62: Chapter 62 The Night Before the Performance and Undercurrents

Three days remained until the official performance.

In an art space converted from an old factory in Nashville, the filming of the "Shake It Off" MV was reaching its most critical stage. The director wanted a single, continuous long take, starting from Alex and Taylor entering the frame from opposite ends of the factory, and ending with them converging and dancing on the central stage. It was three minutes and forty-two seconds long, requiring frame-perfect positioning and performance.

"Seventh attempt!" the director shouted from behind the monitor. "Alex, your timing entering the frame needs to be half a second later. Taylor, your first shoulder shimmy needs to be more exaggerated—we want that 'I don't care' attitude!"

Taylor made an OK gesture and adjusted her breathing. She was wearing a sequined jacket and a short skirt, her blonde hair tied into a high ponytail. Her makeup was even more dramatic than her usual stage makeup, exuding a deliberate sense of playfulness. Alex, on the other hand, wore a simple black T-shirt and ripped jeans, but the stylish cut and intentionally distressed details made him look like he had just walked out of an underground rock scene.

The music started.

The camera began to move.

Alex walked out from the rusted steel corridor on the right, his steps carrying a casual rhythm. He shrugged and spread his hands toward the camera, singing the first line: "I stay up too late, got nothing in my brain..."

At the same time, Taylor turned out from behind a graffiti-covered wall on the left. She walked steadily despite wearing high heels, picking up the next line: "That's what people say, mmm-mmm..."

The two moved toward the center along the pre-set path within the massive abandoned factory space. The camera followed them like a shadow, sometimes zooming in to capture facial details, and other times pulling back to showcase the industrial aesthetic of the entire scene.

When they sang, "But I keep cruising, can't stop, won't stop moving," the two met for the first time at the bottom of the stairs on the central stage. There was a brief moment of eye contact; Taylor raised an eyebrow, Alex gave a slight upward curl of his lips, and then they brushed past each other, each ascending one side of the stairs.

This was the emotional buildup before the dance sequence began, requiring that kind of chemistry where it felt like 'We're both awesome on our own, but we're even more awesome together.'

The director held his breath behind the monitor.

The two climbed onto the central platform, standing back-to-back. The drum beats intensified, and the chorus arrived—

"Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play..."

They turned in sync, shimmied their shoulders in sync, and kicked in sync. The dance moves were meticulously designed, possessing both the easy-to-imitate nature of pop dance and the power of street dance. Most importantly, it was the chemistry between the two—every eye contact, every echoing movement was as fluid as if they had rehearsed it a hundred times.

In fact, they had only rehearsed for three days.

"And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate..."

When singing "hate," Alex pointed his finger at the camera in sequence, a provocative smile in his eyes. During the "shake it off" part, Taylor performed her signature hair-flip move, her blonde hair tracing a dazzling arc under the lights.

As the final note faded, the two high-fived in the center of the stage, and the camera zoomed in, freezing on the expression of them looking at each other and smiling.

"Cut!" the director stood up excitedly. "Perfect! That take is a wrap!"

The crew on set applauded. Taylor let out a sigh of relief, took the water handed to her by her assistant, and looked at Alex. "When we turned just now, I thought you were half a beat slow."

"It was you who were half a beat fast," Alex said, wiping his sweat. "But it was perfect. That slight misalignment actually made the dance look more real—not like the precise synchronization of robots, but two living people enjoying the music."

Taylor thought for a moment and smiled. "That makes sense. You can always find the 'right' in the 'wrong'."

"That's basic training for creativity," Alex said, though internally he was thinking about how the system-granted 【Dynamic Vision】 and 【Crisis Prediction】 played a role in the dance—he could predict every trend in Taylor's movements, thus adjusting his own rhythm to complement or contrast. This wasn't talent; it was an ability.

The director walked over. "The footage is fantastic! The editor will start the rough cut tonight, and we can release a thirty-second teaser tomorrow. Alex, are you sure you want to wait until the night of the performance to release the full version?"

"I'm sure," Alex nodded. "I want the audience that night to be the first in the world to see the complete MV. This 'sense of exclusivity' will greatly enhance the buzz value of the performance."

"The risk is also very high," the director stated bluntly. "If there are any problems with the performance itself, no matter how spectacular the MV is, it will be overshadowed."

"Then the performance cannot have any problems," Alex said, his tone calm but carrying an unquestionable certainty.

---

Filming ended at dusk. Alex returned to the farm villa, and the first thing he did was check the system.

【Current Popularity: 3,280,000 points】

(MV filming behind-the-scenes leak + single pre-sale continuous growth + limited circulation of "Truth Hurts" demo, +260,000 points)

The growth rate was stable. But to hit a million-point increase on the day of the performance, a more powerful catalyst was needed.

He opened his email, which contained several important messages:

The first was from Marcus: Universal Music had already pushed the radio promotion of "We Are Young" to the top 50 markets across the United States, and the first-day request volume had entered a fast-rising track on the charts. It was expected that on the night of the performance, this song would simultaneously challenge the Billboard Hot 100, Radio Songs, and Streaming Songs charts.

The second was from Hank: The security team had completed the third round of inspections of the performance venue. Two suspicious points were found—one was a coffee cup found near the lighting console that did not belong to any staff member; foreign DNA was extracted from the rim and sent for testing. The other was an auxiliary mixing console in the sound control room, inside of which an additional signal receiving module had been installed for unknown purposes; it had been removed.

The third was from Rex: "Limping" Robert Cole appeared at a strip club last night but left after only twenty minutes. The surveillance team found that he subsequently went to a motel and had a brief meeting with a man wearing a baseball cap. When the man left, his profile was captured by a hidden camera—after comparison, it was confirmed to be a senior consultant at Greystone International, Michael Ross.

People from Greystone International had already made contact with the Guardians of Truth.

The plan was moving forward.

Alex replied to Hank: "Stay vigilant, but don't alert them. Continue monitoring; I need to know exactly which part they want to 'malfunction'."

Then, he opened the encrypted communication channel with Agent Miller of the FBI and sent a brief message: "Greystone International is involved. Objective: Create a controlled accident on the day of the performance. Suggest monitoring Michael Ross."

A minute later, the reply came: "Acknowledged. Personnel have been arranged to monitor Ross and the perimeter of the venue. However, the FBI has no authority to interfere with the activities of private companies unless there is evidence of a crime."

Alex closed the communication.

This was reality—the law could provide limited protection, but it could not stop conspiracies. In the end, he still had to rely on himself.

He pulled up the system exchange list and reviewed his current ability combination:

【Gun-Fu: Ballistic Calculation (Mastery)】—Dealing with direct physical threats.

【Spider-Sense (Basic)】—Danger early warning.

【Comprehensive Physical Enhancement (Stage 2)】—Physical fitness guarantee.

【Anti-Surveillance Detection (Basic)】—Detecting surveillance equipment.

【Crisis Tracing (Basic)】—Tracing the source of threats.

These abilities gave him an advantage in skirmishes, but they were of limited use against the psychological manipulation and information warfare that Greystone International excelled at.

He needed more.

But his popularity wasn't enough.

Three million points; he was still seven million away from the ten-million unlock threshold. And the exchange for a single extraordinary ability was even further away.

However... in the system store, there were still some "non-combat" abilities that might be quite useful.

His gaze lingered on one of them.

【 Emotional Resonance Field (Elementary) 】: Consumes 1.5 million points. During public speeches or performances, it can subtly amplify one's emotional contagion, making the audience more prone to resonance and a sense of identification. The range of effect is related to the number of audience members and the environmental atmosphere; maximum theoretical coverage: 5,000 people.

On the night of the performance, there will be 20,000 audience members. The effect of this ability will be diminished, but it will still be useful.

More importantly, it can help him better "control" the venue—when the emotions of 20,000 people are guided by him, any "accident" attempted will likely be backlashed by this collective emotion.

"Redeem."

1.5 million points deducted. Remaining: 3,130,000 points.

A warm, flowing sensation spread from his chest, as if he had gained a more refined perception and control over his own emotions. Alex tried to recall the lyrics of "We Are Young," and that feeling of youthful fearlessness was immediately amplified, even making his own heart race.

Very good.

He needed this ability.

---

Two days before the performance, the final full-scale dress rehearsal.

This rehearsal simulated the entire process of the official performance: audience entry (played by staff), warm-up video, lights dimming, Alex opening, Taylor taking the stage, encore, and curtain call. The entire process lasted two hours.

Alex stood on the lift platform, taking a deep breath.

The 【 Emotional Resonance Field 】 was already activated, and he could feel the "concentration" of his emotions increasing. But more importantly, his Spider-Sense had maintained a moderate tingling level since he entered the venue—the threat was nearby, but not yet materialized.

The music started, and the lift platform rose.

When the lights hit, he opened his eyes, facing the gaze of the "audience" below.

"Give me a second, I need to get my story straight..."

As he sang the first line, he felt the difference.

In past performances, he was the "transmitter," passing emotions to the audience. But now, he felt a faint "backflow"—the emotional feedback from the audience below seemed to be vaguely perceptible. When he sang the chorus, "Tonight! We are young!", that resonance of collective emotion was particularly obvious.

This wasn't mind reading; it was more like sensing emotional temperature.

The performance continued. During the "Shake It Off" segment, his interaction with Taylor drew bursts of cheers (although they were played by staff, the emotions were real). Every beat of the dance, every interaction, triggered even stronger feedback.

The rehearsal ended, and the director excitedly summarized in the control room: "The effect exceeded expectations! Especially the audience interaction segment—that energy exchange was very real! Maintain this state, and the official performance will definitely explode!"

Taylor was waiting for Alex on the side of the stage, her eyes shining: "You are... a bit different today."

"How so?"

"More..." Taylor searched for the words, "More 'present.' Not the kind of presence of 'I am performing,' but the presence of 'I am with everyone.'"

Alex smiled: "That is the state I hope to achieve."

They walked toward the backstage together. When they passed the sound control room, Alex's Spider-Sense suddenly intensified.

He stopped and looked at the control room.

There were only two sound engineers inside organizing equipment; everything seemed normal.

But the tingling was pointing toward a backup amplifier in the corner of the control room.

"Has that amplifier been there the whole time?" he asked one of the engineers.

The engineer looked back: "Oh, that's backup equipment, just delivered yesterday. They said if there's a problem with the main amplifier, we can switch to it at any time."

"Who delivered it?"

"The equipment rental company, we have a partnership with them." The engineer felt the question was a bit strange, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Alex turned and left, but sent a message to Hank: "Check the backup amplifier in the sound control room. Immediately."

Ten minutes later, Hank replied: "The inside of the amplifier has been modified. A wireless receiver module was installed, which can instantly increase the output power to 300% when triggered by a specific frequency signal, enough to burn out the main speakers and produce a piercing blast of noise. The modification method is professional and would require at least two hours of work."

Alex's eyes turned cold.

Found it.

One of Greystone International's "technical failure" plans—create a massive sound accident during the climax of the performance, trigger panic among the audience, and then their people would intervene as "emergency technical support" to get close to Alex.

"Remove the module, but keep the appearance." He replied, "On the day of the performance, I want to use it to track the signal source in return."

"Understood."

---

The day before the performance.

It started to drizzle in Nashville. In the plaza outside the venue, fans had already started queuing, preparing to snap up the remaining tickets tomorrow. On social media, the topics #Taylor 1989 Tour and #Alex Opening continued to heat up.

Alex stayed at the farm villa, making final preparations.

He opened his laptop and began to write a long article.

It wasn't a song, nor a statement, but an essay titled "When We Are Young: Music, Courage, and the Noise of This Era."

In the text, he talked about the power of music, how to maintain independent thinking in an era of information explosion, and how creation itself becomes a form of resistance when facing power and threats. He didn't mention Northrop, didn't mention bombs or threats, but between the lines, there was mockery everywhere for those who tried to suppress voices with violence.

At the end of the article, he wrote:

"Tomorrow night, I will stand in front of 20,000 people and sing a song about being young. Being young means a lot—it means making mistakes, it means being reckless, it means believing in things that seem ridiculous to 'adults.' But being young also means refusing to be defined, refusing to be intimidated, and refusing to remain silent under the muzzle of a gun.

"If you are also facing your own battle, no matter how big or small that battle is, remember: your voice, your creation, and your very existence are the best response to those who want to silence you.

"Because in this world, there are some things that bombs cannot destroy, that money cannot buy, and that power cannot crush.

"Like a good song.

"Like a truth.

"Like, when we are young."

After finishing, he set the article to be published on a schedule—one hour before the performance starts.

Then, he opened the system for one final check.

Popularity: 3,310,000 points.

Abilities ready.

Plan deployed.

Enemy location known.

The rest is just waiting.

And the performance.

---

At 10:00 PM, Alex received an encrypted message.

From "Front Row Audience."

This time it wasn't a photo or audio, but a short piece of text:

"You handled the backup amplifier matter very cleanly. But Greystone International has more than one plan.

"Plan B: Medical Emergency.

"They have bribed a venue paramedic who will, when you reach the most physically demanding part of your performance, forcibly interrupt the show under the pretext of 'suspected dehydration and dizziness' to take you off stage for an 'examination.' Once you enter the backstage medical room, you will be within their control.

"The paramedic's codename is 'White Glove,' left-handed, with a burn scar on the web of his right hand.

"Good luck, Performer.

"—The audience member still sitting in the front row."

Alex looked at the message and was silent for a few seconds.

Then he replied: "Why help me?"

A minute later, the reply came:

"Because I am tired of seeing those idiots who think money and power can control everything.

"And also because your performance deserves to be finished.

"That is all."

The conversation ended.

Alex called Hank over to deploy a monitoring and replacement plan for "White Glove."

Then, he walked to the window and looked at Nashville in the night rain.

The city appeared gentle and quiet in the rain, as if the storm had never approached.

But Alex knew that tomorrow night, when the lights came on and the music started—

All the undercurrents would surface.

And he would sing a song on that surface that everyone would remember.

And in that singing, he would begin to crush all obstacles blocking his path.

The first step starts from the stage tomorrow night.

The second step starts from 10 million popularity.

The third step...

He would head toward a place beyond what mortals can imagine.

The rain was still falling.

But dawn would always come.

And the performance was about to begin.