Chapter 105: Divine Refinement, Point 11: Rehearsal
As Zhang Hao and the others returned to the Star-Suppressing Tower, the relatives of the criminals who had come to offer their condolences gradually dispersed. No one claimed the body of the executed official’s descendant whom Zhang Hao had stabbed to death, so Le Xiaotian had two soldiers carry it away and throw it into the sea.
Amid the crowd, Bi Muyang seemed to have thought of something. His face was twisted with a sick excitement, and his eyes held the vicious delight of someone about to cut down his prey as he stared at Le Xiaotian.
Looking at the fifteen hundred agents standing in formation with their instruments, along with the other agents and workers, Le Xiaotian smiled.
He walked to the score stand before the temporary command platform, removed his suit, and handed it to Chen Fang.
Fingering the buttons of his shirt, Le Xiaotian smiled and said, “At last, we’re officially rehearsing. Is everyone ready?”
A shirt in the middle of winter—the commander was truly something else. Trembling with excitement, the fifteen hundred agents taking part in the formal performance threw back their heads and roared, “Ready at all times!”
The remaining agents formed a circle around the area to prevent the noise of the surrounding machinery from carrying inward. All the performers involved in the battle had been fitted with in-ear monitors so they could hear the other musicians clearly amid the din.
Le Xiaotian opened the full score on the stand and raised his right hand, fingers poised in the peacock gesture, holding it motionless in the air.
Whoosh!
In an instant, all fifteen hundred musicians gathered themselves and did not dare draw breath.
The cranes, stage equipment workers, branch haulers, and accompanying officials nearby all held their breath and watched those hands.
A frenzy of heartbeats arose. Excitement and tension were written across every face.
A performance involving more than a thousand people was something only a superlative conducting genius could accomplish. Whether Le Xiaotian was truly capable of it was still unknown, but this moment was crucial—more important even than all the preparation that had come before.
Three seconds later, Le Xiaotian moved his right hand.
At once, the sixteen pianists seated side by side struck their keys together. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, and the thirty-two speakers surrounding them burst into beautiful melody.
With a nod, Le Xiaotian lightly raised his right hand and guided the progress of the music.
Amid the graceful melody, the moment Le Xiaotian’s gaze fell upon them, the three hundred and eighty drummers brought their sticks down with thunderous force.
Bang! Bang! Bang-bang-bang!
The powerful drums, threaded through with electronic sound, opened the rhythm of victory with overwhelming grandeur.
Melody and rhythm merged. The tens of thousands gathered there were drawn into the atmosphere being created. After all, over the past several days, they had listened to Victory three hundred times at least, if not five hundred.
Once the first violin section entered with the melody, the piece settled into its proper course, becoming even more beautiful.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Le Xiaotian clenched his right fist. The entire performance came to an abrupt halt, as violently as a throat being cut.
At that instant, the hearts of ten thousand people leaped. What had happened?
Le Xiaotian turned slightly until he faced the first violin section. His gaze looked down upon the group. His left index finger moved along the score before finally stopping. He smiled and said, “Third measure. Again.”
The other sections fell silent, and the first violin section began to play.
Wooooo!
The 168 first violinists launched into spiccato bowing. The sight of so many beautiful women drawing their bows was breathtaking.
But with another sharp motion, Le Xiaotian clenched his right hand.
He stepped down from the podium and moved forward until he stood directly before the first violin section.
“Heh. One of the ladies here has a very graceful movement, but it’s obviously out of step with the other musicians. Who was it? Step forward.”
After making the same mistake several times, the 168 violinists grew extremely nervous. Thousands of people nearby were watching them.
Under that pressure, no one moved. Le Xiaotian smiled.
“Looks like she’s still a little shy. Victory, third measure.”
As his right hand swept through the air, the 168 violinists began playing again, their postures elegant and their movements flawless.
Whoosh!
Le Xiaotian clenched his fist hard, giving the signal to stop.
After a brief pause, he walked toward the third row of the first violin section and stopped at the fifth position.
Standing directly before Deputy Officer Li in seat 127, he smiled and said, “Look at me.”
But Deputy Officer Li had her head bowed, her chin almost resting against her chest. She was so tense that both her legs were trembling.
One person’s mistake had forced more than a thousand people to stop. The loss of time and the cost were enormous. Under the gaze of ten thousand people, she was unbearably tense. Her face flushed, her skin drawn tight, Deputy Officer Li slowly raised her tear-filled eyes.
When she finally managed to lift her head, her heart shuddered. Even the formidable composure forged through brutal training could not withstand looking into Le Xiaotian’s eyes from such close range. She felt as though she were about to collapse, an ocean of pressure pouring down upon her.
Staring into her eyes, Le Xiaotian asked, “Do you know where you went wrong?”
Her voice trembled. After choking back a few sobs, Deputy Officer Li replied, “I—I know.”
At last, Le Xiaotian’s expression turned savage, and he roared, “If you know, then play! Do you think this is a lecture?!”
His deafening shout brought the heartbeats of more than a thousand people to a standstill. The force of his voice even stirred the fine hair across Deputy Officer Li’s forehead.
A tear slipped down her cheek. Holding the violin in her left hand and securing it beneath her chin, she shakily placed the bow against the strings with her right.
After taking a deep breath, she began to play.
Le Xiaotian asked, “Where did you go wrong?”
Deputy Officer Li choked out, “It—it wasn’t smooth.”
Le Xiaotian hummed the melody. “Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm.”
Deputy Officer Li continued playing.
“Why wasn’t it smooth?”
“My right arm was moving too widely.”
“Too wide or too narrow?”
“Too—too narrow.”
“Too wide or too narrow?”
“Too—too wide.”
Again and again she played. Again and again he roared. Again and again she answered in a trembling voice. The atmosphere was so oppressive that it seemed impossible to breathe.
After ten minutes, Le Xiaotian looked at Deputy Officer Li’s aggrieved face and asked, “Are you angry?”
After a choked sob, she replied in a trembling voice, “I wouldn’t dare.”
His gaze suddenly sharpened. Le Xiaotian leaned his face toward hers and, towering over her from a distance of mere inches, asked, “Are you saying that you don’t care about this musical performance, which concerns the lives and safety of forty million people in the North Sea and two billion people in Fama?”
Panic seized her. She could no longer hold on to the violin, and it fell to the ground.
Daring not to bend down and pick it up, Deputy Officer Li looked at him through tear-filled eyes.
“Conductor, I—I care.”
Le Xiaotian asked, “Then are you angry?”
Deputy Officer Li clenched her small fists.
“I—I’m angry.”
Le Xiaotian roared, “Louder!”
Her voice broke with tears.
“I’m angry!”
Le Xiaotian leaned toward her right ear and roared even louder, “Louder!”
She raised her head slightly and burst out, “I’m very angry!”
All the strength in her body became one furious cry. Le Xiaotian’s face twisted viciously.
“Louder!”
All her grievances erupted. Deputy Officer Li threw back her head and cried out, “I’m angry! I’m angry! I’m angry!!!” Then she broke into sobs.
When the roar was over, she could no longer bear the shame. Covering her face with both hands, she crouched on the ground and sobbed uncontrollably.
Le Xiaotian turned and walked step by step back toward the command platform.
Once he was standing in place, he swept his gaze across the entire field. His voice was exceedingly low.
“You useless fools. If any of you dares ruin this battle performance, I’ll shoot you on the spot. And after death, you’ll be branded a traitor.”
He glanced at the score and raised his right hand.
“Victory, normal tempo.”
The sixteen pianists, all of them drenched in cold sweat, began to play once more.
The first day’s rehearsal ended in the afternoon.
Afterward, Le Xiaotian took Chen Fang with him for gliding, open-sea swimming, climbing, fighter-jet flight training, and practice in high-difficulty maneuvers.
That evening, he roared inside the conductors’ group chat while making preparations, piece by piece, for another musical performance—Immortal.