Superstars of Tomorrow

In the eyes of the masses, ancient instruments were a so-called high-end art and were not easily understood. Normally, it was something that could not be used except by professionals.

Among ancient-instrument performers, these three speed-strumming maestros were not the most accomplished, but they were the most well-known.

Why?

Because the masses loved seeing these great masters show off!

This time, all three globally renowned speed-strumming maestros had appeared, and this made Fang Zhao especially conspicuous.

"Who is that young fellow? A new talent in the industry?""

"No idea. Don’t tell me these great masters are using music to communicate?"

"Unless... this is the rumored "God’s domain"? No wonder us normal humans can’t understand it."

"Anyone able to decipher the audio?"

"Does ’God’s domain’ mean ’nutcase’s domain’ by any chance?" someone joked.

"The so-called ’God’s domain’ is the stuff used by the gods at the apexes of their own circles. For example, the world’s three speed-strumming maestros making use of audio to communicate: only those of the same grade would be able to understand."

"That Fang Zhao person, does it mean he is on a similar level to those three?"

"This... doesn’t count, in my opinion; Fang Zhao has only coincidentally touched ’God’s domain’."

People outside of Yanzhou all followed Jiminy and Li Kasi’s new statuses and traced it to Fang Zhao’s profile on the social platform.

Jiminy and Li Kasi’s fans were mostly non-academic and did not follow the trends, so when Xue Jing had brought Fang Zhao along for his global lecture tour, few among these people had taken notice, but now, with the appearance of the three speed-strumming maestros, Fang Zhao’s new image was especially eye-catching.

There was no need to bother about what people on other continents were thinking. Over at Yanzhou, reporters from every single big news firms were cracking their heads trying to think about what to write. Regarding music, they would only listen, and if it was pleasing, it would be downloaded. If it wasn’t, it was chucked aside, and everything was based on their own preferences. These reporters would not analyze a song or try to decipher the meaning in a tune, but now, they felt as if they were facing a trick question in their career.

What were they supposed to write if they could not understand it at all?

Reporters of smaller news firms did not have many worries. Whether or not they interpreted it correctly did not concern them. What they cared about was how to write in such a way that would attract the most viewers and to get the masses to discuss it passionately.

At this time, all the news firms were racking their heads trying to plot out the contents of news to be published.

At least the bigger news firms still published proper news, and the contents were somewhat conservative, using the matter with the three speed-strumming maestros to praise Fang Zhao and making guesses about whether Fang Zhao had any blood relation with Natiwuzi.

The smaller news firms were totally different, fabricating news as if they had seen it for themselves. Some mentioned that Fang Zhao and Natiwuzi were father and son, while others said they were grandfather and grandson. Of course, there were a number that concluded the two were up to some shady business in private.

Whatever the case, Fang Zhao smashing up Natiwuzi’s territory, getting out in one piece, and even receiving a guitar would have made anyone believe they had some sort of relationship.

However, very quickly, Space released a statement saying that there were customers creating trouble in the wee hours of the morning and disrupting the business of the nightclub. Fang Zhao had acted heroically to help maintain the peace and was a junior that boss Natiwuzi thought highly of.

"So that means the few who were beaten up deserved it?"

"It has already been reported to the police. Seems true."

"True or false, no one knows."

"I don’t care who was right or wrong. What I want to know is whether Fang Zhao is Natiwuzi’s long lost grandson?"

Certain small news firms were quick to change their tune. Their criticism of Fang Zhao’s ruthless temperament turned into praise for his heroic actions.

Some people sneered at them receiving a slap in the face, but these small tabloids paid no head. They just had to continue fabricating when it came to grabbing people’s attention.

What? A smack in the face after the whole affair?

So be it. Who cares whether it’s praise or criticism? As long there is traffic and it’s popular, if a smack on the left side of the face is not enough, the right side can be presented on a plate for everyone to bash!

Traffic and popularity were the fundamental needs of these small tabloids. When it came to the truth and morality, how important were they?

This was the approach many small media outlets took and was one of the reasons Silver Wing staff found them extremely troublesome. A lawsuit? These people were all experienced hands. Whether big or small, when it came to public opinion, these small media outlets never took the frontline, nor were they cannon fodder. They would just follow behind the biggest company’s *sses and pick up the scraps. There were not entirely able to dodge all lawsuits, but more than half the time, they would be unscathed.

Over at Wayne’s side, he had enlisted the help of people from public relations to handle this matter and take advantage of it to give Fang Zhao a boost in popularity and presence in the media. In this sort of superficial society, those who were not outstanding in the looks department had to reveal their faces more often to ensure people remembered them.

As for the main character in this whole affair, Fang Zhao returned home and had a good sleep. After waking up, he first took a look at the progress of the various projects in the department. Following that, he left Wang Tie a message then went into lockdown mode.

He had found some inspiration at Space. Although it was not considered enough to complete a piece instantly, he could first throw all this inspiration into a composition and follow up by modifying it later.

In the afternoon, Fang Zhao received a text message from Natiwuzi inviting him over for a chat. Natiwuzi would share the developments of his investigation into the matter as well as play a little music.

"Remember to bring along the guitar," Natiwuzi had stressed twice.

This time, Zuo Yu had not logged into the game. As Fang Zhao’s bodyguard, Fang Zhao was his main priority.

On the way to Space, Zuo Yu could not help but ask, "Boss, did you really come across ’God’s domain’?"

Fang Zhao was even more skeptical than Zuo Yu. "’God’s domain’? What is that?"

"Don’t you know? It’s the summit that gods in certain circles can reach, where they can see or hear things that others have no way of understanding. Didn’t that occur to you with Natiwuzi’s status? The other two speed-strumming maestros also followed after you and replied with an ancient guitar tune. Everyone says that you all were using ’God’s domain’ techniques to communicate, and people online are saying you have chanced upon ’God’s domain’." Nobody else was in the car, and Zuo Yu really wanted to know. "Boss, are you really able to communicate using music?"

Fang Zhao shook his head. "Actually, that is a form of communication using conscious thinking. Through music, one can understand the other party’s emotions, but they will not be as detailed as written or spoken communication. It is actually a sort of perception ability when it comes to music and has nothing to do with gods or whatnot. Some people acquire this ability after time, while others are born with that innate talent. These people might not have any musical knowledge or stepped into any circles, but when they listen to a piece of music, they are able to accurately feel the performer’s emotions. Therefore, ’God’s domain’ is actually not appropriate at all."

"Huh, it really isn’t incredible? Discussions online even said that a certain music academy did an early release of test questions to let students analyze the communications in those four audio clips from ’God’s domain.’ Some of those students are going to cry soon."

"Is there?" Fang Zhao pondered for a beat and laughed. "The teachers setting the exams should be clear on the situation. They are probably just teasing the students."

Zuo Yu also felt a little sympathetic towards them. "Those students are so pitiful."

What were those teachers thinking? After all, it was an open book examination. They could use the current matter the public was discussing and give the students an examination that would leave a deep impression.

Zuo Yu drove the car through the same underground driveway back into Space. Inside the interior carpark, the security chief was waiting.

"Welcome Mr. Fang, the boss is upstairs. I’m here to escort you." The chief was rather polite on the way up. "My name is Qu Wei. Qu as in a tune, Wei as in proud. You can call me Little Wei. I’m the current security chief of the nightclub, and this is my contact number. If you encounter any problems in the future, feel free to contact me. I will personally help you settle it!"

Zuo Yu, who was following beside Fang Zhao, raised an eyebrow. How their attitudes have changed once again after one day! Even "Little Wei"? He is obviously around 20 years older than Fang Zhao and he has the cheek to be called that! What a character!

Qu Wei led Fang Zhao to a larger room on the top floor. This room was used by Natiwuzi for receiving friends.

After Fang Zhao entered, Qu Wei did not leave but stood waiting outside. Zuo Yu also did not enter but found a seat at a nearby coffee table as he took note of the surroundings.

"Hey, brother, a quick question." Qu Wei walked over without the same politeness he’d showed Fang Zhao, but he was still rather cordial. He poured a cup of tea for Zuo Yu before helping himself to one. Qu Wei curiously asked, "Has your boss trained before? Maybe in the military, or he took up classes? There is basically no second hit in his fighting style. Among the six, only one of them took two blows, while the other five were all knocked out in one move."

A number of things had come to light after this round of internal investigations. Someone had accepted a bribe and created a loophole for the perpetrators to go through, but they had not expected it to blow up such that even the boss would get involved.

To investigate the six people, Qu Wei had watched the surveillance footage over 10 times. Especially the portion where Fang Zhao hit the other guys, Qu Wei had watched it at least 30 times.

"Actually, when I was watching the video, there was something I just did not understand." Qu Wei activated the playback of that portion of the video for Zuo Yu.

Zuo Yu was Fang Zhao’s trusted bodyguard, and since Qu Wei was investigating this matter, showing the video to Fang Zhao’s attendant was the same. He had already obtained approval from his boss.

"Look at this part, and here too. Doesn’t it seem as if he pauses for a brief moment and... How do I say it, I just feel that when he is fighting, he is so nimble, yet he seems a little out of sorts. This situation starts when the third person jumps in. Did your boss discover anything at that time?"

Qu Wei had originally wanted to ask Fang Zhao straight, but the boss wanted to strum a few tunes. The matter was not that urgent and Qu Wei could ask after they were done, but now that he was with Fang Zhao’s bodyguard, he could just ask randomly.

Zuo Yu watched the video curiously. Due to the actions of Space’s staff, not a single clear video of Fang Zhao fighting in the dance hall had been uploaded online. Those videos online were quite blurry and shook violently. Proper videos had been confiscated not just because of Fang Zhao but because of Space’s image as well.

Therefore, this was the first time Zuo Yu had seen a clear video of Fang Zhao fighting off those people from all angles. He also noticed Fang Zhao pausing momentarily at the parts Qu Wei had pointed out. Although brief, these out-of-sorts feeling could only be seen by experienced and attentive persons. Qu Wei was not the security chief for nothing.

"You realize it too, right? I was very curious; did Mr. Fang notice any suspicious persons or things?" Qu Wei asked.

Zuo Yu paused, took a deep breath, and exhaled while remaining silent for a few seconds. He then said, "According to my experience, and given my understanding of him..."

"Mmhm, what?" Qu Wei leaned closer, wanting to listen to every single word of Zuo Yu’s.

"It might be totally different from what you are imagining," Zuo Yu replied.

"Go on."

"His mind might have been wandering."

"?" Qu Wei thought he had just heard a joke, but when he saw Zuo Yu’s manner, it did not seem like a bluff.

His mind was wandering?

Letting his mind wander while fighting? And he could actually win?

Plain disbelief was all over Qu Wei’s face. If it was true, he had no way of expressing how shocked he really was.

Noticing Qu Wei all wide-eyed as though he had seen a freak, Zuo Yu patted him on the shoulder and, in the manner of an experienced person, told him, "Don’t make a fuss over nothing. The boss might have come to realize the stuff in ’God’s domain’."

Seeing Qu Wei still staring blankly, Zuo Yu explained, "In layman terms, it means that he found some inspiration for composing during the fight."

Qu Wei: "..." Thinking about composing in a fight?!

Zuo Yu smiled knowingly. "My boss is actually a really gifted artist. Mmhm, you should probably understand."

Qu Wei thought about his boss Natiwuzi’s everyday eccentricities, as well as his habit of disregarding everything in his surroundings and picking up a guitar. Suddenly seeing the light, he exclaimed, "I understand!"