Chapter 78 - 79: Recording
For the next few days, Sophie Wexler kept mulling over what Cillian Forrest had said.
’What did he mean, "if I say so, it is"? Does he believe me or not?’
’From the look on his face, he clearly didn’t believe me. It’s like he already knows something.’
But after watching him for a few days, she saw he was acting just like his usual self. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Eventually, she got tired of worrying and decided to just let it go. Whatever happens, happens.
’So what if he’s suspicious? At most, he’s just suspicious about that book. There’s no way he could guess I’m from Aethel.’
’And even in the worst-case scenario, what if he does suspect me? Does he have any proof? No.’
’So, what do I have to be afraid of?’
Once she came to this realization, Sophie Wexler’s mood instantly improved. She went back to taking things one day at a time.
Her body was recovering well, and her Spiritual Sea was completely stable. She even found the time to make up for the live streams she had missed.
The day she went live, her stream was packed with an incredible number of people.
Sophie Wexler used to think her streams were popular—she was always number one on the platform whenever she went live. But this time, over a billion people flooded her channel. It was enough to scare her to death.
Thankfully, the platform had anticipated her current influence and reinforced its servers in advance. Otherwise, with that much traffic, the stream would have crashed again.
The gifts in the stream were nonstop, but the top spot on the gift leaderboard was still held by "F," who firmly maintained his position without wavering.
Everyone in the stream was shouting about wanting to surpass F. In an instant, all sorts of gifts poured into Sophie Wexler’s account like a tidal wave.
This had the people over at Stellara practically doubled over with laughter.
Many viewers in the stream also asked for the name of the song she sang during the war with The Swarm, saying how incredibly moving it was.
Sophie Wexler replied, "You can call it a military anthem."
’The anthem of our army back home,’ Sophie Wexler said to herself. ’They’ve always been a force to be reckoned with.’
Afterwards, netizens started asking about the recording progress for her other songs.
Lord knows how badly they wanted to hear the fully produced versions. The simple versions were already so good; they couldn’t imagine how amazing the songs would sound after being professionally recorded!
Sophie Wexler knew the netizens were anxious. Not just them—the platform was anxious, and so was Benjamin Wyatt.
Once it was confirmed that she had no further health issues, Sophie Wexler began her packed schedule. Between live streams, song recordings, and dealing with copyright issues for several film and television companies, she was busy enough to be spinning like a top.
During the song recordings, besides the few people from the platform who knew her true identity, there were other staff members and some future collaborators present.
To avoid being recognized, Sophie Wexler deliberately wore the mask Cillian Forrest had given her before.
Inside the recording studio.
Sophie Wexler wore a fox mask that concealed most of her features. Only her lips and eyes were visible, adding an alluring charm to her entire presence.
Seeing this, most of the people outside grew curious. They whispered to each other, "Who is Sue Shiver, really? What does she look like? Why is she wearing a mask?"
"No idea. No one has known what she looks like since she started streaming. Before, she would only even show her hands. It wasn’t until the military released that official video that we saw her full body, and she was wearing a mask then, too."
"Although," one of them whispered, "there’s speculation on StarNet about why Sue Shiver doesn’t show her face. It’s either because her real identity is shady, or she’s just too ugly."
It wasn’t just them; many people on StarNet were discussing it. Ever since Sue Shiver blew up, everyone had become incredibly curious about her appearance.
"I bet it’s because she’s ugly and doesn’t want anyone to see her face."
The moment those words were spoken, they were suddenly hit by the oppressive force of a High-level Spiritual Power.
They turned to see a man standing nearby, his face hard as he stared at them, his eyes filled with ice.
The two of them couldn’t help but shrink back. They immediately shut their mouths, not daring to say another word. They didn’t even dare to stay put and quickly went to check on the equipment they were supposed to be preparing.
Only then did Cillian Forrest slowly retract his gaze and look toward the person inside the booth.
Sophie Wexler saw Cillian Forrest leaning against the wall outside. She smiled at him, her eyes beneath the fox mask curving into crescents.
’Her? Ugly?’ Cillian Forrest scoffed internally, recalling the two men’s conversation.
Sophie Wexler pulled her gaze away from Cillian Forrest, adjusted the microphone’s position, and gave the staff an "OK" sign.
Instantly, the music—which she had produced herself—began to play in her headphones. As the melody flowed, Sophie Wexler slowly closed her eyes, and her lips parted slightly.
A beautiful voice flowed out of the recording studio, weaving around everyone present.
In that instant, everyone was utterly stunned!
Even the director of the entertainment division was shocked. He had heard Miss Wexler’s songs before, but only through her live streams.
This was the first time he’d heard her in person!
It was a completely different experience from listening on a stream. The first song Sophie Wexler began to record was "Recovery." Her voice was light and clear, yet full of emotion, drawing the listeners in completely.
But the most, most, most important thing was that the director discovered his own Spiritual Sea was growing calmer as she sang!
He was in his Disorder Period. Watching Miss Wexler’s stream a couple of days ago had provided some relief, but today, the surge of chaotic spiritual power had returned, leaving him in unbearable pain. He had come to the recording session partly hoping that listening to her sing more would soothe his condition.
’Even if it doesn’t calm down completely, it should at least feel a lot better.’
But!
Can someone please tell him why the turmoil in his Spiritual Sea had completely vanished?!
It wasn’t just him; the others felt it, too.
A single thought flashed through everyone’s mind.
The soothing effect of her song was far, far greater in person than on a live stream!
Everyone was collectively shocked!
Cillian Forrest watched their expressions, knowing they had discovered the difference.
Meanwhile, inside the recording booth, Sophie Wexler continued to sing.
Her spiritual power was woven into her voice, flowing continuously into the ears of the crowd.
It made their Spiritual Seas incredibly calm, free from the assault of any chaotic spiritual power.
It was no wonder they were so astonished. Unlike the soldiers in the military district, they had never heard Sophie Wexler sing in person.
Moreover, Sophie Wexler’s spiritual power had now officially broken through to the SS-level, so soothing their spiritual power was no problem at all.
Previously, because it was through a live stream, that medium had significantly reduced the soothing effect of Sophie’s power.
But now, without a screen between them, they were face-to-face, and the full soothing effect of Sophie Wexler’s High-level Spiritual Power was completely unleashed.
The average spiritual power of a Karathian wasn’t high, so it was no difficulty at all for Sophie Wexler to soothe them.
The director watched the woman singing inside, and an idea suddenly flashed in his mind.
’If she didn’t sing on streams, but instead held live concerts, then...’
The director could already imagine what an electrifying scene that would be.
The thought instantly energized him, and his eyes shone as he looked at Sophie Wexler.
Sophie Wexler, completely unaware of this, continued to sing. She had to record several songs today—all the originals she had performed before.
When she finished and came out, Sophie Wexler was met with the sight of the director staring at her excitedly.
Sophie Wexler glanced at Cillian Forrest, asking with her eyes: ’What’s up with him?’