"That gray-haired girl is the heiress of the Mushroom Group. An agent approached me, saying that if I cast my vote for her, I would receive 100,000 gold coins after the competition. After being out here for so long, the most I've ever had on me was only 10 gold coins. With that amount of money, I could return to the village."

"So there are already interests entangled behind the competition?"

Shami frowned, not expecting Theo had made such underground deals with others.

However, the fact that Theo was willing to tell him this showed that Theo indeed considered him a buddy.

Theo sighed.

"That's how the competition is... Otherwise, I would have voted for number 8. Number 8 is truly the most capable contestant. — Although it somewhat goes against my conscience, the offer is just too tempting..."

Theo said slowly.

Shami immediately recalled who contestant number 8 was.

The 200-pound, 1.5-meter tall, African-American, lesbian, vegetarian, environmentalist, animal rights activist, openly LGBTQ girl.

Number 8 was indisputably a rigged contestant, specially selected by the organizers to the finals to avoid backlash from niche groups.

After entering the finals, the public's aesthetics weren't swayed by extremist groups, and number 8 remained unpopular.

If Theo voted for number 8, it wouldn't greatly impact the competition, and the four girls could still secure the top four positions through audience votes.

But as for contestant number 9, it wasn't as certain. The gray-haired girl was quite a pretty one, and if Theo voted for her, it might change the outcome.

Shami couldn't let the finals' outcome be altered, so he gazed sharply at Theo.

"Don't let a little money blind your eyes, Theo."

"I got it. But I could share 10,000 gold coins with you."

Theo looked earnestly at Shami.

Shami was touched for a fraction of a second by Theo's sincerity.

Darn it, now is not the time to discuss money sharing!

Shami righteously moved forward, shaking Theo's shoulders.

"Theo, do you think reaching the finals is easy? What about the other nine contestants on the stage? Are you willing to abandon fairness and justice for your own benefit, turning all their efforts into nothing?"

Theo also fell into contemplation.

"Why nine?"

"That, you needn't concern yourself with."

"Theo, I know what kind of person you are, don't do something that goes against your heart."

Shami used his silver tongue, giving Theo some motivational words, and bumped Theo's chest with his fist.

Having spent so much time together, even though his usual behavior was egregious, Shami knew Theo still retained a bit of humanity.

"Follow your heart, Theo. Think about it, if the other contestants were the village widow and the young lamb, what would your choice be..."

"I can't even imagine such a scenario!"

The intermission ended quickly.

Shami and Theo returned to their respective seats.

Seeing Theo deep in thought at the judges' table, Shami knew his persuasive words had worked.

As the finals entered the latter stages, everyone gradually voted, and the contestants' popularity began to diverge.

The four girls' popularity quickly surged ahead, but the other girls silently pursued.

——

A teleportation gate slowly appeared in the woods on the outskirts of Saint Karno City.

A figure over two meters tall slowly walked out of the teleportation gate, and the moonlight passing through the treetops gradually fell on the figure, revealing the very masculine pink skin.

The pink minotaur stealthily surveyed the surroundings, then gestured behind him.

Soon, hundreds of minotaurs emerged from the teleportation gate, creating an extremely bizarre scene.

"Does everyone remember what I said?"

The pink minotaur stood in front of the minotaurs, reiterating the reason for coming here.

"We are here this time to vote for the most beautiful demon girl, Lureya! Everyone, don't wander around later; listen to my instructions, and absolutely stay quiet. Do you understand?"

"Moo!"

The minotaurs responded in unison, their voices shaking the sky, startling the birds throughout the woods.

The minotaurs hugged each other.

After a while, there was no further commotion.

"Fools! Use your brains a bit! Fortunately, the teleportation point is far from the city; otherwise, we would have been discovered."

The pink minotaur scolded the others, but didn't over-criticize his peers. After a few reminders, the minotaurs donned pre-prepared black robes and slowly headed towards Saint Karno City.

——

Tonight is the carnival night in Saint Karno City, and the whole city is engulfed in the joyful atmosphere of the idol contest.

The city of Saint Karno is brightly lit, and people occasionally come to the voting stations set up along the streets. Unlike buying voting crystals, coming to the voting stations to vote doesn't cost money, making it the top choice for many free supporters.

In the suburban area of Saint Karno City, a small voting station stood lonely in the darkness.

This was a voting station very far from the city center, resembling a newsstand, with only one girl in charge.

A girl with many freckles on her cheeks sat inside the voting booth, bored, resting her chin on her hand, looking into the night outside.

"This place is already beyond the suburbs; it's more like the countryside... Not a single voter has come until now... Honestly, no one even lives around here..."

"Carrying this completely unnecessary manual is useless..."

The girl was complaining, tossing the employee manual on the ground when a gust of cool wind blew in.

The girl slowly lifted her head to look outside.

A group of tall figures in black robes slowly stepped out from the darkness, arriving in front of the voting station, and under the station's lights, the girl saw the rough arms of these nearly three-meter-tall figures, like small mountains of muscle.

Whoa! A fitness fanatic meetup?

Shami had provided many magical creatures with human language packs, so they could understand their situation if they were ever tricked and to identify their captors.

The pink minotaur slowly spoke.

"Is this the voting station for the idol contest?"

"Yes, it is."

The girl nodded.

"We want to vote."

The pink minotaur looked at the girl, and at that moment, a gust of wind blew the pink minotaur's robe open, revealing his entirely pink muscles.

Oops, I've been seen!

The pink minotaur panicked internally.

The girl's expression only briefly changed, then quickly calmed down.

"Come forward then; each person can only vote once."

The pink minotaur was slightly surprised and pointed at himself.

"Um..."

"Ah, if anything made you misunderstand, I'm sorry, but I completely respect such things. Whether you like being a furry or a tattoo free spirit, our event organizers fully respect your personal choices."

"..."

The pink minotaur touched his horns and his pink skin.

"Also, I don't like big muscular guys. If you try anything funny, I'll press this button, and it'll directly alert the authorities."

"We're just here to cast our votes."

Realizing the girl hadn't discovered their demon identities, the pink minotaur lined up his minotaur warriors, and they began voting.

"Is it true each person only gets one vote?"

"Of course. Unless you're not human, and the voting crystal misidentifies, then you might get a few extra votes."

"Oh..."

——

Inside the stadium.

The popularity of the four girls initially increased steadily, but due to some unknown external influence, their popularity surged rapidly, quickly surpassing the others.

Shami was very nervous.

He too needed to cast his crucial vote.

Looking at the four girls, he was torn.

Right now, voting for anyone seems unfair to the other three, but not voting would waste an opportunity.

"Sorry, Lureya is a fool; I'd better give her a helping hand."

In the end, Shami cast his vote for the flat-chested blonde.

Amidst the cheers in the stadium.

The finals gradually approached its climax.

There were only fifteen minutes left until the end of the popularity voting.

Currently, the popularity rankings were roughly:

Lureya, Lina, Saili, and Elze, the four demon envoy girls, were in the lead with tied popularity scores.

The remaining normal contestants had varying popularity, but were way behind the top four girls.

The number 8 rigged contestant was at the bottom.

Bone Frame: 0

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