Fate's Choice: Livestream at the Start Summoning Billions of Ravens

2:50 p.m.

There are still ten minutes until the live broadcast time announced by Jiang Ming.

The live stream of the Douyin account "Jiang Lai" has been turned on with a black screen.

The live stream title was very short, consisting of only one line.

Elegies and Hymns Dedicated to Nature.

There was nothing in the picture except for the charred, withered tree that had been ridiculed online for two days, standing quietly in the center of the booth.

However, the popularity of the live stream was climbing at an alarming rate.

Five hundred thousand.

Eight hundred thousand.

One million two hundred thousand.

The bullet screen area completely turned into a battlefield, with two distinct camps clashing fiercely in verbal conflicts, and the information flow was so fast that it was almost impossible to read the individual messages.

The "Science Defenders," composed of haters and fun-loving individuals, were the first to fire.

"Here it comes! The biggest scam of the year is finally about to be exposed!"

"Where's the streamer? Is he hiding because he's afraid of being proven wrong?"

"Elegies and Hymns? Laughable! A dead tree—how do you plan to praise it? Praise its worthy death?"

"I bet five cents that it'll just be a light show, maybe with some AR effects, the same old routine."

"Professor Sun's article is pinned to the top; science has already pronounced this tree dead. What's left to read?"

"Let's call it a day, let's call it a day. He's just a clown trying to attract attention."

Jiang Ming's fans formed the "Theological Defenders" to fight back with their unique logic and fanaticism.

"He's panicking! He's panicking! If science can't explain it, he'll just call it a hoax—a classic case of theft!"

"That's right, you don't understand it. How could mortals possibly comprehend the performance art of gods?"

"Anything made by the Raven God is guaranteed to be top-notch! You mortals can just wait to be proven wrong!"

"You're already getting excited before the anchor even appears? Hold on, let's wait and see."

"I have a feeling this will be a historic live broadcast; another moment to witness a miracle is about to arrive!"

The two sides clashed fiercely, ranging from botanical debates to personal attacks, from the definition of art to the original sin of internet traffic.

Amidst this extreme opposition and argument, the live stream's popularity surged past two million viewers and continues to rise.

Flower Expo, underground parking lot.

A black Alphard minivan had just come to a stop.

Zhao Lin quickly stepped forward and opened the car door.

She saw Jiang Ming leaning back in his chair, eyes closed, resting, his expression calm.

"Jiang Ming, the public opinion outside... has exploded. Are you really confident?" Zhao Lin's voice trembled without her even realizing it.

Two bodyguards in black suits stood on either side of the car door, scanning their surroundings warily.

Jiang Ming opened his eyes, glanced at her, and without answering, calmly got out of the car.

"Let's go."

It was exactly 3 p.m.

Escorted by two bodyguards, Jiang Ming walked through the bustling backstage area and along a narrow staff passage toward the core exhibition area of ​​Zone A.

At the end of the passage lies the eye of the storm, the focus of everyone's attention.

at the same time.

Inside exhibition area A, a group of people dressed in formal attire, wearing judge badges around their necks, were surrounding an elderly man with gray hair.

It was Professor Sun Peiwen, the chairman of the judging panel.

They were standing in front of the Dutch national booth, and Sun Peiwen was full of praise for a cluster of well-cultivated "Queen of the Night" tulips.

"This is true vitality, this is the pinnacle of horticulture. The curve of each petal demonstrates the breeder's profound understanding of genes."

The judges around him nodded in agreement.

Just then, Jiang Ming walked into the live stream camera.

He walked through the crowd and into the deadwood booth that was being pointed at and discussed by countless people.

The noise in the entire venue seemed to be silenced at that moment.

Jiang Ming ignored the various gazes directed at him and did not look at the live broadcast camera.

He simply walked up to the charred, withered tree, stood quietly, and looked up at its twisted, lifeless branches.

He didn't say a word.

Security Command Center.

Chen Jianguo tapped his finger heavily on the table.

"Target locked."

"Record every action and micro-expression of his; don't miss any detail."

Lyon, France.

In Sofia Walsh's office, the computer screen was split into two windows.

On the left is a constantly scrolling real-time data stream, and on the right is Jiang Ming's live broadcast room.

In front of the booth.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Jiang Ming slowly extended his right hand.

It was gently placed on the charred, rough trunk of the dead tree.

A cold, carbonized sensation came from my palm.

Jiang Ming closed his eyes.

A clear instruction was given deep within his mind.

"Activate the [Plant Control] ability - [Growth of All Things]."

A faint but distinct green wisp slowly spread across the charred bark, centered on Jiang Ming's palm.

The green wasn't glaring, but it carried an undeniable vitality, quickly covering an area the size of a palm.

Everyone saw that green that appeared out of nowhere.

Sun Peiwen, who had just finished reviewing the tulips, was preparing to move on to the next booth.

He glanced habitually, with a hint of disdain, at the absurd booth next to him.

It was in that one glance that he saw the green hue beneath Jiang Ming's palm.

Beside Sun Peiwen was a young assistant wearing glasses, who was his doctoral student.

The doctor instinctively raised his handheld spectrometer and aimed it at the strange green area.

On the instrument screen, a spectral curve representing chlorophyll instantly spiked to its peak.

The doctor's mouth slowly opened wide, but no sound came out.

Under the watchful eyes of millions of viewers in the live broadcast room and thousands of tourists on site.

At the top of the dead tree, on a branch no thicker than a finger, which had long been deemed completely dead.

A tiny, rice-grain-sized, vibrant green bud pushed through the hard, charred bark.

It stubbornly and authentically appeared in everyone's sight.

The noise, laughter, and chatter at the scene came to an abrupt halt.

Everyone instinctively looked up, their gazes fixed on the newly sprouted bud.

An unprecedented silence fell over the air.

Disbelief was written all over everyone's face.

Inside the security command center.

Chen Jianguo suddenly stood up from his chair.

He stared intently at the largest close-up image in the center of the monitor wall.

In the footage, the green bud is clearly visible under the high-definition camera.

Sofia Walsh stared at the glaring green light on her computer screen.

Special effects or real?

Her brain was frantically processing this completely illogical scene before her.

The elegance, disdain, and contempt on Sun Peiwen's face froze completely.

He shoved aside the assistant blocking his way, staggered to Jiang Ming's booth, and stared intently at the new shoots on the withered branch through the railing less than a meter away.

His pupils contracted sharply, and his cloudy eyes were filled with a subversive shock.