From American Internet Celebrity to God Among Men

143: Chapter 143 Boundary TestingThe song selection for the third episode of ”Spirit of the Wasteland” was finally confirmed as ”Bohemian Rhapsody.” This proposal sparked intense discussion at the core planning meeting of ”phantom singer.”

”This is too risky!” the music coordinator was the first to object. ”The structural complexity of this song is practically cult-like, ranging from ballad to opera to hard rock. It’s an extreme challenge for any singer. ’Spirit of the Wasteland’ has a unique timbre, but to master such a multi-layered, high-dramatic-tension work... if they fail, the myth will be shattered.”

”It’s precisely because it’s an extreme challenge that we can see the real deal,” Alex Su countered calmly. ”We need to know if what’s under that ’Wasteland’ filter is pure natural intuition or a precision technique refined through a thousand trials that can adapt to any complex system. This song is the best touchstone.”

Taylor supported Alex: ”I can take responsibility for the rearrangement, simplifying some of the harmonic complexity while keeping the skeleton of its emotional progression and stylistic leaps. The point isn’t a perfect replica of the original, but to see how he/she interprets and crosses these boundaries in their own way.”

The final plan was set: provide a simplified arrangement but give ”Spirit of the Wasteland” the maximum room for creative freedom, even allowing them to adjust the order of segments or add ethnic elements according to their own understanding. This was a test, and also a gift—giving him/her a stage to show ”what else I can be besides the Wasteland.”

Security measures were raised to the highest level. Aside from Alex, Taylor, and the necessary audio engineers, no one knew the specific song choice. Even ”Spirit of the Wasteland” themselves only received the encrypted audio file with a time-lock via an absolutely secure single-line channel 48 hours before recording.

On the night of the recording, the atmosphere was different than usual. While other contestants were nervously preparing backstage, they all vaguely felt an invisible pressure, like the calm before a storm. The guessing panel was also hinted that tonight’s ”main event” required their utmost attention.

”Spirit of the Wasteland” took the stage. The mask was still that rugged, wood-and-stone texture work with a primitive totem style, but tonight under the lights, it seemed to have an added touch of quiet and sorrowful charm.

The intro began. Rearranged with added sound effects similar to wind chimes and empty echoes, it weakened the pop feel of the piano, adding more mystery and narrative quality.

Then, the singing began.

In the first ballad section, his/her voice was no longer just desolate; it was infused with a gentle vibrato of repentance and reminiscence, conveying the tragic core of ”Mama, just killed a man” through a pure emotion that transcended linguistic and cultural barriers. On the judging panel, a female singer known for her sensitivity instantly welled up with tears.

Immediately after, the opera section arrived. Without using bel canto, his/her voice suddenly soared, turning into an extremely clear, highly piercing head resonance, supplemented by fast and precise phrasing—like the chanting of some ancient language. It transformed the original’s flamboyant eeriness into a ritualistic monologue full of fatalistic tension. The entire studio was pin-drop silent; everyone’s breath was caught by this unprecedented performance style.

When the final hard rock section exploded, he/she didn’t scream. Instead, the voice was pressed tighter and deeper, like lava surging underground, full of a sense of suppressed yet resolute power. The entire performance ended on a long, fading, sigh-like breath.

Silence.

After five seconds of absolute silence, applause and gasps erupted like a dam breaking. Almost the entire guessing panel stood up, their faces filled with shock and disbelief. This wasn’t just singing; it was a complete and unique artistic reconstruction.

In the backstage monitoring room, Alex Su stared intently at the screen, Information Reception Filtering operating at full capacity. Simultaneously, the risk intuition brought by his newly enhanced Legal Boundary Insight kept him on alert. He captured more than just a perfect performance; there were other details: at a certain moment during the highest note transition in the opera section, a extremely brief, high-frequency resonance-like subtle noise—almost indistinguishable from the music itself—came through the monitor headphones. At the same time, Rex’s passive monitoring equipment recorded almost negligible abnormal fluctuations in the environmental electromagnetic readings in a specific area of the stage at that exact moment, which then returned to normal.

It didn’t exceed the scope of an ”excellent singer,” but those ”almost imperceptible” anomalies were magnified in Alex’s perception. They faintly matched that non-human sense of precision and purity in the voice of ”Spirit of the Wasteland.”

The performance was an unprecedented success. As soon as the recording ended, ”#Spirit of the Wasteland Bohemian Rhapsody#” swept the trending searches with explosive speed, with evaluations overwhelmingly declaring it divine. Amidst the public carnival, Alex remained even calmer. The test had results: this mysterious singer not only possessed top-tier artistic understanding and expression but their vocal control ability might be... close to a kind of ”non-human” precision. Was this the pinnacle of talent, or something else?

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A few days later, news came from Mr. Chen. He had used his influence to temporarily delay the drafting process of that potential ”Industry Self-Discipline Convention” and successfully brought several senior figures who favored protecting core originality into the discussion group. In return, Alex had Marcus start preliminary contact with Mr. Chen’s team regarding a Series B financing round for ”Flashpoint,” and agreed in principle to prioritize cooperation on suitable large-scale projects in the future.

The invisible industry barriers were temporarily reinforced through the interweaving of favors and interests.

Meanwhile, the EP cooperation plan between Universal Music’s ”Echo Manufacturing” label and ”phantom singer” officially launched. Based on Alex’s insistence, the first three selected contestants (excluding ”Spirit of the Wasteland,” whose future remained a mystery) all happily signed letters of intent based on a ”Long-term Revenue Sharing” framework. Seeing the clear and transparent profit-sharing model and the platform promotion resources promised by ”Echo Vision,” many of their doubts were dispelled. This was an important benchmark, demonstrating the possibilities of cooperation under the new rules to the industry.

The system interface quietly updated while Alex was handling these matters:

• Cumulative Historical popularity: 124,100,000 points

• Available popularity: 40,530,030 points

• New Notification: Successfully spearheaded a high-difficulty artistic test, further revealing some characteristics of a key variable (Spirit of the Wasteland). Successfully neutralized potential industry regulatory risks, consolidating business model barriers. Reward: Slight increase in the identification sensitivity of Information Reception Filtering (Passive) toward ”non-natural/abnormal acoustic frequencies.” New exchange item unlocked (Greyed out): Energy Perception (Primary)—Allows vague perception of weak energy fields of living beings or special objects. Exchange requirement: 50,000,000 popularity points, and a trigger condition of ”close contact with a high-density energy entity.”

The appearance of the new ability Energy Perception, along with its trigger condition, undoubtedly pointed toward ”Spirit of the Wasteland.” The system seemed to be guiding him to delve deeper into that mysterious existence. An exchange price of 50,000,000 points was astronomical, but that ”trigger condition” was even more worth pondering.

Alex was in no hurry to exchange it, nor did he use his already considerable available points. He viewed them as a strategic reserve. For now, he had more realistic problems to deal with.

The issue of the management contract (or rather, some form of cooperation agreement) for ”Spirit of the Wasteland” was officially put on the agenda. It was impossible to let such a phenomenal singer remain outside the system forever. But how does one sign a contract with an unidentified entity who might harbor secrets?

”Perhaps we don’t need to know who he is.” At another internal meeting, Taylor proposed a bold idea. ”We can sign a special agreement based entirely on the artistic image and vocal copyrights of ’Spirit of the Wasteland.’ We’ll agree on the ownership of all commercial development rights for that vocal image during the cooperation period, as well as the profit sharing. As for the person under the mask, as long as he/she guarantees the exclusivity and continuity of ’Spirit of the Wasteland’ and follows basic codes of conduct, we can choose not to investigate their true identity. This is more like a partnership with an ’artistic persona.’”

This was a way of thinking that stepped outside the box. Separating the ”person” from the ”character” and only signing the ”character.”

”Is it legally feasible?” Alex looked at Lauren.

”It’s challenging, but not impossible,” Lauren thought quickly. ”It could be designed as a special ’Character Licensing and Development Agreement,’ defining ’Spirit of the Wasteland’ as a specific artistic image performed by an unknown performer that has already formed independent commercial goodwill. We would need to very strictly define the boundaries of rights, confidentiality obligations, and liability for breach of contract—especially the resolution plan if the ’performer’ for any reason is unable or unwilling to continue playing ’Spirit of the Wasteland.’ This might lack precedent in domestic judicial practice and carries a certain level of risk.”

”Risk and reward coexist,” Alex finally made the decision. ”Lauren, draft a framework first. Then, we need to have a top-level secret dialogue with ’them.’ The location and method will be decided by the other party; only two of us will go, Taylor and I. It’s time to talk about the future with this ’Spirit of the Wasteland.’”

He decided to take the initiative. He needed to hold the upper hand while also giving the other party enough respect and mysterious space. This was a negotiation with a shadow, with the show’s biggest ace as the stake, and perhaps something even more profound.

After testing the boundaries, the next step was to try and establish rules. Alex stood at the peak of the entertainment kingdom he had built, casting his gaze toward that most dense and mysterious ”Wasteland,” preparing to step in personally to meet the ”Spirit” hidden behind the mask—one that might not be of the mundane world.