I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

Lu Ban responded and glanced out the window at the building below.

Good heavens, is this an extended version of that luxury car?

Qin Tiantian, who was looking down from the side, also saw the black luxury car that seemed out of place with the surrounding environment of the community.

"Wow, are you from a family with hidden rich kids?"

As she spoke, she even hummed a little tune.

"you shut up."

Lu Ban, who was about to get into a black luxury car, didn't want to hear a woman singing.

Chapter 034 He is playing

Jiangcheng Industrial's office building is located in the urban area of ​​Jiangcheng City, right next to the most bustling old street. The sign on the towering building is particularly eye-catching.

Although it is called a manufacturing company, starting with the previous generation of directors, the company has shifted its focus to real estate. Taking advantage of the several waves of precise investments at the end of the last century and the beginning of this century, it has made a lot of profits. Now, Jiangcheng Industry can be considered a real estate company in name and in fact.

This is precisely why Jiangcheng Industrial was able to buy the Jiangcheng Grand Theatre and its surrounding area, which has remained undeveloped for so many years, truly demonstrating its wealth and power.

Lu Ban had never seen such a grand scene before, and he sat in the car without moving.

I tried asking Li Zijian, the secretary who looked to be about my age, but he only knew that I needed to find Lu Ban, and nothing else.

Lu Ban recalled Song Yunyan's resume. After the fire, she became quiet and composed. After taking over the business, she made several successful investments based on accurate judgment, which led Jiangcheng Industry to great success. In particular, her predictions on some business projects and the power struggles within the company were like having a cheat code to foresee the future.

However, Song Yunyan has never married and is now over forty years old. It is unknown who will be the successor of Jiangcheng Industry.

Surely it can't be that he's the one the female CEO takes a liking to and wants to adopt him as her godson, right?

Then a group of young women of similar age suddenly appeared, vying to teach Lu Ban the driving skills of a big truck?

joke!

Lost in thought, Lu Ban had already arrived at the door of the chairman's office.

"please."

Li Zijian opened the door and led Lu Ban into the house.

The room was bright and spacious, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of the river. Stretching southwards, one could see the Lingjiang River winding its way through the city and disappearing beyond the horizon.

With a wide field of vision, they would typically be a prime target for snipers in movies.

In the large office, there was a piano for some reason. When Lu Ban saw the piano, he hesitated slightly.

Because this piano was exactly the same as the one he had seen at the Jiangcheng Grand Theater that night!

On the other side of the floor-to-ceiling window, behind an exquisitely crafted solid wood desk, sat a capable woman.

Lu Ban recognized her at a glance; it was Song Yunyan.

She was just like the woman in red that Lu Ban saw at the theater that night in the news, only less naive and more weathered.

Time has left its mark on her eyes, but it has not diminished her charm. Even though she may be two cycles older than Lu Ban, Song Yunyan is indeed a beautiful woman.

"Please sit down."

Her voice carried a sense of suppression. After Lu Ban sat down, she gestured for her secretary to leave.

Only she and Lu Ban remained in the office.

“This piano is the same model that Danping used back then. I put it here to remind myself.”

Song Yunyan noticed Lu Ban's gaze, offered an explanation, and then spoke again.

"I watched your video. The final scene wasn't special effects; it actually happened, right?"

"……Yes."

Honesty is Lu Ban's greatest virtue, so he told the truth and then asked questions.

"Ms. Song, may I borrow the piano?"

"You can play the piano?"

Song Yunyan was clearly somewhat surprised.

"A little bit."

Lu Ban really only knows a little bit.

"Please."

With permission, Lu Ban approached the old yet brand-new piano, lifted the cover over the black and white keys, and briefly tested the pitch.

Then, the melody began to flow.

This is the "Midnight Melody" that Lu Ban obtained; it is music composed by Du Danping.

He chose to perform for two reasons.

First, if this Song Yunyan is no longer the real person, but something else has replaced her, then this spiritual music should be able to help Lu Ban distinguish it.

Secondly, if this Song Yunyan is the real person, then she would definitely be able to recognize this piece of music and reach a consensus with Lu Ban.

"This is... the piece that Danping played that day."

Song Yunyan felt as if she had been transported to another world.

It was as if the person sitting in front of her was not Lu Ban, whom she was meeting for the first time, but the talented, gentle, and composed Du Danping.

That year, the stage was dazzling and splendid. Under the spotlight, he played a magnificent musical piece as if he had been kissed by the god of music.

That year, a young woman, her heart brimming with youthful innocence, admired the talented scholar with a shy yet impulsive nature.

That year, a fire reduced everything to ashes, and since then, the sound of the piano has never been heard again.

“Danping told me many times that it wasn’t that he was seeking musical inspiration, but rather that all sorts of music were crawling into his head like insects, and those melodies were constantly chasing him. I never believed it until that day.”

Amidst the shimmering, river-like sounds of the zither, Song Yunyan narrated her story in a half-dreaming, half-awake state.

“That day, we were preparing for the party, and there were many people there, but suddenly... everyone was unable to move. I don’t know if you know what that feeling is like. It’s like your body doesn’t belong to you, and only your senses are still functioning. I saw the backstage area catch fire, and I saw the fire spread, but I couldn’t do anything about it.”

“Until Danping pushed me away and told me to hurry up, he rushed onto the stage and started playing the piano. I didn’t know anything at the time… With the sound of the piano, we were finally able to move, and everyone ran towards the door that was already on fire.”

“I looked back at Danping, and he hadn’t stopped playing. I saw his eyes, and he told me to hurry up.”

“I escaped, but he died. No one can explain what happened. Everyone just thinks he went mad.”

"Maybe everyone's gone mad."

A self-deprecating smile appeared on Song Yunyan's lips.

“Since then, some… perhaps you could call them voices have appeared in my head. I can’t understand most of these voices, but just understanding a little of them helps me make the right choices in business. However, every night, these voices linger in my ears and I can’t get rid of them.”

“Now I finally understand what Danping meant when he said, ‘It’s not that I’m chasing inspiration, but that inspiration is chasing me…’”

"It's quite a coincidence that when I bought that land, I saw the handwriting of the designer of the Jiangcheng Grand Theater. I also wrote similar sentences on that manuscript... It's not that I designed this theater, but that it was meant to be this way."

"Perhaps, everything is predestined."

In Lu Ban's eyes, who was performing, this place was no longer the chairman's office of Jiangcheng Industry, but the Jiangcheng Grand Theater of yesteryear.

At that moment, as the starlight shone down, and ancient whispers and fleeting glimpses descended upon the theater, what were Du Danping's feelings as she made that choice?

Having gone through all this, Lu Ban knew very well that Du Danping, having escaped the gaze of that great being, could have easily escaped with Song Yunyan; he possessed that kind of power.

However, Du Danping chose to return to the stage and to the piano, using this melody to save others.

Even after his death, he continued to perform his final piece.

The theater itself may have been part of the "ritual," and the only way to completely avoid the tragedy of that day was to demolish it entirely.

This is probably the answer to the question "Who is playing?", which has reached 100% exploration.

Lu Ban thought to himself.

Can mortals stand against these great beings?

Du Danping's actions have shown Lu Ban that mortal power can never reach the heights of the supreme beings.

Even with extraordinary power, even if they reign supreme among humankind, they can still be crushed and reduced to dust when faced with forces that transcend nature.

What awaited Du Danping was death, and the constraints that followed.

What awaits Lu Ban?

he does not know.

On one side of the view, the calligraphy on the wall, written by a calligrapher, is distorted and forms lines of text.

[Unlock Side Quest: Melody of Memories]

[You have learned of the tragic end of a martyr, collected fragments of his melody scattered across the silent land, and received a reward.]

Chapter 035 Side Quest

"Side quests?"

As Lu Ban played the music, he pondered the sudden appearance of this thing.

Since it's a side quest, it means Lu Ban can complete it at any time. However, the quest description is "in the Silent Land." The Silent Land is obviously not the world Lu Ban is currently in. Or rather, the Silent Land should be an alternate dimension influenced by the system or some great being, just like the Jiangcheng Grand Theater the night before.

In other words, Lu Ban needs to find these traces during the mission.

So, what can we gain if we find these fragments of melody?

The task description lacks detail.

Lu Ban simply put it aside.

That's not the focus right now.

As the song ended, tears welled in Song Yunyan's eyes. She didn't wipe them away with a handkerchief, but instead stood there in front of the huge French windows, gazing into the distance.

If Song Yunyan had previously doubted whether Lu Ban was some kind of attention-seeking, opportunistic fraudster, then upon hearing the music, she knew everything.

She heard this piece of music for the first and last time during that fire.

Those who experienced it back then are long gone, and Lu Ban's ability to obtain this piece of music is the best proof of that.

Looking over her shoulder, Lu Ban could also see that at the edge of the horizon, the ruins of the Jiangcheng Grand Theater could be faintly seen.