The next day.
Honkai Impact 3rd's popularity across the internet continued to rise.
Although the momentum sparked by Elysia's livestream stirred up attention, quite a few players still chose to temporarily quit the game.
But thanks to Final Lesson breaking through to the mainstream, a flood of curious new players joined Honkai Impact 3rd.
With players leaving and joining, the daily active user count didn't drop—instead, it skyrocketed, drawing envious stares from insiders across the industry.
They really didn't get it!
Why was it that when they cautiously avoided upsetting players, their games still clung to life by a thread...
Yet Honkai Impact 3rd caused such a massive stir—and somehow became even more popular?
Was that even logical?!
Some unhinged, jealousy-ridden developers were even thinking of copying Honkai Impact 3rd's move and killing off their own characters.
But what they didn't know was:
Honkai Impact 3rd didn't get popular just because it killed off characters.
The key was—it was genuinely fun to play! And there were no substitutes for it on the market.
Its CG animations were full of sincerity.
Every aspect of the game had a level of refinement absent from other titles.
Add to that a storyline and character arcs that were both reasonable and deeply memorable—it was only natural it caused such a powerful reaction.
[Current Honkai Impact 3rd user count: 2,757,233.]
Hokuto, who had recently moved to an apartment near miHoYo Studio, sat up from bed.
First thing he did was check the system's user stats. Seeing the steadily climbing numbers filled him with a deep sense of accomplishment.
But to his surprise—
In just one night, Honkai Impact 3rd had gained over 400,000 new users!
And clearly, this was just the beginning.
Over the next period of time, user growth would only accelerate.
"Looks like I'll be completing the main mission ahead of schedule."
"I wonder what game I'll draw next? I've already been planning to heavily mod..."
A bunch of delightfully complicated thoughts flashed through Hokuto's mind.
He brushed his teeth, washed up, and headed out for miHoYo Studio.
It was Sunday—not that Hokuto was a workaholic.
It's just that if he didn't go to the studio, he had nothing else to do besides fiddle with his PC at home.
Might as well head to the studio. Who knows, maybe he'd run into some other 'Valkyries' who had the same idea.
Real-life Valkyries, at that!
Even though it had already been a few months, he still felt just as excited as when he first transmigrated.
After all, in this unfamiliar world, they were the only ones who still gave him a sense of familiarity.
You don't understand it until you've transmigrated.
Once you do, you realize...
Hokuto had unknowingly walked over to the window, gazing at the city that had yet to fully awaken.
The concrete and steel buildings loomed in the morning mist like stone monuments, etching each person's name into their facades.
This was a metropolis of over twenty million people.
It overflowed with the familiar vibes of modern life.
And yet its history was entirely different. People here used memes that seemed similar but weren't quite the same. You'd see someone laugh themselves silly at a joke—while you had to pause a second to get it.
In that moment of confusion, you'd realize—this was a foreign place.
And then you'd know... people, man, really do get lonely.
"Good thing I still have them."
"I'll bring everything familiar from my old world here—even if it's just a few games."
"At least hearing people call others 'paramecium' or 'rice cooker lady'—those old memes of mine—it makes me kinda happy... ahem."
Hokuto cut off his own muttering. He absolutely could not let the studio girls hear any of that.
He thought of Theresa's longing not to get clowned on anymore... Mei's shock at being nicknamed 'rice cooker lady'...
And those players swearing they'd personally crush Otto when that time came.
Honestly? He was looking forward to that day too.
Cheers to the fool.
That tiny sliver of melancholy in his heart was instantly washed away by the joy of being a meme connoisseur.
Hokuto headed out, planning to grab breakfast from the vendor near the studio.
On the way—
He pulled out his phone and opened the official forum Bronya had casually set up, scrolling through player posts about Honkai Impact 3rd.
Thanks to the game's explosive popularity, the once-empty forum was now buzzing with activity.
Threads like:
"How can newbies brainlessly clear Black Duck?"
"Best abyss-clearing team comp for current patch"
"Honkai Spending Guide: Light, Medium, Whale Tier Breakdown"...
...were popping up nonstop.
One thread about Theresa caught Hokuto's attention.
[I recently made a set of Theresa reaction images and wanted to share!]
He clicked in.
The first image was—
Theresa's Wise Gaze.jpg
Below that: "Take my Judah," "Did Kiana kick you in the head," "Passing by: The Cutest in the World," and so on.
TheresaFanLeader (2nd Floor): Bookmarked. Thanks for sharing.
PassingByMiHoYoArtist (3rd Floor): This reaction image set... I gotta say, it's weirdly powerful.
KianaProtectsHimeko-sensei (4th Floor): Hahaha~~ I'm dying. I shouldn't laugh, but it's just too funny.
TheresaIsNotTeresilly (6th Floor): Floor 4, you dare laugh? (stabby knife)(stabby knife)
KianaProtectsHimeko-sensei (7th Floor): I'm sorry. Please forgive me.
It'sAllOtto'sFault (8th Floor): Pinned! Keep it up.
TheresaIsNotTeresilly (9th Floor): ???????
Hokuto saved the sticker pack and, using his admin privileges, pinned the thread.
Not to disrespect Theresa...
Fan creations were part of Honkai Impact 3rd. In his previous life, they were a huge part of why the game had such staying power.
Hmm... maybe it was time to start prepping Anti-Entropy, Durandal, and Chronicles of the Shattered Sword?
Otherwise, once the story got deeper, players might not be able to follow the lore and lose immersion.
Hokuto, of course, wanted every player to have a "perfect" game experience.
Thinking this, he arrived at a breakfast stall and ordered six buns and a bowl of congee. As he ate, he noticed the stall owner looking at him curiously.
Hokuto touched his face. No rice stuck. Weird.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Ah, nothing," the owner chuckled awkwardly. "It's just... you come to work every day. Don't you ever take a break?"
Hokuto shook his head. "The girls at the studio are all fired up—I can't be the one slacking off."
The owner gave him a look of faint envy. "I hear your studio's full of beautiful women. You must be living the dream, huh?"
"It's not as great as you think. I just move around coordinating their work—and some of them even like teasing me for fun. Honestly, there's a lot to manage."
Hokuto's tone was firm. He wasn't lying either. He really did have a lot of problem children in that studio.
It's not like he could just send out a project plan and nap all day in his office.
Now the surrounding customers were jealous too.
No wonder he came to work every day—he was thriving.
The stall owner's wistful expression was practically dripping onto the buns.
As Hokuto finished, the owner smiled and asked, "Want to bring some for the girls at the studio?"
"They all cook their own meals. One of them even said she'd bring me food once." Hokuto paid with a scan and walked off coolly.
The owner watched him leave with a complicated gaze.
A nearby customer muttered, "Bet he's some rich second-gen. Pretending to run a game studio when he's really just out to pick up girls."
The stall owner clicked his tongue and pointed toward the nearby office buildings. "That guy started from nothing. Just bought a place nearby after making it big."
"..."
The customer didn't say another word. He just bit hard into his vinegar-dipped pork bun.
So sour.
At the next table—
A girl with red twin-tails nudged the arm of a messy-haired silver-blonde.
"Did we just run into the real deal?"
"Based on current data, there's only one game studio in Linjiang City that suddenly made it big—miHoYo." Einsteinwiped milk from her lips with a napkin.
"Of course, there's still a possibility my conclusion is wrong."
Einsteindusted off her clothes and stood up.
She asked the stall owner, "Sir, do you know what that man does?"
"Something in games, I think? Not sure, but I've overheard him mention game characters a few times on the phone."
"A mobile game?"
"That I don't know."
"Hmm..."
Einsteinwas still pondering, but Tesla had already lost her patience.
She stood up, twin-tails swinging, long legs in white tights, stunning face—drawing many subtle stares from nearby diners.
"Ein, it has to be miHoYo! Let's go after him now."
"Thanks, boss!"
Einsteinonly had time to thank the stall owner before Tesla dragged her off in the direction Hokuto had gone.
Tap tap tap—
Two beautiful girls disappeared into the distance.
The breakfast crowd exchanged glances.
In their eyes: pure envy.
"Boss, I'm out of vinegar over here. Can I get some more?"