A close call, but no harm done.
Su Luo took the dedicated car to the hotel.
Rita led him upstairs and into her room.
The moment the door opened, the room was filled with a flock of chattering beauties, scattered about in various states of relaxation.
"Why are you all in my room?"
Su Luo glanced at Kiana, who was rolling around on the bed, playfully wrestling with Theresa, then at Bronya and Mei, who were sitting properly to one side with a laptop, and finally at the other members of miHoYo studio. He couldn't help but ask.
If an outsider saw this scene, they might mistake him for some top-tier rich second-generation heir, who couldn't even go out without bringing seventeen or eighteen beauties along.
"Su Luo!"
Kiana, who was 'playing' with Theresa, let her go, nimbly jumped up, and leaped in front of Su Luo.
She asked with a concerned expression, "I heard you were almost cornered by fans. Are you okay?"
"Thanks to my quick reaction," Su Luo shrugged, "it was a close call, but no harm done."
Kiana looked Su Luo up and down for a moment. Seeing that he indeed didn't seem to be hurt, she sighed in relief.
"That's good. Hmph, if those fans really dared to mess with you, Su Luo, I'd help you beat them up."
She even rolled up her sleeves, looking quite serious.
Su Luo quickly shook his head, "No need. They were probably just trash-talking."
"Anyway, you're my friend, and my benefactor. Your business is my business," Kiana said earnestly.
"Yeah, yeah!" the girls chimed in unison.
"This..."
Su Luo looked around. Seeing all the girls looking at him seriously, he couldn't help but purse his lips and then smile.
"Thank you all very much for your concern."
Although the Honkai Impact 3rd characters were all somewhat problem children, by connecting with them heart-to-heart, he could feel a lot of warmth from them.
Honestly, he quite enjoyed this feeling.
It was a kind of touch that no amount of material possessions could bring.
"Hehe~~"
"Alright, I need to take care of something first. I'll take you all out to play later."
Su Luo said, bypassed Kiana, and approached Bronya, "Bronya, please update the final segment of 'The Other Side of Light and Shadow' storyline."
"Now?"
"Yes."
Bronya nodded.
Soon, players discovered a game announcement on the official website—
[Game Announcement]
To thank the players for today's enthusiasm, Mr. 'Otto' has decided to unlock the follow-up main story for Bronya and Seele for everyone.
Once this news was out, not only were the players not happy, but they actually started to panic.
[My heart skipped a beat when I saw this announcement. Is Dog Tuo planning to retaliate against us for ambushing him? Is he going to knife Duckya and Seele?]
[Don't say it, I can already picture 'Otto' with a sinister grin updating the main story right now.]
[Everyone, don't panic! I datamined it before and found out the upcoming plot is very sweet. 'Otto' is repaying grievances with kindness this time.]
[Hehe~ The poster above is 'Otto's' alt account, right? You're definitely saying this on purpose to trick us!]
Amidst the players' panic, Honkai Impact 3rd still completed its hot update, and the previously locked main story was unlocked.
They looked at the newly released main story with conflicted expressions, unsure for a moment whether they should click on it or not. Yet, not clicking on it made them unbearably curious.
"Get the knifing over with sooner rather than later!"
With this sentiment, the players resolutely clicked.
This segment of the main story was quite simple. Bronya was rescued from the Sea of Quanta by Seele and woke up in a hospital bed.
First, she had a conversation with Rozaliya and Liliya, and then learned about the current situation from Dr. Einstein.
This included the follow-up arrangements concerning Cocolia.
Bronya's feelings towards Cocolia were also very complex. To many, Cocolia was a villain.
But her reason for cooperating with 'The Serpent' was to save Seele.
In the end, Bronya did not forgive Cocolia, only promising that she would take good care of everyone in the orphanage.
Several days later, Yang decided to entrust the Core to Bronya, giving Bronya time to consider.
At the same time, Seele and the twins also told Bronya that they would be moving to the Hyperion to live.
The plot up to this point was so tranquil, harmonious, and even warm and sweet, that the players, who were initially apprehensive, couldn't hide their surprise.
No knives?
Or are the knives coming later?
They didn't even know what they were anticipating anymore, and continued watching with doubt.
A soft and beautiful BGM began to play.
Seele summarized the recent events: "Many things have happened. Whether it's Anti-Entropy or St. Freya, everyone will be very busy for a while."
Liliya responded hesitantly, "The future... what will it become?"
The evening glow fell upon everyone, and Bronya slowly said:
"Theresa said that the future belongs to the children. If even they don't believe that tomorrow will be better, then there definitely won't be the future everyone hopes for."
"Theresa always says things that are hard to understand. Is she really the same age as us?"
Rozaliya tilted her head and asked.
"Probably... not the same age, right?"
Faced with Rozaliya's question, Bronya didn't dare to casually state Theresa's real age, afraid that an Oath of Judah might suddenly fly at her from behind.
"But, I understand what she means. We have to work hard for the future, right?"
Rozaliya rarely said something so serious.
The others had just nodded.
She then bounced over to Bronya, "But let's have fun today, and start working hard tomorrow."
Seele: "Rozaliya..."
Liliya, resigned: "I knew it."
"Haha~~"
Bronya, seeing this rare, heartwarming scene, showed a genuine smile.
"Come play! Come play!"
Liliya rushed towards the sea, waving at the others.
At the end of the scene.
The sun was just beginning to rise, its light灑lling on the calm sea surface. Four young girls ran towards the seaside together, their joyful laughter and playful shouts echoing.
In this world where Honkai descended, always filled with sorrow and pain, such a scene was already immensely precious.
The players watched the story conclude, stunned and lost in thought.
They all felt their 'twistedness' being healed by the plot, elevated to a higher state.
Immediately, they eagerly logged onto the official website.
[Ahhhhhh! Sugar, I can't believe it's real sugar! So sweet, so sweet, I'm healed.]
[I misjudged the scriptwriter! Repaying grievances with kindness, the miHoYo scriptwriter is truly a great person. I'm crying.]
[See? The Honkai Impact 3rd plot can be really sweet. Who dares say the plot is full of knives now? (smirk)]
[Actually... I suddenly realized, they're still children, yet they have to bear so much.]
[That being said, they don't regret it. They fight for the beauty of the world with their own small statures, don't they?]
[For all that is beautiful in the world, we fight!!]
Players were increasingly experiencing the aspects of Honkai Impact 3rd that differentiated it from other games on the market, aspects that were also very difficult to replace.
This was quite normal. In Su Luo's previous life, Honkai Impact 3rd's player stickiness was astonishing, let alone this brand new, optimized version revised by everyone.
"Su Luo, the players are giving rave reviews for the new plot."
"There's nothing strange about that. Haven't players always given rave reviews for the plot?"
"..."
The girls looked at Su Luo's calm demeanor, somewhat speechless.
Were the previous 'rave reviews' the same thing as the current rave reviews?
You really don't have a clue, do you?
The players' discussion about the new plot was heated. After confirming there was nothing else, Su Luo took the girls out to explore Hangcheng.
This city of Hangcheng, which had been a county seat since the Qin Dynasty, boasted a history of over two thousand two hundred years. Every corner was imbued with a rich cultural atmosphere.
It truly deserved the saying, "Above there is heaven, below there are Suzhou and Hangzhou."
He and the girls had a good day of fun.
Time moved to the next day.
Many companies were invited to participate in this Game Awards ceremony. Besides well-known major game developers like Penguin, there were also many small studios.
For example, Raven Studio, LuoZhou Studio...
To avoid trouble, Su Luo deliberately arrived a little late at the 'pilipili Game Awards' venue.
Therefore, not long after he arrived, the award ceremony began.
He settled into his seat. The entire venue fell silent, with only the sound of voices from the stage.
A total of eight major game awards were to be presented this time, including "Best Domestic Game," "Best Domestic Mobile Game," "Game of the Year"...
Looking at these awards.
Su Luo couldn't help but feel a little expectant: "I wonder which works will win."
Actually, he wanted to say how many awards Honkai Impact 3rd could win, but he refrained, fearing outsiders might think he was too arrogant.
As his thought ended.
"Hehe~~"
Someone happened to sit down next to Su Luo.
Along with a self-deprecating laugh, a clear female voice sounded: "Anyway, I reckon more than half the awards will be taken by that Honkai Impact 3rd."
Listening to her tone, she seemed to have quite an issue with Honkai Impact 3rd.
"Hmm... Honkai Impact 3rd's game quality is definitely one of the best in the country. It's quite normal for it to win a few more awards, right?" Su Luo said, turning his head to look.
"I know Honkai Impact 3rd is excellent, and I'm convinced if I lose to Honkai Impact 3rd... But... my island villa... my island villa..."
As the female voice spoke, it devolved into a series of inaudible mumbles.
To Su Luo's left sat a woman with short gray hair, a tuft of stubborn hair (ahoge) standing up on her head, a beauty mark at the left corner of her mouth, and dressed in a black formal gown.
His expression changed slightly.
Isn't this... Natasha Cioara?
Also known as Raven, or perhaps Little Island Bombsplosion Raven.
He hadn't expected to meet her here.
So the Raven of this world was in the game industry? He thought Raven was running a bar.
Raven gritted her teeth as she spoke.
Su Luo hadn't been particularly concerned before, but now he was somewhat curious as to why Raven had such a strong opinion about Honkai Impact 3rd.
MiHoYo had always been honestly and diligently focused on making games.
Theoretically, how could they have possibly provoked anyone?
"You seem to have quite an issue with Honkai Impact 3rd?"
"Hmph, it's none of your business," Raven responded coldly.
"I think it might have a little something to do with me..."
Su Luo showed a very approachable smile, "Madam, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Su Luo, the current boss of miHoYo, and the developer of Honkai Impact 3rd."
"What!?" Raven's eyes widened abruptly. "You're the developer of Honkai Impact 3rd?"
"Madam, please don't get too excited. This is a public place," Su Luo gestured for Raven to calm down.
"Hoo~~ Hoo~~"
Raven took several deep breaths, finally managing to calm her emotions.
She looked at Su Luo, her expression suddenly becoming very complicated.
Su Luo maintained his smile and asked again, "Madam, could you tell me why you seem to have such an issue with Honkai Impact 3rd?"
"I have no issue with Honkai Impact 3rd. You're mistaken," Raven turned her head away.
Was she supposed to tell Su Luo that a few years ago, she had seen the blue ocean market in the gaming industry?
So she mortgaged her island villa, went all-in, and founded Raven Studio, planning to create a 3D beautiful girl combat mobile game.
That's right, something similar to Honkai Impact 3rd.
As a result, not long after Raven Studio's "Lost Maiden" was launched, Honkai Impact 3rd burst onto the scene.
And "Lost Maiden's" core gameplay happened to be quite similar to Honkai Impact 3rd's. A large number of users were drawn away by the higher quality Honkai Impact 3rd. It unluckily became the only game to be completely crushed because of Honkai Impact 3rd, losing every penny of its investment.
Her island villa!!
Thinking about it, Raven couldn't help but feel a surge of sorrow.