Chapter 153 - 153: The Person Behind This Must Be Extremely Powerful

Yun Wu was already making her way over to ask about the situation.

Lin Shanchu just stood aside. She casually looked around and spotted Wen

Tongtong, full of worry.

Wen Tongtong was Sang Min’s ultimate fan.

Lin Shanchu stared at her as she tried to recall the plot of the original book.

However, there were very few plotlines in the original book related to SOF.

It was probably because the entertainment industry had a relatively minor presence in the book.

“What’s Sang Min’s ending?” Lin Shanchu asked the System.

The system gave a very slow response:

[Sang Min is a character unrelated to the main storyline. His outcome will not have any impact on the plot.]

“If you don’t know, just say it.” Lin Shanchu mocked.

The system could not stand this blow to its intelligence, especially since it had just been freshly updated. It blurted out:

[He’s dead.]

The shock from hearing that jerked Lin Shanchu’s head up to look toward Wen Tongtong.

Although she wasn’t one to chase after idols, she understood how impactful they were to everyone else.

Feeling Lin Shanchu’s gaze, Wen Tongtong met her eyes.

“When did you get here?” Wen Tongtong hadn’t noticed Lin Shanchu’s arrival earlier.

“Just a moment ago,” Lin Shanchu replied.

“A while ago, there were media reports about Sang Min having a terminal illness, but Sang Min had specifically released a medical report just to refute those rumors…”

Wen Tongtong continued with a sad smile, “Lin Shanchu… do you think he’ll be alright?”

Lin Shanchu just stood in silence with an emotionless face.

“What’s with your expression?” Wen Tongtong’s face gradually grew pale.

Lin Shanchu’s voice sank, “Life is unpredictable. Birth, aging, sickness, death… they are all normal occurrences.”

Those words weren’t very consoling.

Wen Tongtong frowned and said, “Don’t be so pessimistic.”

In the next second, someone yelled, “The results are out!” The entire screening room bustled with noise.

“Sang Min died!”

“How is that possible? This is a f * cking rumor!” “It’s the news released by SOF’s official account.” The whole room fell dead silent.

Wen Tongtong looked at Lin Shanchu in disbelief.

And soon, the sound of sobbing slowly echoed throughout the screening room.

The hashtag #SOFCaptainSangMinDiesDespiteRescueEfforts went viral.

Sang Min’s fans flooded the official accounts of SOF, demanding the truth.

SOF’s official account had already issued an emergency statement in the early hours.

But the announcement only mentioned that Sang Min’s cause of death was cardiac arrest.

To find out more about the details, an autopsy report was required and to get an autopsy report, they needed the signature of one of his family members.

Sang Min’s family was already on their way back from China.

So, tonight was destined to be a sleepless night for both the entertainment industry and its fans.

Regardless, the trainees were escorted by the staff back to their dorms to rest. Upon their return to their dormitory, Lin Shanchu noticed that Yun Wu’s eyes

were red and swollen.

A few of her roommates were also huddled together, crying.

Lin Shanchu was the only one in the entire room who didn’t shed tears.

She poured a glass of water for Yun Wu, and without saying much, climbed into her bed to sleep.

The next morning, Lin Shanchu woke up to find Sang Min’s name no longer on the trending search list.

She took out her phone and scrolled through the rankings, but Sang Min’s name was nowhere to be seen.

The captain of a famous international boy band suddenly died, how could such explosive news last only one night?

It’s barely even been twelve hours.

Lin Shanchu scavenged through several other social media platforms but didn’t find any topics related to Sang Min’s death as well.

Not only were there no related topics but there were also almost no related discussions among the netizens.

Someone was manipulating everything behind the scenes.

There were plenty of people in the entertainment industry who played this game.

Lu Shiyuan has removed Tang Qidai’s name from the trending list countless times.

However, whether it was Lu Shiyuan or people from the entertainment industry, they have never handled things as cleanly as these people did with Sang Min.

There was almost no trace of him at all.

She couldn’t even find anything on the search engine.

This wasn’t just a matter of having money.

The person behind this must be extremely powerful.

Lin Shanchu remembered the system saying that Sang Min’s ending would not affect the plot.

However, the main storyline had already started to change because she was aware of this.

Was there a possibility… that she was the main character and all the things and people she encountered would be connected to the main plot?

Lin Shanchu had a feeling that Sang Min’s death would potentially introduce new variables.

Since she could not discuss anything related to the plot with the others, she only told the system about her thoughts.

The system agreed with her:

[Theoretically speaking, that’s true. However, the fact was that SOF did not have a sense of existence in the original plot. They were only briefly mentioned and their settings were set to be similar to NPCs in games.]

Even after saying so much, the system still didn’t say anything about Lin Shanchu’s speculation that SOF was related to the main plot.

Lin Shanchu was getting a bit frustrated, “Alright, stop talking.”

Why was it always so difficult for her to communicate with the system?

Sensing Lin Shanchu’s change in mood, the system did as it was told.

After contemplating for a moment, Lin Shanchu spoke up.

“We’ve been together for so long and still have difficulty with communicating and establishing trust. I don’t think there’s a need for us to cooperate anymore.”

[Huh???]

Lin Shanchu continued, “Since you were able to bond with me, there must be a way to unbind yourself.”

[You want to break our bond?]

“Or maybe I can switch to a different system.” She had endured this useless system long enough. It had accomplished almost nothing except acting like it had a serious mental illness all the time.

The system was panicking so much that its response was a mess:

[That’s not possible. I can only un-unbind once I complete the mission. Only by completing… the task can the binding be lifted. M-My mission is to achieve a grand finale with a happy… ending.]

Its mechanical voice sounded like it had an unstable electric current, causing its speech to be choppy.

It sounded a little pitiful.

But Lin Shanchu didn’t feel sorry for it.

“What if you don’t complete the mission?” she asked.

[Then you will be punished within the book.]

Lin Shanchu felt a little disappointed, “Hmm, I thought you would just explode.”

The system sounded the alarm:

[Danger!]

Lin Shanchu coldly snorted, “It’s not too late for you to think of a way to remove this bond. Better start thinking of a way starting now!”

She had never promised the system that she would help it achieve a grand finale with a happy ending.

She didn’t even plan to survive until the grand finale.

Lu Shiyuan must die!

Even if they were to perish together.

He must die!

The popularity of “My Stage” had been completely suppressed since the disbandment of SOF and Sang Min’s death.

Plus, many of the trainees were saddened by the incident with Sang Min and were not in a good emotional state. So, the production crew made an exception and gave them three days off.

During this break, they also had a team-building activity.

The canteen hosted a hotpot meal for everyone so they could eat together.

Thankfully, once their break ended and the results of the rankings were released, the trainees felt much better.

However, the number of eliminations this round was the highest.

A total of twenty-eight people were eliminated.

Among them was Ning Yunxi.

She burst into tears on the spot and said, “Huhuhu- Finally, I’ve been expecting this day.”

Although she was always emotional, deep down she was very clear-minded.

She knew her skills weren’t strong enough to make it to the finals.

Comment section:

[She’s crying again…]

[Ning Yunxi has been incredibly lucky to come this far. Why isn’t she satisfied?]

Surprisingly, when it was time for her to deliver her farewell speech, Ning Yunxi stopped crying.

She began, “I believe at this moment, there are surely many people commenting ‘Ning Yunxi, you’re incredibly lucky to have come this far’…”

Comment section:

[Has Ning Yunxi been spying on the comments?]

[Bahahahaha! This hit my funny bone..]