From American Internet Celebrity to God Among Men

123: Chapter 123 Rehearsal, Peeping and a Half-finished MasterpieceNew York, Manhattan West Side, three floors underground at Madison Square Garden.

The performance hall of this legendary venue was empty at this moment, the audience seats hidden in deep darkness, with only the pale light of engineering floodlights shining on the stage. The air was filled with a mixed scent of metal, lubricating oil, and freshly sprayed protective coating. The massive ”origin” cube structural frame already stood in the center of the stage, not yet covered by decorative panels; the exposed steel structure, hydraulic rods, and cable bundles made it look like the entrails of a sleeping mechanical beast.

Alex stood at the edge of the stage, looking up at this fourteen-meter-high frame. He was wearing simple black work clothes, with a communication headset in his ears. Today wasn’t a performance; it was the first full-element technical rehearsal and also the stage for the official implementation of the ”bait plan.” Besides the core team and essential technicians, only three strictly screened industry media reporters and two senior observers sent by Universal Music were allowed to observe in specific areas. Everyone’s mobile phones and electronic devices had been sealed upon entry.

”System self-check final sequence. All non-essential data transmission channels closed, local encrypted network enabled.” Rex’s voice came through the headset, calm as usual, ”Peripheral sensors deployed, monitoring for abnormal signals started.”

”Mechanical structure final safety check complete, safety redundancy system on full-power standby.” Hank’s voice followed immediately, ”All observers in position, line of sight and movement paths confirmed safe.”

Marcus’s voice carried a hint of tension: ”Universal’s people are asking if we need to have medical personnel on standby for the stunt demonstration later. I answered according to the plan: all safety measures are in place, and we have a comprehensive medical contingency plan.”

Alex exhaled gently: ”Tell them, thank you for your concern, but please focus on appreciating the combination of technology and art.”

He flexed his shoulders and wrists, walking toward a maintenance door opened at the base of the cube frame. The ”high-difficulty mechanical arm-assisted stunt” to be demonstrated today involved him needing to use exoskeleton-style light mechanical arms (with basic design provided by Organization D, disguised as standard wire-assisted equipment) to move and jump quickly on several specific, constantly changing stress points while the cube performed slow tilting and rotational deformation. Finally, when the structure deformed to a certain angle, he would be ”launched” by the mechanical arm to a temporary platform twelve meters high.

This move combined Parkour, high-altitude work, and precise timing, carrying a high risk for ordinary people. But for Alex, whose physique had reached the third stage and who possessed [Spider-Sense] and enhanced Dynamic Vision, the core challenge lay in controlling his strength, masking his abilities, and ensuring that every landing point fell precisely within the range of ”reasonable human limits.”

”Rehearsal sequence A, start.” The command came from the console.

A low hydraulic sound rang out, and the massive metal skeleton began to move slowly like a waking prehistoric creature. Structural components slid and rotated, and the whole entity began to tilt to one side. The beams of the engineering lights cut changing light and shadow among the moving steel beams.

Alex moved.

He didn’t activate any supernatural abilities, relying purely on his honed physical fitness and muscle memory formed from countless rehearsals. He ran on the tilting steel beams, his footsteps landing on pre-set anti-slip nodes, his body maintaining amazing balance within the structure as the center of gravity constantly shifted. The hooks of the light mechanical arms engaged, released, and re-engaged precisely with the adapter on his back, providing crucial auxiliary pulling force and instantaneous directional adjustments.

A suppressed gasp came from the observation area. Even though it was just a rehearsal, and even though the safety nets and cushioning measures were invisible but present, this dynamic performance inside a massive moving machine still had an extremely oppressive visual impact.

Just at the moment Alex was about to be ”launched” toward the high platform—