149: Chapter 149 Moonlight on the Piano and the Weight of the List

On the night of the premiere of "The Masked Singer," Alex didn't watch the live broadcast.

He and Taylor were at the Steinway grand piano at "Echo Vision," trying to weave a creaking sound—like a rusty swing swaying, collected in "Echo Puzzle"—into the harmonies of a new song.

Hank walked in holding a tablet, his expression a bit strange: "Boss, their ratings... a good start, but the real-time online discussion trends are interesting."

Alex didn't even look up, his fingers pressing a slightly unsettling chord on the keys: "Get to the point."

"Their 'nostalgia trump card' veteran singer really did sing well, adapted a classic old song, and the technique was impeccable."

Hank turned the tablet toward them, "But after the unmasking, while the nostalgia was maxed out, the discussion heat... half was praising the vocals, and the other half was saying 'It's him as expected, no surprises,' and quite a few people were spamming 'Better to wait for "phantom singer" to see the Spirit of the Wasteland.'"

Taylor stopped noting melodies in her notebook and smiled: "Guessed it. The completely unknown suspense of our 'Spirit of the Wasteland' is more captivating than the known 'nostalgia bomb.'"

"And," she pointed to another data window on the tablet, "the 'Million Creator Revenue Share Reached' announcement we just posted on 'Echo Puzzle' has a repost count that's almost catching up to their show's popular clips."

Only then did Alex turn his head and glance at the data.

Sure enough, the pride and community cohesion of his platform's users—who were "getting real money"—formed a powerful topic field, effectively siphoning off a large chunk of the competitor's premiere heat.

"Tell them, proceed as planned, release the second episode trailer of 'phantom singer' tomorrow," Alex said, "Give more screen time to 'Spirit of the Wasteland,' and edit it to be even more mysterious."

"By the way, the theme for the third week of 'Echo Puzzle' can be announced; let's call it... 'The City's Breath.'"

Using continuous fresh content and tangible community benefits to crush the competitor's single "big move"—this was Alex's strategy.

Simple, yet very frustrating for the opponent.

You can throw money at making a show, but I can bring millions of people to play a new game together; these ecological niches aren't even on the same level.

Hank took the order and left.

Taylor leaned toward the piano, humming the few notes following that chord, connecting them perfectly.

"Are your ears actually blessed?" she teased, her fingertips accidentally brushing against the back of Alex's hand.

Alex took the opportunity to hold her hand, placing it on a set of warm arpeggios and pressing down.

"Not blessed, just focused where it belongs."

For instance, right now, the warmth from her fingertips was more worthy of attention than any competitor's data.

The piano music flowed, and the night deepened.

Only the two of them and sheets of music scattered all over the floor remained in the studio.

There was no deliberate sentimentality, but this moment of sharing creative inspiration allowed a certain intimacy to grow naturally.

Taylor leaned her head gently on his shoulder, listening to a melody he improvised, feeling it was more moving than any record.

"What are you planning to do about the 'concept presentation' for Zack Snyder?" she asked softly.

"It's ready." Alex let go of her hand, stood up, and pulled up an audio file of about three minutes from the console, "No visuals, just pure sound."

"I used selected materials from the 'Mechanical Rhythm' and 'Loneliness Resonance' themes in 'Echo Puzzle,' mixed in some synthesized tones I made, and stitched together a sound journey from 'cold data to the glimmer of humanity.' Listen."

He pressed the play button.

The sound unfolded through the professional monitoring system, starting from cold, orderly electronic pulses, gradually blending into environmental noise with a rusted feel and fragmented vocal slices, and finally, amidst a background of noisy data streams, a faint but resilient melody—resembling Taylor's humming style—emerged, repeating and intensifying until it drowned out everything...

Taylor listened, then remained silent for a long while.

"...If he doesn't understand it, that's his loss." She said this in a way that was quite protective.

Alex smiled.

He knew this presentation was special enough, enough to embody the independent power of "sound narrative."

That was enough.

Three days later, the second resource list from the "Spirit of the Wasteland" arrived on time.

It was thicker than the first, the items were more specific, and... more expensive.

In addition to more cutting-edge acoustic analysis instruments, it also clearly listed several rare sensors commonly used in high-energy physics or deep space exploration, as well as a request for "Echo Vision" to help facilitate access permission for an old archive of a certain national non-classified research institution.

The long string of zeros behind the estimated cost made Marcus gasp.

Alex, however, was looking at the "Special Note" added by the other party at the end of the list:

"Based on initial results, it is suggested that the partner consider strengthening its information security level, especially for unpublished audio masters and raw data. Recently, abnormal network sniffing activities targeting specific frequency acoustic information for non-commercial purposes have been detected; the source is vague, and the motive is unclear. This suggestion is not included in the contractual obligations and is for reference only."

It wasn't a threat, but rather a reminder based on professional vigilance.

But words like "non-commercial purposes" and "abnormal network sniffing," combined with the research the other party was conducting—which might touch upon certain unconventional fields—made the weight of this reminder increase sharply.

Alex leaned back in his chair, his fingertips tapping the desk unconsciously.

The other party's research seemed to be starting to attract some "special" attention.

This could be trouble, but it could also... mean that the value of the other party's research was far beyond expectations.

He thought for a few minutes and made a decision.

"Marcus, prepare according to the list; the budget will come from my special project funds. As for facilitating the permission, have The Architect ask through Organization D's channels; do what you can, don't force it."

"Additionally," he paused, "notify the technical security department that from now on, all unpublished original audio project files, the 'Echo Puzzle' raw submission library, and the unbroadcast masters of 'phantom singer' must all be migrated to an independently physically isolated, high-security private server with technical support provided by The Architect. Re-audit access permissions, and triple-backup the logs."

Better safe than sorry.

Operate steadily, safety first.

After handling these, he pulled up the system interface, his gaze falling on the redemption conditions for 【Energy Perception (Beginner)】.

Analyzing the energy characteristics of the "Spirit of the Wasteland"... perhaps it was time to more actively "understand" this mysterious partner and the ripples beyond the mundane that he might bring.

Outside the window, Los Angeles was brightly lit, a scene of prosperity and hustle.

And beneath this hustle, some more hidden strings seemed to be being gently plucked.

The system interface updated quietly:

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