The roar of the crowd could only be caused by the animals from the West Rainbow Zoo.
As the audience cheered and shouted, the host's voice echoed throughout the venue once again.
"Next up is the animal delegation from the West Rainbow Zoo."
"This time, the West Rainbow Zoo has sent a total of 78 animal athletes who will participate in 18 events."
"As we can see, the flag bearer in front is our African elephant, who is also the largest competitor in this year's games."
As soon as the host finished speaking, the African elephant, holding the West Rainbow Zoo flag with its trunk, let out a loud trumpet.
The other animals following behind it also began to make their own sounds to announce their presence.
It was these animal calls that truly pushed the opening ceremony to its climax.
Even the official online live stream of the event was filled with excitement.
"This is real! They really let animals compete as athletes. I thought it was just a gimmick before."
"This is the real dream team—elephants, tigers, lions, cheetahs, black bears, and even crocodiles."
"They even have their own outfits! Even the elephant has one. This is too funny."
"I get the other animals, but what about those two black swans? What events can they possibly participate in?"
"What about the pigs? What can they do? Is there a competitive eating event in this competition?"
"Can someone explain to me what those two raccoons are doing here?"
"Laughing out loud. These animals look so serious and cute."
"No matter what events they compete in, just this opening ceremony alone is worth the ticket price."
"I'm starting to get excited now."
...
After the opening ceremony concluded, the host announced the schedule for the next few days.
When the audience heard the first event, their eyes lit up.
The next event to be held is the 50-meter rifle shooting. The first round will feature competitors including Captain Lin Feng of the Ningnan Criminal Police Brigade, shooting instructor Sun Cheng of the Armed Police, former Olympic shooting champion Yu Yang, retired sniper Ma Chao, and our animal competitor, Li Wei from the West Rainbow Zoo.
The audience was genuinely surprised. This opening event was shaping up to be a thrilling showdown.
A police captain, a shooting instructor, an Olympic champion, a retired sniper—these were all top-tier competitors.
If it weren't for this special sports event, it would be impossible to see all these legends gathered in one place.
"Wow, this is intense! I've always wondered who would win between professional snipers and Olympic champions. Now we'll finally find out."
"I thought this would just be for fun, but look at all these heavyweights."
"I watched Grandpa Wei's training videos earlier and thought he had this in the bag, but now I'm not so sure."
"Exactly, no matter how accurate a slingshot is, it's still just an animal. How can it compete with a professional sniper?"
"I think the retired sniper is the most reliable among the competitors, followed by the shooting instructor, since they're professionals."
"Don't underestimate the Olympic champion. They've been training since they were kids."
"It's just a different focus, I guess. The Olympic champion has been training with the same rifle for years, so it's like muscle memory for them."
"So no one is betting on Grandpa Wei?"
"Grandpa Wei might be in trouble this time."
...
As the competitors were announced, the audience's opinions began to diverge.
Soon, the competition entered the official stage.
Unlike the Olympic rules, each contestant had 10 shooting opportunities, and the one with the highest total score would win.
Five minutes before the start of the competition, all the contestants began their final preparations.
The camera focused on each of the competitors.
"Hello, viewers. I'm Chen Ping, the commentator for this event. As you can see, all the contestants are making their final preparations."
"Captain Lin Feng of the Ningnan Criminal Police Brigade is warming up, while Instructor Sun Cheng seems very interested in the shooting equipment."
"And our retired sniper, Ma Chao, appears to be gauging the wind speed."
In the live stream, a male commentator with glasses was passionately describing the scene.
But when the camera turned to Grandpa Wei, he froze.
Following the camera's view, Grandpa Wei reached into the pocket of his chest and pulled out a pack of Red Dragon cigarettes.
After tapping the bottom of the cigarette pack a couple of times, a slightly wrinkled cigarette popped out.
In the next second, he skillfully placed the cigarette between his lips. In front of countless stunned viewers, he then pulled out a one-dollar lighter from his hat.
Click!
With a small yellow flame, the cigarette between his lips was lit.
Sss!
After taking a long drag, Grandpa Wei's face showed a satisfied expression.
At this moment, everyone in the venue and the live stream viewers were completely stunned.
They never expected Grandpa Wei to pull off such a move.
While everyone else was preparing for the competition, he was smoking.
Soon, the entire shooting range was filled with the smell of tobacco.
It took nearly half a minute before the commentator's voice came back.
"Ahaha, it's okay, it's okay. It's understandable for a contestant to relax before the match."
"And there's no rule explicitly stating that contestants can't smoke in the venue, so don't worry about it."
"Also, kids, don't imitate this. Grandpa Wei is here to remind everyone that smoking is harmful to your health."
Before he could finish, the commentator himself burst out laughing.
If the commentator was like this, the audience was even more in stitches.
"Of course, Grandpa Wei is still Grandpa Wei. He doesn't forget to have a smoke even in such a formal setting."
"Grandpa Wei is very considerate. He's not flicking ashes everywhere."
"Look at his moves. I bet he's been hiding this pack of cigarettes for a while."
"Red Dragon, pay up. I strongly suspect Grandpa Wei is doing an ad here."
"Grandpa Wei used to smoke Double Happiness and Yuxi. Why did he switch to Red Dragon?"
"The commentator is right. There's no rule against smoking in the venue, so it's not a violation."
"Grandpa Wei, remember your role! You're the mascot of this sports event."
"Grandpa Wei is already being very careful. Normally, he smokes three cigarettes at a time in the zoo."
"Hope Grandpa Wei can perform well."
...
While the audience was almost in tears from laughter, Yang Lin's face in the audience was ashen. He clearly remembered confiscating all of Grandpa Wei's cigarettes before the event.
He never expected there to be a hidden stash.