The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

"IT'S also going to be Astrid's first penalty, so this would be fun," Lance added to what the emcee said.

"Ah, you're right! It seems that his luck has finally come to an end."

"Oh, I don't think it's luck. He's the one with the most points right now. The fact that he could avoid penalties until now meant that he's using a good strategy to win," Lance said.

"Now that I think about it, you're probably on to something." The emcee turned to Astrid. "Why don't you share your strategy with us, Astrid, before we proceed to your penalty? Maybe the other quiz takers would also like to hear it?"

Since this was started by the emcee, there's no way the other would say 'no'. Not interacting properly at such a time could lead to criticism from the public. So, to avoid things like that, they had to be as interactive as possible.

"Yes, please share it with us," one of the female guests said.

"I think I really need a strategy right now," Myla Cruise said, and then added with a sad expression, "Just look at my points."

As she said, she was the one with the lowest points among them. She's the first candidate who might receive the ultimate punishment for today's episode.

Even Yujin also joined and said, "I'm also quite interested in this strategy."

"If I tell you about it, can I avoid the penalty?" Astrid asked in a playful tone.

"Oh-ho, now I'm a bit tempted to agree," the emcee said. "But alas, it would go against our program's rules. So, I think you should open your generous heart and just tell us about it."

"As much as I want to, but the truth is, I don't really have a specific strategy," Astrid said while scratching his cheek and showing an embarrassed expression. "I just promised myself before I came here that I shouldn't be too adventurous and just answer, or at least try to answer questions that I know the answer to." He then followed that up with a small, helpless laugh. "But as you can see, I seem to have failed since I still have to suffer through this penalty."

No one thought that he was lying, or that he was being full of shit. Because what he said was backed up by what he had shown so far.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. You're doing pretty well, in my opinion," Lance said with a sympathizing glance.

"That's right! It wouldn't be a full experience if you didn't experience the penalties that our show is so proud of," the emcee said before turning to the audience. "Don't you think so as well?"

The audience replied with a resounding 'yes'.

"Then I'll do my best for this penalty," Astrid said, doing a fist pump with both hands.

"Let's see what kind of penalty Yujin and Astrid will get!"

After the emcee said that, the image on the screen changed again. It started to spin. When it stopped, a picture of a plate with food appeared.

"It's a food penalty!"

Then, the area in front of the podiums suddenly split, and a rectangular table appeared. On top of it, there were three dishes that were covered.

"Since two of you will do this penalty, of course, there should be a twist," the emcee said in an intriguing manner. "Two of those three dishes are definitely not something you would want to eat on a daily basis. But one of those three is something delicious that you would enjoy. So, now, who will be lucky between the two to get that one delicious dish?"

Astrid and Yujin looked at each other. Their gaze was obviously asking who would pick first.

"You can pick first," Astrid said, because it didn't really matter to him what kind of food he would get. He's not that squeamish, after all.

"Are you sure?" Yujin asked.

He had only experienced two penalties. But both were things he didn't want to experience again. He was sure that it would be the same this time. When he saw Astrid nod, he walked towards the table and picked the one on the far left. Astrid also did the same and picked the one on the far right.

"Should we open it at the same time?" he asked.

"Okay," Astrid said.

Yujin held the handle of the of the cover. "On the count of three... 3... 2... 1!"

He pulled the cover up. When he saw what was on the plate, Yujin almost let go of the cover. He wasn't even able to control his expression. The dish he picked was some kind of stir-fried bugs that looked very much like some kind of brown worms. The added green sauce just made it even more unpalatable. Not to mention the smell.

He had never felt the need to vomit so strongly right at this moment. What more when he had to eat this thing?

Yujin closed his eyes and tried to calm down. Then he glanced at the dish that Astrid chose. When he saw it, he almost let out a curse.

It was a plate of juicy and shiny grapes. They were glistening and looking like they had just been freshly picked. In his eyes, it seemed to be the most delicious grapes in the universe right at this moment.

He was about to tell Astrid how lucky he was, but when he saw the other's expression, he couldn't say a word. It was because Astrid was completely frozen. His face even completely turned white. It's like he was looking at something horrendous and not at those delicious-looking grapes.

"Astrid, are you okay?" he couldn't help but asked.

Astrid returned to his senses at Yujin's question. Being a professional, he managed to smile and say, "Yes, I'm fine."

But deep inside, he was already howling. Of all the fruits in the universe, why did it have to be those... those violet round things? Shit, he couldn't even say its name because of the trauma.

So, how the hell would he get past this?