The attack came faster than expected.
At 9:12 AM—
Xiaoyu burst into the studio holding her tablet.
Her expression was ugly.
"Something happened."
Li Chen looked up from the computer.
Yara was sprawled across the couch half-asleep.
Yueyin was practicing lyrics near the window.
Wanqing sat quietly in the corner with headphones on.
The atmosphere instantly changed.
Li Chen noticed it immediately.
"What is it?"
Xiaoyu placed the tablet on the desk.
"Three venues canceled."
Silence.
Yara sat up.
"…What?"
"The mini tour."
Xiaoyu scrolled down rapidly.
"Shanghai venue canceled."
"Hangzhou canceled."
"And the university festival too."
Yueyin frowned.
"All at once?"
Xiaoyu nodded grimly.
"They all gave the same excuse."
"Scheduling conflicts."
Yara snorted.
"Bullshit."
Wanqing removed one side of her headphones.
"They moved."
Li Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Yeah."
He already understood.
This wasn't random.
This was pressure.
Industry pressure.
The kind only powerful people could create.
Xiaoyu looked worried.
"What do we do now?"
Li Chen stayed calm.
Too calm.
That made Yueyin uneasy.
Whenever Li Chen became this quiet…
someone usually lost badly.
Yara grinned slowly.
"Oh no."
She pointed at him.
"That face."
"That's the face you make before doing something insane."
Li Chen ignored her.
Instead, he picked up the tablet.
Scrolled once.
Twice.
Then stopped.
A familiar company logo appeared on the screen.
Golden Vision Media
Li Chen smiled faintly.
"There it is."
Xiaoyu blinked.
"You know them?"
Yueyin's expression changed slightly.
"…Golden Vision?"
Even Yara looked surprised now.
Wanqing spoke quietly.
"Zhou Kang's company."
Xiaoyu sucked in a breath.
"So he really moved personally…"
Li Chen leaned back in his chair.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Most executives preferred indirect pressure.
Hidden attacks.
Backroom manipulation.
But Zhou Kang?
He moved openly.
Aggressively.
Like a predator marking territory.
Yara cracked her neck.
"So what now?"
Li Chen looked at the canceled schedule again.
Then at the remaining dates.
One venue left.
Just one.
A small underground music festival in Shanghai.
Tiny audience.
Tiny stage.
Compared to the canceled events…
it looked pathetic.
Xiaoyu hesitated.
"Should we postpone?"
Yara immediately shook her head.
"Hell no."
Yueyin crossed her arms.
"But if nobody shows up…"
Wanqing suddenly spoke.
"They'll show up."
Everyone looked at her.
She remained calm.
"Because they're curious now."
Li Chen's smile widened slightly.
Wanqing noticed it.
Good.
She understood public psychology.
The more something gets suppressed—
the more attention it creates.
Li Chen tapped the desk once.
"We're not canceling."
Xiaoyu looked nervous.
"But the venue only fits around eight hundred people…"
Li Chen stood up.
"Then we'll make those eight hundred people unforgettable."
Yara grinned wildly.
"There it is."
Yueyin sighed softly.
"You already have a plan, don't you?"
Li Chen picked up his jacket.
"Yes."
Wanqing looked at him carefully.
"What kind of plan?"
Li Chen stopped near the door.
Then he said four words.
"We attack first."
Two hours later.
Inside Golden Vision Media.
A luxurious office overlooked the city skyline.
Floor-to-ceiling windows.
Expensive furniture.
Absolute silence.
Zhou Kang sat behind his desk calmly reading reports.
An assistant stood nearby.
Nervous.
"…Sir."
Zhou Kang didn't look up.
"What is it?"
"The cancellations were successful."
"Mm."
"No major venue accepted Li Chen afterward."
Zhou Kang finally nodded slightly.
As expected.
Small managers depended on venue access.
Remove that—
and they suffocated.
Simple.
Efficient.
The assistant hesitated again.
"…However…"
Zhou Kang finally looked up.
Cold eyes.
"Speak."
"The underground festival in Shanghai refused to cancel."
Silence.
"…Why?"
"The organizer said…"
The assistant swallowed.
"…he wants to see the performance personally."
A faint smile appeared on Zhou Kang's face.
"Interesting."
Not fear.
Not anger.
Interest.
Because confident people were entertaining.
Especially before they broke.
Zhou Kang placed the report down.
"Then let him perform."
The assistant blinked.
"…Sir?"
Zhou Kang leaned back slowly.
"If Li Chen wants a stage…"
A small smile appeared on his face.
"…then let's give him one."
The assistant suddenly felt cold.
Because he understood that expression.
Someone was about to get crushed.
That night—
The internet exploded.
A single post appeared online.
No warning.
No company announcement.
Just a black screen with white text.
Nebula Project — Live Tomorrow
Lin YueyinSu YaraMu Wanqing
One Stage. One Night.
Below it—
A short teaser video.
Ten seconds.
That was all.
Yueyin's emotional vocals.
Yara's explosive guitar sound.
Wanqing's deep R&B voice.
Three completely different styles—
blended together perfectly.
And at the end—
One sentence appeared.
"The industry said we shouldn't exist."
"So come see us live."
The internet detonated.
Comments flooded instantly.
"What the hell is this lineup?!"
"WAIT—MU WANQING TOO?!"
"No way this is real."
"Three genres together?"
"Who produced this teaser?"
"THE GHOST PRODUCER?"
Inside the studio—
Xiaoyu stared at the numbers rising in real time.
"…It's going viral."
Yara burst out laughing.
"HAHAHA!"
She pointed at Li Chen.
"You absolute maniac!"
Yueyin looked stunned.
"You used the attack against them…"
Wanqing watched Li Chen silently.
Carefully.
Analyzing him again.
Then she finally understood something.
This man…
was dangerous too.
Li Chen looked at the screen calmly.
"Zhou Kang made a mistake."
Xiaoyu looked up.
"What mistake?"
Li Chen smiled slightly.
"He attacked too early."
At that exact moment—
Inside Golden Vision Media—
An employee suddenly rushed into Zhou Kang's office.
"Sir!"
Zhou Kang looked up calmly.
"What?"
The employee's face was pale.
"The Nebula teaser…"
"It just surpassed five million views."
Silence.
For the first time—
Zhou Kang's smile disappeared.
End of Chapter 27