I, the anti-superman, have hacked into the chat group.

By this time, Bronya had also chosen a codename, and now only Spider remained.

"I don't want to go," Spider said, taking a few steps back.

Socially awkward people don't want to be in the spotlight, let alone perform in front of so many people and be judged. It's going to be the death of her. In her mind, this is even more difficult than surviving in a maze.

However, Kurumi Tokisaki grabbed one of Spider-Girl's hands and said in her uniquely seductive voice, "No way, you can't waste such a great talent. With your god-like appearance, you can achieve outstanding results even if you do nothing, so you can't run away."

Carl also advised, "Relax, Spider. You can't keep running away forever. Just treat it as training. Once you're on stage, you can shoot a few spider webs. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Out of respect for Karl, Spider finally stopped and said, "Spider."

Although brief, everyone understood her meaning; this was her code name, indicating that she had agreed to participate. Thus, the proposal was passed unanimously.

Chapter 84 Promotional Video

Superhero talent shows are among the most popular shows in the world, attracting countless viewers every year. After a long period of operation, it has become one of Vought International's money-making projects, with a single episode generating billions in revenue.

Despite the show's immense popularity, there weren't many contestants. The registration process for group members went very smoothly, without even the usual audition stage.

Thinking about it carefully, this is understandable. There are only a few people with superpowers to begin with, and the talent show is only open to heroes who have just debuted, so even if there are many people signing up, there won't be many.

Aside from the fact that the contestant has superpowers, the only requirement is appearance. After all, the show wants to select superstars who can stand in the spotlight, and most people in the world are members of the "looks-matter" club, so appearance is a very important bonus.

Of course, this is not absolute. You can also choose to wear a mask and take a different route. For example, the Super Seven's Black is an example. He is completely wrapped in a black uniform, without revealing a single inch of skin, and he doesn't even speak. This is his persona, which can arouse the audience's voyeuristic desires.

However, only a minority of people do this. If you start by playing the mystery game, the audience will only ignore you and focus on the more glamorous heroes. Especially for newcomers, doing this is basically giving up on becoming famous.

Fortunately, the group members were all quite good-looking, ranking among the top contestants, and easily passed the first hurdle, receiving invitations to the next round of competition.

“The production team will start filming tomorrow. We’re lucky; we’ll save a lot of waiting time,” Bronya said.

The doctor was the happiest about this. Even while on a mission, he couldn't stop worrying about Chaldea, so he especially hoped to finish the mission as soon as possible.

If he were asked to leave for a month at a time like Karl, he definitely wouldn't do it. It's only because he can leave the mission world at any time that he's willing to take the time to join.

As night fell, Carl and his companions rented a small house in a New York residential area as their lodging.

Although the house wasn't big, it was more than enough for five people, and each person could have their own room. Except for Carl, everyone else needed some rest time. Spider-Girl theoretically didn't need to rest, but she hadn't mastered her skills yet.

Most people in the room didn't go to sleep immediately. Instead, they used the chat group to return to their own world and check the situation. As long as the task wasn't over, they could freely enter and exit the chat group after a 5-second loading bar.

When you re-enter the mission world, if there are no teammates in the mission world, you will appear at the starting point; if there are teammates, you will appear next to them.

In other words, as long as someone stays in the mission world, everyone else can come and go freely. This mission fell to Spider, since she was the most idle person there, and all she would do after returning was practice magic.

Carl also took the opportunity to check back on Earth 3. So far, everything was fine, except that Deathstorm had become the new ruler of Fawcett City. There was nothing particularly noteworthy.

"Looks like they're hiding very well, or are they determined not to show themselves?" Karl thought to himself. In any case, since nothing has happened, he might as well continue with the mission.

The next morning, the group members gathered early, had a quick breakfast, and then went to the recording location of the program.

The production team will first film a personal video for each participating superhero for promotional purposes. The contestants can talk about their experiences, dreams, etc. This segment is also common in regular talent shows.

However, this is a superhero talent show after all, so showcasing their superpowers in the videos is the most important thing. The reason why superhero talent shows can stand out from many other programs is precisely because the contestants are all superpowered individuals, which naturally arouses people's curiosity.

Because it was a promotional video shoot, Carl and his group members were temporarily assigned to different locations.

In the shooting studio, the staff first had Karl pose in place to showcase the character's image and clothing details before proceeding to the most important step.

"Let me see, Superman, right? Now you can show everyone your abilities."

“I’m afraid that won’t work,” Carl said.

"why?"

"This place is too small. If possible, could we move the filming location outdoors?"

The staff exchanged glances and finally agreed. Superpowers come in all shapes and sizes, and many are indeed unsuitable for indoor use.

For example, yesterday there was a thing called Starlight that could manipulate the surrounding electrical energy. As a result, the energy burst burned all the electrical appliances around it. Fortunately, the photographer was unharmed.

The staff set up the camera outdoors in bright sunshine and then asked, "Is it ready now?"

Seeing Karl nod, the photographer quickly focused on taking pictures, but just as his lens locked onto Karl, there was a loud bang, and Karl suddenly disappeared from the spot.

He quickly turned the camera around, but couldn't find Karl anywhere. Just as these people were wondering if Karl's ability was to become invisible, a large shadow fell in the sky.

Looking up, I saw that a huge rock, the size of a small hill, was blocking the sunlight!

Upon suddenly encountering this scene, the staff almost developed megalophobia. Just then, Carl spoke.

"Did I scare you? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, it's just the most appropriate way to present it."

The photographer then followed the sound and saw Karl holding up the boulder with one hand, floating in the air. Judging from his expression, it was an easy task for him.

"My God, is this even human? No one but Homelander has ever had such power!"

Homelander is the most powerful and renowned superhuman in the world. While others might struggle to lift a few cars, he can easily support the weight of a building. He is simply not in the same league as other superhumans.

These are common knowledge, but it seems that a superhero on par with Homelander has emerged, especially since both of them wear blue bodysuits and capes. This makes the staff feel that the two are bound to have a fierce battle, after all, their character settings overlap.

"You've almost finished filming, right?" Carl asked. "I'm going to put the stone back now."

He dug this boulder out from outside the city, leaving a huge pit at the site. If there is a heavy rain, it might turn into a small lake, so it's better to put the boulder back.

"That's enough, that's enough. You did a great job. This video will definitely cause a sensation after it airs, and becoming the champion is just around the corner."

Upon hearing this, Carl remained unmoved, calmly placing the boulder back in its original position and filling the pit. By the time he returned, the group members had all finished filming the promotional video.

Chapter 85 Starlight

Carl greeted them: "How's everyone's filming going?"

"It should be alright, after all, I made it particularly fancy," the doctor said, scratching the back of his head.

Although magic exists in the world of doctors, his own body has no natural affinity for it, so he needs to rely on props made by others. Last night, he made a special trip back to Chaldea to have a pair of gloves custom-made that can release cool special effects.

Although it doesn't have any other functions besides special effects, this is a talent show after all, so having special effects is already quite appropriate. If you really need to fight, you can use other props.

"I'm sorry, Bronya can't continue the competition." Just then, Bronya said dejectedly.

This surprised the doctor. If he could pass, why was Bronya, who actually had superpowers, eliminated? It was very strange.

Bronya explained, "Those staff said my appearance didn't meet the competition requirements. It's outrageous! I clearly wrote 20 years old on my identity information, but they insisted it would cause dissatisfaction from organizations protecting minors."

Everyone's identity information was forged with Bronya's help, and Bronya herself is indeed a minor, and her body stopped developing two years ago, so she looks like a child. No wonder the production team didn't dare to accept her.

Karl reassured Bronya, "Don't be angry. It's okay if you can't participate. There's definitely more to it than just doing this one thing. There will always be a place where you can make a difference."

The intention wasn't for everyone to achieve a good ranking in the talent show. The goal was to get everyone in the group to participate, so it's normal for one or two people to be eliminated.

Besides, there are many ways to become famous, not just through talent shows. Temporary setbacks are perfectly acceptable.

"Kurumi Tokisaki, I always felt you could do this kind of thing very well," Karl then asked.

Kurumi Tokisaki is much older than she looks, and she is very experienced and not at all stage-frightened, so she knows exactly how to bring out all her charm.

"It's very simple. Those people are completely mesmerized by me. My clones dazzle them," Kurumi Tokisaki said.

Her abilities are rather complex, as they fall under the category of magic. Therefore, they differ somewhat in style from the superpowers of this world. For example, shadow manipulation and time bullets are too fantastical to be easily used.

Compared to the ability to conjure weapons and clothes out of thin air, the ability to create clones is more in line with the definition of a superpower. A beautiful girl who can create clones is a character that could definitely attract a lot of people's interest.

Finally, Spider-Woman came out. She was still wearing a hood that covered half her face. She didn't say a word and just nodded gently to everyone.

Karl laughed, "It seems everything went smoothly on Spider's side too. They had a great start. Apart from encountering Bronya due to unforeseen circumstances, everyone successfully advanced."

Individual promotional videos are uploaded online for evaluation. The final results are usually available within a few hours after uploading. The production team uses this method to eliminate a number of contestants. However, Carl and others received notifications of their advancement the following day.

Superpowered individuals are valued for quality over quantity. Several rounds of selection had already been conducted, making this a unique kind of open selection. Eight contestants remained, with Carl and others taking up half of the spots, a remarkable achievement.

Bronya left the scene quickly after being suspended. Since this path was not suitable for her, she decided to try another one and use her hacking skills to find information about Vought Corporation.

The group mission puts Vought International and The Seven together, and with the hints in the mission description, it's easy to conclude that there's something fishy about both of them. This investigation is sure to be fruitful.

As for the contestants who advanced, they were placed in several adjacent dressing rooms, where they could touch up their makeup, eat, or chat with others, while the production team used this time to check the stage equipment.

But since everyone is a competitor, there's not much to talk about, so generally no one would do that.

Today was an exception, though. Half of the players were their own people, and as soon as they arrived at the rest area, they all gathered in Karl's lounge.

This unusual situation immediately attracted the attention of the other contestants. It was the first time they had seen so many people gathered together. However, most of them glanced at the group and then left it at that. They needed to use this time to process their own emotions and didn't have time to care about others.

With one exception.

While Karl and the others were chatting, there was a knock on the door of the lounge. The doctor, who was closer to the door, opened it and was greeted by a woman gleaming with gold.

She has golden hair, and her uniform has been specially designed with many gold elements and reflective areas, giving her a shimmering look.

"Who are you looking for?" the doctor asked.

"Oh, my name is Starlight, and I'm also a contestant," the man introduced himself. "It may be a bit presumptuous, but seeing so many of you gathered together inevitably arouses curiosity."

"I've participated in countless talent shows since I was a child, and I've never encountered a situation like this before. Did you know each other from the beginning?"

Carl replied, "Yes, we're friends who came to participate in the show together."

"My God." Xingguang was very surprised. It was one thing to participate in the talent show together, but to actually advance was quite another. This was no easy feat.

Starlight herself had to give up the opportunity to make friends with her peers since childhood because of the talent show, so she was a little envious when she saw Karl and the others.

At the same time, she was a little confused: "But there can only be one champion in the competition."

Carl laughed and said, "We didn't come here for the championship. It would be great if we could win, but it wouldn't be a big deal if we couldn't. True heroes aren't chosen."

These words made Xingguang frown. She had dedicated her life to talent shows; it was her dream and her way of making a living.

“Perhaps the draft itself is flawed, but this champion can join the Super Seven,” Starlight tried to refute Carl.

But Carl calmly replied, "What's the difference? Does joining them make you a hero? Is that all you want to be a superhero?"

She perked up at the mention of the star and exclaimed, "I became a superhero to save the world!"

"You might think this is a bit naive, but how else can you be a superhero?"

Everyone was stunned by her words, and the scene fell silent. This was not because they thought Xingguang was right, but because they did not expect someone in their twenties to say such a thing.

Kurumi Tokisaki almost couldn't hold back her laughter.

"Hehe~" Okay, not almost, she just couldn't help it.

Chapter 86 Elimination Rounds