As the three of them were arguing incessantly about last night's events, the door of the hotel room suddenly swung open. And there, everyone saw a figure entering the room, heavily made up, with a head full of curly wigs, wearing exaggerated gemstone earrings, a sky-blue dress, and towering heels. Yes, it was none other than Daddy Cat, the helium alien! Seemingly to show off its sophistication, Daddy Cat even stuck a mole with a long hair on its cheek, adding a touch of repulsiveness to its appearance.
"What the hell! Aren't you supposed to be the housekeeper? Why are you everywhere?" Seeing Daddy Cat tiptoeing cautiously due to its high heels, Haoyun couldn't help but curse.
It seemed that this time Daddy Cat was playing the role of Haoyun's—no, it should be said, the agent of the three big stars, Arun. As soon as it entered the room, it busied itself by walking over to Jiamei, helping her straighten out her sexy dress and adjusting her neckline, making her look even more dazzling.
Afterward, Daddy Cat said satisfactorily, "Hey, my three little ancestors, are you all ready? There are so many people outside today! You must walk the red carpet well later! Oh, Arun, when we take photos later, let Musty Uncle stand in the middle so that you and Jiamei won't inadvertently display overly intimate behavior in public. You two need to restrain yourselves a bit recently, and you must not attract media attention again! Otherwise, how will Jiamei handle the off-screen rumors with the male lead of the next movie in a few days?"
"Huh! That guy is not even worthy of gossiping with this girl? Isn't this lowering my standards and bullying?" Jiamei rolled her eyes, full of disdain.
"Hey, my little girl! Do you think I don't know how insignificant that guy is? But the investors think this is a great publicity stunt! Besides, they won't ask much of you two. The most the crew will arrange is for you two to wear casual clothes and randomly visit a few restaurants or cinemas late at night, letting those reporters speculate as they please! Moreover, the crew is paying us a hefty sum for this scandalous publicity! We can't afford to be picky about money, can we?" Daddy Cat said as it jumped around, helping Jiamei fix her hair while persuading her.
Upon hearing about the substantial appearance fee the crew was willing to pay, Jiamei nodded in satisfaction. Then, she arrogantly said, "Well said. After all, we're here to help promote this movie for the crew. It's only right to cooperate with their publicity efforts. But you must make it clear to them beforehand that I can only walk side by side with that guy. As for any playful banter, hand-holding, or hugging, he shouldn't even think about it!"
"Of course! That's only natural! Considering that guy's status, the opportunity for him to collaborate with Jiamei is already a stroke of luck for eight lifetimes!" Daddy Cat immediately replied.
"Jiamei, you can rest assured about the publicity! I'll protect you in secret. If that guy dares to lay a finger on you, I'll immediately scratch his face to pieces!" Arun walked to Jiamei's side, embracing her slender waist, displaying a very manly demeanor but actually wearing a smug expression.
Although this wasn't Haoyun's intention, seeing such an intimate gesture between himself and Meng Jia, Haoyun couldn't help but blush involuntarily, feeling incredibly happy. Meng Jia was also startled by Arun's sudden embrace. Although she knew that this gesture was not initiated by Haoyun, being held by Haoyun's body was still... So, Meng Jia immediately asked Haoyun to move his gaze away from her and requested him to let her go quickly. Haoyun, on the other hand, innocently claimed that he didn't want to do this and said that all these actions were done by Arun, not him, while sneakily glancing down at Meng Jia's swan-like neck, which appeared exceptionally fair under the V-neckline.
"Huh! Jiamei, don't listen to his nonsense! Last time, when you were in a relationship with that female star and she was rumored with someone else, this guy said the same thing. But what happened? You took advantage of the opportunity to protect your girlfriend in secret and ended up flirting with the male assistant around the other male star. This time, the male star rumored with Jiamei has many female assistants around him, and some of them are said to be quite attractive. Arun, are you planning to use the same old tricks this time?" Musty Uncle said disdainfully, holding a glass of wine.
"Hey? Look at what you're saying, Musty Uncle! I did that because it was too cold at the time, and I was afraid those little assistant girls would freeze. So, I kindly invited them to warm up in my car one by one. I'm a gentleman! Don't misunderstand my good intentions!" Arun hurriedly explained, feeling guilty.
"Alright, alright! You three stop arguing! It's almost time. Let's hurry downstairs!" Daddy Cat knew these three too well. Once they started bickering, there would be no end to it. So, it quickly intervened and then called in a dozen security guards to escort Arun and the others out of the hotel room.
As it turned out, Arun and the others came specifically to participate in a large-scale event called the "World Star Carnival," where stars interacted with fans. Over the next five days, their schedule was packed with red carpets, autograph sessions, photoshoots, various ceremonies, and events, leaving them with no time to eat or rest. Media from different parts of the world, sponsors, and crews seemed to spare no effort to lavish the Unlucky Immortal Troupe's trio with unimaginable luxury gifts, hoping to meet them in person or to have the honor of deep collaboration.
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After participating in the "World Star Carnival," the Unlucky Immortal Troupe remained as busy as ever. As the most sought-after music group in the world, they continued to travel around the globe, appearing on various programs and performing their hit song "Unlucky New World" time and time again. Meanwhile, Haoyun and his companions continued their search for a way to escape their predicament. However, despite their efforts, they could only watch helplessly as their bodies carried out tasks completely unrelated to their thoughts, unable to find a solution. Thus, they could only strive to calm their anxious hearts while constantly observing their bodies' actions, hoping to find a breakthrough that would free their consciousness.
After completing another round of global promotional announcements for their new work, the Unlucky Immortal Troupe hurried to the next venue for their concert and began relentless rehearsals. According to the rehearsal content, Haoyun learned that the theme of this concert was "Summer Cool-off Festival," primarily aimed at celebrating the arrival of summer and encouraging people to enjoy the passion it brings, ensuring everyone has a pleasant summer.
However, upon hearing the concert theme, Haoyun felt anything but relaxed. From his perspective as a former avid fan of variety shows, any program involving a "Summer Cool-off Festival" theme would not be as simple as it seemed on the surface. More likely than not, it would be a terrifying program that would send shivers down one's spine. Therefore, based on intuition, Haoyun believed that the concert the Unlucky Immortal Troupe was about to perform might not be as straightforward. There might be some unexpected incidents during the concert, or at least it would officially inform them of the tasks they needed to complete in this world.
To highlight the theme of "Summer Cool-off," the concert was deliberately scheduled to take place outdoors in the evening. On the day of the concert, tens of thousands of fans from around the world flocked to the venue, creating an unprecedented fervor. The Unlucky Immortal Troupe's parent company, Gogolniky Entertainment Limited, spared no expense for the concert's stage effects due to its special significance.
It was reported that to complement the entire performance, Gogolniky Entertainment Limited specially invited the world's most renowned interactive lighting design team to create a large-scale interactive light and shadow stage set for the performance, ensuring that the hundreds of thousands of audience members attending the concert could interact with the Unlucky Immortal Troupe in real-time through dazzling ground light effects, regardless of where they were positioned in the venue.
As the sun set, the concert officially began amidst the backdrop of the fiery red sun. With the spectacular musical performance by the Unlucky Immortal Troupe and the brilliant interactive lighting effects, the tens of thousands of spectators quickly became immersed in the dual enjoyment of sound and light art. Especially when a sudden heavy rain fell after sunset, instead of dampening the audience's enthusiasm, it elevated the atmosphere to another peak. The audience was ecstatic, throwing themselves into the music, shaking off the rain from their heads, jumping and singing along with the band, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
However, despite the lively atmosphere, Haoyun and his companions remained unmoved. From their perspective, the audience below, with their heads shaking wildly to the music and shouting fervently, all wearing masks with long red noses, looked more like participants in a large, fervent ritual organized by a cult, sending chills down their spines.
Just as the atmosphere continued to escalate, a series of explosions mixed with the sound of electrical discharge suddenly erupted among the cheering crowd, spreading rapidly throughout the venue.
It turned out that the workload for the outdoor lighting setup in the spectator stands was too massive, leading to negligence by the installation personnel, who failed to properly connect all the lighting wiring plugs and also had defects in waterproofing. Consequently, with the continuous rain and the excitement of the audience, loose lighting plugs and water ingress into the wiring harness eventually caused a short circuit in the lighting system placed on the ground.
After a massive short circuit occurred in the ground lighting system, local electric leakage inevitably followed suit. Since it was midsummer, many spectators had come to the concert dressed lightly, even barefoot. Coupled with the excessive water accumulation in the venue's lawn, an unprecedented large-scale electrical accident was on the verge of happening. Many spectators were quickly struck by electric current, turning the previously uproarious cheers into cries of agony.
Soon, the electrical accident that occurred among the tens of thousands of people dominated the headlines of major news outlets worldwide. According to post-event statistics, tens of thousands of on-site spectators suffered varying degrees of electric shock. Many people were critically injured due to severe burns, and more than a thousand people tragically lost their lives at the scene. What was supposed to be an unparalleled musical feast destined for the annals of history ultimately devolved into one of the most catastrophic disasters in history.
The grieving and enraged public naturally directed their blame towards the protagonists of the concert—the Unlucky Immortal Troupe. Everyone unanimously believed that it was due to the inadequate preparation of the Unlucky Immortal Troupe before the concert that led to the occurrence of this global catastrophe. For a time, condemnation was rampant, and the Unlucky Immortal Troupe plummeted from being idolized by millions to being reviled as pariahs.
Even though post-event investigations revealed that the fundamental cause of the accident did not lie with the Unlucky Immortal Troupe; even though Gogolniky Entertainment Limited spared no expense in treating the injured immediately after the accident; even though Haoyun and his companions were also victims of the electrical injuries from the accident, suffering varying degrees of harm. But who made them stand at the pinnacle of the pyramid, the most dazzling figures?
Faced with such a major event, the emotions of the public needed an outlet, and as the brightest target, they naturally became the sole focus of all the backlash. For a while, curses against the Unlucky Immortal Troupe emerged incessantly, and various negative news about them kept surfacing like mushrooms after rain. However, at this moment, people didn't care, nor did they bother to verify these rumors about the Unlucky Immortal Troupe, whether they were true or maliciously fabricated. People only cared about whether these negative pieces of information were related to the Unlucky Immortal Troupe. Because at present, all they wanted was to vent their dissatisfaction by insulting them, even if the emotions they wanted to vent had nothing to do with the electrical accident.