Chapter 193: Intentional or Accidental? Punishment Game!

Not to mention Bai Ling and the others, even the audience in the live streaming room were completely dumbfounded, feeling utterly shocked by the difficulty of these questions.

They even tried cheating by searching online, but it took a huge amount of time, and there was no guarantee they could get the correct answers.

Let alone Bai Ling and the others.

Of course, there was another matter worth discussing.

That was the cultural standards of the entertainment industry.

The vast majority of artists in the entertainment industry entered university through specialized art examinations.

As for the scores required for art exams, those in the know understand.

When it comes to general academic subjects, it is completely different from normal university students.

This inevitably leads to a considerable number of "illiterates" existing within the entertainment industry.

Giving such questions to the guests—was this not deliberately making things difficult for them?

It was no wonder the audience in the live stream were complaining.

"Is the production team completely planning on not letting them pass?"

"This doesn't seem right. Looking at the live feeds from both sides, they both seem to be completely stuck."

"Actually, Bai Ling and Zhuge Ming are relatively well-read, but these questions are just too obscure. They probably have nothing to do with what they studied."

"Production team, I just want to ask: was this intentional, or a mistake?"

"It's probably intentionally disguised as a mistake to make it harder."

Shortly after, they realized the production team's true intention.

After both sides failed to clear the first stage, the host's voice rang out.

"Challengers of both teams, some of the challenges in today's episode are quite demanding."

"Considering that sometimes, even hard work might not crack them, today's episode offers an alternative choice!"

"Truth or Dare!"

"Both sides can choose either Truth or Dare. As long as you complete it, you will also obtain the key to the next stage."

Bai Ling and the others froze.

"This production team is going too far!"

"We will not yield!"

Li Zhuowen shouted without hesitation.

Gu Fengtong at the side offered a helpless smile, "We've been stuck at the first stage for so long. Why don't we just yield?"

"Director, I choose Truth!"

The host continued over the broadcast, "If you choose Truth, a single question must be answered by all four team members."

"The first question is: Have any of you undergone plastic surgery or minor cosmetic enhancements?"

The people who were just complaining about the production team's malicious intentions suddenly fell silent.

"Good lord, turning up the intensity right on the first question?"

"Asking people if they've had plastic surgery? They're playing big."

"What is the director up to?"

"That question isn't very easy to answer, is it?"

Most performing artists face a recurring question:

Do they need plastic surgery to change their image?

After all, if you want to become a household name, appearance is an obstacle that cannot be bypassed.

Especially female artists, who form the highest-risk group.

The vast majority of female artists have undergone minor adjustments, which even altered the trajectory of their stardom.

However, naturally, they would keep such things hidden.

The excuses they usually gave were mostly along the lines of "the makeup and styling back then were terrible," "the styling was bad and the hairstyle made me look ugly," "although I looked awful at twenty-four or twenty-five, I grew into my looks by twenty-six," or "I really just got braces"...

The vast majority of these reasons would make anyone burst into laughter upon hearing them.

Faked at first glance.

There were even some who practiced self-deception, calmly declaring, "I was just born with natural beauty" or "I've always been this handsome," even after being exposed or presented with concrete evidence.

In short, this topic was relatively sensitive.

However, in the early days, before the mainland's entertainment industry had fully developed, back in an era when everything leaned towards the entertainment industry of outer regions.

Insiders of that circle back then were actually not very evasive about this matter.

After all, most artists who broke out back then had genuine substance.

This was precisely why some people nowadays decry the uniformity of today's domestic entertainment industry, whereas those outer regions back then possessed distinct individuality.

At the same time, various variety shows in outer regions were quite bold.

All sorts of high-stakes games and uninhibited conversational content.

This resulted in the entertainment variety shows of that era delivering the most dazzling program effects in the outer regions.

Many people had already dug up the fact that the director of *Happy Challenge* was actually a director who had helmed various variety shows in outer regions during his early years.

Now, they finally understood why today's episode had such an explosive effect.

"Good grief, the highlights of this episode have suddenly arrived."

"I'm somewhat curious about what kind of stunts this director is going to pull next."

"Hahaha, I thought it was a bit boring at first, but suddenly it got exciting."

"Truth is starting! Let's see how these people answer!"

Bai Ling had nothing to hesitate about.

"There isn't a single artificial part on my entire body."

"Pass!"

She was full of confidence, having never even bothered with braces.

Zhuge Ming was the same, "Me too."

He was just a writer; why would he bother with such things?

Li Zhuowen and Gu Fengtong hesitated slightly.

"Fixed my teeth."

"Got double eyelid surgery."

Neither was a particularly serious matter, so they could bring themselves to say it.

Everyone suddenly felt a sense of disappointment—not sensational at all.

Moreover, they could tell that these two weren't panicking much, and it didn't seem fake.

The Truth segment concluded, and they secured the key, unlocking the secret room door and advancing to the second stage.

In the second stage, several tree branches were laid out before everyone.

"The condition to clear the second stage is to use one tree branch to prop up the other three. As long as you can sustain it for ten seconds, you pass."

Zhuge Ming and the others pulled bitter expressions.

"Director, you did this on purpose, didn't you? You never intended to let us complete the challenge at all."

"Is this steering us toward Truth or Dare?"

Using a single branch to prop up three others and holding it for ten seconds—the difficulty of this was outrageous.

They were artists, not acrobatic masters!

Over at the production team's monitoring room, the director and staff were already beaming with joy.

That's right!

Over the past few episodes, the shows had been conducting challenges in a proper, straightforward manner.

Watching too much of that inevitably grows tedious, so since this was a special episode, they naturally had to shake things up with some flashy tricks.

High-difficulty challenges combined with high-stakes penalty games.

Only then would it be interesting.

Coupled with Bai Ling's immense internet traffic, wouldn't this episode explode in popularity?

At this moment, the production team was already preparing the second round of Truth or Dare.

No matter what they chose, it was bound to entertain the audience.

However, just as Zhuge Ming and the others were complaining and grumbling,

Bai Ling had already stepped forward and picked up the branches.

Then, she began fiddling with them.

"Playing with balance? I'm an expert."

Holding the first branch, she used its tip to brace the middle of another branch. At the point of contact, Bai Ling vertically placed the third branch down.

Finally, using the center of gravity of the fourth branch, she rested it horizontally atop the vertical branch.