Esports world champion, debuted as the center of a talent show

He walked straight to a corner of the VIP viewing area, where someone was already sitting.

Lin Shi was also wearing a low-key black hat, sitting in a relaxed posture, looking down at his phone messages with a calm expression.

Upon seeing Vax take his seat, Lin Shi slightly raised his eyes and nodded gently in acknowledgment.

Lin Shi seemed very busy, so the two didn't exchange any more words. They sat quietly side by side, not disturbing each other.

The VIP area was unusually quiet. People came in one after another and quietly found seats.

A few minutes later, Lin Shi's phone suddenly started vibrating continuously, and the incoming call screen kept flashing.

He glanced down at the caller ID, stood up quietly, and carefully lowered his head to answer the phone, afraid that the ringing would disturb the others in the room. At the same time, he whispered to Vax beside him, "I'm going out to take this call, I'll be right back, you can sit down first."

Vax nodded slightly, said nothing, and remained seated with his head down.

Lin Shi quickly left the VIP area and went outside the VIP room to answer a phone call.

Not long after, a figure sat down again beside him.

He didn't look, assuming it was Lin Shi returning.

But to his surprise, the other person leaned closer and whispered something in his ear.

Vax froze, turned around abruptly, but only saw the other person's departing back.

He sat frozen in place, unable to recover for a long time.

"What's wrong with you?"

Lin Shi, who had just returned from the call, held his phone and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"N-nothing."

Vax quickly turned his head away, concealing the shock in his eyes, his voice trembling slightly.

Lin Shi didn't investigate further. At this moment, the large screen on the stage, which was randomly playing videos of the first and second performances, gradually dimmed.

The next second, all the lights in the venue suddenly went out.

In the darkness, someone whispered, "It's begun."

The huge venue was plunged into darkness in an instant, and the noise gradually subsided as the 1,600 spectators fell silent in unison.

After a few seconds of darkness, a bright beam of light suddenly pierced through the darkness and landed precisely in the center of the stage.

The three-person performance was led by the show's mentor, Guan Liu, and his group Flame.

This is their most popular representative song, with an explosive intro and a powerful rhythm.

The familiar melody and catchy lyrics, combined with a highly infectious singing and dancing performance, ignited the atmosphere of the entire venue.

Vax in the VIP area also sat up slightly, his gaze fixed on the stage, but he was clearly distracted, his eyes occasionally drifting towards the backstage entrance.

As the performance came to an end and the final pose was captured, all the stage lights came on.

Guan Liu and his team bowed slightly in thanks, and amidst the cheers of the audience, the group retreated in an orderly fashion to the side of the stage.

Immediately afterwards, the host, Yu Lan, walked onto the stage with light steps.

She wore a simple yet elegant host's dress, held a microphone, and looked at the audience with a smile. She waited for the noise to subside before slowly opening her mouth.

"Welcome everyone to the third performance of 'Shining Project'! Thank you Flame for bringing us such a wonderful opening performance."

Yu Lan's voice was clear and bright, and she had excellent control over the stage. With just a few words, she once again stirred up the atmosphere.

"After the first two rounds of performances, all the trainees have persevered and made continuous breakthroughs to get to where they are today. Everyone has witnessed their growth."

"Today's third public performance stage is very different from the past. Next, I will introduce the brand-new competition rules for this third public performance in detail."

As soon as he finished speaking, the audience gradually quieted down.

Yu Lan held the microphone and explained each point earnestly:

"First of all, the individual voting segment for this public event will be cancelled."

She paused for a moment, then continued:

"There are a total of six performance stages for this third public performance. We will randomly divide the six stages into three groups through a live draw, and each group will compete in a 1V1 battle."

"After the two groups of stage performances are completed, the 1600 audience members will vote to select the winner. The group that receives more votes in the single-group PK will receive an additional 200 votes in the total number of votes for the entire stage, which will be included in the final ranking of the third round."

As the rules were explained, a murmur arose from the audience.

Yu Lan let everyone discuss for a moment, and once the noise subsided, she announced another bombshell rule: "In addition, the entire team that ranks first in the overall ranking of the third public performance will receive a two million vote bonus for all six trainees in tomorrow's ranking announcement."

"Everyone has already understood the rules." Yu Lan raised her hand to quiet the room and said with a smile, "Now, we will immediately begin the lottery."

A staff member carried a sealed lottery box to the center of the stage, inside which were slips of paper for the corresponding groups.

Yu Lan, as the program host, was in charge of the lottery task.

She reached into the lottery box and took out slips of paper with the three songs written on them, announcing them in real time.

"Group 1: Deng Sushui's 'Evening Breeze Confession' group versus Wei Shuang's 'Limited-Time Blazing' group!"

"Group Two: Lin Sen's 'Weightless Quadrant' group versus Mi Lan's 'Dawn' group!"

Yu Lan picked up the last two slips of paper, raised her voice, and clearly read out the results: "The third group, and also the last 1V1 duel of the day—An Junying's 'Blossoming Rift' group versus Jiang Zhiyu's 'Wildfire' group!"

"Our group is the last to perform."

Backstage, Yao Wei sat next to Jiang Zhiyu and spoke softly.

Because there was no live camera backstage, Yao Wei's complaints seemed much bolder.

"Brother Jiang, you're in the last group again. I strongly suspect they rigged the votes, but I have no proof."

Jiang Zhiyu smiled but did not answer.

"Jiang Zhiyu!"

Someone gently called his name from behind.

Jiang Zhiyu turned around and saw a staff member wearing a name tag.

"What's wrong?"

The staff member flipped through a few sheets of paper in his hand, paused for a moment, and then said, "You need to leave with me for a while; there's a video that needs to be reshot."

video?

Jiang Zhiyu was taken aback. Normally, there would be no activities other than those related to the performance during the performance.

He didn't ask any further questions, nodded, and followed the staff in another direction.

At this moment, the first group has already taken the stage to perform.

"Confession in the Evening Breeze" has a relatively slow rhythm and a gentle, lyrical style.

But the music in the front stage was very loud, with the speakers right next to the backstage side. The sound traveled from the front stage into the backstage, and was clearly distinct even through the wall. The decorations on the wall even trembled slightly as a result.

He sings ballads with exceptional ease, staying within his comfort zone.

As Jiang Zhiyu listened to the melody of "Evening Breeze Confession," he followed the staff deeper into the corridor.

Not long after, the staff suddenly stopped.

He glanced at his watch and said hastily, "Jiang Zhiyu, wait here for a while, I'll come back to find you later."

With that, the staff member left without looking back, leaving Jiang Zhiyu standing alone in the middle of the corridor where there was no one in front or behind him.