Although it was romantic to have Elysia and Eden lead a chorus of Nightglow to send off Himeko...
The players in Elysia's livestream were only a small portion of Honkai Impact 3rd's fanbase.
Far more players, burning with righteous fury, were waging war across Tieba, Weibo, and major forums.
[Buying the address of the miHoYo scriptwriter at any cost! I have some local "gifts" I want to send him!]
[So sweet, too sweet! Honkai Impact 3rd's story is just too sweet! If you don't read it, you're not even human! Hahaha.]
[True love Himeko thread! 100 floors a day, every day. Keeping the promise.]
[Everyone, we have to unite! As long as we are of one heart, we can force miHoYo to change the story!]
...
Originally, Honkai Impact 3rd was a mobile game only influential within the anime and otaku community, but with this player uproar—
It successfully broke out of the niche.
Curiosity is an irresistible human desire. Countless onlookers drawn in by the noise turned their attention to Honkai Impact 3rd, all wanting to know:
What kind of story could reduce its players to such devastation?
A tiny spark began to spread like wildfire.
"Hokuto, things are looking a little bad."
Kiana Kaslana, Bronya Zaychik, and Rita Rossweisse all burst into the office.
It was Saturday. Although Honkai Impact 3rd had updated its main story, Hokuto hadn't required anyone to work overtime.
He had only said that those willing could come to the studio to hang out.
And in the end—they all came.
"Players being emotional is understandable."
Hokuto gave a few final keystrokes on the keyboard, typing the last words of the document.
Seeing how calm he was, Rita couldn't help asking, "Aren't you afraid something might go wrong? With this wildfire, one misstep and..."
"She's right," Kiana nodded. "Hokuto, maybe you should change the plot? It's really a shame that Aunt Himeko died."
Hokuto turned toward the gathered girls. "You all think that?"
"I believe Hokuto knows better than us how the plot of Honkai Impact 3rd should unfold."
Durandal offered a different opinion. "If you think there's nothing wrong with the story, I support you."
"Durandal..." Kiana murmured.
"It's not about whether there's a problem, but…"
Hokuto stood and walked in front of the girls. "If you analyze the story carefully, you'll realize Himeko's fall was nearly inevitable."
"Instead of forcing her resurrection and breaking the narrative of Honkai Impact 3rd, it's better to end it like this—so that Kiana can carry on Himeko's spirit."
At that, the girls understood what Hokuto meant.
He suddenly paused, glancing at a system prompt he hadn't checked in a while.
[Honkai Impact 3rd Current User Count: 2,356,123]
Based on his analysis, once he reached ten million users, he would complete the main mission assigned by the system—and unlock the next game draw.
And after creating Honkai Impact 3rd, he had gained a far deeper understanding of how the system delivered game data.
So he had a bold new idea—
The Honkai Impact 3rd Metaverse Project.
He had to admit—the world of Honkai Impact 3rd was perfect for the metaverse.
"If you really feel regretful... maybe we can let Himeko appear in another game."
"Another game?" The girls blinked in unison, stunned by the news.
"Yeah." Hokuto nodded. "You don't really think I only plan to make one game, do you?"
He said with a serious face, "Our goal should be global domination."
"Uh…" The girls hesitated.
"Of course, it's too soon to talk about that. For now, let's just focus on doing Honkai Impact 3rd right."
Hokuto waved his hand, letting his gaze sweep across the girls one by one—until surprise crossed his face.
"Come to think of it, didn't Mei come to the studio with you?"
"Of course Mei came." Kiana explained, "But didn't you say earlier we could move around freely? She connected with Elysia just now—she's probably still playing Honkai Impact 3rd with Elysia."
"?"
Hokuto's expression shifted subtly.
What did he just hear?
Elysia?
Even though he'd already seen many characters from Honkai Impact 3rd, Elysia's existence still surprised him.
Feigning ignorance, he asked, "Who's Elysia?"
"She's a very popular virtual streamer on pilipili. Every time we launch a new game, Mei asks her to help with promotion. You could say miHoYo has always benefitted from her."
Kiana hadn't talked to Elysia herself—she only knew a bit from Mei—but she had a good impression of her.
"Well... if that's the case, this is a rare opportunity. Should we go thank her?"
Hokuto thought, Any Honkai player from my past life in my shoes would jump at the chance to meet the pink fairy up close.
"Ugh, but wouldn't we be interrupting Mei and Elysia?" Kiana hesitated.
Hokuto didn't quite know what to say—after all, he didn't want to seem too eager either.
As he searched for an excuse, Fu Hua unexpectedly spoke up.
"Actually, with Elysia's personality, if a bunch of cute girls went to see her, she'd be absolutely delighted."
"Oh? From the way you put it, Fu Hua... you sound close to her?"
"Yes. We're good friends."
"Oh? You've always been so mysterious, Fu Hua. Mind telling us a bit more about yourself?"
...
The girls surrounded Fu Hua, all gossip and curiosity.
Fu Hua instinctively cast a helpless look toward Hokuto.
Sensing the opening, Hokuto raised a fist to his mouth and coughed lightly:
"Ahem. Since Fu Hua says Elysia won't mind—and may even enjoy it—then let's go visit Mei."
He paused, then added, "Fu Hua, would you mind taking us to Mei?"
"Of course." Fu Hua nodded quickly, already turning to leave.
Hokuto followed behind her, and the rest of the girls followed him. Just like that, they all made their way to the workspace.
Mei was wearing headphones, softly singing.
"I wish to awaken from an eternal slumber
The long night approaches, I'll become the final light...
...
My love for you is the thing I cherish most
So please, live on bravely…"
"It's Nightglow."
Hokuto was very familiar with this song—he'd put Himeko through hell just to match its emotional weight.
He lowered his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.
Leading the girls, they all silently approached Mei and stood by her side, observing the livestream.
They realized they were singing Nightglow for Murata Himeko.
"Ugh…"
Kiana hurriedly covered her mouth and leaned against Himeko.
The others simply watched quietly, waiting for Mei to finish singing.
Waiting… and waiting…
Even the longest song comes to an end.
"Hoo~~"
Mei let out a breath, calming the emotion welling in her heart.
Then she realized—she was surrounded by people.
She was a little startled.
"Hok—cough, I mean… Boss?"
Mei quickly corrected herself before blurting out Hokuto's real name.
"Boss? Mei~ who just arrived on your end?" Elysia asked curiously.
"It's the boss of miHoYo. He's also the scriptwriter."
Mei didn't think too much about it—but her casual remark immediately blew up the livestream chat.