Chapter 053: Returning to the Stage for Another Performance

After escorting Judy back to her room to rest, Li Lekang, still brimming with energy, went to find his two girlfriends. Both were already dolled up, so he swept one under each arm and swaggered off with them to hit the nightclubs.

They partied late into the night. On their return, the two women knew exactly what was about to happen, but offered no resistance; by now, Li Lekang had become the golden ticket in their eyes—a man they would never let go. Even if it was merely a relationship built on mutual needs, as the saying goes, after tasting a life of luxury and abundance, how could one ever be content with the drabness of ordinary existence?

The next day, he awoke in the arms of tenderness. After brushing his teeth and freshening up, he changed his clothes and got ready for work.

The team was busy constructing the stage. The two girls, who had hoped to sleep in, were stopped by Judy; as Li Lekang’s assistants, they too had responsibilities to shoulder.

Li Lekang could improvise on stage, but his assistants could not—otherwise, everything would descend into chaos!

Daisy, cowed by Judy’s commanding presence, dared not argue, though her pitiful gaze kept darting toward Li Lekang. He, however, could offer no help, nor would he even if he could. Judy was an outstanding manager; how could he possibly interfere?

He spent some time observing the preparations. The performance was in the evening, so his day was fairly free. Taking his dog, Mike, on a leash, he went out for a walk.

Bringing pets had also been a special privilege Judy had negotiated with the hotel—after all, foreigners are particular about such things.

Strolling with his dog, Li Lekang’s mind turned to another matter: his bounty hunter mission. The Seven Deadly Sins—after all, everyone bears a touch of them, but as offerings to the Demon King, the items needed to be of the highest quality.

Li Lekang had spent one hundred thousand points to purchase a pair of soul-glasses. They looked like ordinary sunglasses, but when activated, they could identify powerful souls, which would appear as vibrant colors.

Gazing at the bustling street, he saw that people emanated different levels of brightness and color, though most were rather ordinary—not up to his standards.

Humanity, having climbed the tree of technology, inevitably neglected the cultivation of their own souls—unless, of course, technological advancement reached the stage of biological enhancement.

As it was, young people glowed brighter, full of vitality. The elderly, inevitably, were dimmer, like candles in the wind, ready to be snuffed out at any moment.

Li Lekang sat on a bench, quietly observing the passing throngs.

After half a day, he’d gained little. Most of those he encountered were ordinary, and few stood out. Still, he reasoned, in a city as vast as Las Vegas—where vice surely ran rampant—he had plenty of time to wait.

Once his walk was over, it was time to return and prepare for the evening’s performance.

The stage had been completed, and Li Lekang needed to do a brief rehearsal.

The hotel’s performance hall was not as grand as a dedicated theater, but could still seat about a thousand. Ten minutes before the show, the audience was nearly full, everyone craning their necks in anticipation.

Almost all attending this inaugural performance were die-hard fans—if your ticket-buying speed lagged even a little, you’d have to settle for another night!

When the house lights dimmed and the spotlight illuminated the stage, revealing Li Lekang’s silhouette, the fans erupted in cheers and applause.

His magic show was, as ever, dazzling. He deftly orchestrated every act, and still managed to surprise the audience with the unexpected. The hour-long performance felt like a journey through a world of magic.

For the debut show in the City of Sin, the thunderous applause lasted a full five minutes!

Confronted with such an outpouring of enthusiasm, Li Lekang found it impossible to simply leave the stage.

Taking up the microphone, he surveyed the crowd. The cheers continued to rise and fall, and he broke into a smile. "Thank you all! Okay, according to the plan, I should be retiring backstage to rest—but tonight—"

A roar of excitement threatened to drown out his voice.

"—seeing your affection, your passion, I’ve decided to give you an extra act! I want more people—Las Vegas itself—to remember that I was here tonight!"

"I’m going to perform a water act I’ve never shown before! This is a tribute to the countless magicians who came before me in Vegas, and the beginning of a new chapter for myself!"

"I will randomly select a lucky member of the audience—guaranteed not to be a plant—who will become the star of this performance!"

"Let me hear you scream!"

The audience’s shouts and screams reached a fever pitch.

Those lucky enough to snag tickets for the premiere were his most ardent fans—no less devoted than the most fanatic followers of a pop idol. This was exactly why Li Lekang had decided to give them an encore.

Of course, this meant extra work for his team. Judy had no prior warning of an encore, but being ever-prepared, she already had contingency plans in place.

No sooner had the encore been announced than she coordinated the various teams: staff, camera crew, hotel security to maintain order and control the crowd, and so on.

The hotel management took the matter extremely seriously and sprang into action.

On stage, Li Lekang kept to his usual rule of true randomness: he donned a blindfold and mask, held a small ball in hand, spun in place ten times, and finally stopped with his back to the audience.

This left almost no room for selecting an accomplice.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the ball arced into the audience and was caught by an ecstatic young man who leapt up to snatch it, punching the air and shouting "YES!" three times, his face flushed with excitement.

Li Lekang waved him up. "Congratulations, sir! Please come down and introduce yourself!"

"My name is Jason, from Michigan. Those are my parents up there—wow! My whole family are your super fans! We flew all the way here just to see you..."

The excited fan was almost incoherent on stage.

Li Lekang laughed and gave him a hug. "Okay, Jason, you’re about to become the star of my magic act. And to prove you’re not a plant, the location for the act will also be chosen at random by you!"

A simple dartboard was brought out, displaying the layout of the Wynn Hotel’s pools. The lucky audience member would be blindfolded and throw a dart, with the selected location to be used for the performance.

Jason, blindfolded and nervous, missed with his first three throws, prompting peals of laughter from the crowd.

On his fourth try, he finally hit the board, and the audience could see the randomly chosen spot—the hotel’s artificial lake!

Li Lekang glanced at it, quipping as usual, "That’s a big one. All right, I hope Peters will let me use their beloved pool—let me make a call!"

There and then, Li Lekang called Peters, who cheerfully replied, "Go right ahead! The area can be set up for spectators, and security will be on standby!"

With this special permission from the top, Li Lekang moved the act outdoors.

The audience streamed out toward the artificial lake. The excitement of a thousand gathered fans drew the attention of more curious onlookers; when word spread that a great magician was about to perform outdoors, even more people flocked to the scene.

The hotel assigned over a hundred extra security staff. Fortunately, the lake was spacious and the viewing areas ample, so there was no risk of overcrowding or stampedes.

Still, the atmosphere was tense—this was a scenic spot, and people were flocking from all directions. The crowd swelled, their excitement fanning the summer night’s heat into something electric.

At this moment, the magician and his lucky audience member made their grand entrance!

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