Busy all morning.
During this time, Lu Li got hungry again.
It's just been so busy.
He couldn't find a chance to sneak out and buy something to eat.
It was finally noon.
The cafeteria delivered work lunches.
Lu Li looked at the rich dishes in the box like braised pork and diced chicken with edamame, and he was drooling.
Just as he picked up his chopsticks, a voice nearby tried to stop him.
"Xiaolu, eat less!" Brother Cheng advised, "You have an eating contest this afternoon. If you eat too much at noon, how will you rank?"
Xiaoqing adjusted her glasses and looked over, "Exactly, don't eat too much, try to aim for the top three."
Lu Li was starving, and at this point, who cares about the competition?
He casually responded to everyone, then under their helpless gazes, devoured the entire meal, not leaving a single grain of rice.
In fact, because he was so hungry, he even went downstairs to the convenience store to buy a bunch of snacks.
This move left everyone speechless.
"You, this guy."
"Eating this much now, what about the contest?"
"Looks like Xiaolu might not place this time."
Brother Cheng, Xiaoqing, and Xiaomei were all criticizing.
Everyone couldn't help but shake their heads, thinking Lu Li had no chance in the contest.
Lu Li pretended not to hear them, holding the contest flyer and looking at the rules.
Although he ate a lot just now, he was only half full.
If he weren't worried about scaring everyone, he would have bought more to eat.
The contest rules were simple.
Eat the most hot dogs in ten minutes to win first place.
You can bring your own drinks, but no condiments.
Lu Li read from the flyer that the highest prize for this contest before was ten thousand US Dollars.
As it developed, the top prize increased to forty thousand US Dollars.
Of course, that's the prize for the main competition.
The prize is only three thousand US Dollars in the overseas region.
The record for the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest is held by Joey Chestnut.
This person ate seventy-six hot dogs in ten minutes.
Seeing this, Lu Li couldn't help but sweat and thought this guy is amazing, eating seventy-six hot dogs in ten minutes without bursting!
Even though the prize money for Nathan's Hot Dog Contest isn't high, it's an "all-stars" competition for competitive eaters.
If you can win, you can gain massive fame and earn more US Dollars.
For example, Joey Chestnut used the fame from Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest to easily earn between 250,000 to 500,000 US Dollars annually from competition winnings and sponsorships.
The prize and sponsorships were secondary.
Lu Li's only thought now was not to lose tonight.
Otherwise, with a dozen colleagues watching, they'd definitely tease and laugh if he didn't do well.
It might even spread around the company, which would be super embarrassing.
"I'm so hungry lately; eating two hot dogs a minute should be no problem, right?"
Lu Li thought if he could eat twenty hot dogs in ten minutes during the contest, even if he doesn't make the top three, squeezing into the top ten shouldn't be too hard, so he wouldn't embarrass himself.
...
The time came to the evening.
Because tomorrow was a day off and the HR department wanted to leave early, Lu Li didn't attend training today.
He and his colleagues marched to the contest venue.
After not eating anything all afternoon under the "supervision" of his colleagues, Lu Li was already seeing stars from hunger.
Despite this, he still assessed the scene.
Lu Li originally thought the location for the Nathan's Hot Dog Contest overseas region wouldn't be that great and that not many people would participate.
Upon arrival, he saw dense crowds around the red tent, chattering and buzzing.
Among them were some of the more famous competitive eaters in the country.
A colleague named Xiaozhao looked ahead at a long-haired competitive eater who looked a bit like a woman and exclaimed, "Wow, the Big Stomach Immortal is also competing?"
Xiaomei couldn't help but gasp, "The Big Stomach Immortal has always had a huge appetite, and I've heard they've set many amazing records. Xiaolu is in trouble this time."
"The Big Stomach Immortal is nothing." Brother Cheng pointed to a middle-aged man preparing nearby, "See Pan Er Fen? He once ate thirty-six rice dumplings in a fifteen-minute contest in Japan!"
Lu Li: "..."
Holy crap!
Thirty-six rice dumplings are even scarier than seventy-six hot dogs!
The only pity is that Pan Er Fen took fifteen minutes, which isn't as impressive as Joey Chestnut.
Seeing two competitive eaters already put a lot of pressure on Lu Li.
Unexpectedly, his colleagues' exclamations followed one after another.
"Isn't that Sister Cat? It's said she once ate a hundred cream puffs, or fifty pig trotters, or even a whole roast pig!"
"Oh my god, Yun Zhongjun is here too? She's one of the most famous competitive eaters in the country, able to eat eight pounds of rice raw!"
"Isn't that Gluttonous King Allen?"
"And there's Minnie..."
At a glance, there were over ten competitive eater influencers present.
No need to guess why these competitive eater influencers came to compete.
Clearly, they aim to win first place and then proceed to the Ugly Country for the main competition, gaining massive fame and consequently making more money.
The rest of the contestants weren't influencers, but Lu Li saw at a glance that there were about a hundred more people preparing to participate.
Over ten competitive eater influencers!
And more than a hundred other contestants!
Lu Li felt that squeezing into the top ten and avoiding embarrassment might be getting difficult.
His colleagues seemed to realize this too.
Brother Cheng comforted Lu Li, "Xiaolu, with so many competitive eaters participating, even if you don't place, don't worry about it. After all, they are already famous."
Xiaoqing said with some concern, "Yeah, if you can't eat anymore, don't force it. Health comes first."
Xiaomei sighed, "Sigh, mainly because Xiaolu ate too much at noon. If he had eaten less, there might be a chance."
"Oh come on."
"With so many competitive eaters."
"Even if Xiaolu ate less at noon, can he really beat these competitive eaters?"
Xiaozhao and the other colleagues also didn't have much confidence in Lu Li.
Not to mention them, after seeing so many competitive eaters and contestants, Lu Li himself didn't have much confidence.
Forget it, just treat it as getting a dinner.
To lose to so many competitive eaters isn't really embarrassing.
Feeling unbearably hungry, Lu Li comforted himself while telling his colleagues, "I'm going in for the contest. Wait here for my good news."
After speaking, he handed his ID to the staff and entered the competition area.
Brother Cheng, Xiaoqing, Xiaomei, and the others stood outside the red tent, constantly watching the competitive eaters.
As for how Lu Li was doing, seeing so many influencers, how could they pay attention?
The spectators present weren't just Brother Cheng, Xiaoqing, and Xiaomei, and the others.
Many contestants came with their families to participate.
Plus, some people just liked to watch the excitement.
At the moment, the crowd was around four to five hundred people.
At this time, a male host in a suit took the stage with a microphone.
He loudly said into the camera for official media, "Welcome to the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest overseas region. The participants are now ready, and I will announce the rules..."
Lu Li already knew the rules and didn't really listen.
Starving, he looked at the large plate of hot dogs in front of him, and his eyes turned green with hunger.
Lu Li couldn't help swallowing and looked around.
Seeing no one watching him, he sneakily picked up a hot dog and started eating.
Just as he put it in his mouth.
The host seemed to notice and humorously warned, "Contestant number 138, eating now doesn't count towards your score. However, we won't charge you for the hot dog you ate."
"Haha."
"Is this guy trying to cheat?"
"Eating an extra now, see how you'll eat later."
The audience also jeered.
Seeing Lu Li trying to "cheat," Brother Cheng, Xiaomei, and Xiaoqing felt embarrassed and covered their faces.
A few minutes later, the host finished announcing the rules, interacted with the audience a bit, and then loudly declared, "I now announce, the contest begins!"
"It started! It started!"
"Quick, look at the Big Stomach Immortal's performance."
Brother Cheng, Xiaomei, and the rest rushed to the influencer seats, with some taking videos on their phones.
Only Xiaoqing was still interested in Lu Li and kept an eye on him.
What she saw was astonishing.
Once she looked, Xiaoqing was utterly shocked by Lu Li's terrifying appetite!