Chapter 149 - Underground
Chapter 149 - Underground
translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
15 black roses were packed densely together.
The wrapping paper was soft and gold, but even so, the bouquet was dull and depressing. The fragrance of roses permeated their noses, and the baby’s breath scattered amongst the roses were like algae that was about to be swallowed by a black sea.
Wu Jin was in a daze as he looked at the note that came with the flowers.
Hudi’s eyes lit up, “Wow, a rich fan! I also want to have fans send me flowers!”
Lolo, who was in the same team as them, finished brushing his teeth, pulled on a white t-shirt, and stretched out his head, “Isn’t it very normal to have fans send you guys flowers?”
Hudi immediately corrected him, “Those who can send flowers in as gifts to visitors, or those who can send something to Snow Leopard Entertainment at this time are either rich or have a high status. Besides, they’re black roses! They’re the most expensive flowers on the market. Eh, this person shouldn’t be a stalker fan, right? Yesterday, 80% of the people on the show saw Contestant Wei Shi send a rose to Brother Wu, so he also sent over a bunch of roses to compete for favor––”
Wu Jin looked at the signature and recalled something.
In the fifth elimination match, in the Palace of Versailles, someone had given him 800,000 votes. The ID of that rich tyrant had also been a single word, ‘Yu’.
Before his two teammates could react, Wu Jin quickly stopped the staff member who’d delivered the flowers just now, “Hello, can I ask who sent the flowers...”
The staff member scratched the back of his head, “A gentleman, wearing sunglasses. I couldn’t see his face clearly. Hey, he’s standing down there––”
The curtain swished open. The Snow Leopard Entertainment building square was empty.
Behind him, Lolo whispered to Hudi, “Why are they black? It keeps giving me a scary feeling.”
Hudi: “...... Black roses mean, ‘You are the devil, and you possess all of me’. I’ve seen female artists, who go the sexy route, get given black roses before, but who could’ve thought that they would be given to Brother Wu now? But then again, with this kind of rich fan, let alone the flower language being related to the devil, even if the flower language means that they think of me as a worm, I’d still be willing!”
Wu Jin stood there holding the flowers foolishly. Zhuang Fan came over, “Just take it. For better or worse, it’s still a fan’s good intentions.”
Wu Jin immediately made a sound of acknowledgement and carefully set the flowers on the windowsill.
Seeing his stumbling and careful movements, Zhuang Fan was a little scornful, “What kind of expression is that? Are you afraid the flowers will eat you?”
Wu Jin thought about it seriously. He still needed to inform the company about it. After all, he was still nothing but a poor little trainee––
Zhuang Fan snapped his fingers, “Let’s go. There’s another fierce battle today.”
Wu Jin followed obediently. Behind him, Hudi was still gushing to Lolo, “15 roses represents an apology. Now that I think about it, this rich person who is sending flowers to Brother Wu might know nothing about flowers!”
Wu Jin, who was now at the end of the group, suddenly paused for a moment.
He turned to look back at the window.
The square was empty, but perhaps due to the glare from the morning light, it gave birth to the idea that he was being spied on.
A few minutes later, the variety show guests all gathered at the entrance to the building. Wu Jin was full of fighting spirit, and entered an energized state once again.
There were only 16 teams left out of the original 25 on the second day. The two most popular boy group trainees Eagle Blade and Ah Yuan looked at each other from afar, or occasionally cast their gazes over to Zuo Botang, Wu Jin, Wei Shi, and the others.
The task cards were issued to the teams.
“Arrive at Warehouse 225 in the southern suburbs of the city within half an hour, and&#k2026;” Hudi, who was reading the card, was stunned, “And earn 1,000 credits in four hours. Why is it the same as yesterday’s mission? And, Warehouse 225. How come I’ve never heard of this place?”
The rest of the team members all expressed their bewilderment, but Zhuang Fan’s eyes shifted, and he was 120% inspired:
“It’s not the same. It’s much more difficult this time.”
“Warehouse 225 is an underground bar.”
Having obtained instructions from the director, the 16 teams of players jumped out like arrows released from the string. As they passed the subway station on the way to the warehouse, the old man from the hot pot shop was full of energy, “Take it, 10 credits! Business exploded last night, you kids are really interesting––”
Zhuang Fan waved and left a strong gust of wind in his wake as he ran by.
Wu Jin didn’t understand and asked, “Brother Fan! What did you mean with that hand gesture?”
Zhuang Fan: “It means thanks, love, and peace––ah, I made this gesture for that old man!”
This boy group rapper has been very excited ever since they obtained the task. By the time the subway arrived at the entrance to Warehouse 225, Zhuang Fan had already quickly gathered together the players in his team, “Take off your make-up and wipe off your eyeliner. Everyone inside are irritable old brothers who can’t bear to see girly ladies. Little Witch, you should remove your fake eyelashes––”
Wu Jin tried hard to save his eyelids, “They’re real, real eyelashes!”
“......” Zhuang Fan coughed and explained briefly to his teammates, “Warehouse 225 is a place for underground bands, rappers, and DJs. It’s messy in there. Oh, right, don’t expose your identities.”
Hudi was horrified, “Underground rappers, the ones who diss trainees all day long?”
Zhuang Fan nodded, then gestured for everyone to pull out their shirts and muss up their hair, “The more chaotic a place is, the more everyone uses strength to speak. Alright, the cameras are all pinhole types. Go in and look for opportunities. There’s a chance you can get beaten up if you don’t blow up the scene with your singing or dancing, or lose in a rap battle. There are no rules at all inside––”
Zhuang Fan stopped, then found that all of his teammates were looking at Wu Jin.
Hudi was delighted, “With Brother Wu here, we’re not scared of being beaten!”
Wu Jin: “......” I’m not reliable!
The warehouse entrance slammed open.
Wu Jin fell into a trance. He finally understood the ‘real reason’ for having survival show trainees amongst the guest players. The dim Warehouse 225 was full of smoke, and several men smoking cigars crouched lazily by the door. Their expressions weren’t good, and their eyes were bloodshot. It was likely that they’d become practically immortal after going without sleep overnight.
In the distance, the sound of an electric bass guitar boomed against their eardrums. Someone was participating in a dance battle, and on the stage closest to them were two rappers freestyling passionately. Whenever one party was dissed, the audience dancing and drinking beneath the stage would burst out in laughter.
One of the underground rappers had a head full of dirty braids. His cue points were as fluid as his flow, and there were enough people waiting to treat him to a drink that they could form a long line. When his opponent stepped down with a rose-red face, the bartender immediately sent him a red envelope of credits.
At the door, a security guard glanced disinterestedly at Zhuang Fan.
Zhuang Fan shifted his gaze away expressionlessly, fixing his eyes on the rapper on the stage.
Wu Jin turned his head to look at him.
As a rapper and their team captain, Zhuang Fan was very arrogant most of the time. At this time, Zhuang Fan’s eyes were locked on the stage, and he spoke slowly, “In underground bars, the people who can be put on the rankings all show up at night. Those who are here during the day are just miscellaneous small fish.”
Wu Jin looked at his terminal. It was 10AM. The customers in Warehouse 225 right now were those who’d stayed up the whole night, and many of them had arms draped over each other’s shoulders as they headed out. From the number of booths and size of the dance floors, the customer capacity of this warehouse should be more than the current number of customers.
That meant that at present, the flow of customers was at a low ebb, and there were only some second or third class rappers competing this morning.
Zhuang Fan pulled down the zipper of his coat and said, “His rhythm isn’t any good.”
Hudi suddenly realized something, “Bro-Brother Fan, are you going up??”
Zhuang Fan nodded. Unlike Hudi, a quivering trainee, he’d grown up in this kind of arena from childhood. Even if he became a trainee later on, his path had always been more wild. He looked back at Wu Jin and was about to instruct him––
Wu Jin’s gaze was admiring, and he swished over to stand beneath the stage, “Brother Fan, don’t worry. I’ll hold down the fort for you!”
Zhuang Fan reached out, and they bumped fists. With Wu Jin there, he wouldn’t need to worry about Hudi and the others getting bullied.
On the stage, the underground rapper finished off an entire bottle of mineral water and looked extremely arrogant, all the way until Zhuang Fan came up onto the stage.
“It’s about to start!” Hudi was nervous. Zhuang Fan pulled his hood up over his head, and his momentum soared amidst the laughter.
“A little white face?” The rapper taunted him, then reached out, his hands forming a gun that he aimed towards Zhuang Fan’s forehead.
Zhuang Fan didn’t say anything. The DJ whistled, and spun the disks, creating a series of squeaking sliding noises. Zhuang Fan snatched the first eight beats, and without another word, he started to rap, “Put your motherf*cking hand up I go acapella n u scared to death...”
There was a pause beneath the stage, and then shrill screams broke out! The lights revolved around Zhuang Fan, and someone carried a bottle of alcohol over for him. The moment he stepped on the beat, Wu Jin suddenly spoke up, “He’s got it!”
Zhuang Fan’s rhythm was too good, and his freestyle wasn’t out of control. What was more important, was that he knew how to diss. They were clearly still being filmed for the show, but Zhuang Fan wasn’t hesitant all about having his segment end up full off [Beep––]s. When he went into battle mode, he was like a ferocious wolf.
The rapper across from him fell into a disadvantage. He refused to admit defeat and wanted to struggle against him, but his words couldn’t match up. Hudi was anxious, “Brother Wu––”
Wu Jin casually picked up a bottle of alcohol from the side and used it to add to the noise, “He’s setting up a trap, Brother Fan is dissing him!”
Zhuang Fan was inspired, and fiercely suppressed the beat. the two sections of dissing directly disrupted the other side’s rote flow––
There was a round of cheers from the audience!
The competition in underground bars was far more brutal than they were on the street corners yesterday. The rapper who fought against Zhuang Fan fell into a stalemate, then lost in the last fierce struggle with Zhuang Fan. He could only slip away in dismay.
Near the stage, team 12 didn’t have time to start cheering for Zhuang Fan when their watches suddenly beeped.
“Two groups have already been eliminated? So soon?!” Hudi was shocked, “What’s going on here? There’s no need to be kicked out so soon even if they haven’t gotten 1000 credits––wait a minute, that’s, oh boy, that’s Eagle Blade? Wasn’t he playing the bass on the stage just now? How come he’s been driven out? Didn’t he get his credits??”
Wu Jin looked over into the distance.
There were rewards for such battles. Zhuang Fan had gone off the stage to obtain his reward from the bar, and the bartender had just been about to do the transfer when he suddenly raised up his head and stopped.
Wu Jin suddenly turned back.
At the other end of the stage, Eagle Blade and Ah Yuan had unhappy expressions on their faces as they argued with a big man.
The man had a black tiger and dragon tattoo on his arm, and his voice was rough, “What do you mean, full amount? I don’t care about your 1000 credits, my venue takes 90%, and you get the remaining 10%. It’s not enough? Then you don’t get any at all! Rules? It’s the law of the jungle here.”
The rapper who’d lost the battle earlier followed behind the tattooed man, nodding and bowing in subservience.
The tattooed man gestured to the bartender who’d also deducted 90% from Zhuang Fan’s reward. A little follower came out from the crowd, “Brother Tiger, something seems to have happened over there with Brother Three. Looking over from a distance, he might’ve been...”
Zhuang Fan was still shouting indignantly, “Warehouse 225 has always taken a 40% cut. What the hell!”
The tattooed man stretched out a finger and shook it, then looked at the trainees, “You can make money up on the stage, but it’s up to me to decide how it’s split. I just don’t like watching you girly chirping artists. I can send you flying with one finger––”
The tattooed man paused.
A small Wu Jin quickly darted forward and stood with Zhuang Fan.
The tattooed man glanced at Wu Jin. He had long, curved eyelashes, and his curls were soft and thin.
The tattooed man thought about it for a long time, then pointed to Wu Jin, “You dare to come over to our place to walk around looking like this? Ridiculous!”
Everyone: “......” Wasn’t this all due to the program requirements? A beautiful, dazzling youth trapped in an underground bar!
On the other side, Wu Jin was still asking Zhuang Fan quietly, “Fight or not?”
Zhuang Fan looked at Wu Jin.
He had no idea where the hell he’d just jumped out from, but his eyes were bright and sparkling like crystals, in sharp contrast to the ferocious tattooed man nearby. Zhuang Fan was silent for a moment, “... Can you really beat him?”
Wu Jin nodded repeatedly, “Brother Wei taught me before. Estimate the opponent’s weight, then look at their pace. Those who haven’t been trained aren’t steady when they walk. They can be toppled with ease!”
Beside them, Ah Yuan also greeted Wu Jin, then looked blankly at Eagle Blade, “What are they talking about?”
“......” Eagle Blade suddenly spoke up, “Wu Jin, don’t go. The program group didn’t arrange this segment properly in advance. When they go back, they’ll add another competition. I’ve said before that I want to solo against you.”
Wu Jin: “Ah, there’s no conflict!”
Then, he looked back at Zhuang Fan.
Zhuang Fan took a deep breath. The underground bars were chaos, and for better or worse, the rules were determined by strength. If Wu Jin went up to fight against that brother, the other party definitely wouldn’t turn it into a round robin. If they really couldn’t deal with it––
Zhuang Fan looked to the side.
If they couldn’t, well, that Contestant Wei, who looked like he could really fight, was coming over right now!
Zhuang Fan nodded, “Alright, go ahead if you want to.”
Wu Jin moved his joints and went up happily to stand in front of the tattooed man. “We’ll fight. If we win, it’s a 60/40 split. If we lose, we won’t take the 10%.”
From behind him.
Ah Yuan: “......”
Ah Yuan: “???”
Ah Yuan: “He-he-he-he-he, why is he going up to fight? Is this-is this a dance fight? It doesn’t look like it, ah, my god, how come that person punched... hey, that Wu Jin, which entertainment company is he from? Did his group buy insurance for him?”
Eagle Blade sneered, “Did you really think that he was a boy group trainee?”
Juurensha: Go Little Witch! Beat some respect into him!
xiin: heheeeee go Little Witch! Show them your skills!