80: Chapter 80 The Visitor on a Rainy Night

Spider-Sense broke through to the intermediate level at 3:17 AM.

It wasn't a violent breakthrough, but more like a natural overflow after a period of accumulation—the stinging sensation transformed from a sharp previous warning into a more delicate, layered perception. Alex Su lay in bed with his eyes closed, yet he could "see" the three-dimensional structure of the entire safe house: Hank was on duty at the end of the second-floor hallway, breathing steadily; Rex was in the underground monitoring room, fingers tapping the desk; Marcus was asleep in his room, but his heart rate was irregular, indicating he was having a nightmare.

The new feature of [Spider-Sense (Intermediate)] loaded automatically: [Threat Level Assessment]. Now he could distinguish between different types of danger: malicious surveillance, preparations for a physical attack, information theft attempts... each had a different "color" and "texture."

At this moment, three hundred meters outside the safe house, a gray sedan parked on the roadside for over four hours appeared in his perception as "low-temperature surveillance"—no immediate threat, but persistent malice.

Northrop's people. But they were keeping their distance, which wasn't their usual style.

Alex got up without turning on the lights. With the dual blessing of [Global Battlefield Perception] and his upgraded Spider-Sense, the room in the darkness was as clear as day. He walked to the window and looked out through the gaps in the blinds.

Rain. The cold late-autumn rain of Nashville formed fine silver lines under the streetlights. The gray sedan was parked under a tree across the street, its wipers swinging every thirty seconds to maintain the disguise of a "normal vehicle."

But the people in the car weren't sleeping. Alex could perceive two active sources of consciousness, their attention highly focused on the direction of the safe house. They weren't assassins; they were observers.

"System, can you analyze their surveillance purpose?"

[Analyzing... Behavior pattern comparison...]

[Conclusion: Long-term fixed-point surveillance, characteristics consistent with intelligence gathering rather than attack preparation. Goal: Record personnel movements, monitor communication signals, and observe daily routines.]

Intelligence warfare. Northrop had changed their tactics.

Alex returned to his bedside and picked up the encrypted communicator. He needed to confirm a few things.

"Rex, are you awake?"

A reply came three seconds later: "In position. You noticed that car too?"

"How long has it been there?"

"It showed up at 11:00 PM. Hank suggested going to 'say hello,' but I advised observing first. They're professional—keeping their distance and not crossing lines."

"Let them watch," Alex decided. "But initiate Counter-Surveillance Protocol B. Change the plates on all incoming and outgoing vehicles, have personnel use the underground passage, and switch critical communications to encrypted frequencies."

"Understood. Also... there's something you need to decide." Rex paused. "Organization D just sent over a cooperation proposal. They're willing to provide a complete independent platform technical architecture, including server clusters, content delivery networks, and anti-DDoS protection... the condition is 15% of the platform's revenue."

"Too high."

"But they can provide what we urgently need—censorship-resistant global nodes. If Northrop blocks us at the ISP level, normal servers will be banned, but Organization D's network has redundant paths."

Alex thought it over. Construction of the independent platform had entered the substantive stage; the Silicon Valley team Taylor contacted provided the front-end design, but the back-end infrastructure was indeed a problem. Organization D's asking price was high, but they provided more than just technology—they provided a guarantee that their content would still reach the audience in extreme circumstances.

"Reply to them: 10%, plus a one-time technical consultant fee after the platform's success. If they agree, we'll sign the agreement tomorrow."

"I'll go negotiate," Rex said, ending the communication.

Alex lay back down, but he didn't sleep. The new dimension of perception brought by the intermediate Spider-Sense made him feel a bit uneasy—it was like suddenly being able to hear too many sounds and see too many details. He needed time to adapt.

[System Prompt: Perception-type abilities have undergone intensive upgrades; neural adaptability adjustments are recommended...]

[Enable [Consciousness Anchoring (Primary)] to stabilize multi-dimensional perception?]

[Required Popularity: 180,000 points]

"Enable."

[Exchange successful! 180,000 points consumed.]

[Remaining Popularity: 7,376,000 points]

[Ability Acquired: [Consciousness Anchoring (Primary)]]

A stream of information poured into his cerebral cortex like cool spring water. The overactive perception network was gently "combed," excess noise was filtered out, and key information was strengthened. Now, he could clearly distinguish the difference in heart rates between the two people in the surveillance car, perceive that one of them was sending a report using an encrypted device, and even "hear" the faint rhythm of fingers tapping on a virtual keyboard.

Interesting. But not lethal.

Alex closed his eyes and truly began to fall asleep this time. Before his consciousness sank into darkness, he took one last look at the system interface:

[Spider-Sense (Intermediate)]: Threat Level Assessment activated.

[Consciousness Anchoring (Primary)]: Multi-dimensional perception stability +200%

[Current Popularity: 7,376,000 points]

Two million six hundred and twenty thousand away from ten million. But the numbers weren't the focus now. The focus was that he was establishing a brand-new combat mode—not on a battlefield, but in a multi-dimensional war of law, business, culture, and even perception.

And Northrop was still using an old map to search for a new continent.

---

9:00 AM · Safe House Meeting Room

The rain was still falling. In the safe house's virtual meeting room, four screens lit up simultaneously.

In the top left was Attorney Lawson, with his New York office in the background. "Northrop's new strategy has been analyzed," he pulled up a document. "They are exerting pressure on mainstream music distribution platforms through three industry associations—the American Defense Contractors Association, the Aerospace Industries Association, and the 'Patriotic Enterprise Alliance.' It's not a legal threat, but 'commercial ethical persuasion.'"

"Specifics?" Alex asked.

"The core argument is that platforms should not provide channels for content that 'could endanger national security.' They cited the 'potential misleading nature' of the lyrics in 'Radioactive,' claiming the song 'unnecessarily triggers public distrust in the defense industry.'"

The top right screen was Taylor Swift, in her hotel room in Los Angeles, having just finished an early morning radio interview. "I received a 'friendly reminder' on my end," she said mockingly. "Universal Music's Executive Vice President of Business 'happened to mention' during breakfast today that some 'industry seniors' have 'expressed concern' over my recent collaboration choices. It was an implication that if I continue to collaborate publicly with you, it might affect the promotional resources for my next album."

"What will you do?"

"I told him that my creative freedom and moral stance are not bargaining chips for business negotiations," Taylor smiled. "Then I contacted the CEO of Warner Music and scheduled an afternoon tea. Let them compete."

In the bottom right was a technical representative from Organization D, the image heavily blurred and the voice distorted. "The platform infrastructure is ready. However, we've detected abnormal traffic—organized crawlers are scanning the entire web for any new domains and server IPs containing keywords like 'Voice of Truth,' 'Alex Su,' and 'NT-7.' It's likely a professional digital reconnaissance team hired by Northrop."

"Can we handle it?"

"We can, but it requires an increased budget," the blurred figure said. "We need to deploy more decoy servers, fake nodes, and dynamic IP hops. This will increase operating costs by 15%."

Alex looked at Marcus. Marcus nodded. "The 'Truth Defense Fund' still has a balance of 3.8 million dollars. It's enough to support the platform's initial pressure-resistance needs."

"Approved," Alex said. "Also, I need the platform to have basic publishing capabilities before November 10th. Is that achievable?"

"Yes," the Organization D representative said. "But you'll need to handle the content population yourselves."

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

"We have content," Alex pulled up the production schedule. "November 14th, release 'Truth on the Dance Floor.' November 21st, release the duet with Taylor, 'Safe & Sound.' November 28th, release the first episode of the NT-7 documentary. December 5th, begin serializing my column, 'The Price of Silence.'"

Attorney Lawson whistled. "Four weeks in a row, heavy-hitting content every week. You're looking to create a sustained cultural event."

"Not just a cultural event," Alex said. "It's about establishing a new model: independent creators having full control over the entire process of content production, distribution, and dissemination. Let Northrop understand that they cannot suppress voices by controlling the channels."

The meeting concluded. Alex walked to the window; the rain was letting up. The gray sedan was still there, but the people inside seemed to have changed shifts—a new source of consciousness appeared, and the old one departed.

"They are persistent," Hank walked up beside him.

"Let them be persistent," Alex said. "For every extra day they spend monitoring, they waste another day of resources. And we, we are creating."

--- 2:00 PM · Recording Studio

The arrangement for 'Truth on the Dance Floor' hit a snag.

The arranger Taylor brought in from Los Angeles was a music craftsman in his forties named Leo. After listening to Alex's demo, he frowned and shook his head.

"The whistle intro is great, and the retro funk rhythm is nice too. But the problem is here—" He pulled up the spectrogram on the console. "The chorus melody line conflicts with the backing harmony progression. Your melody has a lot of chromatic changes, which will make the ears feel 'uncomfortable.'"

Alex looked at the spectrogram. He understood music theory, but 'Creative Master' was based more on intuition and 'transporting' from another world. Some details required adjustments by a professional.

"How do we change it?"

"Two choices," Leo held up his fingers. "First, simplify your melody to fit a classic harmonic progression. Second, redesign the backing chords to support your chromatic melody. I suggest choosing the second—it's more original, but also much harder."

"Choose the second," Alex said without hesitation. "I need this song to have edge; it can't be too 'easy on the ears.'"

Taylor handed him a cup of coffee from the side: "Leo is an expert in this field. He has done arrangements for Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson, and he excels at blending the retro with the modern."

The next three hours were meticulous technical work. Leo adjusted every chord in the digital audio workstation, experimenting with different instrument timbres, searching for that balance—it needed the infectiousness of a pop song, yet the complexity of an art song.

Alex learned a lot during this process. 'Creative Master' ability began to absorb this professional knowledge, automatically optimizing its internal algorithms. Next time he 'transported' a song, he would instinctively avoid these types of harmonic conflicts.

At 5:00 PM, the new arrangement was complete. Leo pressed the play button.

The whistle intro rang out, but this time it was joined by the warm tones of an analog synthesizer. When the drums entered, it wasn't the crisp, clean sound of the original, but a retro drum machine sound with a bit of lo-fi texture. The bass line was more prominent, creating a restless, pulsing groove in the low-frequency range.

Then Alex's vocals cut in: "You say you have perfect dance moves... Under the spotlight, you never miss a step..."

In the chorus, the harmonic progression Leo designed successfully supported those chromatic melodies. When Alex sang, "But you can't see my dance moves!" the background chord progression suddenly shifted to a slightly dissonant minor seventh chord, creating a subtle tension, then quickly resolved—just like a beautiful sharp turn in a dance.

The playback ended. The recording studio was silent for a few seconds.

"This will be a hit," Leo took off his headphones, his tone certain. "And there will be music critics who specifically analyze this harmonic design. They will say, 'This independent creator knows music.'"

Alex nodded. This was exactly what he needed—not just buzz, but professional acclaim. When music critics and musicologists begin to seriously analyze your work, you upgrade from an 'internet celebrity' to a 'musician.'

"How long will mixing take?"

"Two days," Leo said. "Mastering takes one day. A November 14th release will be no problem."

"Then let's start."

--- 8:00 PM · Encrypted Communication

【Front Row Audience】 sent a new message, this time with a file attachment.

【Front Row Audience】: "Summary of the Northrop board meeting minutes. There is already a rift within their ranks—the radical faction led by Howard advocates for 'eliminating the threat at any cost,' while the moderate faction led by Lead Independent Director Agent Miller believes that 'continued confrontation will damage the company's long-term reputation.' Agent Miller even proposed a 'conditional settlement.'"

Alex downloaded the attachment. A twenty-page meeting summary recorded the key discussion points from the closed-door Northrop board meeting three days ago. Key paragraphs were highlighted:

Director Agent Miller: "For every offensive action we take, public sympathy for Alex Su increases by a notch. For every song we try to suppress, the reach of that song expands by a circle. This is not commercial competition; this is a cultural war. And we are fighting a cultural war with a commercial mindset."

Howard (remote access): "So your suggestion is to surrender?"

Agent Miller: "My suggestion is to cut our losses. We can admit that the NT-7 material had 'performance issues that did not meet expectations' and agree to compensate the victims' families in exchange for them stopping the public accusations. This is lower cost than continued confrontation."

Security Director Carlson (Montero's deputy): "But what if they don't accept?"

Agent Miller: "Then let the legal process take its course. Instead of using these... amateur assassination and surveillance tactics, making us look like characters in a villain movie."

The meeting did not reach a resolution, but the rift was clear.

Alex forwarded the summary to the team and attached his own analysis: "It is a good thing that there is division within Northrop, but do not let your guard down. Radical factions often take more extreme actions when they fail. And—Agent Miller's 'settlement' is essentially a business transaction, not an admission of the truth. We cannot accept it."

Attorney Lawson replied quickly: "Agreed. Any settlement agreement that includes a confidentiality clause is tantamount to admitting that our previous accusations are 'negotiable.' The truth cannot be traded."

Taylor's reply was more direct: "Keep creating. Use better works to make the moderate voices more persuasive and make the radical faction's actions look even more foolish."

Alex turned off the communication device. The rain had stopped, and the night view of Nashville outside the window was exceptionally clear after the rain. The gray sedan was still there, but the person in the car seemed to be asleep—their conscious activity was at a low-frequency state.

He pulled up the system interface to view the final evaluation data for 'Truth on the Dance Floor': 【Commercial Potential: 91%】 【Artistic Value: 78%】 【Virality Prediction: 94%】 【Estimated Popularity Gain: 350,000-550,000 points】

A decent forecast. But more important is the process—through continuous high-quality creation, he is building a solid public image: not a victim, not a protester, but a creator who speaks the truth with professional capability.

Northrop can try to isolate him, can try to smear him, can try to suppress him with commercial means. But they cannot stop creation itself. Because creation, like plants after the rain, will tenaciously grow as long as there is even a small crack.

Alex took one last look out the window. The gray sedan's taillights lit up and it slowly drove away. It was time for the shift change. Who would the new monitor be? Would they be more professional? Would they be more dangerous? He didn't know. But he knew one other thing: Tomorrow, the arrangement continues. The day after, the mixing begins. The day after that, prepare for release. And creation, will never stop.