Chapter 42

Chapter Forty-Two

"That's about it," Su Ximu said in the evening, returning to the dorm and taking the initiative to call his elder brother, recounting his daily experiences.

He had indeed spent the entire day watching the trainees dance in the training room.

Just sitting and watching, he felt the time drag on and found it rather boring.

But the trainees rarely stopped to rest. Even when they did, it was only for ten to twenty minutes before they got up again.

After watching for so long, Su Ximu even started to feel as if something was driving these trainees from behind, forcing them to move forward.

"I think that 'something' might just be dedication," he concluded over the phone.

Su Xuanxiao listened quietly to Xiao Xi's voice, appearing focused but actually distracted.

At that moment, a stream of warmth seemed to flow through Su Xuanxiao's usually cold and rigid heart, reviving it with a gentle flow.

For these past few days, he had been hoping that Xiao Xi would initiate conversation with him like this.

It didn’t have to be anything of substance—just like today, speaking relaxed and gently, telling him what he had eaten, what he had seen, and whether he was happy or sad before going to bed.

His time was precious, but he was willing to let much of it pass meaninglessly like this.

In fact, it was very meaningful.

"It sounds like they only lack skill to become qualified idols," Su Xuanxiao responded when Xiao Xi paused. "But it’s okay if their skills aren’t enough. Many viewers of survival shows enjoy watching the process of growth from scratch."

Su Ximu nodded. Because he felt that he and his elder brother were now discussing serious matters, he felt fewer reservations than during their previous conversations.

Discussing business was rational and not mixed with too much personal emotion.

Whether it was his elder brother or his third brother, the more they treated him well, the more he felt burdened.

Although he knew that his elder brother had such a large company and would surely consider every detail carefully if he were to invest, Su Ximu couldn’t help but remind him: "Elder brother, before investing in our show, do you know which vote-manipulation company was manipulating the votes during the last performance?"

Although no trainee was eliminated during the last performance, and he was happy for them, he wasn’t foolish enough to overlook the fact that such coincidental vote counts were clearly problematic.

That vote-manipulation company must be very powerful—even the assistant director was powerless against them.

If this issue wasn’t resolved, and the trainees’ votes were manipulated again in the next performance, the show might not make it to the end.

Su Ximu listened as his elder brother paused for a few seconds before answering.

"I know."

"Then, elder brother, is your company more powerful, or is that vote-manipulation company more powerful?"

"Mine."

Hearing his elder brother answer so nonchalantly, Su Ximu felt relieved.

Su Xuanxiao claimed that this investment was purely rational, without emotional influence. In reality, it was entirely emotional, with no rationality at all.

After finishing the remote investment analysis call with Xiao Xi, he immediately directed the investment department to fund "Tonight's Big Star."

The investment department raised no suggestions or objections. In an instant, the entire department operated with precision and efficiency.

Without even waiting until the next day, just two hours later, the assistant director excitedly announced in the work group:

"Director: @everyone, in this critical moment for our show, let us thank the generous, charitable, powerful, and wealthy Chairman Mr. Su of the Su Financial Group for extending a helping hand!

From this moment on, the Su Financial Group will replace the other investors who withdrew and fully fund 'Tonight's Big Star'!!"

All employees were thrilled when they saw this group message.

Unlike the employees in the Tourism Park, these ghosts were essentially temporary laborers in the ghost world.

After enduring a life of wandering and being bullied, most less powerful ghosts did not yearn for freedom.

On the contrary, they longed to serve under a powerful ghost and settle down.

Although a stable workplace occasionally brought some life-threatening situations, it was still far better than the life they led outside.

The reputation of the Su Financial Group was well-known among ghosts in the Tan Zhong Five Cities.

That night, employees who had grown tired of their unstable lives began to look forward to a stable future under the shelter of the Su Financial Group—recording season after season of "Tonight's Big Star," from the first season to the second, and then to the third.

With a new investor, the show could continue.

***

For several days, all the employees were filled with joy.

Even the trainees in the show sensed the change, though it wasn’t particularly important to them.

As long as the dungeon didn’t collapse, their most important task was to practice hard and become one of the nine trainees who could survive the dungeon and debut.

Even if the dungeon did collapse, while new players might not understand, some experienced players knew better. The collapse of the dungeon didn’t necessarily mean they could escape. It was only a possibility.

There was also the possibility that they would lose the dungeon’s protection and be torn apart by the ghosts outside, who were drawn by the scent and didn’t abide by the dungeon’s rules.

Yes, protection.

Ironically, the "Tonight's Big Star" show had brought them here, but it was also the show that provided them with protection.

It was like hunting grounds with clearly defined boundaries. Only the owner of the hunting grounds had the right to decide how to hunt the prey.

And so, with the trainees concerned but not overly worried, and the staff’s increasingly high work enthusiasm, "Tonight's Big Star" smoothly passed the adaptation period of changing its financial backer.

At the same time, the trainees welcomed their second performance.

When it came to the show’s recording style, it was undeniably influenced by the tastes of the investors and the director.

Unlike the eerie dance style of the first performance, which featured broken necks and severed hands, the singing and dancing provided by the show for the second performance were surprisingly normal.

So normal that the trainees couldn’t help but tremble with suspicion, wondering if there was some trap they hadn’t noticed.

Later, it turned out that it was just a normal, harmless dance.

The second performance still included a live audience voting session, but it was only used to select the trainee with the best stage presence that day. The elimination round was not conducted on the spot. Instead, according to the show’s new rules, the program would tally the online votes every half month.

91 advancing to 45

45 advancing to 21

21 advancing to 9

The final nine trainees would be the show’s ultimate winners.

Winners receive no prizes—from the trainees' perspective, reaching this position simply means they can leave the game scenario alive.

The production crew and assistant director initially assumed that switching to such a conventional dance style for the second performance would cause the show's ratings to plummet.

Surprisingly, after the second performance, some viewers genuinely voted for the trainees online.

Even more unexpectedly, despite the talent show being merely a game scenario, Wang Xingxing gained his first fan support site on the supernatural internet.

After the fan site was established, the security team even caught a female—or rather, a ghost girl—attempting to swim to the island.

Reportedly, she was the president of Wang Xingxing’s fan club, also working as a "station sister."

This just proves the supernatural world has all types; no matter how niche a style is, it can always find an audience.

Upon hearing about this, Wang Xingxing pulled out all the stops to flirt with fans during a program interview.

Cliché lines like, "I long for a light to shine upon me," "You make me stronger," "Sister, please keep your eyes on me!" and "You are my one and only" had the rookie fan club president sobbing hysterically as she clung to her computer, convinced that Wang Xingxing couldn’t live without her.

Unlike Wang Xingxing, who had smoothly entered his comfort zone and handled things with ease, Lin Lan was clearly elimination bait—before entering the game scenario, he could barely manage a split.

Feeling the pressure, Wang Xingxing decided to collaborate with his beloved Director Lin to play up a bromance.

His reasoning was simple: if this world had an audience for a normal talent show, then bromance—that ultimate fandom bait—shouldn’t fail.

Through Wang Xingxing’s efforts, Lin Lan developed a cult following within this small but dedicated fanbase.

Although it was more "black popularity"—with Wang Xingxing’s station sister constantly accusing Lin Lan of being clingy and shameless, calling him a "sly fox"—the minor buzz and the small group of CP fans helped Lin Lan just squeak by the 91-to-45 elimination round.

Wang Xingxing didn’t know whether to feel relieved or sad for the eliminated players.

Perhaps the only consolation, aside from Director Lin’s advancement, was that the production team didn’t pull any tricks this time—the eliminated trainees left without incident.

After 46 trainees were peacefully eliminated, the whole dormitory went quiet.

Nine trainees from the third floor, managed by Su Ximu, were also eliminated.

Before this, Su Ximu was unaware that eliminated trainees would be sent off the island immediately, with even their remaining belongings packed by the logistics team.

These nine trainees didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.

After the 91-to-45 elimination, the production team gave the staff a two-day break.

The trainees remained on the island, continuing their daily training and preparing for the third performance.

Su Ximu stood in his dorm, looking at the red circle he had drawn on the calendar.

The circled date was tomorrow, the 31st—the end of the month.

He'd already been in this world for over a month.

He recalled his previous agreement with "Big Brother."

During the first performance, he told "Big Brother" that he would come home during his next break; he had something important that he needed to discuss with them.

He unconsciously clenched his fingers; he was actually a little scared.

He didn’t know how to explain it to "Big Brother," "Third Brother," and the never-met "Second Brother."

How to tell them that he wasn’t actually their younger brother, that it was truly unintentional, that he hadn’t meant to usurp someone's place.

Would they even believe such a bizarre situation?

And if they did believe it, what would they do?

Su Ximu had no answers to any of these questions.

Yet, despite knowing nothing, strangely enough, he didn’t let his thoughts drift toward worst-case scenarios.

Like the possibility that "Big Brother" might send him to a research institute for experimentation. Or lock him up until the "original owner" returned.

Or perhaps, such thoughts had never even crossed his mind from the very beginning.

Maybe it was because when it comes to love, rationality always lags behind. Only the subconscious had already provided him with an answer.

After a while, the young man standing before the calendar psyched himself up, took a deep breath, and like a warrior heading into battle, turned resolutely and opened the dormitory door.

A second later, the determined and solemn-faced young man suddenly turned back, went back into the dorm to get the phone he had forgotten.

With some unease, he sent a message to his only friend in this world: "Group Leader Lan242, if I get kicked out of the house and become very, very poor, could you lend me some money?"

"I promise I'll pay you back as soon as I get my paycheck this month. [kitten making a scout's honor sign]"