He had contracted Destruction Sickness long ago, and only proposed establishing Moth of the Fire at the United Nations in order to save himself.
Unfortunately, Moth of the Fire had found no solution. By the time Chang'an Melody took the stage, he was already terminally ill, practically waiting for death.
Thankfully, he had lived long enough to see Chang'an Melody. When he heard reports that it might be effective, he went to watch once.
After that, he relied on his powerful intelligence network to attend every performance without fail. Once his body had fully recovered, he began helping from the shadows.
Sleepless Chang'an had been able to become a global superstar so smoothly not only because of his own talent, but also because of Old K's support.
Old K had intended to keep things that way, without ever meeting him, until he discovered that someone was conducting Destruction energy infusion experiments. He had been so furious that he smashed even his favorite teacup.
Old K was a politician, but he was a politician with principles. He was also deeply committed to the ideals of putting people first and treating everyone equally.
That was why Mu Continent had become the most developed region in the world.
Even the poorest families here could give their children an excellent education.
Just like Ye Chang'an. His family had been dirt poor, yet he had attended the same kindergarten as Eden.
Mu Continent's prosperity showed in every aspect, and none of it could have existed without Old K's leadership.
He was a great leader. He could not accept those mad scientists conducting such cruel experiments.
So he acted. He hunted down those damned bastards across the globe, gathered the seriously afflicted test subjects together, and sent Ye Chang'an to treat them.
He had not used his authority to summon Ye Chang'an even when treating his own illness, yet he held his first conversation with Ye Chang'an for the sake of the experiment victims.
And he did not bargain over Ye Chang'an's demands in the slightest.
"To pass legislation so Chang'an Melody can be used in the right places? Heh, when you get back, we'll discuss how that law should be written."
Old K smiled as he continued watching the livestream, looking as kindly as a father watching his child.
After all, he had no children.
A faint Chang'an melody drifted into his ears, its tone so clear it was as though Ye Chang'an were performing right beside him. Old K paid it no mind.
~
~
"Looks like he's fine."
Seeing the smile curl at Ye Chang'an's lips on the livestream, Mobius closed her eyes in relief and leaned back to rest.
Her body was not tired, but her heart was a little weary.
Ye Chang'an's situation was like dancing on a knife's edge. One careless mistake could lead to tragedy.
After all, the experiment victims were truly in far too dangerous a state.
They had obtained Destruction energy solely through their bodies' craving for it, and they had done so in an environment where there was no Destruction energy around them.
Then where had that Destruction energy come from?
There was only one answer—inside their bodies.
Destruction energy had appeared directly within them.
Mobius called the place where Destruction energy appeared a door.
Wherever a door appeared, Destruction energy would surge forth.
Once the concentration of Destruction energy became too high, it would trigger a Destruction disaster.
If a door appeared outside the human body, it was manageable. The Destruction energy would dissipate and then erode living beings, creating the common Destruction disaster.
But if a door appeared inside a human body, then once Destruction energy poured out, the first one to suffer would be that person.
Those without sufficient adaptability would become Death Warriors.
Those with sufficient adaptability would become Herrschers.
There were only those two outcomes.
That was why Mobius had panicked after learning the condition of the experiment victims.
Thousands of experiment victims carrying doors—once those doors opened, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Knowing the risks those people pose, and you still wanted to stay there and perform. You really are..."
Mobius sighed, her feelings toward Ye Chang'an becoming even more complicated.
Why did you have to get married so early?
A faint Chang'an melody drifted into her ears, its tone so clear it was as though Ye Chang'an were performing right beside her. Mobius paid it no mind.
~
They're all fine now. Play to your heart's content.
Ye Chang'an glanced at the experiment victims. Only after confirming that all the Erosion Markings had vanished did he continue playing with peace of mind.
It seemed he had not played this freely at a concert in a long time.
Either he was accompanying Eden, or he was taking the stage to sing himself.
It felt great, but it was still different from this.
He liked it quite a lot.
Playing the music he loved to his heart's content, while the audience immersed themselves in the melodies he played.
That sense of accomplishment felt incredible. It was addictive.
Too bad the people watching the livestream can't experience the sound quality on-site. Sigh, if only I could control Destruction energy and send the sound farther away.
He felt somewhat regretful.
The world was vast. There would always be places sound could not reach.
For both singers and performers, that was a regret.
That was why he had developed a method of using Destruction energy as an amplifier.
Unfortunately, its range was currently limited. It could not even fully cover all the residents within the city.
If only I could control more Destruction energy.
That was what Ye Chang'an thought, and that was what he practiced.
He kept trying to mobilize more Destruction energy.
But he seemed to have forgotten one thing—Destruction energy was a form of energy that could be consumed. It could be converted into anything, but it could not be converted back.
So the amplification method he had been using would continuously consume Destruction energy, yet the Destruction energy around him had not decreased.
Ye Chang'an had never considered this issue. Or rather, he had never noticed it at all.
All he knew was to play music and mobilize as much Destruction energy as possible to carry it farther and farther away.
When one piece ended, he opened his eyes and swept his gaze across the surrounding audience.
A faint blue gleam could be seen within his black eyes.
PS
Cocoon of the End: "Hm? Someone opened a door? Then it'll be you."
Ye Chang'an: "???"
PS2: It would be so much better if you used tickets to urge me on. Those would give me more motivation.
PS3: I've thought of the next chapter's title, "Chang'an, Herrscher." I said he'd become a Herrscher in four or five chapters, so it definitely won't go beyond six. But there are still ten or twenty thousand words left before the simulation ends after he becomes a Herrscher. I've written this much; I don't want to wrap it up carelessly.
Chapter of Creation: Journey to a New World: Chang'an, Herrscher
"Heh, let's continue with the next piece."
After sweeping his gaze around, Ye Chang'an smiled and said a few words before closing his eyes and continuing with the next piece.
The audience did not notice anything unusual about him, and he himself was completely unaware.
And so the performance continued, the listening went on as usual, and nothing changed.
Except that the pupils beneath his eyelids were becoming ever more brilliantly blue.
~
~
"Mmm, I'm a little hungry. Time to eat something." Mobius muttered while rubbing her stomach, then got up to prepare herself some instant noodles.
There was an eleven-hour time difference between Mu Continent and Germany. It was nearly eleven o'clock on her side as well.
While preparing the noodles, she clearly heard Chang'an's melody and felt a little speechless.
"Has my evolution made my hearing so sharp that I can hear a livestream from this far away?"
She muttered a complaint, then carried her instant noodles back to watch the livestream.
As she moved her chair closer, she suddenly noticed something was wrong.
"Why hasn't the volume changed?"
Sound faded with distance. Logically, the melody should have become louder while she carried her instant noodles back.
But it had not. It was just as loud now as it had been before.
Something felt wrong.
Remembering the way Ye Chang'an had once demonstrated using Destruction energy as an amplifier during an experiment, her face gradually turned a little green.
"Don't tell me you sent the sound all the way here..."
For some reason, she felt panicked. She hurriedly muted the livestream to test it, only to find that the sound in her ears was still perfectly clear.
"Oh my god!"
Now she was truly panicking. She grabbed her phone and called Ye Chang'an.
The call would not go through!
~
~
"Big sis..." A little girl with short pink hair stood in the doorway, rubbing her sleepy eyes as she complained to her older sister, who was still watching the livestream inside.
"Could you turn the volume down a little? I can hear it from next door."
"Sorry, Ling. I woke you up." Sakura, whose hair was the same color, apologized and lowered the volume.
"It's fine, big sis. I'll watch with you."
Ling shook her head, ran over, and squeezed in beside Sakura to watch the livestream together. Sakura smiled and nodded, then turned the volume back up.
"Huh, big sis, didn't you turn the volume back up? Why does it feel like nothing changed?"
Ling watched in confusion and asked in puzzlement.
"Uh, it does seem like nothing changed."
Sakura found it strange too. She tried moving the volume slider up and down, but the sound in her ears remained steady as a rock.
"What's going on?"
The two sisters could not understand it. All around the world, many others were just as confused as they were.
~
~
When the final note fell, Ye Chang'an's special performance came to an end.
The scheduled time for the performance was from 20:00 to 24:00 on the night of December 24. There were still one or two minutes before midnight.
Ye Chang'an had deliberately left that time open because he had something to say during this livestream.
He opened his eyes and stood up. His black pupils had completely turned blue, sparkling like blue diamonds.
Yet he remained unaware, wearing the same smile as before.
Before you continue