Thriller Paradise Chapter 239: The Outline is All in My Head - Novel Cool

Chapter 239: The Outline is All in My Head

Chapter 239: The Outline is All in My Head

"Feng Bu Jue, this segment will probably get cut during the official broadcast, right?" Xiao Tan asked.

"Cut it? What would they even air instead? They can't make me rewrite it", Feng Bu Jue replied.

"This description isn't particularly controversial", Judge Bao, the civil servant, interjected. "There's no need for censorship."

"They asked me the same question during the post-competition interview", Feng Bu Jue added. "I just asked them back—why shouldn't I write it?"

"Oh? There was a post-competition interview too?" Xiao Tan asked.

"Yeah, every writer has to do a solo interview after the competition", Feng Bu Jue explained. "The staff plays clips from the show while asking questions. The interview gets edited into fragments and interspersed throughout the broadcast—like those voiceovers in reality shows."

"Oh? So those random comments in reality shows are all pre-recorded like this?" Xiao Tan asked.

"Isn't that common knowledge?" Judge Bao chimed in.

Feng Bu Jue followed up with, "What, did you think those scenes just magically appeared…?"

"Uh…", Xiao Tan stammered, speechless.

"Still, the initial edit version doesn't include these segments", Feng Bu Jue noted. "Only the official broadcast version does."

As their conversation ended, Oscar on-screen had already distracted everyone with a tangent of meaningless chatter. He then declared, "Now, the tense moment arrives! Time for voting!"

The camera panned to a wide shot of the contestant area.

Oscar continued, "Seven hundred audience members here in the studio, you can now cast your votes on the small screens in front of you. Each viewer has one primary vote and one secondary vote. Please cast your primary vote for the contestant you believe performed best this round, and your secondary vote for the contestant you think came in second place. A primary vote counts as 1 point, while a secondary vote counts as 0.5 points. In case of a tie, the contestant with more primary votes wins. Voting time is two minutes, and you cannot vote for the same contestant twice. Now… voting begins!"

Tense background music immediately played as the camera zoomed in on each of the seven writers in sequence.

Oscar didn't waste the moment. "The first round is usually the hardest to predict. Except for Bu Jue, who's new to this stage, the other six writers have all placed first in this round before", he explained. "Bashan Ping is the only rookie ever to win first round—but that was our very first episode, when all seven contestants were newcomers. Since then, no rookie has ever won the first round. I wonder if Bu Jue will break this pattern today…"

Two minutes passed quickly. Oscar timely announced, "Time's up!" He exhaled dramatically. "As per tradition, we'll now reveal this round's first place, second place, and last place." He turned toward the giant screen. "Let me announce… second place…"

The camera cut rapidly between shots as Oscar paused dramatically, drawing out the suspense. "It's…!" The music abruptly stopped, and a writer's pen name flashed onto the screen: Wo Yao Shangchang!

The footage cruelly looped three times, showing Wo Yao Shangchang's subtle facial expressions. However, since he wore sunglasses and had a mop hairdo, even slight changes in expression were hard to detect.

Next, the director maliciously replayed the other contestants' reactions when second place was announced. Everyone else appeared relatively calm—hesitating for a second before flashing relaxed smiles and clapping along with the audience.

Only Feng Bu Jue continued watching with a half-dead expression, staring blankly at the unfolding situation. He looked like an office worker who'd just clocked in and was already daydreaming about leaving—if not for the paycheck, he'd walk out the door right now.

"Congratulations, Big Bro Chang", Oscar turned to him. "How do you feel about this ranking?"

"I actually thought I'd only get fourth or fifth place", Wo Yao Shangchang replied with a smile.

"Then who do you think the top three should be?" Oscar asked—a question that could easily offend someone.

"Hmm… I think Big Bro Ping, Xuantian, and Bu Jue", Wo Yao Shangchang answered straightforwardly. "Their segments were better than mine."

"Oh?" Oscar quickly pivoted to Shucai Guaguo. "What about you, Cai Gua?"

"In my opinion… the top three should be Big Bro Ping, Xuantian, and Big Bro Chang", Shucai Guaguo replied. "I might end up at the bottom."

"Then how do you feel about that, Uncle Qishui?" Mo Buxiang teased at this point.

Her tone and expression were clearly joking, and Oscar laughed. "Qishui, it seems Mo Mo is implying you'll definitely finish last this round."

Qishui chuckled. "You're about to announce last place next, right?"

"Exactly", Oscar nodded, gesturing toward the giant screen. "Let's see… the last place finisher in this first round… is…"

As expected, Qishui finished last without controversy. While Feng Bu Jue's segment was hard to evaluate, at least he'd completed his work—and written quite a lot. But Qishui's few disjointed sentences were barely half-finished.

Without needing direction, the cameraman repeated the earlier routine…

"Well, I think Qishui probably predicted this result already", Oscar remarked.

Qishui simply nodded with a smile.

"Now… the tense moment arrives", Oscar immediately faced the screen again. "Who will win this first round? Will it be the crowd favorites Bashan Ping and Xuantian Zong, or the newcomer Bu Jue? Could Cai Gua and Mo Mo, our popular contestants, actually have no chance?" As he spoke, the camera sequentially focused on these contestants. "The result… will be revealed after this commercial break!"

The scene was abruptly cut again. The next shot showed Oscar directly reading the name on the screen: "The first-round winner is… Bashan Ping!"

The spectator stands erupted in cheers and applause.

"I think everyone, like me, was deeply impressed by Big Bro Ping's character description", Oscar said as the screen replayed Bashan Ping's poem from earlier.

Suddenly, the scene shifted awkwardly. Oscar changed position and loudly announced, "I'm sure everyone's been waiting for this. Let's move to the second round—Divine Stroke!"

"See? That's where they'll cut to insert a big interview segment", Feng Bu Jue explained to Xiao Tan and Judge Bao. "They'll splice in everyone's comments about the first round results at that point."

Xiao Tan asked, "So… what place did you actually finish in the first round?"

"Dunno", Feng Bu Jue shrugged. "I never asked later."

"Quiet, watch the rules", Judge Bao gestured for them to hush.

The TV screen displayed the detailed rules for the second round. Oscar then said, "The first round is over. Currently, Bashan Ping leads, followed closely by Wo Yao Shangchang, while Qishui trails at the bottom. How will the rankings shift after this second round?"

Oscar strode dramatically toward Feng Bu Jue. "Bu Jue, what if I told you the second round format might actually favor you greatly? Would you believe me?"

"The expression on your face right now looks like you just walked out of a pyramid scheme seminar… So my initial reasoning is—yes, the second round format probably does favor me greatly", Feng Bu Jue replied, squinting skeptically.

The audience burst into genuine laughter. Oscar forced a smile. "Contestant Bu Jue, no wonder you write detective novels—and you're actually quite humorous." He quickly stepped away, regretting his decision to engage Feng Bu Jue again.

"In the second round…", Oscar redirected the topic, "our seven writers will see…" He dramatically pointed toward the screen.

The giant screen displayed a short passage: [Ding Yi, a common company employee with an average background, faces a crisis when a relative falls gravely ill and urgently needs a large sum for medical fees. One day, Ding Yi discovers a treasure and ultimately saves the relative.]

Oscar glanced at the prompt and announced, "To all our writers, please create an outline-style story based on this text to form a relatively complete narrative." His gaze swept toward the contestant area. "You have ten minutes. Begin!"

Though he called "Begin", none of the seven contestants moved, each lost in thought.

"If writing style is the makeup, then creativity is the soul of a novel", Oscar continued addressing the camera. "This round's judging criteria focuses purely on plot appeal. Contestants will orally present their concepts. This means this round has nothing to do with writing skills—only creativity matters." He paused. "Personally, I believe Feng Bu Jue, our mystery novelist, will surely surprise us with his short story crafting."

The camera cut to Feng Bu Jue, who sat motionless with a blank stare. Whether this was deep contemplation or mere daydreaming remained unclear.

"Mo Buxiang and Qishui often shine in this round too", Oscar added. "I wonder how they'll perform today? Based on online votes, the Divine Stroke segment is always our audience's favorite. Each episode, our seven writers bring seven brilliant stories—ingenious, horrifying, profound, or suspenseful. Though their Glowing Spots differ, every story irresistibly captivates..."

After more banter, the ad break arrived. Since this version had no commercials, Xiao Tan and Judge Bao directly entered the much-anticipated announcement phase.

This round's reveal order was random rather than sequential. Contestants ranked sixth or seventh couldn't afford to leisurely ponder—they needed to finalize ideas within ten minutes in case they got picked first.

"The first contestant revealed is..." Oscar pointed at the giant screen. The numbers 1-7 flickered until settling on "4."

"Mo Mo, please begin." Oscar cut straight to the point.

The contestant consoles operated in free-input mode this round. Writers could type texts, sketch drafts like character relationships, maps, or props, and refer to these while presenting. Alternatively, they could simply write a short story on-screen and read it aloud. After all, outlines have no fixed format.

Mo Buxiang's story featured Ding Yi, a 29-year-old woman who once dreamed of music but settled into mundane life. When her fiancé fell critically ill, her life changed. She discovered a magical flute whose melodies moved listeners to tears, ultimately saving her lover and rekindling her passion.

Her three-minute tale, accompanied by soul-stirring background music, moved several audience members to tears. The cameramen naturally captured these emotional close-ups.

"Mo Mo delivers another touching story", Oscar poetically remarked. "Seemingly calm waters hold heartwarming power. She proves again that compelling plots need no exaggerated characters or intense conflicts—just genuine emotion gives a story its soul." After this poetic critique, he revealed the next contestant.

This round saw writers leaning into their specialties. The Divine Stroke prompt always offered boundless possibilities—Ding Yi's gender, age, relatives' identities, illnesses, treasures' origins, etc. With such high creative freedom, contestants could pre-prepare multiple outlines and adapt them accordingly.

Soon, all contestants finished. Qishui likely impressed most—true to his "terror master" title, he crafted a twisted, suspenseful plot within ten minutes, seamlessly integrating the prompt.

Finally, Feng Bu Jue's turn arrived.

Strangely, Feng Bu Jue was randomly selected last—a generally advantageous position. Though contestants should finalize ideas within ten minutes, the extra time allowed mental refinement while others presented.

The audience eagerly anticipated his performance for three reasons: Oscar's earlier remarks about mystery novelists, his last-place reveal, and his unforgettable first-round eccentricity.

"Hmm..." Feng Bu Jue crossed his arms, wearing a troubled expression.

Oscar approached his console and gasped—his screen was completely blank! Others at least had half-filled outlines. This was unprecedented! The man who instantly wrote General Jin's biography in Round One now couldn't produce a single word!

"Er... Contestant Feng Bu Jue, it's your turn." Oscar braced for an abandonment declaration.

Unexpectedly, Feng Bu Jue took a deep breath, leaned into the microphone, and rapidly spoke without glancing at his screen: "Ding Yi, thirty years old, single, a common office worker at the grassroots level, living the zombified life of an average nine-to-fiver. One day, his cousin's classmate's uncle by marriage was diagnosed with terminal illness, requiring urgent treatment on Earth."

"Wait... Earth? Is this even a human story anymore? An alien capable of interstellar travel but medically inferior to humans? And why does this random uncle even matter to Ding Yi? Why not just let him die?" Oscar mentally facepalmed, his expression visibly twitching.

Feng Bu Jue continued: "But the treatment costs astronomical sums—beyond Ding Yi, his cousin's family, or even his cousin's classmate's household. At this moment, Ding Yi discovered a pair of magical dancing shoes. This artifact awakened his long-lost memories. His forgotten sense of justice and mission reignited. Twenty years ago, Ding Yi was... a cosmic youth superhero league member—Pili Dancer Warrior!"

"Pili what aircraft? Lili what hole? Dancer Warrior? Someone drag him offstage please!" Oscar nearly screamed.

"Ding Yi contacted the external star colony in India", Feng Bu Jue continued.

"So the Indian guy isn't even human? That's the setting?"

"His childhood partner—Tap Monster Guest—resided on Earth."

"A superhero named Tap Monster Guest? How exactly did this guy fight cosmic evil forces as a kid?"

"Then, using their superpowers, they successfully smuggled Ding Yi's cousin's classmate's uncle for treatment."

"Superhero my foot! Where's the justice? Smuggling for free treatment? What's the point of this entire setup?"

"Ultimately, the uncle recovered under an old military doctor's care", Feng Bu Jue concluded. "But Ding Yi's journey has just begun... Awakened, he joined the cosmic adult superhero league. Pili Dancer Warrior returns to public eye, while ancient evil forces stir again in the Milky Way..."

His voice trailed off. Strangely, everyone present felt an inexplicable, baffled anticipation—hoping he'd continue.

(End of Chapter)

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