sovbooks Chapter 001 The System Arrives Late, But Seems to Have a Serious Illness
Chapter 001 The System Arrives Late, But Seems to Have a Serious Illness
parallel world.
Room 202, Juyuan Dormitory, Beijing Conservatory of Music.
It was late at night, and only two computer screens were still lit up in the dormitory.
Yang Du sat in front of the computer, wearing listening headphones, his eyes fixed on the software interface on the screen.
At this moment, the chorus accompaniment is playing on a loop in my headphones.
"No, it's still not quite there," Yang Du muttered to himself, his brows furrowed.
This song, "Flammable and Explosive," was the work he prepared as a stepping stone.
With the help of memories from his past life, the lyrics and music are now complete, but as a song with extremely strong emotional tension, even a bit hysterical, the arrangement is of utmost importance.
The current chord progressions are still too conventional.
Rules might be a good thing in pop music, but in "Flammable and Explosive," they're just mediocrity.
"Commander, are you still stubbornly working on that lousy arrangement?" came the voice of his roommate Zhou Feng from behind.
Zhou Feng was playing a game, and during the brief moment when his character respawned, he turned his head to glance at the densely packed audio tracks on Yang Du's computer.
"Hey bro, this arrangement is absolutely amazing! It gives me goosebumps. Give it to Tao Cheng, she'll definitely be able to sing it, no problem."
Yang Du took off half of his earphone, rubbed his aching temples, and calmly said, "Singing for my senior is no problem, but whether it can shut up those old hands in her company is another matter."
Zhou Feng smacked his lips and remained silent.
Yang Du is well aware of the state of the entertainment industry today.
This is an era where capital and seniority dictate everything.
If you're a 21-year-old college junior who writes a great song, and a company is willing to spend real money to buy the copyright to your lyrics and music, and even offer you a good price, that's called appreciating talent.
However, if someone wants to take advantage of the situation to manipulate the identity of the song's producer, that's a different matter altogether.
The producer is the chief engineer of a song, overseeing recording, arrangement, harmony, and mixing. They are equivalent to the director of a movie, and this is a core position that can add a significant touch to one's resume.
Why should this piece of cake be given to a greenhorn who hasn't even graduated yet?
Just then, the phone, which was lying face down on the table, vibrated.
Yang Du picked up his phone and saw a voice call invitation pop up on WeChat.
Caller ID: Tao Cheng.
Tao Cheng is a rising female singer in China. She released a self-titled album last year and is gaining momentum.
She was originally a student at the Beijing Conservatory of Music, making her Yang Du's senior.
Yang Du answered the voice call.
"Junior, how's the arrangement coming along?" Tao Cheng's slightly tired but still energetic voice came through the phone.
Yang Du answered truthfully: "We are still making final adjustments, but the overall framework has been finalized."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone. Tao Cheng sighed softly and said, "This afternoon, the company's senior management held a meeting, and everyone was very satisfied with the lyrics and music of the song 'Flammable and Explosive.' It can be said that it was unanimously approved."
"but……"
Yang Du smiled and continued, "But the company isn't willing to give me the producer position, right?"
Tao Cheng said somewhat apologetically, "The main reason is that you're too young. The company thinks you're only 21, a junior in college, and lack practical experience in studio production. Actually, the main reason is that 'Flammable and Explosive' was so amazing that they were unwilling to easily hand over the producer position."
"But don't worry!" Tao Cheng quickly added, afraid that Yang Du might overthink things. "I argued with the director for a long time, and he finally agreed. Whether you can get the producer position depends on your final arrangement demo tomorrow. As long as your arrangement can impress those old guys in the company, it's a sure thing that you'll be the producer."
A warm feeling flowed through Yang Du's heart.
He's a sensible person.
He understood very well that this opportunity to connect with Tao Cheng was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
If it were any other music company, they wouldn't even bother trying to get you a producer; they'd probably just offer you a buyout contract and you wouldn't even have the right to negotiate.
Tao Cheng, out of consideration for their shared alma mater, was willing to take the gamble with him.
"Don't worry, senior," Yang Du said in a calm and confident voice, "I will do my best."
After ending the call with Tao Cheng, Yang Du took a deep breath as he stared at the black screen of his phone.
Whether it can be a resounding success depends on this one.
He knew all too well how expensive the word "opportunity" could be.
"We have to fix that last flaw in the arrangement." Yang Du put his headphones back on, ready to work through the night.
The moment his finger touched the mouse again, a mechanical voice rang out in his mind without warning.
"—System binding in progress..."
Yang Du was stunned.
As a time traveler, he was no stranger to this thing.
"System, it's late, but it's here!"
"—The Emotional Literature Master System has been successfully bound!"
Yang Du: "..."
Subway, elderly, mobile phone.jpg
"Say that again? What are you?" Yang Du asked in his mind.
I'm a musician, do you understand music?
Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si?
You want me to have a system for mastering emotional literature?!
This crossover is a bit too outrageous!
The system ignored Yang Du's complaints and the mechanical voice continued to sound.
"—This system is dedicated to cultivating the host into a world-class master of emotional literature!"
"—Please claim your new player gift pack!"
Yang Du's lips twitched twice.
Emotional literature?
Don't think he doesn't understand. Isn't it just those stories about mother-in-law and daughter-in-law battles, domineering CEOs' runaway wives, and cheating scumbag husbands—the kind of stories about lovelorn men and women?
Yang Du wanted to refuse, but...
"Since we're already here..."
He knew the joy of getting something for free. Since the system had arrived, he figured he might as well claim the gift pack. Whatever the system was, he'd see what he could get first.
"Receive it!" Yang Du silently recited in his mind.
"—Distributing Newbie Gift Pack: Beginner Writing Skill Card... *buzz*... Warning! An unknown error has occurred during data transmission!"
"—Distributing newbie gift packs: Immersive Emotional Experience Card... Buzz... Warning! An unknown error has occurred in data transmission!"
"Error code 404! Data lost!"
"--System data corruption...Recalibrating..."
"Good heavens, it's a defective product?" Yang Du chuckled.
"—Calibration complete!"
"—Congratulations, host, you have obtained the song 'Painting Heart'!"
"—Congratulations, host! You have obtained a random skill experience card!"
Yang Du's previously indifferent eyes suddenly lit up the moment he saw the two rewards.
"Did you encounter a bug?"
But this bug was exactly what Yang Du wanted.
"Painting the Heart"?
This is the theme song from the movie "Painted Skin" in the previous life. Its high quality and wide popularity need no further explanation.
The system now provides the lyrics, music, arrangement project files, and demos directly.
However, what Yang Du coveted even more than "Painting Heart" was the random skill experience card.
"This defective product system has given me a pleasant surprise."
"Use a random skill experience card." Yang Du issued the order without hesitation.
"—Random skill experience card successfully used!"
"—Host's music composition skill experience points +1000!"
"—Congratulations, host! Your music arrangement skill has been upgraded from intermediate to advanced (1950/10000)!"
As the system notification sounded, Yang Du felt a sudden boom in his mind.
Countless pieces of professional knowledge about chord progressions and instrument arrangement flooded his brain and quickly became integrated with his muscle memory.
The lingering feeling of being stuck, like he was about to catch his breath, vanished instantly.
"I see!"
Yang Du couldn't wait to put his hands back on the keyboard and mouse, open the previous project file, put on his headphones, and start making changes.
With the help of the advanced arrangement, Yang Du immediately got into the zone. In just one hour, he polished the details that he had been working on for several nights without success.
Click to play.
The moment the final demo of the new version of "Flammable and Explosive" started playing in his headphones, Yang Du leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Now, those old foxes should shut up, right?" Yang Du's lips curled into a confident smile.
Just as he was about to export the project files, the system prompted him again.
"—New player quests activated!"
"—As a future master of emotional literature, your writing must touch people's hearts. Please publish an emotional article (micro-fiction) on your private social media account (the account is locked to your Weibo or WeChat Moments)."
"—Special notice: Some data loss has been detected. This reward will be changed to a Vocal Performance Experience Card!"
Seeing the prompt, Yang Du fell silent again.
"This system is both terrible and addictive."
Despite the fact that data loss has been detected, the task format remains rigidly unchanged.
How wonderful it would be if the task were music-related!
However, looking at the reward of the vocal experience card, Yang Du shamefully became tempted.
He can not only compose music, but also sing.
With this experience card, I can raise my vocal level and easily dominate when I release my own album in the future.
"If you don't take advantage of a freebie, you're a bastard."
It's just publishing an article about emotions, isn't it?
Yang Du fabricated a melodramatic love triangle in his phone's notes: He loves her, she loves him, but he doesn't love her...
He stopped after he finished writing.
"What a disaster..." Yang Du looked at the dense text on his phone. "If this gets published, I'll have to say goodbye to all my integrity."
On which social media platform will it be posted?
Yang Du rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache.
The most commonly used one is, of course, WeChat Moments.
However, WeChat is full of real, living acquaintances.
It's worth noting that his WeChat friend list included not only roommates and classmates, but also his Beijing Conservatory of Music teacher, high school teachers, parents, and relatives...
To prevent cheating, the system does not allow him to use tricks such as group visibility, blocking, or only being visible to himself.
No, WeChat is absolutely not an option; he still wants to be a decent human being.
Since WeChat doesn't work, Weibo is the only option left.
However, when Yang Du opened his Weibo homepage, he fell into deep thought for three seconds.
Account ID: Yang Dudu.
Number of followers: 367.
Profile picture: A white sheep with a feather fan and a turban.
In this era where millions of online trolls can easily dominate, 300+ followers simply can't make much of a splash.
The key issue is that these 300+ accounts are almost entirely made up of upperclassmen and underclassmen from Beijing Conservatory of Music, as well as other people who are attracted to good-looking people.
Yang Du was, after all, a handsome guy who was 183 cm tall; he could be dashing and melancholic.
He usually posts short videos on Weibo of himself playing and singing with a wooden guitar against the light, or of himself composing music late at night in front of his laptop, leaving the world with an artistic profile.
He has always had a firm grasp on the persona of an artsy young man.
That's really dangerous.
If this melodramatic love triangle story were to be shared now...
Her public image has collapsed!
"I have truly sacrificed too much for the future of the Chinese music scene."
Yang Du closed his eyes, steeled his resolve, gritted his teeth, and clicked "Publish".
After posting, he slumped in his chair, utterly dejected, waiting for the system's generous reward to soothe his shattered morals.
"—Task Evaluation: Poorly made!"
"—Reward coefficient: 10%!"
"—Congratulations, host, you have received a reward: 100 vocal experience points."
"100 points? Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?"
Looking out the dark window, Yang Du felt that his future was bleak.
This damn system is clearly telling him that he can't just try to get away with faking tasks.
In order to take advantage of the system and get rewards, it seems that I have no choice but to work hard on emotional literature.