Chapter 48 Pierre is Dead

If one had to use a single word to describe Xia Zili on stage, it would be radiant.

If her usual demeanor was as gentle and tranquil as moonlight, then once she stepped onto the stage, she was like a sudden transformation into the sun, radiating infinite light and warmth to the entire venue.

SCUM, currently the most popular short-video website in Jibei City, already featured thousands of live streams of Kiriya Maki's concert. Even through the sound-quality loss of recordings, countless netizens were captivated by her magnificent and unrestrained high notes. Many barrage comments began playing along with the breathing meme: "Can someone really hit a note that high?" "The goddess doesn't need to breathe, of course she can hit it." "Help, I forgot to breathe while listening, what should I do?"

That was just the live stream; the live venue effect went without saying. In a normal concert, the singer usually sang while fans waved glow sticks below. But at Kiriya Maki's concert, she poured her heart out hitting high notes up on stage, while the audience below forgot even to wave their glow sticks, simply entranced by her highly technical vocals. The new songs from her album Hero not only increased the proportion of high notes but also added countless details of vocal runs, slides, and trills, making it feel almost like a personal showcase of virtuosity.

Chen Zi'ang accompanied his younger sister in silent appreciation, momentarily even forgetting that Xia Qingyu was right beside him. He could not help but marvel that some people were truly blessed by the heavens, possessing incomparable natural talent in singing that others could never catch up to, no matter how hard they practiced from the womb.

"She sings wonderfully, doesn't she?" a deep male voice came from beside him.

Chen Zi'ang turned his head and saw the elfin young man who had been dining with Xia Qingyu at the Starlight Restaurant earlier. At this moment, he was standing right beside him and Xia Qingyu, staring fixedly at Xia Zili on stage—though his expression did not seem to be one of appreciation.

He shared the same blonde hair and pointed ears as Xia Zili, and even his facial features bore a certain resemblance. If one had to draw a comparison, it was as if all traces resembling Xia Qingyu were stripped from Xia Zili's face, leaving behind lines that shared many commonalities with this elfin male.

Xia Qingyu said nothing, not even turning her head to look at him. The elfin male, however, withdrew his gaze and turned to speak to Chen Zi'ang:

"The one on stage is my younger sister."

Chen Zi'ang was momentarily startled, but quickly recovered.

Since Xia Qingyu and Xia Zili were maternal half-sisters, this elfin young man must be Xia Zili's relative from the elfin bloodline, meaning her paternal half-brother.

As for why they weren't full siblings... because Xia Qingyu showed him complete indifference, and the two clearly shared no blood ties whatsoever.

Judging by his facial features, this person was indeed a pure-blood High Elf. At least the soft lines characteristic of human female facial features on Xia Zili's half-elf face were entirely absent from his.

"The fans who manage to hear a concert from this spot have almost all used various means to secure these top-tier, practically in-demand tickets," the elfin male continued. "Yet I heard that two tickets were personally given away by Christine."

"Aside from her maternal sister, what kind of person could enjoy such supreme honor as to receive tickets personally gifted by her?"

Xia Qingyu finally turned her head back. Although her expression remained cold and unchanged, the darkness in her pupils seemed to have spread silently.

"Both tickets are with me," she slowly began. "The other one was given to Yuki Izumo, but she's too busy today to come."

"I see." The elfin male smiled. "It seems I guessed wrong, but..."

He continued to scrutinize Chen Zi'ang with lingering interest:

"To make Her Highness speak up in defense, there must be something special about you."

Ambassador Pierre had once said something similar, so Chen Zi'ang spoke up:

"I am her subordinate, Chen Zi'ang."

"I am Traut Kroubliv," the elfin male said with a smile, though it was a rather unsettling one. "Oh, I remember now. You two went to the embassy today as well, didn't you?"

Chen Zi'ang desperately wanted to ask how he knew that, but a premonition that he "should not ask" stopped him, so he simply cast his gaze toward Xia Qingyu.

"Kroubliv," Xia Qingyu sneered. "Instead of handling the handover procedures at the embassy, what are you doing here listening to your sister's concert?"

"Pierre hasn't officially retired yet; what could I possibly do over there?" Traut chuckled, shifting his gaze toward the direction of Tianyuan District. "At least I have to wait until the old man leaves, don't I?"

His cell phone suddenly rang. Chen Zi'ang answered it and heard Suifeng Lishu's urgent voice coming through:

"Chen Zi'ang! The federal embassy has been attacked, and the culprit is Takano Seiko!"

Chen Zi'ang's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly looked at Xia Qingyu.

"Let's go," Xia Qingyu said concisely.

Chen Zi'ang hoisted Chen Xiaozhu onto his back and hurried away from the concert alongside Xia Qingyu.

Traut watched their retreating figures, then turned his gaze back to the half-elf still singing and dancing on stage. Gradually, the gentle and friendly smile on his face cracked open into a morbid, triumphant, and silent laugh.

Arriving at the outer perimeter of the concert venue, Chen Zi'ang was about to make a call when Xia Qingyu stopped him:

"From the air."

"The air?" Chen Zi'ang asked in surprise.

He didn't need Xia Qingyu to answer for long, however, as a helicopter tore through the night sky and lights, hovering directly above them and lowering a rope ladder.

Xia Qingyu climbed up first, and Chen Zi'ang had no choice but to follow closely behind... This was his first time climbing such a rope ladder, with his younger sister strapped to his back, and the swaying of the ladder with the helicopter undoubtedly multiplied the difficulty of the climb.

Fortunately, his body had been enhanced by the Fire Seed, so no danger occurred, and he successfully hauled himself into the cabin.

Inside the cabin stood six fully armed soldiers, led by Jiang Ting, the captain of the Special Countermeasures Task Force. Back when Chen Zi'ang was still an operative of Countermeasures Division Six, whenever things escalated beyond control, this man would always lead the military forces onto the scene, so he was not entirely unfamiliar.

Jiang Ting glanced at Chen Xiaozhu, who resembled a delicate white flower, and asked with a frown:

"Is she also a member of your team?"

Xia Qingyu did not answer, merely giving an order:

"She will stay in the helicopter later."

"Old Liu!" Jiang Ting shouted toward the cockpit. "Keep an eye on her!"

The helicopter pilot raised his right hand and gave a thumbs-up gesture to acknowledge the command.

Compared to vehicles traveling on the ground, the helicopter was significantly faster. Chen Zi'ang felt as though he had hardly waited before the distinctive architecture of Tianyuan District appeared below—neat rows of uniform six-story buildings and a sprawling web of extra-wide roads.

In the distance, the outline of the federal embassy was clearly visible, with tracer rounds periodically falling from the sky to illuminate targets for surrounding ballistic firepower.

"Takano Seiko has already fought her way into the embassy," Jiang Ting reported swiftly to Xia Qingyu while checking his communication device. "The elves at the embassy cut off the elevators immediately and tried to block the stairs, but Takano Seiko broke through. She is currently on the second floor."

"Ambassador Pierre is already on the rooftop, waiting for the rescue helicopter to pick him up... Correction! Ambassador Pierre has boarded the chopper!"

Through the open cabin door, Chen Zi'ang could see a helicopter beginning to ascend into the sky from the rooftop of the embassy in the distance.

Yet the very next second, as if struck by some invisible force, the cabin disintegrated in a roaring flash of explosion.