Chapter 2576 - 1723: Hard Control (What to Do When You’re Starving)

The music began.

First came the heavy sound of the violin, as weighty as the collapse of a temple, with the crushing feeling of watching giant boulders tumble down from the mountaintop, sweeping across the entire venue in an instant. It created a sensation akin to struggling amidst ocean waves, being swallowed by crashing waves, sinking into the sea, an overwhelming feeling that made people instinctively clutch their hearts.

Then came the violin, much like grasping a life-saving straw at the moment of drowning, pulling the soul that had sunk into the depths back to the surface, allowing one to catch a breath. It was as if they had escaped the brink of death, ready to embrace the beauty of life.

But that moment was fleeting, and next was the chanting.

"FOU KI RA HYEAR PRESIA REEN (Listen to my most sincere call)......WAS ZWEIE RA NA STEL ZUIEG MANAF (I do not intend to steal your strength and life), MA ZWEIE RA IRS MANAF CHYET OZ OMNIS (The existence of life is the choice of all things)......!"

At that moment, the light appeared.

Dazzling light accompanied the sacred and solemn chanting and burst into the world of the audience. Everyone widened their eyes, looking at the girl standing at the front of the stage. She wore a golden mask, draped in a red cloak with golden edges, and her simple long gown seemed to emit a faint glow under the spotlight.

She opened her arms, bathing in the shining light, while the soft chanting emerged once more.

"EN NA CYURIO RE CHYET (Even if not chosen by fate), WAS TOUWAKA GAYA PRESIA (Please grant hope once again)......!"

No one spoke.

But this time, it wasn’t intentionally to express dissatisfaction with the band. It was instinctive, a reflex; everyone held their breath, their nerves taut. It was as if they were not enjoying joyous music, but participating in an extremely sacred and solemn ceremony. All chaotic thoughts were discarded, leaving only reverence.

Although they couldn’t understand the language, the holiness and dignity conveyed through the chanting were enough to shatter everyone’s mental defenses. They stood staring blankly, like puppets, focused ahead. There, enveloped by brilliant light, the radiant figure exuded an unquestionable absolute authority.

No doubt, it was Xiao Ai.

While playing the violin, Hei Chuan Chi Yin quietly observed the audience below. She certainly knew how powerful Duanmu Huai’s overwhelming presence was. But until now, Duanmu Huai mainly used his presence to intimidate people. This was the first time Hei Chuan Chi Yin saw Duanmu Huai using his presence in this way.

It was indeed impressive.

Unlike Hei Chuan Chi Yin, Fukawa Shoko was completely stunned.

The piece was familiar, as was the song, because they had rehearsed many times.

But at that moment, Fukawa Shoko truly felt something entirely absent during rehearsals, a sense of sacredness, majesty, as if she were on the heights of the clouds, playing melodies for angels. The figure before her lost all its usual agitation, standing there exuding an almost suffocating purity.

No, none of that matters!

What matters is that Duanmu, before going on stage, said he would make the audience kneel and sing conquest. Looking at the audience now, they seem really about to kneel—no, wait, they’ve really knelt down!

Indeed, under Fukawa Shoko’s shocked gaze, the front-row audience members all knelt on the ground. Instinctively clasping their hands, they stared at the stage, their actions triggering a wave that rippled backward, and the people behind them also knelt down. No one spoke, everyone just raised their heads, gazing up at Duanmu Huai, listening to his chanting.

This isn’t a LIVE!

It looks more like a religious ceremony!

However, Fukawa Shoko’s inner wails were obviously drowned out by Duanmu Huai’s song and overwhelming presence. Moreover, she felt as if everything around her had gained its own life. Several times, Fukawa Shoko felt as though the keyboard had already made sounds before she pressed the keys, as if her electronic keyboard no longer responded to her commands, but danced in sync with Duanmu Huai’s chant.

But perhaps it was merely a hallucination caused by excessive tension.

Soon, the song ended.

Only then did the audience gradually regain their senses. They blinked dazedly, feeling as if they were waking up from a dream, striving to return to the real world.

Yet......at this moment, the second song began.

"Ah......Ah......"

Unlike the first song, the second song’s uniqueness lay in its four-minute duration without any lyrics. From beginning to end, only a soft, extended "Ah" sound, gentle and relaxed, elevated in pitch, mournful and sorrowful, connecting various emotionally charged "Ah" chants together to form this distinctive piece.

Upon hearing this melody, the audience members who were gradually returning to reality once again found their gaze becoming distant. It was as if they heard a mother’s hum between dreaming and waking, freezing their actions as they returned to their previous state.

After this came the third, the fourth......

The entire performance was seamless, completing four songs, and at the end of the final song’s melody, Duanmu Huai finally exhaled, looking at the crowd still dazedly kneeling below the stage.