The Daily Life Of A Cyberpunk Magician

Chapter 315 - 199 Magic: Thunder Son
Chapter 315: Chapter 199 Magic: Thunder Son”Thunder Son?” Sister Mei repeated the theme, then laughed, ”Are you planning on playing with electricity again this time?”

”Pretty much, the theater’s stage might not be enough.” Jiang Shu continued, ”When the time comes, the audience will need to be able to see the outdoor scenery, which requires proper arrangements from the theater.”

”I know that,” Sister Mei nodded, she reminded him, ”Leave the rest to me, and as for you... just be careful, electricity can be dangerous.”

”Understood, I am aware.” Jiang Shu replied.

Electricity, for those who understand it, is like an obedient child; for those who don’t, it is a monster to be kept at a distance, and for those pretending to understand, it is death without knowing how it happened.

Jiang Shu was somewhat afraid he would become one of those who feigned understanding, so he decided to seek advice tomorrow from Kirie, who had been absent for a long while.

However, most of the content for Thursday’s magic show would not require him to touch thunder and lightning; truth be told, he didn’t need to actually touch it, just needed to perform the attributes of disregarding and controlling lightning.

Magic was never about accomplishing the inconceivable, but about achieving the illusion of the inconceivable.

This was the essence of magic.

When it came to lightning-related magic, Jiang Shu immediately remembered the 72-hour million-volt electric shock magic performed by the great magician David Blaine in his previous life.

The effect was of the magician placed mid-air, being shocked by a million volts of electricity for 72 hours.

At that time, the principle David used was the Faraday Cage, which allowed him to be unharmed in the midst of electricity, but to be continuously shocked for 72 hours also required a resolve and endurance far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Simply put, this magic did not subject him to electric shock, but the real test was to stand on a 6-meter-high platform for three days and three nights without eating or sleeping, wearing nearly thirteen kilograms of metal armor.

If he fell or fainted, he would likely be killed by the surrounding electricity on the spot, and even such protective measures only theoretically guaranteed he would not be electrocuted.

Before David came down, no one knew what the final outcome would be.

Like a line from a movie, the highest realm of magic is self-sacrifice.

The time and effort spent on thousands and tens of thousands of practices, the brainpower consumed by ingenious ideas, and even the performances that gambled one’s life time and again, these were what magicians sacrificed.

Magicians sacrificed these things not merely for money or to please the audience, but because they wanted to prove that they could accomplish what ordinary people deemed impossible.

This was also the reason Jiang Shu fell in love with magic; it was definitely not as simple as just deceiving with sleight of hand or mouth.

The vehicle stopped by the Black Currant Theater. Jiang Shu got out, stretched, and handed a list to Lang Tai, which contained some materials he would need for his magic act in a few days.

He couldn’t produce the more sophisticated stuff alone, but some magic props with rather simple but special principles could still be cobbled together if he worked through the night.

Regardless, he had to run through these things himself before he could be at ease.

So, on this night, another piece of news ignited Lonely City’s network—that the magician Jiang Shu had returned.

The next performance was on November 29th, this Thursday.

On the poster, above the half-open dome of the Black Currant Theater, stood a silhouette bathed in tiny sparks of electricity, reaching out towards the densely clouded sky.

At the same time, a thick bolt of lightning split from the clouds, its tail directing straight to the silhouette’s fingertips.

Magic: Thunder Son, shattering darkness with thunder!

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The evening of November 29th, at the Black Currant Theater.

Audiences entered one after the other.

Sound, lighting, scene setup...

The bright lights in the hall went out, plunging it instantly into darkness.

A deep, oppressive sound of thunder seemed to come from afar, barely audible.

Everything was ready.

Backstage, Jiang Shu rubbed his hands and exhaled.

The difficulty of this magic act lay in the performance ability and the overall magic concept.

Many people could guess somewhat about the thunder-controlling performance effect, and this also threatened to break the aura of mystique, piece by piece.

Therefore, it was necessary to meticulously research and ponder the magic routine, to ensure the act ended amidst the audience’s disbelief and marveling, securing the loudest cheers and applause.

”Drip—”

The 7:30 alarm rang quietly backstage as Jiang Shu stood, straightened his attire, and then walked towards the stage.

In total darkness, he arrived silently.

At that time, the audience below were maintaining quiet, waiting for the performance to begin.

The whole theater was waiting for the show that Jiang Shu would bring them.

So, Jiang Shu slightly lifted the corners of his mouth, enjoying the feeling of being the center of attention on stage.

He clapped his hands together and then quickly pulled them apart, instantly producing a light ball flickering with electrical arcs between his palms.

The electric light ball spun steadily in Jiang Shu’s palm, slowly expanding to the size of his head.

During this time, the electric light ball also continuously emitted a ”sizzling” sound of electricity.

Blue and white electric light reflected on Jiang Shu’s face.

”Thunder Ball? That’s so cool!”

”Indeed, it’s awesome.”

”Lightning, huh? I wonder if I could give it a try.”

As the audience saw this scene, they immediately felt a tingling excitement.

The concentration of electricity in the palm—such a scene was indeed cool, and this kind of up-close observation brought more shock than special effects in movies.

”In the legends outside Lonely City, there is a place called Thunder Marsh, where resides the Thunder God, a dragon-bodied human-headed figure, whose belly drumming generates thunder,” Jiang Shu recited in an intoning ancient text.

He closed his hands, and the electric light ball vanished from his palm.

At the same time, dim lights lit up on stage, and before a pure black backdrop, Jiang Shu stood at the center, slowly saying, ”In this world, gods do not exist. The so-called divine beings are nothing more than humanity’s fear and reverence for some inexplicable natural phenomena. Like, for instance... lightning.”

”Although today, electricity has become one of the necessary resources in our daily life, we still haven’t managed to control lightning truly at will,” Jiang Shu continued, raising his hand again.

As he raised his hand, the hall lights went off again, plunging it back into darkness.

But in the darkness, a vast expanse of thunderstorm clouds suddenly rose up from within the theater, with lightning snaking through it like dragons, erupting occasionally with thunderous roars and dazzling white electrical flashes.