Chapter 53: Not Torture
In the room, Sophie Wexler sent the documents she had already screened to Cillian Forrest.
When she saw Cillian Forrest open them, she leaned over and said, "Here, and here... these are the parts I had questions about. I’ve marked them all."
She had done her best to organize everything, but some terms were unique to the Galaxy and she didn’t quite understand them, so she had highlighted those sections.
Cillian Forrest accepted the files and scanned through them, line by line. He noticed she had really done her homework. Unlike the last time she’d asked for his help, this time the documents were even filled with her own notes.
"Let’s go through them together. I’ll walk you through my first pass; it’ll be faster that way."
"Mm," the man hummed in agreement.
For a time, the room fell quiet. They both focused on their work, and whenever Sophie Wexler was unsure about something, she would lean over and ask Cillian Forrest. The atmosphere was surprisingly harmonious.
After some hard work, they managed to narrow the list down to a few promising options.
However, each had its own pros and cons. Some offered a high price, others were better for long-term development, and a few specifically wanted to purchase the rights to her sung versions, among other details.
Sophie Wexler compiled the top choices and reviewed them again, finding it difficult to make a final decision.
"You could send them your list of requirements and see which companies are willing to accept them. Then you can make your choice," Cillian Forrest suggested.
"Okay."
If she was going to commit to a partnership, it would be a long-term one, so certain boundaries had to be established from the start.
Sophie Wexler drafted a document with her terms and sent it off. With that done, all she could do was wait for their replies.
Meanwhile, all sorts of rumors about Sophie Wexler’s music rights were circulating on the StarNet. Some supported her selling the rights, while others, naturally, did not.
Some feared that if Sophie Wexler signed with a record company, her songs would inevitably be put behind a paywall, and they wouldn’t be able to listen for free anymore.
Others worried she would stop live streaming, and then how would they get their soothing relief?
The soothing effect depended on the energy fluctuations of her spiritual power in real-time. If it were just a recording, the effect would be so minimal as to be negligible.
They were afraid that once Sophie Wexler earned enough money from selling her music rights, she would stop streaming altogether.
But there were also those who pointed out that the songs Sophie Wexler uploaded were, after all, just simple self-accompanied recordings. They hadn’t undergone professional production, and these fans hoped to hear higher-quality works.
A professional release on the StarNet would certainly expand her influence, and her fans definitely wanted her music to be enjoyed by more people.
For a time, the StarNet was abuzz with controversy over the matter.
However, Sophie Wexler was unaware of all this. She was busy with her soothing sessions.
After the last session, the condition of the soldiers’ Spiritual Seas had shown significant improvement, so several more sessions had followed.
However, not every session was broadcast live.
Although General York had said it was fine, the environment was different, and some discretion was still necessary.
One day, there were no soothing sessions scheduled at the military base. Finding herself with some free time and realizing she hadn’t streamed in days, Sophie logged into her account.
It was as if her followers were constantly watching her account, because the moment she went live, a huge wave of people flooded into the stream.
Sophie Wexler greeted them, "Hello, everyone. Good afternoon!"
[YES, YES, YES!! Finally caught your stream! This just made my whole afternoon.]
[Sue, you haven’t been on in days! I was about to turn into a fossil waiting for you.]
A flood of comments expressed how much they had missed Sophie Wexler, and all sorts of small gifts flew across the screen.
Among them, however, were other types of comments.
[Streamer, is it true what they’re saying on the StarNet? Are you signing a deal for your music rights? Are you still going to stream after that?]
Finally, someone had asked about the hottest topic on the StarNet.
Once the topic was broached, a flood of similar, questioning comments followed.
The platform administrator, who was in the stream, saw the mood turning sour and immediately sent a private message to Sophie Wexler, asking if she needed him to start muting people.
Sophie Wexler replied that it wasn’t necessary.
There was no reason to avoid the question, so Sophie Wexler gave a direct, affirmative answer.
"I am going to be collaborating with a record company," Sophie said in a calm voice. "But I will definitely continue to stream."
’For one thing, my contract with this platform is still active. Besides, they’ve been very good to me. They gave me this opportunity, and the terms are great. Why would I leave?’
’Even if my plans change down the line, that would only be after my contract is up, which is still a long way off.’
Hearing her definitive answer, many people breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she kept streaming, they were happy.
[That scared me to death! I thought we’d never get to hear you live again.]
[Does this mean your songs will cost money once they’re on the StarNet? Can they be free?]
[To the person above, are you delusional??]
[Are you even listening to yourself? Is that something a decent person would say? What song on the StarNet is free? You think the streamer is a charity worker? It’s not enough that you get to watch her streams for free, now you want her professionally released songs to be free too? How can you be so shameless?]
[We should be grateful her original work isn’t more expensive than the AI-generated stuff.]
Even the most ordinary song released on the StarNet came with a fee, to say nothing of an original piece with as much artistic value as Sophie Wexler’s. Making it free was simply impossible.
Even if Sophie Wexler agreed to it, the record company never would.
Just as the discussion was getting heated, a massive gift animation suddenly flashed across the screen, obscuring all the comments.
A flicker of surprise crossed Sophie Wexler’s eyes. ’The big spender from last time?’
[HOLY CRAP, it’s the Top Supporter! The Top Supporter is here! Form a line to welcome him!]
[All hail the Top Supporter!]
[Streamer, hurry up and greet him!]
This completely derailed the previous conversation. The critical comments vanished, replaced by a chorus of people welcoming the Top Supporter.
Sophie Wexler had been wondering how to change the subject, and now she didn’t have to. Seeing the comments, she hesitated for a moment before saying, "Welcome, F... to the stream."
His name was followed by a string of code that was impossible to pronounce, so she decided to just say the first letter.
Then, a large "Mm." floated across the chat display.
His text had a special effect, different from everyone else’s, making it stand out conspicuously. ’Is this the power of money?’ she wondered.
Shaking off the thought, Sophie Wexler asked, "F, is there anything you’d like to hear today? You can make a request."
The last time, he had simply said she didn’t need to give a refund and then left. He hadn’t responded to her messages since, so she had thought he wouldn’t show up again.
After Sophie finished speaking, a single word quickly floated across the chat: [Whatever.]
Sophie: "..."
’Alright, since he won’t make a request, I’ll just decide for myself. I’ve been learning a bit about the musical instruments of the Galaxy recently. I can give one a try. If it doesn’t work out, I can always switch back.’
The instrument had a peculiar shape, and its keys were virtual. Sophie gave it a try, producing a single "DUM" sound.
After playing a few notes, Sophie Wexler frowned slightly. This instrument wasn’t easy to use; the sound it produced was clumsy and heavy.
[Sue, please go back to your ancient instruments. Don’t torture me with this thing.]
[And don’t torture the Top Supporter, either!]
The sound might have been fine on its own, but compared to the music Sophie Wexler usually created, it was rather jarring.
[F: It’s fine.]
At some point, he had changed his name, removing the string of random characters after the letter and leaving just "F".
[F: It’s not torture.]