Entertainment: The microphones are here, why is everyone so silent?

"Hmm? Your pitch and breath control at the beginning are alright." PDD nodded slightly.

The comments section was filled with phrases like "Wow, that's impressive!", "No wonder she's an internet celebrity, much better than the previous ones!", and "She's got it!"

The song progresses smoothly, leading to the build-up before the chorus.

"I've been sentenced to a lifetime of loneliness by love."

Li Youcai's voice remained steady.

It even carries the same suppressed, hoarse feeling as the original.

Gifts and bullet comments became more frequent.

Wow, amazing! The emotions were spot on!

Is today truly going to be the day the first person to successfully complete the challenge?

Then, the climax of the song arrived:

"Can't break free~Can't escape~~"

"Ah~~~~~"

That iconic long note, which requires extremely strong explosive power and control.

Just as it was about to burst forth.

Li Youcai's voice and facial expressions.

It surged forward perfectly, smoothly, and effortlessly.

Off-screen, Ye Chen's assistant was taken aback.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

wrong.

It wasn't sung on.

It looked more like it "floated" up.

"Wow~ Goodness!" the assistant chuckled. "Was this pre-recorded, edited audio, and then lip-synced to the audio?"

"Technology is really advanced."

In the live stream, the performance was coming to an end.

Li Youcai finished perfectly, his breathing as steady as if he had just finished a walk.

Finally, someone succeeded in the challenge, and the live chat was filled with excitement.

Wow! She sang it live!

[Number one! Absolutely number one!]

[This singing is amazing! I'm a fan now!]

PDD was also excited: "Teacher Li is amazing! You're the only one who has completed the entire 'Silence' challenge! This grand prize..."

"No, I won't take the bonus!" Li Youcai immediately interrupted, his voice hearty. "Keep this money for the brothers."

Li Youcai's refusal of the 10,000 yuan jackpot surprised everyone.

You're not going to take the money that's already in your hands?!

Even a mosquito's leg is still meat, no matter how small.

The next second, Li Youcai slowly said, "I just like Ye Chen's songs, so I'm here to support him!"

"However... could the streamer give me the title 'First Successful Challenger Li Youcai' in the chat?"

"It's also a way for me to remember this place."

PDD smiled and said, "That's great!"

He was about to agree.

Suddenly, several eye-catching, high-level bullet comments flooded the screen.

[@Li Youcai, is the reverb setting on your "Phantom Sound Supreme Edition" real-time audio editing plugin a bit too high? The high frequencies are almost overflowing with an electronic sound.]

[Seconded. Furthermore, the transition from segment B to segment C has obvious audio splicing marks; were these pre-recorded segmented clips?]

[I'm a customer service representative for the "Phantom Sound" software; my ID is verifiable. Teacher, are you still getting used to this version of the plugin? Do you need technical support? (doge emoji)]

Sure enough, with over 100,000 viewers, there are all sorts of big shots among them.

A professional slap in the face, coming unexpectedly.

The live stream was silent for half a second.

A faint, almost inaudible noise, like a water glass being knocked over, came from Li Youcai's microphone.

"Uh...hehe, netizens really know how to joke." His laughter was a bit dry. "This is just my voice, and the equipment is better..."

The comments section immediately became even more lively:

[Customer service is here?! That's a sure thing!]

No wonder the high notes were so smooth; it turns out it's all thanks to advanced technology!

[Lip-syncing during recording? Amazing!]

[Case solved! Even with top-notch audio editing and pre-recording, they barely "completed" the challenge... How terrifying must Chen Tang's original live performance have been?!]

Thank you, Teacher Li, for using your technology to prove how abnormal Brother Chen is! (Hands clasped together)

Li Youcai's microphone went out silently.

He slipped away.

PDD froze in front of the camera, wiping away non-existent sweat:

"Ahem... Well, it seems our challenge has a rather high bar. Are there any other brave souls who would like to give it a try?"

At that moment, most of the live chat requests disappeared at lightning speed.

hiss--

Looks like there are quite a few people getting ready to play with technology!

Are they treating me, PDD, like a money-spending machine?!

The style of the bullet comments has completely turned into a "despair comedy":

[Goodbye! Even the recording guy can't handle it, so we mere mortals won't throw our lives away!]

We're here to listen to music, not to embarrass ourselves!

[A game where even cheating won't get you through, and we actually expect to play it with skill?]

[I really love this song, but as a fan of Ye Chen, I can't even sing it! So frustrating! Ye Chen! What were you thinking writing this song?!]

[It seems that the shortcut of internet celebrities relying on "technique" to piggyback on the fame of established artists has been shattered by Ye Chen's single song. The bar for cover songs in the future music scene will have to be raised infinitely.]

Off-screen.

The assistant looked at the barrage of "groans" and felt a mix of helplessness and amusement.

"Now no one dares to grab the microphone anymore. It seems... Teacher Ye Chen has gone too far?"

"Fine, let him sing by himself at the concert."

……

Meanwhile, on the other side...

Chen Feng put down his phone, and the "Li Youcai" who had awkwardly cut off his microphone on the screen had disappeared.

But the surging emotions in his chest lingered for a long time.

Yes, that's right.

He was the one who pointed out that Li Youcai had pieced together the audio.

Chen Feng walked to the full-length mirror.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he seemed to see a different scene—at a concert with tens of thousands of people, Ye Chen smiled and handed the microphone to the audience.

In the past, fans who would have rushed onto the stage to grab the microphone would now look at each other in bewilderment, none daring to take it.

The sight made the corners of his mouth involuntarily turn up.

"This is the dignity that music should have," he murmured to himself.

Ever since he was moved by "Left Finger Pointing to the Moon", he has been paying attention to Ye Chen.

It's not just about focusing on Ye Chen's music.

It also includes online videos offering various explanations and analyses of Ye Chen.

Naturally, a popular live stream about Ye Chen was pushed to this washed-up singer.

He was aware of how difficult Ye Chen's new song was.

As a judge on "Voice of Dreams," he has heard far too many meticulously crafted yet empty works.

I've also seen too many players who try to use technical shortcuts to cover up their lack of skill.

The crude audio splicing and audio editing tricks in the live stream sounded like ink splashed on white silk to him.

"The waters of the Canglang River are clear; I can wash my hat tassels there."

He suddenly remembered this old saying.

The industry has been murky for too long, and some people choose to go with the flow, using "high technology" to gild their image.

Perhaps it was because he didn't want to sully his "tassel" that he ended up "out of fashion." But he never regretted it.

"Sigh~ I've turned myself into Kong Yiji." He sighed softly.

But it was precisely because of this almost stubborn insistence that the shock he felt when he heard "Left Finger Pointing to the Moon" was all the more profound.

That's not a mere accumulation of skills; it's the "Tao" that flows naturally from the fusion of talent, effort, and spiritual attainment.

This is Ye Chen's philosophy on music!

It might even be the future path of Chinese music!

He wasn't sure.