130 Joe "Never Young Without Being Foolish" St.

The idol audition program took about a week to complete, but it ultimately concluded perfectly.

The seven successful candidates immediately dove into an intense training period. After all, in Joss’s plan, their first performance was scheduled for the weekend, just three days away. Although the units of time on Sakaar differed from those on Earth, and there was no distinction between weekdays and weekends, Joss forcibly imposed these Earth concepts onto the schedule just to help himself adjust.

Fortunately, training was the least of Joss’s worries. As he had experienced firsthand, individuals with superior physical capabilities found it effortless to mimic the original dance steps. With this foundation, after just a few repetitions, they performed even better than the most seasoned dancers, executing every move from start to finish without a single error. The singing portion was much the same; Joss could safely leave the practice to them, confident that nothing would go wrong.

The real trouble lay in their coordination. For one thing, the original choreography had been designed for three people, so it looked sparse when adapted for seven. Joss knew his artistic instincts were limited, so rather than forcing modifications to the original choreography, he worked overtime to write down every song and dance routine he could recall from his memory. Since he didn't possess a photographic memory, many things required repeated revisions after he wrote them down. Fortunately, the girls were exceptionally talented and were able to help Joss significantly in this regard.

While that was merely a labor-intensive task, the other problem was far more critical. The chosen girls were all brimming with strong, distinct personalities: some had natural leadership qualities, others possessed extraordinary performance skills, and some were masters at stirring up emotions. It was difficult to determine who should work with whom. If Joss had forcefully appointed a leader, the result would likely have only caused more trouble. Consequently, he stopped meddling and left them to resolve these conflicts themselves, choosing instead to bury himself in backstage work.

Although it was essentially the work of a literary plagiarist, Joss found it quite fascinating—it was a first for him. Moreover, he knew a considerable number of legendary idol hits from his past life. He transplanted all the most popular ones, ensuring that every song was of hall-of-fame quality.

However, when it came to the choreography, Joss felt a headache coming on. After all, Elson, who had previously served as the demonstrator, was now busy rehearsing with the girls and had no free time. But this frustration didn't last long, as he successfully found new candidates: the girls who hadn't made the cut!

Even though the auditions were over, Joss hadn't sent them away. Instead, he promised that anyone willing to work for him could stay. With this large group of girls joining, the number of employees under Joss’s command officially exceeded three hundred—a force capable of intimidating most troublemakers even on Sakaar.

Retaining them wasn't a whim, but a product of careful deliberation. While it was still in its infancy, his future entertainment empire might just be built upon these people. Filmmaking, singing, writing—living in an era of information explosion, his mind was filled with countless ideas he could put to use. Furthermore, for a Marvel world that was in a state of near-constant warfare, the development of the cultural industry was truly not very high. After all, given the same resources, most people on any planet would never need to ponder whether it was better to design a new weapon to repel an alien invasion or to shoot a movie.

Therefore, if Joss succeeded, his entertainment empire wouldn't just be a monopoly on one planet; it could potentially become a massive cross-universal trade enterprise! Beyond just making money, Joss held a faint hope that these things could soothe this chaotic world. Regardless of whether those "video games cause violence" claims were true, at the very least, most unstable individuals could have their attention diverted by entertainment, thereby lowering crime rates. Joss knew of more than a few lunatics in the Marvel universe who were bored and had nothing to do, so they ended up causing trouble everywhere. Just imagine if each of them were given a copy of Monster Hunter: World to enjoy the hunt—would they still have time to go out and stir up chaos?

Although he had said it once before, Joss knew he couldn't spend his whole life fighting and killing. If he could make the universe safer through other channels, that would be for the best. With this thought in mind, he kept everyone on. He still had plenty of supplies as reserve funding, so he had no worries about feeding this group in the short term. A little food made them work hard, and their physical constitutions meant their combat strength rivaled that of some superheroes. If he were back on Earth, where would he find such high-quality, inexpensive labor?

This had already proven the correctness of Joss’s choice. These unsuccessful applicants were the perfect new dance demonstrators. While they might not have been as well-rounded as the final seven, they possessed individual traits that were just as impressive; otherwise, Joss wouldn't have considered keeping them. Facts proved the feasibility of his idea: he could have them practice the choreography he designed, identify and correct various issues, and then record it on camera to hand over to the seven members for practice. Once the dancing was solved, the music followed suit. To cater to different audiences, he prepared songs with distinct styles, and the girls’ help greatly improved his efficiency.

"Alright, the performance items are all prepared. Sokh’s crew can handle the lighting and stage, and I’ll just go over to check on them later. Now, the most important thing... is definitely the stage costumes."

As an idol group, they couldn't keep wearing those rags that were no different from what the scavengers wore. A set of proper performance outfits was essential. Joss tapped his chin, thought for a moment, and then snapped his fingers. He began to sketch on paper, "That’s it! I’ll use the designs from that 'Seven Deadly Sins' anime. It’s perfect, since there are seven girls..."