I said you are all war criminals

"By the way, Xiangzi." Hong Xia decided to get to the point quickly. "I looked at your profile. You've been playing the keyboard for several years, right?"

"Well, I started learning piano in elementary school. Later, when I came into contact with a band, I began to teach myself keyboard." Shoko Toyokawa nodded.

"Then you should be very experienced. Why do you only want to be a support keyboardist? Wouldn't it be better to officially join our band?" Hong Xia finally asked the question in her heart.

When Toyokawa Shoko heard this question, her face, which had been smiling faintly, suddenly stiffened, and her eyes flickered. She was silent for a few seconds before she whispered, "Well... I have some personal reasons..."

"What's the reason? Tell me about it, maybe I can help you solve it." Hongxia asked. Her intuition told her that there must be some story behind Toyokawa Shoko.

Toyokawa Shoko shook her head. "Sorry, this is my personal matter... You can also think of me as a commission for supporting the keyboard player."

The keyboard player is essentially a mercenary. Not only does he have to share the ticket costs, but the other band members also have to pay him commissions.

Hong Xia naturally knew this too.

Only after she understood this clearly did she choose the other party.

"I see," Hong Xia narrowed her eyes slightly, "Excuse me, Xiangzi, how much commission do you want?"

...After all, this Toyokawa Shoko is the "mistress of the Toyokawa family."

This guy also wants a commission, which is abnormal no matter how you think about it.

PS: I’m going to start forming Hakuno’s band, but I probably won’t focus too much on describing the band’s content.

Because I don’t understand bands.

Chapter 46: Finalizing One Person

Fengchuan Technology.

Although it is only a second-rate company compared to Yamada Enterprise, it also has a place in the future Tokyo and is a company specializing in the production of prosthetics.

The Sianwestin "Black Birthday" that Hongxia had installed in the past came from the assembly line of Fengchuan Technology.

The Black Birthday system stands out among similar products, its unique two-stage deceleration amplifying its effectiveness. Hongxia had saved her life several times with this Sian Westin system before replacing it with Yamada Enterprise's Polaris Rage System. In a sense, she was quite familiar with Fengchuan Technology.

At least, Hongxia knew quite well about the "hostess of Fengchuan".

As Hongxia learned, ten years later, Toyokawa Shoko transformed Toyokawa Corporation, originally focused on the music and medical industries, into a company specializing in cybermedicine, further branching out into the production and development of operating systems. The Toyokawa family also successfully capitalized on the cyberprosthetics trend, becoming a pillar of Japanese industry.

In this respect, she is an excellent entrepreneur.

However, if we look at the employee mortality rate at Toyokawa Technology, things aren't so good for Shoko Toyokawa.

Seventy-eight percent.

This is the three-year survival rate of Fengchuan Technology's new employees.

In other words, 22 percent of employees will die within three years of joining the company.

...Hongxia didn't know the specific situation, nor did she know how the girl in front of her who made money as a support keyboard player could become the cruel "mistress".

However, Hongxia will not blame Toyokawa Shoko now for the crimes that will happen ten or twenty years from now.

"How much are you going to charge?"

When Xiangzi heard Hongxia's question, he bit his thin lips.

She came to look for a job as a keyboard support player out of helplessness.

In Tokyo, students working part-time earn around 1,500 yen an hour, and are limited to 28 hours a week. Of course, considering students have to go to school and most part-time jobs are paid daily, this rule isn't particularly harsh. Furthermore, for students looking to earn some pocket money, a monthly allowance of over 100,000 yen isn't a small amount.

However, for Xiangzi who had to support his family, this money was not enough.

Since being kicked out of the house with his father, what Xiangzi needed was no longer pocket money, but money to cover the living expenses for both himself and his father... Not to mention, his father was drunk all day long, which was also an expense Xiangzi had to pay for.

Thinking of this, Xiangzi took a deep breath, but his voice was still as soft as a mosquito, "The hourly wage...maybe five thousand."

Five thousand.

Hongxia frowned slightly.

This amount is quite expensive.

At the very least, it is absolutely impossible for the Ending Band to spend so much money to hire a keyboard player - the Ending Band themselves still have to work to earn ticket money, so how can they afford to hire someone.

"Four thousand, no, three thousand is fine too!"

As if he noticed Hongxia's hesitation, Xiangzi kept lowering the price.

She really needed money, especially the day before yesterday, when the customer service company where she worked ceased operations due to the sudden bankruptcy of its parent company and was even involved in underworld activities. She had not received her salary for last month... So, now Xiangzi was in urgent need of some income to maintain her life.

If it weren't for this, she would never have decided to make a living from music.

"Can you wait a moment?" Hong Xia said. She leaned back, the chair legs scraping against the floor, making a harsh sound. "I need to discuss this with the other members of the band."

Xiangzi was stunned for a moment, her fingers twisting the corner of her clothes nervously. She knew the price was indeed high, but... "Please... please!" she said anxiously, "I really need this job, and I can guarantee that my playing skills are definitely worth the price!"

Hong Xia met Xiangzi's anxious eyes, and her heart moved slightly. She could see that the girl was not lying, and the anxiety and desire in her eyes were so real.

"I know, I will seriously consider it." Hong Xia gave her a reassuring smile and stood up from her seat.

Walking outside the cafe, Hongxia took out her cell phone and called Bai Ye.

"Hello, Hongxia?" Bai Ye's usual lazy voice came from the other end of the phone, "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, let me ask you something," Hong Xia walked to the vending machine on the corner and bought a can of iced coffee. "How much do you think it would cost to hire a keyboard player as a backup?"

"Keyboard player?" Bai Ye was silent for a second. "Why do you suddenly think of asking this? Did you find the person?"

"I guess so, but the price is a bit..." Hong Xia paused, then told the truth, "She wants 5,000 an hour."

"Puff—" Bai Ye's choking voice came from the other end of the phone, and it took him a long time to recover, "Five...five thousand? Why doesn't she just rob it?!"

"That's why I said it's expensive..." Hong Xia sighed helplessly, "But looking at her, she must be really short of money."

"Short of money? Who is so short of money..." Bai Ye's voice was a little lower, as if he was reading someone's name.

Hong Xia's mind moved, and she took the initiative to speak, "She said her name is Toyokawa Shoko."

Does Bai Ye know this person?

"Oh, it's that guy."

Bai Ye seemed to actually know this person, "That's fine, you can bargain with her, or not... But since we've reached the point where we need support musicians, have you found everyone else?"

"No, I plan to decide on the keyboard player first," Hong Xia glanced back, "Keyboardists are usually good at all kinds of instruments. I plan to have her teach you how to play bass. This way, it can be considered as hiring a teacher."

"Well, 5,000 to hire a teacher doesn't seem like such a big loss."

Bai Ye's voice relaxed a little, "Then let's do it this way."

Pushing open the door of the cafe, a mixture of caramel and bitter coffee aroma hit her face, and Hong Xia immediately saw Xiangzi sitting by the window. She sat upright, like a tautly strung guitar.

This job is really important to her.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting." Hong Xia sat down opposite her, speaking in a cheerful tone, trying to ease the overly solemn atmosphere.

Xiangzi raised his head suddenly, his eyes full of anticipation and anxiety, "How is it?"

"We discussed it," Hong Xia paused deliberately, "Four thousand an hour is fine."

"Really?" Xiangzi almost jumped out of her seat, her surprise evident. But then, as if realizing something, she asked cautiously, "Then... what are the conditions?"

"It's like this," Hong Xia took a sip of coffee and said slowly, "There's a member in our band named Bai Ye. He wants to learn bass, so..."

"No problem! I can teach him!" Before Hongxia could finish, Xiangzi eagerly agreed, as if he was afraid that the other party would go back on his word. "I can't say I'm a master, but I'm more than capable of teaching a beginner!"

Seeing her high morale, Hong Xia couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Then it's settled. When are you free?"

"Anytime!" Xiangzi answered impatiently.

"Then come with me," Hong Xia said, "after you finish this cup of coffee, of course."

Chapter 47: Meeting

Toyokawa Shoko.

Of course Hakuno had heard of this name.

The king of double-strength, the last time this achievement was achieved was in "Girls' Opera"... Wow, the twisted relationship between beautiful girls is so delicious.

It would be even better if someone died.

(This is Hakuno's personal opinion)

"But I never thought that I would be related to that guy."

While rubbing the transparent wine glass meaninglessly, Hakuno briefly recalled the plot of "Dream Explosion X5".

...To be honest, I can’t remember.

I only remember "Why do you want to play Kasuga Shadow" and kneeling down in shock.

Next is the pink-haired girl doing lesbian things.

Well, that's what girl band anime is like.

(This is Hakuno's personal opinion)

"Let's talk to Xiangzi in detail when we meet. It's not very reliable to understand people through animation..."

Putting down the wine glass, Bai Ye turned his gaze forward.

PA is here.

The so-called PA stands for Live Public Address, which means sound engineer.

This PA lady is the professional technician responsible for all the audio equipment at Starry, and she and Xingge are companions who support each other.

"Is Xingge still not feeling better?" the PA asked straight to the point.

She looks cold on the outside, but she is actually a very gentle person.

It feels like Starfury from Starsong.

(slightly)

"Wouldn't it be nice to have a few more days of rest? Starry is almost open all year round, so it would be nice to lie in bed more." Bai Ye said casually.

"Well... I'll go see her tomorrow morning," PA winked. "Can you stay up late, Hakuno? Otherwise, I'll be alone tonight..."

"Staying up late? No problem, I'm a night owl." Bai Ye answered easily. His highest record before traveling through time was staying up late for three consecutive days and then sleeping for 17 hours.

The PA nodded, a look of relief on her face. "That's good. Tonight's performance is important, and I need someone to help check the equipment."

The one who will be performing at starry today is Morfonica.

This was a fairly famous girl rock band, and Xingge had shamelessly contacted the band's old members to find a supporting band. It was precisely because of this band's situation that Xingge couldn't just close the shop and go find Hongxia.

"Morfonica..." Bai Ye stretched out his words and nodded in a feigned deep voice. In reality, his only source of information about the band was from mobile games. However, although he had played the mobile game, he had skipped all the plots...

To put it bluntly, Hakuno doesn't understand Morfonica at all.

The PA lady obviously saw through Hakuno's lack of understanding and said, "Anyway, they're a really great band."

She added, "This show is very important to Starry and we need to make sure everything goes well."

"I understand. Leave it to me." Bai Ye patted his chest, looking confident.

Then, he stretched his muscles a bit, took out a rag from behind the bar, and began to clean the table. After cleaning the table, Bai Ye began to sweep and mop the floor, cleaning the entire performance hall from inside to outside.

After doing all this, he was already sweating profusely.

"call……"

Bai Ye breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the brand new Starry, a sense of accomplishment welling up in his heart. He reached into his pocket and prepared to have a cigarette.

"That should be about it, right?"

He looked around and was about to stretch when a commotion came from Starry's door.

"Wow, is this Starry? Such a small place..."

"Don't say that, Ruwei. This isn't a large live house. It can't be compared to CiRCLE."

"Hmm... the equipment seems a bit old..."

"Hey, hey, don't touch it carelessly, what if you break it..."

Accompanied by a flurry of footsteps, five girls filed in.

Hakuno immediately recognized the white-haired girl leading the group—Mashiro Kurata, the lead singer of Morfonica.