Chapter 22: “Federation Cup” Begins!

The opening ceremony of the “Federation Cup” was scheduled for 9:00 a.m. Earth time, February 27, 5206.

To evoke a more authentic retro e-sports atmosphere, the Earth government had specially renovated the largest holographic e-sports arena, transforming it to more closely resemble the competition venues from Feng Jingyu’s memories.

However, the high-tech features within the arena were products of the interstellar era, designed to allow the audience a more comprehensive understanding of the match.

The day before the competition, Cen Lan took Feng Jingyu to tour the arena.

Standing at the center of the stage, Feng Jingyu imagined the seats packed with spectators, golden confetti raining down from above—a vision that sent an involuntary tremor through her heart.

She had only ever watched such events through livestreams before; she never thought she would one day experience it in person. The thought filled Feng Jingyu with a deep sense of wonder.

“The arena was built according to the world championship venue shown in the ‘Federation Showdown’ promotional video. Are you satisfied?” Cen Lan walked onto the stage and came to stand beside Feng Jingyu.

Perhaps it was the way Cen Lan spoke—so reminiscent of a domineering CEO from an old romance novel—that Feng Jingyu couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Sister Cen Lan, why are you suddenly acting like a CEO from a romance novel?”

Cen Lan deliberately put on a stern face. “A CEO has nothing on me.”

Feng Jingyu laughed even harder.

To have traveled to this era—what a wonderful thing.

·

At 8:30 the next morning, the arena was already packed to capacity. Every seat was filled by those lucky enough to have secured a ticket.

Those who couldn’t attend in person, who failed to get tickets, could only watch the holographic livestream on the StarNet.

As the time drew closer to 9:00 a.m. Earth time, everyone waited in anticipation for the moment to arrive.

The entire arena was suddenly plunged into darkness. The abrupt blackness caused no panic; instead, the audience erupted in loud cheers.

A single spotlight shone down on the center of the stage, illuminating the host—the same host from the previous live-drawing ceremony.

“Good morning to all our friends here at the venue, and to everyone watching the live broadcast,” the host greeted everyone with elegance and poise, bowing to the crowd. “Welcome to the opening ceremony of the very first ‘Federation Cup’!”

The response was a roar of sound that threatened to lift the roof off the building.

“From the moment the first line of game code was written, competition was sown into the soil of the electronic world. Competition is an instinct woven into humanity, a manifestation of our desire for survival and resources. The birth of e-sports is no exception.” As the host spoke, clips flashed across the stage—games made of pixelated blocks evolving into large-scale titles demanding precise keyboard and mouse control, from single-player to multiplayer to online games. The embryo of e-sports quietly took shape through each transformation in the form of games.

“…When we were no longer satisfied with fighting alone, we began to call on friends. From internet café tournaments to city championships, and finally to the world, to the universe! E-sports has brought us another possibility for civilization!”

The images on stage shifted to a series of old, blurry photographs, which gradually became clearer, then turned into videos of spectacular matches; the youthful faces of players; embraces and tears beneath golden confetti; the voices of commentators, sometimes excited, sometimes calm. The unique history of Earth’s “e-sports” evolution unfolded slowly before the audience.

It was telling the entire Interstellar Federation: this is a culture with deep roots, and it will become one of the Federation’s premier sporting events.

·

The opening ceremony ended at 11:00 a.m. The first match would begin promptly at 3:00 p.m.

Since this was everyone’s first time participating and there were only ten teams, only one match was scheduled per day, for a total of nine days of competition.

According to the draw, the first match would be between Team 1 and Team 2 of Group 1, representing the Central Star System and the Third Star System, respectively.

As the inaugural match of the first “Federation Cup,” it naturally drew a great deal of attention.

Once both teams’ members entered the holographic equipment, their virtual avatars appeared on stage, along with their in-game e-sports gear.

The Third Star System’s peripherals all featured a uniform, minimalist design, while the Central Star System’s were flamboyant and individualistic, with RGB lighting effects cranked up to the max—a style that seemed determined to dazzle the eyes. The contrast between the two was stark.

Watching from the audience, Yuhui was suddenly seized by a powerful urge to flee. What was with these flashy, multicolored peripherals? For the first time, she realized that even the skins for peripherals could hide such designs.

“Qing Lan… can you tell who designed these?” Yuhui leaned over and whispered to her friend.

Qing Lan whispered back, “Your boss.”

Yuhui was shocked, glancing over at Feng Jingyu several seats away, still unable to believe it. “No way? That doesn’t seem like her style at all.”

“She said, that’s exactly what was considered cool in that era.” Qing Lan nodded emphatically, reaffirming her answer.

Yuhui sighed helplessly. “Sometimes I really don’t understand what she’s thinking.”

Qing Lan smiled. “But a lot of people like it, and that’s enough.”

Yuhui was taken aback, then a smile slowly spread across her face. “Yes, if someone likes it, that’s enough.”

·

As the familiar “Welcome to the Interstellar Battlefield” prompt sounded, the match officially began.

The setting of “Federation Showdown” was an undeveloped planet, where two teams competed for planetary resources, with victory determined by destroying the enemy’s energy base.

This gave the alien audience a strong sense of immersion—their favorite thing was watching pioneers claim new territory and gather resources. The only difference was that now, they themselves were the ones pioneering, and there were no restrictions based on mental power levels.

For the alien audience, this was an irresistible temptation.

The Central and Third Star System teams played methodically, their heroes steadily developing, and a team battle seemed imminent.

Feng Jingyu watched with furrowed brows, finally letting out a faint sigh.

That nearly inaudible sigh was caught by S-77, who was separated from her by only Yu Huaiyin. He was just about to speak when the battle on stage abruptly stopped, and the words “Defeat” appeared in black across all the holographic projections.

“What happened?!” The entire venue erupted in confusion.

The next moment, a deep blue stream of data flooded every holographic display—the Supreme Intelligence had appeared without warning.

“Didn’t expect the very first match would require the Supreme Intelligence’s ruling,” Feng Jingyu sat perfectly still in her seat, a faint smile on her lips.

·

[ST 2027-490:075:343. According to the regulations of the first ‘Federation Cup,’ the match duration has exceeded the Earth standard time of 30 minutes. As the sole referee for this ‘Federation Cup,’ I hereby announce: both teams are eliminated.]

The Supreme Intelligence announced the reason for the match’s abrupt end, utterly without mercy.

Feng Jingyu checked the time. “As expected of the Supreme Intelligence—if it says 30 minutes, it won’t let you play until 30:01.”

So her earlier sigh was because the match was about to go into overtime? S-77 recalled the sound he’d heard before, surprised—at that moment, everyone’s attention had been on the match, yet Feng Jingyu alone had noticed this detail.

“S-77.” Yuhui was seated just to S-77’s right. She lowered her voice, “Who would’ve thought the first match would end like this? Don’t you think it’s a little embarrassing?”

“Embarrassing?” S-77 glanced at Yu Huaiyin beside him, who was happily discussing the match with Feng Jingyu. The corners of S-77’s mouth lifted slightly. “Let’s just call it a performance for the family’s amusement.”

“A performance for the family’s amusement?” Yuhui’s gaze landed on Feng Jingyu and Yu Huaiyin, a look of realization dawning as she leaned over to Qing Lan again. “See that? That’s what an S-class love-struck fool looks like.”

Qing Lan stifled a laugh. “Keep your voice down.”

“It’s fine, I’ve isolated us with my mental power,” Yuhui said smugly.

·

The Supreme Intelligence’s decision was absolute. All dissatisfaction vanished the moment the ruling was announced—such was the authority of the Interstellar Federation’s Supreme Intelligence: unchallenged, unshakable.

Because the match had ended without a winner, the victor of Team 3 versus Team 4 in Group 1 would face the Earth team directly.

The members of the Central and Third Star System teams exited their holographic equipment and stood on stage, heads hung in dejection. To lose the match like this was something none of them had expected.

The arena was unusually quiet; the audience sensed that nothing they could do would be appropriate. At that moment, Feng Jingyu stood up and called out loudly to the teams on stage, “Don’t lose heart! Come back next year and fight for the championship!”

The suppressed emotions were instantly ignited, and the arena echoed with Feng Jingyu’s words. Onstage, the members of the Central Star System team could no longer hold back and wiped tears from their faces again and again. The Third Star System team members all lowered their heads, hiding their expressions.

This would be a match they would never forget—a source of motivation for them to persevere in the days to come.

Cen Lan looked up at Feng Jingyu standing beside her, her eyes shining with gentle light. In that moment, she felt that Feng Jingyu was the brightest presence in the entire arena.