Chapter 55: Invitation

The concert concluded in an almost frenzied atmosphere. Xia Yunge, carrying the relief of having narrowly escaped disaster and an inexpressible excitement, completed the performance flawlessly. Retreating backstage, she didn't even have time to change out of her stage costume before eagerly searching for that figure; the nearly invisible scar on her calf constantly reminded her of the miracle brought by that box of "God-Level Restoration Ointment."

However, Qin Feng had not come backstage.

Su Wenqian relayed his words on his behalf: "Miss Xia, the performance was wonderful. President Qin had matters to attend to and left first. Please get some proper rest."

A flicker of disappointment crossed Xia Yunge's heart, but it was quickly replaced by deeper gratitude and curiosity. That ointment... what kind of existence was it, exactly? Just how many abilities beyond her imagination did Qin Feng possess?

Meanwhile, Ye Lingyun left the private box with a dark expression. The scheme he had carefully orchestrated had not only failed to probe Qin Feng's depths, but had instead allowed the other to casually toss out a trump card powerful enough to shake the world. He felt like a child waving a wooden stick, provoking a giant clad in heavy armor and wielding divine weapons—utterly ridiculous.

He did not go backstage to see Xia Yunge again. At this moment, Xia Yunge's heart likely held only gratitude and admiration for Qin Feng; going to see her now would only invite humiliation. He needed to reassess, and even more... he needed to find allies.

He walked straight toward the private box occupied by Mr. William, the representative of the neighboring "Poseidon Investments."

……

Qin Feng sat in the vehicle returning to the estate, resting with his eyes closed. Su Wenqian sat beside him, reporting softly.

"News came from Lin Wei. Due to the leak of information about the 'God-Level Restoration Ointment' (we couldn't completely seal the mouths of everyone backstage), inquiry emails from several international top-tier biopharmaceutical giants and venture capital firms have already flooded our public mailbox. Some have even tried to contact our insiders through special channels."

"Expected." Qin Feng didn't even open his eyes.

"Additionally," Su Wenqian continued, "after the concert ended, Ye Lingyun had a secret meeting with William Johnson, the representative of 'Poseidon Investments,' lasting about twenty minutes. The content is unknown, but Lin Xuan's people detected abnormal fluctuations in the electronic signals around their meeting location, suspected to be deeply encrypted communications."

"Birds of a feather." Qin Feng commented, his tone carrying not a trace of surprise.

"One more thing," Su Wenqian paused, "Miss Gu Qingcheng wishes to see you. She says regarding that music score and the 'Official Vessel,' there has been a new major discovery, possibly connected to a mysterious organization circulating among a very small number of ancient inheritances."

Qin Feng finally opened his eyes, a glint of sharpness flashing through his pupils. "Return to the estate."

Back in the estate study, Gu Qingcheng had long been waiting there. She still wore her usual elegant modified qipao, but her face was flushed with the excitement unique to a researcher.

"Mr. Qin!" The moment she saw Qin Feng, she stepped forward immediately. "I've made a breakthrough in deciphering the music score! Besides the coordinates and the direction pointing to the 'Official Vessel,' I also discovered an extremely obscure 'Invitation Letter' hidden within the score!"

"Invitation Letter?" Qin Feng gestured for her to continue.

"Yes! This segment of information was encoded using a nearly lost spiritual energy cipher. Its core meaning is—when the holder of the 'Key' (likely referring to the complete interpretation of the music score) appears and meets a certain 'Resonance' condition, they can send an authentication message to a specific 'Coordinate,' thereby obtaining an 'Invitation' to board the 'Official Vessel'!" Gu Qingcheng said excitedly. "This is not a dead, silent ruin. It may still be under the control of some kind of automated program, waiting for qualified 'Visitors'!"

This discovery completely changed the nature of the "Official Vessel"! It was not a sunken ship waiting to be salvaged, but a super base that required a password and authentication to enter—one that might still be operational!

"What is the authentication message? And what is the resonance condition?" Qin Feng seized the key points.

Gu Qingcheng steadied her breathing slightly: "The authentication message is most likely the 'Music' performed from the score itself, imbued with a specific energy frequency. As for the resonance condition... the score hints that the 'Key' holder must possess powerful 'Spiritual Energy' or similar spiritual force in order to awaken the score's true power and issue a qualified 'Invitation.'"

She looked at Qin Feng, her gaze carrying inquiry and anticipation. The unfathomable feeling about Qin Feng, and how he could casually produce something that defied common sense like the "God-Level Restoration Ointment," made her vaguely feel that Mr. Qin might be the one who could satisfy the "Resonance Condition."

Qin Feng fell into thought. Spiritual force? Although the "Source Technology Imprint" had granted him vast knowledge and system abilities, he had not paid much attention to quantifying his own spiritual power. Performing music imbued with specific energy? This happened to align perfectly with the "God-Level Music Mastery" he had just acquired.

Could all of this be coincidence? Or was it the system's arrangement from beyond?

"Attempt to decipher the specific format and frequency requirements of the authentication message," Qin Feng ordered. "At the same time, prepare a music room that is absolutely soundproof and capable of monitoring energy fluctuations."

"Yes!" Gu Qingcheng accepted the order. She knew—Mr. Qin was preparing to try!

Just then, Su Wenqian walked in holding a tablet computer, her expression somewhat strange: "President Qin, we've received an email with an extremely high encryption level. The sender is anonymous, but tracing the IP points to a satellite node somewhere in the Public Sea."

"The content."

"It's an... Invitation Letter." Su Wenqian handed the tablet to Qin Feng.

On the screen, there was no signature, only a single line of concise yet supremely arrogant text:

【Mr. Qin Feng, who possesses the divine medicine technology, we are very interested in you. We give you one chance: bring your technology and come alone to coordinates (-XX. XXXX, -YYY. YYYY) in the South Pacific at midnight three days from now. We won't wait if you're late. —"The Abyss"】

"The Abyss"!

This name was identical to the organization pointed to by the suspicious signal source captured outside the Deep Sea base that Lin Xuan had reported!

On one side, an invitation from an ancient music score to board the "Official Vessel."

On the other side, an invitation from a mysterious organization with unclear intentions and a threatening overtone.

Two "invitations" arrived almost simultaneously.

The corners of Qin Feng's mouth slowly curved into a cold arc.

Interesting.

It seemed that beneath the deep blue, things were even livelier than he had imagined.