Chapter 065: Kidnapping Eason Chan

“What? It’s already finished?” The host’s face was full of disbelief. “The forty-eight hour creative deadline has only passed nine hours, and you’ve already completed your work?!”

“I worked some overtime tonight,” Lin Feng shrugged.

“That’s incredible. Unless there’s some surprise, you should be the first contestant to finish.” The host continued, “Can you share with us where the inspiration for your piece came from?”

“Actually, I was moved by the story of another group of contestants, which inspired this song,” Lin Feng replied.

“Oh? Which group was it?” the host pressed.

“The Brothers Hail, their dedication to music and their dreams moved me deeply. That’s why I wrote this song,” Lin Feng answered.

“Their persistence really is moving. Then, could you sing us a small part of your work?”

“Maybe not right now. I just woke up and my voice isn’t warmed up yet,” Lin Feng apologized with a smile.

“All right. Well, I hope you achieve good results in the team competition.” The host wrapped up the interview hastily.

The production team had meant to record some footage of the contestants’ creative process for editing, but since Lin Feng had already finished, there was nothing left to film.

The crew left.

Lin Feng once again organized the lyrics and melody of “Old Boys” from beginning to end, then created a backing track using his computer software and attempted to record a demo. However, after several takes, he still wasn’t satisfied with the result.

Lin Feng’s voice was too thin, entirely incapable of delivering the weighty, weathered quality and the pent-up explosion of the chorus in “Old Boys.”

The melody of “Old Boys” is actually very simple, even a bit monotonous, but it’s precisely these kinds of songs that test a singer’s skill the most. In fact, even the Chopsticks Brothers themselves rarely dared sing “Old Boys” live. Lin Feng once had the chance to hear them perform it—let’s just say the result was… as disappointing as finally meeting a girl you’ve been chatting with online for half a month, only to find she’s nothing like you imagined.

Of course, this isn’t to disparage those two—they aren’t professional singers, after all. Still, it goes to show that this song isn’t easy to master.

Lin Feng tried a few more times, but the results were still unsatisfactory. In the end, he decided to kidnap another music superstar. Why make things hard on himself if he had a cheat code?

Welcome back to the Superstar Kidnapping System.

System prompt:

Current host level: 3
Number of superstars available for kidnapping: 3
Number of superstars kidnapped: 2
Experience needed for next level: 1400
Current gold: 4800
Current skill points: 45
Current experience: 600
Kidnap Cards: 1

Lin Feng skipped the host interface, entered the kidnap options, navigated through two more sub-menus, and reached the music superstar page. Instantly, a string of dazzling superstar names from Earth flashed through his mind.

Wong Ka Kui, Zhang Yusheng, Leslie Cheung, Jonathan Lee, Lo Ta-yu, Jacky Cheung, Eason Chan, Jay Chou…

The list was extensive; even deceased legends were included. However, Lin Feng noticed that kidnapping a superstar who had already passed away required two Kidnap Cards. Only then did he remember that kidnapping Bruce Lee before had also cost two cards. Checking other superstar pages confirmed it—kidnapping deceased superstars always required two cards.

He only had one Kidnap Card left, so he could only pick a living superstar. After some thought, he chose Eason Chan. After all, Lin Feng only needed someone with strong singing skills; there was no need to consider composition, since he had a whole trove of classic songs waiting for him to “create.”

System prompt: Congratulations, you have successfully kidnapped music superstar Eason Chan. One Kidnap Card consumed. Enjoy the game…

After successfully kidnapping Eason Chan, Lin Feng immediately set his currently active superstar to Eason. Only after kidnapping his second superstar, Bruce Lee, did Lin Feng discover that he could only activate one superstar at a time; he couldn’t use the skills of multiple kidnapped stars simultaneously.

Switching to Eason Chan mode, Lin Feng tried recording “Old Boys” again.

You are the one I think of day and night, the one I love so deeply,
But how should I express it?
Will she accept me?

…

Just singing the opening lines, Lin Feng was stunned by the sound coming from the speakers. The title “the new generation’s God of Song” wasn’t an exaggeration for Eason Chan. The technique, the voice—nothing could be faulted. Even Lin Feng, listening to himself, couldn’t help but want to applaud.

Maybe he would never say those words to her,
Destined to wander the world,
How could he be tied down?
Dreams always seem out of reach,
Should I give up?
Flowers bloom and wither, and it’s another season,
Spring—where are you?

Youth is like a rushing river,
Gone without a chance to say goodbye,
Leaving only a numb me,
No longer with the passion of my younger days.

Looking at all those blossoms drifting in the sky,
Withering at the most beautiful moment,
Who will remember that they were ever here?

…

Lin Feng sang the whole song in one go, then hit play. As Eason Chan’s rich, magnetic voice rang out, Lin Feng couldn’t help getting goosebumps. Especially during the chorus, Eason’s vocal power was perfectly displayed. When he sang, “Leaving only a numb me, no longer with the passion of my younger days,” Lin Feng felt as if his blood vessels were about to burst, his whole body ignited…

It’s no exaggeration to say that this version of “Old Boys” was a cut above the original—more stirring, more heartrending.

Having saved the completed recording, Lin Feng immediately logged on to the Chinese Music Copyright website. After his previous experience with “Smiling Eyes,” he understood the importance of copyright. So, as soon as he finished the song, he uploaded “Old Boys” for review.

This time, Lin Feng again used Liang Renbo’s referral code to speed up the process. Sure enough, after just twenty minutes, the result came in: approved. “Old Boys” was now officially registered.

With the copyright secured, Lin Feng felt at ease—“Old Boys” was officially his now.

Just then, his phone rang. It was Liang Renbo, the music director of “Original Good Songs.”

“Mr. Liang, is something the matter?” Lin Feng answered.

“You’ve finished your team PK assignment?” Liang Renbo asked.

“Yes, just wrapped it up.”

“That’s ‘Old Boys,’ right?”

“Uh…” Lin Feng was momentarily taken aback. He hadn’t told anyone the song’s title, but quickly realized why—he’d just used Liang Renbo’s referral code, and Liang must have received a notification.

“I just saw that ‘Old Boys,’ recommended by me, passed review. I asked the others who know my code, but none of them uploaded anything, so I thought of you…”

“Sorry, Mr. Liang, I used your code without permission. Yes, ‘Old Boys’ was my submission,” Lin Feng said.

“It’s nothing, using the code isn’t a big deal. I just remember that your group only started the forty-eight hour assignment today, yet you’ve already finished your work?!”

…