The next day.
Honkai Impact 3rd's popularity across the entire internet continued to climb steadily.
Although, even with the boost from Elysia's livestream drama, quite a few players still chose to temporarily quit the game, "The Last Lesson" had caused Honkai Impact 3rd to break out of its niche. As a result, countless new players, drawn by curiosity, joined the game.
One in, one out.
Honkai Impact 3rd's daily active users not only didn't decrease but instead surged upwards along a curve that made industry insiders envious.
They really didn't understand!
Why was it that when they were usually so meticulous, so afraid of offending players, their games always remained half-dead?
Yet, Honkai Impact 3rd, despite such a huge controversy this time, actually became more and more popular.
Was this scientific?!
Some industry figures, driven mad by jealousy until their eyes turned red, even planned to emulate Honkai Impact 3rd by killing off characters in their own games.
But they didn't realize that Honkai Impact 3rd's current popularity wasn't simply due to ruthlessly "knifing" story characters.
Most importantly, Honkai Impact 3rd itself was very fun to play! And there were no substitutes for it on the market.
The CG animations were also full of sincerity.
Every part of the game possessed a level of polish that other games lacked.
Finally, coupled with a reasonable and deeply impressive plot and character designs, it was able to generate such a powerful reaction.
[Honkai Impact 3rd Current User Statistics: 2,757,233.]
Su Luo, who had recently moved to a place near the miHoYo studio, climbed out of bed. The first thing he did was check the system's statistical data. Looking at the continuously growing numbers, his heart filled with a sense of accomplishment.
However, what slightly surprised him was that overnight, Honkai Impact 3rd's user base had actually increased by over 400,000! And, it was clear this was just the beginning. In the period to come, Honkai Impact 3rd's user numbers would undoubtedly experience rapid growth.
"Looks like I might complete the main mission sooner than expected."
"What game will I draw next time? According to my plan, I still want to heavily modify..."
Numerous thoughts, which in a sense were happy worries, flashed through Su Luo's mind.
He brushed his teeth, washed his face, and headed out, preparing to go to the miHoYo studio.
Today was Sunday. His going to the studio wasn't because he was a workaholic. Rather, if he didn't go to the studio, he had nothing else to do, at most just playing on his computer at home. In that case, he might as well go play at the studio; perhaps he could even run into some 'Valkyries' who thought the same way.
These were real, existing 'Valkyries'!
Even though several months had passed, he felt he was still as enthusiastic as when he first transmigrated. After all, in this unfamiliar world, they were the only people left who felt familiar to him.
You wouldn't know if you hadn't transmigrated. Only after truly transmigrating did he realize...
Su Luo found himself standing by the window at some point, gazing out at the city that had not yet fully awakened. The reinforced concrete buildings, looming faintly in the morning mist, were like stone monuments, engraving everyone's name upon them.
This was a metropolis with a population of over twenty million. It exuded a familiar modern atmosphere. But its history was completely different. People would use similar yet not entirely identical memes. When you saw others laughing their heads off at a certain meme, you'd need a moment to react. You would then, in a daze, understand that this was an unfamiliar place.
And then you'd know, humans, they truly get f***ing lonely.
"Thankfully, I still have them."
"I will also bring familiar things into this world, even if it's just some games."
"At least, when I hear someone shout 'Paramecium,' 'Rice Cooker'... these familiar memes, I feel quite gratified... Ahem." Su Luo stopped his muttering. He wouldn't dare let those few in the studio hear this.
Thinking of Theresa's wish to no longer be the butt of jokes, Mei's shock at the "Rice Cooker" nickname. And the players swearing they'd wait for the day Otto was crushed, to crush Dog Tuo with their own hands.
Honestly, he too was looking forward to that day.
To the Fool.
That tiny bit of artistic melancholy in his heart was instantly washed away by the joy of a chaos-enjoyer.
Su Luo left his apartment, planning to buy breakfast at a stall near the studio.
On the way.
He fiddled with his phone, logging into the official forum that Bronya had casually set up, browsing through posts by Honkai Impact 3rd players. Due to Honkai Impact 3rd's immense popularity, this once desolate forum was now bustling beyond belief.
Posts like 'Newbie's Guide to Brainlessly Clearing Black Nucleus,' 'Optimal Lineup for Current Abyss Grinding,' 'Honkai Impact 3rd Spending Guide: Recommendations for Light Spenders | Medium Spenders | Whales'... were appearing endlessly.
Su Luo's attention was drawn to a post related to Theresa.
[I recently made a set of Theresa sticker packs and wanted to share them with everyone]
He clicked on it.
The very first image was—
Theresa's Knowing Gaze.jpg.
Below it were 'Eat my Judah!', 'Did Kiana kick you in the head?', 'The World's Cutest Passing By'...
Theresa's Number One Fan (2nd Floor): Saved. Thanks for sharing, OP.
Passing miHoYo Artist (3rd Floor): This sticker pack... I have to say, it's incredibly amusing/cursed.
Kiana Will Protect Teacher Himeko (4th Floor): Hahaha~~ I'm dying of laughter! No, I can't laugh, but it's really too funny.
Theresa Is Not Theresa the Silly (6th Floor): Fourth floor, you're still laughing? (Knife emote) (Knife emote)
Kiana Will Protect Teacher Himeko (7th Floor): I'm sorry, please forgive me.
It's All Otto's Fault (8th Floor): Pinned. Keep up the good work.
Theresa Is Not Theresa the Silly (9th Floor): ??????
Su Luo saved the sticker pack, then used his administrator privileges to pin the post.
It wasn't that he wanted to tease Theresa... Fan-made content was a part of Honkai Impact 3rd. In his previous life, Honkai Impact 3rd's enduring popularity owed a great deal to such creations.
Hmm, speaking of which, perhaps it was time to arrange for Anti-Entropy, Durandal, and Shenzhou's Shattered Swords Record? Otherwise, players might have less immersion in the subsequent plot, and they could easily get confused by many settings. For Su Luo, of course, he wanted players to have a 'perfect' gaming experience.
With these thoughts, he arrived at the roadside breakfast stall, ordered six steamed buns and a bowl of porridge. As he was eating, he noticed the stall owner sizing him up with a slightly curious gaze.
Su Luo touched his face – no rice grains. He asked strangely, "Boss, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." The owner smiled embarrassedly. "I just noticed you come to work every day these past few months and was a bit curious. Don't you need to rest?"
Su Luo shook his head. "The girls in the studio are all working their hearts out. I don't want to drag them down."
A subtle hint of envy appeared on the young owner's face. "I heard your studio has a lot of beauties. You must have the advantage of proximity to win their hearts."
"It's not as good as you think. I'm just running around coordinating work among them. There are also a few who like to tease me whenever they have nothing to do. You could say I have a lot to handle." Su Luo's tone was firm, not sounding like he was lying at all. In fact, every word he said was true. A studio full of problem children; there was a lot of coordination he needed to do. It wasn't like he could just send out a project plan and then sleep soundly in his office.
This time, it was the surrounding diners' turn to be envious. No wonder he came to work every day; this was being too happy to think of going home!
The young owner's face was almost overflowing with yearning, enough to be kneaded into the steamed buns.
As Su Luo finished eating, the young owner asked with a smile, "Do you need to bring some for the girls in the studio?"
"They all cook for themselves. Someone even offered to bring me food before." Su Luo scanned the QR code to pay, turned, and left瀟灑ly.
The young owner gazed after Su Luo's departing figure with a wistful look.
A diner muttered, "Must be a rich second-generation kid. Making money from a studio is fake; chasing girls is the real goal."
The young owner pursed his lips and pointed to a nearby office building. "He started from scratch. He seems to have made a lot of money recently; just bought a house nearby a while ago."
"..." The diner fell silent, fiercely biting into a meat bun dipped in vinegar. So sour!
At the next table.
The red pigtails nudged the arm of the light-haired girl with the bird's nest hair. "Could we have run into the man himself?"
"Based on current data analysis, the only game studio in Linjiang that has suddenly made a lot of money recently should be miHoYo," Aiyin said, pulling out a tissue to wipe the milk stain from her mouth. "Of course, the possibility that my judgment is wrong cannot be ruled out."
Aiyin patted the dust off her clothes and stood up. She asked the young owner, "Boss, do you know what that man just now does for a living?"
"Seems like he makes games? I'm not too sure, but I occasionally hear him on the phone talking about game characters and such."
"Is it mobile games?"
"That, I'm not too clear about."
"Hmm..." Aiyin was still pondering when Tesla could no longer sit still.
She stood up, her fiery red pigtails swinging. With her long, white-stockinged legs and exquisite, beautiful face, she attracted the hidden gazes of many diners.
"Aiyin, it must be miHoYo, no doubt! Let's follow him right away."
"Thanks, boss." Aiyin only had time to thank the young owner before Tesla dragged her off in the direction Su Luo had left.
Da da da.
The two beautiful young women hurried away.
The diners at the breakfast stall looked at each other, seeing envy in one another's eyes.
"Boss, my table is out of vinegar. Add some more."