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Chapter 113 The First Test in Xinyuan City

After the qualifying rounds concluded and the list of qualified participants and the draw results for the million lucky winners were finalized, the first place to feel the impact of this tremendous force was not Xinyuan City, the host city of the event, but Chengdu, which is known as the "first hub in the inland area".

As the core of a major transportation artery connecting east and west and running through north and south, and as a traditional metropolis that is closest to Xinyuan City and has the most complete supporting facilities, Chengdu has naturally become a gathering place and transit station for countless spectators before embarking on their final journey.

Although the municipal team led by Mayor Zhou was already eager to get started and had put in their best efforts and had a forward-looking plan, the pressure was still greater than initially imagined when the massive crowds began to surge. Fortunately, Chengdu was experienced and quickly became the key point for managing the crowds.

Train stations, long-distance bus stations, airports—every exit was flooded with people.

The streets were lined with cars that stretched as far as the eye could see, and the sounds of horns and clamor created a constant background noise.

Hotels and guesthouses are fully booked, and despite price controls, rooms are still hard to find.

This includes not only the million lottery winners, but also many of them who chose to arrive in Chengdu early to rest or travel.

There are also perhaps an even larger number of "unsuccessful applicants" who gather here with all sorts of ulterior motives.

Some wanted to get closer to that dream destination, even if it was just to experience the atmosphere of the eve of the competition in Chengdu; some were still unwilling to give up and inquired everywhere about any "special channels" to sneak into Xinyuan; and a small group of people smelled a "business opportunity" and became mysterious "scalpers," spreading information about "getting into Xinyuan" that was hard to distinguish between true and false in the dark corners of the internet.

Just as this undercurrent began to emerge, Xinyuan City and its official media poured cold water on it with the fastest speed and clearest words.

The joint announcement repeatedly emphasized this point.

The eligibility for winning the lottery is completely linked to your personal information and is non-transferable.

All successful applicants must undergo real-time comparison of their biometrics (facial recognition) and eligibility data at the official smart verification terminal upon arrival at the designated entrance outside Xinyuan City. After double verification, a temporary pass containing an encrypted chip and a personal photo will be printed and bound on-site.

This certificate is the sole credential for accessing services and engaging in activities within Xinyuan City for the foreseeable future.

The announcement issued a stern warning: The entire Xinyuan City area is covered by a high-precision intelligent monitoring network. Anyone without a valid pass will be immediately guided by the security module to the exit for forced departure once identified by the system, and will be permanently blacklisted by Xinyuan City and its related systems. The lifting of the ban "depends on the situation and may be indefinite."

This strongly worded and uncompromising statement, coupled with several swift and public announcements of the handling of early trespassers, quickly curbed the opportunistic trend.

Most of those who had been hoping for a lucky break calmed down and instead focused on enjoying their time in Chengdu, following the events through live streams and news.

After all, being permanently shut out of that city of the future would be far too costly.

The real challenge lies in how to manage this legal and compliant flow of millions of people, and the massive logistics that comes with it, in an orderly and safe manner.

Five days before the start of the competition, the scene at the main land entrances to Xinyuan City, the newly built dedicated platform exit of the high-speed rail station, and the widened highway ramps was spectacular.

As far as the eye could see, there was a dense crowd of people and a constant flow of vehicles, a bustling and noisy scene, the air thick with excitement, anxiety, and the weariness of a long journey.

At each entrance, hundreds of silver-gray, streamlined service-oriented intelligent modules have been deployed.

They are ingeniously structured, move smoothly, and guide the flow of people in an orderly manner.

The main process consists of three steps: guiding queuing, biometric verification, and certificate issuance.

The entire process is efficient and silent, with only slight mechanical sounds and clear electronic prompts.

However, the activity range of the intelligent module is limited to the dedicated signal nodes near the boundary of Xinyuan City, and it cannot go far away to manage the crowds and traffic that stretch for several kilometers beyond the boundary.

The heavy responsibility of maintaining order, calming emotions, and handling emergencies fell on the large number of police officers who had been dispatched as reinforcements in advance.

The burden fell on the shoulders of traffic police and volunteers recruited from the first batch of successful applicants.

The volunteers wore eye-catching armbands, and although they were equally tired, their eyes shone with pride.

They used a loudspeaker to guide people, distributed simple drinking water and food, and patiently answered questions that had been repeated countless times.

Their presence greatly relieved the pressure on the officials and injected a touch of human warmth into this grand migration.

The hectic pace of the first day lasted almost until late at night.

But as the sun set and the last group of visitors, still holding their warm passes, stepped into the gradually lit New Yuan City with amazement, the most difficult beginning was finally over.

The system recorded all the congestion points and process flaws on the first day, and made minor adjustments to the algorithm and manpower allocation that evening.

The next day is a traditional Chinese festival.

This unexpectedly became an excellent "diverter".

Many of the audience members who won the lottery had family members or partners who did not win. Most of them chose to reunite with their families in their hometowns for the holidays before heading to New Town.

This resulted in a significant decrease in the number of people entering the city on the second day, giving the Xinyuan City management system valuable breathing room and adjustment time.

Staff and intelligent modules were able to work together more smoothly, and volunteers became more familiar with their responsibilities.

On this day, while operating efficiently, Xinyuan City also extended festive greetings to all arrivals through ubiquitous screens and broadcasts, and even distributed specially made festive snacks to those waiting in line, eliciting bursts of delighted cheers.

The real peak occurred on the third day after the holiday, which was the second to last day before the official start of the competition.

Almost all the lottery winners who planned to watch the game gathered at this time, trying to seize the opportunity and adapt to the environment in advance.

The number of people reached an unprecedented peak.

But this time, Xinyuan City was already confident of success.

With a more comprehensive contingency plan, more skilled staff, a stress-tested system, and people's gradually developing habit of following the rules, this unprecedented "entry ceremony" proceeded even more smoothly than the first day.

The long queues kept moving, complaints decreased, and expectant smiles increased.

Amidst this orderly hustle and bustle, a young woman with a light, fluffy green shuttlecock on her head, wearing a large mask and dark sunglasses, stood quietly at the edge of the crowd not far from an entrance, her gaze sweeping over a small group of people who had just passed the verification and were looking around with curiosity.

There were five young people, led by a young woman who was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, dressed in neat casual clothes and with a capable demeanor.

She was accompanied by four teenagers who looked to be around fifteen or sixteen years old—two boys and two girls—all carrying travel bags, their faces filled with excitement and curiosity about the unfamiliar environment.