100: Chapter 100: New Year's Chords, The Eye of a Documentary and the Chessboard of a Tour

The lingering echoes of the New Year's bells seemed to still be drifting in the air of Los Angeles, but Alex Su's studio had already returned to efficient operation.

The early January sunlight filtered through the blinds, cutting lines of light and shadow onto the surface of the console.

The first official meeting was about the first major independent documentary project proposal for the "Voice of Truth" platform.

The proposer, Director Martin, was a white-haired, sharp-eyed former war correspondent now focused on social issue documentaries.

The project he brought was about a group of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and how they were trying to find meaning in life again through community farming, music therapy, and other means while struggling with PTSD.

"This isn't a film of praise or accusation, Alex." Director Martin's voice was steady and powerful. "This is a film about how to slowly, painfully, but truly piece oneself back together after being shattered. It needs to be seen, but mainstream media either packages it as an inspirational story or deliberately ignores the systemic plight within it."

Alex Su leaned back in his chair, listening to Director Martin's explanation while quickly browsing the project outline and some existing footage.

His newly acquired 【Information Reception Filtering (Passive)】 ability was running silently in the background, helping him quickly grasp the core value, potential risks (such as involving sensitive military topics), and emotional impact points of the proposal.

He could "feel" the heavy weight and realistic texture of this project.

"The budget isn't high, the filming cycle is long, and the broadcast channel is also uncertain." Director Martin said frankly, "But the platform philosophy of 'Voice of Truth', and your previous actions of speaking out for the NT-7 incident, make me feel that this might be a suitable home."

Alex Su did not answer immediately.

He looked at Marcus and Lauren beside him.

Marcus nodded slightly; from the perspective of platform traffic and user tone, this kind of deep content could greatly enhance the brand's connotation.

Lauren whispered a few legal and confidentiality clauses that needed special attention.

"We'll take the project." Alex Su finally spoke, his tone firm. "For the funding gap, 'Voice of Truth' can cover a part of it, and at the same time, I will introduce some foundations that focus on social welfare in my personal name. What we need is complete independence and support in creation. Director Martin, I trust your eyes and conscience. Go film it; for whatever resources you need, coordinate with Marcus."

A flash of excitement crossed Director Martin's eyes, and he nodded vigorously.

Another story that was hard to be heard in the commercial wave had found its loudspeaker.

Alex Su liked this feeling—using influence to do something with weight.

This itself was consistent with the social responsibility his "star" status should have, and besides... this kind of deep content often brought lasting, high-quality influence, which in turn transformed into solid growth in popularity.

The afternoon meeting had a completely different style.

Universal Music sent a higher-level negotiation team, led by an executive producer, who brought a carefully planned draft proposal for the "Alex Su First World Tour".

The venues ranged from the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles to Radio City Music Hall in New York, moderate in scale but high-end in positioning, aiming to consolidate his status as an "emerging superstar".

"We believe that based on the heat of 'wavelength', a refined, intimate theater tour is a key step to converting your musical influence into a solid fan base and higher commercial value." The executive producer talked eloquently, and exquisite stage effect renderings and tempting box office estimates flashed on the slides.

Alex Su listened, his fingers tapping gently on the table.

【Information Reception Filtering】 made it easier for him to capture the hidden clauses from the other party's passionate presentation: Universal hoped to own most of the copyright and derivative income of the tour, and tried to bind the release of future new albums with the tour in exchange for a higher revenue share.

Typical capital logic: using resources and opportunities to exchange for long-term control.

"The plan is tempting." Alex Su waited for the other party to finish before speaking unhurriedly, "But I have a few questions. First, the creative leadership of the tour, including stage design, track arrangement, and special segments, must be in the hands of me and my core team. Second, regarding the 'Voice of Truth' platform, I hope that for every stop of the tour, some tickets can be reserved and provided to deep users and content contributors of the platform through special channels or lottery methods. Third, for the release time of the new album, I need complete artistic decision-making power; it cannot be forcibly bundled with the tour."

His tone was calm, but every point pointed directly to the core that the other party was trying to control.

The negotiation immediately entered a tug-of-war.

The other party tried to exert pressure using "industry practice" and "resource investment risk", but Alex Su was no longer the novice he once was.

He brought out the independent success of 'wavelength', his own powerful content creation ability, and fan cohesion as bargaining chips, with a friendly but unyielding attitude.

Lauren intervened at the right time, providing precise support on legal clauses.

The meeting did not have a final conclusion for the time being, but Alex Su knew that Universal would not easily give up this fast-expanding cake.

What he needed was to maintain autonomy in the cooperation and turn the tour into another large-scale project that showcased his strength, consolidated his image, and served himself (and the system).

In the evening, Taylor Swift arrived as promised, bringing a whole notebook of inspiration notes and melody fragments she had collected for the new song.

The two's creative meeting began in a relaxed and focused atmosphere.

Alex Su played the electronic framework of "Something Just Like This" that he had made with a synthesizer, which was more complete.

He retained the magnificent rhythmic progression and upbeat undertone of the future version, but made some "retro-futuristic" adjustments to the timbre and arrangement that fit the aesthetics of early 2012.

"That's the feeling!" Taylor Swift was captured almost immediately.

She tried adding a melody line on the keyboard, "Longing for grandness, but returning to ordinary truth... This kind of confrontation and introspection is perfect for writing dialogue-style lyrics. It's like two people questioning each other, and also comforting each other."

They were immersed in the world of creation, forgetting the time.

Alex Su guided the melody direction and overall structure, while Taylor Swift contributed her signature narrative lyrics and delicate emotional injection.

Future classics were rewoven in this time and space, incorporating the unique chemistry between the two.

During breaks in work, they would argue about a certain word choice, high-five for a suddenly burst of harmony idea, and also complain together about some rigid rules in the music industry.

"You know," Taylor Swift put down her pen and rubbed her wrists, "Sometimes writing songs with you feels like solving a puzzle that neither of us knows the answer to, but the answer itself is beautiful."

"That's because we don't treat ourselves as gods," Alex Su smiled and handed her a glass of water, "Just two people who like to tell stories with music and, by the way, fight against the world."

This professional and resonant state of cooperation between top musicians was the core and most enjoyable part of his "star" identity.

And all of this would become fuel for the next wave of huge popularity.

Late at night, after seeing Taylor Swift off, Alex Su received a message from Marcus.

It was about Northrop: they seemed to have adjusted their strategy, no longer just funding copycats, but starting to secretly contact some music copyright management companies, offline venue owners, and even some independent music festival planners, trying to build more hidden barriers in terms of channels and resources.

"In addition, the 'Urban Rhythm' group previously got a performance nomination for a Teen Choice Award we are competing for; the timing is very subtle." Marcus added.

After reading it, Alex Su just smiled.

He had long expected these small commercial moves.

As long as it did not affect his content output and core plans, these frictions were just background noise on the road forward.

【Information Reception Filtering】 allowed him to distinguish more clearly what was a real threat and what was just futile interference.

He walked to the window and looked at the city that never sleeps.

In the first month of the New Year, the schedule was already full: the start of the documentary, the continuation of tour negotiations, the deepening of the new song with Taylor Swift, the daily operation of the platform, and the response to the little tricks of 'Urban Rhythm'...

Busy, but fulfilling.

And every step clearly pointed in two directions: climbing to a higher star status in the real world, and accumulating thicker extraordinary capital in the secret world.

He summoned the system interface, which was concise and clear:

【Current Accumulated Popularity: 16,892,415 points】

Alex Su closed the interface and stretched.

Tomorrow would be another day that required him to play the roles of star, internet celebrity, creator, negotiator, and platform manager all at once.