Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

Li Cheng's execution ability exceeded Jiang Fan's expectations.

Less than two hours after signing the contract, this seasoned veteran in the industry completely changed.

More than a dozen phone calls were made.

He managed to acquire office desks and chairs, a printer, a computer, and a second-hand but high-quality monitor speaker at an extremely low price.

Jiang Fan sat in the office chair that had just been delivered to him.

Li Cheng was squatting in the corner connecting a power strip, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, ash falling down with each movement.

"The budget is over." Li Cheng didn't even look up, still tightening screws in his hand. "I'll cover the cost first."

He plugged in the last wire, stood up, and dusted off his knees.

Press the switch on the side of the monitor speaker with your finger.

"Buzz—"

The speaker emitted a deep rumble, and the green indicator light lit up.

Li Cheng shoved the cigarette butt into the empty Coke can on the table, put his hands on his hips, and swept his hands around.

"It's a bit shabby," Li Cheng nodded. "We'll have to make do with it for now."

Shen Nian stayed in the corner the whole time.

She sat in a folding chair, hugging her knees, watching Li Cheng bustling around without saying a word.

But her eyes changed.

From the previous emptiness to the occasional, uncertain glimmer of light.

Li Cheng glanced at his watch: "I'm going out for a bit. There's a batch of used recording equipment I need to negotiate. The seller is in a hurry to get rid of it, so I'll go and try to lower the price."

The door closed.

Only Jiang Fan and Shen Nian remained in the office.

Jiang Fan pushed the keyboard aside, adjusted the frequency band of the monitor speakers, and leaned back in his chair.

"Shen Nian."

Shen Nian raised her head.

"Besides 'Stars,' do you have any other songs on hand?"

Shen Nian remained silent for a few seconds before slowly lowering her arm.

"There's one. I wrote it last winter, the night I received the diagnosis notice."

Jiang Fan pushed the microphone stand in front of her and turned on the mixing console.

"Sing it for us first."

Shen Nian stood up and walked to the microphone.

Her hands gripped the cold metal brace, tightening them and then slowly releasing them, repeating this process twice.

She closed her eyes and sang a cappella, without any accompaniment.

Scattered moonlight pierced through the clouds.

"Hiding from the crowd, spreading out like scales on the sea,"

"You ask me where I go after I die,"

"Is there anyone who loves you?"

"The world has abandoned you."

Shen Nian has an excellent voice.

The tone is clear and bright with extremely strong penetrating power.

But at this moment, all these talents were covered by a thick layer of deathly aura.

Her breath was completely directed downwards.

The melody continues to descend, sinking deeper and deeper, with no room for turning back.

The lyrics describe a person trapped in the deep sea.

Surrounded by icy seawater, with no light, unable to scream, I could only watch my body sink deeper and deeper.

Jiang Fan sat in the chair, motionless.

Shen Nian slowly opened her eyes after singing the last note.

The office was silent for about ten seconds.

"The song is very good," Jiang Fan said.

Shen Nian looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"But they can't perform on stage."

Shen Nian was stunned.

"The arrangement and melody are too depressing." Jiang Fan's tone was flat, without any euphemism. "How did you feel after you sang it?"

Shen Nian lowered her head and spoke after a long time.

"It hurts."

"The audience will feel even worse." Jiang Fan tapped the table. "Not the kind of sadness that comes from being moved, but the kind that makes it hard to breathe. If we use this song in the guest performance battle, we're doomed."

Jiang Fan stood up and sat back down in front of the computer.

Give me twenty minutes.

He closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank directly into the system.

The online store interface opened, and Jiang Fan entered two words in the search bar.

seabed.

【The Sea (Phoenix Legend Version)】

[Exchange Price: 200 Life Points]

Jiang Fan clicked to redeem without any hesitation.

【Ding. 】

[Deduct 200 life points. Remaining life points: 7800. Remaining lifespan: 2 days and 12 hours.]

[Warning: Host lifetime value detected is below the safety threshold.]

[System protection mechanism triggered: The initial charm field has been automatically locked.]

Jiang Fan ignored the system notification sound.

A complete and extremely complex arrangement scheme instantly flooded his mind.

It's completely different from Shen Nian's desperate version.

This version by Phoenix Legend, from their previous life, retained the melancholic core of the original, but did something extremely crazy in terms of arrangement.

When emotions are at their lowest point, a powerfully explosive chorus tears a hole in the deep sea.

The lyrics were changed, removing words such as "abandoned" and "after death".

Most importantly, a powerful male rap section was added.

It was like a ritual of deliverance, or a forced redemption.

Jiang Fan gripped the mouse and quickly created audio tracks in the music production software.

Drum beats, bass, synthesizers, harmonies.

Twenty minutes later.

Jiang Fan released the mouse and turned around.

"come over."

Shen Nian walked to the computer and bent down to look at the music arrangement framework on the screen.

Her eyes widened little by little.

The original melody has been completely reconstructed.

The notes that were originally sinking down were suddenly lifted up by a powerful force in the chorus.

"Is this... a duet?" Shen Nian's voice trembled slightly.

"The duet battle is a two-person stage from the start." Jiang Fan leaned back in his chair. "Let's go over it once. You go first with the melody, and I'll provide the harmonies."

Jiang Fan stood up and walked to the other side of the microphone stand.

The two faced each other, with a microphone between them.

Shen Nian's chest heaved slightly before she spoke.

Her voice trembled slightly.

The new melody is sunny and healing, but she is clearly not used to this singing style yet.

The high notes were not fully unleashed.

"Speak louder," Jiang Fan said.

The second time, the volume went up, but when it came to the chorus, her breath control started to drop again.

"Don't go down." Jiang Fan interrupted her directly, "You're not singing alone. Listen to my voice and follow me up."

Jiang Fan's harmonies came in.

It was deep and resonant, carrying a sense of chanting, almost like the sounds of Sanskrit.

The male voice spread out beneath Shen Nian's clear tone, like a pair of strong hands steadily supporting her falling body.

Shen Nian's eyelashes trembled suddenly.

Her voice started to rise.

In the last line of the chorus, the two melodic lines converge dramatically.

The deep, resonant male voice intertwined with the ethereal female voice, pushing upwards against the pressure of the deep sea—

"Spring rain, summer cicadas chirping, tomorrow will be a beautiful day!"

"Autumn winds rise, snowflakes fall lightly, and the seasons are invisible beneath the sea!"

Shen Nian's high notes exploded.

Clear and penetrating. Carrying a whole year of darkness and despair, it completely breaks through the water's surface.

The moment the last note faded.

"Clatter".

A tear fell onto the table.

Shen Nian lowered her head, her shoulders shaking violently.

She bit her lip tightly, not uttering a single cry.

Jiang Fan silently reached out and turned off the microphone.

About two minutes later.

Shen Nian hastily wiped her face with the cuff of her trench coat.

"One more time." Her voice was hoarse, but it carried a fierce edge.

Jiang Fan turned to look at her.

Shen Nian's eyes were as red as a rabbit's, but her back was ramrod straight.

"OK."

The two went over it five more times.

By the fifth time, Shen Nian had completely stabilized her high notes.

His breathing stopped trembling, and he could control his emotions freely.

That feeling of power emerging from a cocoon is enough to tear apart any stage.

Rehearsal is over.

Shen Nian stood still, her gaze fixed on Jiang Fan's back.

She couldn't quite describe what this feeling was.

From the moment she entered this office, she felt a tension that had been building up inside her for a whole year slowly loosen.

Jiang Fan didn't say a single word of comfort; in fact, his tone was somewhat cold and harsh.

But as long as she was by his side, all the voices that tormented her day and night faded away from her mind.

The self that was trapped and drowning in deep water was dragged to the surface by the man in front of her with just a few lyrics.

The sound of a key turning came from the doorway.

Li Cheng was followed by several workers, each carrying a cardboard box as they walked in.

"All done!" Li Cheng directed the workers to put the boxes on the ground.

"A complete set of recording equipment. The seller was a struggling recording studio that was in a hurry to cash out, so I cut the price by 40%."

He straightened up and then noticed that the atmosphere in the office was a bit off.

Shen Nian stood in front of the microphone, her eyes red and her face still wet with tears.

Li Cheng glanced at Shen Nian, then turned to look at Jiang Fan sitting in front of the computer.

"You made someone cry?" Li Cheng frowned.

"She cried herself." Jiang Fan didn't turn around.

Li Cheng's lips twitched.

What are these two up to?

After moving the equipment, Li Cheng walked to the monitor speakers.

He noticed that the playback indicator light was on.

The audio from the rehearsal was automatically saved by the speaker's built-in recording function.

Li Cheng pressed the play button.

The audio from the final rehearsal flowed from the speakers.

Li Cheng stopped smoking.

Two voices mingled in the cramped office.

The female voice was ethereal and desperate, while the male voice was deep and resonant.

The melody burst forth from the depths of extreme depression, carrying an unbridled vitality.

The song ended.

The echo dissipated in the air.

Li Cheng stood in front of the speaker, maintaining that posture for a full half minute without moving.

He slowly turned around and stared intently at Jiang Fan.

"Holy shit."