CHAPTER 66: CHAPTER 66: STRAIGHT-MAN CANCER IS ALSO A DISEASE

"In short, anyway, Qiuqiu, go ahead and have a romantic encounter with the bigshot."

"And try to get his name, age, identity, and sexual orientation for me."

"Hold on a second, commenter above, what do you mean by having Qiuqiu get his sexual orientation? Could it be you’re..."

Even Qiuqiu’s face turned red from what the ridiculous netizens were saying, her heart pounding furiously.

The strong man before her, according to Mr. Qin’s words, was definitely a genius even among Star Martial Warriors. Although he participated in the Star Martial Art competition, his future was definitely different from everyone else present at the competition.

Maybe that was why he chose to compete anonymously; he really was just there to improve himself. For a girl like Qiuqiu, who was destined to be an ordinary person for life, such a Star Martial Warrior was an irresistible temptation.

Not to mention what might become of it later, even becoming friends would be great. Having a Star Martial Warrior as a friend—how prestigious would that be?

And with such a perfect opportunity, if she didn’t strike up a conversation, would Qiuqiu still have the face to hang around in her live stream room?

May the ridiculous netizens give me courage!

She silently cheered herself on, stood up, and slowly walked toward Wang Lan.

Wang Lan was looking down, still contemplating the woman he had just sparred with. According to Hu Qing, a woman of such strength wouldn’t be interested in participating in a flashy show like the Star Martial Art competition unless there was a special reason.

Hu Qing wanted to raise money for his sister’s medical bills, but what about her?

Although she threw her weapons with such style, Wang Lan noticed that in the end, she collected all of them, even stealthily taking some of the metal materials from Suzhou City’s sports venue.

"Um... young man... may I sit here?" Qiuqiu timidly approached and asked Wang Lan in a low voice.

"Ah? Sure. Huh? I recognize you," Wang Lan said, his expression lighting up as he saw Qiuqiu’s face clearly.

"Ah? You know me?" Qiuqiu’s face beamed with surprise as if bathed in Holy Light.

"Yes, you’re the streamer from Startling Fish, right? Called... called..."

"Qiuqiu, my name is Qiuqiu!"

"Wow, Qiuqiu is about to be conquered... Quick, someone give Qiuqiu a sedative."

"Qiuqiu, you’re already a mature streamer; this is a common flirting tactic. You have to hold steady, really hold steady!"

"I guess Qiuqiu is going off-air tonight... Oh no... my Qiuqiu..."

After this exchange, the live stream room immediately exploded.

And all these warnings, reminders, and such, not a single word could enter Qiuqiu’s mind. Embarrassed, Qiuqiu looked down and fidgeted with the hem of her skirt.

"Have you watched my live stream before?"

"No, I remember seeing you not long ago. You seemed to want to do a live stream at Fragrant Courtyard Bay, but then the security guard stopped you, and you couldn’t even get through the gate..."

Couldn’t even get through the gate... get through the gate... get through...

Qiuqiu’s expression froze instantly.

Dead silence in the live stream room...

"HAHAHA..."

Immediately, the bullet comments exploded.

"Is this guy serious?"

"That comment wounded Qiuqiu deeply!"

"Qiuqiu, my condolences!"

"HAHAHA... This guy must have no friends, right?"

"I don’t know about friends, but definitely no girlfriend. No girl can tolerate such a blunt man."

Don’t get angry, don’t get angry! Qiuqiu, you’re a mature streamer; you can’t get angry.

"Young man, thank you for the wonderful match today. Could you say hello to the viewers in my live stream?"

"Um... I guess so?"

"Hello everyone in Qiuqiu’s live stream room, I’m contestant number forty-four, Nice Person! Wait a minute..." Suddenly Wang Lan stopped mid-sentence. "Didn’t they say no live broadcasts or transmissions during the preliminaries?"

"That... only the official live streams and broadcasts are not happening. Us small-time streamers can still come in to stream."

"But I thought non-competitors aren’t allowed in here. How did you sneak in?"

The conversation came to a dead end—again. Qiuqiu silently gave a close-up to Wang Lan’s mask and then, saying she was sorry for disturbing him, turned and left. If she stayed any longer, Qiuqiu might have burst a blood vessel from frustration.

Forget it, forget it. I should just focus on my live streaming. As expected, not many Star Martial Warriors are sane.

At noon, the second round was announced to have ended.

Hu Qing and Wang Lan successfully entered the third round, the final preliminaries reducing two hundred contestants to one hundred.

"Successfully entering the third-round preliminaries: Reward 800 experience points, 80 skill points."

Having allocated all skill points to Star Cloud Sword Dance previously, my skill points had been depleted. These 80 skill points eased my anxiety about the insufficiency of skill points.

"Director Min, the high-definition footage of Wolf’s and Lan Die’s matches has been cut and edited. When should we release it?"

As soon as the morning’s matches ended, emergency video editing was immediately conducted backstage to ensure that the most authentic, clearest, and most exciting moments were captured from the best angles.

The computer screen on Min Jian’s desk was currently playing the footage of Wang Lan’s encounter with Lan Die.

Every single frame was a breathtaking scene. Even Min Jian was thoroughly engrossed in it.

"Director Min, you’ve got it already?"

"Yes! Look how exciting and beautiful the fight is. Imagine the impact if this match were in the main tournament! I regret putting this battle in the preliminaries now."

"Director Min, the contenders in the official competition are also very strong. In the second round, we discovered more than a dozen powerful contestants. Their strength is no less than Wolf’s, and once the official competition starts, there will surely be more high-quality showdowns like this one."

"I hope so. God knows how much pressure I’ve been under since taking over this program with its reputation in ruins. This video will be our weapon to turn public opinion around. But don’t rush to release it; let’s wait for the buzz to build online and keep them on tenterhooks."

"You’ve been working hard, Director Min. Should we also arrange an opponent for Wolf in the third round? We can focus on building up Wolf, make him famous before the competition starts, and then drive interest in the official competition."

"No need... one battle is enough. If the preliminaries are all this splendid, it will outshine the official competition."

"Understood!"

Peak confrontations like the one between Wang Lan and Lan Die are rare finds. Even if it were the same two players fighting another match, it’s not guaranteed to reach such a high level of competition again.

After watching that match, all other matches seemed like plain broth without any flavor, even during the round reducing two hundred contestants to one hundred, even if Wang Lan entered the arena again.

The audience hoped for an intensely thrilling battle, yet Wang Lan staged a ten-second KO.

The onsite commentators were alright; they were merely the eyes of the broad audience watching the live stream. But online, the viewers who saw that match were already itching for more.

"Unleash the keyboards!"

"Welcome to the second episode of the Masked Man Star Martial Art Competition! The contestants have entered the arena, so don’t even blink because the match is about to... end! Don’t ask me why I’m saying it’s over; I swear, I didn’t even blink."

"Lackluster and feeble. Could it be because the opponent wasn’t a beautiful young lady? The last match, you fought for ten minutes, but this one, you only fought for ten seconds, half of which was spent on pleasantries."

Anyway, although everyone was criticizing Wang Lan for ending the fight so quickly, the real fire was concentrated on the Star Martial Warrior he faced. "If you’re so weak, why bother showing up? Are you just wasting everyone’s time?" they exclaimed.

"Passed through the preliminaries: Reward 1,500 experience points, 150 skill points..."

When the official list of contestants for the main competition was announced, Wang Lan’s system reward also arrived. In the system, I was a little less than halfway to reaching Star Shine four. If my progression went smoothly, I should be able to advance to Star Shine four after completing this competition.

"Welcome home, Wang Lan."

"Xiao Ai, make me a cup of coffee."

"Alright!"

"Xiao Ai, look up the girl I fought today. Who is she?" Wang Lan sat on the sofa, recalling the scenes from today’s combat.

I never expected that the first time I fully overcame the fear of death would be at a competition. Even saying it now, I find it hard to believe.

Previously, although I could face death, I hadn’t truly conquered it; I’d merely managed not to let the fear of death paralyze me. Truly overcoming the fear of death meant entering complete calmness in the face of danger, undisturbed by any external factors.

Initially, when facing that rain of hidden weapons, I was neither afraid nor did I enter a state of calm. But when I saw the woman’s eyes, as indifferent as an autumn pond, I was suddenly shaken. Her gaze held no emotion; she was like a cold machine.

In the past, she definitely wasn’t like this.

I tried to purge emotions but not thoughts and discovered the result was surprisingly effective. My cognitive abilities, body coordination, and even reaction speed all improved greatly.

And I named this state of wartime calmness "Sage Time."

"Wang Lan, I’ve found her. Her name is Lan Die, twenty-eight years old. Last year, she was the leader of a Pioneering Legion, commanding twelve people. Last year, they suffered severe losses while exploring a Different Secret Territory. Of the thirteen in the team, only she survived.

What’s more peculiar is that she developed a phobia of blood; even the sight of red paint would send her into a mental breakdown. That’s why she chose to leave the Pioneering Legion. Alone, she decided to take care of the families of the twelve fallen comrades. This past year, she worked four jobs: two full-time and two part-time."

"Why did she take on the burden for twelve families? Didn’t the families of her fallen comrades receive government compensation?"

"They did. It seems Lan Die feels responsible for the deaths of her team members. Rather than say she took on the burden for twelve families, it’s more appropriate to say it was a form of self-punishment."

"Understood."

After a bath, I went to bed.

The official competition would commence in three days, with one hundred official contestants going through fifty advancement matches. With each episode lasting one and a half hours, there would be ten matches, meaning just the first round would require five days of broadcasting. Wang Lan’s match was scheduled for the third day of the official competition, the third match; all of this was known well in advance.