"Are you willing to work for miHoYo?"
Faced with Kafka's question, the man's eyes turned into hearts as he nodded frantically.
"Yes! Kafka, can I get your autograph?"
"Sure! But first, let me ask—who should you go to for your paycheck?"
"Whoever you say!"
"..."
Kafka signed his clothes with a marker.
Tears streamed down the man's face as he stared at the signature.
"Woo-hoo! Let's go!
I'm never washing this shirt again!
Hahaha! Long live miHoYo!"
Su Chen watched the touching scene with delight, then glanced at Scott, who was whimpering in a corner.
Many couldn't understand why he'd recruit Scott.
But—
Honkai: Star Rail wouldn't be complete without Scott.
Just as the West couldn't exist without Jerusalem,
Star Rail couldn't exist without Scott.
Without him,
Aha would weep, the Fool would drop the act, Fiction would lose its edge, and riddles would cease to be human.
"Hiring so many people at once—can you handle it?" Dan Heng approached, hands in his pockets.
Though his tone was flat, Su Chen knew Dan Heng's aloofness masked his concern.
"Eh, we'll need a lot of extras for future scenes anyway. No harm in hiring them now!"
"What about their wages?"
"Scott's problem! He hired them—why should I pay?"
"Huh? That's… very you."
"Scott brought them in, and Kafka made sure every one of them knows to demand payment from him. Watch!"
Just then, another extra walked away from Kafka's table,
his eyes heart-shaped as he muttered, "Kafka's the best! Scott's paying us! Hahaha!"
Dan Heng couldn't bear to look, turning back to Su Chen. "Even if wages are settled, where will they live? Sleep?"
"You know why the sets are so big and the props so realistic?
Simple—I want the extras to live in the space station, 'Belobog,' and the 'Xianzhou Luofu.'
They're not just actors; they're living their roles.
Why have them play bit parts when they can be themselves?
You know me—I'm all about authenticity!"
Dan Heng stared at Su Chen, baffled.
This wasn't just filming—
Was he trying to create a world?
A real Honkai: Star Rail universe?
He let out a wry laugh.
"My mistake. But won't this inflate costs?"
"No worries. The series launches in a few days, and our platform split is 70-30." Su Chen cut off Dan Heng's next question.
"Before you ask—we get 70."
"Fine. One more thing—are you really ignoring March 7th and Firefly? Scott's getting beaten to death!"
In the corner, Scott was pinned from behind by Firefly,
while March 7th pummeled his stomach with tiny fists, gritting her teeth.
"Hang in there, Scott! This is just miHoYo's initiation ritual!
Only 30 more minutes to go!"
"AHHH! HELP!!! AHHH!!! IS ANYONE OUT THERE?!
SAVE ME!!! SU CHEN! BOSS! BOSS!!!"
Su Chen sighed. "Tell him to tough it out. At least it's March 7th hitting him—
if it were Firefly, last year's New Year's dinner would be on the floor."
He checked his watch.
"Keep an eye on things here. I need to talk to Himeko and Welt Yang."
"Go ahead."
——
Soon after.
Inside the café, Su Chen sat beside Himeko,
facing the upright figure of Welt Yang with a smile.
When Himeko first mentioned Welt Yang, Su Chen had been thrilled.
Finally, the last piece of the Express crew—aside from a certain rabbit—was in place.
But then—
Himeko revealed Welt Yang was her teacher.
Su Chen froze.
Teacher?
Himeko?
Wait, is her full name Murata Himeko?
The death flags are piling up!
Thankfully, this was the real world—no planet-destroying superpowers here.
"Mr. Yang, thanks for all your effort—traveling back and forth for filming."
Welt Yang smiled. "No need for formalities, Su Chen. I've taken a long leave from teaching.
Unless it's urgent, I won't need to return,
so I can focus entirely on Honkai: Star Rail."
Himeko sipped her coffee. "Mr. Yang is as diligent as ever.
Once he commits, he gives it his all."
"You flatter me. I've read my character's backstory—
particularly the setting where I'm from a world called 'Honkai.'
If possible, I'd like to explore that further.
It feels… eerily familiar."
"No need to worry, Mr. Yang. The setting exists for a reason.
In fact, I plan to expand on the 'Honkai' world later—I'm calling it Honkai Impact 3rd."
Su Chen spoke calmly.
He wasn't bluffing.
After his initial conversation with Welt,
the system had unlocked content related to Honkai Impact 3rd.
[Ding! New mission triggered: Spend a certain amount of points to unlock Honkai Impact 3rd content!]
Su Chen had mused at the time:
Makes sense.
With a 'do anything' system, the Honkai universe was inevitable.
But the trigger being Welt?
Then again, Welt's the man who bridges worlds.
Who else could it be?
Still, spending points to unlock HI3 content?
Fair enough. Even games throttle progress to keep you hooked.
Gatekeeping with points is understandable.
Besides, I'm swamped with the current project.
No revenue yet.
Tackling both at once is impossible.
My startup funds—computers, equipment—are already drained.
Goal one: financial freedom.
Then, pay everyone.
That's what a good boss does!
Su Chen exhaled toward the ceiling,
then extended his hand to Welt Yang.
"Mr. Yang, I never formally invited you.
Welcome to the Astral Express family."
——
August 20, 4:00 AM
A young man plagued by revenge bedtime procrastination finally set down his phone.
"I swear, I'll sleep early tomorrow!"
"Ding!" A notification chimed.
"Ugh! What now? Four in the morning—who even sends alerts at this hour?"
He retracted his hand, yawning.
"Whatever~ Not checking! Sleep!"
"Ding, ding, ding..."
The phone kept buzzing.
Furious, he grabbed it. "Glitched?
Who the hell made a group chat at 4 AM? Brain rot?!"
But when he opened it, his jaw dropped.
[Kafka's Dog: IT'S LIVE! SEASON 1'S LIVE!]
[Asta Is My Wife: What's live? Bro, it's 4 AM!]
[miHoYo Not miHoyo: Says the guy also awake.]
[[Herta's #1 Simp: HOLY SH*T IT'S REALLY UP!]
The young man quickly typed:
[Silver Wolf's Current Boyfriend: The Honkai: Star Rail web series dropped Season 1 early! Savage timing! But I'm diving in!]
He tapped the streaming app and hit play.
...
"How much does he remember?"
"At the very least… he remembers you."