Chris wore a shit-eating grin as he stepped into the spotlight.
He wrapped his little brother in a crushing hug, then turned to Cassius and stuck out a massive hand. "Hey, Cass! Thor says Vanir's doing all right in Midgard."
Cassius snapped out of his stunned freeze and grinned right back, clasping the handshake. "Thor, Odin finally let you off Asgard for some southern-hemisphere monster hunting?"
"Monsters? Nah, just a stadium full of screaming fans."
Chris spun toward the crowd, struck the classic Thor pose, and the square detonated again.
His surprise appearance cranked the Sydney event into another dimension. He cracked jokes, jumped into the games, and turned the whole afternoon into pure chaos.
Right in the middle of it, a purple orb dropped off Chris while he was hyping the fans:
[Live Interaction Rhythm +7]
Cassius absorbed it on the spot.
[Rhythm Leveled Up! Rhythm Lv5 (3/1000)]
The second the stat broke through, a warm wave rolled through Cassius's whole body—especially his brain and senses.
Standing on stage, the world suddenly felt… different.
Not just the roar of the crowd. He could pick out the distant ferry horn in the harbor, the flutter of wind against the backdrop banners, even the steady thump of his own heartbeat. Everything had its own rhythm.
Chris was still clowning around up there.
Cassius instinctively shifted his weight, turned his shoulders a fraction. The tiny adjustment put him in the perfect pocket of stage light—highlighting him without stealing Jennifer's frame.
It happened so naturally no one even noticed.
---
The last fan meet-and-greet finally wrapped.
"Holy shit, it's over!" Jennifer collapsed into her seat like she'd just run a marathon, relief all over her face.
Cassius, Liam, and Gary all let out the same exhausted breath. The global tour had been nonstop. They were wrecked.
Back in the van, nobody spoke. Everyone was half-dead.
Cassius leaned against the headrest, eyes closed, but his brain was still quietly buzzing. The brand-new Level 5 Rhythm hadn't fully settled yet. Right after a level-up the effect always hit hardest, then slowly dialed back to normal.
He could still feel it—a faint but real pulse in everything. The hiss of the AC vents, the subtle change in tire friction as they rolled over different pavement, even Jennifer's breathing and heartbeat next to him, just a touch faster from exhaustion.
The whole world had an invisible metronome running through it.
They made it back to the hotel, packed, and caught the early flight to L.A. the next morning.
Most of the team slept the entire long-haul flight.
Cassius dozed in fits, then watched whatever movies were playing when he woke up.
After this tour, The Hunger Games was officially a monster.
The box office was on track to smash ten figures.
For Cassius that meant another global franchise lead right after Green Lantern. Even though he wasn't the solo top-billed star, the paycheck was very real.
In America his Asian background was still an obstacle. Lionsgate had cast him partly for the Asian market. If Jennifer couldn't carry it alone, they were counting on him to deliver the numbers.
Now The Hunger Games had blown past every expectation. He'd proven his value.
Better scripts were going to start coming his way.
He decided to keep riding the wave—using his past-life knowledge to lock down every red-hot IP and long-running series he could get.
Too bad they couldn't swing a China leg of the tour. The subject matter was still a little too spicy for the censors back home. At least it didn't affect the release date.
After saying goodbye to everyone at LAX, Cassius and Jennifer headed back to Beverly Hills.
He checked his phone in the car.
Daily texts with Kristen were still going strong. She was stuck on location, nowhere near wrapping.
Cassius had gotten used to the actor lifestyle—home was basically wherever the next set was.
Back at the house they crashed hard. For the next few days they barely left the bedroom, sleeping like the dead.
They finally surfaced when The Hunger Games officially opened.
The second the weekend numbers dropped, Rob's call blasted through the room.
"Bro—first-weekend figures are in!"
Rob's voice was shaking with pure adrenaline.
"How much?"
Cassius sat up fast, suddenly wide awake. He and Jennifer had been up half the night; he was still groggy.
"North America opening weekend: two hundred and one million dollars!"
Rob practically yelled it. "Record for a non-sequel! Top-ten all-time opening! We just broke at least three different records!"
"Lionsgate is losing their minds. They basically made their entire seventy-eight-million budget back in North America alone—and that's before overseas!"
Cassius had expected it to be big, but the number still hit like a truck.
"Overseas?"
"Most territories opened day-and-date and they're all printing money. Because of you, Lionsgate went heavy on Asia. China opens one week after us—another massive wave incoming."
Rob took a breath. "Analysts are already calling it. Global total is locked to clear eight hundred million, and ten figures is very much on the table."
"Ten billion RMB! Lionsgate has never touched that number. Their stock is popping before the market even opens!"
"You need to turn on any news channel right now—entertainment segments are wall-to-wall us!"
Cassius gently untangled Jennifer's arm from around him, got out of bed, and padded into the living room. He flipped on the TV.
Sure enough, every morning show was running the same breaking entertainment bulletin.
"The Hunger Games shatters records in its debut weekend—"
"Lionsgate just scored a massive comeback hit with its teen sci-fi epic—"
"New on-screen power couple Jennifer Lawrence and Cassius set the box office on fire—"
Clips rolled: the flaming red carpet, intense arena footage, and that electric cave scene.
"See it?" Rob asked.
"Yep."
Cassius switched channels—same story everywhere.
"Lionsgate's already planning a huge victory party, probably next weekend. Sequel talks are starting too—"
"My office phone is ringing off the hook!"
Cassius walked to the kitchen, poured a glass of water, and took a slow sip.
In Hollywood, box office was the only currency that mattered.
With these numbers, his leverage on future scripts, paydays, and creative control just went through the roof.
"Got it," he told Rob. "I'll keep a low profile but still show face on socials—thank the fans, keep it light."
"Perfect. Lionsgate's thrilled."
Cassius hung up and stood there for a second, letting it sink in.
He had just carried another global franchise.
The next chapter of his career was officially unlocked.