Chapter 555: Blow After Blow
Ronald’s face flushed crimson, his expression caught between rage and helplessness.
"Just eighth place... what’s there to be so smug about! Mr. Reid, just wait—the rest of the rankings will all belong to Country Y!"
Logan didn’t even glance his way. His eyes stayed on the stage as he said calmly, "Continue."
After Q accepted his award and stepped down, the host moved on.
"In seventh place... Number 32."
When they checked the name, the Country Y assistant beside the host went pale.
It was another distinctly Country M name...
"Seventh place goes to... Ms. C—"
A plain, forty-year-old woman rose from her seat.
The Country Y contestants looked as if they had swallowed flies.
They were perfumers. In their eyes, this was supposed to be a high-end profession, the pinnacle of artistry, the very definition of elegance.
And yet this woman—ordinary-looking, lacking all the "refined" airs they worshipped—had taken seventh place.
Chosen not by one or two, but by twenty-five judges and the one hundred-member audience jury combined!
The hall fell deathly silent. Those arrogant Country Y contestants who had been so loud before now couldn’t utter a word.
Logan spoke softly, "Mr. Ronald, what do you think?"
Ronald’s face was iron-blue, but he forced his voice through clenched teeth: "It’s just seventh place... two spots in the top ten don’t matter. And none of them are high rankings anyway!"
"Is that so?" Logan nodded lightly. "Then let’s continue."
Sixth place was announced—and from the farthest corner seat, a nineteen-year-old girl leapt up, almost shaking with excitement.
Fifth place followed—the shy middle-aged man sitting right beside her.
Fourth place—a tall, elegant, poised woman rose gracefully from the Country M seats.
By now, the Country Y contestants and audience were numb. They had gone from wide-eyed disbelief and shouting denial to sitting in stunned silence after the fourth-place announcement.
From fourth all the way to eighth—five slots in a row.
Every single one had gone to Country M.
Every single one.
Impossible. How could this be?
And yet, the system was there for all to see. From the initial submissions onward, each perfume had been tracked, monitored, and scored. No substitutions, no tampering.
Most of the judges were Country Y themselves—surely they wouldn’t bias toward Country M.
But still, there was comfort left.
Ronald’s student, Frank, tried to reassure himself: "It’s the top three that matter. The top three are what the world will remember. So what if they grabbed five spots? The real glory is ours!"
"Frank’s right. As long as we take the top three, it’s still our victory!"
Ronald seized on the thought, his face grim. "Mr. Reid, don’t get ahead of yourself. Fourth and fifth don’t matter. That doesn’t mean you can touch the top three! As long as Country Y sweeps the podium, we win!"
Logan’s brow lifted slightly. "No need to get so worked up, Mr. Ronald. Announce the top three."
The host drew a deep breath, nodded, and turned back to the list. This was the moment—the climax of the broadcast. Country Y streams and Country M streams alike were packed to capacity.
"The winner of third place... Number 10..."
Another Country M name.
No. No, it couldn’t be.
"The winner of second place..."
Another Country M name!
Ronald, who had just barely managed to hold his composure, went deathly pale. His lips trembled, his eyes lost focus, his entire body shook.
Through clenched teeth, he rasped, "No... no, this is impossible—!"
"Mr. Ronald, are you questioning the judging system?"
Logan took a slow sip of his tea and spoke lightly. "If I remember correctly, this very system was recommended by you, Mr. Ronald. And the judges? All handpicked by you—most of them from Country Y. Are you implying that our Country M contestants somehow bribed your own Country Y judges?"
The moment the words left Ronald’s mouth, he knew he had slipped.
But he never expected Logan to call him out so mercilessly.
"I only meant—"
"In other words," Logan cut in smoothly, "even if someone wanted to cheat, there’s no way it could happen right under your nose, so blatantly, in front of the whole world. Otherwise, wouldn’t that be the same as declaring to everyone that Country M cheats?"
Of course Ronald knew cheating was impossible. He was just unwilling to accept the results!
Why did Logan have to talk so damn much?
Forcing down his anger, Ronald glanced at his student. Frank, pale as a sheet, gave him a slight nod. Ignoring the fear in Frank’s face, Ronald gritted his teeth and growled:
"Mr. Reid, the champion is what truly matters in this competition. As long as one of our Country Y contestants takes first place, you still lose! Those two hundred billion will still go to Miss Paula!"
"Oh... the champion?"
Logan’s voice was deliberately slow, deliberately mocking. "Funny, because before the top three were announced, you said the exact same thing."
He gave a light chuckle. "Have you forgotten already, Mr. Ronald? You said the top three were all that mattered—that as long as Country Y claimed the top three, victory was yours. Fourth and fifth were beneath you."
"But now that second and third belong to our Country M contestants, you’ve changed your tune."
"Suddenly, second and third don’t matter. Suddenly, the only thing that matters is first place."
Logan tilted his head slightly, his tone razor-sharp. "So tell me, Mr. Ronald—are second and third important, or not?"
"Because if you say only first place matters, then what happens if the champion also belongs to us, Country M?"
He paused, his words heavy with meaning.
"Will you move the goalpost again, and claim the champion isn’t important either—that Country Y never wanted it in the first place?"
Ronald’s face darkened to a sickly blue, his fists clenching so tight his knuckles whitened. "You—!"
Before he could finish, laughter exploded across the audience, echoed in the live stream chat:
[Exactly! So the importance of second and third depends entirely on whether Country Y wins them or not, huh?]
[If Country Y had taken second and third, Ronald would’ve been bragging: "Second and third are incredibly important! Out of nearly ten thousand contestants, to rank this high makes you a genius among geniuses!"]
[But because Country M took those spots, now he’s all sour grapes: "Second and third mean nothing! They’re just runner-ups to the champion! What’s there to celebrate? Country Y doesn’t even care about those spots—we only care about first place!"]
[Haha, what a double standard!]
[These perfumers are incredible! I used to think Country M perfumers weren’t good enough, but it turns out they just never had the chance to prove themselves. Now that they do, they’re showing they’re the best!]
[By the way, Country M had eight contestants total. Who hasn’t been announced yet?]
The crowd thought for a moment.
It was Selina.
Out of the eight, she was the only one whose name hadn’t been called.
That meant... either Selina was the champion.
Or...