บท 159: One Last Song

At this moment, all the lighting equipment unexpectedly came to a halt, and the music that had reached its climax gradually dissipated.

The matrix sound system emitted a relaxing sound effect, and the special effects began to shut down...

All the people in the audience stopped at this moment, stunned and unsure of what was happening.

"Is this... the finale?" pondered a dude in a custom T/A t-shirt from the mob, looking about as satisfied as a cat with a broken laser pointer.

Checking the time and observing the current state of the venue; indeed, the live performance should be coming to an end. After all, there is no event in the world that can last forever, and the celebration will eventually come to an end.

But... the time was too short! It felt like just a second ago!

And it wasn't just Captain T/A Dissatisfied over there; others in the crowd shared the vibe of "Huh?"

Because of how suddenly all the equipment stopped, it stuck out as strange. Even if it's about to end, it shouldn't be like this, right?

Normally, the end should be a grand finale, with all the guests on stage, giving speeches, expressing gratitude, and bowing off with the DJ, right?

Could it be... something happened?

"Is it going to end?"

"I dunno, but it seems like it's that time? Been about an hour and a half, I guess."

"No, no, no! We ain't done partying!"

"TMY! TMY! TMY! TMY! TMY! TMY....."

"Nooo!!! Give us more!!!"

"This ain't an ending, it's a bit fishy... Did the gear conk out? Or did the power bail? Looks like a power outage."

"Huh? Not possible, right? Aren't there usually backup power solutions or stored power for such events? How could there be a power outage?"

"Let's see what happens next; there should be an explanation..."

The sudden stop of the live performance ignited a frenzy of discussions and speculations among the audience, and even the live chat was filled with viewers guessing why the live performance suddenly stopped.

But...

People could see clearly as day that TMY, chilling up there on the elevated DJ booth, was all good. In fact, if they weren't mistaken, she seemed to be smiling!

And...

"Wait a minute... The mixing console is still lit; there's no power outage!" A sharp-eyed fan noticed some details.

In a flash, more eyes caught on.

"Hey? That's right, it's still lit!"

"What's going on... wait, TMY is doing something!"

"She's raising the microphone, and her finger is pressing down on the mixing console...."

"Huh??"

And the next moment, amid the noise of the crowd, just when everyone was still guessing what was happening, there was a 'boom' sound. Under TMY's action on the DJ booth, all the lights on the main stage suddenly flashed back to their original positions, and the matrix sound system buzzed as it resumed normal operation.

At this very moment, the atmosphere lights, like the blue light in the deep sea, bathed everyone in the venue. TMY's voice came through the matrix sound system.

"One last song, to reward everyone for being here!"

The last song, as a reward!

All the gear on stage was firing on all cylinders; everything was perfect...

Everyone in the crowd spontaneously burst into huge cheers at this good news. Feeling the atmosphere and the music at this moment, the live performance had changed imperceptibly compared to just now.

In conjunction with the blue ambient lights, there was a sound effect reminiscent of a sonar radar from a deep-sea submarine, not as intense and not as festive as before. The atmosphere in the venue subtly changed at this moment.

The projections from the holographic projector were strange; none of the audience could understand them. It was a cartoon image of a big mouse head without any text, with two round ears, like three circles combined.

Many people in the audience began to quietly enjoy the moment, tilting their heads to let the blue ambient light fall on their faces.

Ultra's lighting was powerful; even though it was still daytime, it created an atmosphere that was full of futuristic elements.

"What type of music is this? It's... trippy..."

"I feel like I'm hearing the ocean whispering to me..."

"I feel like I'm deep in the sea, but strangely, I feel very comfortable, considering I have thalassophobia...."

"I feel like my soul is being cleansed."

However, this was just the beginning...

After a sonar-like sound that lasted for tens of seconds, it gradually began to transform, blending in with other sounds.

It was a very intricate melody, unpredictable and so richly layered that it was terrifying.

With just one note, it could give the listener goosebumps. Coupled with the mysterious melody, at this moment, the audience felt like they had jumped from the ocean to the ancient Egyptian kingdom, watching the snake-hand dance of the pharaoh's concubine.

In the form of music, TMY provided everyone with a shocking experience!

"OMG, what is this? This isn't like any electronic music I've heard before... I feel overwhelmed right now."

"This is... such a complex structure, such a shocking auditory experience!"

Next, the bass drum and consonants entered at the same time.

This was the simultaneous entry of the drop and the build-up!

On the holographic projector, the name of this track started glowing.

[TMY - "Avaritia"]

The stage effects became even more spectacular. As the progress of this track continued, the structure became more and more intricate, far beyond the beginning.

The ancient melody style contrasted with the highly technological instrument left the audience feeling dazed.

Of course, while the intro of Avaritia was suitable for this new world of electronic music, the rest of the song would fall flat if not spruced up for this more pop-centric audience. With its powerful but repetitive 808 section, audiences inexperienced with songs of this style would find themselves losing interest around the three-minute mark. And, being a six-minute song, having a bored audience for half of a song is unacceptable.

As such, Miaoyi added some dubstep/brostep aspects inspired by Skrillex to add to the intricacies of the piece, and judging by the audience's reaction, it seemed to have worked.

This was a track that surpassed any of TMY's previous works, reaching a level where a normal computer could not support its normal operation due to its complex structure. Just the enveloping lines alone were so numerous that it was mind-boggling. It was undoubtedly a work of electronic music art, rising to the level of a sacred hall in the world of Earth's electronic music. Unlike any commercial electronic music, it was a true masterpiece; those who could comprehend the full experience of this work were truly seasoned players.

And even with her modifications, there was one reason this track carried such an impact...

Because its author was a legend.

Deadmau5, a producer/DJ from Canada, considered a national treasure, known as the "Mouse Lord" or the "Dead Mouse." He considered his appearances in the top ranks of the DJ Mag Top 100 as a 'shame' and was the only person who could beg DJ Mag to remove him from the list but still couldn't get off. A formidable character who had been unable to get off the list for many years.

His work was unlike any commercial electronic music. It had a complex structure, intricate production with profound connotations, and was considered a work of art in itself. He was a true emperor-level figure in the electronic music hall of Earth, alongside the cyberpunk Daft Punk duo.

His works required a focused mind to truly appreciate, and those who didn't understand the beauty of it wouldn't hear anything special, because it had risen to the level of art.

This was the ace in the hole that Miaoyi had specially prepared for the climax of today's performance...

It could be foreseen that the entire night in the electronic music world would be sleepless after this performance. This was a step that Miaoyi had thought about and decided to take.

It was time to fully open the door to the electronic music world!

If you were to look out upon the audience now, the excitement was almost transcendent!

Until TMY bowed her head, and the entire performance came to a close, the cheers were still thunderous, and no one was tired!

- - - - - - - - - -

(A/N)

OI!

It's been a while!

School has just started hitting me with work, so I've found significantly less time to make new chapters.

...Having ADHD doesn't help with time management either.

But, I did warn you guys, sooooo...

Basically, uploads will be pretty random, but DON'T THINK I FORGOT!!!

Also, probably gonna change the book cover again, so if you wanna add your "submissions" to the ring, post them in the comment section at the beginning of the book in the chapter called "IMAGES." I have a few options already, but if you want a chance to have yours up, that's where to do it.

Anyway, that's about it!

See you next month!!! (heheheheheehehehehheheehe)