Chapter 899: SUCCESSOR (3)

Phil Simmons spoke quite well on the show. He chatted and laughed with the other three big shots in a completely equal manner. Phil could firmly catch whatever the other party threw at him without any stage fright.

Not only that, Phil would often make jokes at the expense of himself and tell a few jokes, causing the audience to laugh.

However, things developed as everyone expected at the selection stage : Phil could not recruit any capable apprentices.

‘The Successor’ had already gone through the pre-selection. Those who came to participate had the potential to become superheroes, but only a few of them could obtain the favor of the judges.

During the live selection segment, the main task of the participants was to leave an impression on the judges and the audience. There were many ways to leave an impression: it could be because of their good looks, special talents or skills, or a good story.

Elegant and likable people would have a much higher chance of obtaining the favor of the mentors if they happened to have a pleasing face and special talents and skills.

Of course, if they did not have these, then a complicated background that attracted the sympathy of the audience could give him a special label. Then, he could also obtain the favor of the teachers.

In the first round, all the outstanding competitors were basically divided up by the other three mentors. They had a minimum of one on their team. Only Phil Simmons’ team was still empty.

Thus, it immediately became extremely popular on the internet after the first episode was broadcasted.

Some people thought that Phil did not have the qualifications to be a mentor in this show at all and were gloating over it; others thought that Phil had spoken well and was not at all inferior to the other judges. He was also clear-headed when discussing professional questions, which showed that Phil was still capable.

What’s more, Phil did not advertise for his real estate business at all on the show. He did not do it for fame or for profit. That bit of appearance fee was probably far from his net worth. In other words, his participation in this show was probably just a carefree attitude in his game life.

On the other hand, none of the apprentices saw any potential in Phil. Instead, they still treated him as a useless rich second-generation heir. The production team even intended to create popularity by having Phil “sell his pitifulness”. That was too much!

Both parties were arguing non-stop online, causing another round of heated discussion.

Many of these voices obviously came from Phil’s support and instructions.

‘Successor’ continued filming and broadcasting amidst the high popularity.

In the second episode, Phil finally obtained his first apprentice. He was very happy and embraced this unimposing black apprentice warmly, promising to get him to become one of the top five of this talent show.

There was another heated discussion on the internet, saying that Phil was boasting and making empty promises. Such a mentor was not worthy of the apprentices following him.

The other three mentors who were also in the show were also mocking this point. One mentor even joked that it was not too late for Phil to withdraw from the competition. However, Phil was not angry at all. Instead, he said with surety that he had the confidence to lead the apprentices to win the team competition.

Soon, all episodes from the first part of ‘Successor’ were broadcasted.

The teams of the four mentors were all filled up. The teams of the other three mentors looked very luxurious. On the other hand, Phil’s team looked very shabby. Most of the apprentices joined in the latter half of the game, and they were all types that the other mentors did not like. The live audience’s response was also average. There were even two vacancies in the end. The production team had no choice but to start a revival competition at the last minute. They chose two contestants for Phil from the people who had been eliminated previously to complete his team.

None of the audience was optimistic about Phil’s team for the upcoming team competition. More than 70% of the audience thought that Phil’s team would definitely be the last in the randomized questionnaire done by the television station. Almost no one thought that Phil’s team would be in the top two.

However, none of the audience knew that this was all a script arranged by Phil.

The second part of ‘Successor’ was a team competition led by four mentors. The competition was divided into four forms:

The first was speech or debate. The production team would give a topic which would often attract a lot of attention. It was most likely related to superheroes.

The mentors would lead their teams in their preparations. They would give a live speech and debate with the opposing team. They would decide the winner based on how much they could convince the audience.

Superheroes had groups that they represented, had their own ideas and principles, and often had to give speeches. The format of this team competition was to test the ability of the apprentices in this aspect.

The second was to formulate a rescue plan. The program team would give a specific scenario, such as a group of criminals holding hostages, and the apprentices would come up with a rescue plan.

However, they did not need to rescue the hostages themselves. Instead, a mock up by professionals would be carried out according to the rescue plan.

Superheroes often had to participate in similar rescue operations, but they could not be brainless pigs. That would instead cause harm to the hostages or cause greater damage to the city.

Superheroes with brains were more popular in the public. The format of the team competition was to test the apprentices’ ability in this aspect.

The third type was the combat ability test. The production team would give a specific physical challenge stage, including physical confrontation between the teams, to see which team completed better.

Superheroes needed brains but the necessary physical fitness and combat skills were also indispensable. A superhero who could “fight” would make the public feel safer and would not feel like “this superhero was wasting his superpower”.

The fourth was a large-scale comprehensive test.

This kind of test often contained many aspects. It required the team leaders of each team to coordinate and distribute the load amongst the members. The program team would conduct a comprehensive evaluation after completing the task.

These four tests were done step by step. The program team would record the preparations of the various teams throughout and give more scenes to the key characters in it. Gradually, the public would become familiar with these apprentices who might become superheroes in the future.

During this process, there had to be a limit to the coaches’ guidance. They could not take it all on and do it all. That would steal the limelight from the apprentices and cause the apprentices who did not have the chance to show their faces to be defeated in the following ratings of favorability. They could not completely leave it alone either, or it might lead to a crushing defeat in the team competition.

All in all, a team competition like a talent show was like a prelude to a superhero’s future work.

The first episode of the team competition was indeed as everyone had expected. Phil’s team had suffered a crushing defeat in the competition with the other teams.

The production team also gave the least number of shots to Phil’s team. This created an illusion for the audience: It seemed like Phil did not do anything, and his team was as useless as him. They quickly lost.

Thus, the discussion about Phil became even worse.

However, Phil’s team seemed to have changed completely in the second episode. They obtained second place with outstanding performance.

However, this time, the production team still gave Phil’s team the least number of shots. This caused a lot of information during the preparation process to be missing, causing the audience to be dissatisfied.

The audience felt that it was the production team who looked down on Phil’s team and did not take them seriously. They gave more shots to the other three teams, causing Phil’s team to be treated unfairly even though they achieved good results.

Thus, in the third episode of the team competition, the production team gave Phil’s team more screen time. This time, the audience could see the entire process of the preparations made by Phil’s team.

Phil Simmons played a crucial role in the preparation process. He constantly encouraged the apprentices and gave them hints and pointers. He did not decide on the plan for the apprentices to carry out. Instead, he used a more enlightening method, to make them think of a more perfect plan.

The originally disorganized apprentices suddenly became full of fighting spirit. Not only did the trust in the team increase by one notch, but they were now united and their individual abilities seemed to shine.

Thus, Phil’s reputation in the show began to change.

Many people’s impression of Phil changed drastically, and more dimensions appeared in their evaluation of him:

He was a playboy, a rich second-generation heir. He was born at finishing line of many, making people envious and jealous.

He was a genuine person who spoke without thinking on Twitter. The things he liked were no different from poor young people. It made people feel that he was very down to earth.

He had a high education and had opened a company with good results. At his age, this meant that he was very talented and successful in business. He was not only smart but also hardworking.

The most impressive thing was that he was very clear about many problems. He understood a lot more than the average person. Not only was he chatting and laughing with the other three mentors on the Successor, he was also strategizing and leading a team with lousy abilities to win. His standard was completely on the same level as the industry big shots.

Of course, there were still doubts about Phil, and they were getting stronger.

However, the voices supporting Phil became stronger, completely overshadowing the voices of doubt.

Phil’s performance in the show had already won over many people after all. Those who doubted him could easily be called “green-eyed monster”, “rich-haters”, and “Loser mentality”.

After the program ended, the black man from Phil’s team obtained second place with his outstanding performance.

Phil’s promise to bring him into the top five was fulfilled. What’s more, he exceeded his promise.

The black man was very grateful to Phil on the show. His eyes were filled with tears, but Phil only smiled and said, “This is all your own effort. I’m only helping you to dig out your potential.”

This made the audience feel that Phil was a good judge of character and deserved his title as a “mentor”.

After the program ended, the program team worked with a few big management companies. A few outstanding apprentices were arranged to debut as superheroes. They were in great limelight.

Many people thought that Phil would take this opportunity to debut as a superhero.

However, Phil sent a tweet saying that participating in this program was a spur of the moment idea and that he had no intention of becoming a superhero.

After that, Phil no longer participated in any topics related to superheroes. That caused the audience to feel that it was a pity.

However, what they did not know was that Phil’s first phase of the plan had been a success.

He might not have debuted as a superhero but he obtained a lot of attention and successfully changed the public’s impression of him: from a rich second-generation heir who was completely unrelated to a superhero to a real and capable industry insider who knew the professional content of superheroes like the back of his hand.

Phil had to wait for a better opportunity to carry out the next step of his plan.