372: Chapter 372 Do you even understand art?

"God You?!"

The Elf Ranger's shout completely drowned out the deafening electronic music at the scene.

The originally overcrowded, frantically surging crowd experienced a brief moment of stagnation.

Immediately after, thousands of gazes turned in unison, accurately locking onto Chen You.

The clamor vanished.

The fanatical cheering stopped.

Even the three financier NPCs on the judges' panel, who had been whispering amongst themselves, suddenly sat up straight.

"Holy crap! It really is God You!"

"God You is here? Then what am I even competing for?"

"God You is doing an incognito visit! This talent show definitely has hidden plotlines!"

A wave of even more intense noise erupted from the crowd.

Standing on the high platform, Bloody Battle is a Bit Sweet even threw away the megaphone in his hand, scrambling down and pushing through the crowd to desperately get closer to Chen You.

In the center of the stage, James Sander stopped her movements.

Gripping the basketball with one hand, she pushed up the tactical sunglasses on the bridge of her nose, her gaze piercing through the crowd and fixing onto Chen You's face.

In the next second, Sander's legs bent slightly, and she suddenly exerted force.

Boom!

The metal stage floor directly dented into a large crater.

Sander's massive body soared into the air, crossing a distance of dozens of meters and crashing heavily in front of Chen You.

A blast of air rolled out, knocking the surrounding players off balance.

Sander stood tall, her black tight-fitting leather outfit accentuating her exaggerated muscle lines.

She strode up to Chen You, her originally cold face suddenly blooming with an extremely fanatical smile.

"acting city lord!" Sander grabbed Chen You's shoulders, her voice trembling with excitement, "You understand me! You really understand me!"

Chen You's shoulders sank, feeling as if he were being pinned down by a violent giant bear.

"Let go first."

Sander immediately released him, took half a step back, and stood at attention.

She held up the basketball in her hand, a fanatical light flashing in her eyes.

"Two and a half years! I've practiced hard for two and a half years! No one here understands true art; they only know how to mine, smith, and drink! It was you!"

Sander pointed at the surrounding flickering neon lights and the massive holographic screen, "It was you who gave me this stage! You have brought a true Renaissance to Cangxing City!"

Chen You looked at Sander's dark brown face, his eye twitching slightly.

Renaissance?

This was more like a gathering of demons.

"Enough nonsense." Chen You pulled out the shimmering Star Core Great Seal and slapped it directly onto Sander's chest.

"Two and a half hours are up. I'm returning the seal, and the quest is concluded."

Sander subconsciously caught the Star Core Great Seal.

The system notification sounded in Chen You's ear right on time.

[Ding! The quest 'acting city lord' has been completed.]

[Quest Rating: SSS-grade (Exceeded expectations)]

[You have gained 800,000 EXP and 5,000 Cangxing City Reputation (Respected).]

[Since the rating reached the maximum value, a hidden reward draw has been triggered!]

[Obtained mythological-grade architectural blueprint: 'Star Source Grand Theater' (Unique).]

[Obtained special title: Honorary City Lord of Cangxing City.]

"It hit the jackpot." Chen You's eyes lit up.

He clicked on the 'Star Source Grand Theater' blueprint to take a look.

['Star Source Grand Theater' (mythological-grade): Territory Building.]

[After construction, the mental energy recovery rate for all units in the territory +300%, and morale is permanently locked at 'High'.]

[Includes special skill 'Sounds of Nature': Can issue a special announcement, forcing all players and NPCs on the server to listen. Cooldown: 7 days.]

"Forced server-wide broadcast?" Chen You was startled.

Doesn't this mean he can send world announcements at will?

As for that 'Honorary City Lord' title, it didn't have any substantial bonuses; it was purely honorary.

"Alright, City Lord, you continue chasing your dream. I have things to do, so I'll be leaving now." Chen You turned to leave.

There was a guild boss battle later; he didn't have time to stay here and watch a bunch of NPCs act like lunatics.

"Wait!"

Sander suddenly took a step forward, blocking Chen You's path.

She held the basketball with both hands, her expression becoming incredibly solemn.

"acting city lord... no, Honorary City Lord." Sander changed the form of address and even took off her tactical sunglasses, "This talent show cannot proceed without you."

"I'm busy." Chen You tried to go around her.

Sander shifted again, her massive body blocking him completely.

"Those three judges don't understand what a true idol is at all!"

Sander pointed at the BBQ shop owner, the tavern proprietress, and the Chamber of Commerce president on the judges' panel, her tone full of disdain.

"They only look at faces, at bodies, and at who gives the most money! They even questioned my Four-Step Layup just now!"

Chen You stopped and looked at Sander.

He really wanted to say: Actually, they were right to question it.

"Only you saw through to the soul within my combat techniques at a glance." Sander took a deep breath and suddenly bowed, her voice loud enough for the entire venue to hear.

"On behalf of all the trainees of Cangxing City, I implore God You to serve as the Chief Examiner of 'Voice of Star Source'! Take the center seat!"

The entire venue fell deathly silent.

Then, the player base exploded.

"Holy crap! An NPC is actively issuing a quest!"

"God You is awesome! He's straight-up become a talent show mentor!"

"God You, pick me! I have a loli voice! I can do the splits!"

Listening to the wailing and howling around him, Chen You felt a splitting headache.

Just as he was about to refuse, a piercing red light suddenly popped up on his retina.

[Ding! Triggered unique hidden quest: Ultimate Mentor of Voice of Star Source.]

[Quest Description: James Sander, City Lord of Cangxing City, has developed a blind worship of your artistic taste. She hopes you will take over the judges' panel and select true national idols for Cangxing City.]

[Quest Requirement: Preside over the judges' panel and complete the commentary and scoring for the Voice of Star Source event.]

[Quest Reward: ???]

Chen You's gaze fixed intently on those question marks.

Unknown meant that the quest reward might be related to his performance.

In other words... the sky was the limit!

He took a deep breath and swallowed his words of refusal.

Then, scanning the entire venue, he calmly uttered two words.

"Event suspended."

After a moment of silence, a mountain-shaking roar of protest erupted.

"Huh? Why?"

"I've already taken my pants off and you're suspending it?"

"Rigged! It's definitely rigged! Refund our money!"

"God You can't be this overbearing, can he? I worked so hard to squeeze into the front row!"

"I support God You unconditionally!"

The players were in an uproar, and the NPCs looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what to do.

Sander was stunned.

"Honorary City Lord!" Just as she was about to say something, she was stopped by Chen You raising his hand.

Chen You sneered, not yielding an inch.

"Look at this stage—shoddily made metal patchwork plates, without even a shock absorption system."

"Look at these lights—flashing randomly without any sense of depth."

"And look at you contestants—you dare to stand on stage without even preparing performance outfits?"

Chen You pointed at the stage.

"This talent show carries the hope of Cangxing City's revival. This is art, not a clearance sale at a wet market!"

"The organizers' hasty preparation is a complete desecration of art and a lack of respect for you dream-chasers!"