In the center of the stadium, there was a "President's" platform, VIP seats, and a high-end computer connected to a huge LCD screen! At this moment, the screen displayed the homepage of the Genius Challenge website!
A huge wall clock, counting down! The time is already 1:55!
At this moment, Song Ying, dressed in a short skirt, white shirt, cute tie, and silver high heels, gracefully entered the center of the stadium. Speaking into the microphone in fluent English, she said, "Ladies and gentlemen, the drawing ceremony you've all been waiting for is about to begin in 5 minutes! Let us all look forward to this sacred moment! Before that, please welcome our esteemed guests!"
Song Ying's voice was extremely beautiful, and the scene immediately fell silent. At this moment, a group of well-dressed people of all ages from China and abroad entered the stadium with confident strides and took their seats in the VIP section.
These distinguished guests are no ordinary people! Some are important officials from the political circles of a certain country; some are retired stars from the sports world. Gao Jianfei observed that he recognized familiar faces such as basketball superstar Jordan, German racing legend Schumacher, and the FIFA president; in addition, the CEOs of some of the world's famous companies were also invited.
In short, just looking at the lineup of VIPs is already incredibly impressive!
The entire audience stood up and gave polite applause to the distinguished guests.
"Next up are the two main protagonists of this competition!" Song Ying introduced with a smile, "First, we have Mr. Feng Haoyu, who is known as a genius in multiple fields!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a curtain in the stadium was lifted, and Feng Haoyu, dressed in a black suit and tie and exuding elegance, walked out, flanked by Chen Yishi and Xiao Dao, and headed straight for the podium!
Wow! It's the wind! The wind! The wind!
Some of the audience members, who were fans of the storm, immediately started screaming and clapping wildly!
In the VIP section, former Real Madrid superstar Zinedine Zidane, along with some other dignitaries, stood up, smiling and applauding.
Feng Haoyu was in high spirits, with a very confident smile on his face. As he walked toward the "chairman's" stage, he waved frequently to the fans in the audience and the guests in the VIP seats.
Afterwards, Feng Haoyu sat on the "chairman's" platform, in one of the two seats.
Song Ying gave Feng Haoyu a polite, professional smile, though inwardly she was cursing him. After all, he was her man's rival, and Song Ying inevitably harbored some subjective feelings of love and hate, but she managed to suppress them well.
"Well, next up is... Mr. Gao Jianfei! The world-renowned doctor, Mr. Gao Jianfei!" Song Ying announced enthusiastically. This time, the smile on her face was no longer a perfunctory, professional smile, but a genuine one.
The receptionist standing next to Gao Jianfei said softly, "Mr. Gao, it's your turn to appear. Please go directly to the 'Chairman's' stage and take a seat."
Gao Jianfei smiled slightly, then strode confidently toward the "chairman's" platform.
There were some Gao Jianfei fans in the audience, and some even whistled. However, Gao Jianfei's supporters were significantly fewer than Feng Haoyu's, so his appearance was not particularly impressive.
Surprisingly...
"Jianfei! Hahahaha! Keep it up!" A rough voice rang out.
Gao Jianfei paused, turned his head, and saw Tang Bao picking his nose while standing up, gesturing wildly. Sitting next to Tang Bao was Feilong and his wife.
It seems they did come to the scene to support Gao Jianfei!
"Haha!" Gao Jianfei finally showed a happy smile and waved to Tang Bao and the others.
Walk to the "chairman's" platform and sit in another seat.
Gao Jianfei glanced at Feng Haoyu. Chen Yishi and Xiaodao, standing behind Feng Haoyu, also stared at Gao Jianfei with sharp eyes.
Gao Jianfei shrugged and said, "Friend Feng Haoyu, it's been a long time, you're still as dashing as ever!"
"Heh," Feng Haoyu chuckled reservedly, "Gao Jianfei, I've been eagerly anticipating this match with you! Haha, you're quite lucky too. I heard that the Qingcheng Sect was hunting you down, and even the God of Gamblers, Chen Yifeng, joined forces with the World Gambling Association and the World Referees Association to try and eliminate you. I never expected you to survive this long. You're quite the oddball! Hmm, someone like you is worthy of being my opponent!"
"Ha..." Gao Jianfei laughed indifferently, "Feng Haoyu, you're quite humorous. Some small fry trying to mess with me, I haven't even taken it to heart!"
"Hahaha..." Feng Haoyu laughed wildly. "Gao Jianfei, you seem to be living a pretty easy and carefree life! I hope you can still laugh later!"
Chapter 410 A Ceremony Under the World's Attention!
Chapter 410 A Ceremony Under the World's Attention!
Before the drawing ceremony had even officially begun, Gao Jianfei and Feng Haoyu were already staring at each other with a strange, uneasy look in their eyes!
On the surface, the two appeared to be getting along well, chatting and laughing. However, every word they uttered carried a sharp and sarcastic tone. Feng Haoyu arrogantly and proactively attacked Gao Jianfei with sarcasm; Gao Jianfei, on the other hand, retorted without backing down.
Standing behind Feng Haoyu, Xiao Dao couldn't help but sneer and mock, "Boy, you're already in dire straits, yet you're still here, trying to win a verbal battle with my junior brother Haoyu. You're truly... a complete clown!"
Gao Jianfei had long ago realized that this 'Little Knife' possessed the sharp aura of a master of internal martial arts! In terms of imposing presence, he was even a bit stronger than Abbot Chen Kong of Shaolin and Master Chu Chenzi of Wudang!
"Hmm? This guy looks only a few years older than me, about the same age as Feng Haoyu, yet he possesses such a powerful aura. He must be a fellow Holy Land student from the same year as Feng Haoyu, and the 'Junyi' who was killed." Gao Jianfei realized. "His earlier statement that I was trapped in a desperate situation was simply an implication that I would be captured by the Holy Land after this competition... Hmph! I'm a clown? I think you're the real clowns! You'll have to see what you're capable of if you try to capture me!"
Gao Jianfei remained completely calm and composed, seemingly oblivious to the subtext in Xiao Dao's words.
Feng Haoyu also turned around and glanced at Xiaodao, signaling Xiaodao not to reveal these things in front of Gao Jianfei.
Xiao Dao fell silent.
"Heh, this is just a ceremony to draw the competition events, so there's no need for either side to make any competition declarations. Save those grand pronouncements for the day the competition officially begins! Hmm, there are still 19 days until the competition; you two can go home and prepare yourselves!" Song Ying, as the host, controlled the entire ceremony. Her playful and relaxed words elicited laughter from the entire audience. The atmosphere gradually transformed into that of a party.
"Okay, everyone, please look at the big screen here." Song Ying walked gracefully to the huge LCD screen in the center of the stadium. She began to introduce, "In a moment, we will randomly select 10 events from 50 events by computer. These will be the events that Mr. Feng Haoyu and Mr. Gao Jianfei will compete against each other in 19 days!"
Everyone's eyes, including those of the VIPs, and even Gao Jianfei and Feng Haoyu, were focused on the LCD screen.
At this moment, the LCD screen displayed 50 small squares resembling mahjong tiles. Each square contained a Chinese character and an English word…
"Gambling skills," "medical skills," "football," "basketball," "racing," and "assembling cars"
...
There are a total of 50 projects.
"Wow! That's amazing! They randomly selected 10 items from 50 completely unrelated projects! Mr. Feng Haoyu and Mr. Gao Jianfei are truly geniuses!"
"Yes, any one of these 50 projects, if successful, would be enough to establish oneself in the upper echelons of society, let alone having several projects simultaneously!"
"No! Between Mr. Feng Haoyu and Mr. Gao Jianfei, one of them is the real genius, while the other is a pseudo-genius!"
"Yes! It's all about the winner taking all the credit!"
...
A cacophony of noise erupted from the audience.
"Dear guests, please be quiet! Quiet!" Song Ying announced solemnly, "Next, we will proceed with the first draw! Please welcome our guest drawer, Mr. Sibel, a musician from Austria!"
As Song Ying announced this, an elderly Austrian man with white hair and wearing a tuxedo stood up with a smile, walked to the center of the stadium, and bowed to the audience around him.
"Teacher Sybil, please come this way! Please come here!" Song Ying smiled and led Sybil to the LCD screen, next to the computer connected to the screen.
"Ms. Sibel, please press the Enter key. Then, the 50 items on the screen will start to rotate. When you press Enter again, one of the items will be randomly selected," Song Ying explained with a smile.
“I understand!” Sibel smiled with gentlemanly manners, then said into the microphone, “I’m very excited! And also very honored! This feeling is wonderful, just like the first time I’ve stepped onto the stage and played the piano. As the first person to be drawn, I really… haha, I have to say, I’m very happy.”
Having said that, Sibel's right middle finger moved to the Enter key on the computer. Then he smiled and said, "I'm going to start!"
Silence!
Thousands of eyes began to focus on the big screen!
…… …… ……
Province, ZG City. Gao Jianfei's hometown.
Chen Xian sat on the sofa in the living room with Gao Jin, his mother, and his aunt, watching the television intently. The drawing ceremony was being broadcast live on television!
Now, the first project is about to be drawn, and Chen Xian and her family are clenching their fists tightly!
"Go for it, son! You must draw the project you want!" Gao Jin said emphatically.
"Go Jianfei!" Chen Xian couldn't help but whisper.
Gao Jianfei's family was all worried sick for him at that moment!
…… …… ……
Washington, D.C.
White House!
U.S. President Obama was in his private office, watching television with several officials. They were also following the live broadcast of the ceremony.
"Well, Your Excellency, we're about to begin drawing the first item," an official said with a smile.
“Yes, I’m nervous for Mr. Gao too. Mr. Gao has a green card from the United States, and he also has the Medal of Honor that I personally awarded him. I hope God will bring good luck to Mr. Gao.” Obasi stared intently at the television screen.
…… …… ……
Province G. Flower Market.
Gao Jianfei's former colleagues at Alice Company, Qin Leshi, manager Huang Cuiyun, Xiao Yanzi Zou Yan, and Zhang Liang, who had a past conflict with Gao Jianfei, are all holding their breath in front of the 22-inch LCD computer monitor in the manager's office!
Qin Leshi's feelings were complicated... When Gao Jianfei first came to work at Alice Company, Qin Leshi mentored him for a while. She gave him her first kiss, and gradually developed feelings for him. She had always dreamed of being with him one day. But now, seeing him standing at the top of society, she felt a pang of sadness and regret. However, being always gentle and refined, she harbored no resentment. Instead, she prayed... "Jianfei, good luck! You'll definitely draw the area you're good at!"
…… …… ……
Thailand, various provinces of China, Madrid, Lisbon, Porto...
The live broadcast was also being shown on television screens outside many large squares or supermarkets.
A large crowd gathered to watch the lottery draw ceremony. Some were even drinking beer while watching.
…… …… ……
The capital of country Z!
The presidential suite of the luxury hotel where Feng Haoyu stayed. In the study.
The world's number one hacker, 'Götter,' sat in front of that high-end computer, his hands flying across the keyboard, writing lines of code. "Hehe, the selection is about to begin. Without a doubt, this selection will proceed according to the program I wrote beforehand. Ten projects, the ten projects that Mr. Feng Haoyu is good at! Hahaha! With my genius Götter's help, Mr. Feng Haoyu will definitely be satisfied!"
Suddenly… “Huh? Hahahaha… A little nobody actually managed to sneak in! Wow! This is interesting! This is getting interesting!” Götze’s eyes instantly turned red, bloodshot with madness and excitement. His hands, as if he were having an epileptic fit, frantically typed on the keyboard. “Haha, so Gao Jianfei also hired a hacker to cheat! Good, this is very fun!”
Götze also immediately spotted the problem!
…… …… ……
***Tokyo.
Haruka Yamaguchi, along with some high-ranking members of the Yamaguchi-gumi, nervously watched Spider and his son operate the computer in their study.
A 10-year-old boy, with a colorful lollipop in his mouth, rapidly typed on a keyboard, writing code to create a botnet bomb. "It's starting! It's about to start! I've found another hacker who infiltrated the website! I'm going to take him down! I'm going to take him down!"
…… …… ……
Beijing!
stadium!
"Begin!" Austrian musician Sibel gently pressed the Enter key.
Immediately, a small red star began to sweep, jump, and dart back and forth across the 50 squares on the giant display screen.
Just like an Apple computer!
"Stop!" Sibel tapped the keyboard again.
With a crisp "ding-dong!", the little red star finally came to rest on one of the 50 squares!