The Voices of Arc City!!
This was the very first large-scale, mass-entertainment program in human history since the Great Eruption!
To soothe the wounded hearts of the people in this post-apocalyptic era, and to reclaim the glory of the once-golden age!
The Voices of Arc City would conduct open auditions across the entire city!
Six audition venues would be established throughout Arc City, providing all participants with top-tier audio equipment.
Furthermore, ultra-popular characters would bypass the auditions entirely, meeting everyone directly on the grand online stage to perform!
And the biggest bombshell of all: in addition to these highly anticipated performers, authoritative judges would be present on-site!
This program is proudly sponsored by the Fire Moth, highly recommended by the Overseer himself, broadcast live across all of Arc City, and features a public voting system!
Come! Cast your crucial vote for the voice you love most!
"Pfft—"
In a cleared-out room on Level -10 currently serving as a rehearsal studio, Shu took one look at the logo on the Schicksal Intranet—a microphone gripped tightly in a fist—and spat a mouthful of water directly across the room.
"Cough, cough—" He successfully managed to choke himself.
By the way, Shu had already completed his avatar design, and he was currently using said avatar to execute the spit-take.
"Waah!" Kiana, who had been walking past him, leaped to the side with lightning speed, narrowly dodging Shu's "sneak attack."
"What are you doing?!" Kiana quickly checked her clothes. Confirming she hadn't been splashed, she looked at Shu helplessly.
Shu's current appearance was undeniably eye-catching. One had to admire his aesthetics; the face he had sculpted was absolutely, breath-takingly stunning.
Innocent? Seductive? Cute? Divine?
Kiana couldn't find a single specific word to describe that magnificent face. God only knows how long Kiana had stood there, completely frozen, the first time she saw the final result.
Beautiful. That was the only evaluation anyone could give.
It was a shame this wasn't a black-and-white world. When it came to eye color and hair color, everyone still held subjective "biases" toward certain combinations.
Not everyone loved the white-hair/red-eyes aesthetic, but absolutely everyone would stare blankly at the pure geometrical perfection of that face's rendering.
Stats. That face was pure, unadulterated stats.
It was exactly what you would expect from the final result of Shu spending several days meticulously polishing it using pure "feeling" and imagination.
In contrast, the color palette for the entire body felt a bit... lazy.
Aside from the red eyes, the first outfit Shu had prepared for this body consisted of a pure white, ultra-long trench coat over a pair of simple, short shorts, leaving a pair of slender, long legs exposed.
But they weren't completely exposed. The connoisseur, Kiana, instantly spotted the subtle ingenuity hidden within the outfit.
Because he absolutely refused to wear a skirt, he chose short shorts to replicate the visual silhouette. But because that exposed too much leg, he made the trench coat exceptionally long—so long it could easily cover the legs entirely.
If you weren't looking straight at her from the front, you couldn't even see those pale legs. You could only see the tantalizing curve of the slender waist.
So white.
Ah, no, that statement was referring to the clothes... Yes, the clothes. Only the clothes.
Speaking of the clothes.
Don't let the monochromatic palette fool you into thinking the outfit was sloppy compared to the magnificent face. It only looked plain because the face was too powerful.
Even though Shu had only used white as the primary color, the exquisite details on the trench coat were clear.
Perfectly placed patterns, an incredibly tailored cut that actually accentuated the figure, and countless small accessories and straps—it didn't look monotonous in the slightest!
And then... the most important point. The point Kiana was the most, most, most dissatisfied with!
In fact, it was a point almost everyone was dissatisfied with!
Shu's avatar was completely flat!
Ruined! The entire design, completely ruined!
A design that should have scored 129 out of 100 was instantly docked down to a 99 by this single, baffling decision. A literal fallen angel.
"Where did your big sisters go?" After offering the evaluation of "beautiful," Kiana—and literally everyone else who had seen the design—asked Shu this soul-searching question.
Shu's answer was simpler and more brutal than anyone expected, making it impossible to refute.
"I can't adapt to that heavy, unbalanced feeling," Shu replied, completely serious.
"Really?" Kiana and Mei simultaneously puffed out their chests, looking at Shu earnestly. "It's not that heavy, is it?"
Bronya didn't say a word, but her silence felt like a barrage of incredibly dirty insults.
It's fine. I'm only fourteen. I'm only fourteen, Bronya repeatedly hypnotized herself.
She had seen the canon lore. She knew exactly how "magnificent" she would become in the future. Just give it eight years, and no one would be able to mock her anymore.
Thinking this, Bronya turned her head and saw Seele quietly assessing her own assets. Bronya instantly deflated.
Then, Shu silently showed Bronya another image, delivering the final, fatal blow.
"Actually, in another universe with the Honkai, you look like this," Shu said, pulling up the image of the GGZ era Bronya.
This piece of "unofficial history" made Bronya's eyes roll back into her head, and she practically fainted on the spot.
No! Bronya refuses to accept that her future looks like this! Bronya refuses to accept that she only grows taller and nothing else!
Bronya... Bronya is facing the greatest crisis of her life!
"Um... if Sister Bronya doesn't start resting properly, she might actually end up malnourished," Seele whispered softly, seizing the moment of Bronya's profound psychological vulnerability.
Eek—!
Bronya didn't know what other dangers staying up all night posed besides hair loss, but that didn't stop her from feeling sheer, unadulterated terror.
Bronya needs papaya milk! Bronya needs to sleep well!
Bronya absolutely refuses to end up like that!!
Watching Bronya's absolute despair, Kiana hugged herself in lingering fear.
After the initial uproar, no one brought up Shu's "flat" decision again. The face was simply too pleasing to the eye; it was perfect as it was.
Back to the present. Having dodged Shu's spit-take, Kiana leaned in close, curious to see what had caused Shu to lose his composure.
She looked left and right but couldn't spot the problem. She turned her confused gaze back to Shu.
Shu waved his hand and wiped the water from his chin. "It's nothing... just a weird sense of déjà vu... Look at the list. Look at the roster."
Below the massive promotional banner, several pre-approved contestants were listed. These were the "rivals" they would be facing on the online stage.
"Let me see who's on it... Hmm?" Kiana took one look, and her expression instantly twisted in horror.
[Kira's Star - The Snowwolf Idol!]
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