The giant fish was a little confused.
It might not eat humans anymore, but that didn’t mean it was blind. When a human appeared in front of it, it could still see them.
So from its perspective, it had just “watched” a person fly out from above its head and land smoothly on the distant shore.
The giant fish blinked its dazed eyes.
With its limited brain capacity, it simply couldn’t understand where exactly this person had come from.
The giant fish stared blankly at He Yu.
But from Eugene’s point of view—
The giant fish was gazing at this man with deep affection!
The man looked slender and refined, not like some overwhelming powerhouse at all.
Yet the moment Eugene saw how spotless and composed he looked, with clean hair casually falling over his forehead, it became difficult to believe he wasn’t an expert.
Everyone else had crawled ashore looking miserable, but this guy landed elegantly.
Could he not be an expert?
Everyone else sailed boats while he rode a giant fish.
Could he not be an expert?
And then there was the way he controlled the giant fish, while the giant fish stared at him so attentively...
—Fuck, when did <Top Talent Show> produce a character like this??
Eugene stared at He Yu with widened eyes full of awe and shock.
After waving goodbye to the giant fish, He Yu carried a water pouch in one hand and a string of dried fish in the other as he walked away leisurely, every movement radiating a kind of “leaving without taking even a single cloud” elegance.
Passing by the filthy and stunned Eugene, He Yu’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. He merely gave an almost imperceptible nod as a polite greeting.
—Calm. Detached. Cool.
In the blink of an eye, only his back remained visible to Eugene.
Eugene looked at He Yu’s departing figure, then at the giant fish still staring in this direction from the sea...
Eugene: “Hey—brother, wait for me! Let’s chat a little!”
He immediately lifted his leg and chased after He Yu.
The livestream barrage—
“......”
“...Honestly, seeing Eugene’s shocked expression, I genuinely think He Yu might’ve intimidated Boss Eugene this time.”
“EUGENE!! HIS COMBAT POWER IS ONLY 8!! STOP TREATING HIM LIKE SOME BIG SHOT!!”
“After seeing Eugene crawl ashore covered in mud and sand while He Yu gracefully spread his wings and landed... suddenly I feel like He Yu’s support equipment isn’t actually useless.”
“Yeah. That landing was honestly kinda cool.”
“Heh. Cool-looking is all it’s good for, right? If real combat breaks out, what damage could it possibly do?”
......
The barrage remained lively as always.
Eugene was a highly popular contestant, while He Yu was currently the most controversial contestant in the entire competition.
Anything involving the two naturally exploded with activity.
He Yu disappeared, while Eugene chased after him.
The giant fish remained dazed for a while longer before shaking its head and turning away.
—Forget it.
—Anyway, it didn’t eat humans anymore.
—And it seemed to smell food.
The giant fish swung its tail and joyfully sped toward the scent.
A savage giant fish whose worldview had been permanently altered continued wreaking havoc throughout that contestant-free sea region, hunting other giant fish and mini-bosses.
It would never understand how its diet had changed.
And the giant fish being hunted and bitten by their “deranged” kin would never understand what bizarre event had occurred to their companion.
—As for all this, He Yu calmly waved his sleeve and departed, hiding his achievements and fame.
Eugene failed to catch up to He Yu.
The island didn’t look large, but in order to accommodate one hundred contestants while minimizing direct conflict and friction, spatial folding technology had been applied to it.
Without special contact methods, once people separated, finding one another became extremely difficult.
Eugene gave up, shaking sand from his body while frowning.
“What the hell? I just wanted to say hello. You can’t even let me see who that guy was?”
He still wanted to search a bit longer, but at that moment, he heard a special whistle.
The whistle was very soft, yet it traveled extremely far, carrying a signal that only those familiar with it would understand.
—Meet up.
Eugene frowned even harder and muttered—
“Wanrenzhan really thinks he’s the boss now? Does he seriously think I’ll listen to him? I’m not—”
Suddenly, as if thinking of something, his eyes rolled mischievously and the corners of his mouth curled upward.
“Hehehe. Wanrenzhan landed super early, which means he probably didn’t get much equipment. I should go see what his expression looks like.”
With that, Eugene darted off toward the whistle’s direction.
As for the person he wanted to find...
They could meet again if fate allowed it.
【Ding—Congratulations to the one million contestants who passed the preliminary selection and officially entered <Top Talent Show>! Let us bid farewell to the eliminated contestants who failed to land ashore.】
【The next stage is the elimination round, reducing one million contestants to one hundred thousand. Contestants, please rest for one day. The rules for the first elimination round will be announced tomorrow.】
【During the island rest period, all contestants are forbidden from attacking one another. Violators will be immediately eliminated!】
【Rest well, and good luck to all contestants.】
The mechanical voice echoed inside everyone’s minds.
He Yu slightly raised an eyebrow.
They had to remain on the island until tomorrow?
It was already evening anyway. Sleeping once would basically bring them to tomorrow, so it wasn’t very long.
As for tomorrow’s competition content, He Yu wasn’t curious at all.
—Wouldn’t he find out tomorrow anyway?
Unknown was unknown no matter what.
As if recalling something, He Yu suddenly stopped walking.
Although killing wasn’t allowed on the island, his combat power was still only eight points.
If someone attacked him, a single strike would probably be enough to kill him instantly.
He Yu possessed excellent self-awareness.
Lowering his head, he glanced at the bead hanging around his neck.
Such a thing might rarely happen to others, but for him...
It seemed highly possible right now, didn’t it?
So...
He Yu looked around before walking toward a large tree ahead.
Stretching out his hand, he pushed off lightly with his feet, swiftly climbed the tree, and slipped into a small tree hollow.
From high above, others couldn’t easily notice him.
He Yu felt reassured.
He leisurely organized his belongings and picked out a dried fish.
Then, as if thinking of something, his hand suddenly paused.
While at sea, dried fish couldn’t be stored inside the backpack.
—Because they weren’t equipment.
But what about this transition island?
The dried fish had already been brought ashore by him.
Logically speaking, they now completely belonged to him.
Did they count as equipment?
He Yu raised a hand.
The string of dried fish instantly disappeared.
Feeling the pile of dried fish now stacked inside his backpack, He Yu curled his lips upward.
As expected, it worked.
The barrage: “......”
After a brief silence, the livestream exploded—
“Holy shit! He Yu refreshes my understanding of reality every single time!”
“He actually put salted fish inside the backpack! My god, that thing is for storing equipment!”
“I genuinely can’t believe someone would put salted fish together with their precious equipment!”
“He actually cares this little about equipment! That’s salted fish!!”
“Even if his equipment is trash, it’s still equipment! Valuable equipment that should be carefully protected!”
“I refuse to look at He Yu’s backpack. I cannot emotionally accept dried fish being stored together with weapons.”
“SAME!!”
“He Yu, amazing. You’ve successfully caused me breathing difficulties again. Where’s my heart medicine?!”
......
He Yu naturally had no idea the audience was collectively suffocating.
And even if he knew, he wouldn’t care.
Using the remaining daylight outside, he took out <Basic Principles of Combat Power Development> once more and placed it on his knees.
One hand held dried fish. The other held the water pouch.
He leisurely read beneath the fading light.
The barrage: “...I genuinely don’t understand what this guy is thinking. He seems to have completely given up struggling. Doesn’t he realize this is the most important period for forming teams and gathering intelligence?!”
The barrage: “Look at his attitude and his eight combat power points. You seriously think he can survive the first elimination round? Dream on.”
He Yu was calm.
But the entire island was anything but calm.
Almost every contestant had started moving.
The audience was right—this period was incredibly important.
As long as contestants didn’t attack one another, almost anything was safe during this time.
But once the next stage began, every contestant would become an enemy.
This was the time for forming teams, gathering information about opponents, investigating combat power, and evaluating whether someone could be targeted during the next stage.
Eugene walked beneath a massive tree and, as expected, saw Wanrenzhan, Annie, Gedai, and several others already waiting there.
Raising an eyebrow slightly, Eugene spoke lazily—
“Wanrenzhan, what do you want with me?”
The moment Wanrenzhan and the others saw him, their eyes immediately locked onto his mechanical arms.
They stared fixedly.
After a long pause, Wanrenzhan finally spoke.
“Looks like your harvest was quite good.”
For people from Mechanical Planet, their arms were their weapons.
Naturally, there were enormous differences in strength between them.
Gedai’s arms could transform into two sharp blades and possessed formidable combat ability.
And clearly, Eugene’s arms had been upgraded.
Already stronger than Gedai to begin with, Eugene had now become even stronger.
During the preliminary stage, he had obtained extremely important combat equipment specifically designed for his mechanical arms.
Even without knowing the exact extent of his new combat power, one glance alone made it obvious they were not to be underestimated.
Eugene grinned.
“Yeah. My luck wasn’t bad. I nearly missed landing because of this equipment.”
His smile widened brilliantly.
“What about you guys? Did you land early because you got the equipment you wanted already?”
Wanrenzhan: “......”
His breathing visibly grew heavier.
Gedai’s expression also darkened considerably.
Talk about hitting someone exactly where it hurts.
After their ship was destroyed, the four of them had scattered.
Wanrenzhan and Gedai only reunited later.
Both had been extremely miserable.
Without ships, they repeatedly encountered life-threatening situations at sea.
And their luck had been awful. They never encountered any weak teams possessing boats.
In the end, they had no choice but to rush ashore early, meaning they gained almost no useful equipment.
After mocking them enough, Eugene finally withdrew his smile and looked at them.
“Alright, serious business. Why’d you call me here? I’m trying to find someone. I don’t have time to waste talking with you.”
“You—”
Wanrenzhan stepped forward furiously.
Annie immediately grabbed him and looked toward Eugene.
“Eugene, we want to cooperate with you. The elimination round rules are complicated, but based on previous experience, forming teams before the semifinals is the optimal solution.”
Eugene sneered.
“I don’t trust you. How do I know you want to team up instead of killing me in advance?”
Wanrenzhan trembled with rage while Annie held him tightly.
“Eugene! We didn’t only invite you. We also invited Zhen Xing, Tang Ke, Earlie, Siya, Wei Bailer, Duan Yuchen...”
Annie listed one familiar name after another.
Eugene looked at them meaningfully.
“You’re aiming pretty high.”
Forming a team entirely composed of Main Planet elites...
Was this to guarantee advancement into the finals?
Or was there another scheme involved?
“Oh? Quite lively here.”
A voice suddenly rang out.
Everyone turned simultaneously.
A savage-looking man over two meters tall appeared. His body was packed with muscles. The moment he arrived, even Wanrenzhan no longer seemed that imposing.
“Earlie, what took you so long?” Wanrenzhan asked flatly.
Earlie revealed a malicious grin.
“Ran into a cute little girl from an ordinary planet on the way. Flirted with her a bit.”
Eugene expressionlessly looked away.
Earlie was a notorious sexual predator even within the Federation.
His strength was tremendous, but his character was rotten beyond saving.
Before registering for <Top Talent Show>, Earlie had assaulted another girl.
Unfortunately for him, that girl wasn’t an ordinary low-background citizen.
She was the daughter of a Main Planet expert.
Earlie had been hunted down afterward and only gained temporary relief by joining the competition.
Eugene despised people like him.
“No more bullshit. Team up.”
Wanrenzhan spoke impatiently.
Earlie glanced around.
“A bunch of dudes, huh? I...”
Wanrenzhan interrupted.
“Siya was invited too.”
Earlie’s eyes instantly lit up.
“Then sure. You’re all experts anyway. Joining won’t be a loss. Just... don’t gang up and scheme against me.”
This truly was a brutal competition.
Even while discussing cooperation, everyone remained wary of one another.
Wanrenzhan spread his hands.
“Relax. Besides you, there’s also Zhen Xing, Tang Ke, Wei Bailer, Duan Yuchen, and the others. Nobody can secretly scheme against you. As long as you don’t {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} make a move first, neither will I.”
The vigilance on Earlie’s face lessened slightly.
Once enough people gathered, especially Main Planet elites with tangled backgrounds and factions, secretly joining forces to eliminate one specific person became very difficult.
The more complicated and mutually suspicious the relationships became, the safer and more stable the alliance actually was.
Wanrenzhan continued—
“The next round’s team formation is extremely important. What we’ll need to complete are missions issued by the organizers. It’ll be difficult to clear them alone. We need to cooperate, secure points first, and obtain as much equipment as possible. Before Zhen Xing and the others arrive, let’s discuss the details of cooperation...”
Before he could finish, another voice interrupted.
“No need to wait. Zhen Xing isn’t coming.”
Duan Yuchen and Wei Bailer appeared.
The barrage exploded instantly—
“Holy shit! Ultimate gathering of experts! More than half the people likely to become top stars are here!”
“If they really team up, that’d be insane.”
“AHHHH I want to see experts fighting each other!”
......
Earlie frowned.
“Duan Yuchen, what do you mean?”
Duan Yuchen’s expression looked complicated, almost confused.
“I ran into Zhen Xing earlier. He said he’s looking for someone, so he won’t come.”
Wei Bailer shrugged.
“The Lone Wolf Zhen Xing. He was never likely to cooperate with others anyway. Otherwise people wouldn’t call him the Lone Wolf.”
Annie asked curiously—
“Who’s he looking for?”
Duan Yuchen’s gaze grew even stranger.
“He said he’s looking for some black-haired, black-eyed expert who stole his equipment.”
Duan Yuchen muttered blankly—
“Who could possibly steal something from Zhen Xing?”
Everyone’s expressions changed.
Even Eugene, who had already been preparing to leave, stopped walking.
At that moment, Tang Ke arrived.
“We got robbed once too. No, not robbed exactly. More like he took it through his own ability. We tried hunting him down, failed, and nearly got ourselves killed.”
Wanrenzhan and Gedai’s faces darkened instantly.
Annie nodded.
“That’s true. Though saying it out loud makes us sound very weak.”
“That guy relied on the giant fish!” Wanrenzhan gritted out through clenched teeth.
Earlie’s expression shifted as he cursed furiously—
“The person you’re talking about... I think I encountered him too. I was chasing some woman from Chaos Planet because she stole my stuff. Right when I was about to catch her, that guy and a mini-boss appeared. Not only did he ruin my plan, I even lost another piece of equipment escaping!”
Cheng Zhao added—
“I met him too. He manipulated one mini-boss into killing another mini-boss and picked up the equipment right in front of me!”
A soft, seductive voice rang out as Siya slowly approached—
“I haven’t met him personally. But I met someone else and heard some information. If my guess is correct... the person you’re discussing also killed Cyclops.”
“What?! He actually managed to kill Cyclops?!”
“Who exactly is this guy? I’ve never seen him before. He’s definitely not from Main Planet.”
“How could a garbage planet contestant be that strong?”
Earlie sneered viciously.
“Let me run into him. Otherwise—”
Wanrenzhan spoke expressionlessly.
“He’s caused plenty of trouble at sea. Who knows how much equipment he’s gathered by now.”
“Just some lucky bastard.”
“I refuse to believe I’d lose to him in a fair fight!”
“Stealing equipment, killing giant fish, killing Cyclops... this guy’s strength is definitely extraordinary. And he’s ruthless.”
“The most important thing is—we don’t even know his background!”
Eugene looked deeply amused.
“For someone to make all of you suffer like this, regardless of where he came from, he’s definitely got some real ability.”
Above their heads, inside the tree hollow—
He Yu twitched his ears slightly while eating dried fish.
Nodding in agreement, he quietly muttered—
“Who are they talking about? Sounds terrifying.”
“There’s actually such a dangerous contestant in this competition?”
“I really need to be more careful.”