Chapter 222: Hidden Talent
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Not everyone had the real-life combat experience like Apache. No matter how excellent a student was, when standing face to face with a Zerg, feeling terrified was inevitable. Lack of enough time to build trust and learn the team tactics would also shorten a student's service life or life altogether.
Graduates of some top-notch schools such as Capth would be automatically promoted after only a year of service. The likelihood of these officers partaking in a real combat fresh out of their ivory tower was very little. Even if they were given the opportunity of going to Norton, they were likely not going to accept it since they were already guaranteed a higher ranked position and no longer need to do the dirty groundwork in order to increase rank. The reason that Apache wanted to join the war was not for medals or ranks, but to improve himself as a fighter.
"We can talk about it later. Today we are on vacation, so let's relax. We deserve it!" Apache cracked a smile.
"Agreed!"
As the boys walked along the street, they saw three of their female classmates ahead of them. They all had a satisfied smile on their face after a splurge in a shopping mall.
"Aren't you girls tired?"
"Tired? Are you kidding me, Wang Tong? We are going to shop until we drop!" Rumi said
"Yea, many things are going on here. Zhou Sisi is going to take us to the rehearsal of the HG. Do you guys want to come along?" A seductive smile appeared on Luo Manman's face. Everyone had already gotten used to that as it was the side effect of her tactics to be unintentionally alluring.
"Not interested," Apache replied with a blank face.
"You are always so uptight. All you know is fighting. Did you know that relaxing and resting is half the battle? Plus, it's not rude to show some support for my sister, you know." Zhou Sisi's words had hit the mark.
Apache was eventually dragged to the rehearsal stage by his friends unwillingly.
Inside the Aurora City, the temperature was kept constant at 25 degrees. The city also had the best scenery and the freshest air on Earth. As the students walked on the clean and neat streets under the towering skyscrapers, they dreamed of having their own place in this city.
The environment also attracted Wang Tong, and he reasoned that if he could purchase a house here for Old Fart, Old Fart would never run away.
The city also had a very developed public transit system, and its services were free, paid by the massive amount of goods and service tax the consumers paid.
They had soon arrived at the DREAM theater. It was named after the DREAM corp since they had eighty percent of the share. Since it was built, it had quickly become the most prestigious theater on Earth. Every performer considered it an honor to perform here, since only the most successful ones could make it to the waiting list.
HG had been the most popular band recently. Although some critics had considered their music tasteless fab, they were highly praised and popular among the teenagers.
The likeness of Sisi with her sister Yiyi shocked everyone at Bernabeu. Without much makeup on the singer, she looked exactly like her sister.
Yiyi returned to her rehearsal after saying hi to everyone. Hu Yangxuan's eyes darted around to follow the attractive looking girls on the stage While Wang Tong was starting to get bored. Apache had already picked a corner to sit down, with his eyes closed.
As the song died down on the stage, the HG had finished their rehearsal. Yiyi walked to her sister with another man.
"Sister, this is Director Mike."
The young man stood beside Yiyi was slim and small framed. He looked more feminine than a poster girl.
Mike's pinkie finger was held up at all time, and the unnatural way he carried himself made Wang Tong cringe.
Mike was one of the top managers and directors at the time. Not only HG, but many other famous bands had also signed a contract with him. Fame and financial success had made him look down on these uncouth students from Military Academies.
"Are you the performer in that dance video?" Mike's eyes glinted as he saw Wang Tong. The light in Mike's eyes made Wang Tong's hair stand on their ends.
Yiyi stuck her tongue out and apologized," Sorry sister, I had accidentally sent that dancing video of you and Wang Tong to Mike. I thought it was my training video."
"Wait, what? You can dance?" Apache couldn't believe his ears. He had thought Wang Tong was just as tasteless in the art as he was.
"Buzz off! I was just shuffling." As the future captain of the Confederation fleet, Wang Tong could not taint his name by debauching in acts of pleasure.
"Oh my god, It IS you! You are very talented, you know. Just like, quit your school already. You will be like so super popular, and you know what I mean? " Mike told Wang Tong, and a few specks of spittle flew out from Mike's mouth as he waved his hand in the air excitedly. His pinkie finger remained held up.
"Wang Tong I support you. One less competitor for me anyway, ha-ha" Hu Yangxuan jested.
"You feeling itchy?" Wang Tong threw a threatening glance at Hu Yangxuan.
"Common Wang Tong, don't keep us waiting." Luo Manman said.
Many other students agreed with Luo Manman. They all wanted to know if Wang Tong was as good a dancer as he was a fighter.
"No! Never! "Wang Tong refused. Seeing some of his classmates had already turned their recording device on, Wang Tong was afraid that he would forever become a laughing stock should he agree to humiliate himself on the stage.
"Just once Wang Tong, we all want to see!" Zhou Sisi pleaded.
Wang Tong looked around and found that everyone's eyes were filled with sincere anticipation. He knew that he had already walked into a trap and it was too late to pull out.
"Be a man, do the right thing! Don't let these sons of b*tches look down on you, boss!" Karl yelled at him while smiling knowingly at the attractive looking girl beside him.
‘Curse you, Karl! I thought we were friends." Wang Tong screamed in his mind.
"Fine, I can dance, but no one is allowed to record!"
Mike was stunned when he first saw the video recording. He was convinced that he saw not only dance moves, but also strength, passion, and art!
Many people looked down on an artist and considered their creations useless. But they didn't realize the amount of care and effort the artist had poured into their work, as they were driven by the will of creating something perfect. Even Mike knew that his work was not yet complete; it lacked a particular power or strength.
Mike was not looking for money nor fame, he had both already. What he was looking for was a muse. He had found his muse in Wang Tong's dance video. Wang Tong's moves were raw but powerful, and filled to the brim with emotion. The brilliant performance made Mike doubt if Wang Tong was actually a choreographic master.
The music rose at one snap of Mike's finger. The theater workers brought Wang Tong a set of more comfortable clothes to change to, but Wang Tong politely refused; he didn't want to put in too much effort anyway.
Wang Tong stood at the center of the stage motionlessly as the rest of the people waiting. Some workers were not happy with a young boy interrupting their work, but they had already gotten used to the eccentricity of Mike as it was not the first time they had to accept his bizarre requests.
Mike folded his arms in front of him and waited restlessly. Five minutes later, Wang Tong still didn't make a single move, and his audience wondered if he had gotten stage fright.
Wang Tong was not suffering stage fright. Instead, he was finding the right feeling. He knew he could do it, but for some reason, he felt his whole body was frozen, and he could not even move a toe.
Mike seemed to have noticed the problem and took control of the DJ pit. The music changed suddenly as the pitch soared higher and higher before it took a sudden plunge. The virtual environment around the stage had also transformed into a jungle scenery. The music was laced with the roars of Zergs and the sound of iron and blood.
"That was it! that's the feeling!"
On the stage, Wang Tong started to move.
Suddenly Wang Tong was no longer a student, but he had become a jungle warrior, fighting countless Zergs by himself.
Wang Tong's dance originated from the moves of military training, and these were highly difficult moves that only a few dancers could achieve.
The music's tempo took a turn, and so did Wang Tong's hallucination. He had become a Zerg and was roaring bloodthirstily at the deep thicket.
Wang Tong smelled the promise of danger, hunger, and blood, and the smell reminded him the days on Norton. The survival instinct kicked in and Wang Tong felt like his heart was about to explode out from his chest.
Soldier - never look back!
Fighting - the last battle!
Mike looked like he was in a trance as his body trembled with the fast-paced beats. He had been the best DJ of the world. Otherwise, he would not be able to match his music with Wang Tong's passion.
On - the last battle
Meet - the unstoppable trample!
The music stopped, and Wang Tong ended his dance with a slightly slanted stance. Time seemed to have stopped as the performance stole everyone's breath away.
Even Apache was impressed and deeply moved by Wang Tong's emotion although Apache knew nothing about dancing.
"That was ... awesome! Boss, you should really consider switching your profession."
Zhou Yiyi's eyes gleamed. She could feel that Wang Tong had understood her pursuit and desire for delivering a perfect performance. Although many people called her a "pretty doll" because of her profession, deep down, she knew that every job was the same and deserved respect.
A soul-crushing shriek suddenly shot through the entire theater and startled even Wang Tong. It was the sound of Mike crying.
Mike's eyes were filled with tears, and he stared at Wang Tong unblinkingly. Somehow Mike's stare made Wang Tong feel a sense of chill.
"Um... thank you for the stage Director, Mike. I will be going home now."
"Ahh! Don't go, Wang Tong. Please! Do stay. What do you want? Tell me… I can give you anything you want!" Mike shrieked as he chased after Wang Tong off the stage.
Mike stopped when he saw Zhou Sisi and said to her, "Aren't you Yiyi's sister? Do you know Wang Tong well? Please do help to make Wang Tong stay with me. He is my muse!"
Zhou Sisi was caught off guard. She widened her eyes in surprise and shook her head "I can't make him do anything."
"I don't mean to crush your dream, but our boss is the future of the Confederation, and we all need him." Karl pouted and said.
Everyone nodded. They found it hard to connect Wang Tong's artistic side with his unsophisticated look and mind.