385: Chapter 385 is all a conspiracy.

Chuxin City, Central Plaza.

"So, what is the calculation formula for firepower value?"

Lin Miao had somehow gotten a small notebook and was looking down, recording seriously.

The NPC in charge of recruitment was a demi-human model with fox ears, and at this moment, he was sweating profusely.

"Brave Adventurer, firepower value is the audience's level of affection for you; it's a manifestation of their feelings. There is no specific formula..." The fox-eared NPC tried hard to maintain a professional smile.

"Impossible." Lin Miao looked up, her face serious.

"Any result presented in a digitized format must have an underlying logic."

"Is it calculated based on click-through rates, duration of stay, or the weighted ratio of tip amounts?"

"If I don't know the weights, how can I formulate an optimal strategy to gain fans?"

The fox-eared NPC opened his mouth, completely stuck.

A burst of coarse laughter came from nearby.

A new player, nearly three meters tall and with four arms, strode over.

He looked down at Lin Miao and spoke a string of gibberish.

Lin Miao couldn't understand and turned to the NPC: "What did he just say?"

The fox-eared NPC wiped his sweat and helped translate: "He said that a weak race like yours, who would blow over in the wind, doesn't understand stage presence at all."

"He says he only needs to stand there and show off his muscles to take first place."

"He also suggests you go home and drink milk as soon as possible."

Lin Miao closed her notebook and looked the player up and down a few times.

After a moment of thought, she spoke up.

"Please tell him this."

"According to biomechanical analysis, the proportions of his limbs cause his center of gravity to shift."

"If he performs turning or jumping movements on stage, the pressure on his knee meniscus will exceed the critical threshold."

"Additionally, the distribution of his arm muscle groups is uneven. Once high-intensity choreography is performed, the probability of dislocating his left scapula is as high as eighty-seven percent."

Lin Miao lowered her head, appearing slightly embarrassed.

"With his body structure, he isn't suited for a talent show. Moving bricks at a quarry would maximize his utility."

The fox-eared NPC swallowed and translated her words exactly.

The smile on the four-armed player's face froze.

He looked at his arms, then at his knees. His brain clearly couldn't process such complex information, and he fell into a state of bewilderment.

Several alien players watching the commotion also looked at each other in surprise.

"Is this woman's racial talent a curse?"

"It sounds terrifying. I feel like my meniscus is hurting too."

"Hurting, my foot! You don't even have legs, where would you get a meniscus from?"

Just then, the light above Chuxin City suddenly dimmed.

It wasn't dark clouds obscuring the sun, but darkness in a physical sense.

Everyone looked up at the same time.

A terrifying giant beast, over a thousand meters long, was silently hovering over the city.

A massive shadow completely enveloped the entire central plaza.

"Holy crap! What's going on?"

"Enemy attack!"

"Guards! Where are the guards!"

"It's a high-level World Boss!"

The new players in the plaza were in a panic; some drew their novice iron swords, while others fled in terror.

The four-armed player sat directly on the ground with a thud.

The Giant Kun let out a low cry, and then its body rapidly shrank, turning into a beam of black light that landed in the center of the plaza.

As the black light dissipated, Chen You, wearing his familiar Star River Ink Abyss Robe, stepped out calmly.

He glanced at the terrified crowd around him and sighed in his heart.

It really was impossible to keep a low profile.

"Wait... that person looks a bit familiar." An elf player rubbed their eyes.

"That title! Look at the ID above his head!"

Above Chen You's head, the four large words [destiny sovereign] flickered with a dark-gold light.

The ID was below the title.

After a brief dead silence, the plaza completely erupted.

"It's Chen You! God You!"

"My god! A real one! I'm seeing him in the flesh!"

"It's true! My life is complete!"

"Big boss! Big boss, please carry me! I know all the positions!"

A crowd of players surged forward like crazy.

Chen You's brow furrowed.

This scene was all too familiar.

"Everyone, please don't get excited." Chen You cleared his throat. "The Source Realm is vast, and opportunities are many."

"As long as you work hard to kill monsters and level up, one day... you will have the chance to fight alongside me."

The crowd erupted in an even more fanatical cheer.

Chen You paid no more attention to these fanatical fans. His gaze swept through the crowd and quickly locked onto Lin Miao, who was standing next to the fox-eared NPC looking at him with a strange expression.

Chen You strode toward Lin Miao.

The crowd automatically parted to make a path.

The two met.

"Captain Chen." Lin Miao lowered her voice. "Are you this popular over here?"

She even couldn't help but start to wonder if Chen You had been training seriously at all.

"It can't be helped." Chen You said without blushing or his heart racing. "Blame it on me being too excellent."

He directly pulled out the system panel and sent a trade request to Lin Miao.

[Player 'Chen You' has initiated a trade with you.]

Lin Miao clicked confirm.

In the trade window, there was no equipment and no items, only a string of numbers long enough to make one's head spin.

200,000.

"This is..." Lin Miao's breath hitched.

Although she knew about Director Li Guoan's arrangements, facing this much wealth, she still couldn't help but feel excited.

Lin Miao's hand shook as she pressed the confirm button.

[Ding! Trade complete. Your account balance: 200,000 Gold.]

A newbie at the First Layer of Qi Refining and Level 1, she was now undoubtedly the richest person in Chuxin City.

"What do we do next?" Lin Miao took a deep breath. "I studied it just now; this talent show has no clear scoring criteria. It feels like it's all rigged."

"Don't overthink it." Chen You had a feeling she was cursing him in her heart.

He pointed to the fox-eared NPC next to them. "Sign up first."

Lin Miao walked toward the fox-eared NPC.

"I want to sign up."

The fox-eared NPC had just witnessed the interaction between Chen You and Lin Miao, and his attitude was now respectful to the extreme: "Certainly, certainly. May I ask what your entry declaration is?"

Lin Miao thought for a moment: "Science changes the stage."

"Alright, you have been registered." The fox-eared NPC handed over a crystal plaque. "This is your contestant terminal. You can check your ranking and firepower value at any time."

Lin Miao took the crystal plaque.

Chen You leaned in to take a look.

[Voice of Star Source · Chuxin City Audition Area]

1st Place: Karl, firepower value: 150.

2nd Place: Mia, firepower value: 120.

...

980th Place: Lin Miao, firepower value: 0.

Chen You looked up again at the surrounding players.

This firepower value came from player votes, but back then he had also set up "Starlight Ticket" tips.

"Let's try throwing money at it first."

He opened the system interface and found the newly added [Voice of Star Source] event icon.

Entering the event interface, Chen You directly bought 10,000 Gold worth of Starlight Tickets.