After being elected as the governor of Tokyo, he will debut as a band!

……

The virtuoso duel between Coben Coolidge and Aoyama lasted for two minutes before ending, satisfying seasoned music fans and impressing other audience members, but they couldn't clearly grasp just how impressive the performance was.

It's like two unparalleled masters sparring; only top-tier masters can understand their techniques, while others can only watch the spectacle.

After the performance, the three members of Sick Hack packed up their instruments and then slipped to the right side of the stage to watch the show. At that moment, Shima Iwashita and Eliza Shimizu both had the urge to kneel down and listen.

Only Kikuri Hiroi, the bassist, was not affected by the "legendary peer" and managed to remain calm.

But she was also a little jealous—she and the two girls next to her who were swooning over him had never seen him put in this much effort when playing an instrument, even though they had been paired with Aoyama for so long.

So, it was our lack of skill that limited Mr. Hack's performance?

Is it time to start honing my skills? No way! Sickhack finally made some money recently, and I want to use it to enjoy life! If I spend even more time practicing than before, wouldn't all that extra money be wasted?!

But looking at Iwashita Shima and Shimizu Eliza beside her, their eyes were filled with determination, clearly indicating that they intended to improve their playing skills... Under these circumstances, if she were to slack off, not only would she fall behind Mr. Hack, but she might also be left behind by the two of them.

Vipassana!

Hiroi Kikuri felt a deep sadness welling up inside her, wondering what had possessed her to bring Aoyama Mukai, the ultimate king of the maze, into her band.

……

The evenly matched state between Coben Coolidge and Aoyama was shattered the moment the former launched into song.

It wasn't the addition of vocals that gave Coben Coolidge an edge, but rather that a good musician wouldn't let their instrument drown out the lead singer's vocals.

Not only did Aoyama's drumming weaken, but Coolidge's guitar playing also gave way to his singing.

The effect was astonishing; the king-level voice had a power that went straight to the heart, and both seasoned music fans and audience members who happened to buy tickets showed expressions of enjoyment.

But Sato Aiko was dumbfounded...

This voice didn't match any of the famous rock band lead singers or backup singers she remembered...

But at the same time, she felt that KoKo's voice sounded strangely familiar.

She was certain she knew who the voice belonged to, but her mind was completely blank; she just couldn't recall the person's name.

Just then, she suddenly heard a couple talking nearby:

"The singer on stage has such a beautiful voice! And he plays the guitar so well, but the guitar he's holding looks really old. Is he not well-off?"

"Maybe it's an heirloom guitar, a family heirloom passed down from my father... Otherwise, that kind of guitar with its pitted and uneven surface should have been replaced long ago, right? It doesn't seem to fit the glamorous stage at all."

Sato Aiko scoffed at the two men's uninformed remarks.

A worn-out old guitar is not a synonym for a cheap product... Although the guitar in Mr. KoKo's hand looks old, the sound it produces is bright enough. Only a high-end electric guitar made by a master craftsman can maintain such performance after years of wear and tear and human handling.

Judging from Sato Aiko's professional eye, that guitar might be worth more than the couple's annual income.

and many more……

A thought suddenly struck her.

No wonder this guitar looked familiar! I've seen pictures of it in music magazines more than once since I was a child...

Combined with KoKo's singing, she felt as if an electric current had passed through her mind, and several thoughts instantly connected, making the identity of this man dressed like Inuyasha obvious.

But is that even possible?

Coben Coolidge, a superstar with an appearance fee of millions of dollars, would perform at Shinjuku Fold, a little-known venue?

That's not the most outrageous part. The most outrageous part is that Mr. Hack was able to compete on the same stage as such a superstar without being at a disadvantage. In fact, during the interlude, when the opponent had no vocal support, he subtly showed that he was suppressing the opponent!

Igomachi Music Awards: 120 I'll do anything for Sickhack

This audiovisual feast, presented by Coben Coolidge and Muto Aoyama, lasted for thirty minutes.

Although such a long and intense performance left them feeling incredibly exhausted, both mentally and physically, the two were like a pair of Go masters who had played a game that would become a timeless masterpiece, only seeking to fight to their heart's content.

At the height of his understanding, Aoyama even slammed his stomper down so hard that he broke the drumhead of the bass drum, using his hand drum to replace the bass drum's bass notes. Coolidge also broke the thinnest string, but managed to fill in the missing high notes with his superb vibrato technique.

When the last note fell, Colin

Zhi collapsed on the stage and couldn't get up. His "cosplay outfit" was completely soaked with sweat. It was only thanks to Aoyama's efforts that he managed to walk over and help him up, thus saving him from the crisis of being rushed up and stripped of his clothes by the fans who reacted ten seconds later.

If the performers were like this, the music fans in the audience must have been even more thrilled; it's no exaggeration to say they were "absolutely blown away."

Many music fans even fainted due to excessive excitement, and they are currently contacting ambulances to take them away for emergency treatment.

It's worth mentioning Gao Songdeng. As soon as the music stopped, she got anxious and opened her mouth to try to make the sound of Ko Lizhi to continue the song. But how could a little girl make the sound of an old man? She was so anxious that she forgot how to speak and just kept making "cooing" noises for about a minute before stopping.

It's a pity that Lenai didn't come today, otherwise, with her musically sensitive brain, she might have gotten so hyped up that her personality would have changed drastically.

"Those two are really amazing..."

Ichi Seika also came to her senses, only to find that her body had been sweating a lot from swaying to the music involuntarily, and she didn't know when she had taken off her coat, and now she didn't know where it had been thrown.

However, she didn't care too much about it, since she was wearing a shirt under her coat... On the other hand, Hiroi Kikuri had already taken off her upper body and was only wearing a tank top, and was now taking off her pants.

Ijichi Hoshika went up and put her in a chokehold, temporarily preventing blood from flowing to her brain and making her a little more awake.

"Alright, alright, alright, senior! If you don't let go, I'm not only going to calm down, but I'm going to die, cough cough cough..." Hiroi Kikuri patted Iji Tomoka's arm to admit defeat, which prevented her from being strangled to death.

“What a troublesome guy,” Ijichi Seika clapped her hands and asked, “Hiroi, do you know who that guy who performed with Haku is?”

"Of course I know... I just saw his face in the lounge. He's just an older guy from America, and he seems to have a good relationship with Hack... Other than that, there's nothing else to worry about."

Kikuri Hiroi casually remarked, "Oh, by the way, he looks a bit like Coben Coolidge..."

"Just somewhat similar?"

"Otherwise what? You're not saying he really is Coben Coolidge, are you? Don't be ridiculous. The aura of a superstar is incomparable to that of an ordinary person. That uncle gave off a similar vibe to the clerk at the convenience store near my house. It just happened that they looked alike."

Ichiko looked at her suspiciously, thinking that drinking really makes things worse. She was face to face with a superstar and didn't even recognize him. If she could seize the opportunity to ask him for a few autographs, she could earn back the money she spent on drinks over the past two months.

This guy is already so popular, but he always only has a pittance in his pocket... Could it be that there really is a "God of Poverty" in this world, and he's stuck to her and won't leave?

As Ichika was considering whether to keep her distance from Hiroi in the future to avoid catching her bad luck, she suddenly heard her say this:

"However, Uncle KoKo's guitar skills are really good, and his coordination with Brother Hak is also amazing. I feel like if I don't get serious and work harder, Brother Hak will be snatched away by him."

"You guy..."

Ijichi Seika sensed a hint of melancholy and seriousness in Hiroi Kikuri's words. She glanced at her with some surprise, then wanted to offer her some words of advice.

But before she could finish speaking, she inexplicably reached out and rubbed her chest, looking thoughtful. "Practicing bass is too much trouble. How about I use my body to keep Brother Hack? My assets in that area may be a bit weak, but it's still better than a man in his forties, right?"

"...Huh? Senior, why are your eyes so scary! Aha, I get it, you must have misunderstood! I'm only doing this to retain talent, I have absolutely no intention of competing with you for ownership of Sickhack! That's right! It's all for the band! Sickhack is my everything! I'm willing to do anything to make Sickhack better! So, senior, calm down! I'm not your enemy! I'm your ally!"

"Hiroi, I never imagined you could be such a shameless scoundrel!" Ijichi Seika sneered, raising her right hand. "Using the band as a shield. Let me shatter your filthy illusions."

"Wait a minute! Senior! I was wrong! I'll practice bass properly and try to persuade Hack to stay in the right way!"

"It's too late, wake up!"

……

Meanwhile, Sato Aiko, who thought she had discovered a great secret, was showing off in front of the high school girls like a little devil.

"I've already guessed who Mr. KoKo is!"

"Wow, that's amazing..." "No wonder you're an adult." "We had no idea."

The three members of the Bond Band, having already received the news, could only offer polite smiles and support from the sidelines.

"Hmph! This is the composure of a professional music critic... Hey! Chihaya-kun, stop staring at Goto-kun's chest! Don't you care who Mr. KoKo is? I'll tell you later and you'll be shocked!"

"Miss Poison, just say it, I'm listening!"

Chihaya Aine immediately put on an obedient expression.

Boqi got so excited watching the live show that he unconsciously took off his sportswear, revealing his impressive figure.

Chihaya Aine was immediately tempted, so she didn't care about listening to the Poisonous Girl's nonsense at all. All her attention was focused on controlling her little hands so as not to touch her beloved master.

Shiina Tatsuki, who accompanied Takamatsu Akari to the Sickhack show, was looking at her with disdain—

This person has such poor self-control! I would never have such filthy thoughts about Takamatsu. (Actually, it's mainly because Takamatsu was wearing a pullover, so even if she got hot, it wouldn't be easy for her to take it off. If she did, it's hard to say whether Ritsuki or Aine would be more filthy.)

"Ahem, listen up, everyone. In my opinion, this Mr. KoKo is almost certainly Coben Coolidge. His voice, his performance style, all match Coolidge's. And the strongest evidence is that guitar! I'd bet my entire career that it's definitely Coben's favorite BFS!"

After saying that, Miss Poison closed her eyes, ready to receive applause and screams.

However, all she received was indifference.

Leaving aside the four members of the Bond Band, Chihaya Aine, Toyokawa Shoko, who came with Iji Tomoka, and Shiina Tatsuki who came with Takamatsu Akari, simply did not believe her words.

Isogachi Music Awards: 121 This has become the hope of Japanese music.

In short, among those who saw Coben Coolidge and Aoyama's collaboration performance, it wasn't just music critic Poison Darkness... After all, Sickhack is now quite famous in Tokyo's independent music scene, so many music critics and entertainment media reporters are paying attention to them.

And these music critics and media reporters aren't fools, Miss Poison.

They could see most of what was obvious, and some of them with extensive connections even contacted Coben Coolidge's agent to confirm whether the performance at the Shinjuku Folt was arranged by him.

As expected, his agent denied the claim that it was something completely unexpected and would not enhance Coben Coolidge's commercial value or personal reputation.

But this answer wasn't enough to completely dispel their doubts. They weren't blind; they had all witnessed the man who called himself "KoKo the Great Tengu's" performance on stage, which was exactly like Coben Coolidge's. Even if the performance style couldn't be imitated, Coben Coolidge's voice, full of the charm of time and rich emotion, couldn't be faked—especially in a live performance where he was in close contact with the fans. If it were an imitation, it would be easily detected by the seasoned fans in the audience; these people had very sharp ears.

Not to mention, there's also that Black Fender Stratocaster guitar that Cobain loved to use. It's not that you can't fake that thing, but the cost of faking it is too high. Who would spend so much money just to hold a live show in Folt, a relatively unknown venue? Such a large investment has to recoup its costs, so publicity and hype are essential. These all require the participation of people in the music media industry. But they hadn't heard a word about it before that night, which means that the company had no intention of making a profit from this live show.

It can't be some Coben Coolidge fanatic causing such a commotion just for fun, right? Tokyo certainly has its share of oddballs like that, but the possibility is so low that it can be completely ignored.

The behavior of Coben Coolidge and his entourage in the following days proved these people's suspicions true.

Coburn's manager only privately denied that the Folt live performance was related to Coburn, but never commented on the matter publicly... Even when the rumor became common knowledge throughout the Tokyo music scene, no one from Coburn Coolidge's team came forward to respond to it.

This is almost tantamount to them admitting that the live show was orchestrated by Coben Coolidge.

Now, Folt in Shinjuku is bustling with activity.

On the one hand, even on normally quiet weekdays, long queues formed to buy tickets, many of whom were journalists from music magazines/websites and music-related social media personalities. On the other hand, Folt store manager Ginjiro Yoshida's phone had been ringing off the hook these past few days. From renowned seniors in the industry to agents of famous singers, and even executives from Warner Music Tokyo, they all took the initiative to invite him to dinner, seemingly trying to get Coben Coolidge's contact information from him... Of course, Coben couldn't possibly have any close relationship with Warner Music Tokyo, but their Warner headquarters was very interested in him. For these executives, being able to get in touch with Coben through Ginjiro Yoshida would be of great benefit to their future careers.

Not only the store manager, Yoshida Ginjiro, but even the mohawk-haired guy working at Folt benefited. While eating out, he was approached by a beautiful woman who asked when the next celebrity would be performing secretly at Folt. She pitifully begged him to "reserve a few tickets for me, and I will definitely repay you."

Besides the Folt performance hall in Shinjuku, the performance by Muto Aoyama, who shared the stage with Coben Coolidge, has garnered even more attention.

A local Tokyo musician, not even a top-tier or super-top-tier rock star, was able to match Coben Coolidge in stage performance and technique. In fact, if you remove Coben's singing, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he surpassed Coben in terms of instrumental skill and performance tension.

As is well known, there are four things about Japan that should not be criticized on the Chinese internet: manga, music, and anime.

The Japanese music scene is not lacking in talent, but due to the self-sufficiency of the domestic music market and hesitation in digital transformation, Japan has always lacked an international superstar musician. The video of Muto Aoyama performing with Coben Coolidge has sparked widespread discussion throughout the Japanese music industry.

Recording Arts magazine published an article titled "Underground Frenzy VS Idol Assembly Line: Who is Stifling the Creative Genes of Japanese Music? — The Systemic Dilemma of the Independent Scene and the Idol Industry as Seen from the Shinjuku Folt Incident," openly questioning why large music companies and talent agencies, which hire thousands of talent scouts every year to find potential musicians, allow musical geniuses like Hack from Sickhack to languish in independent bands that lack promotional resources, public performance opportunities, and financial support.

The entertainment section of Asazuki Shimbun briefly reviewed several of Hack's performances and musical works since his debut. It then discovered that Hack's active period seemed to overlap with the timeline of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's "Arts Promotion Project" from its inception to its implementation. Finally, it raised the question: Is it because of the new policy's support for independent bands that such talented individuals, who are not valued by major companies, have the opportunity to emerge?

Fueled by public opinion, dozens of music companies and talent agencies immediately extended offers to Sick Hack.

Although the heads of the artist management departments of these companies did not have Aoyama's contact information, they were able to contact the other three members of Sickhack. As a result, Hiroi Kikuri, Iwashita Shima, and Shimizu Eliza also encountered a similar situation to Yoshida Ginjiro.

Shima Iwashita, a well-behaved girl who longed for a peaceful life, was annoyed by this, but Kikuri Hiroi and Eliza Shimizu were genuinely thrilled.

Kikuri Hiroi is notorious in the mainstream music industry for her extremely bad drinking habits and uncontrollable personality. This is why Sickhack, which made a name for itself a few years ago, has never signed with an entertainment company. But at this time, the business managers of these companies have put this situation out of their minds and are calling her more than a dozen times a day to recruit her. They also send public relations personnel from time to time to "bump into" her in places where Kikuri Hiroi often goes and treat her to lavish meals and drinks.

For Eliza Shimizu, it was a different story. Knowing that Eliza liked anime culture, these people had her colleagues in the animation department of the same group invite her to participate in the production of anime songs, arranged a part-time voice acting job for her, and even dangled a 2.5D idol band project in front of her, all to entice her to bring all the members of Sickhack to become signed artists in their company. On the one hand, Eliza had to stick to her principles for the sake of Sickhack's team spirit, but on the other hand, she couldn't resist these temptations. She was in a state of pain and pleasure, and couldn't sleep well for more than a week.

When Sickhack gathered again to discuss the band's future and rehearse new songs, Aoyama was surprised to find that both Hiroi Kikuri and Shimizu Eliza looked different.

"Hiroi... what happened to you? How come your face has gotten so much rounder in just ten days?"

Aoyama looked at Hiroi Kikuri, who was sitting opposite him, with a round face and slightly squinted eyes, and asked this question.

"Maybe it's because I've been eating and drinking well every day lately. I don't know why, but ever since my performance at Ah Yin's place, I've always run into kind older brothers and sisters who help me pay for my drinks."

Hiroi Kikuri wore a silly grin that seemed to say, "The goddess of fortune has finally begun to smile upon me." It was clear that she was very satisfied with her life and was quite content with it.

This

When she woke up in the Folt exhibition hall, she bumped into Qyburn, who wasn't wearing a mask. But she didn't recognize him because he was wearing an "Inuyasha outfit" and she assumed he was a foreign friend who, like Eliza Shimizu, liked anime culture.

In addition, she doesn't usually read music magazines or anything like that, so she still doesn't realize that those people who treated her to free food and drinks were all there for Aoyama Mukai and Coben Coolidge.

"Where do you get so many kind-hearted brothers and sisters?" Qingshan looked at her round cheeks and couldn't resist pinching them. How to put it? The feel of her cheeks after eating and drinking for free for seven or eight days was different. They had that soft and chewy texture of mochi, rich in fat and collagen. "You're beholden to those who feed you. Be careful not to agree to their requests too easily, or you'll end up being sold out and still counting the money for them."

Hiroi Kikuri didn't struggle. Anyway, Aoyama wasn't pinching her too hard. Besides, now that Aoyama was pinching her like this, she would pinch him back when Shima and Eliza left.

It's not like a man's body doesn't have soft, smooth parts.

"Brother Hack, do you think I'm a child? I've been working in Tokyo for five or six years now, I'm not so easily fooled. But Eliza, she's young, cute, and a foreigner, you should be careful not to get scammed!"