Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The audition phase of Project Dawn officially concluded.
In the official livestream, host Charles appeared before the camera once again with his signature composed smile, though this time his eyes carried a barely perceptible gravity.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!
After three days of fierce competition and rigorous screening by our hundred-member expert panel and thousand citizen representatives, we've selected the top 100 from tens of thousands of outstanding entries to advance to the next round!"
His voice remained enthusiastic, but attentive viewers watching the stream might have noticed that today's online viewership was several times, even dozens of times higher than any previous episode.
Countless eyes were glued to their screens, waiting for that list to be revealed.
"Now, as is tradition, we'll reveal the standout winners of this audition round from highest to lowest!"
Behind Charles, the massive light screen began flickering, data streams scrolling rapidly to build suspense.
"First, let's look at this audition's top three!"
The screen froze, displaying the covers and basic information of three works.
First Place: Crabapple blossoms speak their language
Author: Neil
Type: Novel
Overall Score: 9.8
The cover featured an extremely elegant ink-wash style.
Beneath a crabapple tree, a classical couple held hands and gazed at each other, the scene filled with distant meaning.
"Congratulations to the great Neil!"
Charles's voice brimmed with admiration.
"With its exquisitely delicate prose and deeply moving emotional portrayal, Crabapple blossoms speak their language has won over the vast majority of judges and viewers.
This first place is well-deserved!"
The chat immediately flooded with cheers and praise from Neil's fans. As a renowned popular author in the Federation, Neil had a massive base of devoted fans.
His work naturally came with huge traffic and voting advantages, so pushing the score to an impressive 9.8 wasn't surprising.
The screen switched.
Second Place: Battlefield: Warhammer 40K
Author: Medici
Type: Massively Multiplayer Online Tactical Game (MMOTG)
Overall Score: 9.1
That menacing cover filled with steel and fire appeared once again, forming an intense contrast with the previous elegant aesthetic.
Almost simultaneously, the livestream chat exploded like cold water dumped into hot oil!
Comments scrolled at a speed impossible for the eye to track, showing unprecedented polarization!
"Here it is! It's really here! Second place!"
"Well-deserved! This game is incredible! It'd be criminal if they don't launch it!"
"The gameplay is so innovative! That battlefield pressure, I could feel it through the screen!"
"This is true ninth art! Using the most brutal means to question the meaning of life!"
"Please, officials, hurry up and work with the author to launch this! I can't wait to charge into battle!"
The supporters' fervor practically overflowed from the screen.
However, opposing voices were equally fierce, perhaps even sharper:
"Why does this bloody, violent thing deserve second place?! What are the judging criteria?"
"Extremely disturbing! I had nightmares the night I watched the stream! Games like this should be banned!"
"Balance is garbage! Defenders can't even play! Empire tanks are ridiculously overpowered!"
"Promotes extremism and nihilism, seriously violates Project Dawn's original purpose!"
"Author Medici has sinister intentions! This is poisoning our young people!"
Praise and criticism, desire and resistance, two completely different voices clashed and tore at each other in the chat, making the livestream atmosphere unprecedentedly tense and explosive.
Backend data showed that in just the ten seconds after Battlefield: Warhammer 40K appeared, interaction volume and new viewer numbers hit a terrifying peak!
Charles watched the out-of-control chat. Even with his experience, he could only barely maintain his smile and quickly moved to the next work, trying to redirect attention:
"Alright, it seems contestant Medici's work has... certainly sparked widespread discussion. Let's take a look at the excellent work in third place..."
The screen switched again.
Third Place: Interstellar Expedition
Author: Cosmic Wanderer
Type: Open World Exploration Game
Overall Score: 8.9
The cover showed the vast cosmos with a streamlined spacecraft heading toward a magnificent planet.
"Interstellar Expedition is an ingeniously crafted space exploration game!"
Charles introduced it, his tone noticeably more relaxed.
"It features an extremely expansive game map that theoretically allows players to explore a nearly infinite universe, with countless unique planets waiting to be discovered where you can land on the surface.
The freedom is incredibly high! It fulfills all our fantasies about the stars!"