Chapter 165: The Semi-Finals End, the Loser's Tragedy

Meanwhile, on stage.

The other three contestants were still writing furiously, and the big screen began to play the show among the three of them in rotation.

After recalling Su Xinghe's story, the judges and the audience gradually turned their attention to them, hoping to find works that could match his.

"Contestant No. 4 feels a bit exhausted. Although the story idea was very impactful at the beginning, it became more and more bland as it went on."

"Is this a clueless thing?"

Jiang Tao glanced at the image of contestant number four captured on the big screen. He was holding his forehead with his hand, brows creased in thought, and couldn't write a single word for a long time.

"This contestant is quite interesting. The protagonist is actually a tenacious ant. He dared to find a new way in the semi-finals. His courage is commendable."

Chen Kaige said, "However, his creative ability seems unable to support this inspiration, which is a pity."

Jiang Tao nodded in agreement, and when the story of contestant number three, Sun Changqing, was shown, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"This guy is good, the storyline and plot are very stable."

After a closer look, he generously commented and praised:

"The protagonist is a young and promising CEO of a listed company, but he is betrayed by his girlfriend, who leaks core business secrets, and then is pulled down from the altar by his competitors."

"He went bankrupt three times. The worst one turned his hair white overnight. His parents couldn't stand the pressure from the creditors and both jumped into the river."

"Faced with this darkest moment in his life, he never lost faith. Instead, he abandoned his dignity and did all kinds of dirty and tiring work at the bottom of society in an effort to repay his debts."

"If he can pull off a great comeback later, this story won't be bad."

"Don't you think it's a bit cliché?" Chen Kaige asked with a slightly frown.

After these words were spoken, the other judges were obviously stunned, and then seemed to be thinking about something.

Thirty seconds later, Liu Ciping seemed to have discovered the problem and began to explain:

“Although the story is clichéd, Sun Changqing’s writing is very powerful, and the daily life and plot twists are always refreshing.”

"This is his strength, and if you look closely, the story is also very fascinating and can be regarded as an excellent work."

"Xiao Liu is right," said Mr. Jin, agreeing, "He excels in storytelling ability, not the story itself."

As soon as Mr. Jin spoke, he basically set the tone for the debate between the two sides.

Chen Kaige once again looked at the big screen, read it carefully, and said, "Looking at it carefully, it makes sense."

[“Sun Changqing has always been very stable.”]
[“Although he is much worse than Su Shen, he is much better than the No. 4 player.”]
[“Yes, I quite like his writing style. The emotions are delicate and full, the characters are vivid, and the sense of substitution is very strong.”]
[“But to be honest, this male protagonist is really miserable. He was pushed into the abyss by the woman he deeply loved. He lost everything, including his parents. How painful it must be for him.”]
[“It’s probably comparable to Viego losing Isolde, but even so, he still held on and didn’t choose to sink into negativity.”]
"Hey, it's Han Sinian's turn!"

"Oh, him. I've read his work before. It seems that he imitated Su Shen's worldview and wrote a story about a magical explorer."]
"I've seen it too, and I can only say there is a difference, but it's not big."

"I am really impressed. We are already in the semi-finals. How can such a person still exist? He is not an innovator. Who asked him to imitate?!"

"Su Shen's fantasy world is very popular. He may be trying to attract more traffic, or he may be trying to defeat magic with magic."

"Since you have made a name for yourself with this kind of world setting, why can't I?"

As soon as Han Sinian's story came out, it immediately caused an uproar.

The story takes place in an exotic desert in a fantasy world, where the protagonist is a magic explorer searching for ancient tomb ruins.

According to legend, this desert is the burial place of mutated ancient gods who once received blessings from heaven.

Because the explorer protagonist's hometown was invaded by foreign monsters, ordinary people were unable to resist and were massacred.

Seeing the crisis of genocide approaching, the explorer protagonist comes here to seek the power of the ancient gods with the hope of all mankind.

At first glance.

Isn't this just a replica of Shurima in Runeterra? A desert land, buried fallen gods, and a void invasion.

Seeing this, the four judges looked at each other, not knowing what to say. In the end, Liu Ciping made a few simple comments and talked about the plot.

“The setting is borrowed.”

"But the subsequent story is original. This explorer discovered a peerless magic weapon, but he couldn't take it away after trying hundreds of methods."

"It's been months, failure after failure, try after try."

"Time was running out, and the dry food and water he brought with him had all been used up. He was already on the verge of collapse, and his life was almost over."

"But in order to save all mankind, he is still doing his best and never giving up."

At this point, Liu Ciping felt something was not right. He stopped to think for a moment, then frowned and said, "It's a bit off."

Chen Kaige chuckled: "I've been talking about it for a long time, and you just realized it!"

Liu Ciping still frowned: "Although the tone is right, there is still a difference between perseverance and standing firm."

"It's definitely off the mark." Jiang Tao sighed, "Ah, I was quite optimistic about him, but I guess he will be eliminated in the semifinals."

It's already 10 o'clock in the evening.

As contestant No. 4 left his seat with a look of regret and annoyance on his face, the entire semi-final story creation phase ended.

The four contestants were now invited to the center of the stage, waiting for their scores and rankings.

After a while.

The host Sa Xiaoning entered from behind the scenes to host the final stage of the game.

After going on stage, he first looked at Su Xinghe, whose expression was calm, and then looked at the other three people who were sweating profusely.

"After three hours of fierce competition, I'm sure all the contestants are exhausted both physically and mentally."

"We won't talk much anymore. We are about to enter the elimination phase of this round."

"So, who will be the finalists to compete for the championship and runner-up?"

"Now, please invite all our judges, guests, and audience friends to give your scores to the four contestants."

Sa Xiaoning's words fell.

Personal photos of the four contestants appeared on the big screen, and at the bottom, a line of words "Final Score" was displayed.

It's different from before.

The scoring rules for the semi-finals are based on the quarter-finals, but the fixed score for the champion has been removed and the weighting has been re-placed in the hands of the judges.

About a minute later.

Statistics end.

"Now--"

"Contestants, please turn around."

Following the host's order.

The four contestants slowly turned around and saw their final scores.

No. 1 contestant Su Xinghe: 9.56 points

No. 2 contestant Han Sinian: 8.82 points

No. 3 contestant Sun Changqing: 9.24 points

No. 4 Wu Gang: 8.17 points

(End of this chapter)