The conversation between Hokuto and Mobius had come to an end.
Mobius walked back to the dining table on her own, and Hokuto followed behind.
Klein had already portioned out curry for everyone.
Everyone exchanged various looks with one another, then sat around the table and began to "enjoy" the delicious sweet pepper curry.
Actually, Klein's curry wasn't bad at all. But just as Hokuto had said earlier, today was not a good day for Honkai Impact 3rd players to eat curry.
So, it wasn't so much that Elysia and Mobius had no appetite—it was more that eating it felt like a struggle.
Still, faced with Klein's expectant gaze, the two of them had no choice but to hide the awkwardness in their hearts and pretend they were thoroughly enjoying the sweet pepper curry.
That faintly conflicted expression…
Only made Hokuto cheerfully eat two more full bowls.
Delicious!
After the curry, the day finally ended.
Naturally, the intensive game development resumed afterward.
Time passed.
Unknowingly, quite a while went by.
The manga Hokuto had promised earlier, about Otto, had already gone live.
About Otto meeting Kallen as a child…
About Otto growing up and going on phantom thief adventures with Kallen...
Warm and interesting.
But Hokuto didn't add Kallen's death to the story.
Because the time wasn't right yet.
Only after players have experienced the warmth—
Only then, when they learn that Otto himself unleashed a Honkai Beast that led to Kallen's death—
Will they truly...
At the same time, Chapters 18 and 19 of Honkai Impact 3rd's main story were updated.
In other words, the Ice Herrscher and Rock Herrscher arc.
That part of the plot, truth be told, had some issues.
Mainly because both the Ice Herrscher and Rock Herrscher were characters players weren't familiar with.
It was difficult for players to immerse themselves or feel the bond between the two.
Not that the script was bad—
The intent behind these two chapters was actually quite solid.
But there was too little buildup beforehand, so players ended up feeling:
"That's it?"
"I hadn't even gotten into the story and it's already over?"
So naturally, Hokuto had to revise these two chapters a bit.
He planned to use more screen time to portray Mei's growth.
In the previous chapter, Mei had gained a huge power-up.
With Herrscher powers, her strength was, of course, beyond question.
But in terms of resolve—
Mei was still lacking.
She needed another breakthrough in her conviction.
To understand what it truly meant to hunt a Herrscher.
———
Back to the point:
With the Honkai Impact 3rd main story updated, Elysia of course had to stream her playthrough.
As usual, everyone at miHoYo was gathered around to watch Elysia play Honkai Impact 3rd.
This time, Hokuto was also in the outside work area, watching the stream with the girls.
During the stream, Hokuto even sent Elysia a few small TVs to liven the mood.
By now, Elysia had finished the final boss fight—
She had just defeated the monster born from the fusion of the Ice and Rock Herrschers:
Herrscher of Crystallus.
After this event, Mei had become more resolute.
She had a clearer understanding of what she wanted—and what she needed to give up to get it.
Players watched as Mei gradually shed the gentle "housewife" persona, becoming firm and decisive—losing much, but gaining even more.
They couldn't help but feel emotional:
[Mei really isn't the Rice Cooking Wife anymore… She's changed… The paramecium has changed too… Are we really never going back? (crying emoji)]
[Think about it… You've changed too, walking with Honkai Impact 3rd all this way (dog head emoji)]
[Speaking of Rice Cooking Wifes—miHoYo! Stop sending me bitter melon juice!]
Some players protested miHoYo's decision to change "Mei's Lunch" into "Theresa's Bitter Melon Juice."
[Highly suspecting that Theresa's screen time has been too low lately, so she got upset. After a brutal office power struggle, miHoYo had no choice but to give her more scenes.]
[Office power struggle?? Bro, sounds like you're the one adding extra drama.]
[Come on, Theresa's getting her own movie soon—does she really need more scenes?]
[Still, I'm really looking forward to seeing what Theresa does in that film!]
The chat scrolled furiously.
Everyone at miHoYo showed a range of expressions.
Kiana was just about to "discuss" something with Theresa when—
Ding-a-ling~~
A sudden phone ringtone rang out.
Fu Hua took out her phone and glanced at the caller ID.
"It's Shi. She should be downstairs."
"I'll go get her."
She stood up briskly and headed out of miHoYo.
Seeing this, Hokuto started pondering how to handle things next.
Would opening with "Great Lady Shi" be a little too dramatic?
As Hokuto was thinking, Elysia resumed the main story playthrough.
The final epilogue.
After the Ice and Rock Herrscher incident, Mei had a communication session with Kevin.
Raven joined Mei in reporting the details of the event to Kevin, leader of World Serpent.
Kevin responded with just Two words:
"Come back."
Mei paused, then asked:
"Tell me… that I would use Herrscher powers to seize and suppress the Core—was that part of your plan all along?"
"That's the conclusion you arrived at."
Classic Kevin response.
Hearing Kevin's cold voice, Mei couldn't help but press further:
"You never considered the consequences if I failed?"
"You will succeed."
"..."
"I want an explanation."
Silence on the other end—
But it didn't last long.
Kevin replied:
"In this Honkai event, two Herrschers were born. They eventually fused—one Herrscher consumed the other's Core and evolved into a stronger being. What you did… was simply the same—conquer... the Herrscher's authority…"
Before he could finish—
The signal began to distort.
"Hmm?"
Mei frowned.
Then the transmission was cut off completely.
Raven also sensed something was wrong:
"What's going on? This… isn't signal interference. It's an emergency—"
"The base is under attack…!"
That marked the end of the story.
Elysia watched this final scene.
Perplexed, she muttered:
"Kevin's that strong… and World Serpent still got hit?"
[Could it be Otto sneaking in while no one's looking?]
[Did Schicksal just backstab World Serpent right after they allied? That's kinda sudden.]
[Heh. It's Otto, remember? "Immortal Celestial, I did not lie."]
[Maybe it's Hyperion. Mei just joined World Serpent—why wouldn't Hyperion show up to ask some questions?]
As the comment feed exploded, theories began spiraling wildly.
Everyone was laser-focused on the final line:
"The World Serpent base is under attack."
To them, World Serpent's power was beyond doubt—
Especially Kevin. He was the power ceiling.
They couldn't imagine anyone capable of attacking World Serpent.
With that in mind, Elysia clicked on the follow-up CG short: "Return."
The short began.
The opening surprised everyone—it had nothing to do with the prior plot.
In the pitch-black depths of the sea,
Fu Hua—wearing the Shadow Knight: Moonblade battlesuit—appeared to be in slumber, her body slowly sinking.
Her voice narrated softly:
"In the boundless depths of this dream, I gazed upon a self I could no longer recognize..."
Bubbles rose and burst beside Fu Hua.
The screen turned blindingly white.
An epic, soaring score began to play.
The scene shifted—to Schicksal HQ.
A uniquely shaped building suddenly exploded.
From the blast, Durandal—wearing her S-rank battlesuit—was thrown backward, rolling twice across the ground before planting her lance into the floor to steady herself.
Before she could react further, a shadow attacked.
Durandal's expression tightened. She let out a low shout, and a fluid-like barrier unfolded, blocking a punch from the shadow.
And the audience saw the attacker's face.
"…That's… Hua?"
Elysia was shocked.
The figure—shrouded in black energy and radiating madness—
It was Fu Hua.
But why…
Why had Fu Hua become like this?
Why was she attacking Schicksal?
Her eyes were glowing red…
Was this a blackened Fu Hua?
No one could answer Elysia.
The scene changed again.
Inside an unknown, otherworldly space—
Before the audience could even take in the surroundings, a series of massive explosions erupted.
Through the smoke, Kevin emerged, wielding Judgment of Shamash, stepping back steadily.
He narrowed his eyes, gaze fixed on a point above.
"Friend or foe? Choose."
He swung Shamash.
The whole space ignited into an inferno.
But a blurry figure charged through the flames, fearless.
Fu Hua's voice echoed. It was as if she were appearing across multiple battlefields at once.
"No matter what I did... the outcome was always failure."
"Those I wanted to protect... all disappeared."
Her voice cut sharp—no longer the calm, composed tone from before.
As the final word fell—
The music shifted dramatically, signaling the start of a major battle.
Sure enough, on-screen, Durandal was quickly defeated by Fu Hua.
Kevin frowned slightly at this new, unhinged version of Fu Hua.
"Only pain-deep regret can bring about true transformation!"
Watching this, Elysia couldn't contain her excitement:
"Waa~~ Blackened Hua looks so powerful~~!"
"Even Durandal isn't her match, and she's going toe-to-toe with Kevin!"
"I didn't expect blackened Hua to be this strong!"
As Elysia spoke, the screen changed once more.
Now, a stormy bridge.
Bronya was tearing through the rain on her motorcycle—Heavy Bunny in bike form.
The chat exploded:
[Driver's license reacquired!]
[Duck's back on her beloved motorbike!]
Elysia, seeing the comments, chuckled:
"Hope Bronya doesn't get fined by traffic police for riding without a helmet."