OIAA: Chapter 34

Due to the opening ceremony of the College Abilities League, the entire scene was like a grand ceremony. Above the stadium, holographic projections repeatedly played back classic clips over the years. The atmosphere was mobilized to the peak in the blink of an eye.

It was the first time Yi Jiamu had been to such an occasion. He walked behind the people of Sublime Star toward the designated area and watched the realistic image display with interest.

Those who could play in the early stages of the league must be a very dazzling existence. However, for a new audience member like Yi Jiamu who only had a preliminary understanding, most of them didn’t leave a deep impression.

It wasn’t until the familiar Sublime Star school uniform appeared in his field of view that he stopped slightly and reached out a hand to the person in front of him. “Senior, this seems to be you?”

Gu Yesheng hadn’t been paying attention. He looked up after hearing the words and nodded. “Yes, it’s me.”

After each player’s holographic scene was over, they would stay on the edge of the stadium as a fixed display. Perhaps it was because Gu Yesheng’s previous appearance was too impressive. The special effects around him was actually a vague black mist. This gave him a cold air of gloom.

Gu Yesheng thought about it and gave up discussing the styling with the child in depth. He didn’t know how he had offended the organizer. The other people’s displayers were so dazzling. How could his one be so gloomy?

Gu Yesheng stopped talking but unexpectedly, Yi Jiamu asked one more question. “Do you not like this look?”

Gu Yesheng didn’t know how to answer this question. In normal times, he wouldn’t care even if the organizers put his holographic image in female clothing. However, the child was present today. Perhaps it was because his expression was too hesitant. Yi Jiamu had originally just been asking casually but now his eyes became thoughtful and he said, “Actually, this look is very beautiful.”

Gu Yesheng couldn’t hear the comfort in the words and he smiled. “If you like it.”

Yi Jiamu’s gaze swept over Gu Yesheng’s face and he smiled.

By the time the Sublime Star team reached their position, many players from different schools had already taken their seats. The remaining school teams arrived one after another and the players’ area gradually filled up, attracting the attention of spectators from all directions.

The organizers were well-prepared and a remote shooting system was installed in advance. The photos of the players of each team were captured remotely and they were ready to be published on the Star Network after the opening ceremony.

At nearly 9 o’clock, the music in the venue stopped abruptly. The lights in the venue dimmed and there were bursts of screams from the crowd. Yi Jiamu couldn’t react for a while. He couldn’t help grabbing the hand next to him and then the red lights came back on. He realized that he was actually pressing on the back of Gu Yesheng’s hand. Something flashed in his eyes and he took it back.

Just then, all the holographic images suspended above the venue moved again. It was different from the initial highlights. This time, it demonstrated everyone’s abilities one by one in a close and dazzling manner.

Once it was Gu Yesheng’s turn, an NPC with an ordinary face appeared in front of him. The moment Gu Yesheng raised his hand to use his ability, the NPC held his head with a pained expression and lay on the ground struggling. Then… it ended. There was no comparison at all to the presentation effects for players with elemental and combat abilities.

Seeing this, Xu Yi couldn’t help laughing. Then he met a cold gaze and survival instincts made him tightly cover his mouth. It was okay to laugh once but if he laughed again, he might really die.

Gu Yesheng’s lips were pressed tightly together. He stopped paying attention to Xu Yi and turned to glance at Yi Jiamu’s expression. Then he leaned in and whispered, “You don’t know anyone else here. Do you want me to introduce them a little bit?”

It had to be said that the effect of this distraction was very significant. Yi Jiamu heard all the cheers and was suffering from not knowing the other players. He heard Gu Yesheng’s words and nodded immediately. “Of course!”

Gu Yesheng was naturally familiar with these old opponents. The introduction of each person’s abilities was very complete.

He didn’t know why but he felt unprecedented patience when facing Yi Jiamu. The level of detail introduced was more comprehensive than the online database. This allowed Yi Jiamu to quickly recognize the players.

Once the display of the holographic images of dozens of senior players was completed, the opening ceremony of the Abilities League officially began!

After the prelude, the enthusiasm of the audience had been fully mobilized. It wasn’t until the host’s loud voice was heard that their attention was drawn. It was just like the previous opening ceremonies. The opening ended and there was a long speech session.

This type of session had always been boring but after this, they could see the group of star players. Therefore, the audience was full of reverie. As one of the upcoming participants, Gu Yesheng himself was quite looking forward to it.

In order to maintain freshness, the official content of the all-stars performances would be updated every time. The group competition was the top priority. It was unknown what interesting settings the planners for this year’s opening ceremony would come up with.

Once the speech session was about to end, the staff came to the contestants’ area and summoned the 15 all-star contestants to gather. Seeing three people stand up from Sublime Star, the players from other schools were a bit restless.

It wasn’t until the players were further away that they started to whisper. Yi Jiamu’s hearing had always been good. Even if he was just sitting here, the discussion of those behind him still clearly fell into his ears.

“The all-stars have 15 spots in total and Sublime Star actually accounted for three. It is a bit fierce!

“What fierceness? It is just superficial. Don’t you see that they are participating with the same lineup as last year?”

“No, I seem to have seen two new faces?”

“Didn’t you do your homework? I went to investigate last night. Those two are both freshmen this year. How long has it been since the school year started? It is obviously to make up the numbers.”

“You can’t say that. Even if it is just making up the numbers, the main lineup of Sublime Star’s main team is already strong enough.”

“It is strong but didn’t they only take second place last year? As far as I know, both Perpetual Full Moon and Burning Wood have made targeted adjustments this year, not to mention the number one Holy Sun last year. Sublime Star is using the old lineup and it would be good if they manage to maintain the top three rankings.”

“Hahaha, to be honest, I’m not very optimistic about them. Let me tell you…”

At this point, they abruptly fell silent. These people inadvertently raised their heads and saw the young man sitting in the Sublime Star area in front of them turn to stare at them with apricot coloured eyes.

The people gossiping, “……”

This was probably the legendary ‘being caught when speaking malicious words?’ For a time, even the shouts around them couldn’t cover the thick embarrassment in the air. One of the contestants participating in the discussion was hesitating on saying a few words to save it when he saw the teenager raise a middle finger while still maintaining his blank expression.

Everyone, “……”

Three people had left and Xu Yi’s left and right sides were empty. He was preparing to use Yi Jiamu as his next target to both with his constant talking. As a result, he turned his head and saw such a provocative action.

He looked curiously in the direction of Yi Jiamu’s gaze and moved his ass to Gu Yesheng’s original position. “Mumu, what’s wrong? Did the Falan team provoke you?”

It turned out that these people were from the Falan College team. Yi Jiamu calmly made a note in his heart and turned back around. “It’s nothing.”

Xu Yi had been in contact with Yi Jiamu for a while and knew this person’s personality. Hearing this, he obviously didn’t believe it and he glanced suspiciously at the players of the Falan team. The players had a guilty conscience. They really didn’t want to clash with Sublime Star so they moved their gazes to other places.

This made Xu Yi even more suspicious. He was just about to ask more questions when the audience let out deafening cheers that pierced the sky. In the distance, a row of figures could be seen on the stage. Today’s most anticipated all-stars section had finally officially begun.

Xu Yi opened his mouth. “That…”

He was interrupted by Yi Jiamu before he could finish. “Senior, let’s talk about it later. We should watch the performance first.”

Xu Yi felt choked up. “Ah… okay.”

At this time, the stage started the first part of the all-stars performance. It was the personal interviews with the star players. It wasn’t as visually effective as the following combat programs but this part was still loved by the audience every year.

After all, the players had different personalities. If there was a good talker, the interview would naturally go smoothly. However, there were always those who were difficult to deal with and this could often drive the host crazy.

Yes, watching the host go crazy was also one of the entertainment. In Sublime Star, the two most difficult people to interview had always been included in the all-stars list.

The host held the microphone tightly, controlled his emotions, and tried to push out more forceful words to the person before him. “As the leader of Sublime Star, in your opinion, which teams are likely to be your strong enemies this year?”

Lu Zexiu replied, “It’s hard to say. Everyone is very strong.”

The host took a deep breath and decided to do something. “They are all strong? Does this mean Sublime Star doesn’t have a big chance of winning the championship this year?”

“Our goal is naturally to be the champion.”

“Captain Lu, do you mean that Sublime Star is stronger than other teams, right?”

Lu Zexiu stared at him. “Your method of reversing black and white isn’t sufficiently rigorous. As the host of the opening ceremony, I suggest you pay attention to your words.”

The host’s mouth twitched for a moment. “…Thank you for reminding me. I’ll pay attention.”

He calmed his emotions and raised the microphone to the next person. “Then let’s interview…”

Gu Yesheng saw the lens of the big screen turn to himself. He didn’t wait for the host to finish speaking as he made two casual moves. “Can you see it?”

It was just after experiencing Lu Zexiu’s ruthless treatment and the host wasn’t used to such a positive attitude. “Ah.. you can be seen.”

Gu Yesheng smiled with satisfaction and picked up the microphone. “Then little friend, is the app installed on your terminal? Wait for the group competition. You must remember to obediently lock onto me!”

At this point in time, the event the players were participating in was still confidential. The host obviously hadn’t expected Gu Yesheng to perform such a showy operation and he rushed to recover the microphone. Even so, it was too late.

The audience was quiet for a moment before completely exploding.

“Ahh, God Ye is going to take part in the group competition?”

“Little friend? Who is he calling? I am willing to be your lifelong little friend!”

“F*k, who is the little friend? Is it what I’m thinking?”

“What’s going on? Is he in love?”

“What am I… the dog is sitting on the field and is feeding food to the world!”

At the same time, the players of Sublime Star in the stands couldn’t help glancing at Yi Jiamu. Yi Jiamu obviously hadn’t recovered from the sudden incident. Now all the gazes focused on him and he felt his ears becoming hot. His mind was inevitably blank the moment he heard ‘little friend’ echoing in the stadium. A bit of time passed but he still didn’t know what to say to the other members.

Xu Yi patted him on the shoulder empathetically. “Don’t be too stressed. This is Gu Yesheng’s fault.”

Yi Jiamu glanced at the face on the big screen and he couldn’t help it. He slowly looked down and buried his flushed face in his hands. If he hadn’t come here, he wouldn’t have noticed that the words ‘little friend’ could be so ambiguous when said to a large audience…