering in her mouth. Her eyes sparkled, clearly wanting more.

With the banana leading the way, Cong Ruyi's confidence in Shennong Star's fruit had gone from stubborn loyalty to genuine belief in Shennong Star’s fruit.

She felt that no matter whether Berry Star brought out their fruit before Shennong Star, the votes wouldn’t top Shennong Star’s.

Cong Ruyi glanced at Yun Wan off-screen, looking for her input.

Yun Wan was pleased with her approach.

She really was her top employee, not jumping into decisions or agreeing to messy situations.

Yun Wan had someone bring a board and wrote on it: "It’s okay to agree; you’re in charge."

Yun Wan's words made Cong Ruyi even more certain of her guess. It was clear that the lord was also very confident in Shennong Star's fruits.

This fruit showdown is going to be a huge win for Shennong Star, and she would also get to indulge in a feast!

Thinking this way, if Berry Star were to present their fruit first, her chance to eat would be delayed, which would really interfere with her fruit-eating!

However, Cong Ruyi still decided to let them taste first, so they would lose convincingly.

"It’s not exactly fair, but if you want to go first, go ahead. But hey everyone, later we will bring out fruits even more delicious than bananas. Each round, one person gets one vote. Take your time before voting, and you can wait until you've tasted both sides' fruits before casting your vote!"

Cong Ruyi’s warning to the audience made the host and Mao Hao’s faces turn grim.

It seems this woman is pretty sharp, immediately guessing their intentions.

"Hah, don’t get ahead of yourself. Great fruits don’t just grow on trees!" Mao Hao didn't believe Shennong Star could bring out even better fruits.

After all, Shennong Star's table was filled with different varieties of fruits. The entire galaxy had only developed a few types of fruits after centuries of research. Shennong Star had appeared less than a year ago, and finding one type of fruit was already very lucky. How could they possibly bring out good fruits one after another? They’re probably just bluffing now!

Mao Hao's provocation didn't faze Cong Ruyi at all. "We’ll just have to see!"

For the second match, Berry Star brought out 05 Blueberries, the latest breakthrough in the blueberry series. Thanks to their low cost and tangy-sweet flavor, they had received widespread praise in the low-end fruit market and had always occupied the top spot in sales.

The 05 Blueberries were originally planned to be the fifth to appear, but Mao Hao wanted to dampen Shennong Star's momentum, to make sure they didn't get too cocky, and to let the audience understand that Berry Star was the true king of fruits.

Mao Hao took a confident bite of the 05 Blueberries. The blueberries tasted good, but he found them underwhelming. His sharp eyes were glued to the red and blue progress bars. The imagined scenario where the red bar far exceeded the blue bar didn't happen; it only moved slightly to the right, far from meeting Mao Hao's expectations.

He comforted himself, thinking that the audience must have believed that woman's nonsense and held back their votes.

Mao Hao looked at Cong Ruyi, who was cheerfully promoting Shennong Star's fruits, and sneered. She’s still pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes, but when the unpalatable fruits are revealed, he wondered how much flak she’d catch!

No worries, he had time to wait!

Unlike Mao Hao, who was praying for Shennong Star's downfall, Cong Ruyi had become a full-on foodie influencer.

Shennong Star's second fruit champion was the Flame Orange. The orange peel was as bright as flames, strikingly vibrant. Peeling off the outer skin revealed round, adorable orange segments. The intense orange aroma instantly swept through the entire live broadcast room. Even before taking a bite, the audience was already drooling, craving it.

[Oh my, I love this scent. It’s not too strong or cloying like some floral scents. It’s refreshing and fragrant!]

[A fruit that smells delicious just by its aroma.]

[Given this fragrance and appearance, it's reasonable to vote for the Flame Orange, right?]

[Upstairs, you should still taste it before deciding. It might look flashy, but it's not necessarily better than the 05 Blueberries. After all, 05 Blueberries are the pinnacle of affordable fruits... Anyway, I’m not optimistic about that orange this time.]

Cong Ruyi had a ritualistic way of eating fruits. She peeled the orange carefully, removed the white pith, arranged the segments on a plate, and then ate them with a fork.

While still chewing, she picked up another segment with her fork, waiting in line to eat. The orange segments were sweet and sour, each piece bursting with juice, exploding in the mouth upon the first bite, leaving an endless aftertaste.

The audience followed Cong Ruyi, eating segment by segment. When they finished, they stared in disbelief at the clean plate and asked:

[Is that it?]

[This Flame Orange doesn't grow enough! How can one be so small?! It should at least grow to ten or eight pounds to satisfy our cravings!]

[Not enough, not enough, I’m going to cry!]

The comments made Cong Ruyi laugh and cry. She hadn't had enough either, but she had to maintain her image. She licked her lips, still wanting more, and glanced at the blue bar. Sure enough, the votes had far surpassed Berry Star's.

For the people of Shennong Star, it was expected, but for Berry Star, it was completely unbelievable.

"How is this possible?!" The host struggled to keep a straight face, and Mao Hao looked even more upset.

But this time, he played it smart and didn’t blurt out accusations of Shennong Star rigging the votes. Both of them muted their microphones and sent someone to contact the organizers of the Lord's Charisma Competition to check Shennong Star's votes.

If this wasn’t vote rigging, Mao Hao wouldn’t buy it. The first time was one thing, but the second time, he gave it his all, didn’t underestimate the opponent, yet the results were the same. Could that so-called Flame Orange really taste that good? But their 05 Blueberry had been market-tested and was a hit in the market. How could it lose to Shennong Star's Flame Orange?

"Keep going!" Mao Hao snapped. "Let’s stop comparing one by one; let’s pick up the pace."

He wanted to see just how many 'delicious' fruits Shennong Star could come up with. He refused to believe they had endless funds to rig the votes!

"Great!" Cong Ruyi responded excitedly. The thought of eating two kinds of fruits at once was exciting.

Next, it was Shennong Star's turn to present their fruits again. Yun Wan thought the timing was perfect and brought out two heavy hitters: grapes and strawberries.

This move had a deeper meaning for Yun Wan. Berry Star had lost two rounds in a row but was still holding their ground, probably planning a big move.

Since Berry Star dared to challenge Shennong Star, Yun Wan could use the chance to promote their fruits, but the other side’s hostility made her uneasy.

Grapes and strawberries were berries, and she wanted to hit Berry Star where it hurt most, making sure they couldn’t recover and showing them Shennong Star’s strength!

Cong Ruyi wasn’t dumb. After the logistics team stressed the word 'berries,' she got Yun Wan’s plan right away, her eyes sparkling with excitement for the show.

"Oh, what a coincidence! The next two fruits from Shennong Star are berries too, so we can have a fair comparison with Berry Star, right, Lord Mao?" Cong Ruyi deliberately emphasized the words "fair."

These words were like a slap in the face for Mao Hao. Everyone knew that Berry Star had the advantage in this competition since they were originally known for their fruits, while Shennong Star was unheard of in the fruit industry. Yet, in the end, Shennong Star was winning overwhelmingly, and Berry Star was losing embarrassingly.

Now, Shennong Star had even brought out berries, Berry Star's specialty. If Berry Star couldn't even win in a competition of authentic berries, it would be no less than handing over the title of "King of Fruits" to someone else.

Losing in their most familiar field—would there even be a need to continue the competition?

If Shennong Star won this round, Berry Star would lose too disgracefully, with both face and substance completely lost!

At this moment, the host and Mao Hao had only one thought in mind: this round must not be lost!