Chapter 473: The Future Has Come
While the Planet Yin Joint Art Performance couldn’t be considered a very significant and grand event, it was still a rare entertainment activity after all. People who were free or on vacation would come over to the venue to watch. Those that couldn’t come would watch the live broadcast.
The live broadcast was only limited to Planet Yin. People outside of Planet Yin wouldn’t be able to watch it. No official recordings would be posted to the internet.
Even photos taken by official media representatives from Earth had to be audited and censored before they could be uploaded on the Internet. There were too many important people who needed protection. Their faces couldn’t be revealed.
Gold badge engineers like Yuan Zheng belonged to the category of people with sensitive identities that couldn’t be made public. People like them were assigned secret identities and bodyguards when they went to Earth for work or vacation.
Thus, Fang Zhao and the other invited artists were once again reminded of the confidentiality requirements.
At the venue, people were already starting to stream in.
Little Bear had brought Dogdan and Dogke over. Unfortunately, the robot dogs weren’t allowed in the venue and could only stay outside. Thus, Little Bear entered to watch the concert alone. Lately, nobody had bothered him so he had run over to watch Fang Zhao and the orchestra’s rehearsals whenever he was free and feeling bored. As long as that dog wasn’t around, the word “afraid” didn’t exist in his dictionary.
Besides Little Bear, the self-proclaimed fanboy Yuan Zheng also wouldn’t miss this performance. He was accompanied by a few older engineers from the same research facility.
Yuan Zheng had also brought along the present he had made for Fang Zhao. Previously, his space fleet models had been confiscated and he had been limited to gifting a small component.
Giving his idol a tiny component was probably his most regrettable incident ever!
Therefore, he had worked during his spare time to build a complete craft. It couldn’t compare with the entire fleet he’d previously made, but at least it managed to get through the strict security audit. He had heard the invited artists would be leaving once the concert ended, so he only had one opportunity remaining.
Seated to Yuan Zheng’s side were some much older people. They didn’t really have too much interest in the art itself. They had come over to watch their own children or grandchildren perform on stage.
“Our son is performing this time. He’s always so rough and boorish. I wonder what he is like when he plays the violin.”
“My granddaughter will be performing this time! Make sure to take more photos later!”
“Are you all talking about the piece that Fang Zhao is involved in?” someone turned around and asked.
“Fang Zhao? I know him too. He’s the one who acted in ‘Founding Era’ and also is very good at gaming, right?”
“Yes, yes! They are performing a piece that Fang Zhao has revised. You should have heard it before too. It is that long tune at the end of ‘Founding Era’! I can’t remember what it is called, but it ain’t easy!”
“That song is called ‘Legend’. The original is very difficult. Can these troublemaking kids do it justice? Perhaps Fang Zhao revised it to lower its difficulty. I wonder how different it is compared to the original.”
“Nonsense! There’s definitely no lowered difficulty!” a parent interjected. In truth, he would boast like mad as long as his child’s performance was passable! After all, they weren’t professionals, so the standards weren’t too high. To be honest, he wouldn’t be able to determine the difficulty or the intent of the music.
There were many people backstage as well.
Fang Zhao’s group would be performing third in the concert.
Right now, even the most lively ones in the orchestra were also rather quiet.
Those youths who would always go on about “strum-offs” or “showdowns” were wiping beads of perspiration on their foreheads and breathing quickly.
Nervous! Extremely nervous!
There were many seniors in the audience! Family members who could make it would definitely be there to watch them perform!
What happens if my strings break? I wouldn’t just be a burden to the entire orchestra; I would be disgracing my family and all of Planet Yin.
The student turned around to look at the others.
Hehe, good, everyone is the same. Those brothers seated by the wall appear calm, but their fingers have been drumming on their kneecaps nonstop. Clearly, they aren’t as composed as they appear!
He looked at Fang Zhao.
“Are you nervous, Brother Zhao?” a youth asked.
“Nope,” Fang Zhao replied.
The others looked over and carefully studied Fang Zhao’s facial expression. However, they couldn’t tell whether that unperturbed look was genuine.
Even older first-time performers couldn’t suppress their nerves in front of such an audience. Both excitement and worry could affect their onstage performance.
Some people guessed that Fang Zhao was definitely extremely nervous deep down. But, regardless of what Fang Zhao was truly feeling, his calm composure left everyone else more at ease.
While their rehearsals hadn’t gone perfectly, the students had shown great improvement from the time they had started.
They were all youngsters, and disagreements were common when their emotions flared. However, the orchestra hadn’t become disorderly because Fang Zhao was standing there to maintain order.
It was approaching the time for their performance. The stage manager instructed the youth orchestra to stand by.
“Strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion…”
The entire orchestra including Fang Zhao began to ready themselves. There were ten minutes left.
Fang Zhao made time to contact Yan Biao once. Upon confirming that everything was normal with Curly Hair, he then set his attention on the upcoming performance.
Fang Zhao eyed the nervous orchestra members backstage and chuckled. What he liked most was the splendid vigor that appeared in the eyes of the students when they performed. Such expressions would never appear if they didn’t truly have a passion for music.
“Perform seriously. You guys are the best,” Fang Zhao said to the youth orchestra.
“Of course!” The youth orchestra puffed their chests out proudly.
They were the ones with the best skills among their age group. Would they have been able to enter this orchestra and perform on stage if they weren’t outstanding enough?
If they weren’t the best, then who was?
No! One! Else!
Afraid?
That didn’t exist!
It’s all an illusion!
How could the people of Planet Yin feel fear?!
There was the correct mental state, and then there was fear!
The students reined in their emotions and waited to head on stage to release them.
And, when they really got on stage with their stiff expressions, even though their hands were shaking from nervousness and their minds were blank, their conditioned reflexes kicked in. What supported them was really their genuine passion from the bottom of their hearts.
Fang Zhao held his conductor’s baton and headed on stage together with the orchestra.
This concert couldn’t be considered a grand or luxurious affair. However, it was still an extremely special one. Most of the audience were unknown to Earth. Even their greatest glories only had slim chances to be revealed to the public after god-knows-how-many years.
And, these youngsters had also chosen such a path.
Conductors had their own styles. Some appeared cool while keeping all their passion in their hearts. Others would expose all their sentiments and use exaggerated body movements to relay their emotions.
Fang Zhao was very cool when he conducted. All his passion was already in the score that was being transmitted via these amateur youths.
When helping Mo Lang with the composition, Fang Zhao had been visualizing people from the Period of Destruction. However, for this adaptation of “Legend”, he had been looking at people of the present New Era.
With a different aim, the sentiments were different as well.
Mo Lang’s “Legend” was about the past.
Fang Zhao’s revised version of “Legend’ was about the present and future.
He had come from the Old Era, experienced the protracted Period of Destruction and arrived at the present some five hundred years later.
It was just like a bird finally finding a branch to rest on after drifting for a long time. The bird then watched the withered branch transform into a flourishing tree.
It was the law of nature and the circle of life. New would replace old. This would never cease.
After waiting for so long, it had finally started to flourish.
It emanated gratitude for the present.
There were many people on Planet Yin. But, in Fang Zhao’s eyes, they were all young children. Besides the “Second Gen Warp” genius engineer Yuan Zheng, there were many other outstanding youngsters.
The “us” of the past belong in the history books. The “us” of the present belong to the future! They belong in the distance! They belong to the vast sea of stars!
Those spirited young geniuses roared along the tides of time in their characteristic headstrong fashion!
Youngsters during the Period of Destruction would have been more quiet. On the verge of collapse, they could have sunk into the depths of fear, misery and hysteria. Or, perhaps they could have broken free of their shackles to lead an epic life. Regardless of which it was, they had to fight for survival at every turn.
These children of Planet Yin did not need to face all these. They loved the stars, and they loved voyaging into the unknown. The galaxies they wanted to explore were their dreams and futures. Stories remained to be told.
Each era had its own main theme, and each generation had its own mission.
Life moved quickly, but it still carried emotions.
The wind and flames clashed to open a new gorgeous chapter of life!
The doors to expeditions faraway were already open. The entire world was blossoming and waiting for them!
Walk ahead firmly and bravely!
Galaxies and stars are beneath your feet. Limitless dreams lie ahead!
Unlimited expectations! Countless possibilities!
Their speed exceeded 30,000 kilometers per second. Their future couldn’t be captured by pen on paper!
This was a dazzling era!
This was the ideology to pass down to future generations!
The stars sparkled!
The past had gone! The future had come!