After a 3-month promotion, the casting was completed in a week. The production team divided into three groups and announced the guest list for the Asia edition by the end of October.
Japan: Kumiko Terauchi (renowned actress, karate champion), Wataru Kojima (mystery manga artist, known for "The Mystery of Spring Day"), Hiroto Ishikawa (renowned Noh actor)
South Korea: Min-cheol Park (TV journalist, celebrity in the social news circle), Liu Sau-chi (idol group leader, #1 on the Asia Celebrity List, phenomenal male singer), Ran-er Kim (heiress, new actress, studying in the US)
Thailand: Linnaer (transgender singer, actress)
India: Raj Sharma (Yale student, YouTube celebrity, medical student)
Singapore: Connor Lee (Asian actor, familiar face in American TV shows)
Russia: Andrei (athlete, Olympic shooting champion), Valeriya (ballet dancer)
China: Jian Jing (writer), Jiang BaiYan (actor), Zhang Xue'er (model), Wu Lie (renowned martial arts actor, stunt coordinator, working in Hollywood)
In total, 15 people.
Intense criticism arose domestically.
[So many complaints]
[As expected, most of them are celebrity actors, this is just a variety show]
[I don't know what to say, they are all unfamiliar faces that the public doesn't recognize, but they brought in a bunch of stars, will the reasoning still work?]
[How did they select the participants? Why didn't they invite the champion of our 'The Ultimate Challenge'? They would smash it!]
[Something just feels off, but I can't put my finger on it]
[Only two Russians? What was the basis for the allocation ratio??]
[The bald eagle's PTSD from the Russians still hasn't healed, huh]
[I can only say, not enough LGBTQ representation]
[But they have a transgender person though (smiley face)]
[No need to complain, just do it]
[Small fry like me, forget it, at least Zhang Xue'er has won a major acting award, what is she? She's not even a supermodel!]
...
In short, it stirred up a storm.
Not only was there discussion domestically, but there was also heated debate internationally, with many protesting that the invited guests did not represent the true strength of their respective countries.
Actors, singers, internet celebrities... in the public's eyes, these are not industries that demonstrate representative intelligence.
In response, the production team stated that "The Reasoning King" is a reality show, not a math olympiad or the Olympics, and they are not selecting top talents to compete.
They considered entertainment value and viewability, not professionalism or competitiveness.
If people are pursuing that, why not take online courses? Aren't the public courses from Harvard and MIT highly professional? Look at our local dramas, they also invite stars, hosts, and singers, without any bias.
Jian Jing: I don't believe you.
Your local dramas at least have scripts.
But regardless, as a reality show, they can invite whoever they want, even if it's a little shady, there's nothing you can criticize.
What she's curious about is why Jiang BaiYan ended up there.
She called to ask him.
Jiang BaiYan: I don't know, they invited me, so I just participated.
"What's your test?"
"Puzzles and nitpicking with everyone." He said honestly.
Jian Jing: ... I knew they were messing with me.
"What about the others?"
"Zhang Xue'er has connections, she's a spokesperson for a certain brand, and that brand has a good relationship with the production team. As for Teacher Wu, the production team chose him, they need a familiar face for international viewers, and China would be the first thing they think of."
He analyzed: "Jing Jing, your popularity is high, and you're related to reasoning, they must have invited you. The rest are probably big-name artists."
The production team's screening was very crude - first, you must have fame, at least be well-known domestically, and if you have some international recognition, even better.
And Jiang BaiYan's award-winning film "The Child Who Hides" and his overseas box office success with "Rose Gold" met the criteria.
"I know several colleagues also received invitations, but some were too busy, and some didn't pass the test."
As everyone knows, big-name artists have very tight schedules, constantly receiving invitations, booking up to half a year in advance. But "The Reasoning King" was announced 3 months prior.
Moreover, some artists, though famous and high-traffic, are fairly ordinary in intelligence, the production team couldn't afford to ruin their own brand. Especially for this reality show with guests from diverse nationalities, they had to quickly weed out those who couldn't even write a decent essay.
In summary, with no work lined up after his spy drama, Jiang BaiYan, who has decent fame and passable English, naturally made the cut.
"Jing Jing, is it that you don't want to see me?" He explained, plaintively complaining, "You haven't been very attentive to me lately."
Jian Jing: "Really?"
"Yes." He affirmed, "I know the previous case made you unhappy, but that wasn't my doing, I didn't know they were so ruthless."
Jian Jing couldn't help but say, "It's not about being happy or unhappy, it's spiritual pollution."
"So you're taking it out on me."
"Can't I?" She said sternly.
Jiang BaiYan backed down: "Okay, okay, it's my fault. Please vent your anger on poor Zi Shu, I won't resist."
Jian Jing: "..."
"See you on the cruise." She shook her head, banishing the strange images from her mind, and decisively hung up the phone.
The shooting for the Asia edition of "The Reasoning King" was from November 14th to November 20th, a week-long period.
Jian Jing breathed a sigh of relief, as she wouldn't be able to use communication devices during the shooting. Missing Double Eleven would be disastrous. Her villa was nearing completion, and there was a pile of packages waiting to be collected.
The day before departure, Daniel came to her house to take the Knight.
"Do you really not need me to accompany you?" He asked.
Jian Jing said, "Just watch the live stream calmly, it's just a recording, what danger could there be?"
Daniel calmly replied, "That sentence makes me feel particularly dangerous."
"The recording time is a total of 7 days, with 3 days and 2 nights of real-time live streaming, at least 10 hours per day." He checked the details in the contract, furrowing his brow, "That means, aside from sleeping, you'll be under constant surveillance, is that really okay?"
Jian Jing shrugged, "The 3 days should be fine."
Daniel sighed, a vague sense of unease stirring in his heart again. It felt like one of those afternoons when he forgot to eat, suddenly gulping down a shot of espresso, the stomach stimulated and slowly burning with a dull ache.
But he said nothing, because saying it wouldn't change anything. He just reached out and patted her head.
She turned her head, and the soft strands of her hair obediently clung to his palm.
He felt somewhat relieved, the helpless emotions from earlier dissipating.
"Remember what I told you." Daniel said, "I'll be satisfied with even 1 second."
"That's an exaggeration." She laughed, "Don't worry, Daniel."
He looked at her.
Jian Jing dramatically sighed, grasping his hand, "Don't worry, Muchen."
Daniel finally smiled, but still couldn't shake his concern, insisting on reminding her, "Contact me if anything happens, it doesn't matter if you win or not, your safety is the most important."
"Okay."
"Don't let them bully you." He said, "If they make unreasonable demands, call me immediately, we'll sue if necessary."
"Got it."
Daniel looked around, then asked, "Do you have enough clothes? Do you want to bring some jewelry?"
Jian Jing: "I've packed for 10 days, it's enough."
He: "I'll take you to the airport tomorrow."
"You should take my dog home first." Jian Jing couldn't bear it any longer and pushed him away. "I need to sleep, I have to get up early tomorrow."
Jiang BaiYan finally swallowed the words he was about to say.
"Alright, alright, don't worry, remember to watch the livestream." She threatened, "If you don't watch, I'll never talk to you again."
He couldn't help but laugh: "I'll watch, definitely."
"Good night."
"Good night."
That day, Jian Jing slept well.
The next day, filming began.
The content for the first day was just the characters' introductions, chatting about their thoughts on the show, whether they were confident, whether they were looking forward to it, and so on. Their introductions would be added later to help the audience recognize their faces.
It was uneventful, except that their mode of transportation was a helicopter.
Yes, the team had deep pockets and was well-sponsored, making a grand entrance by gathering everyone via helicopter.
After nearly an hour of flying, Jian Jing landed on the helipad of a cruise ship.
This cruise ship was called the "World Cruise Liner", sponsored by the 3Q Group from South Korea. It could accommodate over five hundred people and was luxurious beyond imagination.
Allegedly, this cruise liner had hosted many celebrities and VIPs, and even some unharmonious parties, according to rumors from South Korean netizens. The truth was still unknown, but Jian Jing thought it might be true, because this cruise liner was even more lavish than the one she attended the auction on previously by many times over.
Come to think of it, that was only a rented ship, but this was the private property of a South Korean business tycoon, so it was bound to be extravagantly luxurious.
The guest rooms were extremely spacious, with balconies overlooking the blue ocean, and bathrooms spanning over a dozen square meters where one could bathe while watching TV and enjoying the ocean view.
All the bedding was brand new silk products, with even a random bottle of wine in the cabinet worth tens of thousands.
Jian Jing: "..."
It felt like she had stumbled into the wrong show.
But this was indeed "The Reasoning King".
After settling in, the fifteen guests had a day to get acquainted with each other. You could choose to chat with others, observe their personalities to better deal with them later, or remain aloof and keep an air of mystery.
Similarly, the more you did, the more material you'd have, and the higher your screen time would be.
Jian Jing decided to lie down first.
At two in the afternoon, Jiang BaiYan arrived and greeted her.
At three, Zhang Xue'er came over and chatted briefly.
At five, Wu Lie found her, and they acknowledged each other.
Well, it was quite obvious that everyone was sticking to their cliques.
The next morning, the fifteen guests made their first group appearance.
Jian Jing saw her competitors for this round, but due to the large number of characters and complex situation, she didn't introduce them for the time being. In short, everyone nodded politely at each other, then sat around the long table in the dining room.
The host introduced himself: "Hello everyone, I'm the host Daniel, welcome to 'The Reasoning King'."
Applause.
Daniel introduced the identity information of each guest one by one.
After introducing one person, that person would stand up, bow, and express sentiments like "I'm happy to participate in the show, and I will definitely win."
It was Jian Jing's turn.
"Jian Jing, a renowned Chinese author, with representative works 'The Child Who Hides', 'Rose Gold', and 'The Demon Doctor'." Daniel's introduction was concise and clear. "Welcome Jian, do you have anything you'd like to say to everyone?"
Jian Jing stood up and looked around, then smiled and said, "Although I'm just a novelist, not a professional detective, I will do my best. Thank you."
Jiang BaiYan applauded vigorously.
Zhang Xue'er and Wu Lie applauded politely.
The Japanese and Koreans applauded halfheartedly.
The Thai, Indian, Singaporean, and Russian contestants applauded unremarkably.
After the round of introductions, Daniel moved on to the main event: "Now, let's begin the role assignment. You all see the two urns in front of me, right? The one on the left is for gentlemen, and the one on the right is for ladies. Please draw your numbers."
The guests took turns drawing numbers in alphabetical order of their surnames.
Jian Jing drew the number "4", a very suitable number for lying down.
"Please go to your rooms on the seventh floor according to your numbers. Your role information will be there." Daniel's lips curved into a mysterious smile. "The story will officially begin the next time we meet."
