Just because I wrote "Zhu Xian," the school beauty sent me razor blades.

The lights in the Royal Albert Hall went out at that moment.

The entire magnificent venue was plunged into darkness, and the previously noisy scene instantly fell silent.

Everyone held their breath, expecting the "Oscar-winning director" to make a stunning appearance like the previous European and American singers, accompanied by a grand symphony or a dazzling light show.

However, there was no symphony or fancy lighting.

All that remained was a cold, blue-white vertical spotlight descending from the sky, fixing firmly on the center of the stage.

Lin Yuan stood in the beam of light, holding the microphone in one hand, his suit jacket casually draped over his shoulder.

With his eyes closed, he let out a low, hoarse note, carrying a faint lament and a sense of despair and despondency.

A deep, heavy bass note, so powerful it seemed to shatter the heart, suddenly burst forth from the top-of-the-line sound system! Accompanied by a highly distorted electric guitar note, it was like a blunt instrument slamming into everyone's eardrums.

"And every single year…"

The moment he opened his mouth with his first sentence, his authentic North American street accent, combined with the numbness and repression that came from the depths of his soul, instantly captivated the entire audience!

The 500 audience members who were just immersed in the "high-note battle" suddenly felt their scalps tingle!

"I'm drowning in my tears, I'm drowning in my tears again…"

(I am drowning in a sea of ​​tears, once again overwhelmed by them...)

As the heavy beat of the 808 drums pushed the rhythm to its climax, Lin Yuan's voice gradually transformed from a suppressed murmur into an extreme emotional outburst.

He stood there, using his exceptional singing voice to release without reservation the sense of despair that comes from being ravaged by setbacks, gradually becoming numb in pain, and being shrouded in a gloomy world!

"I can't seem to forget the pain I seem to give The pain I seem to give, my friend..."

I can never let go of the pain I caused, the harm I inflicted on my friends.

"Woah, oh, woah, oh…"

The chanting, enhanced by the distorted bass, seemed to transform into an invisible hand, gripping everyone's hearts tightly.

Several foreign female audience members who had initially been observing the proceedings with a detached, gossipy attitude suddenly found their eyes welling up with tears after hearing the lyrics and feeling the overwhelming, heart-wrenching cries.

Meanwhile, the chat rooms on major live streams around the world have been completely paralyzed.

In overseas live chat forums on YouTube and Twitch, the initial barrage of question marks and jokes was instantly replaced by shock and screams:

"Oh my God!! Is this really Lin, the director of 'The Shawshank Redemption'?! This can't be!"

"Holy shit! This subdued yet sophisticated emotional rhythm... this is top-tier emo rap! How could he possibly play North American street rap more authentically than our local singers?!"

"Who just said Lin was here for sightseeing and publicity? Step forward! This isn't a tourist, this is a descendant sent by God to deliver a devastating attack!"

Meanwhile, domestic platforms like Weibo, Bilibili, and Douyin livestreaming rooms transformed into a vast ocean of revelry:

"The foreigners were stunned, weren't they?! Hahaha! They thought my dad, Lin, was just a Gold-ranked player making up the numbers, but Lin hit the nail on the head regarding their aesthetic preferences!"

"I was on tenterhooks watching the first few foreigners hit those high notes, but then Lin Dad pulled out a divine song! That English pronunciation, that emotional impact—I hereby declare that the Western music scene has been conquered by Lin Dad tonight!"

"This is hilarious! The odds and betting platforms on foreign websites are probably in tears right now! I suggest they get their nitroglycerin pills ready, Lin's about to start reaping the profits!"

"Woah, oh..."

As the last distorted note faded into the air, the Royal Albert Hall fell into a deathly silence that lasted for several seconds.

immediately--

"boom!!"

Thunderous applause erupted throughout the hall!

Lin Yuan slowly opened his eyes, bowed slightly, his expression remained calm, and turned to leave amidst the wild cheers of the audience.

Back in the backstage lounge.

The atmosphere in the corridor had completely changed.

David, the veteran rocker who had just finished singing, stood up abruptly, clapping wildly while shaking his head repeatedly: "Mr. Lin! You call this a side job for a film director? The emotional control in this song is simply monstrous! You almost made me depressed, you know that?!"

Grammy-winning singer Christina Aguilera, her eyes slightly red, rushed over and gave Lin Yuan a big hug, her eyes gleaming with admiration: "Oh my god, Lin! You made me cry! It will definitely top the Billboard charts! You have to write me a song, you absolutely have to!"

Even the usually proud tenor Eric smiled and reached out to shake hands with Lin Yuan: "A very unique and powerful emotional expression; you are indeed an extremely formidable opponent."

Faced with the praise and admiration from this group of top European and American music stars, Lin Yuan accepted the thermos cup handed to him by his assistant, took a sip of warm water, and said, "You flatter me. I only know a little about music."

Half an hour later, all eight initial singers had finished their performances, and the atmosphere was pushed to the most tense moment of revealing the results.

On the large screen, host Anthony, holding a sealed envelope containing the vote count results, walked to the center of the stage: "Ladies and gentlemen, the votes from the 500 audience members have been tallied!"

In the dressing room, eight singers sat together, the air so heavy it seemed like you could wring water out of it.

Anthony began to announce the rankings one by one:

"This round of ranking matches—"

Third place: Rock legend, David!

Second place: North American superstar, Christina Aguilera!

The audience erupted in applause. Christina smiled and gave David a high five, but everyone's eyes immediately fell on the two most important figures—the first place winner and the highly anticipated Lin Yuan!

When Anthony opened the final card, he was visibly stunned for several seconds when he saw the name on it and the overwhelming lead in votes. An incredulous look of shock appeared on his face!

He took a deep breath, faced hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide, and shouted the answer with the loudest voice:

"The winner of the first round of the 'Eternal Voice' ranking competition is—"

"Lin Yuan, the musical magician from the East! He received a whopping 41.2% of the votes!!"

The entire stadium erupted in cheers! The odds for winning the championship on overseas websites completely collapsed, and countless foreign bookmakers who had opened the betting market collapsed in their seats!

However, before everyone could recover from this amazing comeback, the huge LED screen on the stage suddenly flashed, and the scene changed abruptly!

Anthony revealed a mysterious smile and announced loudly, "Congratulations, Lin Yuan! But don't forget, this is just the beginning! In the next elimination round, we will face a ruthless challenger!"

On the screen, a slender silhouette holding an electric guitar slowly appeared, accompanied by a guitar blast that ripped through the night sky, causing the entire audience to scream again!

The camera cuts back to the lounge.

Lin Yuan sat on the sofa, looking at the silhouette of the "extremely destructive" challenger in the European and American music scene on the big screen. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, and he slowly screwed the lid of the thermos cup on.