The song "Carving the Boat" ended, and the atmosphere on site was in a state of subtle excitement.
According to normal performance logic, next they should pursue the victory, performing another original work of a similar style to consolidate the band's "unfathomable" artistic image.
However, what was awkward was, they were out of stock.
Lin Feng looked at the profusely sweating Ren Yichen, his eyes signaling: What to do for the next one?
Ren Yichen had obviously panicked too. Those posturing lines originally prepared in his mind were all forgotten; in his urgency, he turned back to look at his brothers, and through gnashed teeth, reported a name that all underground music fans were familiar with, and even felt was rotten on the street:
"Nothing to My Name."
Lin Feng almost let his hand slip.
After engaging in avant-garde experimental music, immediately coming with an 80s rock golden song? This was as ridiculous as finishing molecular cuisine at a Michelin restaurant, and the chef suddenly serving a bowl of Kang Shifu Braised Beef Noodles.
But the arrow was on the bowstring and had to be shot. Lin Feng sighed, and his fingers pressed down on that classic chord.
When practicing the guitar as a beginner, he had played this song not less than a few thousand times; now with the Guitar Dao (Mortal Stage), he could play every syncopation without a millimeter of error even with his eyes closed. Since it was a cover, there was no need to pretend to be some master, just being a "no emotion" accompaniment machine would do.
As that iconic melody rang out, the audience offstage did not hiss as Lin Feng expected, but instead fell into a deeper level of brain-supplementing.
Old K sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, his eyes fanatical: "Understood! I understand! This is the ultimate of deconstructionism!"
Beside him, Chen Mo also nodded continuously: "First use 'Carving the Boat' to break convention, then use 'Nothing to My Name' to return to the primitive. They are using this classic old song to satirize the current music circle's fickleness! They are telling us, even in this era of 'entertainment until death', we still 'have nothing'! This kind of drop in song selection is itself a kind of performance art!"
If Lin Feng could hear their heart's voice, he would probably eat the guitar on the spot.
At the same time, the mysterious sunglasses woman in the corner sat up straight.
If one said that the song "Carving the Boat" just now made her unable to accurately judge the guitarist's level because the arrangement was too weird, then this "Nothing to My Name" was the best touchstone.
The more simple and classic the song, the more it could expose a musician's basic skills.
Her gaze was deadly locked on Lin Feng's hands.
Those hands were too steady.
Regardless of the force control of the strumming, or the speed of the left hand crossing the strings, it was precise to a hair-raising degree. There were no superfluous small movements, no dragging mud and water noise. Every note looked like it had been measured by vernier calipers—cold, precise, and even carrying a suffocating mechanical beauty.
"Absolute technical flow..." The woman's pupils behind the sunglasses slightly contracted, "This cold technique, this emotionless yet unpickable performance... even those top recording studio musicians in the circle are just like this, right?"
This was simply a guitar playing machine draped in human skin.
Look again at that lead singer.
Ren Yichen was tearing at that broken gong throat and shouting: "I once asked endlessly — when will you go with me —"
The corner of the woman's mouth twitched a bit.
It was still disaster-level singing. All relying on roaring, no technique, pitch frantically testing on the edge of a cliff.
"The drummer is S rank, the guitarist is A rank, the bassist is B rank... but this lead singer is simply F rank negative score get out." The woman's heart was filled with regret, "With such a good musician foundation, how did they get stuck with such a lead singer?"
Although her inner heart was roasting, her body honestly finished listening to the whole song. It had to be said, under the support of that pervertedly precise guitar and drum beats, even Ren Yichen's ugly roaring seemed to become not so hard to endure, instead having a kind of gritty reality.
The last note fell.
There were no imagined brooms and rotten vegetable leaves; enthusiastic applause and whistles sounded offstage.
Lin Feng let out a sigh of relief, only feeling that the cold sweat on his back was almost dry.
Ren Yichen stood before the microphone, looking at the enthusiastic audience offstage, and subconsciously wanted to bow and say "Thank you everyone."
But just as he bent his waist, he suddenly remembered Lin Feng's previous teaching— "High and cold, must be high and cold! Absolutely cannot be a licking dog!"
So, he forcefully swallowed back that sentence "Thank you," and the waist bent halfway was forcefully straightened, causing his whole person to look like he twitched from a cramp.
To cover the awkwardness, he faced the microphone and used his last strength to roar out that incomprehensible team name:
"Ren Yichen Band (Tentative)!!!"
After roaring, he didn't turn his head, and with a determined back view of "Your daddy is going to save the world," he strode like a meteor down the stage.
Lin Feng, Lu Mingxuan, and Shen Linyin also quickly followed; that fleeing-like speed, in the audience's eyes, turned into the chicness of "Brushing off clothes after the matter is done, deeply hiding merit and name".
The boss lady "Gear Sister" was leaning against the door smoking. Seeing them come down, she spat out a smoke ring and revealed a satisfied smile.
"Okay ah, you have some things." She praised rarely, "Those few shouts just now, quite restless, your luck is not bad."
Lin Feng paralyzed on the chair, thinking where is this luck, this is simply crossing a tribulation.
Just at this moment, that long-lost, cold mechanical sound rang in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations Host! The second performance was a complete success.]
["Dao of Posturing" live combat drill rating: Perfect.]
[Special Welfare has been activated.]
[Host please receive.]
Lin Feng's spirit shook. It came! He endured social death on stage for so long, just for this!