Chapter 188 Aiming for the Finals

The 36 countries were divided into 4 groups for the group stage. The winner of the first group, in which China was located, was China and Japan.

The second group consists of the United States and the United Kingdom.

The third group consists of Pizza Nation and Goose Nation.

The fourth group consists of Oreo Country and Germany.

At the beginning of the competition, because they had to face media from various countries, everyone adhered to the spirit of "friendship first, competition second," at least maintaining a facade of harmony. However, as eight teams advanced to the finals, the atmosphere instantly became tense. It felt as if the air itself was thick with the smell of gunpowder. At this point, if any country were to ignite even the slightest spark, the entire arena would likely be set ablaze.

Next up is the 8-to-5 elimination round, where teams from three countries will be eliminated.

Unlike the international competition 10 years ago, this time China appeared to have returned in triumph, consistently ranking first or second, and never falling below third. The most laughable thing was the arrogant and overconfident attitude of the Japanese, who boasted of their victory, failing to even crack the top five in a single written exam.

The first round was again a choir competition. The order of performance for the eight teams was determined by drawing lots, and the Chinese team was unlucky, drawing first place. It's fair to say that since the start of this international competition, the Chinese team's luck has been consistently terrible. Whenever it comes to random events like performance order or song selection, their luck is absolutely awful.

Shishi quietly sat down next to Kong Pan.

"Mom, do you think there's any underhanded dealing involved?"

Kong Pan gave him a look that said, "You're so naive: Change your question into a statement. One bad day is a coincidence, but consistently bad luck is less likely than consistently good luck. As for Japan, they can't do well themselves, and they don't want us to either. They're probably going to lick the boots of those Western bigwigs again."

Seeing his mother's sarcastic tone, Shi Shi almost laughed. She comforted her, saying, "In the face of true strength, the strong never complain about their circumstances. Haven't you heard the saying?"

"What did you say?"

"A simp, a simp, will end up with nothing."

Kong Pan replied in a tone that implied something was amiss, saying, "Dogs are so cute, how could you accidentally hurt one?"

As they were talking, the first round of written tests began.

The song chosen by the Chinese people for this round of choral singing is called "Never Forget Our Initial Aspiration." It is an inspiring song that reminds us of our national humiliation. The singing is bold and the melody is stirring. Kong Pan's deep and powerful voice, combined with the clear, bright and melodious voices of the choir members, is just like the Chinese people watching the five-star red flag slowly rise, igniting the flames of revolution and shaking the soul of the nation!

Offering help in times of need is always better than adding to someone's success. Never forget your original intention; the warmth is more poignant than the chill of winter. Only by remembering that bitterness in our hearts can we truly understand. Therefore, we must work even harder to make the world look up to us and witness the rapid development of China's economic strength, creating one new glory after another!

Even though this song wasn't one of Shi Shi's favorites, she was still captivated by its grandeur. She paid close attention to the expressions of the audience and the judges' occasional scribbling, feeling confident that the song was a sure thing.

Sure enough, after the grand chorus, the song received a high score of 97.85. Keep in mind that China was the first to perform, and since there's no going back in each round, and the judges only had one chance to score, they were naturally inclined to be conservative with their scores, waiting to see how the rest went before making a decision. Shi Shi was certain that if it hadn't been the first performance, the song's score would definitely not have been lower than 98.5.

Next up was the Delaware Choir of the United States. Their choral piece was "Have Mercy, Lord." Although the title sounded somber, after listening to it, Shishi sensed that while the song was indeed compassionate, the lyrics subtly revealed a vibrant life force.

As the melody progressed, two consecutive high notes in the chorus created a sense of upward momentum, ultimately resulting in a score of 97.2.

After the competition among the eight countries, China firmly held first place, while Oreo Country came in second with their chorus of "Wild Rose." America took third place.

What surprised everyone most was the Oreo Kingdom choir; they were probably the youngest participants in the entire international competition, as they had sent their own country's children's choir. Being young offers little advantage beyond generating buzz. Their age means they lack the experience and skill of adult choir singers.

The fact is, they slapped all the national teams in the face.

As the final draws ever closer, the atmosphere at the venue grows increasingly tense. This selection of five teams from eight rounds involves the combined scores from three rounds, with the five teams boasting the highest total scores advancing to the final.

The Chinese Choir got off to a good start. Although the score was very close, in this kind of competition, 0.5 points can be the key to victory.

The second contestant was Gu Hanyi, and Shishi gave him a cheering gesture. We watched as this national treasure-level singer stood in the center of the stage to draw lots with other contestants to choose their performance order.

Just then, Shishi suddenly remembered that she had once drawn a prize called a "Mouse Brand Mouse." She remembered that this thing could turn into a mouse, scaring away the person manipulating things behind the scenes, and ultimately turning the desired outcome into one that was in her favor.

She used to think this thing was useless and had never used it. Now she thinks, rather than letting them do it behind the scenes, she might as well do it herself!

Summon Ice Dew in your mind and click to use the Mouse brand mouse.

Those in charge of the lottery in Japan had received instructions from their superiors to reserve the best possible order of appearance for the United States. China, naturally, was the worst choice.

Just as Gu Hanyi was about to go on stage, the mouse suddenly transformed into a small mouse and darted to the feet of the Japanese person in charge of drawing lots. The person screamed in fright and uncontrollably crashed into the equipment next to him.

Once everything returned to normal, Gu Hanyi had finished her injection. However, this disrupted the Japanese side's underhanded operations.

Gu Han walked to the large screen and pressed the button. Except for number 2, whose appearance order had already been removed, the remaining numbers scrolled rapidly across the screen. She pressed the button again with a "click," and the large screen stopped.

The number on the big screen stopped at 3.

In an 8-person competition, positions 3 and 4 are the golden spots. Unlike the first or second performers, who are easily forgotten after all their songs are sung, or the last two performers, whose songs are used for comparison with the earlier ones that dominate the judges' ears.

Gu Hanyi looked at the numbers on the big screen and smiled happily. She felt that although she had come to this international competition with the determination to win, it would go much more smoothly than she had expected.

Don't ask why she thinks that way; it's just a woman's intuition.