72: I announce the Rising Star Project!

The questions, more dense, sharper, and more… cruel than before.

Mother Su, Aunt, and Second Uncle were completely bewildered by the crowd's conjectures.

What fusion? What collapse?

They didn't understand.

But they did understand one thing.

Lin Yao seemed to have genuinely awakened a Mythic-tier profession.

However, she also seemed to have genuinely failed.

This immense contrast and shock of information caused their brains to completely crash, leaving them only able to instinctively answer the reporters' questions.

“Ye-… Yes, she failed…”

“The child… the child is very distraught…”

Their brains could no longer process such complex information.

They could only instinctively pander to these frenzied reporters.

“Ye-… Yes, very distraught…” Mother Su nodded blankly, her mind a void.

“When we saw her, she didn’t say anything, she just kept crying,” Aunt added, feeling she was stating a fact.

“Her parents are practically dying of worry!” Second Uncle adjusted his glasses, his voice trembling.

These words, falling into the reporters’ ears, were instantly processed into the perfect story plot.

Brother Wang’s eyes gleamed with excitement; he practically dictated his draft on the spot to the cameraman beside him.

“What have we witnessed? A family’s tragedy!”

“The genius girl Lin Yao, under the gaze of countless people, triggered a Mythic phenomenon, only to fail the final fusion and fall from the clouds!”

“Her family, her parents, are currently immersed in immense grief!”

The female reporter next to him immediately followed up, adding to another camera, “And what’s even more lamentable is her older brother, Lin Yu!”

“That former genius, the ‘Myriad Card Creator’ who wasted five whole years!”

“After witnessing his sister’s tragedy, the shackles in his heart seem to have been broken! He turned grief and indignation into strength, resolutely announcing that he would challenge that unprecedented, hellish…”

“Not thirty-two times!” The bespectacled reporter who had been looking up information earlier suddenly shrieked, interrupting her, “Latest news! The official announcement just updated! Lin Yu’s assessment difficulty is based on this year’s difficulty, comprehensively calculated… it’s… it’s one hundred and sixty times what it was back then!”

Newspeople, media people, are naturally more sensitive to higher numbers.

One hundred and sixty times!

Boom!

If the previous news was a bomb, then this number was a precision-guided nuclear missile, exploding in everyone’s minds!

Thirty-two times was already a forbidden zone never before trodden by humans.

One hundred and sixty times?

What kind of concept was that?

“He’s crazy! He’s completely lost his mind!”

“For his sister, he’s gambling his own life for a future!”

“How tragic! How resolute! The depth of sibling affection is evident here!”

The reporters went completely mad.

A perfect story, full of tragedy, twists, struggle, and sacrifice, was being woven before their eyes, by their own hands.

A family with two geniuses, the older brother fallen, the younger sister rising then falling.

The older brother, upon the ruins of his sister’s fall, burns himself, attempting to illuminate the future of the entire family!

It ignited!

Mother Su, Aunt, and Second Uncle were completely swept up by this fervent atmosphere. Listening to the words “tragic,” “resolute,” and “deep sibling affection” in their ears, and then recalling Lin Yu’s indifferent face and Lin Yao’s dejected appearance, they even felt… that it seemed to be exactly what was happening.

A ridiculous sense of recognition arose in their hearts.

Yes, that child Lin Yu must have been stimulated.

Lin Yao is so pitiful; as her older brother, he must do something.

Although one hundred and sixty times sounds like he’s seeking death, this spirit is commendable!

Just as the atmosphere in the entire lobby was pushed to its climax, and everyone was immersed in this tragic epic they had woven themselves.

“Make way!”

A cold, stern reprimand came from the direction of the main entrance.

The voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable penetrative power.

The crowded people, as if pushed by an invisible force, automatically parted to create a aisle.

Everyone turned their heads.

Outside the main entrance, several bodyguards in black suits and sunglasses cleared the way, and a middle-aged man in a silver-grey custom suit, with his hair meticulously combed, slowly walked in, surrounded by a group of assistants.

The man had a powerful aura; every step he took was steady and firm. He surveyed the chaotic lobby, frowning slightly, but showing no impatience.

The reporters were stunned.

Who was this person?

What a grand entrance!

“It’s… it’s Feng Rui of Fengxing Technology! Vice President Feng!” A reporter from the finance beat in the crowd exclaimed.

Fengxing Technology!

Feng Rui!

As these two terms came out, all media people’s breathing paused for a second.

Who in Linzhou didn’t know Fengxing Technology? It was one of the business giants covering multiple fields such as energy, materials, and pharmaceuticals!

Its main business was pharmaceuticals.

And Feng Rui, although holding the title of Vice President, insiders knew that many directors of Fengxing Technology held multiple positions and had retreated to the second line. This Vice President Feng was the true helmsman of Fengxing Technology!

How could such a big shot, whose stomp could make the Linzhou business world tremble, personally come to this dilapidated small residential area?

The reporters’ minds instantly turned.

Could it be… also for the Lin family’s matter?

Other than that, there seemed to be no other possibility.

Everyone’s hearts began to pound.

They had a premonition that the biggest news of the night might have just begun.

Feng Rui ignored the commotion around him. Protected by bodyguards, he walked directly to the center of the lobby, into the circle that the reporters had spontaneously cleared.

He stopped, his gaze sweeping over faces twisted with excitement and confusion.

Finally, he showed a formulaic, yet powerfully confident smile.

“Good evening, friends of the media.”

His voice, amplified by some device, clearly spread throughout the entire lobby, instantly suppressing all the noise.

“I am here today for only one thing.”

Feng Rui paused, enjoying the gaze of everyone holding their breath.

“Fengxing Technology will officially launch a talent strategy called the ‘New Star Project’.”

“We will spare no expense, utilizing all of the group’s resources, to cultivate the most elite and promising young people of this era.”

“And tonight, we are very honored to have found here the first, and most important, member of the ‘New Star Project’.”

His words were like giant rocks thrown into a lake, stirring up thousands of massive waves.

All the reporters went mad; they desperately pushed forward, aiming their microphones and cameras at Feng Rui.

The first member?

Here?

Could it be… Lin Yao?

But wasn’t she… a failure?