Chosen Evolution: I can load the protagonist template

Chapter 444 Draw of the Round of 16

At 3 p.m. on the day the preliminary rounds ended, the sixteen teams scattered throughout Tokyo gathered at the main venue, including those teams that had been selected by others who had extra invitations.

"Now, let's begin the draw to determine your opponents in the round of 16!"

The host inside the venue spoke passionately, while the surrounding audience cheered enthusiastically.

There were no matches today, just a public draw to determine the opponents. However, after three or four days of preliminary rounds, the KOF audience, whose enthusiasm had already risen significantly, still attracted a large number of viewers to the venue, all for the purpose of watching the draw ceremony.

This alone can generate a series of additional revenues, such as ticket sales, snacks, and souvenirs.

Yes, that's right, souvenirs!

Fans, water bottles, badges, keychains, and other small items featuring the images of each team are now readily available in the sales area of ​​the main stadium.

In reality, Japan's economic bubble had burst seven years ago, but many people who experienced that period fondly remember that era of extravagance and prosperity, a time when it seemed like they could buy up America directly. This nostalgia and longing are reflected in works like The King of Fighters '97.

The presence of behemoths like the Kaima Entertainment Group, Kagura Group, Mishima Zaibatsu, and Athena Office (run by a single person) demonstrates their efficiency. With such resources, these Yiwu small commodities could be easily produced in large quantities from top to bottom in one go.

Of course, as the image provider, the team will also receive a certain share, but the specific percentage will depend on the subsequent popularity and sales performance.

Cheng Tian also bought a World Image keychain while passing by, and also picked up a plastic mask similar to the Lieyang Mask, the kind with two small holes in the eyes that makes it almost impossible to see the road when you wear it.

Compared to the dark fantasy world of Stands, his own image information is indeed not very deep. The most memorable thing is the mask on his face. But when he saw his mask sitting on the same table as classic characters such as "Ultraman", "Kamen Rider", "Fox", "Fire Man" and "Adofu", he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

Looking at the plastic mask in his hand, and then at the children passing by who were wearing sun masks and large, square faces, Cheng Tian knew that he did indeed have some fame here, and that his popularity was not low.

Only two player teams passed the preliminary rounds, and almost all the other player teams that were eliminated appeared in the audience.

Since the main quest failed, all the gains here will be forcibly saved and rolled back. You might as well stay here and collect more information related to players and NPCs, and then go back to organize and sell it to earn some extra money.

Opportunities like this, where you can watch other teams fight from a relatively safe area, are truly rare and need to be seized.

Especially the "Oli Lili" team, which is extremely high-profile and whose name alone tells you they are definitely a player team, is impossible to ignore.

More than half of the teams present had only met once before, and four days later, many new faces had appeared. Information such as team names, team composition, and general areas of expertise were displayed on the big screen, but seven teams related to the original King of Fighters '97 were still present.

The original three-person composition of the 97 Special Team has been changed to the Geese Team. The female version of Geese has replaced Blue Mary in the battle. However, if you only look at the color scheme and figure, the female version of Geese can even be regarded as Mary's substitute.

As for the righteous Kim Gwan-jang, who had two bandit apprentices, he was targeted and successfully attacked by the player team 996, who had lost their invitation twice but remained persistent.

The fat pig and skinny monkey, who had always only ever stolen other people's things, finally got to experience what it meant to have the Flying Dragon Cloud-Piercing Hand technique as the countdown to the audition drew to a close.

The only team representing the Great Universe Kingdom was eliminated, and the locals in Beijing were furious, shouting that it was a conspiracy, demanding refunds, and refusing to watch. They also strongly argued that if even an unknown team could participate, why wasn't their beloved Kim Jong-un included?
...But it was all just shouting; nobody paid them any attention. In the huge, chaotic crowd, they couldn't even make a ripple. The organizers basically said, "Take it or leave it." Kim Jong-un himself is a figure worthy of respect, but besides Kim Jong-un...
You know everything.

The draw doesn't require everyone to go on stage; each team only needs to send one representative.

As the captain of the Olili team, Cheng naturally took the lead and went straight onto the field.

Most of the contestants who went on stage were openly sizing each other up, while Cheng Tian purposefully scanned the representatives of several teams.

Yashiro, the representative of the Hell Band, still appears to be a vibrant, fit, and rock-and-roll young man, though it's unclear to what extent the Orochi blood within him has been activated.

Scarlet Devil Mansion's representative, Red Beauty, appears to have been forced into this role by the other two members of the master-servant duo. Faced with a deafening roar of cheers and some highly targeted criticisms, her demeanor was noticeably stiff and strained. She was probably internally screaming things like "Let me down!"

The Demon Team representative, Demetri, and his team members only appeared near the end of the event and were not well known to others. Demetri himself, the only one to go on stage, even wore a large black robe, making it almost impossible to see his appearance.

But perhaps only Cheng knew that this person, no, this vampire, was the culprit who caused Terry and Geese, these two arch-enemies, to be turned into girls!

Perhaps sensing Cheng Tian's gaze, the Romanian vampire warrior, hidden beneath his black robe to avoid direct sunlight, also looked at Cheng Tian, ​​and then a very strange feeling filled his mind.

Although there was no reason, he could vaguely smell the aura of "one of their own" on Cheng Tian, ​​and his body subconsciously tensed up.

Ren Xiaoyao, the representative of Team 996, immediately showed a very obvious fawning expression after his eyes met Cheng Tian's, which made Cheng Tian quite puzzled.

Strictly speaking, Cheng Tian had already blocked the 996 team from obtaining the invitation twice. Given the players' mentality, they would generally want to make enemies, not try to please them.

What Cheng Tian didn't know was that Team 996 was one of the few teams in the current dungeon player community that had access to information about the underworld, and that Team 996 already knew about the destruction of the Shadow Luo organization in Cheng Tian's hands.

Upon hearing the news, Ren Xiaoyao broke out in a cold sweat. He had no choice but to back down now, or he might be purged after the match.

"Representative of Team O'Leary, please come forward to draw lots!"

As instructed, Cheng Tian reached into the lottery box, pulled out a slip of paper with the number 01, and displayed it on the live broadcast screen.

"Next up, Superpower Warriors Team, please draw lots!"

With a very dedicated fan spirit, Athena Asamiya hopped onto the stage, reached her hand in without looking to the side, took it out, and paused slightly the moment her gaze swept over it.

The paper strip with the number "02" printed on it was reflected on the screen.

The two teams that will kick off the first match of the round of 16 have been revealed!
(End of this chapter)