"No, are you kidding me? Last time you tricked me into working at a massage parlor, and now what is the meaning of this?"
Wende crossed his arms, staring menacingly at the system screen before him.
"Do you have any idea how much psychological trauma that left me with? What good was that tiny bit of overtime pay!"
Listening to Wende's tragic, sorrowful, and miserable complaint, the system screen remained unconcerned, simply continuing to issue the mission details.
"A comic con?"
Wende's brow furrowed so hard it nearly turned into a mosquito coil.
"Last time, I said you were like a female knight in a goblin den who only got her weapons stolen..."
Wende's fingertips tapped gently on the desktop.
"This time, you want me to just go be the female knight, is that it!" Wende said lifelessly at the system panel.
Him... at a comic con? Cosplaying as himself?
Based on the level of insanity those players displayed... and in the real world, no less, with his Path and abilities sealed...
"Are you trying to kill me?"
[??]
"Then why are you giving me this suicide mission?"
[Because there's no one else...]
"No one else, so you come to me?"
[Are you not a person.]
"I..."
Wende instantly swallowed the words in his mouth. Good thing he reacted quickly; he was almost stripped of his status as a human.
[There's a reward.]
"Why don't you take a look at what your last reward was? Are you sure I won't have players grinding their teeth in hatred if I take that thing?"
[They won't.]
"So confident?"
[Don't you have a clue what your own skills are like?]
[Now get your ass to the mission, or you'll regret it!]
"? Did someone else take over?"
Watching the system screen disappear, Wende heaved a long sigh.
"Rustle..."
Picking up the cosplay costume the system provided and the note it left behind, Wende's face turned pitch-black.
......
At the Shanghai Ladybug Anime Festival, Honkai: Star Rail had contracted a massive booth area for players to visit. Naturally, they had also invited many well-known cosplayers to the booth to draw crowds and create content.
"Sister Guoguo... so cute!"
Gouzi looked at Sister Guoguo, who was cosplaying as Pela, and giggled. That small, round face and her height were a perfect match!
"Gouzi's Hook is cute too~"
Looking at Gouzi, who was a good half-head shorter than her, Sister Guoguo's meager supply of confidence seemed to return!
"Didn't the officials say they invited a lot of people? Why is it just the two of us?" Sister Guoguo looked around but didn't see any familiar faces.
"Did we arrive too early?" Gouzi scratched her head, puzzled.
"That can't be right. A lot of people have already entered."
Sister Guoguo shook her head. Seeing the stream of people flooding in their direction, she figured they had better prepare to be surrounded.
"I heard there's a mysterious guest today, too. I wonder who it could be."
......
"So, I'm just supposed to wear this?"
Wende wore the ink-wash style long robe, the same outfit from his 5-star template. While it was cool and looked great, but...
But for real... would he get thrown out by security?
No, getting thrown out by security was a minor issue. Actually having to wear this outfit and walk around a comic con was the true social death!!!
Would he even make it out alive?
Wende silently pulled open the curtains. He was currently in a second-floor changing room at the convention center. According to the recent announcement, they had already started letting people in!
"Hooo..."
Wende took a deep breath, releasing the nervous tension in his heart.
Then, he put on the face mask the system had given him and resolutely walked out of the changing room.
Thank goodness, the system had left him a fig leaf. Even if it only covered his face... it was better than nothing!
"HOLY SHIT!"
"Woooow!"
"Hiss..."
"Click... click."
"Excuse me, could you please turn off the flash..."
"WAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
As more and more people saw Wende, the strange noises around him grew louder and more varied. Some people were even frantically taking photos of him with their phones, without even asking for his permission.
"This is bad. I have to get to the booth immediately, or I won't be able to move soon!"
Seeing the growing crowd around him, Wende decisively chose to run for it!
"! Little brother! Don't run! Can we get a picture, please!"
"Yifu! Where are you going, Yifu! It is I, Lu Bu!"
"Whose subordinate is this, to have such a god-tier cosplay! Especially those robust pectoral muscles! I want to smash my head against them until I die!"
"...Wait, why are you all so far away from me?"
"Err, bro, we're in the real world now, not online."
"Σ(ŎдŎ|||)ﾉﾉ"
......
"What's happening! Is it an earthquake?"
Sister Guoguo, who was signing autographs for fans, suddenly felt a slight tremor under her feet. She looked up and...
"Clatter..." (Her pen dropped.)
"Gouzi..."
"Hm? What's wrong?" Gouzi, who was signing an autograph for her own fan, looked at Sister Guoguo in a daze.
"Pinch me."
"Eww! Sister Guoguo! My sexual orientation is normal!"
"Who's talking about that! Just pinch me!"
"Oh... okay. Don't blame me if it hurts."
Seeing how serious Sister Guoguo looked, Gouzi decisively reached out and pinched the small, round face of the Pela-cosplaying Guoguo.
"Ah! It hurts! It's real! I'm not dreaming!"
"Sister Guoguo! What's wrong with you! Get a hold of yourself!"
Seeing Sister Guoguo suddenly lose her mind, Gouzi said, terrified.
"Sorry, I'm late."
Wende ran up to the two of them. He first looked up to confirm this was the Honkai: Star Rail booth, then apologized to the two "staff members" in front of him.
Hm? Why do these two look a bit familiar? Wende raised an eyebrow. Had he seen them at the massage parlor?
"Huh? You are..."
Gouzi turned her head and saw a mighty, tall wall, along with its magnificent armor.
"Err..."
Silently rubbing her eyes, Gouzi looked up and met Wende's gaze.
"Sister Guoguo..."
"Mmm..."
"Pinch me..."
"Oh..."
Sister Guoguo decisively pinched Gouzi's waist.
"OW!!! It hurts! This isn't a dream, AAAAAHHHH!!!"
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
"?"
Wende looked on, completely bewildered, at the two "staff members" who had descended into a frenzy. What was with them...?
"Hello there, big-chested bro, I'm Sister Guoguo!"
Sister Guoguo decisively stepped forward and welcomed Wende with great enthusiasm.
"Hello, hello, I'm Haihai, you must be tired from the journey! Would you like a drink?"
Gouzi also hurried over, fawning over Wende.
"??? You people are surprisingly nice?"
Author's Note:
I feel like my thoughts have been a bit scattered lately, and my writing has been a bit watery. I might need to adjust my state of mind. I read every comment and bullet-screen message, and I've reflected a lot. I plan to change my original approach for a while, so I probably won't be pushing the main story too much. I hope everyone can understand.
Translator's Note: This is a non-canon bonus chapter that takes place in a real-world setting for comedic purposes.