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Saturday. The show Comedians was finally on air.
Eight finalist teams were on stage.
Each team would go through two rounds of competition, and the combined score from both would determine the winner.
The highest score takes the championship title!
Now, Kyle had the system. He wasn't short on money—what he lacked was exposure.
The Comedians show ran for ten episodes total: five for auditions, three for eliminations, and two for the finals.
Just enough to fill the summer break.
At the moment, the three mentors were doing the opening performance on stage.
"Da-da-da~ uh-huh~ hey-there-folks~"
Matt was doing a clumsy clapper talk (kuaiban), fumbling the rhythm, barely making the wooden clappers sound.
"Comedians~ are full of cheer, I clap this beat to spread some cheer~ Look left, friends! Right, family! Applause all around, flowers fall gracefully~"
His warm-up act barely got polite applause from the audience—mostly because the camera was sweeping across the crowd.
'Seriously? This is worse than some street performer. It's not fast, not sharp, totally awkward. Let someone else do this!'
One viewer from Chicago rolled his eyes and grumbled in his mind.
After the recent meeting, the attempt to blacklist Kyle and Mia hadn't worked out—and instead, many places even encouraged public oversight and suggestions.
Still, Matt wasn't worried. He had connections in the entertainment world.
With all the disciples and followers he had, if each spat once, Kyle would drown.
So, on the livestream, a flood of shameless praise came pouring in:
"Master is truly a master. That performance was on point!"
"If only clapper rap had a level 11, Matt would be in a league of his own!"
"Seriously, look at that slick tongue— even the legendary Stone couldn't beat that!"
"With Matt in the arts scene, it's really a new era of performance!"
"Our president! Without his skills, how could he dominate the scene?"
"He's my master, and you can just see the skills!"
But before long, some honest comments started slipping into the bullet chats:
"Dude, we said post, not expose! You're giving it away!"
"Giving it away? Senior Clay, how? What did I say?!"
Logan, watching the video, couldn't take it anymore. He saw all these veteran performers pretending to be random viewers online, sucking up to their masters and elders.
"You guys… you're all Matt's students and grand-students, aren't you?"
"Hahaha, what a bunch of clowns."
"Great at bootlicking, not so great at being subtle."
"I'm dying—are these people new to the internet or what?"
"When old folks try to act like the younger crowd, it just ends up weird. Just like Matt."
After those comments, the cliques stopped posting and started looking for other ways to promote him.
After Matt's trainwreck performance ended, Nick came onstage in a suit.
Holding a mic, he sang with confidence:
"Snow~ falls gently~ cold wind howls~ the land~ is vast and gray~"
"A lone~ plum blossom, blooming in snow~ just to leave a scent~ for my beloved~~"
It was a classic song from one of his films, and the audience cheered wildly.
As he sang, the curtain slowly pulled back to reveal Ashley, wearing a gorgeous gown and dancing gracefully.
Compared to Matt's amateurish act, Nick's was solid, and Ashley's dance was straight-up stunning.
Kyle watched her elegant movements and couldn't help wondering—Ashley was beautiful and had great character. Why'd she marry a guy like Lucas?
Ding!Super Comedy Overlord System Mission Released:Please choose one of the following movies and invite Ashley to co-star!
Lost on Journey – Choose this film to earn a 50 million Dollar bonus and gain the performer's skill set!
Crazy Stone – Same bonus, same skill reward!
Out of the Dark – Same bonus and reward!
Huh? What's this?
A movie shoot? Sweet!
But asking Ashley to play a role… that's tricky.
Ashley's a big star. Her schedule's not packed, but since she's dating someone, she avoids certain kinds of roles.
And I'm just a rookie. Asking her to be my leading lady? Yeah, that's probably pushing it. She'd think it was beneath her.
But the system only said to invite her to "co-star," not necessarily be the lead.
If she just made a cameo or took a supporting role, that might be doable.
Of the three options, Lost on Journey had the fewest female characters—just a girlfriend, wife, and a random student.
From an investment standpoint, Lost on Journey had the best return, followed by Crazy Stone.
Out of the Dark actually lost money, and horror flicks are hard to get approved anyway.
So the real choice was between the first two.
Both stars—Mason and Owen—were top-tier actors. But Owen also had directing experience, which Kyle really needed.
So he chose Task 1: shoot Lost on Journey.
Low budget, relatable story, and the star's skills were well-rounded.
While Kyle was picking his mission, Comedians was already underway. Since Kyle and Mia came from the wildcard group, they were scheduled last.
Normally, performing last is a big deal—for singing or dancing.
But for comedy? Not so great.
By then, the audience has already laughed a lot, so it's harder to make them laugh again.
If you don't top what came before, people just go, "Eh, not that funny."
It's like when a boyfriend says "I love you" before marriage, it's sweet. After marriage? It's suspicious.
"Hey, Teacher George, Teacher lee, would you mind helping us bring the instruments on stage later?" Kyle asked politely.
They had too many instruments today—it wouldn't make sense to put them all on stage ahead of time. That'd kill the comedy setup.
"No problem. Just give us a signal when you need 'em," George smiled. "By the way, you're not doing satirical comedy today?"
As a stagehand, he had some idea of what each act involved.
Kyle and Mia's satirical sketches had been a huge hit the past two rounds. Even the higher-ups didn't block them—in fact, they encouraged more like it. So now lots of teams were jumping on the satire bandwagon.
But today, Kyle and Mia had brought in a sanxian, guitar, and traditional drum—full-on old-school performance gear.
"Nah, we're just showing off some classic comedy skills today," Kyle grinned.
Mia had quickbeat clappers in her pocket, all ready to go.
"Are you sure about this? There's not really a punchline in the routine."
Mia was nervous. The piece Old Tune, New Song was good, but it had a slower pace—not exactly a laugh riot.
"Relax. After too much spicy hotpot, people want some cold cucumber to cool down. They'll enjoy it. And it's fine if we don't win. We're planning to open a studio anyway. All we need now is some face time."
Kyle wasn't worried. Just by showing up, he'd earn another ten million.
Plenty of startup capital. With Mia on board, taking over the entertainment world would be a breeze.
"Worrying won't help now anyway. Man, Kyle, ever since you got rich, you've gotten way more confident!"
Mia was a little envious. Kyle thought it over—yep, money really does give you guts, no matter the gender.
Ding!**Your account has received a transfer from Account 532. New balance: .35 Dollar.
Mia was practicing her lines when her phone suddenly read the bank message out loud. She nearly jumped.
"This account? You sent me ten million?!"
Her jaw dropped—she couldprobably fit two steamed buns in there.
"Yep. Technically we earned it together. Now you've got peace of mind too."
Thanks to the system, Kyle didn't lack money. One performance meant big bucks.
"What? No way. I'll send it back to you right now."
Mia was honest—she didn't want to freeload.
"No need. We're opening a studio, right? This can be your investment. Anyway, it's almost showtime."
She tried to argue, but Kyle cut her off.
"And now—our final performers: Kyle and Mia with Old Tune, New Song! Give them a big hand!"
As the host finished, the audience cheered. Every act today had been bold and cathartic.
Poking fun at scalpers, crazy bride prices, unfinished housing projects—nothing was off-limits, and the crowd was loving it.
"Old Tune, New Song? Sounds like they're ditching the satire this time. The name feels very traditional," Nick thought to himself, surprised.
Every creator had their specialty, and satire was definitely Kyle and Mia's strong suit. Choosing a different style now was unexpected.
"Wait... the word 'song' is in the title. Are they gonna sing and dance?" Ashley picked up on something.
Matt raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"Old tune? Singing old songs in a new way? That's such an outdated gimmick. It's just mixing opera style with pop lyrics—so what?"
He wasn't wrong. But when it comes to performance, no trick will work without real skill behind it.
Back home, in front of TVs and phones, viewers finally relaxed.
The previous acts had been heavy—more rage than laughter.
"Kyle, Mia... I've got high hopes for you two. Please don't be as bitter and intense as the last few acts."
As the introduction ended, Kyle and Mia stepped onstage, bowed, and got ready to begin.
"....."