Chapter 148: Chapter 147: Zog: All According to Plan
Are Underground Discard famous?
That’s a good question. You couldn’t say they were famous, but you couldn’t say they were obscure, either. It was a bit of a paradox.
As the original artists behind the background music for "Sliding Up and Sliding Down" and the trailer for Mechanical Warrior, the reach of these two songs was undeniably wide.
The song used in Mechanical Warrior was from Xingtian—specifically, the original opening theme for the first season of Armor Warriors, which was just ridiculously out there.
Thanks to the popularity of Magic Shadow Dramas, far more people had heard these two songs than had seen Frozen.
It was just that most people had no idea Underground Discard was the band that performed them.
The songs were famous, but the band wasn’t.
Their albums were mainly popular among the youth, Dwarves, and Beastmen.
Their singing style was a bit too aggressive for most of the middle-aged and older crowd.
This situation probably wouldn’t change until Underground Discard’s listeners grew up and became the social mainstream.
So when they took the stage, aside from a few incredibly excited young people, the audience barely reacted.
"Who are these guys?" people wondered.
Seeing how calm the audience was, the members of Underground Discard felt a little nervous themselves.
The lead singer, Xiaode, gripped the Arpeggio Harp in his hands, hoping the instrument would lend him strength.
Although he had accumulated a wealth of performance experience, it was all in bars or small venues with a few hundred people. He had never sung in front of a crowd of thousands before.
Well, that one time he smashed his instrument in front of the Spider-Elf Queen didn’t count.
He had been in front of his own kind that time, which was far more familiar than a crowd of Humans. Besides, back then he’d had a ’might as well go for broke’ attitude.
He wouldn’t dare smash anything this time. He knew his boss, Zog, was in the audience. Zog had even given him an important task—just a moment ago, while they were waiting backstage, he’d been sent the sheet music for a song he was supposed to perform as the final number tonight.
To be honest, he really liked the song. The only problem was that they had only arranged it on the spot and rehearsed it a few times.
’If I mess this up, there will be no "good fruit" for me to eat.’
He learned this "good fruit" expression from a meme of Zog staring wide-eyed and pointing a claw forward.
He had never seen an expression that was so fierce, yet so stupid and comical all at once.
"Haha."
The thought of his boss’s meme made Xiaode suddenly laugh out loud. He felt much better, not so nervous anymore.
The bright stage lights made it impossible for him to see the audience clearly.
’Then I’ll just pretend there’s no one out there.’
He turned and signaled to the drummer. Time to proceed as planned. The show officially began.
"Do-Ti-Sol-Do-Ti—"
The intro to "Fire of Youth" rang out, and the audience immediately recognized it as the prelude to the theme song of Firepower Young King.
The previously quiet venue was instantly filled with a surging wave of sound from the crowd. From the very first line Xiaode sang, the entire audience joined in for a massive sing-along.
It was even more enthusiastic than the sing-along for "Let It Go" earlier.
This wasn’t just because the song was more widespread; the crucial factor was that it was easy to sing.
Most people couldn’t hit the high notes in "Let It Go," and trying to force it was pure torture for anyone listening nearby.
By the time the song ended, the crowd was completely fired up. They even started chanting Underground Discard’s name in unison.
This was the highest form of praise.
Previously, only drunk Dwarves had chanted their name, and after chanting, they would start singing. And if their singing wasn’t bad enough, it was also terribly off-key...
"Good evening, Winter City! I’m Xiaode, the lead singer of Underground Discard."
After introducing himself, Xiaode introduced the other members of the band one by one.
The biggest difference between a band and a solo artist is that a band doesn’t just belong to the lead singer. Every single member is important.
Even the bassist.
"This next song is an adaptation of a traditional Zor Elf composition..."
Underground Discard continued their performance, singing a traditional Elven song in the common tongue.
This was a rare sight, as Elven compositions were almost never translated.
Those proud, long-lived people had always maintained a "take it or leave it" attitude toward other species who wanted to understand their music.
Although the lyrics of the piece they performed told a love story, the melody was as uplifting as a battle hymn.
It was unfamiliar to the audience, but it was easy to get swept up in the song’s emotion.
Moreover, a much-loved interactive game was launched on site.
The kiss cam segment.
Couples caught on camera were expected to interact, and they would be displayed on the large screens on either side of the stage, framed by a heart shape.
This interactive segment had been a regular feature since Ice and Snow Paradise first opened.
The local customs weren’t particularly conservative, but being suddenly asked to be affectionate in front of thousands of people still made couples a bit shy.
So, Zog had arranged a "boiling the frog" process.
First, he paid some plants to interact on camera, then focused on the more open-minded races, like Beastmen, Dragon Descendants, and Tieflings.
Eventually, after days of it spreading on Weibo, most people had come to accept this segment.
Showing off affection, watching others show off affection, and then feeling miserable about your own lonely life has always been an important form of entertainment.
Of course, the segment hadn’t been without its problems.
The director was still rather inexperienced.
For example, they once filmed what looked like a couple, and the man went in for a hug and a kiss, only for the woman to say she didn’t know him and had come alone.
Poor sap.
And another time, they caught two Succubi on camera. They were definitely open, maybe a little too open.
They nearly demonstrated the Succubus racial specialty right then and there, even giving a shout-out to their Weibo account in the process.
In the spirit of seeking the truth, Zog, for purely critical purposes, of course, went to check out that account.
All he could say was that spicy-content influencers really spring up quickly.
’Seems like this feature of the social circle is closer to Twitter than Weibo,’ he thought.
Boosted by the activity, the atmosphere at the venue reached its peak.
"For our last song," Xiaode said, now brimming with confidence and feeling on top of the world. It was time to complete his boss’s mission. "We’ve never performed this on stage before. I hope that in this song, you can find the courage to express your feelings."
"This is ’Yellow,’ and it’s for all of you."
Xiaode deactivated the Distortion Array. He strummed a simple chord, and a soothing, warm melody flowed out.
"Look up at the stars,
"See how they shine for you,
"And everything you do,
"Is filled with timidity and shyness."
As the warm vocals lit up the cold winter night, even the Ice Gatherers on the river’s surface were drawn in. They stopped their work and looked toward the stage.
This wasn’t one of those "all screaming and howling" songs; this was a beautiful piece of music that they could appreciate.
The glow sticks in the audience’s hands, as they waved them, gradually shifted from ice-blue to a warm orange.
From scattered dots of light, they swelled into a river of stars.
It was as if the warm colors truly brought warmth with them.
Suddenly, a collective gasp went through the crowd.
It wasn’t because of a mistake in Underground Discard’s performance. Rather, on the large screens on either side of the stage, two Dragons had appeared—one red and one gold.
Zog nervously turned his head aside, not daring to meet Furin’s gaze. But his swaying tail betrayed the fact that he was far from calm.
Furin watched him with a sly look. Of course, she had guessed this was all Zog’s doing.
’How would an employee dare to put the boss on camera without his permission?’
When she didn’t react for a long moment, Zog’s nervousness deepened. He was just about to risk a peek at her, his mind racing to come up with a contingency plan to defuse the awkwardness.
Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation on his tail. He turned to look and saw that Furin’s tail had intertwined with his, its tip forming half of a heart, waiting for Zog’s response.
