Chapter 379: Competition, Debut, Solitary Shadow

At the same time,

When Esther honestly revealed to the contestants the relationship between idols, brilliance, the stage, and magical girls, along with the risks that followed, in the independent waiting lounge.

Chu Yuanqing sat on a soft velvet sofa, her delicate face showing a slightly better complexion than yesterday, no longer looking sickly weak. She raised her golden eyes to look at the big screen, watching the split-screen broadcast of various images.

Although she still couldn’t use her magical power, her health was improving from her serious illness, allowing her to walk with some effort, no longer needing to sit in a wheelchair all the time. If one ignored the dark gap climbing from her white wrist up to her forearm, everything was moving in a good direction.

Charlotte and Elise sat on either side of her, while the not-so-close Witch of Relief, Ji Qianju, sat in a further corner chair, watching the monitoring equipment with Xie Qing Yu.

The screens displayed various areas of the venue, including the main stage, the audience seats, and the entire performance, along with a satellite view of Sea City from above.

Additionally, this lounge was temporarily transformed into a command center, where the communication base built by Light Stone could ignore disaster auras and even signal interference from space, allowing magical girls on missions to communicate remotely and stay in contact to exchange information.

It was clear that involving Chu Yuanqing meant dealing with the life and death of Pure White. The Countermeasures Bureau had raised its level of importance to the highest for the survival of human civilization, even setting up a teleportation array at the performance site in advance, readying for the worst retreat plan.

In other words, the upper management was prepared to sacrifice the entire Sea City if necessary.

Of course, this was the worst outcome, but with the strength sent by the Countermeasures Bureau and the Light Stone wonders built over many years underground in a top-tier city, even without including Charlotte, Chu Yuanqing’s teammates were enough to handle the Church of the Gods.

After all, during the last mission with the Ideal State, their side not only defeated the Church of the Gods but also caused them to lose several bishops, and they learned their methods against magical girls, so they were theoretically in a phase of strategic victory and did not need to worry too much.

“Sister Chu, are you still feeling unwell?”

Elise raised her innocent gray eyes, holding that soft and cold hand with her small hands, trying to warm the other person with her own warmth, staring at Chu Yuanqing without blinking.

Chu Yuanqing looked at the young and inexperienced child, and just thinking that the child might use Full Power Mode again to protect her, even sacrificing herself, filled her heart with a heavy sense of powerlessness and guilt.

Pure White Witch collected her emotions, lowered her eyes, and gently touched Elise’s hair, saying softly,

“Thank you for your concern, I am fine now, Elise.”

Elise’s eyes were half-closed, like a gray kitten that had its belly rubbed. She sat closer, feeling that Sister Chu smelled so nice and had such soft hands, reminding her of Mother Ellie’s embrace.

Seeing this, Charlotte joined in, poking Elise’s soft cheeks with her fingers. She quietly compared the textures of Liuli Cat, her precious daughter, and Elise, quickly concluding that they were all very soft and adorable.

Ji Qianju glanced at this scene and noticed Little Yu’s envious gaze. Her expression was subtle. Did this person want Chu Yuanqing to pat her head too?

The Witch of Relief gathered her thoughts. She looked at the communication base, where a small map displayed several markers representing magical girls, none of whom had sent any news about discovering Disaster.

“Is everything normal…?”

Time passed in the venue.

After Esther finished listing the pros and cons, she looked at the contestants absorbing the information and said softly,

“I give you all the chance to gracefully withdraw. After this performance, you can choose to drop out. The only cost is that the [Heart Flow] you stepped into from the training room will be cleaned for safety reasons.”

“Of course, the program group will also offer you some compensation, and it won’t be less than your personal insurance at the base.”

Although there were very few cases, since someone like Chu Qiushuang had entered the field of [Heart Flow] and attracted special attention from the disaster beasts, the unfortunate examples of tragedies would naturally be prevented from happening again in Dazzling Stage.

Fan Qiuling sat in the front row, took a deep breath, and asked,

“You mean, even if I choose to drop out, I won’t lose my status as an idol and can still perform on stage in the future, right?”

Esther nodded in agreement, confirming this guess, and continued,

“Yes, but at least for the next six months, to fight against Disasters and train more magical girls, Dazzling Stage will monopolize the debut path for idols worldwide.”

“So, after dropping out, it will be difficult to achieve much in a short time.”

Fan Qiuling’s heart skipped a beat.

Dream Weaver Rabbit was using cautious wording.

The real unspoken implication was that, due to the survival of human civilization, the idol career focused on the stage would be granted special significance by the government.

In other words, it began to differ fundamentally from the idols formerly classified within the entertainment circle.

If one thought a little deeper, withdrawing now would be equivalent to missing the last opportunity, which was no different from being eliminated before, losing idol qualification, and being unable to step onto the official stage—only this time it sounded more palatable on the surface.

Fan Qiuling believed that among the trainees who had reached this point, there were hardly any fools; they should all see through this. Yet even so, how many were willing to continue risking everything for their dreams and debut?

If it was for fame and profit, the exposure from *Dazzling Stage* was already world-class. Just the exposure from the Sea City competition zone alone was enough for the lowest-ranking underdogs to easily seize fortunes they had never dared to imagine before.

Moreover, according to Dream Weaver Rabbit, the compensation amount from *Dazzling Stage* was at minimum five million Daxia coins, backed by the official government, so no one worried about the other party reneging.

As for continuing to debut as magical girls, it would only make them more famous and richer…

Chu Qiushuang’s death was still vivid in their memories.

The news of Chu Yuanqing’s exposure as Chief of Staff and her single-handed suppression of the restricted zone, leading to injury and hospitalization, had caused an uproar. If such a formidable figure was gravely wounded and unable to perform, what did that mean for the other magical girls?

Money to be earned, but no life to spend it.

Everyone understood this truth.

Yet even so, no one in the venue voiced a desire to withdraw.

Even though Fan Qiuling understood everything clearly and was fully aware of all the risks and benefits, she was caught in silent torment. Another self resided in her heart, one that was irrational, still young, full of hope and courage.

Everyone seated in that venue had shed countless sweat to be there. They harbored dreams and expectations, mustered the courage and obsession born of their lifetime, and stepped forward on the corpses of others’ dreams to arrive at this point, even entrusted by former teammates to fulfill their wishes by reaching a higher stage.

Therefore…

— They did not want to give up.

— At least, they did not want to give up before ever stepping onto the stage.

Thus, unexpectedly, a strange yet tacit silence lingered in the venue, as if everyone had silently agreed to wait until after the outcome was revealed to make their decisions.

Esther paused for a moment, sensing the atmosphere, and for the first time, her perfect face—assembled as if by AI—revealed the smile of Dream Weaver Rabbit. She softly said,

“It seems my expectations of you all have not been in vain.”

“Since you still intend to give your all on stage, I will announce the details of the next round of the competition in advance.”

“The 50 people who advance will be formed into ten teams, and will debut next week as official girl groups, participating in the next round of *Dazzling Stage*, preparing for a global tour.”

As her words fell, the chatter in the venue surged like waves. This announcement was like fire thrown into oil, stirring their previously subdued emotions like a tidal wave.

— Debut? It’s really a debut!

Throughout the *Dazzling Stage* audition show, from its initial promotions to the latest updates, the number of debut positions had never been mentioned.

Although by referencing other *Dazzling Stage* competition zones and the publicly announced rules, it could be guessed that at least one girl group would debut in the Daxia region, the exact number of debut spots remained unknown.

Therefore, the contestants’ best guesses were that Kyoto and Sea City zones might each have six or seven debut spots, which was considered “many.”

And now, this number had been nearly multiplied tenfold!

In other words, without worrying about subsequent competition rules, as long as they could achieve a ranking today, they could fulfill their original dream and successfully debut through this audition!

Additionally…

If one of the 50 final winners decided to withdraw, would the trainees ranked afterward be brought in to fill the vacancy?

If so, then the probability of achieving dreams would increase. Compared to the past harsh, cruel, and thrilling system of “Dazzling Stage,” which seemed distant and interminable, offering no visible final hope, this time’s performance almost granted everyone the dawn of embracing their dreams.

At this moment, even contestants who originally felt hopeless could not help but ignite higher fighting spirits, temporarily ignoring the risks of becoming magical girls, and were full of anticipation for the future.

Esther added,

“Additionally, although Chu Yuanqing could not participate due to injury and was implicitly occupying a qualifying spot, her qualification was independent and did not count towards the 50 qualifying spots, so everyone can rest assured.”

In response, the contestants in the audience had no objections.

Chu Yuanqing’s contributions to humanity were enormous; let alone her popularity and strength, qualifying would be effortless for her. And so what if she took a backdoor route?

Moreover, if she participated in the performance, such a level of [Heart Flow] would completely enchant the audience, inducing a fanatical frenzy far more terrifying than the Great Devil’s final-stage effect. Such an enemy directly qualifying was essentially giving an opportunity.

Esther did not give everyone much time to think. After waiting a moment, she began to explain the rules of the performance contest and drew numbers for the 36 teams present to assign their opponents and performance order.

Upon completion, everyone disbanded as teams and headed back to the waiting area, equipped with their own specialized makeup artists, to prepare for the upcoming stage.

“Debuting… I’m really looking forward to our group name and debut song,”

the girl’s eyes glittered as she was surrounded by three young moms, unable to help but imagine how dazzling they would look when everyone officially stepped on stage after debut.

Although the competition had not started yet, fantasizing about the taste of victory seemed somewhat overconfident.

But the most humble and stage-conscious Little Sakura did not correct her.

Because qualifying was inevitable. Not to mention the external popularity factors, every member of their team was a magical girl, all already “Fully Blooming.”

If converted, their [Heart Flow] had fully ascended into complete Shining Magic, utterly dominating in three performances, almost too overwhelming.

Even though common sense dictated that a magical girl’s strength did not equal an idol’s purity, the magical girls nurtured through “Dazzling Stage” were somewhat connected to idol purity, and coupled with the consequent surge in emotional quality, their stage presence was completely beyond human limits.

If they failed to qualify, it would be the ultimate shocking upset.

The light in Tang Liuli’s eyes calmed as she withdrew her [Divine Control] probe, suggesting “Super Dinosaur Warrior” to her lovely daughter while recalling the results she had just seen.

Aside from the five who had just “lit up” in Kyoto and the team with Chen Yining, there were magical girls sent by the Countermeasures Bureau protecting everyone in the venue; judging by their souls, they were all “Fully Blooming”…

“Excuse me, are you contestants from ‘Dazzling Stage’?”

A sudden voice interrupted her thoughts. A staff member blocked the way, raising her staff badge with an apologetic expression and said,

“This area is temporarily off-limits. Your rest room has been assigned to room 1008.”

As soon as she finished speaking, several phones received messages from the Countermeasures Bureau’s app, sent by Dream Weaver Rabbit, stating that three captain-level witches were in the rest room, responsible for closely protecting Chu Yuanqing, and this area was temporarily sealed off.

As for the reason…

Charlotte used a time-space spell to transfer the buildings in this passage into another dimension.

Theoretically, this was like establishing a small Mortal Realm Barrier, but since she employed the spell “Decorate Phantasm” to distinguish reality from illusion, stepping inside still allowed viewing the original rest room, capable of endless extension, seamlessly shifting between truth and illusion.

Additionally, Elise cast a spell called “Dragon’s Treasure,” transforming the outside of the rest room into a random mechanized city, enveloped internally by Xie Qing Yu’s “Dream of Butterflies” and the Witch of Relief’s “Golden Temple.”

This extreme defense meant that even multiple nuclear strikes at the performance venue would leave the rest room intact and safe.

The downside was that letting someone in temporarily required dismantling a series of spells, and rebuilding them afterward would be very troublesome.

Thus, the four exchanged glances, confirmed with Dream Weaver Rabbit, then used special devices to contact Chu Yuanqing and Charlotte inside. After several minutes of communication, they proceeded to rest room 1008 to do makeup and change outfits, preparing to go on stage.

Half an hour later,

Chu Wang Shu’s jet-black hair was styled cutely by the makeup artist’s skillful hands. She smiled at the mirror. When her eyes lifted at the corners, the faint shimmer of fish-scale-like glitter on her eyelids was especially alluring, making her performance outfit look even more youthful and lively.

The girl nodded with satisfaction. She picked up the sunflower that was sound asleep on the dressing table, looked toward the pair of golden eyes like her dad’s, and with pink lips curled into a bright smile, said with expectation,

“Dad is super safe right now; she said she would watch my stage carefully.”

“So, Sunflower, let’s work hard together!”