Chapter 74 – Opening Ceremony

At 9 a.m. on October 2nd, New York time, the Chinese reporters and photographers waited at the hotel entrance as stipulated by the organizing committee and broadcasted tidbits to the domestic audience.

“Everyone watching the live broadcast in front of the TV, are you well? I am a frontline reporter of the World Carnival, Yao Rong. In one hour, the Carnival will officially began! My current location is the door of the hotel arranged by the World Miracle Organization for this event. Our players are staying at this hotel. They will soon come out so let me do a simple interview with them!”

The female reporter in front of the camera spoke quickly. She had her hair in a neat ponytail and lovely dimples when she laughed. As she walked forward, she said, “The six players in the Carnival are very popular gods in China. I believe that everyone must be looking forward to seeing them. Oh, I see Captain Ling. Let’s go to say hello!”

Yao Rong walked quickly to Ling Xuefeng and raised the microphone to his mouth. “Captain Ling, hello! How do you feel about coming to New York?”

Ling Xuefeng’s expression was very calm. “It’s fine.”

“…” This man was particularly difficult to interview but Yao Rong still had to ask, “In this World Carnival, it is said there is a 3v3 match. Captain Ling, can you reveal who will be participating in the 3v3 match?”

Ling Xuefeng said, “It is inconvenient to reveal this. It will be known to everyone after the opening ceremony.”

Yao Rong was forced to let him go. “Then I will let captain Ling go!”

Ling Xuefeng nodded. “Yes.”

She saw Su Guangmo, Yu Pingsheng, Liu Xiang and Yang Muzi coming out of the hotel and her eyes brightened. She walked over and excitedly said, “So many great gods are going to the Carnival?”

Su Guangmo replied, “Yes.”

Yao Rong was curious. “Why is Vice-Captain Yu and Vice-Captain Yang here?”

Yu Pingsheng didn’t like to talk so Su Guangmo answered for him. “I brought my brother over to be an audience member.”

Liu Xiang smiled and said, “I brought Xiao Zi to be a companion otherwise it will be too boring when I’m the only girl.”

She just finished speaking when a familiar voice was heard from not far away. “Hey, hurry up. Don’t be late! Where is the car parked?”

Yao Rong looked back and actually found Tan Shitian and Cheng Wei! There were also the Lou Zhang brothers, Chu Yan and Xiao Zhu!

It was a shocking scene where so many great people stood together. Yao Rong froze for a few seconds before recovering. She immediately ran over and pointed the microphone at Cheng Wei. “Xiao Wei, why are you here?”

Cheng Wei waved at the camera. “I came to be a spectator and to cheer them on.”

Zhang Shaohui also placed his head in front of the camera and waved to the domestic audience. “Hello everyone, doesn’t our Carnival backup group have a lot of people? Don’t you think we are so united and loving? Don’t blacken us later, thank you!”

Everyone, “…”

Silly Zhang, could you not show your IQ in front of the domestic audience!

Lou Wushuang pulled his younger brother away from the camera.

Yao Rong looked at the group gathered together and was shocked. “How come there are so many great gods? Are you planning to crush the other teams with the number of people?”

Chu Yan and Zhu Qingyue also came over. Xiao Zhu waved shyly at the camera and made to wipe at fake tears before walking away. Chu Yan stood in front of the camera and said seriously, “Our country has a large population so it is natural that there are more people coming to New York for sightseeing.”

Tan Shitian smiled and added, “Based on the number of people, our Chinese team has won.”

Cheng Wei cooperated with his captain. “Captain spoke well, clap!”

Everyone, “…”

Tan Shitian was right. The other countries sent six people to the Carnival while the Chinese team… the officials only allowed six people but couldn’t stop them from bringing their own family members!

The result of so many family members meant there were more than 10 great gods gathered.

Of course, the supporters such as Cheng Wei and Zhang Shaohui couldn’t participate in the competition. They could only sit in the audience and cheer for others.

Yao Rong exclaimed, “There are so many great gods cheering. I believe that the representatives for this Carnival can perform very well!”

Nan Jiangang had specifically arranged a shuttle bus to pick up the contestants. As everyone headed towards the vehicle, Yao Rong chased after them. “Can you still not reveal the situation of the 3v3 match?  Captain Tan, Captain Tan, do you want to play the 3v3?”

“Sorry, it can’t be revealed yet.” Tan Shitian smiled and winked at the camera. “This is a tactical secret.”

Everyone, “…”

The Carnival might be an entertainment gathered but so many masters from all over the world were coming today. They had to show the audience something. Therefore, Miracle’s official website announced official news yesterday. The Carnival would have a 3v3 match. Players from all over the world could choose three players in their country to form a small team to play the 3v3 match.

Many Chinese Miracle fans were speculating about which representatives the Chinese team would send. Reporter Yao’s question was the most concerning issue at the moment.

The audience watching the live broadcast listened to Tan Shitian and couldn’t help commenting: [Please put Ling Su Tan together! Is there anyone who would question the strength of these three players?]

[Ling Su Tan would definitely crush all opponents!]

[I am Tan Shitian’s sunspot but today I won’t blacken him. I want Ling Su Tang to join hands!]

***

At the same time, Li Cangyu brought his teammates to the Carnival venue.

Today’s scene was very lively. Looking around, in addition to the local Miracle fans in the United States, many people came from abroad. Everyone spoke different languages but their love for Miracle was strong.

A’Shu was sitting with the ICE team today while Xiao Gu and Uncle Zhang’s seats were together. Li Cangyu could leave them alone but he wasn’t reassured about Xiao Han sitting alone. Therefore, he had Bai Xuan asked the sister sitting next to him to switch seats.

This girl was Asian. It was unknown which country she came from so Bai Xuan asked her to change seats in fluent English.

She came alone and Bai Xuan’s smile was very gentle. The girl easily agreed and changed seats with Xiao Han.  Xiao Han was also very happy at being able to sit with Cat God and Bai Xuan.

The opening ceremony officially began at 10 o’clock.

The opening ceremony was mainly officially prepared performances such as real reproductions of game plots, a large scale 3D stage drama, singing of theme songs, costume shows of different classes, etc. Many well-known singers were also invited.

The venue that could contain tens of thousands of people was packed and the audience was eager.

Once the performances were over, it was the real highlight of the Carnival—the admission of the representatives!

It was the 1st World Carnival so the organizers laid the foundation to promote next year’s World Competition. The Miracle League’s headquarters specifically invited representatives from 16 countries to attend the event.

These 16 countries were all countries that held the Miracle Professional League in recent years. The size of the league might be big or small but the players selected were quite good. In today’s opening ceremony, all the players came on stage and it was a rare star-studded picture, causing many audience members to stand up and clap while screaming desperately!

As thunderous applause spread out, the representatives from all over the world started to appear.

Once the Chinese team entered, Xiao Han found that the man he met in the stores yesterday was actually at the forefront. Wasn’t this Cat God’s weakest friend? How did he become a Carnival player?

Xiao Han looked at Li Cangyu with a puzzled expression. The latter slightly smiled and explained. “Xiao Han, I will introduce you to them. In order of appearance, there is Wind Colour’s captain Ling Xuefeng, Flying Feathers’ Captain Su Guangmo, Time’s captain Tan Shitian, Red Fox’s captain Liu Xiang, Ghost Spirits’ captain Lou Wushuang and Pure Cleansing’s vice-captain Chu Yan. They are very good players of China.”

Xiao Han suddenly realized. Then he was tricked by Cat God? Steamed Bass wasn’t the weakest but was actually the strongest?!

***

The teams appeared based on the country’s English initials and the United States host team appeared last.

Li Cangyu knew only one of the six US members, Jack Josh who was walking in front. He was the world’s most famous blood kin summoner and vice-captain of A’Shu’s ICE team. It was said that his style of play was crazy and violent. He was also very hot-blooded. Li Cangyu sat in the VIP seats of the auditorium and could clearly see his appearance. He was a young and handsome man with a typical blond and blue-eyed Western appearance. He had a very confident expression on his face.

‘One day, I will stand on this stage and challenge you.’

Li Cangyu looked in Jack’s direction and smiled slightly.

These powerful opponents were constantly inspiring him to move forward. Today, he might be sitting under the stage as a trivial audience member but Li Cangyu believed that next year’s scenery would be different.

***

Once all the teams entered the stage, the players sat down and the host announced the rules of the Carnival.

For the 1st World Carnival, the daytime events were all types of fun games. Players were free to sign up for whichever one they wanted and each event had a bonus.  There were events such as playing basketball, playing football, long-distance races, relay races, etc. It was like a fun sports meeting in which the Miracle characters participated.

However, the evening contained the real contest.

The 3v3 matches would be starting tonight. Each country’s team could select three players to sign up for the project. The 16 teams were divided into four divisions and would fight from the group stage to the finale. The champions, runners up and third runners up would receive high bonuses.

In addition, there were the 1v1 matches. All players were free to sign up and play the elimination system. Whoever stood at the end would win a special trophy and a high bonus from the World Miracle Organization.

The list of 3v3 teams sent by various countries started to be published on the big screen.

To the surprise of many viewers, the Chinese representatives actually sent two teams to the 3v3!

Team 1: MOMO, LXF, CY.

Team 2: Tenday, Killer, XX.

The mix of pinyin and English made many foreigners feel puzzled. In particular, the ID of XX was confusing. However, the domestic audience recognized it with one glance. Su Guangmo (MOMO), Ling Xuefeng, (LXF) and Chu Yan (CY), the three old players formed one team! Tan Shitian (Tenday), Lou Wushuang (Killer) and Liu Xiang (XX), the three new generation players formed the second team.

The comments area in the live broadcast site was instantly filled.

[I thought three people would be selected out of six. I didn’t expect the result of two teams!] [Directly sending out two teams, our six Chinese members are awesome!] [Look, both teams are so powerful!] [Which group should I worship?]

Commentator Yu Bing saw this scene and also felt excited. She endured it as she said, “Many viewers thought that Ling Su Tan would likely win the championship if they joined hands.  But obviously, our contestants are so confident that they sent two teams. All six players entering the competition… it is unexpected.”

Kou Hongyi exclaimed excitedly, “Yes! Our country actually sent two teams! I suddenly have a hunch that our first and second team will be in the finals! It is like the table tennis event at the Olympics where our own people competed for the championship.”

Yu Bing spoke calmly, “However, Miracle isn’t a game that originated in our country. There are many excellent foreign players. We should look forward to the wonderful performance of our six national players.”

***

Putting aside China, the countries of South Korea, the United States and France also sent two teams.

South Korea had always been an e-sports powerhouse. The WCG, a comprehensive event hosted by South Korea, became a worldwide event. The United States was the birthplace of Miracle and the e-sports atmosphere was very strong. There were a large number of competitors playing the game. France had been developing rapidly in recent years and the style of their players was very distinctive. The players of these three countries were very strong.

Other countries might not have leagues as big as China, South Korea, the US and France but since they could select three out of six players, the lineup they chose would definitely be stable.

It was really unknown who the final winners would be.

Xiao Han looked at Li Cangyu with concern. “Master, does the Chinese team have a big chance of winning?”

“Well, the current lineup configurations have the most perfect distribution possible with these members. The first team of Ling, Su and Chu have the eruption suppression tactic. The second team will have the unpredictable kiting and assassination tactics.” Li Cangyu explained with a smile. “I’m hoping that they will meet in the finals.”

Xiao Han heard this and his heart was extremely shocked.

Due to the time difference, domestic games were often played at three or four in the morning in Boston. Therefore, he paid little attention to events in China. Once he went abroad with his father, Chinese e-sports were rarely mentioned.

In just a few years, the Miracle players in China had become so strong?