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******
Boothill stared at the scene on the screen, utterly dumbfounded!
He never imagined,
that the three pivotal stages of his life could be condensed into such a picture.
Well, well, well...
As expected of you,
—Honkai: Star Rail!
So what the hell is going on now?
I turned into a kid?
Back to my childhood?
This youthful and polite voice is both unfamiliar and familiar, damn it!
And,
it's quite endearing!
...
"Uh... Could it be that I've become the protagonist now? Because of this gun?"
"It looks good, but whose life did it take? I didn't mean to."
"How about you two settle your own grudge, and I'll take my leave?"
Little Boothill clearly didn't understand the current situation.
Thinking it was some personal feud unrelated to him.
March 7th suddenly realized, "Wait, is this what you wanted me to witness?"
Profnana's proud voice came through, "Exactly, you should've guessed it. After all, it's just an empty dream. Even if people turn into monkeys in the dream, their real bodies won't degenerate physiologically."
"And he, with his incredibly resilient mind, became an even more valuable specimen. His mind wasn't completely destroyed, but instead..."
"...What stands here is neither a monkey nor a Galaxy Ranger."
"But the Boothill from many years ago, when his hometown was still intact, carefreely living on the grasslands, a past version of Boothill."
On the scene.
Boothill closed his eyes.
Trying to put himself in that position.
What would he have done if he were this version of himself?
Soon,
he let out a cold laugh.
"Seems... no different, huh?"
...
"Incomplete degeneration... this is quite fascinating."
Profnana was still rambling on.
As if facing a masterpiece of his own creation.
It's hard not to share and show off to those around you.
Even a research ape like him is no exception!
"Based on memory, this appearance is at least ten years away from the first time he pulled the trigger on a bandit."
"How miraculous, whether it's the Sweet Dreams Troupe or me, he could end it all with just one shot."
"But the strength to pull the trigger... comes from the mind, not the flesh. Right now, he's just a child, and he simply doesn't know how to fire that shot."
"Alright, cowboy, come over here. Let's complete your final lesson—"
"A Galaxy Ranger who stands by Dr. Primitive, a traitor born through cultivation... This is worth writing several more papers about."
...
"Huh?"
"So, you're saying that although Boothill's appearance is the same as before, he now has the intelligence of a 7 or 8-year-old?"
"His memories have reverted to his childhood, and even his voice has changed."
"Scholars from the Intelligentsia Guild have previously researched this: a person's personality is largely determined by their memories. Losing a segment of memory can lead to a drastic change in one's temperament."
"Oh no! Now we have an inexperienced child facing the cunning Profnana!"
"Mission description here: [The plains... familiar calls... the scent of malt... Most people live in quiet desperation.]"
"Wake up, Boothill!"
"If he can't recover, it's as if the Galaxy Ranger Boothill we knew has been [killed]."
"Medicine!!!!!"
...
Boothill followed Profnana's guidance and walked over.
"Am I... dreaming?"
"Of course, based on your memories... where did your last memory stop? While herding, or chopping wood?"
"Neither, it was while eating a hot stew. Strange, how did I fall asleep?"
Boothill seemed utterly baffled,
"There's still so much to do, I'll probably be kicked awake by Nick soon."
Profnana nodded: "Haha, it's been a long time since you mentioned that name. Right, for you at this moment, everything the company has done is still a distant future."
"Ha, what nonsense, what a weird dream."
"Anyway, it's time for you to return to reality. How do you feel? Does waking from the dream make you feel pain?"
"Pain? Of course not!"
Boothill's tone was light,
and carried a hint of boastfulness,
"Too bad you're just a figment of my dream, you can't see the land I know, it's so beautiful you'd willingly die there."
...
"The vast lake has become a small pond."
"But that land no longer exists."
"Boothill's homeland, rich in a rare mineral, was forcibly taken over by the Marketing Development Department after its discovery. They seized the locals' land and massacred the planet's generations of nomadic people."
"Boothill's siblings were killed because they tried to stop the company's unrestrained mining."
"Even a little girl they had adopted, who had just learned to walk, perished in the company's ship's artillery fire!"
"To this day, that black mineral is still extensively used as a rare metal in the manufacture of high-power weapons, shipped by the company's cargo vessels to more planets."
"Damn, no wonder Boothill hates the company so much..."
"Mission description here: ['Flames... cries of sorrow... the smell of burnt grass... his treasure. I hear my savage, primal scream crossing the roof of the world.']"
"Wuwuwu..."
"Damn, Marketing Development Department, are you even human!?"
"Marketing Development Department head, Oswald Schneider. Damn thing, get out here!"
"The Marketing Development Department is truly beastly! Aventurine's tribe also believed the promises of the Marketing Development Department, and yet the second Katika-Avgin massacre still occurred, including Kakavasha's sister among the many Avgin slaughtered by the Katika, and the company did not provide the promised assistance to the Avgin during the incident!"
"Any planet eyed by the Marketing Development Department, even the Amber King would have a stone chipped off his body!"
"Truly impressive! And they still have the audacity to call themselves interstellar peacekeepers?"
"Down with corporate tyranny, the universe belongs to the Galaxy Rangers!"
...
Inside the company.
The Honkai: Star Rail plot analysis department and the player sentiment control department lit up red lights simultaneously!
This indicates a major sentiment crisis for the company in the new plot!
Now,
because of Honkai: Star Rail.
Players across the universe have united!
Once impacted.
It will have a huge impact on the company's assets, framework, and blueprints!
Therefore,
These two newly established departments are of utmost importance!
They have the right to report directly to the upper management at any time!
At this moment.
The heads of both departments simultaneously issued warnings!
"Something terrible has happened!"
"The company's reputation has suddenly plummeted!"
"We are currently conducting an investigation and analysis of player comments across the entire network—"
"The results are in—"
"It's because the latest storyline involves the past of Galaxy Ranger Boothill, and the history of his hometown, Argon-Apache, has been exposed by the players!"
"Other players are uniting to condemn the Marketing Development Department!"
"What are we waiting for! Quickly have our undercover agents in the major livestreams steer the narrative and clarify the misunderstanding!"
"Quickly explain the reasons in the players' tone to minimize their anger as much as possible!"
"If this continues, our company will become the enemy of the universe!"