After speaking, Jing Hongyi handed the microphone to Li Xiang and nodded to him with a smile.
Li Xiang quickly bowed in return, then turned to face the camera and the audience, continuing the competition's proceedings, "Currently, the players from the four teams have entered the rest area to wait. Before the championship begins, we will hold a match for third and fourth place, with the two teams competing being the Light and Brightness Team and the Dark Horse Team."
As soon as the words were spoken, a group photo of the two teams appeared on the giant light screen.
" The Dark Horse Team, a true underdog team that made a remarkable comeback, has stormed into the semifinals with an average age of no more than sixteen," Li Xiang introduced expertly.
Chapter 127
" The Light and Brightness Team, a team that has demonstrated exceptional strength since the qualifying rounds. Their maturity and unstoppable fighting power in the earlier rounds have won them many fans. So what kind of exciting match will these two teams bring us today? Stay tuned!"
The images on the giant light screen behind them then changed.
A new line of text appeared above: [Fifty-nine minutes remaining until the start of the bronze medal match...]
On the stage, Deputy Director Wang slightly turned to the side, gesturing for others to proceed, "Please go first."
Jing Hongyi didn't stand on ceremony, smiled and nodded at him, then turned and stepped off the stage.
The competition specially created exclusive seats for the three judges in the stands.
A short while later, Jing Hongyi and the other two took their seats.
At this moment, all the lights on the arena turned on.
The automatic lift platform slowly rose, and the dance troupe, dressed in neat costumes, appeared before the camera.
Dazzling lights and cheerful accompaniment rang out simultaneously.
All eyes in the room immediately turned to this.
Inside the team's rest area.
The on-site staff then invited each of the four teams to the backstage interview area.
Xu Jintang and his four companions sat down in a row.
The staff quickly set up the camera and microphone in front of them.
Then the staff member in charge of the interview came over, holding a question card, and sat down opposite him.
He smiled and greeted them, "Hello, I'll be in charge of this interview. It will be broadcast live, so if any of you five have anything you'd like to be asked, please let me know beforehand."
Xu Jintang leaned back lazily in her chair. "I don't have any privacy."
Song Tianqi and the others echoed, "We don't have any either."
The staff member nodded. "Okay. Our interview will officially begin in fifteen minutes. Everyone can get ready."
Xu Jintang immediately glanced at Xue Zhongqi, "Remember that bet from last time?"
Xue Zhongqi straightened his back, adjusted his collar, and said, "I remember. Don't worry, a bet's a bet. Song Tianqi and I will cover the interview later."
Song Tianqi cleared his throat. "Thank you, we'll take it all."
Yan Yuting smiled and relaxed, placing his hands on the armrests of the chair. "Then we'll be waiting to see how you two perform."
Interviews are not easy, especially live ones. If you accidentally say something wrong, there's no chance to take it back.
Meanwhile, on the other two sides, interviews and live streams for other teams were also being prepared.
Fifteen minutes later.
The exclusive interview live streams for the four teams were launched simultaneously.
[Let's watch the Mask Squad's interview!]
[Ahhh, I can't wait! The bronze medal match starts in forty minutes, followed by the championship match.]
[ The Mask Squad will win!! Charge!]
A large number of viewers flooded into the live stream room instantly, and the screen was quickly filled with comments.
The staff responsible for interviewing the Mask Squad immediately switched to work mode after seeing the red light on the camera.
He smiled and raised the microphone. "Welcome to the pre-match interview live stream. A week before the championship match, we collected a total of thirteen questions online. Today, I will be here on behalf of our many fans to interview the Mask Squad."
Then, the satellite camera automatically hovered up and scanned Xu Jintang group of five one by one.
The staff member picked up the answer sheet, glanced at it, and said, "Now, let's get straight to the point. The first question is, what are your thoughts on the fact that you all made it to the semi-finals with an average age of no more than sixteen?"
"Who among you can answer this question?" The staff member looked across the room.
Xue Zhongqi immediately raised his hand, "I'll do it."
"It's truly incredible that we've advanced to the semifinals at this age and with this level of ability. But I believe it's all thanks to the combined efforts of all five of us. We will give it our all in today's match and fight to the very end. Thank you."
A very appropriate and thoughtful answer.
The staff member smiled and nodded, "Okay, let's move on to the second question..."
Xue Zhongqi answered all three questions in a row.
When the fourth question came up, Song Tianqi took over and answered it.
[Wait, why are the answers always about Hot Air Balloon and Big Watermelon?]
[One of them answered so thoroughly, the other so carelessly. Why didn't they let the Foodie and the Ruthless Killer say more? Hahaha.]
[The "Foodie" and the Ruthless Killer" are still the most impressive speakers. Let them answer the next question!]
The staff in charge of the interview immediately understood the audience's request.
When answering the fifth question, he specifically mentioned Foodie, "So, what does Captain Foodie have to say about his prediction for today's match result?"
Since they had specifically asked, Xu Jintang naturally couldn't refuse any longer, so he had no choice but to say, "I think..."
The satellite camera immediately turned to Xu Jintang, giving her a high-definition close-up.
She said calmly, "Today's championship belongs to us."
[Damn! I love the Mask Squad's badass vibe!]
[Hahahaha, I can't wait for the championship match, let it begin!]
[Wait, isn't she afraid of being proven wrong later?]
[You don't understand, this is always how Foodie doesn't work at cooking) talks, and so far, she hasn't been proven wrong even once, hahaha.]
The staff member smiled slightly, "Okay. Let's move on to the next question..."
The other three teams also conducted their own pre-match interviews.
On the stage, one group dance ended, and soon another idol group appeared.
The stage lights illuminated the entire venue.
In the audience stands, Miao Mingzhi, feeling suffocated by the ghost mask, asked, " Xiao Zhuang, how much longer do we have to wait?"
Zhuang Silin was also sweating profusely from the stuffiness. "It should be soon. If you feel uncomfortable with the mask, you can take it off. There are many people here, and the lighting is dim, so no one can tell who's who."
Miao Mingzhi grunted in response and took off the ghost face mask from his head.
A breath of fresh air rushed towards him, and Miao Mingzhi relaxed slightly.
She looked around with considerable emotion, "I didn't expect this year's Ability User Competition to be so popular; the entire venue is packed."
While the Ability User Competition of previous years were also very popular, they were nowhere near as terrifying as this one.
The sheer number of tickets available for purchase is enough to break records set in previous years.
Zhuang Silin and the others removed their ghost face masks and replied with a smile, "Yes. This year, everyone says it's because the Mask Squad suddenly appeared that brought this kind of buzz to the competition."
Miao Mingzhi smiled slightly. "Indeed."
The audience stands in the next section.
Jing Yuanzheng and Yu Wanyao sat together, very close to each other. They both seemed a little reserved, probably because they hadn't seen each other for a long time.
The silence lasted for a moment Yu Wanyao broke it by speaking first, "Why is your father a judge?"
Jing Yuanzheng quickly coughed and said, "I don't know either. Maybe he came because the competition invited him."
At this point, he looked up at Jing Hongyi, who was already seated on the judges' panel, cleared his throat, and began a new topic. "How have you been lately? Are you doing well?"
Yu Wanyao: "It's alright."
Jing Yuanzheng continued, "I've been interning in the military for a while now, and I feel that life in the military is indeed different from what I experienced at the academy."
Yu Wanyao glanced at him. "You don't need to make small talk. Just watch the game."
Jing Yuanzheng, then smiled knowingly, "Okay."
The two dance performances have ended.
Another choir came up, and their high-pitched and melodious voices immediately filled the entire venue.
"You know what, the tickets were expensive, but we saw a lot more of the show, and even saw the Commander-in-Chief. Overall, it was pretty worth it."
"I really liked the second dance we just saw..."
Quiet murmurs arose from the audience in the stands.
At this moment, the four teams that were conducting pre-match interviews backstage had finished asking their questions.
Xu Jintang and his group of five were the first to get up and head towards the rest area.
The Dark Horse Team and the Light and Brightness Team went in opposite directions.
"Are they off preparing for the third-place match?" Song Tianqi asked curiously.
Yan Yuting nodded, "Hmm. Who do you think will get third place?"
Xue Zhongqi, pondered for a moment, and said, "I think the Light and Brightness Team has the edge."
"I'm optimistic about the Dark Horse Team," Song Tianqi said, offering a different opinion.
Yan Yuting pondered for a moment before speaking, "I think it's a 50/50 split; both teams are quite strong."
Xu Jintang added, "We studied the Light and Brightness Team last time; I suspect they still have some trump cards up their sleeves. Their chances of winning today are quite high."
Jiang Shiyi nodded, "Yes."
The five of them talked as they returned to the team's rest area.
After sitting down in the sofa area, the giant light screen in front of me switched to the arena.
"Hello everyone! I'm your host Li Xiang." Li Xiang had been absent for a long time, reappeared on stage. "Next up is today's first third-place match! Please welcome the members of the Dark Horse Team and the Light and Brightness Team!"