Rotten God Kingdom

The first sound to ring out was the violin, rapid and dense, followed by the sounds of various instruments almost simultaneously.

Without any prelude, the music cuts straight to the core theme. The viola’s continuous tremolo lays the foundation for unease, while the violin plays a descending semitone melody that is full of a hurried, sobbing, and repressed feeling that has nowhere to go.

Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor.

Almost as soon as the music started, a sad and oppressive mood spread throughout the concert hall.

The performer's body, mind, and emotions resonate with the entire piece the moment the first note is played. It would be impossible to get into the mood so quickly in a solo performance.

The collective quality masks individual flaws, and even at the very beginning, the performance possesses an impeccable quality, making one feel that it is an absolutely perfect show.

The impact on the rock music audience, as "listeners," was unparalleled.

The rock's counterattack wasn't as intense as expected. They all held their breath, and only one person, with only one instrument, rang out as a counterattack.

The high-speed riff of the lead guitar, with its continuous single notes, is like lightning tearing the sky apart. In the second half, the bass and snare drum rolls layer upon layer, building up tension. The instrument and rhythm alone are enough to deliver a beautiful counterattack.

It took a full fifty seconds before Qian Cuo, the lead singer, finally sang the first line of lyrics.

I was caught.

"In the middle of a railroad track, thunder rumbles" (AC/DC, the infinitely looping lightning guitar motif at the beginning of "Thunderstruck" is one of the most recognizable rock intros in the world, and has been rated as one of the greatest rock songs in fashion. The band is a legendary Australian rock band.)

(Considering that this kind of "fighting" scene is too abstract, I'll keep it brief, but the song is really good; those who are interested can give it a listen.)

Two completely different emotions and two completely different musical styles echoed throughout the concert hall, tearing at the emotions of everyone present.

The melancholic symphony and the explosive rock music seem to split one's mind in two.

Half of it is sad, so sad that it makes you want to kill yourself right now.

The other half is passionate, making you want to roar out loud.

As both players played their pieces, around the third minute, the emotional balance had not yet shifted.

By this point, the rock band had already lost.

The classical pieces were over seven minutes long, while the rock pieces were only a little over four minutes long.

If we express the emotion of a piece of music as a percentage, then the classical side's emotion is only halfway there, but the rock side's emotion has already reached its peak and has no energy left to continue.

High judgment.

The key to this kind of confrontation lies first and foremost in the number of people; the more people there are, the more people can activate their superpowers at the same time.

When the number of performers is roughly equal, what matters is the overall coordination, the cooperation between them, and the emotion of the performers.

The news of Tong Yao's imprisonment had just spread when Qian Cuo led his men to demand justice, causing the organization to be in a very rushed situation.

Qiu Lin had clearly anticipated this scene and began preparing as soon as he left Yuan Xue's house.

Furthermore, with the absence of a rock leader, the defeat of Qian Cuo and others was inevitable.

As the music started playing, some people in the audience began to feel the strain.

On the classical side, someone threw down their instrument and laughed loudly, punching and kicking their teammate next to them.

On the rock side, there was a large-scale shutdown, with musicians putting down their instruments, lying on the ground with vacant eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Finally, Qian Cuo finished singing the last line of the lyrics, turned around, and saw that everyone behind him had already fallen.

If he does nothing and lets Qiu Lin play the entire piece, all the people behind him will become idiots with only one emotion forever.

He shakily took the gun holster from under his arm.

Qiu Lin raised his baton high, clenched his left fist, and the music stopped abruptly.

He walked up to Qian Cuo, his tone even more composed than before: "I just want to resolve this matter peacefully and don't want to cause any bigger trouble."

Qiu Lin patted Qian Cuo on the shoulder and passed by him, his voice drifting from not far away.

"Those who can still be saved, treat them as soon as possible; those who can't, restrain them and tie them to the stake tomorrow." Qiu Lin paused, then continued, "This is punishment for your willfulness."

The two groups caused a scene in the concert hall, and of course they couldn't just walk away without paying any price.

Human lives are the greatest price to pay.

Residents of the City of Music who become deeply entrenched in a particular emotion are highly likely to transform into monsters.

The remedy is to experience the opposite emotion, which means listening to music of a different style.

Those with milder effects can be treated, while those with deeper effects cannot.

The classical side did suffer some losses, but their losses were smaller compared to the losing side.

"Quick, go get someone!" Qian Cuo shouted, but he realized that he was the only one in the mood to do things, so he gritted his teeth and ran as fast as he could.

……

Jiang Wang had already eaten dinner and was leaning against the window looking at the concert hall.

He was first surprised that such a small building could accommodate so many people, and he was even more surprised when he saw some people dressed in a way that was clearly not "rock and roll" walking out of the concert hall.

"What's going on?"

Tong Yao ripped the note off her face and said in annoyance, "I'm not playing anymore."

She then walked to the window, staring thoughtfully at the unusual activity on the street and Qian Cuo running wildly in the night.

"It seems we've lost; Qiu Lin came prepared."

Lost?

So fast?

Jiang Wang underestimated the cruelty of this city; in less than ten minutes, so many people had lost their lives.

"I wonder if Qiu Lin held back. If he won decisively and held back, the losses should be kept to single digits," Tong Yao said with some concern.

The worst thing in a duel is when the two sides are evenly matched, and one song ends before a winner is decided, and then the next song begins, until one side can no longer hold on.

In this situation, both sides would suffer heavy losses.

Since Qian Cuo and the others were only in the concert hall for such a short time, the battle is likely to be one-sided. The fear is that Qiu Lin will press his advantage.

The incident happened suddenly, and there was no third party in the concert hall to end the duel, making it difficult to resolve afterwards.

The later the treatment is received, the worse the outcome.

"Did we make a mistake? We shouldn't have obediently listened to Qiu Lin's arrangements." At this point, Jiang Wang realized that this matter was most likely aimed at them. The riot by the rock band and the response by the classical band seemed to have been rehearsed in advance.

Tong Yao shook her head and said, "It's no use. Even if I intervene, I can't stop this conflict. That's how this city talks; everyone acts according to established rules."

If someone is wronged, someone has to stand up for them. Even if it means being killed, they cannot back down.

If we retreat, we will face endless oppression.

Even if we are defeated, even if people die, it is wiser than to show cowardice.

This is also why people in this city categorize themselves according to music.

For the city itself, music is music. Whether it's rock or classical, it's all music. As long as the quality of the music is high enough, it will be recognized.

The real division of factions is among the residents themselves. They need to band together in this city, using music to define their territory and sphere of influence, ensuring that they are not bullied by others and that someone will stand up for them if they are bullied.

Essentially, this is a pre-apocalyptic gang, just using music as a front.

Jiang Wang remained silent.

He suddenly realized that the city wasn't as great as it seemed.

Although there is no disease here, and there is no need to travel every day.

"What will happen next?" Jiang Wang asked.

"I don't know. Most likely, they'll release us only after the murderer is caught or commits another crime. If the murderer doesn't commit any more crimes, we'll most likely be executed as the murderer." Tong Yao's tone was relaxed. If things really developed that way, she could make up her mind to leave this place.

Although she genuinely loves music, she genuinely dislikes the people here.

"So hasty? Not even a proper interrogation?" Jiang Wang frowned.

This approach is far too frivolous.

You should at least provide some evidence.

"The people who could help us have already been defeated. The defeated have no voice. At most, there will be a national referendum. They will tie us to the stake and hand us a microphone to defend ourselves. If more than half of the votes are cast for execution, we will die." Tong Yao calmly described the execution process. She had witnessed many similar executions in the past two years.

Almost every referendum resulted in a successful execution.

Why would your adversaries vote against you when they could kill you without any effort?

To a stranger who has nothing to do with you, regardless of whether you are a murderer or not, regardless of whether you will mutate, they will kill you first and ask questions later.

Anyway, it has nothing to do with them.

"Then we still have a chance. I'll work through the night to finish the script and make sure it convinces the audience." Jiang Wang didn't think he was guilty. In fact, he was innocent. He couldn't accept being judged without any evidence.

"Be prepared to use violence. How many weapons do you have in your arsenal?" Tong Yao had already decided in her mind that this matter was aimed at her, and she also felt that she would most likely have to take the path she least wanted to take.

"We've almost run out of supplies. We replenished them in Sick City. They sold me some rifles and bullets, but they didn't sell us any more powerful weapons."

The sick city is still very generous.

But they couldn't possibly sell the howitzers to Jiang Wang; after all, they were the foundation of the sick city.

"That's going to be difficult," Tong Yao sighed.

Jiang Wang stopped talking; he felt that tonight's events were not over yet.