Chapter 228

"Take your beating honestly."

"Heavenly King Guo has the qualifications to say that to you."

"The three extra votes—don't they burn your hands? Are you really comfortable taking the championship for this episode?"

"Next episode, watch how the Avenger beats the hell out of the Ruthless One."

"Guo Yu has arrived; everyone has to kneel."

"Heavenly King Guo is invincible."

"..."

Voices like these were everywhere.

Guo Yu's popularity and influence crushed Zhou Ru's; his appearance could be called a dimensional strike against the Ruthless Great Emperor. Even Zhou Ru's Weibo was flooded by fans.

But all of this...

Was built on the foundation that "the Ruthless Great Emperor is truly Zhou Ru."

But is she?

Now it seems the possibility of it being Xu Mingyue is much higher than it being Zhou Ru.

As for why Zhou Ru didn't come out to explain it herself, Su Xue could guess a little: for a celebrity, traffic delivered to one's doorstep shouldn't be wasted—it was essentially a freebie.

The Ruthless Great Emperor would eventually unmask one day. When that time came, everyone would know the Ruthless One wasn't her, so this kind of abuse would have no basis.

On the contrary, she had earned a wave of traffic out of thin air; it was pure profit with no loss.

"Something big is going to happen..." the agent's voice trembled.

The rehearsal went smoothly.

After Mingyue finished rehearsing, she waited in the backstage lounge.

Lu Xun once said: Women are made of water.

While waiting, Mingyue would occasionally go to the restroom.

In the blink of an eye.

It was eight o'clock in the evening.

The television on the wall of the lounge began broadcasting the scene from the stage, and the host, Zhao Yong, had already walked out.

The live broadcast began!

At the same time, countless viewers waiting in front of their phones, computers, or televisions were incredibly excited, flooding the screen with comments:

"Front row! First!"

"It's here!"

"It's starting!"

"Ahhhhh! I'm so excited!"

"Here specifically for Guo Yu!"

"My childhood idol! Guo Yu is guaranteed to be the champion this episode!"

"I've listened to Guo Yu's songs for so many years and owe him a concert ticket; I must support him this episode!"

"I support the Ruthless One! I support Zhou Ru!"

"Zhou Ru is a married woman, someone else's wife. You like that too? You have heavy tastes."

"Isn't that a plus for her?"

"The person above understands 'Married Woman'."

"Live is just more exciting!"

"..."

The comments surged rapidly.

Hengdian.

Zhu Zhu Xudan, Hu Tao, and Da Si were also waiting in front of their phones, watching the live stream via Penguin Video.

They had already guessed that the Ruthless Great Emperor was Xu Mingyue. Seeing the comments about the Ruthless One being a married woman, they laughed until they couldn't stand straight.

They didn't expect that Brother Yue, who was strong all her life, would have such a miserable moment.

As the camera moved, on the stage of *Masked Singer 3*, the host Zhao Yong had already taken the stage. He held the microphone, delivering a passionate opening and sponsor advertisements, followed by introducing the new celebrity guests.

It was clear the production team was serious this time; the new celebrity guests were all well-known figures in the music industry.

A King of Songs, a Queen of Songs, a gold-medal lyricist... and a Master of Composition!

The frequently appearing Master of Composition, Shen Xiao, had been invited to the masked stage.

He smiled and waved at the camera.

His appearance immediately ignited the emotions of the audience on-site and those watching the live stream:

"Holy crap!"

"It's Shen Xiao! It's a Master of Composition!"

"The production team's budget is a bit too big; they even invited a Master of Composition!"

"Prestige!"

"Understandable, after all, Heavenly King Guo Yu is on this episode. Besides a Master of Composition, no one on-site is qualified to evaluate him!"

"It's a pity, if the production team had invited the Insect King girl too, it would be guaranteed to be full of highlights. She should also be qualified to evaluate Guo Yu."

"Definitely, she's the God-Slayer who beat a bunch of Masters of Composition into the ground!"

"No hope, those twins are busy filming lately and have no time. As their fan, I just want to say, you music fans, don't delay my Sect Leader's filming speed."

"..."

The popularity of a show and its influence on the nation are directly proportional to the production team's budget.

If a show is done well, it not only attracts new sponsors, but existing ones will also increase their investment.

It was under these circumstances that *Masked Singer 3* could afford the high appearance fees to invite Masters of Composition, Kings of Songs, Queens of Songs, and so on.

To the point that the current lineup of celebrity guests could be called luxurious.

The judge lineup of *I Am a Singer* was nothing more than this.

The audience was excited.

At this moment, the screen switched.

The scene of the backstage lounge appeared before the audience.

Queen of Hearts, Lonely Tree, Blue Elf, Red Dandelion, Ruthless Great Emperor, Avenger... every time a masked singer appeared on camera, the comments would flood the screen. After five episodes, they all had many fans.

Especially the Avenger's fans, who were terrifying; the comments became a waterfall stream in an instant. By comparison, the Ruthless Great Emperor was a bit inferior!

Next, it entered the drawing phase.

With the airing of *Masked Singer 3*, the importance of the performance order was known to the audience. At this moment, countless viewers had their hearts in their throats, all hoping their favorite masked singer would draw a good spot.

The results came out.

Queen of Hearts performed first, Blue Elf second, Avenger third, Ruthless Great Emperor fourth, Lonely Tree fifth... the golden sixth spot went to Red Dandelion—

"Mom!"

"Avenger performs third, Ruthless One fourth? Damn, this is making the Ruthless One follow the Avenger. Is a Heavenly King's stage meant to be followed? Even if she is the Ruthless One who won five consecutive championships!"

"Cao Dan's hand is too dark!"

"The Ruthless One definitely won't get the championship tonight!"

"Awesome!"

"Guo Yu is awesome! With this lineup, tell me, how can the Ruthless One win?"

"Just let Heavenly King Guo put an end to the Ruthless One's five-episode winning streak!"

"Waiting to watch their showdown tonight!"

"I'm already fired up!"

"Go Ruthless One! Don't be afraid, I support you!"

"Red Dandelion is so lucky, the golden sixth spot."

"..."

The comments continued.

Backstage, in the lounge.

After drawing, Cao Dan looked at the Ruthless One, who was wearing the laughing-crying ghost mask, with a face full of apology.