novelraw Chapter 538 468: Before the Promotion Match
Chapter 538 468: Before the Promotion Match
"Good morning everyone! Welcome back to the official live broadcast of the 11th tournament. I'm your favorite host, Ince Bronk."
As soon as the official livestream opened, hundreds of thousands of people flooded in. Listening to the man's passionate tone, the drowsiness and fatigue of the morning washed away, and people's spirits were revitalized.
"I don't know how well you slept last night, but I bet our contestants were tossing and turning. The first round of the qualifying matches is about to begin. From today, 512 teams from around the world will officially compete on the tournament stage."
"Who will shine brightly in the tournament, and who will fade into the crowd? Will the one who wins the championship's key be the star everyone watches or a dark horse that stands out?"
"Let's wait and see!"
The camera pans to a stage. Flames erupt, and a blue-haired girl on stage slowly opens her eyes under the watchful gaze of the crowd. She's dressed in a rock punk style outfit, clutching an electric guitar. Beside her, girls in identical black and red runaway-style uniforms form a neat formation, jumping to the rhythm. Their movements are cool and stylish, quickly energizing the crowd, eliciting enthusiastic cheers from the audience below.
"Little Blue Bird!"
"Tang Xin! Tang Xin! Tang Xin!"
"Miss Tang, we're your fans!"
Tens of thousands of support sticks and banners rise and fall like waves, completely overtaking the audience seats.
"Little Blue Bird's style is so cool, I approve!"
"I love it, as expected of you, you look good in anything."
"Looking at this, I'm just not sleepy anymore."
As the opening program comes to an end, the sponsors' advertisements start to appear one after another.
"This program is sponsored by Light Chasing Media. Are you still hesitating? Do you want to realize your dream? By becoming a contracted artist with Light Chasing Media, you'll enjoy traffic support, two artist training camps..."
"'Return to Future New Century v3000', a revolutionary product by Jiulong Message, will provide you with a surreal visual experience every second, your number one choice."
In the scene, layers of shoji screens in a dim shrine open one by one. A red-haired girl kneels before the shrine, raindrops slide down the vermilion torii, the wooden plaques on the ema board clatter as they collide. The wind passes through the shimenawa under the eaves into the building, gently stirring a wind chime, while a faint flute melody grows more intense. It seems as if someone is playing a thirteen-string zheng behind the scene, the atmosphere climbing steeply.
With a 'clash', the sound of drawing a sword is heard, several shadows leap up together, the surrounding shoji screens shattered by slashing. These shadows collectively gather above the girl, but she lightly parts her crimson lips with a smile, her hand resting on the hilt of a great tachi at her miko uniform's waist, stepping forward to rise.
The blade flashes like lightning on a rainy night, tearing through the darkness!
The darkness recedes, the shadows fall, crimson flows like blood, and the river path blooms with brilliantly red camellias. The red-haired girl's eyes are charming, her every smile enchanting, as she applies vibrant lipstick to her lips, lightly pressing them together, tilting her head slightly and bowing before her collarbone:
"Pear Mountain Tea, wear it for your breathtaking beauty."
"Wait, is this a lipstick ad!?"
"If you hadn't spoken, I would've thought it was Little Raccoon, turns out it's still Little Blue Bird. I was saying, where did Young Master get his business acumen from."
"Seeing those enchanting eyes, I knew it couldn't possibly be Xiaochun. I can only see pure foolishness in her eyes."
"↑How polite are you, I sternly condemn you on behalf of Little Raccoon Protection Society!"
"She's really beautiful, I'm going to get lovesick, hehe."
"Does she captivate both men and women?"
"No way, it's all Xin's ads, wow, how many endorsements did that Dark Gold Rose character accept?"
"Alright, alright, I'm going to report them. How can they exploit artists like this? Darn it, why is Xin with this character? Poor Little Blue Bird for a second."
After the opening curtain fell, the audience's emotions were thoroughly stirred. Countless people looked expectantly at the screen, waiting for the tournament picture to be broadcast.
The livestream comments scrolled past quickly, and the main livestream staff were working intensely while the contestants from different arenas were rubbing their fists, touching their noses with fighting spirit.
Meanwhile, in the contestants' lounge, due to last night's argument, the atmosphere was somewhat delicate. Bai Youyou and Angelina were preparing in silence, Xu Xiaoyou was drawing cards absentmindedly, while Chichu Chun squatted in the corner watching the curtain.
"Wear it for your breathtaking beauty."
Chichu Chun gaped at the screen showing Tang Xin, her eyes full of yearning.
"So beautiful, I wish I could be like Sister Tang."
Xu Xiaoyou glanced at her: "What, you want to become a world-famous superstar too? Just so happens Light Chasing Media is looking for people recently, want to give it a try? Your Sister Tang used to sing out of tune in front of others."
"You, are you serious?" Chichu Chun's ears perked up, casting a curious gaze.
Angelina looked over; she had met Tang Xin before on the island, but at that time, Tang Xin was already a somewhat famous singer known as the Star of Art.
"Why would I lie to you, it's true, she used to get pretty shy at first..."
At that moment, the lounge door opened, and seeing Tang Xin come back, Xu Xiaoyou coughed twice, maintaining a composed face while gazing out the window at a 45-degree angle. Chichu Chun looked at her, then glanced at Tang Xin, the scene echoing in the radar of her mind.
Darn it, she was really curious about how Sister Tang used to interact with You.
She couldn't imagine the way such a composed girl was in her youthful days.
After the girl returned, the already delicate balance became even more so, and no one spoke.
"Xiaoli, grab my clothes."
Tang Xin walked to the wardrobe, removing her punk-style jacket, revealing her fair shoulders and slender neck. Chichu noticed a grim scar on her neck, opened her mouth to say something, but eventually remained silent.
As time ticked away in silence, the only sound in the spacious lounge was the 'rustling' noise of the girl changing clothes.
"I mean, why is no one talking? The competition starts in ten minutes, are we just going to stay stuck like this?" Angelina, finding it too boring, couldn't help but break the silence. "I could keep playing the silent woodman game with you, but the competition is about to start soon. Won't you communicate with your teammates during the competition either?"
Tang Xin slipped on a black T-shirt, pairing it with wide-leg trousers and white canvas shoes. She exhaled lightly, feeling much more relaxed in her casual attire.
She walked past Angelina, placing makeup remover oil on the basin, cupping water to wash off her makeup, revealing a clear face that's quite pleasing upon close inspection, though not as stunning as on stage.
"Alright, Rice Wine, I apologize to you. I said something unpleasant last night, I'm sorry." Angelina, with heavy dark circles under her eyes, said seriously.
"I'm not going to get mad over such things." Chichu Chun turned her embarrassed face away.
"I think you should apologize to me too." Bai Youyou said softly.
"You? I don't think I said anything wrong; and I won last night."
"Click." Bai Youyou turned her head, propping her face with one hand.
"I can tell your apology is not sincere at all."
Xu Xiaoyou breathed a sigh of relief; she had been worried about the atmosphere being tense before the competition.
The ten-minute timeframe flew by, and the system's prompt echoed from the ceiling.
"All contestants, please pay attention."
"The first-round qualifying matches will begin soon. All contestants should prepare. You will soon be randomly matched with opponents by the system and enter a scene in the competition map 'Skyline City'. Depending on the scene, the instance type and rules will vary."
"Now your team 'Light Chasing Garden' will be matched with opponents, please wait."
"Matching successful! 'Light Chasing Garden's opponent in this qualifying match is 'Slaughterer'."
"Qualification match instance 'Tag Express' is loading, please both contestants prepare for entrance."
"The match is about to begin!"