As soon as the words fell, the entire venue fell briefly silent, followed by a wave of knowing murmurs.
"No wonder they recorded and archived everything. They wanted to preserve the suspense for the television premiere."
"They really know how to make a show. Even after watching it live, we can't spoil anything. They've got the whole internet on the hook."
"Who's going to be the champion? We have to wait until it airs on TV to find out too? How long will that take?"
The more mysterious it was, the more it left unsaid, the more it could ignite the anticipation of the entire internet.
There was no awards ceremony on site, nor was there a champion's coronation. All the excitement and amazement had been quietly sealed within this concert hall.
The four thousand audience members rose in an orderly fashion, leaving slowly with shock in their hearts and questions filling their minds.
Every face showed lingering satisfaction. They had clearly watched eight god-tier performances with their own eyes, only for everything to stop just as they were about to learn the answer. The experience was novel and unique.
As they made their way out of the venue, the night breeze swept through the streets of Manhattan, washing away the scorching atmosphere inside. Yet the group of five still could not quite come back to their senses.
"That was truly incredible," Mixue said as she walked, her eyes still brimming with excitement. "We watched the entire finale and cast our votes, but we still don't know who the champion is."
Hailey said, "It suddenly feels so special. We were the first people in the world to witness all of this, and the first audience members to vote. Only us and the four thousand people at the venue share this