Jiang Qin suddenly remembered something important.
These two songs weren't ones she had purchased from the system, which meant they weren't covered by the automatic copyright application service!
If someone had applied for the copyright to these songs in the meantime...
The main problem was, she hadn't expected that someone would actually record a video and upload it to the StarNet.
Normally, no one would dare to snatch something from a female. But as the saying goes, it takes all kinds to make a world—there were always people willing to take a chance.
To prevent any complications down the line, Jiang Qin quickly used her optical computer to input the sheet music and apply for copyright.
As for recording and uploading the songs, she planned to rent a studio on another day. She didn't want to use software to record on her optical computer—it just sounded too fake to her.
After all, the software would automatically tweak and beautify certain tones.
Jiang Qin didn't like that kind of overly polished sound. It lacked emotion.
What she didn't expect was for the copyright to be approved so quickly.
Since it was still early before her shift, she figured she might as well head out and record.
Langor City was the capital of Azure Star.
Which meant in the city center, you could find just about any kind of shop.
The recording studio was located two streets behind Taiyi Street. It was a quiet area, with only sanitation robots occasionally visible on the streets.
On either side of the road were a few entertainment companies clustered together.
There was even a video studio rental nearby.
Unlike Earth, interstellar film sets didn't rely on real-world scenery. They were just large empty spaces where you could design whatever background you wanted using templates on your optical computer, and then project them holographically.
It saved on costs while vividly bringing to life the scenes from your imagination.
Thanks to the abundance of shows and films available on her optical computer, Jiang Qin had studied the basics of how things worked.
After figuring it out, she made a mental note of it.
In the studio lobby, Locke was lazily scrolling through his optical computer, bored out of his mind.
Azure Star didn't have any famous singers. Usually, only a few amateur musicians or streamers would come by to record once in a while.
Most of the time, the studio had no customers at all.
He was long used to opening the place in the morning and then spending the whole day reading web novels on his device.
After all, you could record songs directly on your optical computer, with automatic tuning and vocal enhancements—there were just too many alternatives now.
"Excuse me, how do I rent a recording booth?"
A soft, ethereal voice rang in his ears. Though Locke was initially annoyed at being disturbed, the irritation vanished in an instant.
When he looked up, he nearly fell off his chair.
"A… female?"
The girl standing before him was frail and pale, with a petite figure dressed in a flowing white dress. She looked extremely delicate and pitiable.
No ears, no tail, no fur, no scales or wings.
Locke sighed inwardly in disappointment—turns out she was a pure human female.
She looked sickly and weak… not likely to live long. What a waste.
She was so beautiful. Who knew which old, single male would end up with her?
According to interstellar law, if a pure human female didn't pair with a beastman male by the age of 25, the Federation would step in to assign her a mate.
And the males assigned were usually older individuals who had rendered service to the Federation.
Pure human females had no spiritual power and couldn't soothe beastmen. On top of that, they were weak and frail, with short lifespans.
So they were essentially treated like playthings—rewards for beastmen who had made contributions but couldn't find mates.
Though half-beast females also couldn't soothe males or reproduce, they had it slightly better.
At least they carried partial beast genes. If they were willing to endure hardship, they could still live with some dignity.
Seeing Jiang Qin's pale and fragile appearance, Locke immediately pegged her as a pure human female.
After all, beastman females received good welfare from the Federation and were pampered by their families—none of them would look like this.
She didn't even have a trace of color on her face, except for a light swipe of lipstick.
"500 starcoins per hour. If you rent for three hours, you get a 100 discount. How long do you want?"
Noticing his shift in attitude, Jiang Qin didn't say much. She replied calmly, "Three hours."
"Scan here with your optical computer."
Though he secretly looked down on her pure human genes, Locke couldn't bring himself to speak rudely to such a beautiful female. His tone just carried a bit of impatience.
After Jiang Qin paid, Locke didn't even bother getting up. He just pointed lazily toward the entrance on the right and said, "Pick any room you like. Just remember to come out on time, or you'll be charged extra."
Jiang Qin didn't respond and walked straight in.
"Tch, what's a pure human female being so proud for?" Locke muttered, rolling his eyes before going back to his game.
Jiang Qin didn't hear that last part. She walked into the first booth she saw and locked the door behind her.
Then, she opened her incomplete system interface and spent all the newly gained 300,000 reputation points in one go.
She exchanged her points for six songs and began recording.
After all, she didn't want to make a separate trip for each song—that would be far too troublesome. It made more sense to record a batch all at once.
Later, after singing them at the bar, she could upload them to the platform to earn even more reputation.
Three hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Jiang Qin only managed to finish recording four songs. Among them were "As You Wish" and "Anonymous Comfort."
The other two were brand-new songs, and there wasn't enough time left to record the remaining four.
The main reason was that she had redone the new songs over and over again until she was finally satisfied.
Thinking about it, she sighed inwardly—she had never received formal training, so there were many areas where she fell short.
Although her work already far surpassed many of the songs on the Federation's music charts, she was keenly aware that it was thanks to her voice—and the quality of the songs themselves.
In terms of actual vocal technique, she was still far too raw.
"Oh well… time to head back to work."
Thinking about the vocal courses offered at the mall, Jiang Qin silently encouraged herself: work hard, earn more reputation points, and buy knowledge!
She also needed to earn more money and, sometime soon, figure out how to take on soothing assignments.
She was tired of being poor.
When she left to return the deposit, Locke didn't even lift his head. Jiang Qin quietly scanned her optical computer and left without saying a word.
Still, she thought maybe it was time to save up and build her own home recording booth. She didn't really care what others thought, but being silently looked down on for no reason still stung.
Later, when Locke discovered that the idol he'd become obsessed with was actually that frail little female who had once come into his studio, he regretted it so much he nearly tore his guts out.
The last rays of the sunset gradually disappeared, and night blanketed the sky.
Tonight, Taiyi Street was much livelier than the night before.
Outside the Rose Bar, the owner spotted several regulars arriving in their hovercars. He eagerly stepped forward to greet them—only to have them zoom right past him.
The gust of wind they kicked up tousled his neatly styled chestnut hair.
"Hey?! Mr. Moore? Mr. Zheng? You flew right past!"
A distant voice called back, "Sorry, Boss Du, we're headed to Moonlight Bar tonight!"
…??
Du Kaide was completely stunned.
What?
That rundown bar on the verge of closing? The one with just a single C-rank female working there?