I Accidentally Became A Superstar - Chapter 238

Chapter 238: Scaring Zeno (2)
Zeno walked like he had night vision.

No, scratch that.

He moved like someone who designed the maze, casually turning corners, ducking under props, and stepping over loose floorboards like they weren’t even there. The helmet cam tracked every smooth motion. It was hard to believe he was navigating the course in complete darkness.

– Nah how is he MOVING like he can see??

– Did he upload a map to his brain?

– He got that daredevil echolocation on lock.

Even the production crew was confused when it first happened. Gene PD had turned to his staff and asked if one of the lights was accidentally turned on. However, that wasn’t the case.

“Huh,” Gene muttered, caressing his chin. “What kind of qualifications does Zeno actually have?”

Another ghost actor emerged from behind a foggy curtain, dragging a fake axe and groaning ominously. He reached out for Zeno with a bloodied hand.

Without pausing, Zeno reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a hot pack.

He handed it to him.

“Your hand’s freezing,” he said, not even looking as he passed him.

– SORRY HE DID WHAT?

– HE JUST GAVE HIM A HOT PACK???

– This man isn’t scared. He’s a concerned citizen.

– The actors need a union to deal with him.

– I think the actors are slowly falling in love. I can’t blame them. I am too.

Mission after mission, it was like watching someone check off a grocery list. One riddle, one logic puzzle, one lockbox after another—all handled like he had all his senses. In the span of three minutes, he had cleared three new missions.

The frequencies were getting harder and harder to hear, but Zeno managed to go to another one.

“Give me four prime numbers between 300 and 400,” he read.

Zeno stood in front of it. One hand on his hip. The other raised to adjust the strap of his helmet.

– Men are sexy when they think.

– So, men don’t think naturally?

– Idk. My husband doesn’t.

“307, 311, 337, and 383,” he said after a few seconds.

Correct.

Another green light blinked on.

Those in the waiting room were handed drinks as they waited for Zeno to finish.

“Do you think he’s going to be okay?” Minjae asked in a semi-teasing tone.

Mandy shrugged. “The questions were harder than I thought.”

“Hmm,” Minjae hummed. “So, you didn’t get all of them then.”

Mandy raised one brow. “Why did you come to that conclusion?”

“You wouldn’t have said that if you didn’t struggle.”

Annie shook her head. “These people are scary.”

However, what she didn’t know was that there was a scarier person who still wasn’t with them.

Zeno stood, calculating the points he had garnered.

Seven missions. Forty-four points out of the possible fifty-five. Four minutes left.

He easily had time for another one. Heck, he could breeze through the other problems within that time. There were still some frequencies he hadn’t gone to.

The camera shifted behind him as he turned in place slowly.

He stood in silence.

– HELLO??? ZENO?

– What is he doing?

– I think he has answered a lot, but they didn’t reveal it all.

– Do something.

However, at that important moment, Zeno just… sat down.

He lowered himself onto an empty spot on the floor, crossed his legs, removed his helmet—letting his damp hair fall forward a little—and exhaled.

– ????????

– BRO YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES LEFT

– GO FIND SOMETHING ANYTHING

– IS HE MEDITATING??? HELLO????

The silence was brutal.

Even the chat fell quiet for a moment.

“He must be having a hard time answering the questions, huh?” Jenny muttered in the safe zone. “I would have breezed through them if the place wasn’t so gross.”

The others burst into laughter.

Ari bit her lip to stop herself from saying anything. It seemed they were hellbent on making Zeno into the weakest member. The worst part was she couldn’t blame them. She didn’t know what to think of him.

Bacon PD, on the other hand, stayed silent. He didn’t want to give anything away—especially not that he only scored from a single mission because of his fear.

After a while, the doors finally opened, and Zeno was revealed, appearing more composed than some of them had expected.

“How’d it go, Zeno?” Billy lightly asked, appearing concerned. However, deep inside, all he wanted was to know about Zeno’s points.

Zeno pursed his lips. “It was hard to look for the questions,” he said.

Billy patted his back. “It’s alright. I also didn’t get to answer all of the questions.”

Zeno merely nodded and took his seat right next to Annie. He wanted to see if she was the one who smelled like a Rennis. However, much to his dismay, the scent was long gone.

“Congratulations,” Lucy suddenly said, startling the contestants. “You have completed the first official mission. How was my surprises?”

“We hated it!” Jenny exclaimed.

Lucy didn’t react. “Now, I said a while ago that gathering the most points is the most important. Why? Because only the one with the biggest value gets to eat.”

“Only the value of the first-ranked person will be revealed. Congratulations to…”

“…Mandy!”

They turned to the lawyer, who wore a proud smirk. Minjae pursed his lips while the others congratulated her through gritted teeth.

Zeno nodded in satisfaction.

“She had answered nine questions, except for the one wagering ten points.”

“Woah,” Minsu muttered. The others also turned to her with slight amazement. Still, they didn’t want to put her on too high of a pedestal.

“Nobody probably answered the ten-point question,” Minjae chimed in, despite being a mathematician himself.

“Yeah,” Annie said, tucking her hair behind her ears. “The equation was too long.”

“Yeah, nobody got it,” Mandy smirked, looking around.

– Crap.

– Zeno’s not speaking.

– Really, he’s so scary.

– I don’t know whether he’s smart or just clueless.

– I feel like I’m one of the contestants in the show.

– Zeno got it right, you idiots! Stop looking down on him.

“Mandy, you will be granted the chance to eat,” Lucy continued. “However, as I said in the very beginning, the stakes for first place are very high.”

“You eat and thrive, or you get greedy and go home.”

“This time, it will be a group eating.”

– That sounds… off.

– Ooh. An orgy?

– What is this now?

“Mandy, you will split the nine people into two groups, one that will include you.”

“The sum of all the values of those people in the group will be added up. The group with the higher value is automatically safe.”

“If you, Mandy, pick the good group, the person with the very least points from the losing group will go home. However, if you choose a losing team, then you will go home.”

– Maybe becoming first place wasn’t good after all.

– You win and go home? That’s brutal.

“But, of course, as first place, you have an advantage,” the cunning voice continued. “We have nine contestants. An odd number.”

“Therefore, you may choose four other people to be on your team.”