ATIS Chapter 22 pt 1

The rules of the wooden man game were simple: no movement.

However, it differed from the usual multiplayer game format. It wasn't about one person covering their eyes, counting to three, turning around, and the rest taking the opportunity to move forward. Instead, two trainees stood facing each other, and the surrounding trainees formed a circle. They could find ways to interfere, and the first one to move or laugh would be considered the loser.

The winner had to face successive opponents in a single breath until they lose a match or achieve the best ranking.

Qin Lu was in the first group, and it was already the fourth round.

The trainees were quite young, and seeing the calm expression of the black-haired trainee, they couldn't help exchanging glances. They planned to concentrate on disturbing him in the next round, as they didn't believe Qin Lu could remain unaffected.

Their lack of belief was one thing, but more importantly, Qin Lu represented Liao Junchen's "Avengers" team. Even with the burden of Toeisup and Han Suyan’s ability, with popular team members like Liao Junchen and Qin Lu, their overall strength was still very high.

If they could also grab the most outstanding songs first, then the other trainees might as well just go home!

Producer Cui Zhihao noticed the surging emotional changes among the trainees. He smiled and looked at the black-haired trainee in the field. "Are you ready?"

"Start!"

The trainees formed a circle. Lu Zhi, who enjoyed watching the excitement, hopped down from his seat, walked to the two contestants, and smiling while shaking his hand in front of them. "Hello, can you see me? I’m telling you, this morning my new roommate told me he had a dream last night. In the dream, I kept chattering in his ear, and as a result, he woke up with a headache today! Well, are you ready to face the hurricane?"

The trainee opposite to Qin Lu’s mouth twitched slightly, which he promptly controlled.

The trainee who had sat next to Lu Zhi during the rating stage and was "deeply poisoned" couldn't help but cover his forehead. The familiar feeling had returned.

However funny and talkative Lu Zhi might be, no matter how much he made people want to slap him with a palm, the black-haired trainee, who was not very old but exceptionally composed, remained unmoved.

Even his breathing rate hadn't changed. It seemed that whatever the people around did or said, it couldn’t disturb him in the slightest.

His composure was incredible to the point that even Producer Cui Zhihao couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.

In the camera frame, the black-haired trainee standing casually in the center exuded a calm temperament. If one ignored the chaotic noise around, he even appeared serene and stable.

Initially concerned that Qin Lu might be influenced, his teammates were now so relaxed and were even discussing what type of song to choose already.

With reliable teammates like Qin Lu, one felt incredibly reassured, like having a divine needle that affixed the sea (1).

Qin Lu wasn't affected at all but the trainees opposite him couldn't maintain such composure. One after another, they succumbed. In almost no time, Qin Lu decisively secured the final victory with unstoppable momentum.

After quickly finishing the game, the black-haired trainee showed a charming smile and returned to his team with ease.

The trainees were both impressed and exasperated, unable to laugh or cry, beating their chests, stamping their feet, and sighing.

"Isn't Qin Lu a high school student? I feel like I just witnessed an old monk entering deep meditation..."

Qin Lu, sitting cross-legged, blinked and smiled. There used to be dozens of staff who came and went back and forth on set. Quickly getting into character in a noisy environment wasn't awkward for him at all. Games like these were really not difficult.

Once the song selection order was decided, the staff promptly brought out a prepared panel with six covered boards.

"Let's listen to the first track." Producer Cui Zhihao chuckled slightly.

The highly aggressive heavy metal-style arrangement started playing, with clean and sharp drum beats, a fast yet rhythmic pace. It was a new song launched by a renowned gold-medal producer the previous year, firmly occupying the top spot on major music platform listening charts in the past year.

The trainees' eyes lit up.

"It's 'DIA'!"

"When this intro plays on stage, half the battle is won... but the difficulty, is also self-evident. Especially the chorus; it's too challenging to handle."

"I can almost imagine how terrifying the dance moves will be. With less than a week to prepare, even if I had the chance to pick this song, I wouldn't be able to pull it off."

The best configuration in a team was to have members with outstanding expertise to illuminate different parts. The main dancer determined the visual impact, the main vocalist was responsible for elevating the audience's emotions during the gradually escalating chorus, and rap could naturally transition the initially smooth melody into a dynamic rhythm in a short time.

Qin Lu was unfamiliar with all the songs. After listening carefully, he found this song indeed had memorable elements. After two cycles of the chorus, he could roughly recall the melody. Even someone not well-versed in music could feel the solid skills in the arrangement.

He looked at Liao Junchen. While other team members hesitated, Liao Junchen seemed to have made a decision.

The young captain turned his head and met Qin Lu’s gaze. The two of them paused for a moment, showing a hint of tacit understanding with a smile.

Producer Cui Zhihao unveiled the board, and unsurprisingly, it was "DIA."

With the foundation laid by the first song, the trainees assumed the second one would also be a hot track but when the chorus started, confusion was evident in everyone's eyes.

The melody sounded ethereal, with a clean and clear female voice as the main vocal. The singing seemed to transport the audience to the gentle underwater world, where all trivial troubles gradually faded away, as if traversing through a layer of mist into the starry night immersed in darkness.

Very beautiful, gentle, and the melody of the chorus was very melodious.

However, two very important issues arose: firstly, almost none of the trainees present had ever heard this song before. This meant that although there would be freshness if performed at the concert, there would be no inherent audience filter or popularity. Secondly, and most importantly, the key of the voice in the song was an extremely high pitch that even female singers found challenging. To achieve this ethereal effect, it couldn't be belted out with a powerful voice, and certainly, it couldn't afford to break into a falsetto.

Otherwise, it would be an absolute disaster, a scene that would be dark history for people to dig up and mock.

The vocal requirements were demanding, the rhythm was slow, and it completely couldn't showcase their dancing abilities.

Most trainees silently made a decision in their hearts: please, let's not choose this song.

Han Suyan moved a bit after listening, and Qin Lu looked up at him. "Your playlist?"

The cold and indifferent expression of the law school student softened a bit. His delicate features still shone beautifully even under the poor lighting. He gave a thoughtful "Hmm" and patiently said, "I've seen some live performances of indie bands before. The live versions are more impactful than studio recordings. If sung well, the live performance can be more impressive than imagined."

Qin Lu nodded thoughtfully.

Fuzzy little curly-haired boy tried to join the discussion, revealing a set of small tiger teeth with a lively question, "What's the name of the band? What's the name of this song? Where did you watch the live performance? Is the lead singer around our age?"

Han Suyan quickly reverted to his cold demeanor, and when he lowered his eyes, he resembled an unapproachable and sharp sculpture.

"Guess," he said.

Su Qinglan: "..."

The little curly-haired boy, treated differently, blinked slowly and looked at Qin Lu with drooping eyes.

Qin Lu was a bit stunned and felt like laughing. He glanced at the little curly-haired boy and winked, saying, "Uh, you guess?"

Su Qinglan waved his claws and bared his teach as he punched series of boxing moves against the air, "Qin Lu, you've been corrupted by these people!"

Fang Xi on the side laughed uncontrollably and mercilessly added, "Well, that's it. There's still a week to go. Try to bring Qin Lu back on track."

Su Qinglan, in frustration, hugged his arms. Producer Cui Zhihao unveiled the second board, finally revealing the name of the song they had just heard.

"Falling Star," somewhat matched everyone's imagined feelings, with a taste of indie music.

The next few songs were a nostalgic and lyrical old song "Star Wish," a light and cute fresh sweet song "You at Metro Station No. 5," an obscure all-English electronic song "Throwback," and finally, the show-stopping surprise that broke everyone’s glasses—

A grassroots square dance style that could be sung by anyone ranging from seventy-year-old grannies and to three-year-old kids, that could brainwash anyone after listening to it once and cause addition after listening to it twice— the catchy ethnic song "The Most Dazzling Rainbow."

The trainees suddenly felt like they might have come to the wrong show. If they performed this song at the concert, the cameras would undoubtedly be focused on them. But performing "The Most Dazzling Rainbow" for their hard-earned and long-imagined first show...?

A sense of disillusionment and a headache began to spread among the trainees.

The chosen songs represented two extremes, making it challenging to strike a balance between the level of discussion they desired and the stage they envisioned. However, selecting a song with inevitably high discussion potential could increase the chances of those on the edge of elimination staying, based on the buzz.

How to choose ultimately depended on each individual's circumstances.

With only five minutes of discussion time, each group had to make their decisions in the order determined by the game.

Every team was immersed in discussions. This was the first time they had group cooperation in the show, and the personality differences that hadn't been apparent before now began to surface.

Some were hesitant, struggling to make decisions; others had strong individualism and disliked taking advice; then there were those who compromised for the sake of others but ended up disadvantaging themselves, the typical selfless individuals.

In just five minutes, the smoke that could not have been seen without conflict had already begun to spread.

"I want to choose 'You at Metro Station No. 5.' It's not very challenging, but the visual effect will be good. The widely sung sweet song will have its own appeal."

"No, I'm totally not into this style. I can't force a cute expression; I can't do it."

"Do you want the whole team to adapt to your style? Why not ask others what they think?"

"No, it’s just not possible. I didn't force you to choose 'DIA' because I know you can't handle it."

Translator's notes

(1)   Also known as the ruyijingubang, this is reference to Sun Wukong’s weapon, which according to legend was extremely heavy and capable of sealing part of the sea—basically very reliable

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