China City. This city was set up with the unique architecture of the Huaxia people. Although it was a simulated environment, the simulation of this virtual world was as high as 99.99%. What you saw, heard, and felt was almost exactly the same as the real world.
The cost of the servers to maintain the operation of the Star Wars Carnival was not cheap. This year's event had a total of 160,000 large and small groups and sects sponsoring. Only by truly entering would one be able to have an intuitive and new understanding.
The retro urban style, the bustling streets, and the gray flagstone roads seemed to bring people back to the ancient Jiangnan brothels of the human race.
Ding Meng was also shuttling through the crowd on the streets. He discovered an interesting phenomenon. Because everyone who came in was a contestant, not only did everyone dress differently, but most of them also showed their real faces and deliberately showed the IDs above their heads.
In fact, this mentality was very easy to understand. Because most people wanted to make a name for themselves in the Storm Gathering, the more people who knew their names and appearances, the better.
The Tulip Inn was a super luxurious restaurant set up by the system. Its antique style was quite attractive because it was located by a large lake. Dining here allowed people to enjoy the scenery of the lake and mountains that could not be seen in the real world.
Ding Meng saw Dai Yi and Lu Qing at the entrance of the inn from afar. The two of them directly showed their IDs above their heads: "Bing Yi – Dai Yi, Bing Yi – Lu Qing". They were also using their real names, but they added the name of their group in front. This was Lan Bing's request to increase their exposure.
Of course, what really attracted passersby to stop and watch was their dressing. Dai Yi had obviously bought the system's "Chu Liuxiang Chic Folding Fan Ancient Costume". She was dressed in snow-white clothes, holding a fan in her hand, and had light makeup on her face. She looked like a woman dressed as a man. The key was that her disguise was very realistic. It had both the charm and tenderness of a woman and the heroic spirit of a man. It was quite eye-catching.
Lu Qing had changed her style of being a fashionable girl and was actually playing with ancient costumes. She was wearing a classic Qing Dynasty suit, dignified and elegant. When she stood next to Dai Yi, they complemented each other very well. They were astonishingly beautiful.
Ding Meng also showed his ID and took the initiative to say: "I say, both of you spent at least tens of thousands of star coins on this set of clothes, right?"
Dai Yi and Lu Qing covered their mouths and laughed when they saw him.
"What are you laughing at?" Ding Meng was puzzled.
His style was indeed unique. The buttons at the collar were fastened, but the buttons at the hem were not fastened. Sure enough, it was "when I heard this gentleman's song just now, it aroused a ball of anger in my heart." No wonder it was called "a ball of anger outfit."
"Hubby, why don't you spend some money to buy some clothes?" Dai Yi laughed so hard that he couldn't straighten his back.
Ding Meng's eyelids drooped. "This is a set, okay?"
Lu Qing also laughed out loud. "Judging by the visual, this is the cheapest set, right?"
Ding Meng nodded honestly. "Sixty-five Star Coins. Do you think that's not money?"
The two of them were still laughing when a rough voice suddenly sounded from behind them. "Boss, sisters-in-law, I'm here!"
Ding Meng turned around and was shocked. Jun Ling had sneaked behind the three of them without anyone noticing. Jun Ling was dressed in a retro black outfit. Black shirt, black pants, black leggings, and a black scarf covered her face. She wore a yellowish-brown bamboo hat on her head, revealing only a pair of bright eyes. Her kukri knife was at her waist, giving her the image of a heroine in ancient costume. Her voice was also like a man's in a low, muffled voice.
"It's fine if you changed your image, but why did your voice become a man's?" Ding Meng couldn't help but ask.
Jun Ling's voice sounded like a drum beating: "I'm trying to maintain a sense of mystery!"
Ding Meng looked up again and found that the ID above Jun Ling's head was actually — "Kneel before me."
Awesome!
Ding Meng almost knelt down. Normal people couldn't understand how a woman of steel's brain worked. This ID was for fighting, and it was number one in drawing aggro.
Jun Ling pointed across the street. "I'm still okay here. Look at Four Eyes and them."
In the distant stream of people, Ding Meng also noticed Four Eyes and Hairy at a glance. To be honest, it was hard for him not to notice them.
Four Eyes was wearing a short-sleeved woodcutter outfit. Yes, yes, it was definitely a set, but it was probably cheaper than Ding Meng's soy sauce outfit. The classic ID above his head — Collapsing Mountain!
Four Eyes held a cigarette in his mouth, looking like a thousand-year-old smoker. His eyes narrowed from the smoke. "Boss, we're here!"
If Four Eyes still looked like a woodcutter, then Hairy had no image at all because Hairy didn't buy any clothes at all. He was wearing the system's default free clothing — a pair of grass leaf underpants, a pure tramp, and the awesome ID above his head — A Dead Horse!
Out of all the contestants on the street, Hairy was the only one who was naked. He smoked so much that half of the cigarette would be gone with one puff. He was definitely a ten thousand year old smoker.
Ding Meng's eyelids drooped. "Image, image, Hairy!"
Hairy was also a little helpless. "I'm out of money, boss."
Dai Yi asked curiously, "Where's your money?"
"I bought cigarettes!"
Hairy handed a pack of cigarettes to Ding Meng. "Boss, give me a smoke. This is a branded product …"
Ding Meng waved his hand decisively. "Okay, everyone's here. Let's go in first!"
Before the Wind and Cloud Gathering, the officials had to hold a grand opening ceremony. This ceremony was held in the Martial Arts Hall in the center of Star Wars City. All contestants were allowed to participate, and the whole process was broadcasted live through long-distance real-time transmission technology. Citizens of the Federal Empire who couldn't enter the virtual world could also watch the ceremony and all the matches online at home.
Ding Meng and the others were watching the ceremony from the inn. All the advertisements, walls, and major venues in China had live broadcast screens and screens. Naturally, there would be big shots present at the Carnival that was held once every five years.
From the screen, one could clearly see that the two well-dressed male and female hosts were the first to appear. Ding Meng actually knew the male host as well. It was the big star who hosted the engagement ceremony in Flying Star City, Long Qi, who had been kicked into the water by Ding Meng. However, this guy was quite lucky. In recent years, his hosting had become more and more popular, so it was normal for him to be invited to the Star Wars Carnival.
The female host was from the Empire. She was also a very famous celebrity in the entertainment industry called Yang Qian 'er. Of course, after the two hosts went on stage, they mostly introduced the Star Wars League and the Carnival's origins, so that those who were participating in this event for the first time would have a clear and intuitive understanding.
This was not a grand event in the ordinary sense, but a big gathering of the whole nation.
After introducing the development history of Star Wars, the male and female hosts began to introduce the special guests. The special guests of the previous Carnival were quite important. They were the number one national goddess from the Norse Empire, Ji Chenxue, and the number two beauty from the Holy Grail Federation, Lu Xiaobing. They would jointly show off the mysterious gift of the Battle of the Kings.
This was a very big highlight of the Carnival, and it was also an existence that had explosive ratings. However, this year, Ji Chenxue did not appear on stage, and Lu Xiaobing from the Federation was replaced by Cheng Mengjia, who was ranked number five.
Ding Meng realized that at this moment, many people in the inn were booing. The reason was very simple. The tenth Carnival was very memorable, but the officials did not invite the most important guests.
At the same time, in the conference room of the Bingyi Building, Lan Bing and the others were also watching the live broadcast. Lan Bing even had the mood to tease Ji Chenxue, "Don't you feel a little regretful that you did not receive an invitation to such an important event?"
Ji Chenxue smiled slightly, "I have been a special guest for three Carnivals, and I am a little tired. This time, I can quietly be a spectator."
Liang Yiran opened her mouth and said, "What about Ding Meng and the others?"
Lan Bing explained, "I can't see them yet. Only after they pass the preliminaries will I be able to pay to activate the lockdown mode."
The opening ceremony proceeded in an orderly manner, and the last item was for the important people to announce the start of the event. Three people walked up the stage, and two of them were obviously husband and wife. They were the president of the Holy Grail Federation, Bai Xingfei, and the president's wife, Rabik Somanza.
Everyone had seen this president a lot on the news, but they still did not know much about the president himself. Liang Yiran explained, "President Bai Xingfei has been in office for 45 years. He is the only president to be re-elected after the Devouring World War, and his support in the Federation is very high. The president's wife, Somanza, is from the Rabik family, which is also one of the top sects in the Federation. This time, the Rabik family will definitely send experts to participate in the Carnival …"
At this moment, on the other side of the stage, Chancellor Wen Yang of the Norse Empire also walked up.
Ji Chenxue sighed to herself. She had interacted with these two big shots before, but she still felt that Chancellor Wen Yang was far more terrifying than President Bai Xingfei.
Of course, when one reached that level of power, none of them were easy to deal with.
Under the invitation of the two hosts, the president and the chancellor shook hands amicably on the stage. This was a classic moment that only happened every five years, and it also meant that the frogmen of the Federal Empire would welcome a short period of peace. Then, the two big shots announced together, "The tenth Galactic War International Carnival officially begins now."
Fireworks bloomed in the sky above Galactic War City, and hundreds of birds flew in the sky. It was a joyous and festive scene.
Now, the first round of preliminaries had begun at the various competition venues in the major cities. This round of preliminaries was actually the most tedious round. After all, there were more than 50 billion contestants, and every one of them had to be tested.
For Ding Meng and the others, they could directly go to the nearest training hall or dojo for the preliminary test.
There were dojos on three streets near the Tulip Inn. Ding Meng chose a dojo called "Dragon Capital". In fact, the dojo was a virtual space set up by the system. After entering, there was an endless grassland. There was already a long line on the grassland, and the contestants were all waiting for the preliminary test.
Before they could see what the test was like, there was a commotion at the back. "Move, move, don't block the way!"
Ding Meng turned his head and saw a group of luxuriously dressed contestants walking forward with their heads held high. From their arrogant looks, it was obvious that they wanted to cut the line. The ID prefix above their heads was: Dragon Capital!
"Who are these guys?" Ding Meng asked.
Dai Yi replied indifferently, "The Dragon Capital Clan of Blue Pole Star City. It's a martial arts sect and is quite rich. It seems that they sponsored the carnival and got the naming rights of this dojo."
In the past, Dai Yi might have been a little afraid when mentioning the name of this sect, but it was different now. His strength had increased by leaps and bounds, and his tone was also casual.
Originally, Ding Meng and the others wanted to keep a low profile, but when this group of people passed by, they saw the almost naked and dusty Russian, so they laughed mercilessly.
The Russian was instantly annoyed. "What are you laughing at?
What's so funny? "