126: Chapter 125 The Night of the Live PK Paralyzes the Entire Internet

Wednesday, 7:40 PM.

Shenzhen, Tencent Video Data Center.

The red line on the main screen showed a ninety-degree vertical climb.

"Have the backup bandwidths from Douyu and Doushou been connected yet?"

Operations Director Operations Director Li Hong slammed the console and shouted.

"Connected. The data of the three platforms are interconnected. Currently, the total number of reservations is 23 million."

The technician typed rapidly on the keyboard with sweat on his forehead, "Director Li, there are still twenty minutes before the broadcast starts, and the current online population has already exceeded ten million. The barrage refresh rate exceeds the threshold, and Server No. 2 is severely overheating. The cooling system is running at full power."

"Expand capacity. Add three groups of backup servers."

Operations Director Operations Director Li Hong stared at the red warning lights all over the screen, "No one can drop the ball tonight. This is a head-to-head showdown between Su Chen and Huang Zitao. Once it crashes, the saliva of the entire internet can drown our building."

"Director Li, abnormal traffic has been detected."

Another cybersecurity officer raised his hand, his voice urgent, "A large number of overseas IPs are pouring in, carrying fixed entry templates. These are Internet trolls bought by SM Entertainment. They plan to flood the live broadcast room and continue to hype up the dark material of dance plagiarism."

Operations Director Operations Director Li Hong let out a cold snort.

"Three days ago, God Su countersued them for infringing on the authorship rights of thirty-seven songs, claiming 320 million in damages. SM Entertainment is now desperate like a dog jumping over a wall. Since they can't win the lawsuit, they are playing dirty."

Operations Director Operations Director Li Hong gave the order, "Activate the highest-level sensitive word blocking. Directly ban the IP segments of all accounts with Korean IPs and specific blacklisted words. Tonight's stage is not a place for these clowns to smash the place. Clean up the network channels for me."

The sound of keyboard typing echoed throughout the server room.

7:45 PM.

Yanjing, Yan Yu's apartment.

Three windows were open on the computer screen.

On the left was the official channel of Tencent Video Live Broadcast, on the right was Douyu's relay room, and in the middle was her own live broadcast room.

Yan Yu rubbed her cheeks hard with both hands and took a deep breath.

"Family members, there are fifteen minutes left."

Yan Yu spoke into the microphone, her voice tight, "My palms are full of sweat. Five years, who would have thought that in this lifetime we could see KING and Taozi linked up for a PK."

The number of online viewers in her live broadcast room also exceeded one million.

The barrage scrolling all over the screen was impossible for the naked eye to catch.

Yan Yu turned on the barrage deceleration mode.

[Snatching front row seats! Melon seeds and soda are ready!]

[Brothers, this is a showdown at the ceiling of the Chinese Entertainment Industry's Rap.]

[On one side is the all-around S-class Great Demon King, and on the other side is the current top-tier rapper. Tonight's popularity can crash the servers.]

[The lawyer's letter from SM Entertainment has become a joke. Who cares about plagiarism across the entire internet now? Everyone is waiting for this PK!]

[God Su has been undergoing high-intensity training these past few days. I wonder what ultimate move he will pull out tonight.]

[Taozi has prepared for three months. This wave belongs to the junior brother drawing his sword against the senior brother!]

Yan Yu looked at the barrage, picked up the water cup on the table, and took a sip of water.

"Taozi is serious this time. The Weibo post he sent out to challenge pushed the popularity to its peak."

Yan Yu looked at the screen and said, "Don't forget, Huang Zitao's current Rap style leans towards Trap and Drill, which is extremely aggressive. Meanwhile, what Su Chen showed in Five Ha is the Old School Boom Bap style, focusing on storytelling and rhythm."

Yan Yu paused for a moment, a trace of excitement flashing in her eyes.

"Most importantly, back when the two of them were in the Seoul practice room, Su Chen taught him Rap hand-in-hand. This PK is definitely not just going through the motions. This is Taozi's battle for vindication. He wants to prove to his teacher back then that he is now qualified to sit at the same table and eat."

7:50 PM.

Shanghai, flat.

Huang Zitao stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror.

He changed three sets of clothes and finally chose an oversized black printed T-shirt.

A rugged Cuban chain hung around his neck.

He grabbed the sunglasses on the table and put them on.

"Dim the lights a bit. Yes, just this street feel."

Huang Zitao instructed his assistant, "Light up the background lights of that graffiti wall. The atmosphere must be on point."

He fished a lollipop out of his pocket, peeled off the wrapper, and put it into his mouth.

The plastic stick of the lollipop bobbed up and down at the corner of his mouth.

Huang Zitao sat on the gaming chair, his legs shaking.

He watched the countdown on the screen, his heartbeat accelerating.

He opened the project files on his computer.

Inside were three beats he specially picked out for tonight.

Each of them had a foundation he spent heavily to have top foreign producers make, and he re-arranged the drum beats and basslines himself.

Scenes from five years ago flashed through his mind.

Seoul basement.

The walls were moldy.

Su Chen held a metronome and stood in front of him.

"The breathing point is wrong. Do it over."

Su Chen's voice was stern.

"Brother, I've practiced for ten hours, my throat is almost ruined."

Huang Zitao collapsed on the ground, panting heavily.

"If your breath control is unstable, going on stage is courting death. If you don't want to make a fool of yourself, stand up."

Su Chen's face was expressionless.

Huang Zitao gritted his teeth and stood up, continuing to practice articulating words facing the wall.

The memories receded.

Huang Zitao operated the mouse, pushing the track of the beat to the maximum.

"The traffic of the Chinese Entertainment Industry is all here tonight."

Huang Zitao spat out the lollipop, held it in his hand, and stared at the camera, "For the past three years, I've written lyrics and searched for beats day and night, all for today. Back in the basement, you pointed at my nose and said my breath control was unstable. Tonight, I will make you take back those words."

7:55 PM.

Chengdu, Morning Star Dance Studio.

Second-floor lounge.

Lin Hao mounted the high-definition camera above the computer monitor.

"Brother Su, microphone test complete. The picture is clear. Network latency is within ten milliseconds."

Lin Hao made a gesture.

Su Chen sat in the chair.

He had just finished his basic skills training for the day, taken a shower, and was wearing a plain white T-shirt without any patterns.

His hair was blown half dry, and his bangs hung naturally in front of his forehead.

A cup of warm water was placed on the table.

Su Chen picked up the water cup and took a sip.

He opened the arrangement software and casually dragged a few tracks.

A simple drum kit groove came out of the monitor speakers.

There were no complex synthesizers, no fancy electronic sound modifications.

The most primitive drum beat.

Su Chen looked at the equalizer interface of the arrangement software, his fingers sliding on the mouse.

"Low frequencies cut two dB to leave space for the vocal mid-frequencies."

Su Chen muttered to himself and clicked save.

"Brother Su, are you just going to use this beat?"

Lin Hao was stunned, "Taozi's side must have prepared heavy firepower. Isn't your foundation a bit too thin?"

"The core of Rap is vocals and rhythm."

Su Chen put down the water cup and glanced at Lin Hao, "The simpler the beat, the more it tests the arrangement of the flow. Don't be nervous. It's just an exchange."

"How can I not be nervous?"

Lin Hao pulled over a folding chair and sat down, "Now the whole internet outside is counting down. If you lose, those anti-fans will definitely stir up trouble."

Su Chen didn't speak.

He adjusted the position of his headphones, his gaze falling on the time in the lower right corner of the screen.

7:58 PM.

The screens of the three major live-streaming platforms lit up simultaneously.

On the left was Huang Zitao's black-and-white graffiti background.

On the right was Su Chen's white wall.

There were two minutes left until the official connection.

The number of barrage comments showed explosive growth.

[Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes!]

[Two minutes countdown!]

[The server is lagging again! Tencent, can you even do it!]

[Taozi's styling is so handsome! With these sunglasses on, he doesn't care about anyone!]

[God Su is so homely! The white T-shirt is killing me!]

[This contrast is absolute perfection! One is flamboyant to the max, the other is steady to the core.]

[My heartbeat is so fast, help!]

[Annual iconic scene of the Chinese Entertainment Industry warning!]

[Fight! Fight!]

Operations Director Operations Director Li Hong shouted instructions loudly in the data center: "The fourth group of backup servers is online! Divert traffic! Switch the users of the southern nodes over. All technical personnel, keep your eyes locked on the traffic pool. It must not crash."

Data streams rushed wildly through the optical fibers.

Yan Yu held her breath, pressed her hands together, and stared closely at the screen.

Huang Zitao put the lollipop back into his mouth, crossed his hands on the desktop, and leaned forward.

Su Chen leaned against the back of the chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the desktop.

"Tap."

"Tap."

The tapping sound coincided perfectly with the countdown numbers on the screen.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

8:00 sharp.

"Beep——"

The system prompt sound rang out.

The connection channel was officially established.

The audio frequency bands of both sides instantly coincided.

Twenty-five million pairs of eyes across the entire internet stared dead at the screen.

In the picture, Huang Zitao on the left raised his hand and pinched the edge of his sunglasses frame.

Su Chen on the right stopped the fingers tapping on the desktop and raised his eyes to look at the camera.