Superstar's Development Diary
Chapter 332 - 333: The Victim is You!

Chapter 332: Chapter 333: The Victim is You!

"Countdown one minute, 58, 57, 56, 54..." A flat, mechanical sound suddenly echoed throughout the villa, creating an extremely tense atmosphere on site.

"Think carefully, I’m voting for Ouyang Baoer. If the victim chooses wrong, it will trigger massacre mode, which is very unfavorable for us, so be careful."

He Jinxia spoke gravely, placing a slip of paper with Ouyang Baoer’s name on it into the black box prepared by the staff.

...30, 29, 28, 27, 26..."

Ouyang Baoer bit her lip, stood up, and walked over to the voting box with determination, declaring, "I was planning to vote for myself anyway, and now I’m definitely voting for myself. I don’t want to die!"

After she had voted, Wang Tao, Lin Qingzhu, and Ren Xiao also stood up and walked to the voting box.

The three of them looked at each other, said nothing, and silently slipped their slips of paper into the box.

...5, 4, 3, 2, 1, time’s up, voting is over."

A flat mechanical sound came from the villa, followed by a loud "bang," making the whole villa seem to shake. The lights went out, plunging everyone into darkness.

The filming of the show stopped there, concluding one segment.

He Jinxia and the others started to move, transferring from the villa to a town outside, specifically to a newly opened large supermarket where the last segment of the theme competition would start: Survival Battle.

This time the Survival Battle wasn’t about tearing off name tags, but about pressing a small button specially designed on the left shoulder.

Once the button was pressed, red bursting gel would spray out, indicating that the person had died, and the gel was edible, sweet-tasting.

It was Ouyang Baoer who mentioned this sweet taste while chatting with them during the ride.

He Jinxia asked curiously, "How do you know? Have you tried it?"

Ouyang Baoer gritted her teeth and said resentfully, "Who would want to eat something that looks like blood? It’s only because last time during the program filming, Wang Tao messed up by pressing the button on my shoulder. He blocked an outlet of the bursting gel, making it spray all over my face. I was screaming with my mouth open at the time and got a mouthful unexpectedly."

"But, honestly, it tasted pretty good. It’s light and not too sweet or sticky," Ouyang Baoer quickly switched emotions, describing the taste of the bursting gel with a smile.

"That red bursting gel is actually made from sugary water, very practical. You can even have some to gain energy when you’re tired," Wang Tao said with a chuckle, turning his head from the front seat.

Lin Qingzhu joked, "Not only does it give you energy, but it also adds sugars, water, and trace elements like sodium... it’s truly an essential item for any heist or journey."

Ren Xiao laughed with a "pfft," "But getting the gel out means you guys would have died, right?"

He Jinxia raised her eyebrow, taking over the conversation, "I think it makes sense to eat it just when you die. Imagine running till you’re completely worn out, struggling with all your might but still someone ruthlessly presses the button. When you’re utterly exhausted, the gel bursts out, and you just drink a little bit and instantly all your tiredness disappears, revitalized anew."

"Hahaha!" The others couldn’t help but burst out laughing, Wang Tao nodding uncontrollably, "Exactly, exactly, just what Xiao He said."

He glanced at the cameraman who still loyally shot their footage even while in the car, suggesting,

"Remember to cut this part, it could be used as a behind-the-scenes excerpt for ’Burn, Youngsters.’ See how great Xiao He’s eloquence is. This could make a fine commercial."

Lin Qingzhu wholeheartedly agreed, "True, this ad would come off natural and refreshing. I believe the audience would love to buy a bottle and try."

He Jinxia knew that ’Burn, Youngsters’ was sponsored by the sports drink brand Mai Dong, and playfully added,

"Just this isn’t enough. If Mai Dong could launch a red sports drink, that would be great. Everyone who buys it will remember it as the ’death burst gel’ from ’Burn, Youngsters,’ only to be tasted after death brings you back to life, invigorated!"

No offense taken, but the main director sitting in the car blinked thoughtfully, seeing some feasible aspects in the suggestion.

Inside the car, the stars prudently didn’t discuss the lingering doubts about the villa, engaging in lighthearted chat instead.

The production didn’t restrict them from discussing it; it was the stars who consciously chose not to discuss anything.

Initially, when they had got in the car, Wang Tao had told them not to discuss it for the sake of the filming effect.

Discussing it in the car would mean thorough analysis by everyone; it would be challenging to create a sense of suspense and doubt during the actual shooting. Those with better acting skills could still play along, but those with poorer skills would struggle to act naturally.

In the past, several themed competitions were quite innovative, but because stars discussed them during breaks, subsequent filming lacked surprises, leading to a rather dull show overall.

So the production team mentioned it to the stars, who then started acting, adding a bit of suspense, though unfortunately, some stars weren’t convincing, leading the production team to reluctantly edit out those segments.

However, a reality show thrives on the overall dynamics, on interactions between stars. Without any star, the interaction weakens, and some aspects can’t be justified.

The production team, after making a few reluctant edits that were unsatisfactory, decided not to trouble themselves further and just invited more stars to film. If any star didn’t perform well, that segment could be dropped; there were plenty of others that could replace it.

This approach was tough on the three fixed stars of the show.

The production didn’t need to remind He Jinxia and other guest stars of these considerations because they were financially robust enough to afford filming subpar scenes only to discard them. There were always other stars who could perform well.

But the three fixed stars couldn’t afford such casualness; their contracts and pay were for the whole season, not per episode.

If after filming a theme episode, it had to be re-shot because a guest performed poorly, it was them who suffered.

Being on a hot reality show was not an easy opportunity to pass by, and no star would want to push such an opportunity away, but there was also a fear that a few clueless newbies might barge into the show without inquiring about it, breaking some well-understood rules and increasing the workload. That’s why Wang Tao always mentioned it whenever inviting new guest stars.

He Jinxia had been briefed by Luo You before coming to film, so she indicated she understood quite calmly.

Rather, it was Ren Xiao who had really been unaware of this rule and felt immensely relieved once he knew, thanking Wang Tao profusely.