Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 382 I feel so safe
Work is finished.

To thank her boss, Doris kept a signed album.

The boss didn't know much about this, but he still accepted it with a smile.

Shortly after Doris and the others left, another young man, who was also a regular customer in the neighborhood, walked into the well-regarded old shop, intending to take advantage of the post-disaster shopping opportunity.

After greeting the boss, I suddenly noticed the albums on the front desk, and the eye-catching autographs from everyone...

"Boss! Where did you, you old-school anime fan, get your hands on a Monastery Band album? And it's all signed by the band! You can only find these on Stanley Street right now!"

The shopkeeper asked, puzzled, "Huh? What monastery band?"

"Holy crap! You don't know? If you don't know, where did you get this thing from?" The young man immediately took it up and, after a professional examination, reluctantly admitted that it was genuine and not a fake.

"These were given to me by four young people who just arrived. Haha, it's rare to see young people traveling in groups after an earthquake," the owner said with a kind smile.

"A group trip?! And a signed album for everyone?!" The young man was utterly shocked.

In the aftermath of a disaster, many people organize group trips. While it's hard to say no one has this kind of leisure time, they are certainly extremely rare. And then they can casually give away autographed albums to everyone...

Probably!

He just missed his idol!
"Boss! Sell me this!"

"Hey, I'm not selling it. This is a kind gesture from them, and I don't plan to resell it for the time being."

"what--!"

……

On the other side, Zheng Fan, walking on the road, asked in confusion, "Why do you guys carry your autographed albums with you?"

“When the album was released, we kept a few copies for ourselves. After we had given them all to the people we were supposed to give them to, Gao Song suggested that we all sign them and then give them away to anyone we met on the tour,” Doris said.

Gao Song shrugged: "We're sure to become famous."

He's really confident, and he exudes a lot of charisma.

As evening approached, we found a restaurant that was unusually open for dinner. The waiter recognized us and took a photo with us. After our meal, we received a call from Tickman.

Saintwood Town, White Capital Records. Doris and her group arrived at the location Tickman had told them to go to after walking only a few steps.

Looking at the square office building in front of me, this is one of the initiators and representatives of this joint performance—a major music company giant.

As soon as they arrived, Tickman and a smartly dressed woman came out to greet them.

"Looks like you're having a lot of fun, so I won't complain about how tiring it was for you." Tickman joked as he looked at them.

“You’ve worked so hard. How did the talks go?” Doris said.

“Let’s talk as we walk,” Tickman said, turning around.

The woman standing nearby spoke up: "Bai Du and the other parties involved want to have a detailed discussion with you face to face, even though we have said that we can represent your position."

"Still not working?" Doris frowned.

“It’s not that I can’t understand them. After all, those who are going to participate in this performance are the apple of their companies’ eye, their prized possessions and cash cows that they have spent a lot of resources on. If their safety cannot be guaranteed, it will be difficult for them to make a choice.” Tickman’s expression was stiff. Even with his patience, it was difficult to keep arguing with them like this.

"They clearly wanted to come and freeload," Mora bluntly expressed her displeasure.

These guys are just slowing them down.

“Sister Deng.” Doris looked at the woman.

The woman's name was Deng Min. She was one of the managers provided to the Monastery band by their Rain After Records. She did not kick out Tickman but was responsible for liaising with him and mainly responsible for balancing the demands of Doris and the company. On Doris's side, she basically represented the company's attitude.

“If it really doesn’t work out, the company can give up. After all, this popularity is more about the exchange of resources behind the scenes. If we only consider the direct benefits this joint performance will bring you, it doesn’t matter much whether they are there or not. Your abilities don’t need to be affected by external factors too much.” Deng Min’s voice sounded deep, serious, and capable, but her words showed considerable confidence in Doris and the others.

"Thank you for your understanding," Doris said politely.

Deng Min shook her head: "You deserve it. President Chu thinks highly of you."

Led by them, they arrived at a spacious conference room.

Representatives from various companies had been waiting for some time, and as the group entered, they cast all sorts of glances their way. Some were simply scrutinizing, others seemed to be evaluating the products, and still others displayed undisguised enthusiasm or amusement.

The negotiators from White Capital Records were most impressed by Doris and her group.

All four of them have such good looks and great personalities.

While musicians may not care much about looks, there's no doubt that good looks and a refined demeanor are huge advantages, especially for Doris. Her ethereal beauty is something even those of us who have been in the entertainment industry for years can't help but admire. Forget about music; with those looks, talent scouts would be lining up on the streets of Saint Wood Town. She could easily land a cameo role in any movie, needing no acting skills, just a pretty face and she'd generate immense buzz.

“It’s a pleasure to meet everyone from the Monastery Orchestra,” the representative from White Records said, standing up.

Doris and the others took their seats without comment, and Doris then asked directly, "I heard that there's still no resolution regarding the performance venue?"

"That's right." The representative from Baidu Records nodded directly in acknowledgment, quite decisively. When it came to business, he also suppressed the amazement and emotion in his eyes. In terms of music production, Stanley Street was indeed no less than Saint Wood Town, but Stanley Street had a more diverse range of music genres, with a greater preference for classical music, while Saint Wood Town leaned more towards pop and rock.

In terms of publicity resources, Shengmu Town is naturally superior, but its authority still lags behind Stanley Street.

However, the Abbey Band only belonged to a small record label on Stanley Street, so you could say that label was really lucky.

Because of factional divisions, it's difficult for the two sides to get too involved. Therefore, they can only negotiate relatively fairly. After the disaster, no one has much time to argue; they just want to make a profit peacefully.

Without much coercion or inducement, the cooperation talks were going smoothly until, unexpectedly, the performance venue, which was initially the least important point, became a major obstacle.

“We have the respect for the ambition and kindness of the members of the Monastery Band, but we must recognize that performing in the grey neighborhood is far too risky. Although Ms. Doris and her colleagues are armed and can even deal with extremists while performing, our artists cannot do that.”

"There is no risk for us. Shouldn't you bear and resolve your own risks?" The little sheep, who was usually expressionless or had a silly grin in front of others, changed his demeanor after sitting down at the conference table.

The style is somewhat radical.

"It would be best if we could reach a consensus on this point. Because the size of the potential extremists is uncertain, it is not easy to equip them with security. If we hold the event in Saint Wood Town, we can also relax the restrictions on the movement of residents in the Grey Street area."

"So there will still be restrictions? That goes against our original intention."

How could someone be so reckless?!

The representatives on the other side couldn't help but have similar thoughts in their minds.

"The Monastery Band is becoming a new icon of pop culture, and you have many fans in the White City. Even though the venue is in the Grey City, these fans know the risks and still come. Ensuring the safety of these fans is a problem that musicians have to consider, and it should also be one of your original intentions."

Although it may seem like sophistry and contains elements of moral blackmail, waving the banner of fans does indeed make it quite convincing.

Because he was indeed reminding Doris and the others of something: once you have a lot of influence, you really have to consider public issues.

All eyes turned to Doris.

Even though the members of the monastery band had their own ideas, Doris remained the undisputed decision-maker. The other representatives also recognized that Doris was the most important leader and hoped to persuade her to gain some leeway.

"If safety can be guaranteed, that should be fine." At that moment, a mechanical electronic voice suddenly came from the doorway.

Everyone looked over in surprise and saw a bald-faced robot inappropriately walk in.

He is the most mysterious guitarist in the Monastery Band! His public name is "Gundam".

A mysterious entity whose identity has been the subject of much speculation, it is almost exclusively seen at performances, and not even at every show, yet its guitar playing is enough to easily captivate audiences.

His fighting spirit—playing electric guitar while engaging in passionate interaction with "extreme fans"—is unforgettable for everyone who has seen it.

In an unofficial popularity poll of the Monastery band members, she ranked second only to Doris!
But then, unexpectedly, this mysterious person appeared here.

"What does Mr. 'Gundam' mean...?"

Zheng Fan stepped forward and somehow connected to the projector in the conference room, which showed that the phone was in the process of making a call.

But when the company representatives present saw the contact person's name, they were all stunned.

Hong Yiyi.

Chief of the Nolan Street Management Bureau!

“I happen to have some free time recently, and Nolan Street is recovering well. Such a large-scale joint performance is indeed necessary. It is of great significance to enhance the street’s influence and boost public confidence. I can attend the performance, and the Nolan Street Management Bureau will also make a corresponding statement,” Hong Yiyi’s voice came through.

fake?

This kind of thing can be easily verified with a simple investigation; there is absolutely no possibility of it being forged!

The representatives, who were originally thinking different things, looked at the bewildered members of the monastery band with horror.

Does the Monastery Band have that much power behind them? They can even get Nolan's Street Band to perform?!
Apart from a certain nonchalant Mr. Gundam, everyone present was stunned and dumbfounded.

The negotiations can be declared over.

The authorities have already said they're coming, so there's absolutely no need to worry about security anymore. Even if it can't be objectively guaranteed, who would dare to say that?

(End of this chapter)