The Villain Is Too Popular

The audience wasn't surprised by Chen Kong's sudden transformation. After all, if Chen Kong's performance had continued as it had in the previous episodes, they couldn't imagine why he would be the protagonist.

What truly surprised the audience was the lingering presence of Tendo's shadow, even in this highlight moment belonging to the protagonist, Chen Kong. In fact, from the audience's perspective, Tendo's words accounted for at least fifty percent of the credit for Chen Kong's 'awakening' at this moment.

'Holy cow, Tendo is participating 100% in this team fight.'

'False Protagonist: Chen Kong, True Protagonist: Tendo. I suggest renaming it to Stars: The Tendo Chronicle.'

'Caroline, Chen Xing, Yun Meng, Jing Liuli... so far, besides the recently introduced Ye Shenlin, Tendo is basically connected to everyone else. Tendo truly is the real protagonist.'

Under the discussion of the bullet comments, Chen Kong not only awakened his unique bloodline ability but also highlighted his special trait: he possessed an additional ability compared to ordinary Children of Stars, essentially having two Star Cores. The emergence of this information immediately led to speculation in the bullet comments.

'Goodness gracious, everyone else only has one Star Core, but you have two. No wonder you're the protagonist!'

'After four episodes, this protagonist finally looks a bit like a protagonist.'

'Honestly, even if this guy has two Star Cores, his "Ordinary" characteristic feels like a plot hook laid by the production team. It's probably another weak protagonist who has a cheat but uses it as if he doesn't.'

Just as Chen Kong awakened his 'Void Mark' on the arena, the scene suddenly shifted to Tendo by the side of the arena.

"Oh? Has it finally disappeared..."

"Disappeared? What disappeared?"

"That would be the disappearance of a certain weakling, of course."

"After all, for the weak to survive in this cruel world, they must utilize the strong's contempt, mustn't they?"

"???"

Watching Tendo, who looked profoundly inscrutable, Caroline didn't understand what he was saying. However, as viewers with a god's-eye perspective, they immediately grasped the meaning Tendo conveyed. This discovery felt like they had found a new continent.

'Huh? Does Tendo mean he actually guessed Chen Kong's ability a long time ago?'

'Previous comment, there was foreshadowing for all of this. I remember Tendo saying that Chen Kong's Star Core was special, and he even made a bet with Chen Xing about it, which means Tendo had seen through everything early on.'

'Is it because of Tendo's special azure eyes? Otherwise, why could Tendo see things that others couldn't?'

'Plotting since the first episode? This man is truly terrifying.'

'I suggest checking if Tendo is a transmigrator.'

'False Protagonist: Painful awakening; True Protagonist: Elegantly watching the show.'

The audience's strong reaction stemmed from Tendo's words at that moment and his confident demeanor, suggesting that everything was under his control. It was as if he and the other Children of Stars were never on the same dimension from the beginning.

He was observing those around him from a near-godlike perspective. This strength in mindset and strategy instantly sent shivers down the audience's spines, creating a feeling that his playful interactions with others were merely a disguise. In reality, he simply regarded everyone around him as cute, harmless small animals.

This transcendent mentality, combined with Tendo's previous series of foreshadowing, instantly made everyone naturally believe that Tendo was the 'strongest' in Prequel of the Stars: Embers.

After all, anime differs from reality. While viewers cannot predict the course of reality, they can infer the direction of an anime and implicitly understand the meaning the production team wishes to convey.

This meant that even if Tendo wasn't the current combat power ceiling in the show, they all firmly believed that Tendo would eventually grow to become the combat power ceiling within the series.

This was because Tendo's entire series of actions and his current character positioning in the show were undoubtedly developing towards the 'combat power ceiling' role.

And as long as this concept was established in the audience's minds, Tendo's goal would be achieved. After all, he never forgot that he was in an anime world. At the same time, he also never forgot his ultimate goal: to seize the sole position of 'character combat power ceiling' in the hearts of Stars viewers. Therefore, all his previous designs and arrangements were merely serving this one objective.

Inside the cafeteria, Tendo watched the audience completely fill the screen with '?' bullet comments after he finished his speech. He understood that his two-year painstaking plan had been completely achieved. Yes, Tendo never needed to be the strongest in a literal sense. He just needed to be the strongest in the audience's hearts.

"Caroline, I'm done eating. Take your time, I'm heading back."

"Oh, okay."

Tendo picked up the dessert left on the table and walked towards his dorm. In the process, he directly closed the popularity system's virtual screen, no longer paying attention to the subsequent content of Prequel of the Stars: Embers' fourth episode. 

Because he understood that when the production team chose to release the dialogue he had with Chen Kong during Chen Kong's awakening scene, no matter what astonishing feats Chen Kong or any other Stars character performed afterward, it would fundamentally not affect his standing in the audience's minds.

This was simply because audiences fill in the blanks with their own imagination. And imagination is the most domineering and unreasonable thing in this world. This could be seen from the bullet comments at the moment.

'Although the protagonist's dual Star Core ability is BUG-level, I feel Tendo must also have his own special ability. After all, he's the only one who saw through the protagonist's talent early on.'

'The previous comment is right. Chen Kong's current change is surprising, but Tendo, who knew all of this beforehand, makes me feel even more terrifying. I'm even thinking if Tendo doesn't become a villain, wouldn't the protagonist's side be a bit too overpowered? After all, I can't imagine what kind of enemy would put a character like Tendo in crisis.'

'Goodness gracious, I suddenly have a bad feeling. The current version of Tendo is clearly a bit too overpowered. Do you think the production team might force a plot-kill on Tendo later to balance the version? After all, Tendo's current popularity clearly completely surpasses Chen Kong, the protagonist. With him around, where would the protagonist get a chance to shine?'

'Don't even say that, previous comment! If the production team really dares to do that, I'll definitely go to their office and send them razor blades!'

'Don't worry, who would be so foolish as to "knife" their own most popular character? I don't believe such a person exists.'

Tendo, having closed the dimensional screen, was unaware of the discussions in the bullet comments at this moment. His attention was no longer on the final assessment plot.

Tendo returned to his room and looked down at the Decoy Bracelet on his wrist.

"A Level 2 Star Envoy and multiple Level 1 Star Envoys. Knowing their weaknesses and characteristics, if I make good use of this half-year window, I still have a good chance of taking them down with me."

"However, to make this fireworks display reach my expectations, I need to further enhance my strength."

"Sigh, borrowing new to pay old debts, this popularity debt... when will I ever pay it off?"

Tendo looked up, his finger beginning to scroll through the system's popularity mall. He planned to acquire the special item that could significantly boost his strength once he had enough popularity points.

With that special item, combined with the Star Essence named 'Vector Control' that he would obtain tomorrow, Tendo was confident he could elevate his strength by several levels within just half a year.

At that time, he would be able to present a splendid and poignant fireworks display for everyone at the end of the first season of Prequel of the Stars: Embers.