Light Fortress
Chapter 190 - 177 Performance Begins

Chapter 190: Chapter 177 Performance Begins

"It’s nothing..."

Lu Nanzhi frowned and shook her head, "He’s just a bit odd."

"Odd?"

Just as Song Ci was about to speak, the blazing lights above turned on.

"The lights are back on."

The lady stood up and said softly, "Was that actually a power outage? We’ve always believed that Deep Sea never makes mistakes... But now it seems it’s not as reliable as we thought."

Song Ci remained silent and walked out with her.

...

...

"This is too strange."

Lu Nanjin retracted her short dagger and watched as the chaos in the reception room slowly subsided.

In the private channel, she said, "The previous disconnection... and this power outage... are both quite unreasonable. If Xiao has the privilege of commandeering Deep Sea’s system, then he should use it at crucial moments. Employing it so rashly at this juncture only causes unnecessary trouble."

"It is indeed unreasonable."

Gu Shen had been watching the second floor all along.

In fact, during the power outage, there wasn’t anything... The Blazing Fire Vision circling the reception room’s ceiling was constantly monitoring the entire scene; although Deep Sea lost connection, today’s hall had more than one pair of eyes watching the ball.

Besides the special investigation team, there were other Transcendents.

If Xiao took any action during the power outage, it would certainly attract attention.

"Is it targeting the security system’s gap period..."

Nan Jin thought of a possibility, "Just during the power outage and when commandeering Deep Sea’s authority, there might already be Foundation Believers who infiltrated the hall."

"Don’t make the adversary out to be so complicated."

Zhou Jiren, sitting in the hall, spoke softly, "Remember what the special operations team’s plan is called?"

Hunting Owl.

"Tonight is a grand ball, and the most exciting event always takes the final spot."

"It doesn’t matter if we can’t find the Owl."

"We, just need to have our swords and bullets ready... and wait for his appearance."

...

...

So the minor commotion came to an end.

The brief incident did not disrupt the rhythm of the ball; everyone knew it was merely a false alarm, and no one sought to pursue the real reason behind the power outage... After the power was restored, all conversations gradually returned to normal.

People continued to raise their glasses, to sip their drinks, to laugh.

The cocktail hour was nearly over.

The guests attending the ball began to move; they headed toward the concert hall within the hall... There was still a grand symphony performance tonight, serving as the "finale."

The "Lucerne Orchestra" that came all the way from Central Continent was very famous.

But no matter how famous... it ultimately belonged to a niche field, and in this era, there weren’t many who would settle down to listen to a symphony, not even the ’nobles’ qualified to attend this liberty ball.

Most of the "cultured gentlemen" in the ball would applaud and praise, but they wouldn’t spend even a minute in private truly listening to a symphony performance.

So... unless something unexpected happened, after tonight, few among the attendees would remember the "Lucerne Orchestra," except for a few pretty girls who were hit on, remembering the conductor as a blond, blue-eyed handsome man from Central Continent.

But... the disturbance earlier that night in front of the dance floor made all guests remember the name Pierre Haitink. In a sense, the Lucerne Orchestra also became somewhat famous for a while.

Being remembered by so many gentry of Da Du was no easy feat.

Now, the guests moving to the concert hall were somewhat curious... could Pierre Haitink, who had been punched in the head by Song Ci, still stand in front of the concert hall and continue to conduct smoothly and completely?

...

...

Guests arrived one after another.

Except for the last few rows, all seats in the large auditorium had names thoughtfully attached, with attendants responsible for leading the way. Of course, each person’s seat was quite spacious... If they wished to sit together to enjoy the music, they were naturally free to move their seats, as the real purpose of this evening event was socializing.

The third row of seats was presently unoccupied... these were reserved for the ladies and the core members from both factions of South Bay. The invitees to the dance were also well aware of this, and settled into their seats, all a little distant from the first three rows.

"You’ve just been sitting here... sleeping until now?"

Gu Shen arrived at the back row of the auditorium. The seat seemed familiar; it was where the Tomb Ghost had dragged him to listen to the Symphony of Surprise last time... It must be said that this spot was quite concealed and generally did not attract attention.

The old guy yawned mightily, rubbed his eyes, and remarked, "It really is the concert hall of symphony music... I’ve already had a good sleep before it even started. I just don’t know if I’ll be able to ’sleep’ later."

Gu Shen remained silent: "..."

There were only three people in the special investigation team.

One was responsible for the reception hall, another for the second floor.

And the remaining one, holding the position of "chief commander," had found a quiet place to nap. How could the old fox sleep so peacefully, and what made him so sure that Xiao would not make a move earlier?

"Find a place to sit," Zhou Jiren said with a smile: "The performance is about to start."

Gu Shen shook his head, saying earnestly, "I’d rather not sit... I’m not in the mood to watch the performance..."

Mr. Shu expressed his regret, "Okay... truly a model of dedication to security... What about you?"

He turned to look at Lu Nanjin in the dimly lit corner, extending his hand to invite her to sit and enjoy the concert performance.

She also shook her head.

The old fellow muttered, "The youth are really full of energy..."

Gu Shen’s gaze was fixed on the front row.

The two individuals who had been absent during the previous cocktail and dance sessions had finally made an appearance at the culminating concert performance.

Cui Zhongcheng, pushing a wheelchair, slowly made his way to the first row, reaching the seat next to the lady.

Mr. Xiao Cui assisted the elderly man. After helping him sit down, he left alone with the wheelchair.

The first row.

There were only two people, the lady and Congressman Zhao Xilai.

Out of respect for the "rules" and in return for the previous courtesies extended, Chen San chose to sit in the corner of the third row to avoid interfering with the upcoming conversation. Cui Zhongcheng, on the other hand, pushed the wheelchair over to his side.

After all the most powerful individuals of Da Du had arrived,

the curtain finally rose slowly—

Soft lighting and the sound of music floated above the auditorium.

The Lucerne Orchestra, unveiled by the opening of the circular curtain, revealed the grand scale of this hundred-member ensemble, prepared with their instruments, waiting in strict formation on the stage above.

And the soul of the orchestra—the conductor, Pierre Haitink, was solemn, holding the baton.

"It seems Mr. Xiao Pi is not ordinary," Zhou Jiren remarked indifferently: "After taking a hit from Song Ci, he can still continue the show."

Gu Shen, however, was focusing on the very front.

He asked softly, "Isn’t there someone missing over there?"

Lu Nanzhi was there, Zhao Xilai was there. Cui Zhongcheng was there, Chen San was there too.

What about Ye Ningqiu?