Backstage, Firefly slowly opened her eyes under everyone's concerned gazes.
"Firefly? Are you okay? How do you feel?" Lingsha was the first to lean in. Stelle and Tingyun also surrounded her with worried faces.
"Firefly, if something happens to you, your little brother will definitely skin me alive." As Stelle spoke, she pressed the back of her hand against Firefly's forehead and exclaimed in surprise,
"Huh? Why is it so hot?!"
Firefly blinked, as if she still hadn't fully processed what had happened.
She instinctively tried to sit up, only to realize her entire body was sore and weak.
She looked around in confusion, her gaze finally landing on her teammates' faces, which were filled with concern... and gossip.
Then... "Boom." Everything that had happened behind the curtain earlier flooded back into her mind like a tidal wave.
Those irresistible techniques, that breathing so close to her, that...
Her cheeks instantly turned crimson, like a fully ripened apple.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The three of them exchanged glances. They could all see the raging flames of gossip burning in each other's eyes.
The girl's blushing face spoke louder than a thousand words, yet it also left infinite room for imagination, making people want to pry open that curtain and see what was inside.
At that moment.
Everyone's phones simultaneously chimed. The notification for the next round broke the ambiguous atmosphere — New Round: [Fixed Word Challenge].
— —
At the same time, in the Boss Team's lounge.
The four of them were sitting together. After seeing the notification, the atmosphere had become somewhat heavy.
Little Herta's fingertips flew across her tablet as she analyzed the latest situation. "Mydei's HP has already reached zero. Our team's total HP is now only five points. Although we're still within the safe threshold, once it drops below four, it means someone will soon be completely eliminated. That would be extremely disadvantageous for our subsequent team competitions."
"Fixed Word Challenge?" Mydei frowned, looking confused. "What kind of trick is this now?"
"The rules are simple," Little Herta explained concisely. "The system will give a fixed word. After that, no matter what questions your opponents ask you or what they say to you, you can only answer using that fixed word."
Sparkle's eyes rolled. She smirked slyly. "Hey, let me give you an example. Suppose the fixed word is 'I do.' Muscles, do you think our boss is wise, divine, and supremely intelligent, and you want to immediately hand over all your assets to him, work like a cow and horse for him from now on, and never betray him?"
Mydei's face darkened. Veins bulged on his forehead. He was about to roar "HKS," but realized that under the rules, he could only squeeze out three words through gritted teeth: "I... do."
"Hahahaha! This is fun! This is way too fun!" Sparkle clapped her hands and laughed so hard she nearly fell over. "Boss, let me go this round! I guarantee I'll trap all of them!"
"No," Su Chen unexpectedly stopped her. "This round, I'll go."
He looked around at his teammates. He had already made his decision.
This wasn't a test of knowledge or logic. It was a contest of mentality, adaptability, and the art of linguistic traps.
And when it came to the art of language... Su Chen relied on his mouth to "trick" one genius after another onto his pirate ship.
This game was practically made for him.
The legend of the man-eater had yet to come to an end!
"The scores are too tight. I have to use this round to create a real gap. I must win this match!"
As he spoke, he looked at Sparkle. "Sparkle, lend one of your HP to Mydei. We need to make sure everyone stays in the game."
The team's integrity was the foundation for moving toward final victory.
Under his teammates' trusting gazes, Su Chen took a deep breath, straightened his collar, and strode toward the brightly lit stage.
The moment Owlbert saw Su Chen personally take the stage, the wrinkles on his face smiled open and his voice rose eight degrees higher:
"Dear audience! Let us give the warmest applause to welcome this round's eight challengers! They are — Lingsha from the Firefly Team! Hyacine from the Castorice Team! Tribbie from the Aglaea Team! Anaxa from the Big Herta Team! Sunday from the Phainon Team! Cipher from the Feixiao Team! Silver Wolf from the Acheron Team!
And — the greatest entrepreneur of this century, the male lead of our web drama, the actor playing Trailblazer 'Caelus' — Mr. Su Chen from the Boss Team!"
Su Chen faced the cheers and gave Owlbert a meaningful nod, mouthing: Your year-end bonus is gone!
Owlbert also nodded heavily, understanding immediately, and mouthed back: Don't worry, boss. I'll make sure to elevate your image to the maximum!
Ehehe, year-end bonus secured.
"This round is an eight-person free-for-all," Owlbert cleared his throat and announced the brutal rules.
"Answer using the fixed word. Failure to answer counts as elimination. Additionally, this round will have one 'Champion.' If the Champion loses, two HP will be deducted directly. Conversely, if the Champion wins, the other seven challengers will each lose two HP! Now, we will randomly draw..."
Before he could finish, the entire venue erupted in an uproar.
[Holy shit! 1v7?! The risk is way too high! If you lose, you drop two HP. That's basically losing half your team in one go!]
[Winning would be insane too — directly wiping out fourteen HP from the opposing side! Is the production team playing this big?]
[What kind of monsters are on stage?! Lingsha, Silver Wolf, Sunday, and that overpowered Anaxa... Whoever becomes the Champion is screwed!]
Backstage, Sparkle excitedly clenched her fists. "This is exciting! Way too exciting!"
Mydei looked solemn. "This is too risky."
At that moment.
A hand calmly and firmly rose under everyone's gaze.
The camera zoomed in sharply, projecting that face with its faint smile onto all the big screens.
It was Su Chen.
The entire venue instantly fell silent.
Backstage, Sparkle muttered, "Here it comes, here it comes. The boss is about to start showing off..."
Su Chen's voice was clear and steady as it echoed throughout the theater through the microphone:
"No need to draw. I'll be the Champion. All seven of them can come at me together."