It was a familiar stage and a familiar setting.
The lighting technician used a flashy trick that was enough to trigger epilepsy to open the show.
In the dark contestant area, the seven writers of the revival competition, including Feng Bujue, were already in position.
The cameraman at the first camera position moved the camera lens at a certain frequency, creating a kind of dispensable motion.
The director gave an order through the microphone and the live DJ started to play noisy music with a strong rhythm.
The next second, the host went on stage.
Oscar was still the same Oscar. Today, he was wearing a gray casual suit and a pair of dark jeans. He had a headset in his left ear and a microphone hanging from his mouth.
Just like every previous episode, he was not affected by the square dance music around him. He walked calmly to the center of the stage.
The lights stopped and focused on him.
Oscar looked into the camera and read out the opening line in a clear voice, "Welcome to … I Am a Writer! I am the host, Oscar. "
Then, he bowed slightly.
The lights lit up the audience. Under the director's command, the four cameras that were aimed at the audience started to move. The moment the audience clapped and cheered, the camera panned over.
The staff had done this kind of opening countless times and they were very familiar with it. Unless Oscar accidentally fell on the stage, it was all done in one take.
"Live audience, in front of the TV, and friends on the internet …" After the BGM, Oscar immediately continued, "Today is a special day." He paused for a few seconds and turned slightly to the side. "Today, on the stage of I Am a Writer, there are seven … contestants that everyone is very familiar with."
He was a professional host after all. The combination of tone and small movements was just right. As he spoke, Oscar took a few steps back and stood in front of the contestant area.
"Since the first episode of I Am a Writer was broadcast, we have experienced twenty nights like this." Oscar continued, "During this period, our program has welcomed twenty-six writers with unique and unforgettable styles." He took a deep breath. "But in the end … only seven people can make it to the final stage." At this point, he raised his arm up forty-five degrees and gestured at the big screen.
The photos of the six writers appeared on the screen. Their appearance and expressions were edited to make them look like members of the Mafia. Their pen names were marked at the bottom of their photos.
Beside the six photos, there was a blank space. The blank space showed a black shadow with a big question mark above it.
"So far … there are already six contestants who have gone through all the trials and entered the grand finals, but …" Oscar continued in a slow tone, "There is still one vacancy …" He waved his arm again and pointed at the contestant seat beside him. "And this chance to enter the grand finals … Who will win it?"
"Night Fire! Night Fire! " Before the host could finish his sentence, a group of people in the audience had already started shouting. Their chants were neat, their shouts were loud, and their reactions were quick. They had the demeanor of a professional.
The fans of the other writers also belatedly shouted for the writers they supported. However, most of these shouts did not amount to much and sounded a little scattered.
"I'm the writer — Resurrection Night. And now … "Oscar slid to the side." … the curtain is lifted. "
After Oscar finished that sentence, the lights and the live DJ started another round of noise under the director's order …
Then, it was time to introduce the contestants (Just like the previous recordings, the part where the sponsors were mentioned and the advertisement was recorded separately, so Oscar's dialogue was sometimes a bit out of place). Oscar read, "Alright, enough with the small talk. Let's take a look. The seven contestants standing on this' Stage of Counterattack 'are …"
The lights for contestant No. 1 came on from above. It lit up a young man who was slightly rotund and wearing glasses.
"Contestant No. 1, Soda." This time, Oscar did not give a long introduction, nor did he read the 'main editor's comment' from the show.
This was because … after a long period of revision, this part of the show had been removed and the introduction of the contestants would be added in the form of subtitles at the bottom of the screen.
There were two main reasons for this change. One, since only one contestant would be eliminated each episode, many contestants would appear again, so there was no need to read every episode. Two … the saved time could be used to insert more advertisements.
"Contestant No. 2, Yamucha." Oscar's introduction continued, and the lights above the contestants' seats lit up one by one as he spoke.
Even though he had a pen name that could win the World Martial Arts Tournament, the writer himself was just a boy who looked weak. One look at his face and one could tell he was at most twenty.
In fact, Yamucha was indeed only nineteen this year. He started writing in his first year of high school and dropped out to write full-time in his third year. Last year, he used a very popular fantasy novel to enter the ranks of the top online writers.
"Contestant No. 3, Spring Breeze Blows the Earth," Oscar continued.
This was a middle-aged man around forty with a pair of black-rimmed glasses. His series of sci-fi novels were very popular. Uncle Earth was a journalist in his early years and later became a freelance writer. Initially, he wrote a sci-fi novel that was several hundred thousand words long out of interest, but he was rejected many times. Therefore … he tried to serialize it online. He didn't expect it to be so popular. As for his pen name … it was actually just a phrase that popped up after he casually typed GG on the keyboard. When he registered his author account, he didn't think that he would become popular. He just casually came up with this pen name with the mentality that "since no one wants this manuscript anyway, it's better to send it out for people to read than to destroy it" …
"Contestant No. 4, Chainsaw Rose."
This was a "personality writer" who was famous for her gothic style of writing and dressing. To be honest … her novels didn't sell well and were very niche. But fortunately, her father was a rich businessman and he knew some friends in the publishing industry … Just like that, her strange novels were printed and sold, and it caused a certain social reaction … Some people said she was making a fuss about nothing, some said she was cynical, and some people (mostly minors) saw her as a spiritual teacher. But no matter what … if someone commented, it meant that someone was paying attention. In this era where all kinds of ideas collided, her novels were unique.
"Contestant No. 5, Bandit General."
This was a young man in his late twenties. His face was very white, he had small eyes, slanted bangs, and his clothes were quite fashionable. At first glance, he looked like a Korean male artist. He could be considered a veteran online writer. He had quite a few popular novels in urban, fantasy, and other popular themes. However, he had never really become popular. His slightly thin writing style and fixed plot routines were also repeatedly criticized by people. Comments like "poor writing style, love to exaggerate, creativity is getting more and more boring" could be said to be his daily routine.
Oscar introduced the contestants as he walked, and finally … they arrived at the seats of the last two contestants.
The order of the contestants in the revival round was based on the popularity of the online voting. The higher the ranking, the lower the seat, so Feng Bujue was contestant No. 6 today.
To be honest, Feng Bujue didn't expect that "soda", who appeared in the same round as him, would be the least popular of the seven contestants. Even though it was not bad to be in the top seven among the twenty eliminated contestants, the feeling of being at the bottom … was not good.
"Contestant No. 6 …" When Oscar came to Brother Jue's seat, he made a brief eye contact with him. "Bujue."
Two seconds later, Oscar turned around and said, "And the last … contestant No. 7, Night Fire."
Earlier, whenever he announced the pseudonym of a contestant, there would be a wave of applause and cheers from the audience, and the waves of cheers were increasing. It was not until the introduction of Night Fire that it reached its peak.
Night Fire was a man under the age of thirty, and he didn't look that impressive. But he was a new internet god this year. With the help of an urban novel, he was in the limelight. The popularity of his works was even comparable to that of top-tier writers such as Xuan Tianzong and Vegetable Fruit (I'm a writer — feel free to ridicule me).
"Well, as usual …" Oscar returned to the center of the stage with a smile after the audience quieted down a little. "… Next should be the segment to name this episode, but …" He changed the topic. "This episode is a little special because we already have a title." He raised his hand and gestured to the big screen.
Indeed, the words "Resurrection Night" were displayed on the screen.
"Therefore, we won't have a naming session for this episode." Oscar glanced at the camera with a mysterious gaze. "And …" After he said that, there was a long pause that made people uncomfortable. Then he continued, "… The changes for this episode are far more than just this. In the revival round, we will see a completely new set of rules! "
At this time, the DJ played a few more sound effects, and the lights suddenly flashed, creating a somewhat tense atmosphere.
"Haha … There's no need to be so nervous." Oscar smiled. "How about this … the contestants for this episode are all our old friends. At the start of this episode, we'll have them greet everyone one by one and say a few words about their return."
At that moment, Fei Ran said through the earpiece, "Oscar, do it in reverse."
The director was undoubtedly doing Night Fire a favor because there were only a few lines like this that were repeated over and over again. It was better to start first. After all, when the other contestants spoke, the content would be repeated.
After Oscar received the order, he quietly walked to Night Fire's side. "How about this, we'll start with Night Fire."
Night Fire smiled at the camera. "Hello everyone, I'm Night Fire. I'm back, and I hope to improve on this stage. I look forward to your support. "
It was a few simple sentences, and his fans in the audience cheered loudly in response.
Then … it was time for Oscar …
"Haha … I don't think so." Oscar's smile froze. "Say something …"
"There's no need for a self-introduction. You've already said that." When Feng Bujue spoke, he frowned and turned his face to the side. His eyes were glued to the big screen. "For a comeback speech … I think I'm still not used to going from being unknown to being liked …" He paused. "But there's something else that I wanted to say a few minutes ago …" He said darkly. "Just now, the big screen showed a promotional picture of seven contestants missing one … What is going on? Is there a need to make it look like a wanted list? Are they going to choose a writer or a Shichibukai? "
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