When the host finished his sentence, a few of the guests were speechless.
Among these nine guests, each of them had used four out of the five official spots for the supporting videos.
In other words, they had only invited one 'friend' to be present.
Three of the guests even had their friends shoot five supporting videos, and now, these supporting videos were no longer of any use.
However, the show had already started. So regardless of their ego, they had to do something for the prize money.
When the host started the timer, a countdown appeared on the screen behind them, but the guests did not panic.
With the camera in their faces, six guests went backstage and found their friends. They tried their best to explain the situation before they took out their credit cards and asked their friends to go to the places to buy the things that the program team needed.
These invited friends were definitely rich people. Upon hearing this request, they were extremely unwilling.
Two of them turned around and left, not sensitive to their friend's feelings at all. Whereas the remaining four went in the end, but they were extremely happy.
After having settled the invited friends, the nine guests started to make the phone calls.
They simply tried their luck and contacted the billionaires in their contact list.
During the live broadcast, many awkward scenes popped up.
"What? You want me to go to the baby store to buy diapers for you guys? Are you crazy?"
"Why don't I just buy you guys a supermarket? You think I'm crazy? You guys were the ones who started the joke first."
"I spend a few hundred thousand an hour, and you want me to go to your elementary school to buy pictures? Heh, you've really opened my eyes."
"Wait, are we very close? Don't make jokes like this again next time, or I'll block your number."
"I can't believe it. I'm your landlord, and I charge you money every month, but something baffles me. Who gave you the courage to tell me to ignore my business that's worth millions and run errands for you?"
"Hello, the number you have dialed is in the middle of a call."
"Get lost!"
"Wait, did I hear correctly? Oh, you want me to buy something? And I have to send it to you? Okay, goodbye."
...
The atmosphere at the competition was extremely awkward.
Out of the nine guests, only two of their friends whom they had called agreed, and the other seven were all rejected.
Not only were they rejected, but they were also humiliated in various ways.
The faces of these seven guests were getting more and more unpleasant. They were clearly annoyed.
If not for the signed agreement, which stated that they could not leave midway and tarnish the show's image, they would have given the program writer a tight slap.
Borrowing money was already a very embarrassing thing to do, yet this second round made them even more embarrassed.
No, it was extremely humiliating. It was simply evil.
They wished they could bury their heads in the sand and stayed there for the rest of their lives.
In just five minutes, the entertainment had kicked in.
The audience laughed so hard that they could not close their mouths. Some people, who were very hard to impress, laughed so hard until they teared up and their stomachs ached.
At this moment, Thomson picked up the phone.
He had contacted Gates long before the show, but he did not expect the rules to change at the last minute.
Now he knew why the director kept emphasizing that this round was not as simple as they thought.
However, he did not care at all. In front of everyone, he dialed Gates's number.
Gates was already waiting at the office by now. When he heard Thomson's call, he hurriedly picked up his phone.
"Hello, Mr. Thomson!"
"Gates, there's something I need you to do now."
"Mr. Thomson, please say it."
"Go to the century-old pastry shop in the city center, buy a box of snacks, and then send them to the television station."
"Okay!"
After that conversation, Thomson hung up the phone.
It was then he realized that the entire venue was oddly quiet. His wife was also staring at him with her eyes wide open.
Not only was the audience reacting the same, but the guests had also put down their phones and stared at him blankly.
After more than ten seconds, a burst of laughter came out of nowhere, and eventually, the audience followed suit.
"Pft, hahahahahahahahaha!"
"I... Hahahaha... Did I hear it right? Hahahaha. Did he just order Gates to do something?"