Chapter 53: A Brilliant Civilization

The next day, at the recording site of Creating Idols, Luo Mo woke up early as usual and began practicing his vocals.

He did not know much about the storms in the outside world.

This program was closed-off, just like those trainee survival shows on Earth. If you wanted to obtain information from the outside, you had to rely on the production team, and such information was never comprehensive.

Due to various factors, Luo Mo did not even know his ranking on the Popularity Support Ranking.

Because the production team needed to capture the trainees' genuine emotions when announcing the rankings—as that made for good television—they would not reveal anything too specific.

After all, if it were one of those celebrity reality shows, having a script wouldn't matter. Many celebrities who participate in reality shows are actors to begin with, and some actors have better acting skills on reality shows than they do in television dramas or movies.

But the trainees... forget it, they couldn't act to save their lives.

Most people here, even if they debuted in the future and had the chance to enter the acting profession, would just be dragged out and roasted by the public.

However, although he could not access information from the outside normally, Luo Mo had an inkling of the situation.

Ning Dan had told him that Big Fish had become a massive hit!

In that case, what was meant to come would surely come.

He was, in essence, no novice; the ups and downs he had experienced on Earth allowed him to guess with his toes what kind of storms he would be facing.

He was not nervous; on the contrary, he was quite excited.

"Finally, is it finally my turn?"

He had been waiting for these things for a long time.

"Watching others get smeared, suppressed, and compete with rivals—I'm so envious," Luo Mo thought.

After all, if you are obscure enough, these things will never happen to you; you aren't even worth others going to such great lengths.

It's just like a top-tier script or a top-tier production: a bunch of people will definitely compete for the male lead, or even the second, third, or fourth lead, then tear each other apart, smear each other, and fight until the sky turns dark.

But bit players can't even get their fights onto the table, at least not on a big platform.

This was a necessary path to fame, and he wasn't afraid.

He knew full well how powerful capital could be.

But so what?

On Earth, Luo Mo had watched a remake of a movie called The Big Shot, which had spawned several memes, such as "Tonight's consumption is all on Young Master Zhao!"

But when he watched this movie, the scene that left the deepest impression on him was the segment where the police chief loses his temper.

From the moment his Back Shadow appeared, the sense of oppression arrived, and his aura reached its peak.

When he asked the police officer played by Wang Qianyuan, "How did you become such a veteran criminal investigator?"

Wang Qianyuan replied, "He must have someone behind him."

The veteran actor's line, "We have the country behind us, what are you afraid of!?"

Directly pushed the atmosphere of the movie to its climax.

Luo Mo walked to the bathroom to splash his face with water, looking at his face covered in droplets in the mirror.

He knew what he would be facing, but he also knew very clearly what was standing behind him.

Behind him was a brilliant civilization.

Luo Mo raised his right hand to wipe the water droplets off his face, smiled, and said, "Then let's have some fun."

………

………

In the afternoon, the staff called all the trainees to the main hall.

All five celebrity mentors were present.

The atmosphere today was a bit heavy, yet also a bit excited.

The trainees knew that, next, the popularity rankings for Creating Idols would be announced for the first time. A portion of those ranked at the bottom would also face Elimination today!

Human joys and sorrows are not shared; for those in the top tier, today was a grand convention for showing off.

And only after a portion of the people left would the team formation for the third public performance begin.

Xu Chujing, acting as the National Producer Representative, stood at the front holding the ranking sheet.

Luo Mo stood with Tong Shu and turned his head to look at Tong Shu's expression.

"Why are you so nervous? It's impossible for you to be eliminated." Luo Mo raised his palm and patted Tong Shu on the back.

Hearing Luo Mo's words, Tong Shu nodded and took a deep breath.

As for the other members of the Anonymous Team standing nearby, they were truly nervous.

Even without Big Fish, Tong Shu might still have stayed.

They were different.

Among these four people, two of them had been at the bottom of the popularity rankings to begin with.

Holding the list, Xu Chujing first read out the trainees ranked 50th to 80th for the sake of the program's effect.

She didn't announce the popular contestants first, to keep the audience in suspense. She didn't announce the eliminated contestants either, making the nervous trainees even more anxious.

This was all Ning Dan's arrangement; everything was for the sake of the program's effect.

"80th place, Zhao Bing."

"79th place, Li Junyi."

Hearing Li Junyi's name, Luo Mo couldn't help but glance at him.

This choreographer, who had performed excellently in the group dance earlier, let out a long sigh of relief, his fists clenched tight.

He had no advantage in looks, and he wasn't tall, being half a head shorter than most trainees.

Whether it was the initial stage or the first public performance, he hadn't had any particularly eye-catching moments.

If he had left right now, then all the effort put into the second public performance stage would have actually been in vain.

Luo Mo nodded slightly, feeling glad for him as well.

The later the ranking was announced, the higher the position; as it reached the end, the other four trainees of the Anonymous Team began to grow nervous.

They knew very well that they were merely green leaves in "Big Fish," and their rankings could not possibly be very high.

And when Xu Chujing read out the names of the four, one after another, they all let out a long sigh of relief.

Reaching this point, Xu Chujing paused and read a note that the production team had written on the ranking sheet.

"The four members of the Anonymous Team I just announced—if they hadn't won in the public performance and received the winning team's vote bonus, two of them would have been eliminated."

"I hope everyone will place more importance on public performances in the future, strive for victory in them, and turn your fate around!"

The trainees instantly focused their gazes on the Anonymous Team, or rather, on Luo Mo.

Many of the sharper trainees knew clearly that although Queen Xu just said two people were originally going to be eliminated, in reality, if "Big Fish" hadn't aired, all four of them would likely have left!

After all, in the few days since it aired, they had also reaped a small wave of fans!

There were even some 【Mo Sheng Ren】 who were protecting them!

Penguin Video premium users get 11 free votes every week, and some of Luo Mo's fans, sympathizing with his well-behaved and obedient teammates, would share a few votes with them.

This is also why many trainees would go to suck up to popular contestants, try to curry favor with them, and sponge off their connections.

One person carrying a whole team, changing the fate of a group of people with his own strength, and even single-handedly sending Tong Shu into the upper circle—this is the power of Luo Mo!

Out of 100 trainees, he is the only one who possesses this power!

People like Shen Mingliu and his group all huddle together in the upper circle; in reality, they are forming a barrier and excluding others.

Only Luo Mo is different.

Instructor Luo is terrifyingly formidable.

He actually managed to train these people up!

From this moment on, Luo Mo's uniqueness was highlighted to the greatest extent.

"Brother Mo..." the four of them, somewhat emotional, couldn't help but call out.

Their voices were trembling.

Under the production team's arrangement, Luo Mo was standing in the first row with Tong Shu, while the others from the Anonymous Team were standing behind him.

Luo Mo heard them calling him, but he didn't even turn his head.

"It's what you earned," he said indifferently.

Others only saw how great it was for the four of them to be carried, but they couldn't see how exhausted they had been during this time due to Instructor Luo's high Requirement.

Luo Mo flew too high; even if they just followed him closely, some people would suffer from oxygen deprivation and be unable to keep flying.

Including Tong Shu, these people would practice Basic Skills even after returning to the dormitory, not daring to have any slack.

They endured it, which is why Luo Mo was willing to continue carrying them.

The ranking announcements continued; Tong Shu surged to 31st place, stuck just outside the upper circle, but he might break in tomorrow, or even tonight!

When Xu Chujing was reading the results, she glanced at Tong Shu and said, "Tong Shu, do you know how much your ranking has risen?"

Tong Shu shook his head, looking silly.

Xu Chujing said, "You rose 37 places."

In an instant, the whole room erupted in gasps.

Everyone knew that for those at the top, the gap in votes was actually wide, and those at the bottom had almost no one voting for them, but 37 places was still too exaggerated!

Xu Chujing looked at him again and said, "Tong Shu, then guess again: where is 'Big Fish,' where you served as the C-Position, currently ranked on the Penguin Music New Song Chart?"

Tong Shu looked dazed and continued to shake his head.

The imposing Xu Chujing smiled and said, "'Big Fish,' as of the day we recorded, is currently ranked number one on both the Penguin Music New Song Chart and the Rising Chart!"

At this moment, the entire room was completely boiling over.

(End of chapter)