Shuai Yu cheered loudly from below, and the atmosphere immediately became lively. Everyone clapped and shouted excitedly, no longer looking down on Su Hang as they had before.
With four minutes left on the countdown, Su Hang felt a bit uneasy. The energy conversion had already reached the 100-point limit. At this point, he had only eaten 36 hot dogs, still 14 short of Hu Tonghua's record. His stomach was already starting to feel full.
The calories in hot dogs were indeed not comparable to those in baozi. Su Hang could eat over a hundred baozi, which were not necessarily smaller in volume than hot dogs. However, the reason Su Hang could eat so much was entirely due to the system helping him absorb energy. The energy contained in one hot dog was clearly much greater than that in a baozi. Thirty-six hot dogs had already filled him up.
However, Su Hang was not worried. He had anticipated this situation. He still had plenty of time. He casually picked up a bottle of mineral water and took a sip, searching for something he could refine. As long as he could consume the energy points, he could keep eating endlessly, and eating the whole world would not be a dream.
Originally, Su Hang had planned to extract Hu Tonghua's big eater ability. This guy could indeed eat a lot, but it was unnecessary for Su Hang. After all, Su Hang was still a normal person, and he did not want a huge stomach.
"What is he doing?" Seeing Su Hang stop, Qin Shiyu became worried again, and the people around her began to whisper.
"Maybe his mouth is dry, he's just drinking some water."
Shuai Yu was also a bit uneasy. He had invested several hundred yuan in Su Hang. If Su Hang failed now, not only would the 100,000 yuan be lost, but the qualification for the finals would also be gone, resulting in a loss of more than 100,000 yuan.
"Brother, don't play with me," Shuai Yu silently worried as the seconds ticked by.
---
On the stage, there were only a few large cauldrons, containing hot dogs and mineral water. He couldn't possibly grab the host's microphone, right?
His gaze swept over and landed on a bar of soap by his side. It was for the contestants to wash their hands, supposedly sponsored by Bird Brand. Whether it was useful or not, it had to be placed on the stage.
Without a word, Su Hang grabbed a bar of soap. The host quickly stopped him, "Brother, you picked the wrong thing, this can't be eaten."
Without a word, Su Hang stuffed the soap into his pocket, leaving the host puzzled.
"Item: Soap."
"Ordinary refinement requires 5 energy points, special refinement requires 10 energy points."
...
Soap was a very common item, and ordinary refinement only consumed 5 energy points. Su Hang needed to quickly consume the energy points, so he chose special refinement without hesitation.
"Item refinement in progress..."
"Refinement failed, energy points -10."
...
"Item refinement in progress..."
"Refinement failed, energy points -10."
...
This time, his luck was really bad. He refined nine times in a row, and each time it failed. The 100 energy points were rapidly consumed, leaving only 10 points after a moment.
"Last time!" Without hesitation, he chose to refine again, not feeling the slightest bit of pain. Even if he lost all the energy points, he could quickly replenish them.
"Item refinement in progress..."
"Refinement successful, energy points -10!"
"Obtained special item 'Absolute Soap.'"
...
Finally, his luck turned. Su Hang didn't have time to check the information of the "Absolute Soap." He would look at it later after the competition.
Once the energy points were depleted, the bloated feeling in his stomach quickly disappeared. The undigested food in his stomach rapidly decomposed, transforming into warm energy that circulated throughout his body.
"Contestant Taotie, there are three minutes left on the countdown," the host reminded him.
A small interlude, Su Hang nodded slightly and once again reached into the cauldron.
This time, Su Hang was still as refined, but his speed was clearly faster. Shuai Yu and Qin Shiyu, who had been tense, finally relaxed.
By the ninth minute, Su Hang's score had already matched Hu Tonghua's. To be safe, Su Hang ate four more hot dogs. With the last half minute, he stopped, no longer eating, wiped his hands, and slowly rinsed his mouth with mineral water.
Everyone present was so shocked they couldn't speak. They couldn't understand how such a small stomach could hold so much food, which was completely unscientific.
"Alright, time's up!" The host pressed the timer, looking very excited. "Ladies and gentlemen, a new record has been set. This contestant named Taotie has successfully refreshed our big eater list with a score of 54 hot dogs in 10 minutes."
Cheers erupted from below, especially from Shuai Yu, whose fat body jumped three feet high, as if he were the one on stage.
Some were happy, while others were sad. Hu Tonghua, who had just enjoyed applause and glory, now stood next to Su Hang like a defeated rooster, his head hanging low. However, he was thoroughly convinced. He could tell that Su Hang had definitely held back during the competition.
This loss was well-deserved.
"Is there anyone else who wants to challenge on stage? If not, this Mr. Taotie will be the ultimate winner of this round. He will receive a 100,000 yuan prize and the title of Sichuan's Big Eater. He will represent Sichuan in the finals one month later." The host's voice pushed the entire competition to its peak.
The crowd below was very noisy, but no one stood up. Joking, 54 hot dogs could probably stuff a lot of people.
---
"Hehe, Taotie, quite interesting. Uncle Wu, do you know who this person is?" In a corner of the audience, a young man who looked to be about 18 or 19 years old watched Su Hang, who was enjoying the applause on stage, with a somewhat teasing look. His slightly immature and carefree face showed a hint of curiosity.
Behind the young man stood a gray-clad man in his fifties, slightly hunched, but exuding a sharp and fierce aura, especially his eyes, which were very sharp.
After hearing the young man's question, the older man shook his head. "It's probably a trick by the branch company. If you're interested, I can find out for you later."
"There's no need to find out. Later, have someone bring him to me." The young man shook his head, glanced meaningfully at the stage, and then turned to enter the hotel.
---
Back at the competition site, Su Hang's appearance successfully refreshed the leaderboard, taking the top spot and knocking Hu Tonghua off the stage. After that, no one dared to go on stage, all looking at the mysterious masked man on stage with admiration.