125: Chapter 125 Live Broadcast Accident and Impromptu Rescue

Only seven days remained until the final performance of the "Resonance Era." According to the scheduled promotional plan, Alex needed to conduct a two-hour warm-up live stream at the "Flashpoint" content lab in Los Angeles. The stream would mainly showcase some behind-the-scenes tour footage and interact with online fans. The process was simple and the atmosphere relaxed, serving as a necessary "breather" amidst the team's high-pressure preparations.

The live stream started very smoothly. Alex, wearing a simple black T-shirt, sat in an open space filled with instruments, effects pedals, and tour souvenirs, chatting with the camera. He shared an early sketch of the "origin" stage in New York, told a funny story about arguing with Taylor over a certain harmony for "half-step echo," and answered several fans' questions about the current status of the "Million Piano Marathon" contestants. The number of online viewers stabilized at over three million, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

The incident occurred seventy minutes into the live stream.

At that moment, Alex was improvising an unreleased demo, a folk-style song that lightheartedly mocked "social media anxiety." Suddenly, the large background screen behind him—which had been looping a collection of highlights from the tour—went black for half a second without warning, and then abruptly jumped to a completely unfamiliar live stream feed.

The picture quality was poor and the angle was slightly tilted, seemingly taken from a secret recording on a mobile phone. The scene looked like a backstage dressing room, and music could be heard faintly in the distance. In the center of the frame were two blurry but barely discernible figures, leaning close together and talking in low voices. The profile of one person's face bore some resemblance to Alex, and they were dressed in an outfit similar to one he had worn for a performance. The other person, judging by their hairstyle and physique, was definitely not Taylor.

The live stream's bullet chat exploded instantly.

"???? What's going on?!"

"Holy crap! Is that Alex? Who's that next to him?!"

"Did the signal switch by mistake? What the hell is the official channel broadcasting?"

"Who is this woman? She doesn't look like Taylor!"

"A private backstage meeting? Is his persona crumbling???"

"Technical glitch, right? This image quality looks way too much like a secret recording!"

In Alex's earpiece, panicked low exclamations and anxious inquiries came from the backstage technical team. Marcus's voice cut in, fast and urgent: "It's not our signal source! It's an external malicious intrusion hijacking our output stream! We're cutting it off urgently! But the broadcast is already out there!"

The incident was sudden, but Alex's Information Reception Filtering allowed him to instantly block out all irrelevant noise and internal fluctuations. His gaze swept across the secondary screen monitoring comments, watching the rapidly scrolling bullet chat filled with shock, doubt, and spectators looking for drama. Almost simultaneously, his Spider-Sense brought a faint, non-physical sting—this wasn't directed at his physical safety, but was a malicious attack targeting his reputation and plans.

This wasn't a technical glitch. This was a carefully planned public opinion ambush targeting his personal image and the pre-show atmosphere of the "Resonance Era." That blurry profile resembling him was clearly a body double found in advance, filmed in a deliberately imitated setting. Choosing to insert it via hacking during his live stream was intended to maximize the spread and impact.

Cutting the signal was easy, but for the viewers who had already seen it, the seeds of doubt had been planted. Simple denials and statements are often weak and powerless in the internet age.

In a flash, Alex made a decision. He didn't look back at the malfunctioning screen in a panic, nor did he immediately have the technicians cut the feed. Instead, he stopped playing his guitar, turned his head, and calmly looked at the screen still playing the blurry secret recording, his face showing... a mix of confusion and interest.

"Whoa." He spoke to the camera, his tone even slightly mocking, "What is this? Was my 'virtual double' caught slacking off in a parallel universe?" He pointed at the blurry silhouette on the screen, "This guy... the hairstyle imitation is quite on point, but I remember the cuff of that jacket of mine should have a small hole in it from when I scraped it jumping off the stage in Chicago. The one in this video looks pretty intact."

He didn't react with angry refutation; instead, he used a slightly humorous, detail-oriented approach to directly point out the signs of "forgery" in the footage. At the same time, he subtly defined the malicious attack as a somewhat clumsy "imitation show."

The direction of the bullet chat began to shift subtly because of his calm reaction.

"Haha, Alex's reaction is amazing!"

"Look closely, the clothing details really do seem wrong!"

"This hacker is so unprofessional. They wanted to impersonate him with secret recording quality this blurry?"

"Wait, could this be a competitor playing dirty? The final performance is coming up soon."

At this point, the technical team finally forcibly regained control of the signal, and the background screen returned to the normal tour highlights. Alex, however, did not let the matter end there.

He turned back to face the main camera, the relaxation on his face tightening slightly, his eyes becoming serious and direct. "Well, it seems someone doesn't quite like our upcoming performance and used a... rather creative way to say hello." He shrugged. "This makes me look forward to the moment I stand on stage even more. Because music and live performances don't lie. As for those hiding behind blurry lenses..."

He paused, suddenly revealing an infectious, challenging smile that was clearly transmitted to millions of viewers through a close-up shot. "Hey, since you're so concerned about my backstage life, why not come see it in person? New York or Los Angeles, the final show of 'Echoes and Wavelengths.' I promise the 'program' there will be ten thousand times more exciting than this poorly made 'mini-movie' you just saw. It seems tickets... aren't completely sold out yet? Of course, they might be gone in the next second."

He didn't fall into the trap of trying to prove his innocence. Instead, he instantly transformed a malicious attack into the most powerful and confident promotion and ticket sale for the final performance! It was direct, domineering, and consistent with the public image he had always cultivated—one who dared to face any challenge.

The atmosphere in the live stream was completely ignited.

"Hahaha! Directly dropping an ad, that works!"

"Badass! What mental fortitude!"

"I'm a fan now, that was too cool! Going to check for tickets now!"

"Definitely someone playing dirty! Support Alex!"

"Bought my Los Angeles tickets! Waiting to see the haters get slapped in the face!"

The number of real-time online viewers soared to its highest point since the start of the broadcast because of this unexpected storm. Backstage data showed an instant surge in traffic to the official ticketing platform.

The live stream ended twenty minutes later as planned, but the online discussion was just beginning. The topic of the "Live Stream Hacking Incident" quickly climbed the trending lists, and public opinion leaned almost entirely toward Alex, viewing it as a despicable competitive tactic that instead highlighted his improvisational skills and personal charisma. Many entertainment news outlets and independent media quickly followed up, analyzing the incident and further expanding the popularity of the "Resonance Era" finale.

Only after the live streaming equipment was turned off did the atmosphere in the studio truly become tense.

"The signal intrusion path was very professional, utilizing a third-party cloud service relay, making it hard to trace directly." Rex's voice came through the encrypted channel, calm with a hint of coldness. "But the timing and content of the intrusion required knowledge of our internal live stream process and even your past outfits. There's an insider who leaked the basic schedule, or the other party's monitoring of us is extremely detailed."

Marcus's face was grim. "The PR team has already prepared a statement, emphasizing that we suffered an illegal cyberattack and have reported it to the police, and that we will hold the rumor-mongers legally responsible. Attorney Lauren is currently drafting the documents."

Alex rubbed his brow, the ease he displayed during the live stream fading slightly to reveal an underlying coldness. "The statement must be issued, and the stance must be firm. But the focus isn't on entangling ourselves in this matter itself." He looked at Marcus. "While the heat is still high, push another wave of 'last chance' promotions for the final performance, highlighting points like 'witness the truth' and 'see for yourself at the scene.' Turn this attack completely into our fuel."

He walked to the window, looking out at the lights of Los Angeles. The opponent indeed hadn't been idle; they hadn't chosen head-on technical interference or physical destruction, but had instead opted for a more insidious smear campaign that could strike at the very foundation of a public figure. He had resolved it today with quick wit, but what about next time? What about at the final performance? Would they have even more cunning methods?

"Hank," he connected to the communication, "before and after the final performance, conduct a non-public, stricter security background review of all team members and key personnel from contractors who can access core processes. It's not a lack of trust; we must eliminate any minute risk."

"Understood."

Taylor's call came in at that moment, her voice carrying concern and lingering anger: "I saw the recording of the live stream. You handled it brilliantly. But... this is so disgusting. How could they dare?"

"They dare because we're about to hit them where it hurts." Alex's tone softened. "How's the response to the 'half-step echo' teaser?"

"Zack just told me that the fifteen-second clip released early for the movie trailer used the instrumental version of our segment, and the online discussion is very high. Many people are asking what the background music is." Taylor's voice sounded a bit more encouraged. "Is this a bit of good news amidst the bad?"

"It's the best news," Alex said with certainty. "Remember this feeling, Taylor. When we sing that song on stage, we're going to make everyone forget this kind of despicable trickery tonight and only remember the true shock that music brings. That will be our most powerful counterattack."

Hanging up the phone, Alex pulled up the system interface. His historical popularity had welcomed a significant jump following the live stream incident. The malicious attack, after being skillfully transformed by him, had instead become a fuel for his popularity.

He closed the interface, his gaze deep. Seven days left. The battlefield of public opinion was already filled with smoke, and the true final stage was about to begin. The opponent had revealed one of their methods, and he had also shown his own response—to crush all illusory slander with indisputable public influence and the upcoming, absolutely real stage performance.