Thor glanced at the time, reached out and put his arm around Madelyne's slender waist, while casually making a gesture with his other hand.
Golden lightning tore open a spatial rift, and the two stepped into it. The surrounding scenery instantly changed from a quiet residential area to a bustling city night scene.
They appeared directly outside the largest open-air stadium in the West End.
The deafening music and the clamor of the crowd filled the air. The square was already packed with people, and a long queue that seemed to stretch endlessly from the entrance to the suspended station hundreds of meters away.
The group had all sorts of people. An alien with horns was having a lively conversation with a mermaid covered in blue scales, while a beastman boy with a large, fluffy tail was excitedly showing off his newly bought Dazzler sticks to his companions.
"Looks like we're late." Thor clicked his tongue at the exaggerated display.
Madelyne, however, didn't care. She grabbed his wrist and led him straight to an inconspicuous side door next to the line.
Two security guards in black uniforms stood at the entrance, their expressions serious.
She handed over the two tickets, which the security guard took and scanned on a portable device, which emitted a crisp confirmation sound.
He immediately bowed, made a "please" gesture, and opened the VIP passage behind him.
This way, please.
Madelyne pulled Thor along, easily navigating the quiet interior corridors, and soon arrived at the VIP seats in the front row.
The location here is excellent, offering a clear view of almost every detail on the stage. It is separated from the regular audience seats by an energy barrier, ensuring absolute tranquility.
After sitting down, Thor sank comfortably into the soft chair. He turned his head to look at Madelyne beside him and asked, "These VIP tickets must have been hard to get, right?"
"What's so hard about that?" Madelyne crossed one leg, her posture languid and elegant, a slight smile playing on her lips. "I even funded her first album."
This surprised Thor.
He had always thought that Madelyne was either a school principal or a stay-at-home girl, never imagining that she also had a hobby of being an angel investor.
"So it seems you really like her?"
"I wouldn't say I particularly like her as a person," Madelyne thought for a moment and said honestly.
"But her singing is really good. I remember back in the first season of The Heavenly Voice in Frost City, Alison fought her way through with her talent and won the Champion, which is how she started to rise to prominence."
"We have singing talent shows here?" Thor was genuinely surprised. "Who organized them?"
"It seems to be Superman Wolverine," Madelyne recalled. "I heard it's because he couldn't get into the top three in over ten consecutive fighting tournaments, so he had no choice but to spend money on this show to earn some extra cash."
Thor understood immediately after hearing this.
In the early days of Frost City, Superman Wolverine, with his super strength, healing factor, and Adamantium claws, was indeed a top fighter in the South District's fighting arena, enjoying Infinity prestige.
But the good times didn't last long. As they "picked up" more and more people from other universes, their high-end combat power began to "inflate."
Especially after the real Superman Clark arrived, Superman Wolverine's good days were over.
As far as Thor knows, Clark, in order to support his family, likes to earn extra money in the fighting ring when he has nothing to do.
To him, that thing was no different from finding money on his way home from get off work.
The organizers weren't stupid either. Ever since Clark casually won a Champion, in order to improve the gaming experience for other players and the viewing experience for the audience, they directly announced a permanent ban on him from participating in the competition.
After all, the audience comes to see intense, back-and-forth fighting, not one-sided, overwhelming victories.
Even the first Champion, that chibi-style, irritable Hulk, couldn't last long against Clark.
We can't exactly put Kryptonite collar on him in a fighting arena just to restrict him, can we?
That's somewhat unsportsmanlike.
Therefore, the Superman Wolverine, whose ecological niche was taken over by Clark, could not fight back and had no choice but to transform himself with tears in his eyes, switching from a fighting style to the entertainment industry, which can be considered as finding a new path.
During the few minutes the two were chatting, the lights in the entire stadium suddenly went out.
The noisy venue fell silent instantly, and everyone held their breath.
A gentle and pleasant piano prelude, like a clear mountain spring, flowed into everyone's ears through top-notch audio equipment.
Immediately afterwards, a melodious female voice, like heavenly music, rang out, and a figure slowly rose up from the center of the stage on a lift.
Alison Blair wore her signature all-white V-neck bodysuit, her long blonde hair shimmering under the stage lights, making her look like a radiant being.
"Woke up to the morning light"
"Shining through the window bright"
"You were still asleep next to me"
"Perfectly and peacefully"
"I didn't move, I didn't breathe..."
As she sang, a miracle occurred.
One by one, soft, fist-sized, colorful orbs of light separated from her body and danced around her.
Her melodious singing caused the orb of light to rotate gently; her soaring voice caused the orb of light to flash brightly.
She transformed the entire stage into an ultimate, dreamlike visual feast.
As the song reaches its climax, Alison's voice is filled with happiness and power.
"Morning light, morning light"
Everything is golden and bright.
"Morning light, morning light"
"With you here by my side..."
Thousands upon thousands of golden and white orbs of light, like spirits imbued with life and consciousness, burst forth from the stage and drifted into every corner of the audience.
They twirled and danced slowly in the air, some playfully landing on people's hair and shoulders, bringing a warm touch, before quietly disappearing.
The entire audience was completely immersed in this audiovisual feast, utterly captivated.
Although Thor already knew that Alison's ability was to convert sound into light energy, he was still quite shocked to see it in person at the concert.
He finally understood why this woman had become Frost City's number one singer.
Putting aside her profound singing skills, her unique and inimitable vocal talent alone is enough to crush any competitor.
Thor couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion.
In the original Zombie Universe, this genius, who should have shone on the world stage, was forced to abandon his dreams and struggle to survive in despair because of his Mutants identity and the arrival of the apocalypse.
The world has forgotten her.
But now, she has moved to a different place, lived a different life, and finally realized her lifelong dream.
For me, isn't this a fortunate thing?
Thor looked away from the stage and subconsciously glanced at Madelyne beside him.
He noticed that the queen, who usually carried a hint of sharpness and wariness, was now looking up at the twinkling lights in the air. Her cold, beautiful eyes, reflecting the starlight, revealed a rare and pure longing and fascination.