Thug and Idol: 10X Rewards Second Identity System

"Alright. If I become a winner, I will be interviewed a lot, and I don't want that. My parents might even force me to go somewhere without headphones. But I don't want anyone to become suspicious that I gave up so suddenly."

Tristan nodded.

"This round of the contest wasn't the real final round. Just play at your worst for the next thing, and it will be alright. Then I will give you the money. Well?"

Angelo tilted his head.

"I can't tell when people are being dishonest. If you trick me, I will tell the public about this conversation, so you better not trick me. Even without proof, it can cause a scandal for you."

Tristan only grinned and offered his hand for a shake.

"I don't know what to think about you, but it's a deal."

Angelo didn't shake it.

"I don't like touching people."

Without another word, he went into a bathroom stall, leaving Tristan alone.

'What a weird man!' Tristan thought again and left the bathroom.

***

Half an hour later.

After a short break for judges to discuss the results, all contestants were invited to the stage again. Left and right, people were anxiously chewing their nails and lips, hoping and praying to achieve victory despite all odds.

Only Tristan felt and acted calm.

Although he didn't know what challenge he was about to face, he believed in his ability to rise up to it, no matter what it took.

And of course, there was also Angelo—still a stone statue.

All contestants stood in a line in front of the table with judges, who sat with mysterious expressions on their faces.

"Now, it's time to announce the winners of… semi-finals! Yes, you heard it right. This year, the Californian Young Star Contest has an extra surprise round!" the host exclaimed from his place to the side.

The audience and the participants were equally shocked. Many gasps flew from the crowd, and Tristan, too, feigned surprise.

"But before we get to it, the judges will eliminate ten participants out of twenty standing on the stage. Please, call out their names!"

One by one, the judges called out the names of the failed artists and gave an overview of their flaws. One by one, the failed artists left the stage.

Soon, only ten people were left, Tristan and Angelo among them. Others were also pretty talented, but not as much.

"Now, I will explain the rules of the next round! The name of the game is, 'Instant Songwriting'. Right now, all finalists will be led to isolated rooms, where their instruments were already moved to. There, they will have exactly half an hour to write an entirely new song on a given theme. This song will decide the ultimate winner!"

A young woman on the left of Tristan gasped in disbelief.

"W-what? Just half an hour? But it's impossible to write anything! We will basically improvise on stage!"

Nearby, another finalist, a pale because of anxiety teenager, began shaking like a leaf.

"I can't do it… I can't," he muttered. "C-can I go home?"

There were more reactions like these: shock, disbelief, fear.

'Yes, if I didn't bribe him, Angelo could've been a serious opponent right now!' Tristan thought. 'Among his unreleased songs, surely there is something that fits the theme of the round. Someone like him definitely could've just played it by heart.'

"If you want to forfeit this round, please come down from the left side of the stage. But don't you want to try doing your best?" the host said theatrically.

Tristan could already imagine how all this drama would look on TV. The contest makers clearly chased the TV ratings.

"I can't… This won't work," the shaking teenager said.

With head bowed low, he left the stage in shame. A moment later, the girl who performed first left as well, sniffing in her fist.

"If these are all who's left, then let our special guest, Ms. Mary Jade, announce the theme!"

The beautiful woman stood up and lifted her microphone.

"The theme of your song will be… Christmas." She smiled. "It's almost here, so this is how we are going to celebrate tonight."

***

The room Tristan was brought into looked like a side-lounge, except someone brought his guitar here and set it up with an amplifier. A staff member sat near a door, making sure no one was cheating.

To Tristan's delight, the contestants were allowed to take snacks from the waiting room into their isolation. The contest began in the morning and now went way past lunch.

Tristan sat on a couch, nibbled on a candy bar, and thought about his song.

Sketching something in half an hour wasn't a problem. He had 1234 songwriting points—he could just improvise!

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'But I want to sweep the TV viewers from their feet when the recording of the contest airs. I better go overboard!'

He pressed some buttons on his status panel.

[Ding!]

[Songwriting skill increased from 1234 to 1724.]

And Tristan still had 540 Pop-star Points left.

'That's better. So, Christmas?.. Heh, a Christmas carol in a rock genre sounds like fun.'

He began strumming the strings, sketching a melody and improvising basic lyrics, when the door to the room flew open and a man stepped inside.

Startled, Tristan plucked a string wrong, making it make an ear-grating, sharp noise.

"Who are you? Wha—Mmf!"

In the brief moment Tristan spent to turn toward the door, the man grabbed the attendant and pressed a chemical-smelling cloth to his nose.

A second later, the attendant became limp, put to sleep by the chemical.

And at the same time, Tristan himself was limp with absolute shock and alarm!

The shock made Tristan so slow to react that when he saw the man drop the attendant and pull out a gun with a silencer instead, he barely felt his 'Bullet Time' talent activating.

Because the man in an American dad's clothing and a baseball hat who pointed a gun at Tristan was Hugo Martinez.