"Ladies and gentlemen, let us welcome him, the talented musician dedicated to his craft," Ben said with a smile on his face and an immense amount of confidence. "Mr. ...," Ben said, directing both of his hands towards Jack who was sitting behind him. "Sorry, what's your name?" Ben asked. "Are you referring to me?" Jack asked, pretending to be unsure if the superstar was pointing at him. Jack's reaction amused the audience, making them chuckle softly. Hahaha! However, Ben's reaction was quite the opposite. "Yes! Who else? Of course, it's you!" he replied with a hint of annoyance, although he managed to conceal it very well. While Jack and Ben had different expressions, Lily's expression was different altogether. Since Ben pointed at Jack, her heart became increasingly uneasy. "No! No! This can't be happening! Jack can't play music and can't sing at all! He'll just embarrass himself if he gets the chance!" "So, Mr. ..., what's your name?" Ben asked again. "If not, I'll just ca
"Ha, Mr. Nobody, you want to embarrass me because I've taken your girl, don't you!" Ben thought, looking cynically at Jack. "Before you can do that, I will shatter you into pieces until you have no confidence to face anyone!" Jack's dismissive comment earlier only fueled Ben's desire for even more vicious retaliation. "I've told you everything! But, I don't want to make any decisions about this person!" Ben said again. He might sound forgiving towards Jack and not willing to take the matter further. But for those who knew Ben, they would understand that's not what he wanted. Ben wouldn't feel satisfied just by vilifying Jack in public. He also wanted to slander him as much as possible and incite people to hate him. "Now, I leave the judgment to all of you, whether this young man deserves punishment or forgiveness?" Ben pretended to show a sad expression as he said those words, making the audience even more sympathetic. Not long after the superstar spoke his words, a young ma
"Everything that has happened, let it be! No more regret!" Jack repeated that sentence over and over in his mind. Still with his eyes closed, he let the strong emotions in his heart gradually calm down, along with the tears that had been flowing profusely until now slowly ceasing. One thing unknown to people, neither in Eldoria nor Wealthland, was that Jack had been harboring a very dark memory in his heart for years. He had tried to bury that memory deep inside his heart. However, such memories do not just disappear. When his fingers touched the piano keys earlier, it was like a catalyst that triggered his brain to think about that memory again, making Jack suddenly silent. His mind was flooded with memories that brought various strong emotions: sadness, disappointment, anger, and also despair. Those intense emotions, most of which were caused by his first love for Catherine, the loss of his father, and ultimately the betrayal by his ex-wife. However, at the same time, Jack
What Jack said to the ensemble tickled Ben's belly, making the superstar unable to hold back his laughter. Hahaha! "Funny! So funny! Is what I'm hearing true?" laughed Ben, holding his stomach. "This has got to be the funniest joke I've ever heard in my life!" Not only in Ben's mind, but the surprise was also felt by almost everyone in the opera house. "Why does that young man want to sing a song that only Ben can sing?" they wondered. "Or perhaps he actually intends to collaborate with Ben, not steal the spotlight?" People couldn't guess what Jack was really thinking. However, they were sure that Jack wouldn't sing the song, or he would ruin it. Everyone knew that only Ben could perform it most satisfactorily. Not only that. The ensemble group, which had initially disliked Jack due to Ben's instigation, also hesitated to play their instruments. The ensemble members just looked at each other, wondering what they should do. But only head shakes were seen among them, unsure
Jack finished the last part of this song with a very strong and perfect high pitch. After that, his very skillful and charming piano playing closed the song. Just as his fingers lifted from the piano keys, all the audience, both those in the back rows and those in the front, all stood up to give applause. Clap! Clap! Clap! "Amazing! Truly amazing!" Everyone smiled at Jack, their eyes still teary but with smiles on their faces. The song Jack played seemed to have brought them back to their most beautiful memories in their lives. The ensemble did the same. They stood up clapping and looked towards Jack with wide smiles on their faces. "One of the best performances I have ever witnessed in my life!" exclaimed one of them. "Undoubtedly!" replied another. At the same time, Jack, who had been shedding tears profusely from the corners of his eyes, slowly regained his consciousness. After being so immersed in his feelings, the applause from the audience brought him back to awarene
As their eyes were drawn to the source of the melodious voice, a girl with wavy blonde hair was on her way to the stage. Her face was perfectly sculpted, like a goddess who had just descended from the heavens. Wearing a knee-length white dress, her appearance was not only very graceful but also extremely captivating. Beside her, a tall, handsome young man had a cold but attentive look on his face. Jack vaguely felt like he had seen the girl before. "Is she the girl I met in the dressing room earlier?" he thought. However, when Jack and the girl locked eyes for a moment, the cold expression she showed made Jack understand that she was not someone he could approach at the moment. It was different for Lucas, who seemed unable to divert his gaze from the girl since she first stepped onto the stage, as if wanting to strip her bare. "Hey, honey, you're looking fantastic!" Lucas said with a grin that was full of lust. "By the way, what are you doing here? Why did you come? Or is it b
Jack furrowed his brow. "How could this be? Wasn't it mentioned in the panel that I only needed to look after Lily for three days?" Quantara widened her beautiful eyes. "It seems there are a few things you need to pay attention to! One of them relates to what I just mentioned!" Jack continued to gaze at Quantara incredulously. However, the AI girl could understand the meaning behind the young man's gaze directed at her. "Alright, if you think I'm not telling the truth, I can show you the contract!" Quantara then disappeared from the panel. After that, a very thick sheet of paper appeared in front of Jack. "Seriously!" Jack muttered. "This is even thicker than the business documents in my company!" "You can choose to read it yourself or I can read it to you." Quantara's voice returned to Jack's ears. "No! It's not necessary!" Jack replied, taking a slightly longer breath. "Okay, I'll follow your words!" Though somewhat disappointed, Jack had to follow what the AI said. "Alr
Sigh! Jack took a deep breath after feeling like he couldn't breathe before. "You're right!" he said. "Being shot with such a big weapon in a simulation is a very painful experience!" "That's why you need super skills to participate in this simulation!" Quantara replied. "As a highly advanced system, this quantum system is designed taking into account a host's real conditions and the furthest possibilities they can reach!" Quantara went on at length about the system. However, Jack wasn't too interested in listening until he realized something. "Wait, did you just say that it takes super skills to complete that simulation?" "Of course! Like I've been saying from the start!" Quantara smiled sweetly at Jack. "Shit! Why did I only realize this now?" Jack exclaimed, rubbing his forehead. He realized that no matter how hard he thought about his hostage rescue plan, it would only fail and be in vain. Because from the beginning, "The simulation was meant for me to use those super sk