46: Chapter 46 Fame and the Blade

Six in the morning. The Nashville sunlight had just begun to creep over the windowsill.

Alex opened his eyes on the bed in the safe house. The first thing he did was summon the system interface. The popularity numbers floated quietly in his consciousness—over the past week, due to the buildup of news about the music collaboration, the figures had been growing steadily.

It was enough to exchange for the next key ability.

He didn't act immediately, but instead got up to check the security of the house. Environmental Perception Enhancement swept through every corner: the latches on the doors and windows were intact, the street in the surveillance footage was empty, and Crisis Prediction remained at a minimum level of quiet—at least for the moment, it was safe.

Returning to his workbench, he brewed a cup of instant coffee and began to think about his next move.

The music release plan required caution. This wasn't the world of 2025 from his past life; this was 2010, a parallel but similar universe. The cultural context was close, and the hit song patterns were similar, but whether specific works existed, when they appeared, and who created them—all were unknowns.

He had to assume that all the "imported" works did not exist in this world. But at the same time, he couldn't choose something too far ahead, or the market wouldn't be able to accept it.

"Six months to a year ahead." He took a sip of coffee and wrote this time window in his notebook.

This was the result of repeated weighing. Too close, and it was easy to clash; too far, and the audience wouldn't understand. A lead of six months to a year was just right—it provided a sense of freshness while remaining within the range of comprehension.

More importantly, he needed to prioritize works by male singers. His own vocal range was good in the mid-to-high register, but he couldn't hit the High Cs of female vocals. However... his pen paused, and he wrote a small note on the side: "Reserve a few female vocal works to be licensed out as 'creative output.' It'll bring both fame and fortune, and help expand connections."

After clearing his thoughts, he summoned the system and exchanged for [Close-Quarters Firearm Combat (Basic)].

Knowledge flowed into his muscle memory like an electric current. He stood up and performed a few quick-draw movements, as fluidly as if he had practiced them thousands of times. Crisis Prediction and Environmental Interaction Intuition resonated subtly with the new ability—now, the moment he sensed a threat, his body was already prepared with a response.

---

Ten in the morning, Taylor's studio.

Marcus Green fell into a full minute of silence after listening to the three demos Alex played.

"This is impossible." He finally spoke, not in doubt, but in amazement. "The first song, 'Neon Pulse'—the fusion of electropop and urban sampling, this production mindset is at least six months ahead of the market. The synthesizer rock mix of the second song, 'Fade'... mainstream labels wouldn't dare play it like this right now. The piano ballad structure of the third song, 'Echoes,' is a classic, but that off-key chord treatment in the chorus..."

Taylor looked at Alex. "Did you really make these over the past year?"

"On and off." Alex was prepared. "In the gaps between filming videos, sometimes a melody would pop up in the middle of the night, so I'd record it. I slowly accumulated these."

It was the perfect explanation—a multi-talented creator whose output flowed naturally between different fields.

Marcus rubbed his hands excitedly. "If we release 'Neon Pulse' now, it'll be just in time for the end of summer. Electropop has a sense of freshness without being too radical..." He turned to Taylor. "Where did you dig up this treasure?"

Taylor's expression became more serious. "Alex, are you sure you want to release these now? The quality of these works... will instantly push you into the center of the spotlight. And the shadows under the spotlight are often more dangerous than the darkness itself."

She was hinting at something. Alex knew she was referring to Winston's threat.

"I'm sure," he said.

He needed popularity, he needed to exchange for more abilities, and he needed enough power to protect himself before the threat escalated—he couldn't voice these reasons, but his determination was the same.

---

After the meeting reached a resolution, Alex returned to the safe house and immediately began execution.

He created a new content matrix on his main YouTube channel. Under the original 'Alex Su' channel, there were now clear sections:

[Video Tutorials] (Student Survival Guide Series)

[Visual Arts] (echo gallery, city portraits)

[Original Music] (New Column)

[Creative Log] (Behind-the-Scenes)

'Neon Pulse' was placed in the first slot of 'Original Music,' with a cover he designed himself: neon-colored light points pulsing against a deep blue background, with the caption 'Alex Su - First Original Single | Releasing August 27th' below.

The teaser was only fifteen seconds long—the iconic synthesizer arpeggio from the intro, paired with quick-cut shots of city nightscapes. An hour after release, the view count broke two hundred thousand.

The comment section exploded instantly:

"Wait, isn't Alex a video tutorial guy?"

"This intro is something else! Reminder set!"

"So he's transitioning into a musician now?"

"Whatever, see you in three weeks!"

The popularity numbers began to scroll faster.

But Alex knew it wasn't enough. He needed a "nuclear-level" work to ensure his debut was an instant hit.

Summoning the system, he browsed the exchange list for "Complete Works." The filtering criteria formed in his mind: Release date Jan-Jun 2011 | Male original singer | Billboard Top 10 potential.

The system returned several highlighted options. One of them caught his attention:

['Rolling in the Deep' Core Framework Pack]

· Original Timeline Release: January 2011

· Original Singer: Female (Adele)

· Core Elements: Soul chord progressions, explosive chorus, repetitive hook

· Adaptation Suggestion: Can be adapted for a male version, lowered in key, while retaining emotional impact

· Exchange Price: 1.4 million popularity

Another one was more suited for a male voice:

['Somebody That I Used to Know' Creative Pack]

· Original Timeline Release: July 2011

· Original Singer: Male verse + Female chorus (Gotye & Kimbra)

· Core Elements: Minimalist arrangement, narrative lyrics, tension of a male-female duet

· Adaptation Suggestion: Can sing the whole song alone, or keep the duet format to collaborate with Taylor

· Exchange Price: 1.2 million popularity

And there was a purely male work:

['We Are Young' Complete Pack]

· Original Timeline Release: September 2011

· Original Singer: Male (Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe)

· Core Elements: Anthem-style chorus, collective sing-along feel, youth manifesto

· Adaptation Suggestion: Perfect fit, no major adaptation needed

· Exchange Price: 1.1 million popularity

Alex thought for a moment and made a decision.

"'Rolling in the Deep' has the strongest emotional power, but it's difficult to adapt and requires extremely strong vocal performance—I can't do that yet."

"'Somebody That I Used to Know' is experimental; it might be critically acclaimed but not commercially successful."

"'We Are Young' is the safest, catchy, and suitable as a second or third single."

He decided to take a two-step approach:

1. First, go all out to promote 'Neon Pulse' to accumulate popularity.

2. Exchange for 'We Are Young' as a reserve, planning to release it in November.

3. Put 'Rolling in the Deep' on hold until his vocal ability improves.

But right now, he only had 400,000 popularity, far from the 1.1 million needed.

"I need more content output." He formulated a plan. "And... I can start laying the groundwork for the novel line."

---

Saturday, Alex began recording the vocal parts for 'Neon Pulse'.

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

He set up a simple recording studio in the safe house. Neural Reaction Enhancement made his pitch control extremely precise, and Deep Focus allowed him to record for hours on end without fatigue.

But when he actually started recording, he encountered an unexpected difficulty.

In the original timeline, this song was purely instrumental, with no vocals. The version redeemed from the system also only had a melodic framework, with no lyrics. He had to write the lyrics himself.

Alex sat in front of the microphone and picked up a pen to write. He chose "Loneliness in the Digital Age" as the theme:

The screen flickers, a pixelated heartbeat. The taste of losing connection while connected. Lonely code flows through neon veins. Until a certain frequency makes all noise go silent.

After finishing the lyrics, he tried singing them once. The effect... was a bit strange.

"It's too poetic, not conversational enough." He frowned. "Pop song lyrics should be simple, direct, and repetitive."

Rewrite. This time, he grasped the electronic pulse of the song itself:

Heartbeat like a pulse, in this midnight city. Searching for a frequency that can make our souls resonate. Finding in the noise, the wavelength that belongs to us. Neon pulse, neon pulse, take me away from this stillness.

Much better. By the fifth take, he found the feeling—an emotion of longing amidst alienation, which perfectly matched the tension between the song's cold electronic sound and warm melody.

Recording finished, he sent it to the producer, Carl. An hour later, Carl called back: "The vocal recording quality is very high, but the lyrics... could be a bit more rhyming. However, this 'techno-poetic' approach actually has a special futuristic feel. I suggest keeping it."

---

On Sunday afternoon, Alex began planning his subsequent works.

He opened an encrypted document titled "Content Timeline":

[August 2010]: 《Neon Pulse》 release (Electro-pop); [November 2010]: 《We Are Young》 release (Pop rock); [February 2011]: TBD (Choose the next one based on popularity growth); [May 2011]: Novel 《Before I Fall》 publication (Time loop genre)

"Music builds popularity, novels establish long-term influence." He muttered to himself, "And for novels, I can redeem the entire story framework at once, then just spend a few months 'writing' it out."

He opened the system's novel redemption list. His eyes landed on a familiar option:

[《Before I Fall》 Complete Framework Package]. Original timeline publication: March 2010. Genre: Young Adult Novel / Time Loop / Coming-of-age Tragedy. Core: The female protagonist loops through her death day seven times, gradually uncovering the truth and achieving redemption. Adaptation suggestion: Can slightly adjust the protagonist's gender to male, or keep the female protagonist to showcase creative breadth. Redemption price: 750,000 popularity points.

This price was much cheaper than musical works, and the popularity growth brought by novels was more lasting—a book could sell for years, while a single's popularity might only last a few months.

"Focus resources on the music debut first." He decided, "After 《Neon Pulse》 succeeds, use the increased popularity to redeem the novel framework."

---

In the evening, Hank brought new information.

"Senator Winston has a private fundraising dinner in Nashville tomorrow." Hank placed a copy of the invitation on the table. "The guest list includes executives from several local music labels. He is expanding his connections in the cultural sector."

Alex looked at the invitation: "He wants to apply pressure from within the industry?"

"Very likely. And..." Hank pulled up a piece of surveillance footage. "This was filmed near your original residence last night. Same car, different license plate, but the same vehicle model."

In the footage, a black SUV was parked at the end of the street for twenty minutes. The people inside didn't get out, but the car window was lowered by an inch—possibly for binoculars, or maybe a telephoto lens.

The Threat Level Assessment gave its judgment: "Medium. Surveillance ongoing, tactics escalating."

Alex was silent for a moment: "Does Taylor know?"

"Haven't told her yet. Do you want her to know?"

"Not for now." Alex said, "But we need to adjust the plan. Originally scheduled to release 《Neon Pulse》 in three weeks... can we move it up?"

"Move it up by how much?"

"Two weeks. Release on August 13th."

Hank calculated: "Production time will be very tight. Also, the promotional cycle will be compressed, which might affect the debut data."

"But it can disrupt the opponent's rhythm." Alex said, "If they plan to cause trouble around the time of my release, an early release will render their schedule ineffective."

This was something he learned from business competition in his past life: sometimes, speed itself is a defense.

Hank nodded: "I'll go coordinate it. But Alex... are you sure you want to be this rushed? Taylor and Marcus need to be persuaded."

"I'll handle it."

That night, Alex sent Taylor a long email, explaining the reasons for the early release—not a security threat, but "market timing":

"Analyzed summer single release data; mid-August is a traffic trough with less competition. Plus, students are about to return to school, and streaming usage will rise. If we release on Friday, August 13th, we will catch the weekend peak of dissemination..."

The reasons were reasonable, supported by data, and entirely a commercial decision made by a shrewd creator.

Taylor replied an hour later: "Agreed. Marcus has been notified to adjust the schedule. But Alex—are you really only doing this out of market considerations?"

Alex looked at this question and finally replied: "Market considerations are the main reason. Other factors... I will handle them."

Some battles, he must fight himself.

---

The night was deep.

Alex sat at the workbench, making a final check of the master file for 《Neon Pulse》. The music flowed through the monitor headphones, the synthesizer's pulse like a heartbeat, the drum beats advancing solidly, his voice clear and firm in the soundstage.

This was a song about finding real connection in the digital torrent.

And at this very moment, this song had a dual meaning for him—it was both an artistic expression and a survival manifesto.

He called up the system interface, looking at the popularity numbers. Not enough, far from enough.

But he had time. Two weeks was enough to finish the final production, film some behind-the-scenes footage, warm-up promotions... and, complete some necessary preparations.

He opened the drawer, took out the Glock 19, and began daily maintenance: disassembly, cleaning, checking every part. The knowledge of Close Quarters Firearm Combat made his movements skillful and precise.

After wiping the gun, he walked to the window. The night in Nashville was quiet, the light from the downtown area in the distance dyeing half the sky bright.

In this parallel world of 2010, he would be doing several things at the same time: Releasing music that was six months ahead of the market, Preparing a novel adapted from a future bestseller, Dealing with a systematic threat from a senator, Learning how to use a gun to protect himself when necessary.

How absurd, and yet how real.

The phone vibrated; it was a message from Sarah in Los Angeles: "The cactus on your balcony has bloomed! Yellow flowers, very small but very tenacious. Taking a picture for you to see."

In the attached photo, at the top of that cactus that had once been sentenced to death, a small, tender yellow flower had truly bloomed.

Alex looked at it for a long time and saved the picture.

Then he replied: "It's beautiful. When I get back, we'll have a good meal together."

Turning off the phone, he returned to the workbench.

The two-week countdown began.

He had to make a song heard by the world, and he also had to ensure that he could live safely in the world that heard the song. And he had to accomplish both.

The night grew deeper.

In a safe house in Nashville, a young man held a mouse and a gun grip at the same time.

Creating beauty on one side, while preparing to face ugliness on the other.

And he knew that true strength is being able to do both at the same time.