Thriller Paradise Chapter 238: Carving Characters with Ruthless Precision - Novel Cool

Chapter 238: Carving Characters with Ruthless Precision

Chapter 238: Carving Characters with Ruthless Precision

Some text in this chapter is excerpted from Mr. Li Feng's novel The Korean War: A Decisive Battle. If there are similarities, it's not a coincidence.

………

"Based on my observation and deduction, the director must have whispered something like 'It's fine, keep going' into Oscar's earpiece at that moment", Feng Bu Jue explained to Xiao Tan and Judge Bao.

"So… this episode's title will be I'm a Writer: Feel Free to Criticize?" Judge Bao asked while picking up a bite of food with his chopsticks.

"Exactly", Feng Bu Jue replied.

"I'm getting more excited about what'll happen next…" Xiao Tan added.

On the screen, Oscar delivered a few lukewarm comments about Feng Bu Jue's proposed title before declaring, "Alright, let's now enter the first round of today's competition—Write with Style!"

The television immediately displayed the full rules for the first round, accompanied by a pre-recorded voiceover from Oscar. This segment, likely reused from previous episodes, served to entertain the live audience.

"For this round, a random keyword will appear on the big screen. Let's see what it is first…" As Oscar spoke, the camera panned to the screen, where words like "event", "character", "animal", and "landscape" scrolled rapidly. After a ding-dong sound effect, the word "Character" finally settled on the screen.

"Each contestant will also receive two secret keywords. These will remain confidential until their writing is completed", Oscar explained. By now, Feng Bu Jue's console screen had already displayed his randomly assigned keywords.

"Contestants, you have seven minutes to craft a passage describing 'character' using your two keywords. There's no word limit—begin writing now!" Oscar declared. With the keyword revealed, he promptly shouted, "Round One… begin!"

"Viewers, let me emphasize again: all creative segments in this show are done in one take. Our contestants have only seven minutes and one chance", Oscar continued. To maintain tension, he filled the next three minutes with commentary while the crew cut the silent writing segments for later ad breaks.

"I know many people think writing is a low-barrier craft—anyone with an internet-connected computer can do it", Oscar said, pacing toward the contestant area. "There are countless writing tools now, with vast libraries, poetry collections, and even software that auto-generates logical plots. But our contestants have no such aids. They can't access the internet or reference materials. Every word they write must emerge purely from their minds within seven minutes. This is the ultimate test of knowledge, creativity, and skill. Let's see what makes a true writer special."

As he spoke, the camera zoomed in on the contestants' focused expressions. "Also, our contestants use only two input methods: touchscreen handwriting or basic pinyin. If they misspell a word, there's no auto-correction. On I'm a Writer, a writer's Chinese proficiency is laid bare."

After a commercial break, the footage resumed with Oscar announcing, "Twenty seconds remaining…" The editing here was impressively tight.

The screen cut to rapid close-ups of contestants and audience members as the countdown began, the tense Bgm amplifying the atmosphere.

"Three… two… one… time's up!" Oscar theatrically wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. "Now, let's reveal our contestants' works one by one!"

Approaching Xuantian Zong's console, Oscar remarked, "Xuantian always exudes that calm, effortless aura—just like today." He turned to the contestant. "Were your keywords unusually simple this time?"

Xuantian Zong leaned toward the built-in microphone: "Actually… the keywords don't matter much. I think the real challenge is the seven-minute time limit."

"May I interpret that as saying no keyword could possibly trouble you?" Oscar pressed.

"No, no…" Xuantian Zong waved his hands, laughing. Such a question demanded careful humility—if he said "yes", it would sound arrogant.

"Let's reveal Xuantian Zong's keywords first", Oscar said, shifting focus.

The big screen displayed his keywords: "Solitary Pride" and "Overbearing Aura."

"For Xuantian, this must be a piece of cake", Oscar quipped.

"Not really…" Xuantian Zong replied modestly.

"Now, let's read Xuantian Zong's seven-minute creation!" Oscar announced. The passage appeared:

Beside the clouds, a figure stands abruptly—long, azure hair cascading to his waist. His imposing frame wears a luxurious robe, his handsome face etched with cold arrogance. Yet his back bears infinite desolation, his eyes unfathomable depth.

After reading aloud, Oscar sighed dramatically: "Though brief, this passage already conjures a supremely powerful expert before us, doesn't it?" He stepped back, tilting his neck toward Feng Bu Jue. "Hey, let's ask Bu Jue—this is his first time competing. Seeing Xuantian Zong's work, does he feel pressured?"

The camera cut to Feng Bu Jue, who squinted and replied, "I'm absolutely under pressure…"

"Let's hypothesize—using Xuantian Zong's keywords, do you think you could write something better?" Oscar continued, clearly a skilled host who thrived on sparking subtle rivalries without creating conflict.

"Hmm…" Feng Bu Jue paused for three seconds. "A peerless figure, an unyielding face—this man charges forth like a meteor strike, declaring, 'My military authority shines across the world!'"

"Hey! I just asked if you thought you could write better—you were supposed to humbly say 'no'! Why did you recite an alternate version? This phrasing sounds familiar… Is this Yeshi Bingquan? It must be!" Oscar mentally ranted, glancing at the director. The latter's earpiece voice remained calm: "Continue."

"Ha… ha… Contestant Bu Jue's reflexes are truly lightning-fast", Oscar said, thinking, Bro, I'll never ask you such a question again.

"Xuantian, what's your take? How's Bu Jue's version?" Oscar tossed the hot potato to Xuantian Zong.

"Er… not bad at all, haha…" Xuantian Zong replied, still composed.

"Moving on, let's see Ping Ge's keywords!" Oscar approached contestant number two's console.

Bashan Ping's keywords appeared: "Tragedy" and "Wise Sage."

"Here's that question again—did today's keywords trouble you, Ping Ge?"

"Troublesome… definitely!"

Laughter erupted from the audience. Oscar chuckled, "All our contestants are so humble—no one ever says a keyword is easy!"

Bashan Ping's work appeared on-screen:

The Dragon of Hidden Wisdom emerges from his abyssal retreat, shaking the world with his return. He divides the realm into three at Longzhong's counsel. His noble ambitions unfulfilled, he falls before his time. Heroes forever weep, their robes soaked in tears.

Oscar finished reciting the poem, and the spectator stands erupted in thunderous applause. He then said, "During the Three Kingdoms era, Cao Zhi could compose a poem in seven steps, but our Brother Ping isn't bad either—he can craft a poem based on three keywords in seven minutes!"

"Absolutely not", Bashan Ping replied into the microphone, shaking his head. "Actually, the last two lines were borrowed from Du Fu's Chancellor of Shu, originally written as 'His expedition failed before victory, heroes weep with tears soaking their robes. I merely improvised upon this classic.'"

"Brother Ping, if you keep being so humble, the other contestants might get restless", Oscar joked, prompting laughter from the audience.

"At this point, they'll probably add some comedic sound effects during post-production to spice up the atmosphere", Feng Bu Jue remarked to the TV screen, his tone half-explaining.

"Wait, is it really okay for the first round of this show to be this difficult?" Xiao Tan asked, stuffing a piece of food into her mouth. "If you gave me seven minutes to write based on three keywords, I'd barely manage a couple of plain sentences."

"Hmm... Thinking about it, even seasoned contestants who know the rules and are used to creating on-site usually need at least one to two minutes just to brainstorm", Feng Bu Jue explained. "That leaves five minutes to actually write using the input method. Two or three hundred characters would be the limit. That's why everyone's submissions are short—Xuantian Zong used under eighty characters, and Bashan Ping only wrote twenty-eight. They know the rules well. Shortening it to under a hundred characters while using poetry ensures the audience remembers it."

"Oh, I see!" Xiao Tan asked curiously, "So how many characters did you write, Feng Bu Jue?"

"Over three hundred."

"Spit-take!" Xiao Tan and Judge Bao simultaneously sprayed the contents of their mouths.

"What the heck? What bad manners! Are you two spitting everywhere just because it's not your house?" Feng Bu Jue grumbled.

Meanwhile, the screen shifted as Oscar finished revealing the third and fourth contestants' works and approached the fifth.

Earlier, Shucai Guaguo had drawn the relatively difficult keywords "Beast" and "Transformation", writing over a hundred characters. His piece was technically on-topic but felt slightly weaker compared to the first two contestants.

Next, Mo Buxiang's keywords were "Perseverance" and "Authority." Known for her versatile style, she could handle any theme. However, her short-time writing skills clearly lagged behind other professional online writers. She ultimately wrote fifty-some characters—elegant but failing to fully capture the essence of her keywords.

Contestant Five, Wo Yao Shangchang, drew "Horror" and "Beauty." He excelled, using handwriting mode to produce:

["Trembling eyes glimmer with eerie light. Pale fingers turn corpse-like yellow. Prominent forehead veins surge and recede with subtle emotional shifts... Sudden swells, sudden collapses. She remains breathtakingly beautiful, yet her soul's warmth fades, turning her into a cold corpse."]

"Ten points for outstanding description", Oscar remarked, then turned to Qishui. "I wonder how Field Master would write this scene?"

"Definitely not better than Field Master", Qishui chuckled.

Wo Yao Shangchang retorted, "Qishui's just being polite—he's secretly mocking me."

Laughter rippled through the audience. Oscar then approached Qishui. "OK, let's see Qishui's keywords."

The screen displayed "Religion" and "Malevolent Spirit."

As soon as these words appeared, the audience buzzed with excitement. The director intentionally panned the camera across other contestants' faces. These keywords clearly favored Qishui's expertise in paranormal literature.

Yet his submission surprised everyone:

["We summon thee to this feast, O sovereign of abyssal dread. Accept these fragile sorrowful souls..."]

Oscar finished reading, half-joking, "Qishui, where's the rest after this ellipsis?"

"Haha, ran out of time and could only write this much", Qishui admitted honestly.

"Did brainstorming take too long?"

"Nope. I wasted three minutes searching for the character 'xiang' in Pinyin input. Couldn't find it, switched to handwriting, then time ran out", Qishui explained.

Oscar shrugged helplessly at the camera, prompting more audience laughter.

"Qishui, what can we say about you?" Oscar chuckled.

Qishui simply grinned, his easygoing nature evident. His calm demeanor arguably made him the most relaxed contestant.

"Finally, let's welcome our newcomer", Oscar approached Feng Bu Jue. "Bu Jue, after watching six seniors perform, are you nervous?"

"Honestly, I'm just not great at writing under strict thematic constraints", Feng Bu Jue replied.

"Oh? Did you also fail to finish like Qishui?"

"Not exactly..." Feng Bu Jue hesitated. "I might've overcorrected..."

"Now you've made both me and the audience even more curious", Oscar said, gesturing to the big screen. "Let's first see Bu Jue's keywords..."

The screen flashed "War" and "Hero."

Judging from other writers' reactions, this was an unusually simple prompt.

"Right now, I bet everyone's thinking the same as me—Yue Fei, Guan Yu, Zhang Zizhong... Instantly a dozen names flash through my mind. From ancient to modern times, Eastern and Western, there's no shortage of heroic figures to describe", Oscar said to the camera. "However, past episodes show that the simplest themes are often the hardest to execute brilliantly. Many contestants have scored poorly precisely because the keywords seemed too easy." He paused as the camera zoomed in on Feng Bu Jue. "So... what kind of character will Bu Jue create based on 'War' and 'Hero'? Let's see..."

As he finished, Feng Bu Jue's text appeared on the big screen:

["Summer of 1945, in the thickets along the China-Korea border, a tall, handsome middle-aged man inspected his guerrilla troops. His homeland had been ravaged for thirty-five years. Though its body fell into enemy hands, its soul remained unbroken. Its brave sons and daughters still fought. Born into a poor tenant farmer family filled with nationalist spirit, he received intense patriotic education from childhood. At fourteen, he vowed never to return home until independence was won. At eighteen, he formed the Korean Revolutionary Army. Before adulthood, he took up arms against Japan's elite Kwantung Army in the snowy mountains and rivers along the China-Korea border.

Leading Korean communists, they fought most fiercely and bravely for national independence, suffering the heaviest sacrifices. After fifteen years of grueling guerrilla warfare, this man matured from youth to middle age, becoming the leader of Korean communists through bloody battles.

He is the Korean people's revered 'Hwan Bier (Korean: A Star)'...*."]

Halfway through reading, Oscar sensed trouble but forced himself to calmly finish the 300+ character piece.

Silence gripped the venue. Even the director froze, unsure how to cue the audience's reaction.

"Who invited this kid?! Who?! Who?!" Oscar mentally screamed, his inner monologue raging. "With keywords like War, Hero, and Character, your first thought is Kim Il-sung?! Are you trying to defy heaven?! This is satire, right?! Just write two generic lines like others—why include specific time and location?! Are you writing a short biography?!

Oscar shot the chief director a desperate look begging, "Let's pause recording and have someone talk to this kid, Teacher!"

Unexpectedly, his earpiece crackled: "Oscar, keep going. Xiao Li (the on-site director), cue applause."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end

Report