The final note faded.
For a heartbeat—
the entire venue fell silent.
Then—
BOOM!
The audience erupted.
Cheers echoed through the underground hall like thunder.
People stood from their seats.
Some screamed.
Others applauded until their hands turned red.
Many simply stared at the stage, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.
Three artists.
Three completely different genres.
One unforgettable night.
Backstage.
No one spoke.
The sound of the audience reached them even through the thick walls.
Yueyin slowly lowered her microphone.
"...They're still cheering."
Yara laughed.
"I told you."
"They'd love it."
Wanqing quietly removed her in-ear monitors.
Her breathing remained steady.
But her heartbeat...
was faster than usual.
Li Chen looked at the monitor showing the live audience.
No one was leaving.
Even after the performances had ended.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then—
The system appeared.
[Mission Completed]
The Third Star
Status: Complete
Rewards Granted
✔ Advanced Production Techniques
✔ Skill Acquired:
Vocal Enhancement Arrangement (Advanced)
Bonus Reward
Because all three artists successfully performed on the same stage—
Team Synergy +10%
Li Chen smiled inwardly.
The reward...
was better than expected.
"Li Chen!"
Xiaoyu suddenly shouted.
He turned.
She was staring at her laptop.
"...Look at this."
He walked over.
The statistics refreshed in real time.
Nebula Project Live
Peak Viewers:
7,820,431
Yara whistled.
"Damn..."
Yueyin covered her mouth.
"Almost eight million..."
Wanqing quietly looked at the screen.
"...That's a lot."
Xiaoyu laughed helplessly.
"A lot?"
"We nearly broke the platform's music livestream record."
Even Li Chen looked surprised.
He had expected success.
Not this much.
Then another notification appeared.
Trending Rankings
#1 Nebula Project
#2 Mu Wanqing
#3 Su Yara
#5 Lin Yueyin
#7 Ghost Producer
Yara blinked.
"...Wait."
She pointed at the screen.
"We're occupying almost the entire Top 10."
Xiaoyu nodded.
"And it's still climbing."
Before anyone could celebrate—
Li Chen's phone vibrated.
Unknown Number.
Again.
The room became quiet.
Yara folded her arms.
"...Round two?"
Li Chen answered.
"Hello."
A familiar voice spoke.
"...Congratulations."
Zhou Kang.
His tone was calm.
Almost polite.
Li Chen replied evenly.
"Thank you."
"You surprised me."
"I get that a lot."
A brief silence.
Then Zhou Kang chuckled.
"You turned my attack into your advertisement."
"I did."
"I underestimated you."
"You did."
Neither man raised his voice.
Yet everyone in the room could feel it.
This wasn't a conversation.
It was a duel.
Zhou Kang spoke again.
"Enjoy tonight."
Li Chen remained silent.
"Because tomorrow..."
"...the real game begins."
Click.
The line went dead.
Yueyin frowned.
"...What does he mean?"
Li Chen put away his phone.
"It means he's done testing us."
Yara grinned.
"Good."
"I was getting bored."
Xiaoyu looked at her.
"Please stop saying things like that."
At that moment—
someone knocked on the dressing room door.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Everyone exchanged glances.
Li Chen opened it.
Outside stood a middle-aged man in a black suit.
Behind him...
three more people.
All professionally dressed.
The man bowed politely.
"Mr. Li."
"My name is Zhao Ming."
"I'm a representative from StarWave Media."
He handed over a business card.
"I'd like to discuss a partnership."
Before Li Chen could answer—
another voice interrupted.
"Please wait your turn."
Everyone turned.
A woman in a gray business suit walked over confidently.
She smiled politely.
"Xu Entertainment."
"We'd also like to make an offer."
"...Seriously?"
Yara muttered.
Then—
a third voice.
"And so would we."
Another executive.
Then another.
Within two minutes—
the hallway outside the dressing room was completely filled.
Agency representatives.
Music labels.
Advertising companies.
Streaming platforms.
Everyone wanted to speak with Li Chen.
Xiaoyu stared blankly.
"...They're lining up."
Yueyin whispered.
"This morning..."
"...they wanted nothing to do with us."
Wanqing quietly observed the scene.
"The industry changes quickly."
Li Chen corrected her.
"No."
"They change when money changes."
Everyone fell silent.
He wasn't wrong.
Across the city.
Inside Golden Vision Media.
The atmosphere couldn't have been more different.
No one spoke.
Several executives sat around a long conference table.
Large screens displayed the night's statistics.
Every graph pointed upward.
Toward one name.
Li Chen.
Toward one project.
Nebula Project.
An older executive finally broke the silence.
"...We failed."
Another executive nodded.
"Our suppression campaign backfired."
Someone else added,
"We made them famous."
Silence returned.
At the head of the table—
Zhou Kang calmly closed the report.
No anger.
No frustration.
Just thought.
"They're growing faster than expected."
An executive asked carefully,
"What are your orders?"
Zhou Kang looked out the window.
The city lights reflected in the glass.
Then—
he smiled.
Coldly.
"If public opinion can't stop him..."
He paused.
"...then we'll attack his foundation."
The room became tense.
One executive frowned.
"You mean..."
"The company."
Zhou Kang nodded once.
"Every artist belongs somewhere."
"Every manager answers to someone."
He turned around.
"And Li Chen..."
"...still doesn't own anything."
For the first time—
everyone understood.
Zhou Kang had never planned to attack the artists.
His real target...
had always been Li Chen himself.
Meanwhile—
Back at the venue—
Li Chen stood alone on the empty stage.
The audience had finally gone home.
The lights were already being turned off.
He looked around quietly.
Only a few hours ago—
this place had been filled with thousands of voices.
Now...
it was silent.
Behind him, footsteps approached.
It was Xiaoyu.
She handed him a bottle of water.
"Tired?"
Li Chen smiled faintly.
"A little."
She looked at the empty seats.
"We really did it..."
He nodded.
"Yes."
After a moment, Xiaoyu asked softly,
"What are you thinking about?"
Li Chen looked toward the stage lights.
His expression slowly became serious.
"I'm thinking..."
He paused.
"...that Zhou Kang is right."
Xiaoyu looked at him in confusion.
"What?"
Li Chen exhaled slowly.
"As long as I'm working under someone else's company..."
"...my artists will never truly be safe."
The wind blew through the empty venue.
The stage lights flickered one last time.
And somewhere—
deep inside Li Chen's mind—
a seed had been planted.
Not of revenge.
Not of ambition.
But of independence.
A future that, until now...
had seemed impossible.
End of Chapter 30