Idol Revive: If I Don't Debut, I'll Disappear
Chapter 124: The Culling

Chapter 124: The Culling

His teammates looked at Rayen with a pale complexion, but then, both Mr. Big News and Xu Jiji suddenly disappeared from their sights.

The venue was filled with short gasps and exclamations. Those who had passed the danger line were sent out of the broadcasting studio immediately.

Rayen bit his lips.

From his team, only Mr. Big News and Xu Jiji were safe, even though they had fallen off from their high ranks because of today’s loss.

He glanced at Minho and Nana who were left behind with him. The two were pale while they looked at each other.

Gulp.

"We’ll return alive..." Rayen only said.

They didn’t know what fate would befall on them from then on, but they shouldn’t lose hope yet.

Rayen’s words barely registered in Nana’s mind, though. She was among the participants who had received a low score, just barely reaching 300,000.

Minho and Rayen’s situation was better than her. During the first round, their stage garnered a little bit of attention. However, Nana had been among Iris’s team who got a fairly low score before.

Grimacing, she couldn’t hold back her tears anymore.

"I... I don’t want to disappear."

No one here wanted to disappear.

As though Nana’s tears broke apart the stillness in the atmosphere, the others who were watching them also broke down on the spot.

Even Rayen seemed dazed. Would they be one of those people that would eat in that area in the cafeteria one last time?

But then, as a cool wave passed through each participant, they gradually calmed down. The crying ceased as their fears were soothed by that bizarre sensation.

From the stage, Yeon Miwol was no longer on her post as the emcee. She was replaced by a short figure with a beautiful androgynous face.

Plotter.

If it was Plotter, then what would happen next would no longer be publicly broadcasted. Everyone stared at him, strangely calm as if a tranquilizer was injected on them.

Without his usual playful smile, Plotter addressed everyone, "We are now filming the elimination segment. I will call on the last ranked participant, Prim."

The last ranked participant stiffened in his seat. Plotter looked straight at him.

"Please go down to the stage."

Just as he was about to panic and refuse, a sudden cool feeling washed over his extreme emotions again. He exhaled deeply before heading down to the stage.

If they hadn’t employed some means to calm down the participants, they would probably be in chaos now.

The specifics for this segment was simple. The participants just had to stand on the stage and wait. It was now up to the sponsors’ decision.

The last ranked participant; Rayen didn’t know him. He was among the first team on the Performance Unit, and his score had only reached barely 100,000.

The decision was supposed to last for exactly a minute, but without even a few seconds passing after he reached the stage, his fate had been decided. He only had three sponsors, and all of them had decided to let go of him.

"Are there sponsors willing to save him?" Plotter asked the audience below.

The man named Prim gazed at the people below him in a daze. Although his expression seemed black, his eyes were screaming for someone to save him.

However, no new sponsors who betted on him either.

In the end, a familiar scene reappeared before Rayen and the participants in their seats. Covered by a bright light, the man transformed akin to a dandelion, crumbling and dissipating in specks of light.

Suddenly, he was no longer at the place where he once stood. A single speck of light only remained which floated toward Plotter who grabbed at it with his right hand.

He disappeared.

For a split moment, Rayen felt a tug of fear in his chest, but it disappeared in a split second because of the calming magic.

Turned out Rayen had no need to worry whether he would be among the ones who would eat one last time in the cafeteria. They would immediately disappear here once they get eliminated, not having a chance to even eat.

Rayen wanted to think this was cruel. Watching this scene repeatedly was a torture, but he was affected by the soothing effect too. He could only look at things in front of him with not a least bit of expression.

The scene repeated not just once or twice. Rayen watched numbly.

If Rayen were to describe the situation right now, the best words would probably be, "the culling".

This term was always used by shepherds and animal herders when they slaughtered animals with weaker condition. What was happening right now was essentially the same. Those who were let go were the ones who had low scores.

In short, weak participants.

They probably thought it was a waste of time and lifespan to keep sponsoring them. After all, these participants had to accumulate a million points to even be able to debut.

Just then, a familiar participant was finally called toward the stage.

"Nana."

Nana was in 26th place with 306,997 points. With her tear-stained face, she blankly walked toward the stage. She was in a better position than the previous participants, though. She had four sponsors.

Despite feeling calm, Rayen still closed his eyes. He didn’t want to witness the unthinkable.

After a minute, murmurs began to fill the whole place. Without hearing Plotter’s announcement, Rayen opened his eyes and saw the numbers on the screen.

Nana also glanced back, her eyes widening slightly.

No one let go of her...

Rayen and Minho smiled in relief. Turned out only the negative feelings were blocked out for them.

Nana, overwhelmed with too much relief, almost bawled. Then, she bowed toward the camera.

"Thank you so much for trusting in me..."

Hope began to bloom in the other participant’s hearts. If Nana who had been so behind in score wasn’t let go of, it was also possible for them.

However, reality hit them hard. Besides Nana, those who were under the 400,000 points had all been let go of.

Not all sponsors were willing to risk another petal lifespan for them who had a slim chance to debut. Before the next elimination in two weeks, it would be hard to catch up with the points. What was the point of giving them the chance?

Just then, when the 23rd participant was called, it turned out to be another familiar participant.

’Ryeon, huh?’

For the two rounds that had passed, Ryeon had been a disappointment. Out of everyone here, he was the only one here with a two-digit number of sponsors, ten to be exact.

Now, what would happen to him?

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