đ” "Where are the enchanting fields, when will they come, all the things you promised me, did you ever stop to notice?"
"All the killings and bloodshed in the past, did you ever stop to notice, the crying planet, the sobbing earth?" đ”
The Chinese often describe beautiful singing with the phrase, 'this song should only exist in heaven, how often can humans hear it?' But right now, everyone present was certain the voice came from this world. It was the kind of sound that could bring peace to humanity.
"Ahâ"
"Ahâ"
Chu Zhi sang softly, passively triggering [Perfect Voice]. It was like a music box that normally played a delicate melody, now shattered, yet the fragments still spun and produced music.
Even the extremists and national defense soldiers on site couldn't help but sigh. Most obviously, Tofa, one of the three leaders of the jihadist group, whose nerves were about to snap, now involuntarily relaxed.
"What have we done to the world? Look at what we've done."
"All the peace, the peace you promised your only son."
"The blooming fields, when will they arrive, all the dreams, the dreams you said belong to you and me?"
Colonel Tanji of Niamey had four children, two of whom had died in the chaos of war. He hated war, yet peace in the world wasn't something a colonel could decide. If surrounding groups had been willing to retreat, he wouldn't have acted further. His mission was to use every method to ensure this batch of equipment didn't fall into extremist hands.
He could never have imagined, until his superiors told him, that the things Chu Zhi used to sing were worth millions!
Tanji stared at the two thin figures in the center of the stage.
Nightfall in the Sahel was terrifying. The sky and earth merged into a black expanse, hiding violence, guns, and armored vehicles. Horman shivered in fear, swallowing hard, frozen in place on stage. The song Chu Zhi was performing was brand new, and Horman didn't even know it, so he couldn't play along, standing there like a wooden post.
"I'm the biggest idiot in the world!" Horman's inner voice didn't stop for a second, his hands visibly trembling on the guitar.
Darkness meant the unknown, and the unknown terrified him. It felt like a massive Glock pointed right at his eyes, the small barrel magnified to infinity. Any bullet fired could blow his head off.
đ” "Did you ever stop to notice all the children who suffer in the flames of war?"
"Did you ever stop to notice the crying planet, the sobbing earth?" đ”
Chu Zhi's soft chanting snapped Horman back. He looked up at the singer in front of him. That frail figure stood resolute, taking a stand against the Sahel itself!
Chu Zhi didn't rely on fancy techniques during the performance, only voice, the Ning King, Perfect Voice, and raw emotion.
"Ahâ"
"I used to dream a lot, I used to look forward to the future."
"Now I don't know where I am."
"But I know we've drifted too far."
The twenty thousand people present could be divided into four groups: extremists, national defense forces, the entertainment circle, and UN personnel. The emotional impact ranked 1, 2, 4, 3 from deepest to shallowest.
The entertainment folks, having never experienced war, found it harder to immerse themselves in the song.
Through his night-vision camera, Janosch saw something miraculous. The extremists, fingers on triggers, guns aimed at every moment, began lowering their weapons.
Was it just a few? Or a collective shift? He slowly scanned the scene.
Not isolated! About eighty percent of extremists around him had lowered their guns. Faces that were once fierce calmed.
"Jesus has come," Janosch whispered, nudging the team leader, Zoltan.
Zoltan, quietly listening to the music, was initially irritated by the interruption. Janosch pointed to the small screen on the camera showing the scene. Zoltan's disbelief slowly turned into awe. The two exchanged glances, both thinking, this is precious footage.
"Get every angle," Zoltan instructed softly, mobilizing all their equipment. Luckily, all three cameras had night vision.
đ” "Ahâ"
"Mmâ"
"Ahâ"
"Mmâ" đ”
Chu Zhi's voice, naturally a gift from heaven, paired with Perfect Voice, was stunning. At this moment, it sounded like a broken music box, yet the melody was still enchanting, with a granular static that left a sense of incompleteness in the heart.
Barnes from Rolling Stone realized the sparks in the air had diminished. He had succeeded. He checked the footage captured by ATV.
đ” "Yesterday, the sea, heaven is falling."
"I can barely breathe, the bleeding planet, don't we feel its pain?"
"What about the value of nature, the source of the planet, the animals, we've turned the three realms to dust." đ”
Chu Zhi added his own harmonies, "We," "Mmâ."
Earth.Song was essentially a song for the planet, subtly anti-war but mostly urging people to cherish their home. A direct anti-war message might provoke resistance, but this song simply asked: what are we leaving for the next generation?
The UN staff felt somewhat redundant. Stopping wars wasn't their doingâit was a star giving it his all.
đ” "What about the elephants, have we lost their trust?"
"The crying whales, we pillage the seas, the forest paths, pleading yet still burned."
"The holy places, divided by religious strife, the innocent, can we not protect them?"
"The dying children, can't you hear them cry?" đ”
Beckson reflected silently that his mother had been right. Mrs. Chelf had told him seriously, "This Chinese man is the reincarnation of Jesus. Even the Pope respects him."
Jeez, reincarnation of Jesus? Beckson had never believed it, but now he felt a flicker of faith.
If the South African press running the festival had half the social responsibility of the singer, this confrontation wouldn't have happened. If those scheming behind the scenes had a tenth of his kindness, nothing here would have escalated.
Beckson realized the most heart-wrenching part of the song was coming.
đ” "Where did we go wrong?"
"Who will tell me why?" đ”
Chu Zhi's voice sounded like a question rising from the deepest soul of humanity.
Even the Emperor Beast's inner voice questioned why. What had he done wrong? Was it just bad luck? Born unlucky?
He never blamed his mother, knowing her hardships, but he often wondered why he couldn't have a normal family like other kids. These questions were buried deep inside, never shown outwardly.
From the previous stages, it was clear that pushing skills, emotional buffs, or title skills to the extreme affected the body. Now, even the extreme Ning King made Chu Zhi unsettled. The lyrics pierced like needles through the soles of shoes, reaching even the thickest layers.
đ” "What about the infants, life, all the joys of living?"
"Humankind, crying humans, Abraham, will they perish again? Do we care?"
"Mmâ" đ”
With emotions pushed to the limit, the final note ended, and Chu Zhi knelt, as if pouring all his strength into the song.
The crowd was silent. Eighty percent of the extremists had lowered their guard, now a hundred percent felt the same. The effect was terrifying.
"Three leaders⊠three leaders, weâŠ" Many jihadist members wanted to speak, but none felt like raising weapons.
Even Tofa sensed the anticipation in his team. He took a deep breath. "There are national forces and other groups here. We can't take the equipment. Sacrifice won't help. For jihad, preserving more warriors is my duty, so we withdraw."
With a command, hundreds of jihadists slowly retreated.
Like dominoes, their withdrawal collapsed the tense situation.
The Liberation of Africa army withdrew.
Love and Peace withdrew.
Survival Base withdrew.
Anti-Violence forces withdrew.
Child Protection withdrew.
East A withdrew.
âŠ
Over twenty extremist groups gradually left, leaving no extremists on site.
National defense forces from Niamey, Togo, Benin, Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, and Eritrea breathed a sigh of relief. Only those scheming behind the scenes wanted conflict tonight.
War meant death.
"Attention! Salute!" Colonel Tanji commanded.
Over two thousand soldiers saluted, and in total, fifteen thousand soldiers across thirteen nations paid the singer the highest respect.
The national forces slowly withdrew. None intended to seize the equipmentâthey just wanted it out of extremist hands.
After twenty-seven minutes, all armed forces were gone.
Xu Xiang helped Chu Zhi to his feet while Huang Yin-guo provided guard. The escape routes were ready; if conflict erupted, Nigerian forces would intervene.
"Thanks, brother Xu," Chu Zhi said.
"You did well," Xu Xiang replied.
"Not that well, haha." Chu Zhi laughed, patting the still-stunned Horman.
Horman, regaining composure, stared at him before blurted out, "Damn it, you're amazing."
Even half an hour later, the reporters, UN staff, celebrities, and crew still hadn't fully processed what happened. Even seeing it with their own eyes, they wanted to believe their vision had tricked them.
"Hahaha, I knew with Mr. Zhi here, it'd be fine!" one staff member cheered, knocking on his friend's shoulder. Too hard, three collapsed before he stopped.
"Everyone's gone?" McDantley asked, jaw aching from holding it up too long.
"This is a hero. When everyone else gave up, he persisted. We gave up, only Chu Zhi persisted, and he succeeded!" Field ignored Horman on stage.
"We witnessed a miracle!" Barnes said excitedly, snapping the salute photo of national forces toward Chu Zhi.
From now on, the world's greatest music festival wasn't Woodstockâit was Chu Zhi's African Peace Music Festival. Barnes declared it.
The Hungarian ATV crew was thrilled. Not only had they witnessed it, but they'd captured it all.
"I'm so glad I got this filming assignment," Janosch said.
"The fate of ATV will change because of this," team leader Zoltan said.
He wasn't exaggeratingâa news story could change a network's fate.
Beckson, UN officer, suggested, "Since everyone's gone, let's wait until tomorrow, then bring trucks to haul it away."
"I'm not sure if extremists really left or might return," Chu Zhi said. "Better to destroy it, no worries later."
Beckson agreed. Trucks arrived with cutting and metal compression machines. Millions of dollars' worth of equipment were destroyed in two hours.
"Mr. Chu Zhi, we at the UN won't let you suffer any loss," Beckson promised.
Treatment didn't matterâBarnes thought, once ATV aired the footage, that sceneâŠ