Chapter 113: Unravel

(This chapter BGM: "Unravel" by Ling as Shigure)

【"Coming-of-Age Ceremony" global sales reached 7.68 million copies, task completed, get a mysterious grand prize!】

The long-lost mission completion notification sound rang out, and Luo Quan's eyes even grew a bit moist: "I've finally made it to the end, hurry up and open it for me!"

【Opening mysterious grand prize...

Get Intermediate Attribute Enhancement Card x1

Random Reward Pack x1

Skin Quality Enhancement Potion x1】

Luo Quan was a bit disappointed: "This reward sounds a bit rotten."

【Intermediate attribute enhancement card is one of the most practical props for you at this stage. It can improve any of your attributes below SS-. Although the level of improvement is random, it can at least improve a small level!】

"What is my appearance value?"

【SSS】

"That is to say, this thing is useless?"

【Isn't there a bottle of skin quality enhancement potion? Although for your level of face, the effect of the potion is not very big, but at least it can make your skin have higher tolerance for extreme environments.】

"Is it to make my face thicker?"

【You can also understand it this way.】

"………………"

I have never seen such a stingy system. I worked hard to do a task, and finally gave so little reward. It's stingy!

"Forget it, add the attribute card to my singing skills. If I am lucky, breaking through the threshold of A+ is also a good harvest."

For singers, the gap between A+ and S- is greater than the gap between A+ and D-. The former can only be said to be a female singer with strength. Pitch and breath have reached the point of pure fire, and live performance is not easy to make mistakes, which is not too outstanding.

And S-level female singers have the ability to dominate the stage. Even if the songs are not so excellent, they can make fans scream because of their singing skills.

Female singers with this strength can easily rush into the top five in the Qingge Competition in China!

Breaking through the threshold of S-level is Luo Quan's expectation, but her popularity has always been bad. She clearly has one-quarter European blood, and her face is so white. I don't know if she can be European this time.

【Using Intermediate Attribute Enhancement Card...

Congratulations to the host, you who are full of European energy have improved your singing skills by five small levels!】

"Hiss!" Luo Quan heard this, surprised to take a breath of cold air, and then the whole heart was filled with surprise and happiness.

Her original singing skill was A-, improved by five small levels, which is crossing A, A+, S-, S, and directly reaching S+!

This is an indisputable qualitative leap!

At this moment, Luo Quan suddenly felt that the state of her throat was different. She really wanted to sing a song loudly and try what level she could show.

"By the way, singing skills reached S+, then I can try that song!" Luo Quan suddenly remembered one thing, something that might reverse the unfavorable situation of this singing competition.

After the University of Tokyo Miss ended, Luo Quan immediately went to the activity room of the Philharmonic Club.

The result of the competition at noon frustrated everyone's confidence, and everyone, including Yun Jingxiao, had serious doubts about their strength.

The songs are all good songs. An album that can give Rolling Stone magazine such a high evaluation can't be produced for a few years. The reason why it is not popular is only because their strength is not as good as the Super band.

"We Will Rock You" is the best song of the band. If even it can't defeat the Super band, no matter what you sing in the third round of competition, it is estimated that you can't win.

And to be honest, just based on their current state, it is already very good to be able to guarantee the completion of the competition.

"Everyone, I have thought of a way to win this competition!"

Luo Quan ran to the crowd excitedly, with a face of joy.

"There is a way?!" Yun Jingxiao raised his head suddenly, and the eyes of the others were also full of light.

If anyone can create a miracle at this moment, it is only Luo Quan!

"You haven't forgotten how to play "Unravel" yet, right?"

Before, the Tokyo Ghoul crew invited Luo Quan to re-record this song. In order to make the overall song sound better, Luo Quan troubled the band members to use physical instruments to perform.

Everyone practiced this song to help Luo Quan.

"The melody is naturally remembered, do you plan to sing this song." Yun Jingxiao asked curiously.

Luo Quan nodded:

Amuro Yu asked: "So you mean we need to raise the key and speed up the tempo this time?"

Kamigaya Lingyin worried: "But with time so tight, will we make it in time!"

Luo Quan wiped the sweat from the tip of her nose: "The general direction hasn't changed; it's mainly a matter of rhythm. It's 3:30 now, and the third round of the competition is at 8:30. Five hours should be enough!"

Yun Jingxiao's expression was solemn: "You play the original guitar version of this song first. At most three times, and I can memorize it."

Amuro Yu also smiled: "The drum beat is the simplest part; just follow the melody and find the rhythm."

"You can record it and play it on loop later. It doesn't have to be played perfectly, just make sure you can finish the performance completely!" Luo Quan said, immediately picking up the guitar and starting to play.

Yun Jingxiao stood to the side, arms crossed, staring at Luo Quan with total concentration.

In the natural world, every sound has its pitch. Some people can distinguish the specific pitch of a sound they hear with absolute precision just by relying on their ears, and some can even play it back accurately on an instrument!

This ability is called absolute pitch. It is an ability humans acquire after birth, but it is not something just anyone can cultivate, so calling it an innate talent is not entirely unreasonable.

Yun Jingxiao possessed such an ability. Any piece of music, as long as it wasn't as complex as a concerto, he could memorize in three times at most and then replicate it almost perfectly.

It was just that he had only mastered this ability in recent years. If it had been developed earlier, he would likely already be a guitar genius famous across Asia.

After playing it once, Luo Quan looked at Yun Jingxiao. The latter had his eyes tightly shut at some point, his fingers trembling non-stop. This appearance was clearly him playing the guitar in thin air!

Soon, Yun Jingxiao opened his eyes and said: "I've got it! I'll practice it right now!"

"Good!" Luo Quan exhaled, then turned to look at Kamigaya Lingyin and Miyano Xia Zi, "I'll write out the piano and violin parts for this song right now!"

The "right now" Luo Quan said was truly right now. No one expected that someone could memorize the sheet music of a song to this extent.

Luo Quan's pen danced rapidly across the staff paper; the speed was faster than mere copying. How proficient must one be to reach such a level!

Four minutes later, Luo Quan handed the two scores to Kamigaya Lingyin and Miyano Xia Zi, saying: "The scores are much the same as the one I gave you before; you'll be able to memorize them after playing a few times!"

There was no time to lose. The two women took the scores and immediately began practicing.

And Amuro Yu followed Luo Quan, starting the first rehearsal.

The drum beat needed to be struck according to the overall rhythm of the song. There was no fixed score; it basically relied on the drummer's improvisation, so one had to hear the song to be able to play it.

After hearing the true version of the song Luo Quan sang, Amuro Yu was almost stunned. The difficulty of such a song was not just ordinarily high; no wonder Luo Quan said the previous version couldn't be sung by her.

But perhaps only such a song could allow their votes to turn defeat into victory. For some reason, as long as Amuro Yu saw Luo Quan's confident appearance, he felt that everything still had hope!

Five hours passed quickly. Everyone gave their all and finally memorized the melody and rhythm before the competition arrived, but they had conducted less than three complete rehearsals, and there were still some flaws in some places.

But there was no other way; in this situation, they could only bite the bullet.

The group arrived at the competition venue. The female host walked over with an anxious face and whispered: "Why are you only here now! The competition has already started, and you haven't even reported the track you're performing yet!"

Yun Jingxiao bowed: "Sorry for keeping everyone waiting. Our performance track this time is 'Unravel'!"

"The OP for Tokyo Ghoul?" The female host was also a fan of this anime and had naturally heard this song.

Come to think of it, this anime had already updated to ten episodes, and the first season would conclude next Saturday. It was currently very popular in Japan; singing this song might have a miraculous effect.

"Hurry to the back and prepare. There's probably no time for makeup, at least fix your hairstyles!" The female host pointed to the backstage area and said.

Because the third round of the competition was broadcast during the evening prime time and aired on several TV stations, the school attached great importance to it, and contestants had to wear makeup before going on stage.

Everyone else had already finished their makeup, but because the Lovemusic band arrived too late, there was no time left to do it now.

Fortunately, the lead singer this time was Luo Quan. With her looks, she could hold the stage even without makeup!

Before going on stage, Luo Quan specifically went to find the stage lighting technician to communicate what kind of lighting effects they needed during their performance later.

Originally, these things had to be reported to the production team in advance. Adding it last minute really made things difficult for the lighting technician, but fortunately, Luo Quan's requirements were not complex and didn't have too many changes.

After listening, the lighting technician thought for a moment and felt there was no problem.

Everything is ready, except for the east wind.

The Super band, who went on stage just before them, had already begun to welcome the cheers of over five thousand audience members.

There were many students who came for the third round of the competition, and this could be considered the highlight of this Komaba Festival.

As expected, the Super band brought out their trump card in this final round, which was 'Re: make', the song Luo Quan had given them earlier.

This song had a fairly high popularity in Japan and was deeply loved by young people. Among the male audience present, at least half had heard this song.

Just as the intro started, the scene was already boiling over.

The Super band presented a wonderful performance to the audience with incomparable proficiency. Even after they finished and left the stage, the audience's applause still lasted for a long time.

Now, the pressure was on the Lovemusic band.

The male host walked onto the stage: "Coming up next is the Lovemusic band from the University of Tokyo. The track they are bringing to everyone is the theme song of the hit anime Tokyo Ghoul, 'Unravel'. Please welcome them with applause!"

"It's actually this song?"

"Finally, they know to sing a Japanese song."

"I love this anime so much, and the lead singer this time seems to be Luo Quan. I'm really looking forward to it!"

"But this song is so soft; it doesn't suit this kind of occasion, right?"

"Listen first, then talk."

This time, the Lovemusic band chose the right subject. Tokyo Ghoul had been very popular recently, and the theme song 'Unravel' could be considered to have achieved success together with it, both bringing a considerable number of fans to each other.

After knowing that Luo Quan was serving as the lead singer this time, the cheers of fans rang out from the audience, which was something that hadn't appeared in the previous two performances.

The band members went on stage to check their instruments, and after confirming there were no problems, they gave an OK gesture to the back.

Subsequently, all the lights in the venue were turned off, and only the stage was surrounded by a cluster of dark purple and dark red light beams. Luo Quan's face was faintly visible in this dim light, and everyone could only see her perfect jawline, like an ice sculpture.

The atmosphere at the scene was rendered very gloomy by this dark tone. Many students nervously held their breath; in their impression, the style of this song shouldn't be this dark.

In the midst of silence, Luo Quan's performance began.

(Recommended to be enjoyed with the Bilibili video for better effect. BV1mW411Q7KK)

"Please tell me, please tell me, the conspiracy within it"

"Inside my body, who exists?"

"It's broken, it's breaking, this world"

"You are laughing, even though you can see nothing"

A low, sobbing chant. Every time she sang a line, Luo Quan let her intake of breath easily pass through the microphone and reach everyone's ears.

This sound seemed to have a kind of magic. An indescribable sadness filled their hearts in an instant. Confusion, helplessness, despair—countless negative emotions fermented slowly in the darkness.

Luo Quan's voice paused, and the rapid, chaotic electric guitar sound mixed with the crisp piano suddenly burst forth amidst the intersecting lights. The originally sorrowful and gloomy atmosphere suddenly became intense!

Yun Jingxiao, Kamigaya Lingyin, Amuro Yu, and Miyano Xia Zi buried their faces deep under the dark purple lights at this moment, playing with all their hearts and leaving the entire stage to Luo Quan.

"Please let this me, who is about to break, stop breathing"

"It won't unravel, it can no longer be unraveled, even the truth has been frozen"

"Broken, not broken"

"Gone mad, not gone mad"

"I want to find you"

The singing and drum beats gradually became rapid. Everyone felt their heartbeats accelerating along with it, and the rapid flow of blood seemed to make their body temperatures rise.

This song was not the gentle version from before at all!

And after so much buildup, this song finally ushered in its first climax. Luo Quan's voice rose sharply, ascending by a full two octaves!

"I stand in this turbulent and twisted world"

"Gradually unable to see anything through the gaps"

"Don't find me! Don't look at me! Don't stare at me!"

"In this world depicted by someone I don't know"

"I really don't want to hurt you"

"Please remember my existence, remember me"

"This vivid existence"

The intense singing gradually subsided. Everyone gained unprecedented tranquility at this moment—a tranquility as dead as ashes and still water.

The sadness, coming from nowhere, was like a pair of large hands tightly gripping their hearts. They began to question themselves and examine their inner selves just like in the song:

Who exactly am I? Is there another me hidden in my heart? What do I actually mean to this world?

No one could have predicted that a song would bring them such shock.

However, the calm only lasted for a few short seconds before the drums and guitars struck again like a storm.

"Infinite loneliness spreads out and surrounds me"

"The innocent smile in my memory stings my heart"

"Can't move, can't move, can't move, can't move"

"Unravelghoul (Release the devil in your heart)!!!"

Continuous, intensifying shouts finally led to this frantic roar that changed everything.

At this moment, everyone felt their scalps tingling, as if a large stone was pressing on their chests, making them unable to breathe, just as if a devil had gripped their throats, leaving them unable to move.

Yun Jingxiao began his own performance at this moment. A scarlet light flickered between his right hand and the guitar. The intense guitar sound was manipulated by him as if it possessed an echo, continuously stimulating the audience's eardrums back and forth, making them feel as if they were in a rotating, inverted, broken, and bizarre world!

At this moment, Yun Jingxiao finally displayed his incomparable fingerstyle technique. As the youngest level-ten guitarist in Japan, his technique could actually have rivaled top-tier professional guitarists long ago, and this personal solo allowed him to display his technique to the fullest!

"Changed, cannot be changed"

"Two people linked together, two people destroyed together"

"Broken, not broken"

"Gone mad, not gone mad"

"I really don't want to pollute you!"

"I stand in this turbulent and twisted world"

"Gradually unable to see anything through the gaps"

"Don't find me! Don't look at me! Don't stare at me!"

"Who is plotting this conspiracy, falling into a trap of loneliness"

"If I don't escape in the future"

"Please remember me, remember this vivid existence of mine"

Luo Quan's S+ level singing ability finally helped her get through this most difficult passage. To show the singer's inner pain, her voice kept switching between chest voice and falsetto, and every line of lyrics ended with a clear intake of breath.

This was a huge test for breath control and lung capacity. Most songs would not be sung in such an extremely bizarre way.

Normal people singing like this would have long since become dizzy from hypoxia due to rapid deep breathing, but Luo Quan, in addition to her S+ singing ability, also possessed the "Iron Lung" specialty. It was this specialty that allowed her to hold on until now.

And it was precisely by using this almost crazy way of singing, combined with her wide-open mouth when breathing, that she created a scene of singing with her life and soul.

"Please don't forget!"

"Please don't forget!"

"Please don't forget!"

"Please don't forget!"

A series of singing was sung by Luo Quan in a tone of pleading, almost begging. Her shaking head seemed like a refusal, and her tightly closed eyes seemed to be trying hard to suppress the tears that were about to gush out.

With the emotions brewed to this point, people's emotions finally inevitably erupted.

At this moment, I don't know how many people's tears streamed down their faces, and some even wailed and cried out. This was the most sincere expression of emotion, simply because the singing touched the softest part of their hearts.

Luo Quan's pleading was perhaps something they had also said before: Please don't forget me, please don't leave me, please don't abandon me.

In the beginning, their postures had also been low to the dust, and they had also been as desperate as in the song, but in the end, they were ultimately helpless.

"Numb to the fact that has already changed"

"In a paradise full of things that cannot be changed"

"Please remember me"

The song finally reached its end. No matter how heroic and intense it was just now, it all came to a conclusion at this moment. The guitar, drums, violin, and piano all returned to calm.

Only Luo Quan still held the microphone tightly with both hands, closing her eyes and emitting the final murmur:

"Please tell me, please tell me"

"Inside my body"

"Who exists?"

The lingering sound was like smoke, enough to echo for three days.

A moment later, the lights in the venue turned on brightly. On stage, Luo Quan was panting heavily, her chest heaving for a while.

It wasn't that there was any emotional fluctuation; it was just the literal meaning.

At this time, the people in the audience were surprised to find that many people around them had tear stains on their faces, as if they had just cried.

Wiping the corners of their own eyes, they realized that they themselves had also shed tears unknowingly.

The members of the Lovemusic band walked to the front of the stage together, bowed to the audience, and then walked off the stage.

Without anyone organizing it, thunderous applause erupted from the audience, lasting for nearly half a minute. Even until the female host went on stage to notify the next group of contestants to come up, the applause was still continuing.

At the same time, the real-time comment section on Twitter had completely exploded. Countless Japanese comments were scrolling crazily on the screen, and all the Japanese audience members were trying their best to express their inner surge and shock in their own language.

This performance was simply shocking. In Japan before this, there had never been a singer, and there had never been a song with such a style and such a way of singing.

Desperate and sorrowful lyrics, a bizarre and gloomy stage, frantic and intense singing—lead singer Luo Quan and her band brought everyone a feast of hearing and vision.

That's right, it was Luo Quan and her band.

Clearly, the lead singer had always been Yun Jingxiao before, but everyone always felt that something was missing. Until this moment, everyone finally understood that Luo Quan was the soul of this band.

Having her serve as the lead singer was the true Lovemusic band!

With such a shocking performance in front, no matter how the following groups of contestants performed, it seemed dull and uninteresting.

Before the competition was even over, the audience already had the answer to who they would vote for.

The performances all ended, and the voting session began immediately.

And the result basically didn't exceed everyone's expectations.

The Lovemusic band received 10,963 votes, while Super only had 600-plus.

In a situation where they were trailing in votes for two consecutive competitions, the Lovemusic band, through their indisputable god-level performance in the third round, received over ninety percent of the votes and took first place in this national college student singing competition!

(A 6,000-word long chapter, asking for recommendation votes~~)