pjbooks Chapter 122 The Stinkfish Team? Are you being polite?
Chapter 122 The Stinkfish Team? Are you being polite?
Chapter 122 The Stinkfish Team? Are you being polite?
"Oh my God, am I hallucinating? How much was that golden-haired girl talking about in shopping vouchers?"
Jimmy's mouth gaped open; he couldn't believe the number he had just heard.
"One hundred thousand US dollars, bro," Ma Jie repeated.
"A generous crab deal!" He jumped up excitedly. "My goodness, how am I supposed to manage this huge sum of money? What should I buy to spend so much?"
His loud shouting immediately drew the attention of those around him. Seeing this, Max raised his hand and smacked him on the forehead: "Jimmy, did you forget to bring your brain with you today? You need the team's total popularity votes to get the shopping voucher. Don't you listen to the rules?"
"I heard that." The kid looked serious. "With Jack's extraordinary eyesight and my god-like looks, shouldn't all the audience members be sending their tickets?"
"Hard to say," Fiona remarked from the side. "Unless everyone watching the live stream is gay. Of course, there's another way: have Sandy stand in front of the camera and play a stripper."
"Fuck you, Fiona!" Hearing her idea, Sandy raised her middle finger high: "If you ever dare to talk about me again, I'll knock you out and sell you to India, so you can experience what it's like to have five husbands at the same time!"
"Oh shit, shut up, you bitch, listen to the rules carefully."
In the video, Grace quickly switches between cards: "OK, without further ado, before we officially enter the treasure trove, let's get to know the four teams this season."
"They are the No-Money Team, led by Playboy Thomas. According to the information I have, the annual family income of any member of the team is over $500 million. Yes, you heard right. These rich sons of bitches are here to show off their superiority. If they are not restricted, they may buy all the lockers behind me and end the game early."
"So here I am going to announce the rules for the first day of the competition. Listen carefully, no matter how much cash you bring, the total expenditure for each team is fixed at $10,000."
"In addition, to increase balance and fun, the production team has tailored a unique skill for each team. The skill of the 'Rich Guys and Rich Girls' team is 'Foolish and Rich,' which passively increases their funds by 30%, meaning they will use $1.3 to participate in the treasure hunt."
After Grace finished her introduction, the large camera crane went directly to the No-Money Team. The scene showed three men and two women standing there, dressed in all sorts of top-of-the-line luxury goods.
The camera panned across them one by one, and each of them happily struck a cool pose and blew kisses.
"Okay, next up is the second team, the Desperate Housewives team led by full-time mom Hailey. The combined age of the five members is over 200 years old. They come from wealthy families, are still attractive, and don't have to worry about work. But beneath their seemingly perfect lives lie untold secrets: some are divorced, some are emotionally distressed, some suffer from insomnia, and some are on the verge of bankruptcy."
"But their presence here today means all their troubles have been left behind. Come on, sisters, get your wallets ready, sharpen your eyes, be quick with your hands, ride the waves, and show your true selves!"
"As an all-female group, the Desperate Housewives team's skill is 'Return if Not Satisfied,' which, as the name suggests, allows them to unconditionally return the warehouse they have already won in an auction. This skill can only be used once."
Just like before, make a couple of gestures in front of the camera, and that's it for the introduction.
"Okay, the third team is the treasure appraisal expert team, which was formed by our old friend Duncan Morton. To be honest, I was against the production team doing this at first. After all, any one of these five old men is at least a pawn shop owner and an expert appraiser. They have professional eyesight and bug-level bargain-hunting ability. It's like an amateur league has been mixed with a powerhouse team."
"But that's okay. Even the best donkey can slip up with age. Even Warren Buffett has suffered huge losses. Rules are meant to be broken!"
"As professionals, the Treasure Appraisal Experts Team's skill is [no skill]. We appreciate their concessions and understanding towards their opponents."
The camera then pans to five old men with expressionless faces. Well, the production team is really good at creating drama; after all, those two skills they mentioned earlier sounded incredibly cheesy.
According to the skill description of "Foolish and Rich", the starting capital increases by 3,000 dollars. If you are lucky, you can open at least 2 to 3 more storage lockers, which greatly improves the margin for error.
The "return if you're not satisfied" policy is also quite disgusting. It means that they can ask for prices without restraint. If they make a profit after opening the box, they can keep it; if they lose money, they can return it. This increases their tolerance for mistakes and can also interfere with their competitors.
"The last team!" Grace's voice rose several decibels as she said this, after all, it was the highlight of the season: "The lousy team led by professional scavenger Jack!"
Huh? Upon hearing the team name, all five were dumbfounded... Is this any manners?
"As far as I know, all five members of this team come from homeless camps. They are homeless, live a life of hardship, and rely on SkidRow for food and scavenging for cans to survive. In the face of life, they are undoubtedly temporary losers, but today, they have staked everything they have on a crazy gamble with fate. I think this is their only chance to touch wealth."
"Whether it's a matter of life and death or just bad luck, don't leave, let's witness it together."
"As homeless individuals, the 'Stinky Fish and Shrimp' team's skill is [War Plunder], which allows them to take the winning bidder's locker for free after any auction ends, without incurring any consequences."
As soon as Grace finished speaking, the scene erupted in chaos, with the live stream chat filled with "???" comments.
Thomas from the "Not Short of Money" team was the first to jump out in protest: "Protest! This skill is way too overpowered, it's practically cheating!"
"Exactly, how are other players supposed to play like this?"
"God help me, please don't try to steal mine."
Seeing that most of the others also held a skeptical attitude, Duncan spoke up: "Ms. Grace, are you sure you want to arrange it this way? In my opinion, this is not a skill, but a superpower."
Logically speaking, a professional shouldn't be arguing with amateur players about these things.
But he had just had a conflict with Ma Jieke and was afraid of being targeted without reason.
After all, his team lacked skills and could only win by relying on their eyesight. What if he spent a lot of money to bid on a locker, only to have it taken away by him through a free purchase? What would be the point of playing then?
Although it's just an entertainment variety show, who would want to lose, especially when they lose to a homeless person and it's broadcast live to a national audience?
Grace didn't expect such an unexpected turn of events, but her years of experience told her that she couldn't let the players lead the way at this point; she had to be the one in control of the pace.
So she immediately changed her approach: "Okay guys, since you've raised objections, I'll definitely enforce the rules fairly and give the choice to the viewers. Next, let's have a live stream poll. If you support the 'stinky fish and shrimp' team keeping their skills, please type '1'; if you don't support them, please type '2'. Voting is limited to one minute. The countdown has started."
Upon receiving Grace's instruction, Jimmy quickly pulled out his phone and entered the live stream, frantically spamming "1" in the chat box.
"What? What are you all standing there for? We're all going to lose our eligibility for free purchases."
Jimmy couldn't understand why his teammates were so indifferent.
Ma Jieke couldn't hold back any longer: "Dude, I think Max's right. You really didn't bring your brain with you today. Take a closer look at how many viewers are online. That's 300 million, not 300. 5 votes are enough for what?"
"Wow, why are there so many people typing '1'?"
"Because they love a good show." Ma Jie didn't even bother to check the vote, so the result was definitely a secret weapon.
The reason is simple: what the audience wants is entertainment value. Such an incredible skill shouldn't be voted out; it doesn't make any sense.
Sure enough, after one minute, the page showed that 70.7% of the viewers chose to support keeping the skill.
Another 29.3% of the audience had a more traditional mindset, believing that since it was a competition, fairness should be the priority.
In Ma Jieke's opinion, this skill is a bit overpowered, but it's far from being something that everyone hates.
Does stealing an expensive locker guarantee a huge profit? What if the winner is incredibly unlucky and spends 3,000 to open a box only to find a few hundred dollars worth of loot? That would greatly diminish the impact.
Moreover, who to target and when to launch an attack are also very important. You can't just go after the weakest team, you have to at least use it on the team with the closest profit margin.
Seeing that the die was cast, the opponents could no longer complain. This was the choice of the masses, and continuing to make trouble would definitely damage their public image. After all, this is a variety show, and everyone wants to show their best side in front of the camera.
Once your popularity increases, you will naturally receive invitations from other program teams.
Los Angeles is a very inclusive city, which makes people respect each other.
With the director's permission, Grace immediately turned on her headset: "Alright, the disagreement has been resolved. Now, everyone, get to your positions."
"In the square behind me, there are a lot of private storage lockers piled up. They were abandoned by their original owners for various reasons, and the storage companies have no choice but to transport them here in order to recover the rent."
"These storage containers will now be auctioned off publicly. Before you enter this room, please keep the following rules in mind."
"The staff will open the storage locker. You will have five minutes to observe it. You cannot go inside or touch any items. Whoever offers the highest price will own it."
"Well then, fellow treasure hunters."
"Are you ready for the hunt?"
"Let me hear your screams!"
"Oh!" The entire audience raised their hands in unison.
As the dialogue progressed, the chains on the iron gate were torn off by the staff, who then pulled the gate open to both sides.
"GO! GO! GO!"