The Story About How I Was Fired From My Company and Then Picked up by a Possessive Streamer With Over 5 Million Subscribers - Chapter 171-172

Chapter 171: Ranking Check Part 2

“Alright, let’s move on to the next challenge! This time… it’s this!”

In the center of the screen, the next challenge was displayed.

It was labeled as a “Music Check,” and instead of food, four headphones were prepared. Additionally, the screen showed details about the singer, specifically about Rinmei, also known as Scarlet.

“Right now, she is attracting a lot of attention as a songstress with her exceptionally rare voice! She is a music YouTuber affiliated with Able—Scarlet! Everyone, you will be listening to her song, Blue Marine!“

“…Mm. My song… Liana, my voice is transparent. If you focus on that, you’ll be fine… Vui.”

“S-Scarlet-chan…! Even if you look at me with such expectant eyes, that pressure is too much…”

“Karen, you understand, don’t you? If you get it wrong, I’ll beat you up.”

“Hmph, don’t worry about it, Aoi. I’ll pull this off flawlessly.”

“Scarlet’s song…! I listen to it all the time, so there’s no way I’ll mess this up!”

“Oh my, how reliable~ Fufu.”

“I’ll win this for this guy… So just sleep and watch, Ren! Witness the moment of my victory!”

“Everyone seems to be expressing their determination. It’s great to see such enthusiasm!”

“…I just realized—Ren-san, is she okay? Doesn’t she look like she’s about to die?”

Manaka narrowed her eyes with concern as she watched Ren, who seemed on the verge of passing out. However, time continued to move forward.

KANNA, Liana, Rigel, and Karen each sat in their designated seats and put on the headphones placed on the table.

“The participants can’t hear this, but we’ll reveal the answer to the viewers in advance!”

“A is Blue Marine sung by an AI imitating her voice. B is Blue Marine sung by Scarlet herself.”

“Technology these days is amazing. They can make a voice sound just like the real person.”

“Well, I think there are still some distinct features, though. Alright then, let’s get started!”

With the signal to begin, the music started playing in their headphones.

The AI’s singing voice, designed to replicate Scarlet’s unique characteristics, was created by the cutting-edge tech company, the Kō Group.

Because of this, even those who regularly listened to her songs found it difficult to distinguish between them.

As proof, after listening to both A and B, Kanna had a deeply troubled expression.

The other three also furrowed their brows or had question marks in their heads, each reacting differently. But none of them looked completely certain.

“Alright, everyone, you’ve had a chance to listen. That was tough, wasn’t it?”

“By the way, we also let Scarlet listen to it briefly. What did you think?”

“…Indeed, for an ordinary person, telling them apart would be difficult… But if you listen closely, you can tell.”

“I see. That’s expected from the one who composed it. Well then! Let’s have everyone give their answers!”

Everyone’s expressions looked uncertain. That’s how difficult the challenge was.

Then, at Soji’s signal, everyone revealed their answers.

“…Oh?”

The answers were…
A: Liana, Rigel, Karen.
B: KANNA.

Surprisingly, everyone except KANNA had chosen A, the AI-sung version.

Seeing this, KANNA, unaware of the correct answer, turned pale. Meanwhile, the other three let out relieved sighs or suddenly acted overly confident.

“KarenNNNNNN!!!! How could you get it wrong!? And why do you look so damn proud!? That’s infuriating!!”

“…Too bad…”

“Oh my, it seems KANNA is the sole winner. Fufu, what an unexpected turn of events.”

“……”

“…Hey, shouldn’t we wake Ren up? She seriously looks like she’s dying over there.”

“A-Ahaha… Well, I think she’ll be fine. Now then, let’s reveal the correct answer to everyone!”

After learning the correct answer, KANNA let out a deep breath of relief, muttering, “T-Thank goodness…”

Meanwhile, the rest either got beaten up or desperately apologized, each reacting in their own way.

And just like that, the ranking check continued smoothly… leading to the final stage.

—

Chapter 172: Ranking Check – Final Part

“Alright, the Ranking Check – Able – has finally reached its last stage! Now, let’s take a moment to review the results so far.”

With that, the results up to this point were displayed on the large screen in the center.

Rigel & Ren Pair: Just a regular streamer

Karen & Aoi Pair: Third-rate streamers

Scarlet & Liana Pair: Second-rate streamers

Sakurin & KANNA Pair: Third-rate streamers

“The pair in the lead right now is Scarlet and Liana. They only got one question wrong—impressive! Maybe their strong area came up?”

“Personally, I’m concerned that not a single first-rate streamer is here… but oh well, it can’t be helped! Now, for the final challenge… here it is!”

As soon as the announcement was made, an eerie background music filled the venue, and unsettling words appeared on the screen.

Seeing this, Aoi and Liana turned pale. They prayed their worst fear wouldn’t come true… but reality was merciless.

“Everyone, you’ve been listening to music and eating bizarre foods, so you must be feeling a bit tired. That’s why our staff has prepared something for you! A horror movie!”

“Wait a second—AAAAHHH!!!”

Aoi’s scream echoed throughout the venue, loud enough to be called a full-blown shriek.

Hosts Souji and Manaka tilted their heads at her reaction.

“? What’s wrong, Aoi-san? You seem extremely distressed.”

“N-No way!? I knew we were watching a movie, but I didn’t hear anything about it being a horror movie!”

“Well, of course not. We just announced it now.”

“Because it’s way more entertaining this way.”

They responded with smug expressions, watching Aoi, who had turned completely pale, as if enjoying the spectacle.

Meanwhile, Liana, seemingly unable to accept reality, rolled her eyes back and collapsed limply.

“!? R-Liana?”

Scarlet, who was sitting beside her, called out, but there was no sign of Liana getting back up. Seeing this, KANNA and Sakurin chuckled awkwardly, while Karen… had eyes brimming with madness as she looked at Aoi.

“…Isn’t it great? A horror movie. I can’t wait.”

“You just want to see my reaction, don’t you!? Ugh… I hate this so much…”

Eventually, Aoi started crying.

By the way, most of the viewers watching through the screen were grinning at Aoi’s reaction.

“Since this is the final challenge, we’ve prepared three horror movies.”

“They are divided into three categories: A horror movie acclaimed as a masterpiece, a B-grade horror movie with a niche fanbase, and an amateur horror film that our team spent hours creating.”

“You all have to pick the horror masterpiece among them. As a side note, if anyone picks the amateur horror film we made… they will be deemed completely worthless and will be banned, no exceptions.”

“…Hearing that just made me sad, Oniichan.”

“Alright, let’s begin! This time, everyone will watch together and decide. Do your best!”

Aoi, or rather Sayaka, could protest all she wanted, but the plan was already set. And so, they proceeded to watch the movies.

◇

~Movie A~

“”Kyaaaaaaaaahhh!!!””

~Movie B~

“”Uwaaaaaaaaahhh!?””

~Movie C~

“”Gyaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!???””

With that, the movie screening came to an end…

“Ugh… hic… that was so scary…”

“G-Ghosts… I don’t believe in them… ahaha… ahaha…”

Aoi broke down in tears, and Liana turned into a broken toy, both of them losing the light in their eyes.

It took a while for them to recover, but eventually, the four pairs gave their answers.

KANNA & Sakurin’s answer: B

Their reason: “It felt intense♪”

Liana & Scarlet’s answer / Karen & Aoi’s answer: A

Their reason: “Anything’s fine…” and “All of them were scary…” spoken weakly.

Rigel & Ren’s answer: C

Their reasoning seemed unanimous: “It has to be this one!”

With all answers submitted, the correct answers were revealed.

A: B-grade horror movie.

B: Masterpiece horror movie.

C: Amateur horror film.

Thus, KANNA & Sakurin, who chose B, were correct, while Rigel & Ren, who picked the amateur horror film, were mercilessly banned, disappearing from the screen.

And so, at last… the large-scale event, Able, was coming to its conclusion.