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

The steps of the large classroom were mostly occupied, with trainees seated according to their classes, and a subtle restlessness permeated the air.

Next came the announcement of the songs for the first performance of "Shining Project" and the official team formation. Everyone was on edge, as this was the first real team competition since the show started, and the outcome would directly affect the subsequent rankings and whether they would stay or leave.

When Jiang Zhiyu and his two companions entered the classroom, several familiar trainees had already gathered at the door. They nodded slightly in greeting and headed straight for Class A's area.

Class A's seats were located in the very center of the front row of the classroom, a core area specially designated by the production team. At this moment, all nine members of Class A had arrived.

Kui Shuang's gaze swept over Jiang Zhiyu's still slightly damp hair, and as expected, she saw him look away with a slightly guilty expression.

The host in charge of the team formation process was Yu Lan. Holding a competition rules document, she stood in front of the microphone and waited until the entire audience was completely quiet before slowly speaking: "Good morning, trainees. I believe you are all eager to know. Today, we will officially announce all the songs for the first performance and complete the entire process of team formation, captain selection, and part assignment. Next, I will read out the core competition rules for this first performance. Please listen carefully."

Yu Lan's voice was clear and powerful, penetrating the entire classroom. The trainees all sat up straight and listened attentively.

"For this public performance, we have prepared six original tracks. Each of the six songs is divided into two groups, A and B. This means that for each song, there will be two teams rehearsing and competing on the same stage at the same time, for a total of twelve teams. Now, let's listen to the demos of these six songs together."

The projected screen in front of him soon began playing short clips of songs of different styles and their corresponding titles. Jiang Zhiyu sat cross-legged, tapping his fingertips lightly on his knees, analyzing the differences between them.

The six songs in the first performance can be divided into three categories according to performance style, with two songs in each category, and the styles of the same type of songs are completely opposite.

Two of the tracks lean towards the dance track: one is the fast-paced, high-energy dance track "Detonation Command," and the other is the fluid and graceful choreography track "Swimming."

The two songs lean towards the vocal track: one is a challenging and lyrical ballad, "The Unopened Letter," which focuses on emotion and vocal skills; the other is a light and sweet pop vocal song, "Sweetness Warning."

The two songs lean towards the rap genre: one is a high-energy rap song called "King," and the other is a melodic rap song called "Never Say Goodbye."

After all the songs finished playing, Yu Lan paused, looked at the trainees, and said, "Each team has a fixed number of eight people. There are a total of ninety-nine trainees participating in the first public performance, so there will be three extra. These three people will be randomly assigned to three different teams by the program team. They do not need to choose on their own."

Next are the rules for selecting team leaders. There will be twelve team leaders in total, consisting of nine members from Class A, plus the three trainees from other classes who have practiced the longest during the theme song training phase. I already have the list, and the team leaders will come forward individually later to participate in the song selection process.

A murmur of discussion arose from the audience. Everyone was caught off guard by the selection method for the three captains other than those from Class A, since they had never been informed beforehand that the practice time would determine the captains for the first public performance.

Amidst the trainees' varied expressions, Yu Lan calmly announced the final three team leaders and their respective practice hours, while a projector behind her simultaneously played clips of the three's practice sessions.

She smiled and looked around at the team leaders she had called out, then continued, "The order of song selection will be determined by the quiz format, with all questions revolving around the theme song's lyrics, dance moves, program rules, and basic music theory."

The team leader who answers correctly in the buzzer gets the right to choose a song first. After the song selection is complete, the team leader goes directly to the training room for the corresponding song and waits while the other team leaders continue to answer questions, and so on.

The remaining trainees can choose which team they want to join, and the team leader has the final right to decide whether to accept them. Teams will stop when they have eight members.

Finally, it should be emphasized that for this first performance, the team leader automatically becomes the center position, and there is no need for a separate center position election. After the team is formed, the parts can be assigned directly in the training room.

After the competition rules were announced, the equipment for answering questions was quickly prepared, with each team captain having a buzzer in front of them.

Mi Lan nudged Jiang Zhiyu with her elbow: "Here comes your forte."

Lin Sen also peeked out, looking quite eager to try: "I'm going to beat Zhiyu in his area of ​​strength!"

Jiang Zhiyu, who was being given high hopes, was speechless. He was too embarrassed to tell his roommates that his music theory knowledge was actually far from sufficient. If the questions were more theoretical, he would just be a human runner-up.

Yu Lan took out the prepared question cards and immediately announced the first question: "Listen to the question: What are the last two words of the last line of the last chorus of the theme song for 'Shining Project'? Begin answering!"

As soon as the question was posed, the audience fell silent. All the trainees were mentally recalling the lyrics of the theme song, while the team leaders on stage reacted extremely quickly, their fingers almost simultaneously touching the buzzer.

The beeping sounds of the buzzers rang out one after another, and the first name to successfully answer appeared on the screen instantly—Jiang Zhiyu.

"Jiang Zhiyu answered successfully, please answer." Yu Lan looked at him.

"A glimmer of light." Jiang Zhiyu answered almost without hesitation, his answer clear and accurate.

"Correct answer!" Yu Lan immediately announced, "Jiang Zhiyu has won the first song selection right. Please enter the channel to select the song you want."

Jiang Zhiyu breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, "Luckily, I was quick."

[Lightning-fast hand speed!]

[I hadn't even realized what Sister Yu was asking when Jiang Zhiyu had already grabbed the question and even answered it! Respect!]

【Great! I get to choose first! Please, Jiang Jiang, pick one you're confident about! (pleading face) (hands clasped together)】

The "song selection corridor" is actually a corridor containing twelve practice rooms, with the song title and group numbered on the door.

Once the team leader enters the room, the sign on the door will be marked with the word "Selected" to facilitate selection by other team leaders.

Jiang Zhiyu stepped into the passageway, his gaze quickly sweeping over all the doors. He skipped over the dance track's "Detonation Command" and "Sailing," and the rap track's "King" and "Never Say Goodbye," finally settling on the vocal track's "Unopened Letter," a ballad characterized by its slow, lyrical quality, demanding vocals, and emotional narrative.

Without the slightest hesitation, he reached out and pushed open the door that read "The Unopened Letter, Group A," and turned to look at the live stream camera following him: "I choose this song, the lyrical vocal 'The Unopened Letter.'"

As soon as he finished speaking, a heated discussion erupted in the live chat.

[Jiang Zhiyu chose a lyrical vocal? Isn't he the best dancer?]

[Just listening to the demo, this song sounds really difficult to sing. It's all long notes and trills; you can't handle it without strong vocal skills. How can he be so confident?]

[Isn't this too risky? Choosing such a high difficulty level for the first performance is risky. If it goes wrong, they'll definitely lose fans.]

[The fans haven't even spoken yet, so "casual observers" shouldn't worry about him. Jiang Zhiyu is an all-around beginner center; he's a well-rounded player who can pick anything!]

Jiang Zhiyu remained calm, completely unaware that his choice had stirred up another uproar in the live chat. He looked into the training room; it was spacious, furnished with mirrors, microphones, chairs, and all the necessary equipment.

He pushed open the door, found a seat near the center, and quietly waited for the other trainees to come and choose to join.

Not long after, the door to the training room was gently pushed open, and a figure walked in.

Jiang Zhiyu looked up and, as expected, saw Yu Wen.