Chapter 465: Who Says Only Those Standing in the Light Are Heroes

"Lone Warrior," a song with lyrics by Tang Tian, composition and arrangement by Qian Lei, and performed by Chen Yixun.

The lyricist, Tang Tian, is a cancer-fighting warrior; after learning she had nasopharyngeal carcinoma, she wrote down many wishes for songs, one of which was: I want to outlive my parents.

In the lyrics of this song, one can see infinite strength.

And her greatest dream once was to collaborate on a song with Chen Yixun.

As for Qian Lei's composition standard, there is no need to say more; "Big Fish" came from his hand.

Chen Yixun needs even less introduction; how could the title of Song God be an empty reputation?

This is a work that is excellent in lyrics, composition, and performance alike. Thus, it makes many listeners like it more the more they listen, never tiring of it.

It is strange; many in the audience, watching this stage and watching the Back Shadow of the anti-narcotics police, felt a physical reaction the moment Luo Mo sang the first line, and a nameless emotion stirred within their hearts.

"【They—are all brave."

The wound on your forehead, your differences,

The mistakes you made.】"

The images on the big screen began to switch; it was a face that no one could see clearly, and someone was treating a wound for him.

This anti-narcotics officer endured the sharp pain, raised a finger, and kept shouting to his colleague: "Just a little bit more... just, just a little bit more!"

Even though he was injured in the line of duty, he seemed to feel as if he had committed a grave error, falling into endless self-reproach.

In his view, because of his slip-up, perhaps more families would be harmed, and more colleagues would face danger.

The singing continued, Luo Mo hidden in the light and shadow, as if he were merely the narrator on stage, while the images on the big screen—those people who truly exist but whose faces you cannot see—were the protagonists of the stage.

Luo Mo's singing voice was slightly restrained; the emotion within it was particularly difficult to interpret.

Many people, after listening to many covers, always felt something was not quite right compared to the original.

Later, they realized that while many covers sounded very satisfying, many people only sang the "Warrior" part of this song, but not that—"Lone" part.

Luo Mo held the microphone with both hands, lowering his head slightly:

"【They—all need not hide.

Your worn-out doll, your mask,

Your true self.】"

The scene changed again, still only showing a Back Shadow.

This time, not wearing a police uniform, but casual clothes, disguising himself as an ordinary person.

Anti-narcotics work requires hiding one's identity; otherwise, both oneself and one's family would suffer retaliation.

This is the mask they wear, the true self they lose.

In the documentary-like footage, someone came to the residence of an anti-narcotics officer who died in the line of duty and found an unopened, yet actually outdated, doll on the table.

Perhaps he had wanted to give it to his daughter.

It is a pity that it could only be delivered by someone else.

He was a man walking in the darkness; even in death, he had to temporarily hide his identity to prevent drug traffickers from following the trail to retaliate.

The screen plunged into darkness, and a line of subtitles appeared.

A few sparse words, yet they made people's heartbeats slow by half a beat.

"【Sorry, family of XXX, due to the special circumstances now, the memorial service for martyr XXX can only be held here.】"

Luo Mo's body was half-submerged in the shadows, his pitch raised just a little, though limited, and the singing continued:

"【They say, one must carry light to tame every monster.

They say, one must stitch up your wounds,

No one loves a clown.】"

The imagery shifted with the singing, only to see the anti-narcotics officer, still showing only his Back Shadow, pinning a drug trafficker to the ground.

The light of a flashlight shone upon him.

The pinned drug trafficker struggled desperately, like a beast.

And when the anti-narcotics officer stitched up his wounds and went home on leave, perhaps what he faced was still one misunderstanding after another.

Not knowing what he was doing, what he was busy with.

In this restless society, this man lived so much like a clown.

Luo Mo continued to hold the microphone, his pitch rising another level.

"【Why can't loneliness be Glory,

Only imperfect people are worth praising.

Who says those covered in filth are not heroes?】"

On the big screen, amidst the questioning and misunderstanding, the scene switched back to the man pinning the drug trafficker.

You could not see the upper half of his face, only his chin bruised by the ground, only his neck and collarbone covered in filth and blood.

How disheveled he was.

How wretched he was.

He grinned, a foolish, simple smile, truly like a clown. The teeth and gums he revealed were also stained with blood!

On the big screen, only three characters appeared, only half a sentence.

"【Oh, hero—】".

Yes, why is this not a hero!?

Three characters, once again defining the song.

Since that is the case, the high point of the chorus, that sense of loftiness, should appear.

Luo Mo raised his head and began to sing the chorus; every line he sang, the screen imagery changed accordingly, a documentary-like texture perfectly corresponding to the lyrics.

"【Love You walking the dark alley alone.】"

On the screen, anti-drug police officers are moving rapidly through alleys in the dead of night.

"【Love You for the way you refuse to kneel.】"

An anti-drug officer whose face cannot be clearly seen faces the camera and speaks, with subtitles appearing: "After the second encounter, I received threats."

"But I am going to catch him!"

"【Love You for having confronted despair, refusing to shed a tear!】"

One anti-drug officer is sacrificed, and another anti-drug officer roars as he charges forward; there are no tears, only heart-wrenching roars and Anger as he pins the person to the ground.

"【Love You for your tattered clothes, yet daring to block the gun of fate!】"

Another anti-drug officer faces the camera, pointing to a wound on his lower abdomen; subtitles appear as he says: "The situation was urgent, we could only operate in plain clothes."

"It's alright... his aim isn't as good as mine."

"【Love You for being so much like me, with the same scars!】"

One image after another emerges; they are one scar after another.

"【Will you go? Are you worthy? This tattered cape.】"

Sometimes, if it is a sudden operation, perhaps he doesn't even have a bulletproof vest, only plain clothes or a police uniform, but how is this not his cape?

"【Will you fight? Fight then! With the humblest of dreams.】"

On the screen, subtitles appear.

"World peace"—a dream everyone is already tired of seeing, one they might even find laughable.

"【To those whimpers and roars in the dark of night!】"

The images appear continuously, switching rapidly; they are one face after another that cannot be clearly seen, their features distorted, mouths wide open, and one can tell they are shouting something.

The final line of the chorus appears, as if striking the heart of every listener; this question also echoes the 【Hero—】 from the earlier subtitles.

"【Who says those who stand in the light are the only heroes?】"

In the Live Broadcast, the barrage of comments begins to flood the screen.

Many viewers watching the stage already have reddened eyes, their blood boiling along with the song.

Looking out, the overwhelming barrage of comments consists of the same words.

"Salute!"

"Pay tribute!"

"Hero!"

After the interlude, Luo Mo continues Singing, and the song enters the B section; the lyrics do not repeat those of the A section.

"【They say, you must curb your madness,

just like wiping away filth.】"

In the footage, a drug dealer has already been caught; when facing questioning, he says: "At first, I didn't even understand what they were thinking."

"I thought it was too crazy to try to intercept the car and catch me under those circumstances."

"Do they really think they're superheroes from the movies?"

"【They say, you must climb the stairs, and the price is to bow your head.】"

What if a protector of Evil forces appears?

Then, do you choose to compromise, or... pierce through the umbrella together!?

In the lyrics, there are too many instances of the phrase "They say."

Then what about you?

What is your choice?

Luo Mo's singing voice provides the answer.

"【Then let me, be unable to ride the wind.

You are just as proud, of that Lone Warrior spirit.

Who says those who play against the ordinary, are not heroes!?】"

Perhaps, if one chooses to compromise, one can rise step by step, soaring straight up.

Then let me be unable to ride the wind!

Yes, in this world, there is no such thing as a superhero.

Everyone is made of flesh and blood; they will bleed, they will feel pain.

All we have is this... a heart full of Lone Warrior spirit!

The accompaniment begins to grow more impassioned, and Luo Mo is no longer holding back his Singing.

Yes, the first chorus already made people's blood boil, but in reality, both the accompaniment and the vocals were still restrained.

At this very moment, it is finally time to sing wantonly.

This wantonness is as if to say that such heroes of the ordinary can also be praised to one's heart's content.

The repeated climax of the chorus gives people goosebumps.

And in the footage, the anti-drug police successfully capture drug dealers time and time again, which is stirring.

After the chorus ends again, many listeners are already completely fired up.

However.

However.

As mentioned before, many songs, in terms of structure, repeat the chorus climax several times at the very end.

And some Singers will add some variations during these repetitions.

This song, "Lone Warrior," adds two lines during the two repeated choruses.

"【Your mottled scars, are unique.】"

【"Your silence is deafening."】

After these two lines were sung in falsetto, what appeared on the screen was a small box.

This path, in the end, will be accompanied by sacrifice.

Light and shadow mottled the surface of the urn.

This silent scene—the dead cannot speak, and the living bow their heads in mourning—makes one's soul tremble.

The appearance of such imagery seems to extinguish the audience's excitement and hot-bloodedness with cold water.

But immediately after, several lines of text appeared on the screen.

【"Do you know? Every police officer has their own unique badge number."】

【"When a police officer dies in the line of duty, their badge number is sealed."】

【"If a sealed badge number is activated again, it means..."】

【"Their blood descendant has inherited this badge number and become a new, glorious people's police officer!"】

【"They will carry this badge number and continue to complete... the mission they left unfinished!"】

On the screen, a drug enforcement officer surnamed Zhang sacrificed himself to save a colleague.

All three of his sons became people's police officers.

Facing the camera, the third son of Officer Zhang—his face obscured—spoke, and subtitles appeared: "I didn't deliberately choose this path, but I just felt that I was already... I just had to be a police officer!"

The scene switched back to the footage of the children being interviewed by reporters when their father sacrificed himself.

He was dressed simply and kept wiping away tears; he was only ten years old: "Every time I see my daddy's photo, I want to cry."

Three sons, all police officers, and the third son, just like his father, dedicated himself to drug enforcement work.

Judging from the footage when he was ten, the family was certainly not wealthy, and their life must have been very plain.

The singing spread at this moment, the lyrics piercing straight to the heart.

【"Love You comes from the wilderness, never borrowing anyone's light for a lifetime!

You will build your city-state upon the ruins!"】

Yes, this is a child who lost his father at a young age.

Yet he resolutely and decisively is building a better, cleaner world!

Luo Mo continued to sing loudly, carrying out the final conclusion of the song.

【"Will you go? Go! With the humblest of dreams!"】

【"Will you fight? Fight! With the loftiest of dreams!"】

On the screen, the younger Officer Zhang inherited his father's will and inherited his wishes.

During his 9 years in anti-drug work, he fought with drug traffickers many times, participated in the investigation of 158 cases, and together with his comrades, seized 27.7 tons of drugs and 1186.2 tons of drug-making materials.

And in the end, what appeared on the screen was a black-and-white photo.

Seeing this, many in the audience suddenly gave a start, suddenly realizing something.

This younger Officer Zhang, it turns out... had also sacrificed himself!

He was nine years younger than his father was when he sacrificed himself!

Luo Mo's singing was already drawing to a close.

【"To the whimpering and Anger in the dark night."】

This is the son who lost his father.

【"Who says only those standing in the light count as heroes!!!"】

On the screen, the interview footage of the younger Officer Zhang while he was alive continued to appear.

Everyone could not see his appearance; it had undergone special facial processing, leaving it completely dark.

Subtitles appeared, and he said in the interview:

"My evaluation of myself is that I am a qualified police officer."

The interview ended, the lights were turned on, and the light shone on his face; a slightly reserved smile appeared on his dark face, and small text on the side read:

"The moment the lights were turned on during Officer Zhang's interview while he was alive."

In Huaxia, there are too many badge numbers that have been sealed, and too many badge numbers that have been reactivated.

And some badge numbers have even been reactivated three or four times!

And some badge numbers, after being reactivated, are... permanently sealed.

A whole family of martyrs, with no descendants left.

The singing ended, the faint light on Luo Mo dissipated, and his whole person was swallowed by the darkness.

Only the screen on the stage remained lit, still glowing.

Previously, there was no sound on the screen, only subtitles.

Only the first sentence had sound.

And at this moment, there was no image, only sound.

It was a female voice.

Coming from... a female police officer.

"Dad, do you miss me?"

"Do you know, the current me has already fulfilled your wish and become a glorious people's police officer."

"Wearing the same uniform as you, doing the same things as you."

"Working where you worked, eating in the same cafeteria where you ate."

"Following like a shadow."

"I am you, yet I am also not you."

"But I know, I am the continuation of your life."

"I am your daughter, and I am completing the mission you left unfinished."

"Dad, are you proud?"

The light on the screen extinguished along with this.

This was the darkest stage in the history of all Spring Festival Gala programs on Blue Star.

It seemed out of place for the Spring Festival Gala.

It was too dark; one could not see much light on this stage.

A group of people who cannot see the light.

Yet many viewers glanced out their windows.

Today is New Year's Eve, and in many places, the tradition is to stay up through the night, keeping a lamp on in the house that cannot be turned off.

—Ten Thousand Lights!

The stage is dim, the world is bright.

It is enough, it is enough.

Continue to be those heroes who cannot see the light!

(PS: Second update, over 4000 words, asking for monthly votes!

I'll see if I can upload two Easter egg chapters later.

This chapter is adapted from many real people and real cases on Earth.)

(End of this chapter)