Surprise! The Supposed Talent Show Was Actually–?!

Chapter 51 - Little White Shoes

translator: xiin

editors: apricot & juurensha

There was a pleasant sound of a card being swiped through the charge machine.

Following that, the virtual scene changed. <Stress Training Instructions> appeared and was projected onto the holographic screen.

“Thank you for choosing the instructor supervision monthly package. Floating City’s XX Training Base is your faithful companion during your period of growth. The responsibility of the instructor includes caring for the student’s psychological state, guiding the student’s training, and providing the student with a sense of warmth. The responsibility for excess stress will be borne by the instructor instead of Party B (trainee)…”

“When the monthly card is activated, students will receive up to 8 hours/day of instructor guidance, and there is no prohibition in regards to giving the instructor any additional tips or service fees. Below is a list of recommended instructors for the month… A selection fee will not be charged for the first time (Good news, the selection fee for our gold medal drillmaster Instructor Arjun is half price for a limited period of time!) …”

Wu Jin read through it all with wide eyes.

Dozens of instructors were listed in the virtual space, including the familiar Instructor Arjun and the cold female teaching assistant from earlier. Beneath each profile image was a laudably high rating and the suggested tip amount. After adding the high guidance fee, a student’s credits would be hit extremely hard––

The screen snapped closed with a pop.

Wei Shi’s cold voice acted as a deterrent, “Who do you want to choose?”

Wu Jin stilled, then shook his head hard, “No, no, nobody…”

Wei Shi: “Come here.”

Wu Jin bounced up with a swish and stood upright across from Wu Jin.

Wei Shi ordered, “Sit.”

Inside the holographic training room, the soft, glue-like plastic resin that was used to simulate the terrain of the scenes gradually flattened out, making room for the two of them to sit down.

The man sat down casually, one of his long legs bending at the knee while the other stretched out casually. His smooth and shiny black army boots made Wu Jin unable to resist giving them a second look… He himself was wearing the basic little white shoes used for training, making the relative superiority and inferiority of their auras immediately evident.

At this time, the rest area that had been freed up was small enough to be measured in inches, and the two of them inevitably needed to sit close to each other.

Wu Jin tried to reduce the amount of space he occupied and looked brightly at the big boss, “Big brother, which learning point shall we start from…”

The man bowed his head slightly, and it wasn’t until Wu Jin’s small curls gradually stiffened that he finally looked away.

The laser pen pointed carelessly towards the instructor’s responsibilities on the projection screen. Wei Shi spoke as though it was a given, “Start with caring for the student’s psychological state.”

Wu Jin: “…!!!”

Wei Shi: “What do you know about stress training?”

Wu Jin squeezed out everything he knew, repeating what the teaching assistant had told him and adding in the team manager’s instructions from before. “… We can adapt to shock and mental resistance beforehand through simulating stressful environments, and change the extroversion of one’s character…”

The big boss made a sound of acknowledgement.

Wu Jin immediately went quiet, his head tilted up seriously as he prepared to learn.

“Stress training. Full name: Cognitive emotional control stress training.” Wei Shi introduced. The speed of his words was steady, yet powerful, “Back in the ancient Middle Ages, it was called ‘a brush with death’.”

Wu Jin’s eyes grew wide.

“Soldiers would experience great psychological pressure during wartime environments. Prevention is more efficient than providing intervention after problems appeared––however, it was banned by the Federal Human Rights Association 40 years ago.” Wei Shi said, “Because side effects occurred frequently. A vast majority of trainees couldn’t reach a psychological pressure resistance level of A or above.”

Wu Jin was a little relieved. Based on his personality evaluation, while he had an extroversion level of E, he had an A for his ability to resist psychological pressure. Then, he heard the big boss continue, “Also––”

Wu Jin’s ears perked up again.

Wei Shi glanced at him, “There was a lack of experienced training supervisors.”

Wu Jin blinked and quickly scurried over to the big boss’s side.

Wei Shi raised his eyebrows and let the rabbit spirit shuffle around as he liked, “There is no scene that will require stress training in the Crosson Show, which is one of the significant differences between it and the Star League. If your goal is simply to achieve your debut, I can take you back to the dynamic target training room.”

Wu Jin stilled. He only spoke in an embarrassed tone a long time later, “… I want… to become a league professional.”

Extroversion E, shallow experience, only two days of tactical foundation training, and a dynamic target shooting average of 7 rings. Even amongst the trainees, Wu Jin was at the bottom. There were only 10 debut positions in the Crosson Show, and competition would only become fiercer the further they progressed into the show. To talk about joining the Star League in a situation where he couldn’t even guarantee his debut––even White Moonlight Battle Team’s manager might not support Wu Jin.

However, the one sitting in front of him was the big boss.

Wu Jin had always had an extraordinary level of trust and honesty in front of Wei Shi.

Including being honest about his ambitions.

When he had first signed up to be a trainee, Wu Jin’s goal had been to become a top idol who could inspire fans. When he signed up to become a trainee a second time, his goal couldn’t be limited to merely achieving his debut.

It had been nearly two months since he’d accidentally transmigrated over. At first, Wu Jin’s purpose in participating in the show was to keep his job and not be sent to the mines, but two months later, his outlook had already changed a lot.

From the evaluation match performance to the extreme temperature map to the cellular maze; the guns had scared him at first, but later had become one of his most familiar companions.

If dancing the Crosson Show theme song fulfilled his dream of the stage from before he transmigrated, then the survival reality show had become the second stage that Wu Jin had unknowingly been influenced into yearning for. On the stage was an elaborately crafted game of survival and killing, and offstage was an audience filled with fans who cheered for him.

Wu Jin’s cheeks turned a little red as soon as he blurted out his goals, so he hurriedly added, “!! I mean, if I’m able to make a debut…”

A palm that was rough with calluses suddenly pressed down on the youth’s small curls.

Wei Shi tsked, “You’re a little too far off from a professional player.”

Wu Jin’s eyes immediately drooped, but then he heard the big boss continue, “If you train for another seven or eight months, it might barely be enough.”

The warm little curls beneath his palm suddenly rose up in joy.

Wei Shi casually tossed him the gun and gestured for the shocked rabbit spirit to go back to standing in the middle of the instance. He thought of something else, “Also, the purpose of stress training is not to change one’s personality tendencies.”

Wu Jin was stunned, “Then that extroversion E rating…”

Wei Shi raised his brows, “An E rating has its own way of playing. The purpose of stress training is to enable trainees to make rational judgements under extreme conditions. Step to the right.”

Wu Jin hurriedly stepped to the right and stood up straight. His mood, which had originally been a little depressed, seemed to have been magically lifted, and he couldn’t help but ask again, “Big brother, do I really not need to change…”

The youth’s face was a little flushed in the dim training room, and he looked uneasy as he held the gun, like a rabbit who had picked up a carrot but didn’t dare to eat it.

Wei Shi’s eyes remained narrowed for a long time. “No need. You are you.”

Wu Jin’s face immediately lifted up, exposing small white teeth in his delight.

Like a rabbit who had been given a stamp of approval.

Wei Shi’s eyes shifted slightly, glancing over the mark that had already disappeared. After using the healing agent, Wu Jin’s neck was pale, tender, and practically glowing, and no trace of the mark could be seen.

The man’s gaze wandered, and his gaze shifted away after a few moments.

When the indicator lights for the instance lit up again, Wu Jin was already fully armed and ready.

Wei Shi looked quickly over the terrible records he had previously achieved and gave him some tactical guidance, “Remember, your goal is to make logical judgements under stress. Stress training is not a physical fitness test. You can pause the instance at any time by looking in my direction.”

Wu Jin nodded repeatedly and then suddenly realized that that meant that big brother would need to stare at him the whole time… he felt so bad!!

Wu Jin hurriedly said, “Thank you, big brother, there’s no need…”

Wei Shi narrowed his eyes, “Or, do you want to prepare a safe word?”

Wu Jin didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary and looked blank, “What word? That should… be fine too.”

Wei Shi’s throat moved slightly.

Even before Wu Jin had time to figure it out, the instance <Aquila Constellation Zombie Tide> had started up again.

Perhaps because he’d been issued a rabbit stamp of approval, Wu Jin was much calmer than he’d been when he had been training alone.

He surpassed his record of 24 seconds, but was still unable to resist the fate of being surrounded by despairing zombies after 32 seconds. Wu Jin quickly looked towards the big boss––

The advanced zombie that was in the process of extending its evil hands toward Wu Jin froze in mid-air.

The man jumped down from the podium, his military cloak lifting in the chilly air. He dipped his chin and extended his hand to Wu Jin. It was like meeting a gaze of salvation amidst a group of bloody zombies with exposed flesh.

Wei Shi looked expressionlessly towards Rabbit Wu who had been bullied silly by the tide of zombies, “Standing position, center of gravity. Under stress conditions, the body will naturally adjust itself into a triangular posture due to muscle tension. Separate your feet.”

The man pressed against Wu Jin’s little white shoes with his army boots and indicated that he should move his right foot outwards.

The black chrome leather and polished rubber edge forced Wu Jin to slide back. The strong, aggressive aura made him unable to restrain himself from looking towards Wei Shi.

“Lean forward to counteract the recoil.” The man’s voice was deep, and the gun-callused hand rested on Wu Jin’s shoulder as he made adjustments.

Wu Jin was distracted as he responded.

Wei Shi suddenly lowered his head and spoke lightly, “Pay attention. Your vision should be used to anticipate the enemy’s position.”

Wu Jin, who had been staring at the big boss in a daze, suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly stood still.

It was dark inside the instance. The man was very close to him after correcting his stance, and his belt accidentally swiped against him as he turned sideways.

It was a cavalry belt made out of dark brown leather, with golden metal buckles. The side that wasn’t covered by the military cloak revealed a horseshoe knife, and beneath the metal and leather were straight legs that sank into army boots.

“Straighten your back.” The man’s slightly hoarse voice rang out from the side.

A blazing hot exhale landed on the youth’s neck, causing a physiological reaction in the form of a flush. Wu Jin straightened his back with a swish, and his gaze inevitably met Wei Shi’s.

His face was cold, his facial features knife-sharp and chiseled.

“Alright.” Wei Shi nodded, then tossed the rabbit spirit back into the middle of the instance before starting it up again.

The zombies charged over again.

Wu Jin was dazed for a second before reacting. His ears turned red uncontrollably.

Big brother… was really good looking.

Just…

Just…

There was a howl from behind him.

Wu Jin’s pupils contracted abruptly, and a virtual bullet shot past him. He rolled twice to the right to avoid the zombie attack, then pulled the trigger and quickly entered the right stance with his gun.

––He was disparaging himself internally the whole time.

A 1000 credits/hour guidance instructor! The big boss was also taking time out of his busy schedule!

Not only did he not pay attention, he also spent all that time staring at big brother!

It was simply too… too flippant, ahhh!

On the podium, Wei Shi’s eyes were dark. The lines at the corners of his mouth seemed to soften for a moment before turning cold and hard once again.

Half an hour later, Wu Jin finally became accustomed to the zombie scene filled with blood and bursting brains. His movements and judgement gradually came close to his dynamic target performance.

Wei Shi nodded with satisfaction and unhesitatingly switched to the next instance––a pale, tragically white ghost appeared out of the blue from the air behind the youth.

Wu Jin: “!!!”

His shooting accuracy dropped back down to the 3rd ring once again.

Wei Shi: “Remember, none of this can interfere with your judgement.”

Wu Jin panted hard. His heart had finally calmed down, but he still couldn’t bear to attack that terrifying, miserable ghost.

Wei Shi: “The difficulty of the stress instances isn’t any higher than that of dynamic training instances––think of the metal slime jellies.”

Wu Jin: “……”

Wei Shi continued indifferently, “Lively and cute.”

The ghost girl was killed off by the panting youth with a ‘bang’.

The scene changed.

Swamp crocodiles. Wu Jin used the strength of nine oxes and two tigers to escape. Alien invasion––twenty minutes later, Wu Jin kicked away the parasitic larvae that tried to burrow into his belly, covering his stomach as he finished the instance.

Two hours passed by in a flash.

Wu Jin went to the ground on one knee without waiting for Wei Shi’s instructions, supporting himself with the assault rifle as he closed his eyes, unable to prevent himself from gasping deep breaths––he had gone through almost all the horror films.

The virtual scenery finally disappeared.

Wu Jin forced himself to stand up, opening his eyes as he waited for the next battle. His mouth soon dropped open in surprise, his tense body finally relaxing.

The soft rubber floor gradually wriggled back to its original shape, and the space in his field of vision gradually brightened as the dim lighting strengthened, revealing the details of the training room’s specialized material, the weapons rack, the defense gear cabinet, and the podium over ten meters away.

Beginner training scenarios, all cleared.

The small round face lifted up quickly, so full of delight that bubbles of happiness almost started to appear around him.

Wei Shi raised his eyebrows and handed over some water and a recovery agent.

Wu Jin’s cheeks burned as soon as he reached out, his mind flashing back over the previous scene when big brother helped him adjust his positioning.

1000 credits/hour of instructor supervision was far more efficient than individual training. The big boss had extensive experience and could pinpoint his problems at any time.

Wei Shi watched quietly as Wu Jin gulped down the recovery agent, then gestured for him to extend his right hand.

“Heart rate 130 bpm.” Wei Shi asked him, “Still afraid?”

The man leaned over and looked expressionlessly at Wu Jin, his right thumb rubbing over the youth’s most vulnerable pulse point. The army boots were once again pressed against the little white shoes.

Wu Jin flinched back subconsciously, “… N, not scared…”

Wei Shi informed him, “140 bpm.”

Wu Jin shook his head vigorously, “… N, n, no! I stopped being scared after the zombies…”

Wei Shi: “149.”

Wu Jin’s ears turned red, and he didn’t even realize that his entire body was already pasted up against the wall. The man in front of him was both arrogant and domineering.

The army boots finally let the little white shoes loose.

Wei Shi nodded, letting go of Wu Jin’s right wrist. The laser pen pointed at the instructor’s responsibility section on the projection screen once again.

––“Providing the students with a sense of warmth”.

The effect was strangely good, it was just that the originally warm and toasty rabbit ball almost turned into a roasted rabbit.

Wei Shi glanced at the time, then pulled out a feedback form from the charge machine and handed it over for Wu Jin to fill in.

<Instructor Supervision Feedback (Required)>: Score 0~10.

––1. Care for the student’s psychological state.

Wei Shi quickly filled in a score of 10.

––2. Guidance of the student’s training.

Wu Jin wanted to fill in a score of 12!

––3. Provide the student with a sense of warmth.

Wu Jin hesitated briefly, but eventually wrote 10.

––4. Would you extend the service to a yearly package?

Wu Jin hesitated slightly, and the tip of his pen paused.

Wei Shi, who was analyzing the stress training records, seemed to sense something. His gaze, that brought no warmth with it, swept over, and his aura was like that of a destructive mountain storm.

He crossed his long legs, his army boots unceremoniously pressing up against the little white shoes again, exuding wanton deterrence, “Unwilling, hm?”

Juurensha: Nooooo, WS, Little Witch is probably just thinking about the cost!