Chapter 191 – Carnival (2)
The Carnival voting officially closed at 24 o"clock on Tuesday. Many people were surprised that Li Cangyu"s votes actually reversed at the last minute, breaking through the 20,000 mark and directly reaching the top four. He closely followed the three giants of the Miracle League, Ling, Su and Tan. This momentum almost seemed enough to overtake the three of them!
Bai Xuan"s number of votes also leapt forward. The moment when the voting channel closed, it jumped to 8th place and was comparable to Vice-Captain Cheng Wei!
The fighting power of the Canglan fans was so amazing that even the official reporters of the league were alarmed. There were soon reporters who discovered the support club and tried to contact Shasha.
The reporter asked, "I heard that many people in the group have supported Li Cangyu and Bai Xuan since the first season. At that time, the team"s results were poor and there were many excellent players in the Miracle League. Why did you like them?"
Shasha replied simply, "There is no reason to like a player. We just like them."
"…" The blocked reporter had to change his words, "What made you stick with liking Cat G.o.d and Vice-Captain Bai for so many years?"
Shasha replied, "I probably didn"t forget my initial heart. I always believed that the person who could compete with Ling Xuefeng for the position of strongest summoner won"t remain silent. Old Cat is just late. He"s worth waiting for."
This interview was published by the reporter on an e-sports website and became the hot news of the day. The t.i.tle "Don"t Forget My Initial Heart" touched many fans who once supported unknown players.
The number of forwards for this report increased and many fans who left Miracle for a long time returned.
Not forgetting the initial heart was the rarest thing.
The support for a player wouldn"t be weakened because of his poor performance. They liked him and firmly believed that one day he could fly to a higher sky, proving his strength to everyone!
***
On Wednesday morning, the Miracle officials announced the partic.i.p.ants for the domestic Carnival project.
They were Wind Colour"s Ling Xuefeng and Yan Ruiwen, Flying Feathers" Su Guangmo and Yu Pingsheng, Time"s Tan s.h.i.tian and Cheng Wei, Canglan"s Li Cangyu and Bai Xuan, Ghost Spirits" Lou Wushuang and Zhang Shaohui, Red Fox"s Liu Xiang and Pure Cleansing"s Chu Yan.
They were the super popular G.o.ds in China. Their foundation was relatively stable and the loyalty of their fans was high.
Young players like Qin Mo, Xiao Han and Chen Anran had fans but there was still a gap compared with the older G.o.ds. They naturally had no chance to be selected.
The 12 people selected received a notice from the league so that everyone could gather at the designated hotel in Shanghai at noon on Sat.u.r.day.
Cheng Wei saw this announcement and immediately called Li Cangyu. "Cat G.o.d, you have also been selected for the Carnival. This is truly great! When are you going to Shanghai?"
Li Cangyu thought, "I am in Shanghai with Ling Xuefeng and I"m lying in Ling Xuefeng"s bedroom!"
Cheng Wei would surely drop his phone in shock if he knew this. Li Cangyu yawned and replied while lying in bed, "I am going there Sat.u.r.day morning. What are you doing during this holiday?"
Ling Xuefeng stretched out an arm and hugged him, clearly hearing the contents of his chat with Cheng Wei.
Cheng Wei told him, "I went to Sanya with Captain Tan. It is really hot and I feel like I am being burnt to charcoal! I"ll send you a photo later. I have two colours all over my body right now!"
Moments later, Li Cangyu"s WeChat received a photo. In front of the blue sea, Cheng Wei was wearing a white cap and short-sleeved t-shirt and smiling at the camera. His face wasn"t tanned because of the hat but his exposed neck, arms and calves were tanned.
Li Cangyu looked at the sharp contrast between his fair face and dark neck and couldn"t help laughing. "The black and white is clear!"
Cheng Wei wondered in a depressed manner, "How can I partic.i.p.ate in the Carnival when I have this ghost-like look?"
Li Cangyu advised him, "Wear a long-sleeved shirt."
Tan s.h.i.tian just finished his shower and saw Cheng Wei sitting on the hotel bed while chatting happily with someone. There was no doubt that it was Cat G.o.d.
Tan s.h.i.tian sat next to him and saw some of the chat contents. He couldn"t help smiling, "I am also turned into charcoal from the sun."
Cheng Wei looked over at him curiously. "Are you tanned as well? Let me see it!"
Tan s.h.i.tian lifted the hem of his bathrobe and revealed a portion of his st.u.r.dy calves. "Look."
Cheng Wei smiled. "You are black and white like me. We match!"
Then he froze as he saw Tan s.h.i.tian gazing at him with a deep look. Cheng Wei immediately realized he made a mistake. His cheeks turned red as he hurriedly explained, "Cough cough, I mean, this is just right… oh, it"s just tanned."
Tan s.h.i.tian smiled and didn"t pester him with this slip. He reached out and squeezed Cheng Wei"s white face before pinching his tanned arm. "Yes, your face is so white and your arms are so dark. It is obviously suntanned with one glance."
Cheng Wei"s hackles rose. "Don"t pinch me!"
Tan s.h.i.tian stretched out his other hand and pinched his right cheek. "It is now symmetrical."
Cheng Wei angrily stood up to hit a person. Tan s.h.i.tian immediately turned and fled. The two people chased each other in the hotel room for a while before Tan s.h.i.tian suddenly turned and stopped. Cheng Wei didn"t have time to brake and slammed in Tan s.h.i.tian"s arms.
Tan s.h.i.tian smiled and hugged Cheng Wei. "Ah, you are so sentimental. I"m embarra.s.sed!"
Cheng Wei was so angry he was going to blow up. His face was extremely red as he exclaimed, "Tan s.h.i.tian, how is your face so thick? I won"t go anywhere with you in the future. Don"t you know that your smile is particularly annoying?"
This person spoke extremely fast with flushed cheeks. Tan s.h.i.tian thought he looked exceptionally cute.
Tan s.h.i.tian sometimes felt that he was stupid. He always wanted to bully Cheng Wei and provoke Cheng Wei"s anger because this way Cheng Wei would place all his attention on Tan s.h.i.tian.
Tan s.h.i.tian sighed gently in his heart and let go of Cheng Wei. "Okay, don"t be noisy. I have booked a ticket. We will play for another day before flying directly to Shanghai on Friday."
Cheng Wei was startled. "You"ve bought the plane tickets already? Why didn"t you ask me for my ID number…"
Tan s.h.i.tian smiled, "I have already memorized your ID number."
Cheng Wei was still angry at Tan s.h.i.tian for teasing him but he felt touched. This person was able to recite Cheng Wei"s ID number, showing that Tan s.h.i.tian actually cared about him. Cheng Wei suddenly felt very happy.
"It is almost the same!" Cheng Wei instantly smiled. "Did you expect both of us to enter the Carnival?"
“Of course, who else would enter? Do you doubt our popularity?"
"…" Cheng Wei almost choked on his saliva. "Hey, did you learn to boast from the Canglan team? This will give Time a bad reputation!"
***
On the Sat.u.r.day that the Carnival opened, the 12 selected players gathered at the designated hotel. Everyone was surprised that the captain Ling Xuefeng and vice-captain Yan Ruiwen didn"t arrive at the same time. The captain Li Cangyu and vice-captain Bai Xuan also acted separately. However, Ling Xuefeng was the one who drove Li Cangyu to report to the hotel.
The person in charge of the front desk stared at them with confusion. The two people remained calm and didn"t explain too much. Once the formalities were completed, they grabbed their room cards and headed to their respective rooms to rest.
Bai Xuan soon arrived. He saw Li Cangyu drinking tea on the sofa and wondered, "Where have you been these days? Why didn"t you go back to the club?"
Li Cangyu replied, "I was casually strolling around."
Bai Xuan smiled. "Strolling around with Ling Xuefeng?"
Li Cangyu looked up doubtfully. "How did you guess?"
"I took a taxi and happened to see the two of you arrive at the hotel together."
"Yes, I stayed in Shanghai for two days and strolled around with him." Li Cangyu replied honestly.
Bai Xuan stared at him carefully and found that there was nothing wrong with his expression. Thus, Bai Xuan didn"t ask anymore.
At 2 in the afternoon, the league sent a car to bring the 12 Carnival players to the venue.
The venue had long been full of fans. Many people held fluorescent signs to cheer for their favourite player. Li Cangyu unexpected found a place holding the Canglan logo. The white and blue uniform of the Canglan team was particularly conspicuous.
Li Cangyu smiled and waved in that direction. The fans excitedly raised the team logo higher!
Bai Xuan had some doubts. "Are there so many Canglan fans in Shanghai?"
Li Cangyu explained, "A group of veterans who liked us for many years built a support group. Do you remember the girl called Shasha? The people who arrived here should be organized by her."
Bai Xuan said, "I remember her. That year she gave me a homemade pillow that I really liked."
Bai Xuan felt emotional as he thought of losing that match and then receiving a gift from the fans.
Li Cangyu smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "It will be better."
***
This year"s Carnival was very different from previous years. In order to save time, entertainment projects like the racing and tree-climbing were greatly reduced, leaving only fun compet.i.tive games where two teams faced each other.
"For this fun compet.i.tion, we will be divided into the Frost Team and Fire Team. Each contestant will first draw a lot to decide their team!" The host read the rules and brought the lottery box to everyone.
Ling Xuefeng grabbed something and it was the snowflake badge of the Frost team. He consciously stood on the ice blue side of the big stage.
Next was Su Guangmo who got the fire badge and went to the right side that contained a fire sign.
When it was Li Cangyu"s turn, he put his hand in the box and drew a snowflake bad. The Frost Team!
Li Cangyu walked to Ling Xuefeng"s side and Ling Xuefeng stared at him. The two people smiled at each other.
This scene made people feel a bit dazed. Weren"t they the strongest opponents? What did they mean by smiling at each other? Were they that happy to be in the same team?
Li Cangyu was naturally very happy. He had never been eligible to partic.i.p.ate in the Miracle Carnival project before. This was the first time he was partic.i.p.ating and he was a.s.signed to a team with Ling Xuefeng. Wasn"t this fate?
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Chapter 192 – Carnival (3)
The host took the box to the great G.o.ds in turn and the 12 people were quickly put into groups.
In addition to Ling Xuefeng and Li Cangyu, the other members of the Frost Team were Cheng Wei, Zhang Shaohui, Liu Xiang and Chu Yan. Su Guangmo, Yu Pingsheng, Ghost Spirits" captain Lou Wushuang, Time"s captain Tan s.h.i.tian, Bai Xuan and Yan Ruiwen were in the Fire Team.
The Frost Team had the double summoners Ling Xuefeng and Li Cangyu but the Fire Team had the three super popular captains of Su, Tan and Lou. The strength of both sides could be called quite equal.
For this grouping, the happiest one was Cheng Wei. Once he draw the badge, he immediately ran to Li Cangyu"s side with a smile. "Hey, Cat G.o.d and I are in a team. We will definitely win and kill them!"
His expression really was like a kitten. Li Cangyu saw him smiling so happily and patted him on the shoulder. "Do a good job later."
Cheng Wei formed fists and cried out, "Of course!"
***
The host posted the list of members for both teams on the big screen while also opening the voting channel for the off-site audience.
Within three minutes, the Frost and Fire teams support votes exceeded 20,000, showing that the gap in fans for both sides wasn"t large.
The host asked the 12 great G.o.ds to take the seats on both sides of the stage.
The Carnival was grand in scale and the venue was carefully arranged. There was a ice-blue light on the Frost Team"s side, while the floor of the stage was rendered with the effect of ice and snow. On the other side, the Fire Team naturally had warm red lights and the stage was like flashing flames.
For the Frost Team, Ling Xuefeng naturally sat in first place and Li Cangyu consciously sat next to him. Cheng Wei immediately followed and sat next to Cat G.o.d while the other players were more casual about their position.
Everyone in the Fire Team was also sitting around while the most qualified Su Guangmo was pushed to the top.
The contestants on both sides were ready and the host announced the rules of the compet.i.tion. "There are three projects today. The team that wins two of them will win. The first one is—the knowledge contest! ""At the beginning of the game, the topic will be released on the big screen. Once you see the question, you can start to answer it. You can get 10 points for a correct answer and will be deducted 10 points for a wrong answer. There are 12 questions in total and the team with the highest score will win! Do you have any questions about the rules of the game?"
Li Cangyu had watched some broadcasts of the previous Miracle Carnivals and there was no knowledge compet.i.tion. He was confused and asked Ling Xuefeng, "Is this a new game added this year?"
Ling Xuefeng tilted his head and whispered in Li Cangyu"s ear. "Yes, from the third season, the Carnival"s annual events were updated to keep it fresh for the audience. This year is the first year the knowledge contest has emerged."
Li Cangyu suddenly realized. "Oh, no wonder. I remember it used to be 1v1, a team battle and a race or something."
The two people were whispering together, lips stuck to their ears. The host couldn"t help joking, "Cat G.o.d, you should ask me the questions! Don"t just ask Captain Ling. I am the host!"
Li Cangyu turned around and gave a handsome smile. "Sorry, this is the first time I"m partic.i.p.ating in the Carnival and I was too excited."
The words made the audience burst out laughing while those in the front row felt complicated. Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng were openly whispering and this image was really blinding. Were they really the strongest opponents? If they have such a good relationship then what about the fans? The war of words between the fans weren"t over yet so couldn"t the two of them cooperate?
Then Cheng Wei suddenly raised his hand. "Host, I would like to ask a question. Is there no time limit for answering? For example, in many knowledge questions, everyone will press the buzzer in advance and then answer."
The host smiled and said, "We don"t have a time limit. The question will be shown on the big screen and everyone will see it. If you know the answer, you can press the answer buzzer. If you have confidence in your answer then you can answer it in advance."
Cheng Wei nodded thoughtfully. "I understand!"
"Does anyone else have questions?"
Zhang Shaohui raised his hand. "What if two people press the buzzer at the same time?"
The host replied, "There will always be a second difference. Our buzzers are very sensitive." Zhang Shaohui seriously asked, "What if it is really at the same time?"
The host was helpless. "If it is at the same time then the question will become invalid."
Zhang Shaohui smiled. "Understood!"
"If there are no problems then the first round of our knowledge contest will officially begin! Audience members here and watching in front of the TV, if you know the answer then you can send it directly to our official public platform. The top six who answer the most questions correct will receive an official commemorative souvenir!"
***
At this time, many professional players not partic.i.p.ating in the Carnival were watching the live broadcast on TV.
In the Canglan training room, everyone was gathered in one place. Xie Shurong opened the big screen the captain usually used to explain tactics and connected to the live broadcast room, just like watching a movie.
Upon hearing the host, the four teenagers immediately took out their phones and prepared to answer the questions.
Zhang Cheming couldn"t help wondering, "Are you that interested in signatures? What if the prize is Cat G.o.d"s signature? You can just wait for him to come back."
Gu Siming"s fingers quickly moved on his phone as he said, "No. The signature is usually given to an audience member randomly drawn. The off-site audience generally receives a super precious limited edition!"
Zhang Jueming heard this and also shamelessly pulled out his phone. "Then I will also partic.i.p.ate!"
After one minute of preparation time, the first question finally appeared on the big screen.
[There are six races in Miracle, of which the one with the fastest movement is…]
Buzz!
The light in front of the Frost Team"s Cheng Wei suddenly lit up. He had quickly pressed the answer b.u.t.ton.
"The elf race!" Cheng Wei excitedly cried into the microphone. "Did I get it right?"
The host smiled. "The answer is wrong. The Frost Team has lost 10 points."
Cheng Wei"s expression was dull, as if he couldn"t believe that he actually answered wrong…
“Isn"t the elf race the fastest? I can"t make such a low-level mistake!" Cheng Wei stared at the host for a clarification.
The host helplessly said, "The question isn"t asking for the race that is the fastest. Vice-Captain Cheng, keep looking at the question."
Cheng Wei scratched his head. "Oh…"
The question continued to be typed out on the big screen in black font. [The fastest is the elf race. The elves have a special racial movement skill called Flying Feather Steps. The cooldown time of Flying Feather Steps is…]
Buzz! The light in front of the Frost Team"s Zhang Shaohui lit up and he answered decisively. "Five seconds!"
The host said, "The answer is wrong. The Frost Team has lost 10 points."
Zhang Shaohui made a dull expression. "It isn"t five seconds?"
The host looked very helpless. "The question isn"t asking this."
The audience burst out laughing. The Frost Team"s Cheng Wei and Zhang Shaohui were simply living treasures! Giving 20 points away in the beginning, it was really terrible for their other teammates.
The question on the big screen continued. [The cooldown is five seconds. If an elf player"s Flying Feather Steps is in cooldown, how long does it take to finish a 20 metre waterway at a normal speed?]
The pile of nonsense at the beginning was obviously to deliberately confuse the contestants and people like Cheng Wei and Zhang Shaohui actually fell for it!
Buzz! At the end of the question, the Fire Team"s Lou Wushuang pressed the buzzer. He pushed his gla.s.ses up his nose and replied coldly, "It takes 15.5 seconds."
The host clapped. "The answer is correct! The Fire Team has gained 10 points!"
The audience gave Lou Wushuang a warm applause.
They heard that Captain Lou was really good at mathematics and he could instantly calculate the answer to this question. The man"s expression was cold and he usually didn"t like to be interviewed, but this image of an iceberg man attracted many fans. For the players who especially loved to play an a.s.sa.s.sin, Lou Wushuang was regarded as the perfect a.s.sa.s.sin male G.o.d.
As for Zhang Shaohui…
The teasing type a.s.sa.s.sin was really the wrong style!
On the big screen, the Fire Team had 10 points while the Frost Team had -20 points. Cheng Wei and Zhang Shaohui were tearful while Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng were helpless. What was with these pig teammates? Why were they in a hurry to answer? The question hadn"t finished!
The audience also found it ridiculous. They saw the Fire Team"s 10 points and the Frost Team"s -20 points and many people expressed concern about Cheng Wei and Zhang Shaohui"s IQ…
In the live broadcast room, people commented: [I feel that the Fire Team can win this game!] [Cheng Wei and Zhang Shaohui must be undercovers sent by the Fire Team!] [Vice-Captain Zhang listens to his brother. Once his brother"s cold eyes swept over him, he automatically answered and lost points!] [The Fire Team has Captain Lou. Captain Lou is a famous school tyrant. If there are more calculation questions then the Fire Team will win!]
The problem was that the two pig teammates Cheng Wei and Zhang Shaohui gave away 20 points. Li Cangyu had a headache as he explained to Cheng Wei, "Wait for the question to finish before answering."
Cheng Wei nodded with a red face. "Yes!"
Zhang Shaohui scratched his head with embarra.s.sment as he saw Lou Wushuang slightly smiling across the stage because of his correct answer. Zhang Shaohui felt that he was a big stupid. No, he was stupid. He shouldn"t go for the buzzer!
***
Due to the Frost Team"s loss in the first question because of the two living treasures, Cheng Wei and Zhang Shaohui consciously quieted down and acted as soy sauce.
[Which of the following is a difficult kill map in the professional league. A: Endless Sea…]
Buzz! This time the light in front of Li Cangyu turned on.
"I select A." Li Cangyu spoke confidently.
The host asked, "Cat G.o.d, do you want to consider other options? BCD hasn"t appeared yet."
Li Cangyu simled. "It must be A. We always choose this map at home."
Endless Sea was indeed a kill map that Canglan chose at home. It was no wonder why he pressed the buzzer in an instant. However, everyone had to admire his reaction rate. Some people hadn"t finished reading the question when he finished answering!
The host"s eyes lit up with appreciation. "Let"s see the rest of the answers. B: Dark Cave. C: Ice Valley. D: Demon Forest. The correct answer is A. The Frost Team has gained 10 points."
The audience members warmly clapped.
It was an early answer but Cheng Wei and Zhang Shaohui both lost 10 points while Li Cangyu decisively gained 10 points. So… Cat G.o.d was reliable while Vice-Captain Wei and Zhang only dragged down their legs.
Cheng Wei was confused. "How can you answer it correctly in advance?"
Li Cangyu explained, "The wording of the question shows that it is clearly a multiple choice question. If you see the right option then you can answer it directly. There is no need to wait."
Cheng Wei blushed and scratched his head. "Oh…"
He was bad in school. Every time there was a test, he was busy biting his pen and didn"t have any skills when it came to answering questions.
Li Cangyu had answered a question correctly but the Frost Team started to -20 points. The addition of 10 points was still a negative score. It wasn"t easy to catch up.
"Please look at the third question!" The host released the next question on the big screen. [The angel white magician has only 30% and 20% blue left. The demon black magician has only 20% blood and 30% blue left. The two people have a similar level. In a stateless and ordinary map showdown, what is their winning percentage?"
The audience, "…"
This type of question was similar to: Xiao Ming departed form the airport to the station and Xiao Tian departed from the station to the airport. If their speed is x.x.x each, how long does it take to meet?
How could they calculate the probability? The question was really difficult for a lot of professional players.
Cheng Wei even took out his phone to use it as a calculator.
The result was that the question just appeared when Ling Xuefeng on the Frost Team pressed the buzzer.
The host was surprised. "Has Captain Ling figured it out?"
Ling Xuefeng answered calmly, "There is no need to calculate anything. The winning percentage is 50%."
The host looked confused. "The white magician"s blood is higher while the black magician"s blue is higher. How can the winning percentage be equal?"
Ling Xuefeng explained, "This amount of blood means a set of moves can take away the life. The person who finds an opportunity first will win. The amount of blue and blood given is just to confuse everyone. We don"t need to pay attention to it."
The answer on the big screen was really 50%.
The host looked at Ling Xuefeng with an expression of worship. "Captain Ling is really amazing. You can see it instantly!"
The Captain Ling fans excitedly filled the screen with flowers.
Ling Xuefeng was already handsome and his calm expression when answering the question could be made into a desktop image. Many people commented: [Lick Captain Ling!] [I am licking the screen +1!]
[Today"s uniform is so handsome!]
[I suddenly feel that when Captain Ling and Cat G.o.d are sitting together, the uniform is a bit like a couples outfit…]
This comment was instantly killed by fans of both sides.
[Get lost, we don"t want to be a couple with the cat!] [The Canglan team"s uniform is ugly. Who wants to be paired with Canglan?] [The Wind Colour uniform is ugly and I can"t look directly at it. Adding a red embellishment to black, it is just like the scene of a murder!] [White with blue is more like a rag!]
The fans on both sides were arguing while at the venue, Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng were clapping in celebration for the Frost Team finally returning to 0 points after losing 20 points due to their pig teammates.
Ling Xuefeng wearing black and red was extremely calm while Li Cangyu wearing white and blue was extremely sunny and refreshing. The moment the two of them clapped in celebration, they seemed a bit like a couple…
The arguing in the live broadcast room stopped and the fans on both sides were tearful. The relationship between the two G.o.ds was so good that the fans felt like their left hand was twisting their right hand. No one could win!
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