Although Fu Shibao hadn't fully grasped the story of the recent main chapters during the previous recording, she did understand the general plot direction.
So now, she was a bit confused.
Her "Fu Hua" was a Herrscher?
Herrscher of Sentience?
Herrscher...
Hmm, didn't actually sound too bad?
What's the point of going around with some ancient-sounding name?
Herrscher of Sentience sounded way more fitting for her!!
The mighty Miss Herrscher of Sentience!!
Even the name sounded powerful.
Because Fu Shibao in this world had grown up as a completely independent individual, she seemed to be taking it all far more easily than the in-story Sentience version.
However, she didn't seem to consider—how could a Herrscher, a Honkai Apostle, be so...
Harmless?
Was there a reason for this? And would she even remember what she had just said earlier?
While Fu Shibao was still deep in thought, the viewers were already throwing questions left and right:
[Didn't they say Fu Hua wouldn't become a Herrscher?]
[Was the miHoYo scriptwriter just messing with us earlier?]
[Herrscher of Sentience? That's the new Herrscher, right? I've already saved 39,000 crystals—pulling to the bitter end!]
...
"Regarding that, it'll be explained in future story chapters," Hokuto interjected. "A-Hua, let's keep pushing the main story."
"Alright."
Fu Hua nodded lightly.
She immediately clicked into Chapter 21's story—
Wings of Reawakening.
As Fu Hua tapped into the first stage of the chapter, the starting scene was from Schicksal's side—right after "Fu Hua" had beaten Otto to death with three punches.
"Enemy attack, enemy attack! Level-2 battle stations!"
"Target: Sector B3. Execute Emergency Plan No. 12!"
Schicksal HQ was up in flames. Countless Valkyries rushed toward Sector B3.
However, standing calmly in their path was Fu Hua—yet all the Valkyries passed by without noticing her, as if she didn't exist at all.
This Fu Hua looked identical to the one from Fuyun Temple.
But since she was still at Schicksal HQ, that meant this timeline was before the previous chapter.
In her hand was a crimson Feather, one she had retrieved from Otto's corpse after killing him.
"This thing... is really useful..."
From the narration, players learned that Fu Hua had used Fenghuang Down to avoid detection by the Valkyries.
But in-game, she wasn't labeled as Fu Hua—she was shown as Hua(?).
And given what had just been revealed,
They understood.
This "Fu Hua" was most likely the Herrscher persona—
Not the original Fu Hua.
Of course, even though that much was clear, the players still had plenty of unanswered questions.
After a brief internal conversation with a mysterious voice, Hua(?) stated she would leave Schicksal to go visit some old friends.
She even added, "The Honkai has not been eradicated. I cannot relax."
At this point, players broke into laughter.
[Herrscher of Sentience: The Honkai has not been eradicated. A line destined to be a meme!]
[Honkai: Great, another traitor in the making!]
[Sentience: I am Fu Hua. I will eliminate the Honkai.]
[Anyone else notice that the Herrscher of Sentience sounds kinda like Shijie?]
...
Someone brought up the voice behind the Herrscher of Sentience.
Before the audience could start theorizing,
Fu Shibao straightened up and proudly declared:
"That's right! This Fu Hua who can do everything, hmm, Herrscher of Sentience—that's me!"
[So it really was Shibaovoicing her? Shijie, did you reach out to miHoYo yourself?]
"Hmph, not at all."
"Back then, miHoYo's boss was wringing his hands in worry, begging everyone he could think of... and the great Miss Sentience couldn't bear to watch any longer, so I personally decided to—"
Fu Shibao launched into a passionate monologue.
Fu Hua blinked beside her, thought for a moment, and decided to just let Shibao do her thing.
She turned her focus back to playing Honkai Impact 3rd seriously.
In the story—
The Herrscher of Sentience prepared to leave Schicksal.
She fought her way through multiple skirmishes without harming a soul.
But at another skyport, she unexpectedly ran into a very familiar face.
Otto, whom she thought had already died, suddenly appeared before her.
Completely unprepared for the encounter, the Herrscher of Sentience was momentarily stunned—then she composed herself.
"Otto..."
"Hey."
Otto greeted her with a casual wave, even slightly flippant.
The Herrscher of Sentience quickly recovered:
"Of course. You... you're not the type to die so easily."
"Ah!"
Otto seemed to just remember something. "I did die—but fortunately, I didn't store my backup body in the same place."
He motioned toward the distant blaze.
Buried under the ruins was his life-support chamber, where he kept hundreds of spare bodies.
"Alright then, I'll just kill you again. Half of Schicksal couldn't get rid of you—maybe I should just destroy all of it this time."
Otto took a step back: "Wait!"
"What, scared now?"
The Herrscher of Sentience flashed an especially 'wholesome,' 'friendly' smile:
"When you put a bullet in my head back then, did it ever occur to you that this day would come?"
"Heh~"
Otto chuckled.
"You're not a bad person."
"You still have the gall to say that? Of course I'm not a bad person—I'm dispensing divine justice!"
"Then how about we talk this out rationally?"
The Herrscher of Sentience scoffed:
"Someone like you? What's there to talk about?"
But Otto was clever.
Before she could attack, he launched straight into reasoning:
"It's true—I did kill you. I admit that was my crime. And when you came for revenge just now, I didn't resist.
A life for a life. We're even now."
"Hehehe~~"
The Herrscher of Sentience couldn't help but laugh.
"I thought you were going to say something meaningful... Even? I only destroyed one of your bodies—and you're standing right here like nothing happened. How's that even?"
Otto calmly shot back:
"Aren't you standing right here too?"
"???"
The Herrscher of Sentience froze.
"I killed you, you killed me. I came back to life, and you were reborn.
Isn't it thanks to my careful restoration of your body that you got a second chance at life?"
"By that logic, not only do we have no grudge—I actually saved your life, my friend."
Herrscher of Sentience: "..."
Otto's reasoning was so airtight, she had no immediate comeback.
"You've caused enough trouble at Schicksal, haven't you?" he added. "Not everyone here is like me."
"Durandal, those Valkyries who fight the Honkai with everything they've got... do they deserve to suffer and die because of you?"
She couldn't hold it in anymore.
Her face flushed red, then pale. She seemed like she wanted to say something—
But couldn't.
In the end, she simply spat on the ground at Otto's feet and turned to leave.
At that moment, players were laughing themselves breathless.
[Why is the Herrscher of Sentience so adorable—wanted to fight, couldn't find a reason, couldn't outtalk him, ended up just spitting.]
[She feels like a kid who suddenly gained great power—cocky, but still a bit naive.]
[Otto used "friend" instead of "old friend" here... did he realize this wasn't the real Fu Hua?]
...
"Pfft~~"
Even Fu Hua couldn't hold back a chuckle.
She was laughing both at the scene and because she remembered what happened in the recording booth.
Given Shibao's personality, she naturally refused to voice that scene.
But the opening of Chapter 21 was the best point in the story to shape the Herrscher of Sentience's character—it left the deepest impression on players.
So that scene couldn't be skipped.
To get Shibao to cooperate, Hokuto had even debated her in real life.
Fu Hua could still clearly remember the scene.
"Why would I get completely shut down by Otto!? That makes no sense!"
"You think Otto said something wrong?"
"Of course he did!"
"Oh? What exactly was wrong? Tell me, and I'll change the script for you."
"Uhhh..."
"See? You can't. That means the script's fine."
"..."
Turns out—whether in-game or in reality—Shibao always gets shut down by Otto.
As Fu Shibao was about to walk away, Hokuto added quickly to comfort her:
"I know this was a huge sacrifice for you. So, to make it up to you, I've prepared a very special gift."
"What gift?"
"I've set your character stats in Honkai Impact 3rd to be super powerful.
Every player will shout the name of the mighty Miss Sentience in awe! How's that? You like it?"
"...I'll reluctantly accept it this once."
Hokuto: (Cough) Even though Herrscher of Sentience was already super strong, I didn't change a thing.
Better not let Shibao find out...