Location: Shengjing Underground City B1 Level, 【Undercurrent】 Bar.
Pushing open the thick, dark metal-scaled door, a chaotic wave of alcohol, tobacco, sweat, and faint energy fluctuations instantly rushed forward!
Completely isolating the cold sense of order from the plaza outside!
The bar's interior space was much larger than it appeared from the outside!
The dome was high, adorned with countless tiny, sparkling, dim blue light beads like stars, casting a dark and hazy light.
In the center was a massive circular bar, polished from a single piece of transparent crystal emitting a dim blue glow.
Behind the bar, a bartender in a black vest, with a mohawk haircut and silver metal prosthetic arms, operated several flexible mechanical arms like the most precise instrument, rapidly mixing various liquids that shimmered with strange lights.
His movements were dazzlingly fast, and the mechanical arms clinked against glass cups, producing crisp sounds.
The bar was bustling with noise!
Customers in various outfits filled the booths and scattered tables. Most of them exuded energy fluctuations, either strong or weak!
Some wore combat uniforms with Xuanwu Guard badges pinned to their chests, laughing loudly and boasting about recently completed missions.
Others wore leather jackets and carried weapons, their eyes vigilant and sharp, clearly bounty hunters, conversing in low voices about intelligence or transactions.
There were also some more "individualistic" customers, bearing obvious signs of supernatural modifications or emitting a chilling aura, clearly fringe figures operating in the gray areas.
The air was filled with deafening heavy metal rock music! Drumbeats pounded like heavy hammers on the heart! The bass was deep and penetrating!
Center stage! A woman in a black tight leather outfit with fiery red short hair! Was holding an electric guitar! Frantically strumming the strings!
Her movements were wild and powerful! Each strum! Brought forth a burst of dazzling electric sparks! Clearly, her ability was related to electricity!
Below the stage! The crowd swayed and roared wildly with the music! Releasing the suppressed frenzy and power of the day!
Ling Chen and Tang Yinmeng walked into the bar, like two drops of water merging into a boiling oil pot, causing no ripples whatsoever.
Ling Chen pulled down his hat brim, his dark red pupils rapidly scanning the entire venue in the dim light.
The will of the Soul Jade Physique, like invisible tentacles, sensed the energy fluctuations and potential threats in every corner.
"Two new faces?" A tall, bald man in a black suit with a hideous knife scar on his face appeared before them like a ghost.
His gaze was as sharp as an eagle's, and he exuded the pressure of the Energy Condensation Stage! Clearly, he was the bar's security chief. "Do you understand the entry rules?"
Ling Chen did not speak; he slowly raised his right hand, palm facing upwards.
Boom!
There was no violent energy burst! No dazzling light!
Only an extremely restrained, yet incredibly heavy and viscous invisible force field! Instantly spread out from his palm as its center! Enveloping an area of about three meters in diameter!
In an instant!
The knife scar on the bald man's face twitched violently! He felt as if he had instantly fallen into the deepest, stickiest quagmire!
The air became incredibly heavy!
Every breath was incredibly difficult! Every movement of his body became extremely sluggish! As if he were firmly stuck by invisible glue! Even the operation of the ability within him was clearly suppressed!
A hint of horror flashed in his eyes! This was not ordinary energy suppression! It was an extremely peculiar domain-like confinement!
"Swamp Domain?" The bald man's voice carried a hint of solemnity and apprehension! He stared intently at the shadow beneath Ling Chen's hat brim!
"Metal or gravity type?"
Ling Chen did not answer; he certainly couldn't use Blood Ripple here, so he disguised it as another domain-type control ability.
Now, he slowly withdrew his hand.
Boom!
The heavy, viscous force field instantly vanished!
The bald man's body suddenly relaxed! As if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted! He took a deep breath, his eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty as he scrutinized Ling Chen.
He had seen this kind of strange domain ability before! It was definitely not to be trifled with!
"Please come in." The bald man stepped aside, his voice returning to normal, but with a subtle hint of respect.
"I hope you enjoy your time at 【Undercurrent】."
Ling Chen nodded slightly, and with the still somewhat nervous Tang Yinmeng, calmly walked deeper into the bar.
They found a relatively secluded booth in a corner and sat down.
The booth was covered in thick, dark leather, emitting a faint leathery scent.
Ling Chen ordered a simple whiskey on the rocks, while Tang Yinmeng asked for a juice.
"Wait for me here."
Ling Chen whispered to Tang Yinmeng.
"Don't run around. Don't expose your ability."
Tang Yinmeng nodded vigorously, tightly clutching her juice glass, her molten-gold pupils vigilantly scanning the noisy surroundings.
Ling Chen's gaze, like the most precise probe, slowly swept across the entire bar.
Finally, it settled on an inconspicuous small stage behind the main stage.
There was no deafening electric guitar there! No dazzling lights! Only a young woman in a simple white dress, holding an old wooden guitar.
Her features were extremely delicate, like the most perfect porcelain doll. Her skin was so fair it was almost transparent, glowing faintly under the dim blue light.
Her soft, black long hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall.
Most striking were her eyes—like the purest amethyst! Clear! Translucent! Carrying a sense of tranquility and a faint melancholy that was out of place with the surrounding noise.
She sat on a high stool, her head slightly bowed, her slender fingers gently plucking the strings.
A clear, ethereal, slightly melancholic singing voice flowed out like a mountain spring, miraculously penetrating the deafening heavy metal rock! Clearly reaching the ears of everyone willing to listen!
"...Above the ruins, the moonlight is cold..."
"...Who still remembers, the fragrance of yesterday's flowers..."
"...Neon flickers, unable to illuminate..."
"...That piece of old time, deep in the heart..."
The singing was melodious and lingering, with a soul-piercing power! As if it could soothe the restlessness and scars in people's hearts!
The bar was still noisy, but in the corner near this small stage, some customers involuntarily quieted down!
They held their drinks, their eyes somewhat dazed as they looked at the elf-like woman on stage, as if her singing had transported them back to a long-lost peaceful time.
"Suli! Well sung!"
"One more! 'Forgotten Starlight'!"
In the corner, several relatively well-dressed customers applauded softly.
But not everyone appreciated this tranquility.
"Hey! Little lady!" A crude voice rang out!
A bald, burly man in a flashy leather jacket, with a thick gold chain around his neck, reeking of alcohol and exuding Energy Condensation Stage energy fluctuations, staggered to the front of the small stage!
His eyes leered at the woman on stage, and he grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth!
"Not bad singing! Come on! Have a drink with big brother! What 'Forgotten Starlight' are you singing? Big brother will make your night starry! Hahaha!"
He was followed by several equally sleazy companions, who let out lewd snickers.
The woman on stage—Suli, a flicker of disgust and a hint of imperceptible fear flashed in her amethyst-like pupils!
She clutched her guitar, her body recoiling slightly, and her singing abruptly stopped.
"Don't... don't come closer..."
Her voice trembled slightly, like a startled deer.
"Don't be scared! Big brother won't eat you!" The bald man chuckled, reaching out to grab Suli's wrist! "Come on! Let big brother see your little hand... tsk tsk... so tender!"
"Ah!" Suli let out a short shriek! Instinctively trying to dodge!
But the bald man's movement suddenly froze in mid-air!
His face instantly filled with incredulous astonishment and a bone-deep fear!
Because the hand he extended, along with his entire body, seemed to have been put on pause! Completely frozen in place! Unable to move!
A heavy! Viscous! Invisible force field like the deepest, darkest quagmire!
Instantly clamped down on him, trapping him tightly! Even the ability within him seemed to be frozen, unable to operate!
The bald man's pupils suddenly constricted! He struggled to turn his eyes! Looking in the direction from which the force field came!
In the corner booth! The man wearing a wide-brimmed fedora and a dark gray overcoat! Was slowly putting down his whiskey glass!
His movements were elegant! Calm! As if he were merely setting down an insignificant item!
But that bone-chilling power of confinement!
Like a maggot clinging to bone! It tightly wrapped around him! Preventing him from moving even a single finger!
Ling Chen did not look at the bald man.
His gaze calmly fell upon the woman on stage, who was holding her guitar, her amethyst-like pupils filled with astonishment and bewilderment.
"Keep singing."
Ling Chen's voice was not loud, yet it clearly penetrated the bar's clamor and reached Suli's ears.
The voice was deep and magnetic, carrying an undeniable sense of command and a hint of inexplicable comfort?
Suli stared blankly at the figure in the corner, then looked at the bald man frozen in front of the stage like a statue, and his companions who were also affected by the invisible force field and couldn't move... A flicker of incredulity flashed in her amethyst-like pupils!
She took a deep breath, suppressing the tremor in her heart! Her slender fingers gently plucked the strings again!
The clear, ethereal singing voice flowed out like a spring once more!
"...Forgotten starlight...wandering in the night sky..."
"...Cannot find...the way home..."
"...Who is singing softly...who is forgetting..."
"...Above the ruins...who is keeping watch..."
The singing was melodious! Carrying a sense of relief after surviving a disaster and a faint hope!
In the bar, after a brief silence, even more enthusiastic applause and whistles erupted! This time it was genuine applause!
The bald man and his companions, as if shoved violently by an invisible giant hand, staggered back a few steps, and the confinement force field instantly disappeared!
Their faces were filled with horror and lingering fear! They dared not look at the corner again, and like defeated dogs, they scuttled into the depths of the crowd.
Ling Chen raised his glass and took a small sip. In the shadow beneath his hat brim, his dark red pupils remained calm and unruffled.
As if the trivial interlude just now had never happened.
But his gaze subtly fell upon the amethyst-eyed woman on stage, who was once again immersed in her singing.
Suli...
Perhaps a good starting point.