Chapter 41 Captain
The program's director, Ying Zhuo, led six teenagers, all bundled up, to the entrance to register.
He explained that this place was once the film and television incubation base of Starlight TV, which had been abandoned for a long time. After this renovation, it has been completely transformed into the main venue for "The Battalion".
Before entering, he solemnly said, "Once inside, you will no longer be ordinary trainees, but contestants. The cameras will be on 24 hours a day. Although we are not confiscating cell phones at the moment, please be mindful of your behavior."
“Every move we make once inside could very well become material for our research.”
Meng Fanxi felt like he was entering a university campus, which was very large and seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.
They boarded the kind of sightseeing bus used for tours, and Ying Zhuo acted as their temporary guide, introducing each building to them.
"This is the post-production center, that's the technical management center, and that's the core creative center..."
Seeing the six people listening attentively, as if they were memorizing something, Ying Zhuo quickly said, "You don't need to memorize it. You basically won't have any interaction with this place."
Meng Fanxi had recorded some variety shows in his previous life, but he had never seen such a grand scale. He exclaimed in surprise, "Is our production team this extravagant?"
"It's all thanks to you guys," Ying Zhuo said calmly, looking at the six teenagers without revealing his true feelings. He simply explained, "See the signs along the way? It's all thanks to the sponsors."
They only then noticed the advertising sign.
It was Shi Fang!
A Fortune Global 500 company that has grown from a Chinese homeland to a global enterprise, with astonishing revenue and a massive scale.
It's hard to imagine that they would sponsor a variety show.
Ying Zhuo's tone carried a hint of pride: "It's the exclusive title sponsor. Not only that, there are also nine other partners."
No wonder, the scale of this show is far beyond what it was in the previous life. Even the previous "Teen Idol" did not reach this scale before it was broadcast.
Taking advantage of Ying Zhuo's good mood and lack of vigilance, Meng Fanxi pressed on, asking, "How many teams are participating?"
"Ten..." Ying Zhuo almost blurted out, but quickly stopped himself. "Ahem, I can't reveal that. You'll find out when we record it."
The official recording will take five days, during which time they will be under the management of the production team and will not be allowed to contact any of the participating groups.
Competitors, rules, processes... everything is unknown.
All I saw along the way were staff members wearing name tags, and I had no idea how many teams we had already reached.
The sightseeing bus made several turns and arrived at a very open area.
The central building has a unique shape, and the dome and the surrounding buildings are decorated with mushroom ornaments of different sizes and colors, making it feel like stepping into a mushroom kingdom in the jungle.
"This is the Starlight Broadcasting Center we built. The competitions are mainly held here. People also call it Mushroom Park."
"I'll take you inside for a tour during the rehearsal."
Zhang Yang quickly realized: "Haven't we been training here for the past few days?"
Ying Zhuo carefully chose his words: "Don't be fooled by the size of this building. The main stage takes up a lot of space, and besides that, there are only some large practice rooms that will be used after the show starts recording."
"...At this stage, it's a bit..." He paused, his voice so low it was almost inaudible, "...not enough."
Not enough?
The group exchanged glances, feeling a little uneasy.
The current stage involves each team preparing for their initial stage performance. To maintain secrecy, the production team will not allow the teams to contact each other before recording.
In other words, each team will have its own practice room to maintain social distancing.
No matter how much space the main stage occupies in this mushroom park, judging from its size, there are at least ten large practice rooms inside.
Combined with Ying Zhuo's earlier slip of the tongue, "ten..."
That means there are many participating teams.
Even a dozen or so?
The sightseeing bus finally arrived at the residential area. Ying Zhuo held up a large black umbrella, and Gu Huailang sat on the other side, also holding a large black umbrella.
The two umbrellas completely sheltered the six people.
The only people on the road in the living area were the production crew. Ying Zhuo had gotten to know everyone better, so he explained, "It's because we're worried that people in the dormitory might be looking down."
Six people: "..."
The dormitory building was a small high-rise. Only after entering through the facial recognition system did it feel like we were actually filming a TV show.
Close-up cameras are everywhere.
Ying Zhuo led them to the sixth floor in the elevator. The corridor was completely silent, and the camera was working diligently.
A wooden board was placed in the middle of the corridor, dividing it in two.
No wonder Ying Zhuo took them to this elevator when the other elevator was closer to them.
The other side of the plank should be another team's room.
Ying Zhuo escorted them to their room, saying, "This is just a temporary place to stay. It will be adjusted after the recording, so please keep the room clean."
They also reminded them not to move around freely and to wait for the production team's arrangements, as they would monitor the team's situation in real time.
After Ying Zhuo left, the six of them exchanged glances and then packed their luggage in the dormitory.
This room is larger than their dormitory in Welsh, and it has a private bathroom. It is also equipped with basic amenities such as a water dispenser and air conditioning.
It's just a bunk bed, and it feels a bit cramped for six people.
There was a large square table in the middle. There were no cameras installed in the dormitory yet, so the group felt more at ease.
After tidying up, they all sat around the table.
Not knowing if their room was next to the other team's, Lin Ruohe went over and knocked on the door next door, but there was no response.
It appears that the rooms surrounding each team are empty.
The production team has gone to such lengths; no one else has done that.
Ying Zhuo said that the canteen was not yet open, so the food was delivered directly to each team's room by the production team.
The first stage performance is a song of your choice.
The practice room was right next door, and the production team specially installed soundproofing panels and tested the volume, requiring that it not exceed a certain threshold during practice.
During this period, except for when they were taking promotional photos and making some promotional materials, they were led out of the dormitory building by a special person. Otherwise, they could only wander around the sixth floor.
They couldn't make any noise in the corridor, and Ying Zhuo warned them that if they leaked any information about their team, they would lose points in the official performance.
Regardless of whether points will actually be deducted.
They genuinely didn't want others to know the content of their performance.
Living together as a group of six was a novel experience, and it also helped them become more familiar with each other's lifestyles.
Unlike previous team building activities where everyone had their own room in a suite, this place was a one-way street. As the group talked, their voices got louder, prompting a warning from the production team.
They gradually got used to the atmosphere of speaking in hushed tones.
That evening, exhausted from practice, everyone took a few more online classes and returned to their dormitories looking dejected.
Meng Fanxi, Gu Huailang, and Zhang Yang stayed in the lower bunks and went back to lie down on their beds, while the remaining three lay down on the table.
Nobody wanted to talk.
As the recording time drew closer, Meng Fanxi felt like he had forgotten something.
At this moment, Lin Ruo thoughtfully said, "Everyone, go wash up quickly. If you have nothing to do, rest. We have to get up early tomorrow."
There's also a promotional video shoot tomorrow morning.
"That's right!"
Meng Fanxi remembered that important matter and suddenly stood up, startling Xu You, who was closest to him.
"You'd better have something important to say." Xu You said this deliberately, with a hint of lingering fear, while touching his chest.
Meng Fanxi smiled without any remorse, smoothed Xu You's messy hair after his practice, and sat down upright at the table.
"Friends, as a team, we've forgotten something very important." Meng Fanxi's words successfully got the two people lying on the bed to sit up.
Even those who were lying on the table looked up at him.
He didn't beat around the bush, saying, "We haven't officially selected a team leader yet."
He kept this matter in mind and chose Lin Ruohe as the captain during the team building activity, but after the six of them practiced together, no one mentioned the captain's name again.
Even Wei didn't mention it, probably because they were facing too many things, and choosing a team leader had become a less important matter.
He believes that the previous VIER did not have an official leader, which is one of the reasons for their disbandment.
If everyone in a team is the backbone and has a lot of say, it will create a lot of conflicts, and no one will be able to make a decision.
Wei could make decisions for them, but he's not here now, and there might be similar situations in the future where he's not here.
Although they get along well now, he believes it is necessary to choose a captain in a highly competitive game.
Everyone agreed on the selection of a team leader, and the process was very brief.
Because they all tacitly voted for Lin Ruohe.
Newly appointed Captain Lin: "Okay, the pressure has increased dramatically."
Meng Fanxi joked, "Don't worry, Captain, we're all your deputies." Then he grinned at Xu You with an ambiguous expression.
Lin Ruohe watched Xu You and Meng Fanxi making a ruckus, Zhang Yang immersed in his own world, Ren Yuchen constantly scribbling and drawing on a piece of paper, and Gu Huailang starting to practice boxing on the spot...
He pinched his hand hard and sighed deeply.
During the rehearsal, they fully experienced the luxurious stage of Mushroom Park. The area directly in front of the stage was blocked by a huge curtain, which they had no time to notice.
The stage extends to the extreme in all directions, the floor screen uses an ultra-high-definition LED screen, and it is equipped with a top-notch sound system, making it a design that is completely on par with the concerts of top-tier singers.
The moment they stepped onto the platform, all six of them saw excitement and nervousness in each other's eyes.
On the day of recording.
After the production team finished making up the makeup and styling the six people, Ying Zhuo led them to the backstage waiting room.
Ying Zhuo walked very quickly, and everyone could catch a glimpse of some of the words posted on the door of the waiting room.
It is the company name.
Is there no need to hide it now?
They entered the waiting room marked with the name of the Wells Company.
Everyone was called in for a follow-up interview one after another. The questions were very simple, nothing more than what their expectations and goals were for participating in the program.
There is a large screen in the waiting room, which has not yet been turned on. It should be able to broadcast the situation on the main stage.
After everyone finished their interviews, Ying Zhuoling came in with a piece of paper and stuck it on the wall to the left of the big screen.
He didn't leave; he stayed in the waiting room.
Several people curiously gathered around the piece of paper.
All six people froze in their tracks.
I stared at the paper, unsure how to react.
This is the order of the performing teams.
The order of the initial stage performances is determined by the production team.
They didn't pay attention to their ranking immediately.
A terrible truth came to mind.
Despite having mentally prepared for a large number of participating teams.
I just didn't expect that...
There are a whopping 18 of them!
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