in2ebook Chapter 1324 Even the revolving lantern was brought to life.
Chapter 1324 Even the revolving lantern was brought to life.
Chapter 1324 They even managed to pull off a revolving lantern!
Shinichi Kudo returned quickly. When he sat down next to Ran Mouri, crouching down, Reiko Akiba had just taken the stage for the second time.
Two of the pieces were instrumental pieces without vocals, and he didn't spend much time on them.
"Resolved?" Ran Mouri, noticing his movement out of the corner of her eye, clapped softly along with the applause from the audience. "So, who is the culprit?"
Hearing her question, Shinichi Kudo stiffened slightly as he sat down: "Is it that obvious?"
"Besides the case, what else do you care about?" Ran Mouri smiled slightly. "Judging from your expression, is everything settled?"
"It's pretty much resolved—but as for the criminal—well, let's wait until Inspector Megure and the others arrive before discussing that—"
"Stop being so mysterious."
"Hey, let's watch the show, let's watch the show—"
Hearing the conversation behind him, Tang Ze suppressed a smile, but didn't turn around to look at the two behind him. He continued to keep his gaze on Akiba Reiko on the stage. As she walked gracefully to the front of the stage, the concert hall fell silent again. Even Kudo Shinichi and Mouri Ran, who had been whispering behind him, stopped talking.
Even before she speaks, just standing there is enough to attract everyone's attention; that's the kind of charm that Akiba Reiko possesses on stage.
On stage, besides her, only Yamane Shion, dressed in a black dress, stood silently under the side light source; Chigusa Lala did not come on stage.
This is the only song she insisted on singing solo, namely "Amazing Grace".
Actually, Tang Ze had already heard the full version of her song up close when he participated in the rehearsal as Yusuke Kitagawa. When he arrived at the Hall of Music and Takumi, he played with this background music for two days while fighting against the shadows of the human beings on the ground. He was already very familiar with it.
However, when she closed her eyes and sang the first note, Tang Ze sat up much more upright.
On stage, once again immersed in this familiar melody, Akiba Reiko, just as she had told Kudo Shinichi, found her thoughts involuntarily drifting back to her past with Soma Hikaru.
Her encounter with Hikaru Soma was an accident. Before that, she never imagined that someone like Hikaru Soma, with a broken family and many hardships in life, could be so compatible and fitting with her.
For her, who came from a relatively well-off family, showed singing talent from a young age, and began her artistic training early, Soma Hikaru was like someone living in a completely different world.
Being born out of wedlock to a single-parent family brought Hikaru Soma a lot of trouble and difficulties. No matter where he was, he was never the one who received praise and attention. He had to devote a lot of energy to protecting himself and his family, which made him stand out from the art students in the academy who were indifferent to the world and only pursued academic success.
It is a miracle that Soma Hikaru grew up in such an environment and became someone who is very good at loving others and giving them energy.
The hardships of life endowed him with abundant emotions and a keen mind, but they did not diminish his kindness and courage. All of this was condensed in his musical expression, which struck Akiba Reiko almost instantly.
If there was a moment when she realized that the vague concept of art had meaning, it was that moment.
That moment when she followed the guidance of her voice and heart and looked at her lover.
Their lives, so different, their paths that should never have crossed, converged at this moment, accompanied by the arrival of music; they met, and then fell in love.
As her thoughts raced, Akiba Reiko no longer used her technique as carefully as before, meticulously controlling every change in melody in pursuit of perfect expression.
As she listened to the solemn organ and the rich violin sounds, she chose to follow the mood and relaxed her control over her voice.
Compared to her previous high notes, which were ethereal and particularly soul-stirring, this time her voice sounded full and emotionally rich. In a daze, it was as if one could touch the most authentic and primal emotions of this spiritual song through her singing.
Wonderful grace, how sweet! My sins have been forgiven.
I was once lost, but now I have finally found my true soul and a clear path, and seen the light again.
The overwhelming and awe-inspiring grace and forgiveness seemed to pour down from the dome through her singing. Looking down from the terrace where Tang Ze and the others were, one could see people everywhere with their hands clasped together, bowing their heads, expressing their repentance and gratitude.
Amidst numerous blessings, after her inner struggle and redemption, she finally stands here, singing the gospel and revelation, truly questioning the divine—
Is this love, suffering, and the final answer to fate?
Even those in the audience with little musical sensitivity were irresistibly drawn into the song, involuntarily reminiscing about the past, recalling regretful moments, and remembering genuine joy and happiness.
At this moment, if there's anyone in the entire arena who still has some resistance, it's probably Tang Ze.
It wasn't that he had high resistance; he had the advantage of his stats, which were high in pure white. So when Akiba Reiko's singing touched on the bottom and essence of a certain understanding, he wasn't led astray by the song.
It wasn't just on a spiritual level. Perhaps it was because everyone had posted too many buffs, but as Akiba Reiko's singing began, something started to subtly flicker in the dim air of the concert hall in Tang Ze's vision.
They are like tiny dust particles illuminated by light under the Tyndall effect, or perhaps just reflections from a brand-new waxed stage and Reiko Akiba's white dress, flowing slowly outwards along with the bright stage lights.
Realizing that this might be the power that Akiba Reiko had gathered through her song, Tang Ze took out the Desire Stone he had prepared long ago and held it in his palm.
As he expected, these tiny lights quickly gathered towards Tang Ze as if they were attracted, at a slow and inconspicuous pace.
In Tang Ze's third eye's vision, Akiba Reiko was much brighter than ever before.
This brightness wasn't entirely the dazzling light emanating from the treasure; rather, it reminded Tang Ze of the golden sand that often flowed out when Leon collected monsters and dropped items in the Velvet Bar.
After he took out the Desire Stone, the light flowed towards it, forming a brilliant and shimmering galaxy in the void, as if building a bridge between the two of them.
As the light gradually brightened, Tang Ze felt the temperature of the Desire Stone in his palm gradually increase. Soon, it reached a temperature slightly warmer than body temperature, just like when he used it to grant other people's wishes.
Tang Ze held it in his hand and felt the Desire Stone melt and flow, eventually forming a long and thin shape in his palm.
After confirming that the Desire Stone would no longer change, Tang Ze lowered his head.
The darkness may prevent others from seeing him, but it cannot stop the vision of his third eye.
As expected, and as if in some kind of response, it transformed into a miniature, golden flute, lying in Tang Ze's palm.
The lost souls have indeed received grace and salvation; it seems there's a reason why Akiba Reiko likes this song.
"Do we really have to wait until the concert ends?"
Standing in the corridor, Takagi Wataru glanced at his watch and shifted his feet uneasily.
"The prisoners have all expressed their willingness to cooperate; it's only two hours." Sato Miwako ignored his unease, watching his expression with a mocking look. "Or are you actually complaining about not being allowed into the concert?"
The search team, having received a call from Pu and Jiang surrendering themselves, obviously couldn't possibly wait until the end of the concert to catch Pu and Jiang walking right into their trap.
After verifying the traffic documents and evidence of the purchase of criminal items he provided, and ruling out the possibility that he was playing a prank or exonerating someone else, the officers from the First Investigation Division arrived at the concert venue immediately and stood guard outside the box of the music and craftsman.
Therefore, Shinichi Kudo didn't go to the meeting entirely alone, as that would have been somewhat like sending himself to his death.
Before he even entered, he saw two police officers standing on either side of the door, like guardian deities.
Of course, it wasn't just the two of them who came, but as the main person in charge and the person responsible for communicating and coordinating with the suspect, only the two of them stayed outside the door, while the others were distributed on both sides of the corridor to confirm the situation.
At the time, Shinichi Kudo was not surprised, but he felt sympathy for the police officers.
The concert didn't start until almost 5:30 PM, and in two hours it would be 7:30 PM. After apprehending the person, I'd have to rush back immediately to give a statement and take them into custody for questioning.
With this setup, working until midnight is considered highly efficient.
Because of the suspect's psychological state, they couldn't just go into his room and sit next to him and watch. Not only did they have to work overtime, but they also couldn't get any music to listen to. It couldn't be more miserable.
"I must say, the soundproofing in this concert hall is pretty good." Takagi Wataru made a joke, trying to keep the conversation going. "Once the box doors are closed, we can barely hear anything standing here—"
"That's pretty impressive. I remember there are quite a few doors here. To achieve this level of soundproofing, it must have cost a lot of money," said Miwako Sato, getting straight to the point.
Due to its high capacity, in order to meet fire safety requirements and facilitate entry and exit, the concert hall has a total of eight doors on both sides of the first floor. These are all large double doors. There are also other entrances and exits at the back of the stands for the convenience of the elevated positions. The sound insulation of this structure is so good that it must have cost a lot of money.
Before they could continue their conversation, their attention was suddenly drawn to the commotion outside.
This "outer" doesn't refer to the concert hall, but rather the actual outer layer, that is, the exterior of the building.
To facilitate entry and exit and avoid disrupting the concert, the police used the fire escape, so the only possible source of such a loud commotion was—
The sources of information provided by Pu and Jiang regarding their purchase of special items indicate that the C4 bombs they used to create the explosions and kill Mizuguchi and Rencheng are still missing.
After exchanging glances and sensing that something might be wrong, the two immediately took off running along the fire escape towards the rooftop.
It doesn't take long to get from the private room on the third floor to the rooftop on the fourth floor.
Therefore, they caught the tail end of this barrage and saw the last few bursts of flame shooting into the sky.
The tops of the 25 exterior columns of the concert hall resemble golden fountains, continuously spewing out golden flames.
Brilliant fireworks erupted into the sky, exploding with a deafening roar in the night, before forming the letters that hovered briefly in mid-air. "This is—" Takagi Wataru silently repeated the letters in his mind, somewhat bewildered. "Uh, did Mr. Domoto prepare this for the ceremony?"
Well, that makes sense, doesn't it?
However, shouldn't such fireworks displays require fire safety approval? It seems they haven't received any notification.
"—No, I guess not." Reassured that nothing bad had happened, Sato Miwako relaxed, hands on her hips, and chuckled. "I bet it was another group of guys who love fireworks."
Moreover, no matter how you look at it, "May success be with you always" could not possibly be a declaration written by the organizer for themselves. It seems more like a blessing or a message.
And, the missing explosives and such —
It doesn't feel like this is the first time, does it, you guys from the Phantom Thieves of Hearts?
"Ugh————"
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
When the song "Amazing Grace" came to an end, the entire concert hall erupted in unprecedented applause.
Almost everyone was sincerely praising and applauding Akiba Reiko's rare performance, and many people even had tears in their eyes as they looked at the stage.
Even Heiji Hattori, who was originally not very interested in classical music concerts, couldn't help but clap his hands more enthusiastically. Overwhelmed with emotion, he turned his head to say a few words to Karasawa, who was sitting next to him, only to find that Karasawa was covering his mouth and nose with his hand, as if he was enduring something.
"You didn't cry because of the singing, did you?!" Hattori Heiji asked incredulously, considering a possible possibility.
It's not that Tang Ze can't cry, it's just that listening to a religious spiritual made Tang Ze cry, and that statement has a very magical and hellish feel to it.
"What the hell?" Tang Ze, finally suppressing the urge to sneeze, let go of her hand, muttered a few curses about who was talking about her behind her back, and then raised his hand to applaud along with everyone else. "Although I was very moved, I wouldn't cry. But I can't rule out that some people might."
Seriously, this isn't about whether or not you cry while singing.
This performance, already enhanced by numerous factors, showcased Akiba Reiko's exceptional talent. Added to this were the amplification and enhancements from her various cognitive advancements, and the fact that this was a religious song expressing devotion, gratitude, repentance, and enlightenment—
Good heavens, the way this was sung was so dramatic! It was like believers seeing Jesus and non-believers seeing their grandmothers. They even pulled off a revolving lantern show. What's crying compared to that?
"Truly impressive." Hattori Heiji's attention returned to the stage, watching Akiba Reiko bow in gratitude for the prolonged applause. "Domoto Ikki is truly a man of discerning judgment."
Replacing Chigusa Lala with Akiba Reiko is now a decision that no one can say was made to protect Siqin's reputation or seek fame; it was absolutely the right choice.
Reiko Akiba's performance of this song, if not raising the overall level of the concert, truly delivered a divine live performance worthy of leaving a mark on music history.
"—Maybe."
With an enigmatic smile, Tang Ze didn't correct the somewhat hellish misunderstanding. He put the small golden flute into his pocket and turned his gaze to Akiba Reiko.
As for the meaning of this song, only those involved can truly understand it.