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

The sequential selection process has ended, and this gathering is now dissolved.

Jiang Zhiyu followed the crowd out of the large classroom and walked back to the practice room along the corridor. When he passed a corner without cameras, he was suddenly stopped by someone.

"River!"

He looked in the direction of the sound and, sure enough, saw Yan Zuo.

The newcomer greeted him with a smile, raising his hand in greeting: "I didn't expect to see you here."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhiyu raised an eyebrow: "You really didn't expect that?"

He didn't believe it. If he hadn't been on this show, how could someone like Yan Zuo, whose mind was full of "The Zeroer," have agreed to be a guest on a talent show?

Yan Zuo wasn't embarrassed when he was exposed. He turned to look at Jiang Zhiyu's puzzled teammates and waved his hand, "I'll let your team leader Jiang play for a while. I'll send it back to you later."

Hearing Yan Zuo's peculiar description, Jiang Zhiyu helplessly curled the corners of his lips, turned around and said to the others who were still hesitating, "You guys go back first, I'll be back later."

Only then did they respond with a word of agreement and turn to leave.

Yan Zuo watched them leave, clicking his tongue in amazement: "How do you manage to act like the center of the world wherever you go?"

"Never mind that, what are you doing here?"

He didn't believe that Yan Zuo would sacrifice his rest and shooting practice time just to come here and play with him.

Yan Zuo said seriously, "Alright. I'm here to convey our boss's message."

He paused, deliberately, waiting for Jiang Zhiyu to press for answers.

Unfortunately, Jiang Zhiyu showed no sign of urging him, remaining completely calm and showing no curiosity whatsoever.

He was somewhat frustrated: "Okay, okay! I'll be frank. I heard your contract is about to expire, and we hope you'll consider XSG when you transfer, but we haven't been able to get in touch with you, so we had to send me here to find you."

Jiang Zhiyu lowered his eyes and remained silent. Ever since the official announcement of his temporary departure, he had deliberately avoided it and had never seriously thought about where he would go in the future.

"..."

"I'm not forcing you to make a decision right away. I know RXG means something different to you. I just want to say that if you really want to switch teams, you can consider us first. We will give you an absolute core position in our tactics, and the compensation will be the highest in the league."

Jiang Zhiyu glanced at him and asked, "Are you so sure I'll go back?"

Yan Zuo chuckled: "Is that even a question? Why are you pretending with me?"

"Well, but you know—"

"No!" Yan Zuo quickly interrupted him, giving a wry smile. "Don't reject me outright. Just leave me some room to think it over. We'll talk about it again when the contract expires!"

Jiang Zhiyu looked at him, said nothing, and simply nodded slightly.

He breathed a sigh of relief and patted Jiang Zhiyu on the shoulder: "Okay, then I won't disturb your pursuit of your dream in the entertainment industry. I'll be going now, see you in a few days."

Jiang Zhiyu watched him leave before turning around and continuing to walk towards the practice room.

The second round of mentor quizzes has begun as scheduled.

Similar to the first public performance, this mini-exam will also adopt a no-livestream format, only retaining the mentors' on-site comments and internal score recording, without broadcasting the footage to the public in real time.

The waiting area was filled with trainees from various performance groups. This performance was even more difficult than the first one, and with the cruel point deduction system, the atmosphere was oppressive and quiet.

The penalties for the mentors' mini-test in the second round were completely different from those in the first round.

Unlike the first round, which awarded bonus votes, the second round adopted a system where points were deducted for failing to meet the requirements.

The second public test has no group ranking or extra points; it only assesses individual ability and qualification.

If a trainee's performance does not meet the passing standard set by the mentor, 50 points will be deducted from their total score for the official performance.

This second round of competition may seem to lack a head-to-head format, but it is actually more brutal. There are 800 audience members and eight performance groups, but each audience member only has five chances to vote.

The five trainees with the lowest total votes in this performance will be eliminated without considering their ranking after the second performance.

In other words, those 50 points would be a blow that would almost be a death sentence.

Jiang Zhiyu and his group found seats in the middle and sat down side by side.

He remained calm, without the slightest sign of anxiety, simply sitting with his eyes closed, resting.

Lin Sen glanced at him sideways and teased in a low voice, "You're really not nervous at all. My heart is pounding."

Jiang Zhiyu opened his eyes and replied calmly, "Just perform normally. We've practiced very well."

Qi Sixian took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, but the slight tremor in his voice was impossible to hide: "Indeed, we can just do it as we usually practice."

The group chatted in hushed tones, their gazes inadvertently sweeping over a row of seats diagonally in front of them.

Xu Xiaoyu sat there all alone, surrounded by a low-pressure atmosphere that seemed to keep strangers at bay.

His complexion was terrible, his eyes filled with unconcealed haggardness and gloom. He looked listless, his back stiff, and he didn't talk to anyone around him or interact with his fellow trainees. He just kept his head down, and his expression was unreadable.

Many trainees around him were subtly glancing at him, whispering amongst themselves.

"To be honest, given how things have gotten, why hasn't he withdrawn from the competition yet? Anyone else would have left on their own accord by now."

"Who knows? It's so awkward to just stay here like this."

"Logically, if faking illness backfires and public opinion collapses, wouldn't it be better for the company to gracefully withdraw him from the competition? Instead, he insists on refusing to leave."

"The company is too busy to handle its own problems, so they've probably given up on him. It seems like he refused to leave, claiming he was unaware of the situation. The production team's attitude was also quite subtle; they actually didn't force him to leave."

The murmurs were faint, but they could be faintly heard in the quiet waiting area.

Xu Xiaoyu wasn't deaf; she just pursed her lips tightly, pretending not to hear, her face, hidden in the shadows, turning pale and then flushed.

Jiang Zhiyu glanced over there indifferently, without lingering or showing any inquisitiveness.

The staff took the list to the front of the waiting area and read out the group names in order.

Group after group went in, and group after group came out after taking the exam. Everyone had different expressions, but no one knew what happened to anyone outside their own group.

After an unknown amount of time, the staff member's voice rang out again: "Jiang Zhiyu's team, prepare to enter."

The group immediately composed themselves, stood up, straightened their clothes, and exchanged glances.

"Stay calm and just play normally," Lin Sen said in a low voice.

The group followed the staff to the back, through the corridor, and into the tutor's quiz room.

The small examination room was decorated simply and formally. Four tutors sat in a row at the front, each with a serious expression, holding a score sheet and a pen in their hands, and calmly looking at the people who walked in.

This scene is very similar to the first public performance, but everyone knows that this time the difficulty is much higher than the first public performance.