Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Lu Chen furrowed his brows slightly. If he continued to follow Breaking the Ice’s creative model for this round, the process itself wouldn’t be an issue. However, the buildup of emotional value would likely take a significant hit!

After all, eating the same dish twice wouldn’t evoke the same excitement as the first time. Moreover, The Knockout and Breaking the Ice share a similar genre. One focused on anti-crime, the other on anti-drugs—the same category. Because the themes were so alike, innovation was key!

If he simply mapped Gao Qiqiang’s story using Lin Yaodong’s blueprint, it would dull the audience’s sense of novelty. This would weaken emotional fluctuations. And that, in turn, meant a direct loss in emotional value. This was a major headache for Lu Chen. After all, emotional value could only be obtained during the writing process!

This made it all the more precious. As the competition grew tougher, Lu Chen was certain that the cost of script exchanges would rise significantly. Given this situation, securing emotional value became even more urgent!

So, Writing The Knockout was crucial, no doubt. but maximizing emotional value was just as important. Besides, if the emotional value gained in the Top 16 round didn’t surpass that of the Top 32, it would feel like a failure to Lu Chen!

Now the question was—How could he take an alternative approach, using an entirely new technique to tell this story? That was the key issue he needed to tackle right now!

Just then.

“Creak!”

The surveillance system suddenly made a noise, interrupting Lu Chen’s thoughts.

“Attention, contestants! Preparation time is over! The competition officially begins now!”

“For this Top 16 advancement round, you will have five hours to complete your work!

Please manage your time wisely!”

Xiao Sa’s voice came through the surveillance system.

“Five-five-seven…”

Lu Chen blinked.

Five hours?

That was two hours more than before.

Looks like his guess was right!

Starting from this round, the show’s difficulty level had increased. It was safe to assume that the judges’ expectations would be higher as well!

No wonder the program team provided hot water and instant noodles. By the time this competition ended, it would be around 1 or 2 a.m. The instant noodles would make a perfect midnight snack.

Lu Chen chuckled at the thought—the show’s arrangement was considerate but not overly so. Meanwhile, in the live stream, hearing that the writing time had been extended to five hours, the audience was abuzz.

【Five hours? That’s a long time!】

【I have work tomorrow…】

[You people pull all-nighters for the World Cup every four years, but you can’t stay up for this once-in-four-years writing showdown?】

【You’re missing the point! The key takeaway is that the show’s standards have clearly gone up this round!】

【Exactly! The judges’ evaluation criteria will probably be stricter!】

【Hopefully, Chen Sicheng won’t embarrass himself again this round.】

【Hahaha, highly unlikely. Looks like he’s made it his mission to go against Lu Chen.】

【Shut up! Lu Chen is nothing compared to Director Chen!】

【Yeah! He’s a hundred-billion box office director! Lu Chen? All he has is Breaking the Ice! Y’all are way too excited over nothing.】

【Comparing Lu Chen to Director Chen is an insult to the latter’s status!】

【Agreed!】

【WTF! Why are there so many haters today?】

【Did Lu Chen accidentally poke a hornet’s nest of keyboard warriors?】

Lu Chen’s longtime fans noticed something strange. Why were there suddenly so many haters in the chat?

And why were they all mindlessly attacking him?

Little did they know—behind the scenes, Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei were also watching the live stream. Wang Zhongjun’s expression remained unreadable.

Beside him, Wang Zhonglei laughed loudly. “Brother, how’s that for an arrangement?”

Wang Zhongjun said, “Don’t be too obvious. We don’t want the production team to catch on.”

“Relax, brother. We hired professional water army companies—they know their limits.”

Wang Zhongjun nodded.

At the same time, inside a small office in Shanghai, a young man covered in dragon and tiger tattoos sat with his legs crossed, chewing betel nut.

He spoke into a walkie-talkie with annoyance.

“Tell those dogs to be more professional! Are they brainless? The audience says one thing, and they reply with ten insults. Can’t they at least act subtle? Be PROFESSIONAL, got it?”

“Understood, Tiger Bro.”

The voice from the walkie-talkie quickly responded. Tiger tossed the device onto the table and muttered, “What kind of show makes you watch at least 60% before letting you rate it? Damn it, we only got paid 100K for this gig—it’s a loss!!”

Five hours of content meant at least three hours of work.

…

Back at the production team’s headquarters.

Inside the judges’ room, Liu Heping and the other judges had taken their seats. As the competition officially started, the first thing they did was check the live streams.

Without a doubt, they clicked on Lu Chen’s Room #4 first. Seeing Lu Chen lighting a cigarette leisurely, just like last time—both Yan Geling and Shu Ping chuckled knowingly.

Liu Heping remained expressionless, but his eyes stayed locked on Lu Chen. As for Chen Sicheng, he sat silently in the corner, showing no expression either.

“Judges, how do you think Lu Chen will expand on this story?”

Xiao Sa seized the moment to start an interview session.

“Shu Ping, you first,” Yan Geling said and smiled.

Shu Ping smacked his lips.

“Honestly? I have no clue. Compared to the previous round, this one is definitely harder. Because ‘village’ as a theme is very broad in screenwriting. You can write about village romance, village life, rural crime, or even war stories…”

Chen Sicheng’s heart skipped a beat.

Was Shu Ping taking a jab at him?

“But ‘fish vendor’ as a theme is different—it’s specific. It can be a male or female fish vendor, an old fish vendor, or even a child fish vendor. But no matter how you change it, the story must be character-driven.

The key lies in the depth of the character itself. In short, whether this round’s stories are good or bad depends entirely on how well the fish vendor is written. This will truly test the authors’ skills!”