After handing in the flag and confirming there were no issues, he could take a seat among the 101 selected spots.
Naturally, the closer the seats were to the front, the more prominent they became, and Lu Qingjia, being the first, naturally occupied the central C position.
He spent less than ten minutes in total, including the time it took to enter and exit the venue. This achievement was so remarkable that even though there were Heroes with equally outstanding abilities, their performances paled in comparison.
A few minutes later, the second person to return with a flag, who had expected to be the first Hero back, entered the venue only to find the central seat already occupied. His expression immediately turned quite interesting.
This Hero was also a recent hot topic, and his expression management was on point, displaying a layered surprise that quickly shifted to despondency, which only served to further torment his fans.
After handing in the flag, he took the second seat next to Lu Qingjia, wearing an impeccable smile but whispering, “Your company really went all out to grab attention this time.”
“What? I thought your resources would lean more towards Bullethead, after all, his strength is the most outstanding. It seems being a boss allows for some indulgence; when you get eliminated, it won’t be easy to redirect the attention back to Bullethead. Be careful not to lose everything.”
Lu Qingjia chuckled, “Just consider it as me having too much money to burn.”
“You—”
“Can you not keep talking to me?” Lu Qingjia replied casually, “Although I participated in the competition, I’m ultimately a Hero’s boss. The one you should be conversing with on equal terms is your leader.”
“It’s a public setting; I can’t just ignore a small fry like you. After all, you’re a Hero who has made a name for yourself. I thought you’d have at least a bit of self-awareness, but apparently not.”
The other person’s expression immediately soured.
The third to return was Bullethead. Indeed, in such a chaotic battle royale, if one didn’t set up a proper ambush beforehand, it was impossible to hinder him.
He sped directly to a flag in an area that no one had reached yet, but on the way back, he got caught up in a scuffle, which delayed him a bit.
As a result, when he entered, he found that there were already two people there—one being his own boss, and the other, what was that?
He took the third seat next to Lu Qingjia and said sarcastically, “Your company really went all out for your performance, huh?”
The second Hero: “…”
Lu Qingjia: “…”
Do all of you think so similarly?
As the three-hour countdown was nearing its end, Lu Qingjia, having returned early, took advantage of the situation to observe the combat habits and styles of the participating Heroes throughout.
To be honest, although competitive opponents had been listed early on by each company, and strategies had been formulated with analyses of each other’s abilities and business habits, observing this chaotic combat still held significant value.
Three hours later, however, the 101 flags did not correspond to 101 selected Heroes; instead, there were a few less.
Some flags were destroyed during mutual destruction in battle, while others had yet to determine a winner by the time limit, and there were even those who obtained flags but failed to return within the stipulated time.
Though it was regrettable, only 96 Heroes who met the criteria and completed the tasks advanced to the second round.
After the exciting opening ceremony and the first round of eliminations concluded, the event came to a temporary close.
The Hero channel would broadcast the performances of the selected Heroes throughout the day, even showcasing their living conditions while they were in shared accommodations.
This raised public expectations significantly.
After all, with such intense competition, over ninety people living together in the idol industry, it was inevitable that there would be conflicts and drama.
Including Lu Qingjia and Bullethead, a total of five Heroes from the Stellar Company made the cut. Although there were online mockeries about their large group, the results were indeed disastrous.
However, there were also objective analyses stating that with the scale of the Stellar Company in the industry, securing six percent of the slots was already impressive, especially since the company had only gained recognition in the past two years and still couldn’t break into the top ten.
The company provided generous participation fees to the eliminated Heroes, while the selected Heroes received substantial rewards, which were shared online, drawing envy from many.
Regardless, at this moment, Lu Qingjia and the others had already packed their belongings and moved into the castle prepared by the Hero Association.
The castle was enormous, with plenty of rooms. This time, the investors were quite generous; the living conditions for the participating Heroes were luxurious, and the treatment was absolutely five-star—after all, most of them were either popular figures or seasoned Heroes with solid strength, so it was impossible for them to be treated like trainees as in past auditions.
Lu Qingjia opened his suitcase and saw his clothes piled up. When he lifted them, he found the cat he had instructed his assistant to take care of had somehow snuck in and followed him to the dormitory.
Its little head popped out first, its clever green eyes twinkling mischievously, and it tilted its head at Lu Qingjia in a charming manner—
“Meow~~~”
“Hey, where did this cat come from?” Bullethead walked in. With two Heroes sharing a room, Bullethead ended up in the same room as Lu Qingjia.
At that moment, several ping-pong-sized floating drone cameras followed Bullethead into the room, broadcasting the Heroes’ statuses in real-time.
All the Heroes had changed out of their Hero uniforms and were now on camera in their most casual states, while their fans eagerly clutched their devices, ready to admire their idols’ private outfits.
Bullethead, still not yet twenty, had a flamboyant and fiery Hero image, but in casual clothes, he appeared youthful and clean.
His fans reacted enthusiastically, and upon seeing him enter the room, they noticed Lu Qingjia on camera.
The Gold Sponsor X Traffic duo began trending again; after all, when these two stood together, their looks could outshine any group of Heroes.
Bullethead reached out to pet the black cat, but the originally docile and cute black cat swiped at him, leaving a trail of scratches on his hand.
“…”
“Hahahahahaha…”
“Bullethead, how much do you have to provoke to get hated?”
“Speedy 200 Bullethead, getting scratched by a little cat, hahahaha, how embarrassing.”
“This cat is impressive.”
“Get the camera closer; this behavior must be exposed.”
“Wait, are the people laughing all crazy? Doesn’t Mudslide manage his pets? Bringing such an aggressive pet to the selection camp?”
“Cat slaves have no hope; it even hurt someone!”
“Poisonous fans, be careful; if you touch someone’s pet without permission and get scratched, don’t cry.”
“Shut up! So what if he got scratched? Does a lowly worker dare to show attitude to the boss?”
“Upstairs, your mom is dead; stop being sarcastic.”
No matter how the online comments were perceived, it didn’t affect reality.
Bullethead was also quite confused, touching the scratches on his hand: “Did this cat become a spirit?”
Lu Qingjia picked up the cat, noticing its proud expression as it turned its head away from Bullethead, and he pinched its paw, “What’s this? Sneaking in and still having the audacity to throw a tantrum?”
The black cat meowed, wrapping its paws around Lu Qingjia’s face, its watery eyes seeming to speak.
Lu Qingjia, feeling helpless, had always liked cats and dogs but never considered raising one due to the hassle.
He originally thought he wouldn’t be a qualified owner, but out of humanitarianism, he couldn’t just abandon the pet of his game character. Surprisingly, he found himself quite patient with it, easily softening his heart.
At that moment, an administrator from the production team knocked and entered, smiling at the two, “I’m here to collect your items.”
After entering the castle, the organizing committee announced a rule: aside from necessary clothing and daily necessities, each person could only keep one item.
Moreover, no electronic products were allowed.
This rule caused many Heroes to wail, but they had no choice but to comply.
When Lu Qingjia heard this, he found it amusing. As a member of the investors, although he had to participate as a Hero, he needed to avoid any appearance of bias regarding the game rules. Still, he understood some trivial processes early on.
This rule had not been mentioned before.
He was almost certain this rule was specifically drafted for him, designed to prevent him from making any reactions or instructions to the company or the outside world during the competition.
Without a pre-established plan or crisis response, it would almost eliminate half of his advantages.
Bullethead grumbled as he handed over his items, leaving behind a snot snail pillow.
Lu Qingjia raised the cat in his hand, “I’ll just keep this.”
Animals were indeed included in the item category, and the organizing committee hadn’t stated that pets couldn’t be brought. In fact, some Heroes’ abilities even required animals to activate, so the staff didn’t say anything.
Lu Qingjia looked at Bullethead, “Why did you keep that?”
Bullethead glanced at the camera still in the room, leaned closer to Lu Qingjia’s ear, and whispered in a voice only they could hear, “Damn it, the company made me a character with a backstory about my beloved grandmother passing away, and this is her keepsake that I have to hug to sleep as a fan-torturing setup.”
“In reality, my grandmother hated me; she favored my cousin and hid all the good food for him. I hated her too.”
Lu Qingjia: “…You’ve had a hard time.”
The people outside the screen couldn’t hear what the two were saying, but their close, intimate posture sent the comments into a frenzy.
“Ah!!! I’m shipping it, I’m shipping it.”
“They’re real.”
“What secret does Bullethead have to tell the boss instead of his mom?”
“The boss really dotes on him; did you see that look?”
“Wait, what’s that cat doing?”
On screen, the proud black cat slapped Bullethead’s face.
This time it didn’t extend its claws, but the disdainful look and the swift motion were clear. Then, it wrapped its front paws around Mudslide’s neck and licked his face, as if to declare its territory while looking at Bullethead and the camera.
“This cat is too good at vying for affection, right?”
“Secretly standing for a second, Cat X Mudslide.”
“Me too!”
“Me too!”
“Agreed…”
“After the Mudball CP, another Cat CP emerges? You CP fans really ship anything; can’t you see that’s just a cat?”
“Still, I’m shipping Cat CP.”
“Ahem, nice name.”
Bullethead covered his slightly painful face, looking at the smug black cat, too embarrassed to admit he had been slapped by a paw no bigger than his thumb, making him see stars.
He glared at the cat, “I’ll stew you!”
“Meow—” The black cat extended its paw, revealing sharp claws that seemed to glimmer coldly.
Bullethead flinched, “Cat bro, I’m sorry.”
Only then did the black cat retract its claws triumphantly, and Lu Qingjia said to Bullethead, “It just got its claws trimmed; it’s in a bad mood these days, so bear with it.”
Bullethead: “Oh no~~~”
Black cat: “…”
After a night of sweet dreams, the next morning, Lu Qingjia woke up early to find both the cat and Bullethead still asleep. The cat was sprawled on his chest, one paw around his neck, and the other reaching into his pajamas.
Lu Qingjia lifted it by the scruff and moved it aside. The little guy opened its sleepy green eyes and leaned in for a kiss.
Lu Qingjia swiftly pinched its head, carrying it by the scruff as he headed out, “Let’s go brush our teeth.”
At this time, many Heroes were already up, and breakfast was being laid out in the dining room. When Lu Qingjia entered the bathroom, there were already two Heroes washing up inside.
They nodded and greeted him upon seeing him. One Hero finished and left as Lu Qingjia began washing up, while the other was taking his time.
He had arrived before Lu Qingjia, but by the time Lu Qingjia and the cat were ready, the other was still washing his face.
Lu Qingjia’s eyes flickered, and he ignored him as he exited the bathroom.
He first returned to his room to kick Bullethead awake, then changed clothes and took the cat to the dining room for breakfast.
Just as he grabbed some food and poured milk for the cat, he heard a scream coming from the bathroom.
Curiosity is human nature, and even the strongest Heroes couldn’t escape it. At that moment, there weren’t many people in the dining room, but everyone except Lu Qingjia rushed toward the direction of the scream.
One Hero, seeing that Lu Qingjia was unfazed and calmly feeding the cat, twitched his mouth, “Mudslide, aren’t you going to check it out?”
He heard the reply, “You go ahead; I’ll have to go eventually, so it won’t be late after I finish feeding the cat.”
That Hero initially thought Lu Qingjia meant he was just going to watch the commotion, but soon after arriving at the scene, he understood why.
A Hero had been attacked in the bathroom, suffering a severe head injury and bleeding profusely. Fortunately, the doctors in the castle arrived quickly, found he still had a breath left, and hurriedly recorded the scene with the 9D camera before taking him down for emergency treatment.
This was the Heroes’ base. Although most Heroes’ work involved rescue or organizing crime, they had dealt with criminal cases enough to quickly deduce who was despicable enough to launch a sneak attack outside the competition.
Ultimately, all evidence pointed to the recently popular Mudslide, who had passed the selection with the top score yesterday.
The Player immediately felt something was off; Mudslide’s earlier words now seemed worth pondering.
At this point, almost all the Heroes had arrived at the scene, and the Heroes from the Stellar Company certainly didn’t believe this speculation.
Led by Bullethead, the four of them sneered, “Are you kidding? He ranked fifty yesterday, and Mudslide was first. Are you saying the first-place Hero would risk harming someone at the bottom?”
“Ha! Don’t be too arrogant, and besides, your execution was so clumsy. Do you think we’re all idiots?”
As soon as the news of the Hero being attacked broke, the live stream exploded. Many people still dreaming were woken up by friends urging them to watch the broadcast.
While they anticipated drama, they didn’t expect such an explosive incident right off the bat.
In an instant, the internet was engulfed in unprecedented excitement, with every move and reaction of the Heroes under the scrutiny of countless eyes.
Bullethead stepped forward to support his company’s companions, and naturally, the online comments praised him for being righteous and straightforward while also criticizing him for trying to cover up the situation. Both sides were fiercely at odds, creating quite a spectacle.
Those who had deduced the answer were also displeased with Bullethead’s remarks: “We’re just deducing the answer from the clues; we haven’t reached a conclusion yet. You don’t need to get so worked up; don’t think anyone is targeting you. The evidence points to this, and it concerns lives, not just a loud argument among fans online.”
“Where is Mudslide now?”
“I just saw him eating in the dining room; he doesn’t seem curious at all.”
The female Heroes living on the other side of the castle had also rushed over.
“Let’s find him first; he’s the prime suspect and should cooperate with the investigation.”
Bullethead and the others felt frustrated, but at the moment, it indeed looked like they had solid evidence.
“Are you looking for me?” A voice came from outside the crowd.
Everyone turned to see Mudslide, looking well-fed and lazy, with the cat appearing equally relaxed, as if they were unaffected by the situation.
One of the Heroes from the same company as the attacked Hero grew furious at the sight: “What did you do to Wooden Man in the bathroom just now?”
Wooden Man was the nickname of the attacked Hero.
Lu Qingjia glanced at him oddly, “I have high standards; Wooden Man doesn’t meet my criteria.”
Everyone: “…”
Online: “…”
The person questioning him was momentarily speechless, and after a while, he reacted even more agitated: “Stop pretending! This morning, while washing up, you took advantage of no one being around and attacked Wooden Man, right? Luckily, he’s tough; he’s still in emergency care!”
Lu Qingjia, hearing the accusation, showed no signs of anger. Instead, he lazily replied, “Oh? What evidence do you have to prove that I attacked him?”
Given the other person’s emotional state, a relatively neutral Hero took over the conversation: “After the incident, the organizing committee sent over the surveillance records.”
A ping-pong-sized projection hovered in the air, displaying the previous footage.
Not long after Lu Qingjia entered the bathroom, another Hero came out, leaving only him and Wooden Man inside. After a while, Lu Qingjia exited, while Wooden Man, who had entered before him, remained inside.
However, after some time, when someone else entered the bathroom, they found the “body” lying in a pool of blood and screamed as they ran out.
During this time, no one approached the bathroom. According to the surveillance results, if anyone had the opportunity to attack Wooden Man, it could only be Mudslide without a doubt.
Unless Lu Qingjia had entered when Wooden Man had already been attacked, then it would be Lu Qingjia who needed to call for help. Moreover, based on his earlier words, he himself admitted that Wooden Man was still fine while washing up.
After displaying the surveillance footage, the Hero continued, “Besides the entrance, there’s also a small window in the bathroom, but we’ve checked the traces outside the window; no one passed through.”
He then produced a sealed bag containing a marble pillar decoration from the bathroom counter, the end of which was stained with blood.
“We’ve already scanned it; it only has your fingerprints on it.”
As he spoke, the scanning results projected into the air, clearly showing Lu Qingjia’s left-hand fingerprints. Each registered Hero’s physical data was archived at the Hero Association, and this incident naturally had permissions lifted.
The Hero continued, “In addition, there was also some Sludge on Wooden Man’s wound, which has been identified as belonging to you.”
“Among the Heroes present, there are many abilities, and it’s not that there aren’t those who could sneak into the bathroom unnoticed. However, those with such abilities, like liquid types that can enter through vents, were accounted for during the time from when you left the bathroom to when Wooden Man was discovered to have been attacked.”
“Of course, we don’t want to believe that a fair Hero competition has turned into this, but all the evidence indeed points to you alone.”
The Hero from Wooden Man’s company shouted, “Are you trying to pull the same trick Bullethead did?”
The other person sneered, “Yes, Wooden Man may currently rank lower than you, but his ability happens to counter yours.”
“He can fight by absorbing soil or Sludge, making him your natural nemesis. You had ample motive to attack.”
At this point, with the evidence conclusive, as the layers of the situation were peeled back, the internet, already a place for venting frustrations, exploded—
“Mudslide is quite something; decisively cutting off threats, but too stupid, hahahaha.”
“Where’s the praise for him being a beautiful, strong, and tragic character? Why is he silent now? Keep praising him!”
“Is he crazy? There are cameras everywhere, and all these professional Heroes, what was he thinking?”
“Got carried away, thinking he was invincible after getting first place.”
“Trash, go to jail.”
“Maintaining a skeptical attitude, Mudslide wouldn’t need to be so obvious if he wanted to act; there must be something wrong.”
“Here it comes, here it comes! Though late, the cleanup is finally here. You can indulge your senses, but at least leave some morals for yourself, right?”
The malicious tide crashing in left the public relations department of the Stellar Company in a state of chaos.
Yet Mudslide remained calm in front of the cameras, prompting many to marvel at his formidable criminal mindset.
He then said, “First of all, I have no need to use a weapon.”
He smiled, “Using a weapon while leaving my Sludge on it, what’s the point of that?”
Someone scoffed in rebuttal, “Afraid Wooden Man won’t die? After all, that ornament is solid glass.”
Lu Qingjia picked up a solid glass ornament left on the sink, held it in his palm, and with a squeeze, it shattered into pieces.
“So why would I use a weapon that’s more fragile than myself?”
“If I were to strike, Wooden Man wouldn’t even have a chance to make it to the emergency room.”
Mudslide was not a power-based entity; even though super abilities would certainly enhance a Hero’s physical capabilities, making them much better than an average person, it wouldn’t reach this level. The strength he demonstrated could directly crush Wooden Man’s skull; even with tools, he could smash the head to pieces.
“Setting aside character, Mudslide is indeed strong. In many aspects, the outside world has underestimated him in the past.”
Before anyone could find a counterargument, Mudslide continued, “I checked the fingerprints on the ornament; they belong to my left hand.”
“And look at the photos of Wooden Man’s wounds.” He pointed to the 9D projection on the ground, which perfectly replicated the scene of the crime on the projection of Wooden Man.
“The shape of the wound on the back of his head was struck from the right side.” Lu Qingjia couldn’t help but chuckle, “If you’re going to set a trap, at least find a left-handed person.”
“Furthermore, based on Wooden Man’s height and the location of his wounds, the attacker wouldn’t exceed 175 centimeters in height, and their arm length wouldn’t be sufficient.”
Lu Qingjia glanced at a Hero who had previously been a police officer: “On this point, you should agree with my assessment, right?”
The police Hero bent down to re-examine Wooden Man’s wounds. The curvature of the back of the head could adequately infer the point of force, and the position of Wooden Man on the ground could also indicate how he was attacked. Having been led by the overly obvious evidence earlier, it now seemed that Mudslide was indeed correct.
The police Hero nodded to the crowd.
At this point, both the scene and the internet erupted—
“What? There’s a twist?”
“Hahaha, where are those who were cursing earlier? Are they getting slapped in the face?”
“Don’t those people need to bow and apologize to Mudslide?”
“Still hasn’t cleared his suspicion; brain-dead fans, what a joke.”
Then Lu Qingjia said, “So this makes it easier to deduce the murderer: a height of 175, male, right-handed, with the ability to change shape, not among the liquid Ability users.”
“Because a setup was required in advance, and my waking time isn’t fixed, I had to prepare early, at least half an hour before I went to the bathroom, to not be in the public eye. Since he’s not a liquid Ability user, and the bathroom door is an automatically closing magnetic door, we can rule out the possibility of an invisible person.”
“Thus, the only entry point left is through the window. Although the castle is grand, it’s usually unoccupied and has only recently been renovated. The moss on the outer wall is thriving.”
“Even if one is as light as a swallow and meticulous, it’s hard to avoid leaving traces, right? Plus, they had my Sludge in hand.”
With that, Lu Qingjia waved his hand, and a puddle of Sludge shot out from his palm, transforming into a living snake that coiled around a man’s neck, pulling him into view—
“This is the guy I took down with my Sludge yesterday when he tried to steal the flag; gathering some evidence isn’t difficult.”
“Don’t you think so, Paper Man?”
As he spoke, Lu Qingjia tore off one of the man’s sleeves, revealing a small ring of moss around his wrist.
A height of 175, the one who was taken down by Lu Qingjia with Sludge yesterday and had to turn to steal another flag, capable of shrinking his body to slip through the window, right-handed—indeed, it seemed he hadn’t been seen for over half an hour, neither by the dormitory residents nor on the surveillance footage, unable to provide an alibi.
The crowd gasped in astonishment: “So it was him?”
But Lu Qingjia smiled and said, “No, it was them.”
“Wooden Man and the Hero who left the bathroom before me are also the masterminds behind this conspiracy.”
