156: Chapter 156 Blind Box Lottery and Whispers of Perception

On Sunday night, the live review of the first "Echo Blind Box" challenge, "Resonance of Waste," became the focus of the entire internet.

Alex wasn't in a professional studio; he was in the open space of his Malibu studio that overlooked the ocean. He was wearing a loose hoodie, with snacks and drinks piled up in front of him, looking just like a friend's hangout or a movie night. The live stream camera didn't shy away from this casual vibe, which instead made the audience feel incredibly close to him.

As he ate potato chips, he clicked on the 100 filtered submissions. Each piece was given only a few dozen seconds of screen time, but his reactions were authentic and entertaining:

"Wow! The rhythm this 'Garage Philosopher' tapped out using a rusty bicycle chain and a broken bucket could practically be sampled directly into an industrial metal track!"

"Look at this! The melody this 'Kitchen Wizard' blew using water bottles at different levels actually has a somewhat sad and ethereal feel to it? What a talent!"

"Hahaha! I totally get this 'Office Rebel' and their 'Worker's Rhapsody' composed of a printer, keyboard, and swivel chair! Resonance maxed out!"

The live stream chat was scrolling frantically, filled with laughter and exclamations. Many of the submitters themselves were lurking in the stream, and seeing their work reviewed by Alex like this, they excitedly spammed the chat to make their presence known. The atmosphere was exploding with energy.

Finally, the top three were revealed. The first-place winner was unexpected—it wasn't the most technically complex piece, but rather a user with the ID "Junk Yard Poet." They had used discarded music box parts, broken guitar strings, and a few pieces of scrap metal to assemble a crude yet exquisite "automatic playing device," recording a melody filled with a strong sense of mechanical poetry and the erosion of time. Alex's comment was: "It made me 'hear' the soul of a forgotten toy whispering."

The rewards were confirmed on the spot, and the chat was flooded with comments like "I'm crying with envy," "This is what playing with creativity is all about," and "I'm definitely making the list next week." Alex also announced on the spot that he would develop this "Junk Yard Poet" device concept into a small art short film project and invite the user to participate.

The live stream ended with off-the-charts data. More importantly, "Echo Blind Box" and those bizarre yet vibrant user creations became the main topic of social media for the next few days. Countless media outlets analyzed the success of this "creative crowdfunding + celebrity engagement" model, while many more people were gearing up in anticipation for the second challenge to be announced on Wednesday.

The "30-Second Themed Short Film" segment of "phantom singer" also became a highlight of every episode, spawning countless hilarious or stunning short video clips that were widely shared. The platform's subscription numbers and interaction rates climbed to new highs. Marcus reported that several large brands and streaming platforms had reached out, wanting to collaborate on custom "Blind Box Challenges" or purchase the copyrights to high-quality submissions for advertising campaigns.

Everything was moving steadily in the direction of the "creative value amplifier" that Alex had planned.

A few days later, at the Sotheby's auction in New York, during the "Ellwood Collection" special session.

Alex did not attend in person; instead, he watched the real-time feed from his agent remotely via an encrypted video connection. The auction hall wasn't large, but it was filled with collectors and representatives from research institutions, and the atmosphere was serious.

The target item—that batch of "non-standard radio signal" tapes and manuscripts—was a niche item and was listed later in the order. The starting price was low, and there were few bidders, with only two or three phone proxy seats slowly following along. Alex's agent followed instructions, bidding steadily with moderate increases, appearing determined to win without being overly flashy.

Just as the price climbed to a relatively high level and the competitors seemed to be hesitating, a new phone proxy seat suddenly joined the competition, and the bid increments jumped sharply.

Alex frowned slightly. He had originally assumed it was just a typical competition between academic institutions, but this sudden, aggressive intervention was unusual. He signaled his agent to continue following and simultaneously had Rex in the background quickly check the potential background of that new proxy seat.

The bidding quickly turned white-hot, and the price soon exceeded Alex's preset "flexible upper limit." Low murmurs began to rise in the auction hall; clearly, no one expected this batch of obscure tapes to fetch such a price.

Alex's gaze narrowed. The opponent's attitude didn't seem like casual bidding; it felt more like they were well-prepared and equally determined to win. Who could it be? Another research party interested in "anomalous signals"? Or... the "other parties" that the "Spirit of the Wasteland" mentioned might also be paying attention to this matter?

He glanced at the video feed at the old tape cases lying quietly on the display stand. Through the remote, blurry sensing of [Energy Perception] (the distance was too great, and it was extremely weak), he seemed to be able to detect that the tapes were emitting a trace of an extremely obscure "dormant" fluctuation that was subtly similar to the "anomalous energy residue" he had encountered before.

He couldn't give up. This wasn't just about helping the "Spirit of the Wasteland"; these items might also be crucial for his own understanding of the "other side" of this world.

"Continue," Alex said calmly to the agent. "Authorize the use of my personal reserve funds. Follow it to the end."

In the end, after a dozen rounds of tense back-and-forth, Alex's agent won the gavel at a staggering price, over twenty times the starting bid. A ripple of surprised applause broke out in the auction hall. The phone proxy seat that had suddenly emerged fell silent at the final moment.

A few minutes later, Rex's preliminary investigation results came back: the proxy seat that had suddenly intervened pointed to a foundation based in Luxembourg, whose stated business was "supporting frontier science and historical research." Its background was unfathomably deep, and nothing more could be found for the time being.

"Interesting," Alex said, hanging up the communication and leaning back in his chair. It seemed the waters of this world were even deeper than he had imagined. However, he had finally obtained the items.

That night, the "Spirit of the Wasteland" sent an unprecedented message with clear emotional fluctuations: "Auction results known. Exceeded expectations. Thank you. The old tapes require special equipment and environments for playback; details and safety instructions will follow. Please be extremely cautious."

In just a few short sentences, Alex read a sense of gravity and warning. These tapes were likely not just "interesting research materials."

He didn't dwell on the anxiety, but instead pulled his attention back to the present. The next day, he invited Taylor to lunch at a newly opened, relaxed fusion restaurant.

While eating, Taylor observed him carefully for a while and suddenly said, "You've... seemed more 'settled' lately. It's not that tight sense of control from before; it's a kind of... more composed 'settled' state, like you can see more things."

Alex's heart stirred, and he smiled as he picked up some food for her with his chopsticks: "Maybe it's because the blocks we're building are getting more stable?"

"It's not just that," Taylor shook her head, her eyes clear. "It's a feeling. The way you look at things sometimes suddenly jumps to very strange but brilliant places. Like the 'Echo Blind Box' concept, and your interpretation of those eccentric submissions... It's as if you can directly 'touch' the bright spots behind those ideas."

She paused, her voice softening: "But this is good. It's very charming."

Alex held her hand, neither denying it nor explaining further. Some changes are always noticed by those closest to you. This tacit understanding of being accepted without being questioned warmed his heart.

After the meal, they strolled along the street to digest. The sun was nice, and the singing of a street performer drifted over. In the subtle vision of [Energy Perception], the hustle and bustle of the city transformed into a colorful, flowing landscape of energy, while Taylor's energy field beside him was warm and bright, like a small sun.

Management brings strength and peace, strength expands the boundaries of cognition, and important companions give all of this a more solid foothold. Alex felt that this moment was perfect.