Simulated Universe, Aeon Chatroom
[Aha: @Yaoshi @IX Are you two having fun without me?!]
[Nanook: ?]
[Qlipoth: (CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!)]
[Yaoshi: ? Oh?]
[IX: ...]
[Aha: What do you mean 'what'!? You two are looking at the leaf without me!]
[Xipe: Hm?]
[Lan: @Yaoshi, explain.]
[Yaoshi: I don't know~]
[Nous: Hmm... I shall take a look as well.]
---o---
"Hiss..."
Himeko, who had been watching Bronya, suddenly took a sharp intake of breath and clutched her head.
"This... this is..."
Himeko's pupils trembled, her eyes filled with utter disbelief.
"Aunt Himeko!? What's wrong!?" Kiana quickly steadied Himeko, her voice laced with concern.
"Himeko?" Bronya looked at Himeko, who was reacting exactly as she had just moments ago. A hint of gravity appeared on her usually emotionless face.
"Mm... I think... I might know why you made that expression just now..." Himeko said with a wry smile... This was truly... a little hard to believe...
---o---
[Aha: ??? @Nous, what are you doing? Sneaking a snack!?]
[IX: ...]
[Aha: @IX, how are you looking at another one? Is it because you have two eyes, one for each? Wait... @Yaoshi, you too!?]
[Yaoshi: Hehe~]
---o---
"Joachim! Are you alright?"
Seeing Welt Yang suddenly collapse to his knees, Tesla rushed to support him, her face full of panic and concern. What on earth had happened!? They were just watching a livestream, how did it come to this?
"Cough, cough... I'm... fine..."
After a few light coughs, Welt grasped Tesla's hand and shook his head. He felt... better than ever before... Although his Herrscher core had become agitated for a moment, it had calmed down under the gaze of that mysterious existence... He... felt his power had increased significantly!
"That pile of mud-like thing... is that a so-called... 'Aeon'?" Welt murmured to himself.
---o---
World Serpent Base.
"..."
"Raven, you don't look so good."
"Tch... I don't need your hypocrisy."
"I'm just concerned about you."
"Are we close?"
"Tsk... then can you tell me what you're doing, constantly caressing that grenade launcher?"
"No."
"Tch..."
---o---
"Your Excellency..."
"Mm..."
In Otto's room, having just been gazed upon by a "god," he slowly opened his eyes. Amber stood before him, looking anxious and unsettled.
"My apologies, Your Excellency, for entering your room without permission, but..."
Thinking of the strange noises that had come from the room just now, Amber, for some reason, had suddenly felt the urge to...
"Rest assured, I do not blame you, Amber. You did well."
Otto shook his head slightly, a faint smile on his handsome face. His emerald-green eyes were filled with an intense longing and... a fanatical madness.
"Kallen... I'm going to find you soon... Wait for me..."
Just like five hundred years ago...
---o---
"Alright! That's all for this broadcast. Thank you all for watching, and we'll see you next time on [Astral Express TV]!"
Wende stood up from behind the desk and gave a slight bow to the screen, a professional smile still plastered on his face.
VMM...
The large screen, which had been filled with all sorts of comments, went dark. This signified the official end of the torturous, Honkai-world-exclusive Version 1.1 preview.
[Ding... Connection Value with the Honkai world has increased to 25%...]
Wende expressionlessly opened the thermos provided in the studio. It was filled with honey, goji berry, and red date water... Although he had no idea why the system had prepared this, it was better than letting him go thirsty.
As for the increase in Connection Value... it was within his expectations. He just hoped it wouldn't actually lead to the Astral Express having to go to the Honkai world to help solve their Honkai problem...
Well, it wouldn't be so bad if it meant Big Sis Himeko could board the Express. Wait... if there were two Big Sis Himekos... I just hope the Honkai world's Big Sis Himeko doesn't know how to make coffee... Wende thought, completely clueless.
[Ding... Honkai World Player Emotion Value has increased by 500,000 points... Total Emotion Value has met the requirement. [] unlocked.]*
"Huh? Why did it increase by so much?"
He raised an eyebrow in confusion, setting aside the still-steaming thermos. Wende stared blankly at the [***] on the system panel, his purple eyes filled with doubt.
"So... can you tell me what this [***] thing actually is?" Wende scratched the back of his head, looking conflicted.
It seemed like it was something he could use... but it didn't even have a name. What if using it produced some strange reaction... wouldn't he be doomed?
But if he didn't use it and just left it there... then all the emotion value he had worked so hard to earn would be for nothing...
"Wait, didn't you say that the emotion value from the real world and the Honkai world were calculated separately? Why is there a reward?"
As if having thought of a crucial point, Wende questioned the system's light screen.
[The final right of interpretation belongs to the Honkai: Star Rail System.]
"?"
"Forget it, I'm not going to argue with you about this."
He shook his head helplessly and picked up the thermos from the desk again, taking a slow sip.
Hmm... this stuff is actually pretty good... but something feels strange about it.
"Whatever, I'll just save it for now. If this thing turns out to be something weird, it'll be a complete disaster."
Shaking his head, Wende decided to temporarily leave the item with the system. It was better not to use it. After all, with unknown things...
No matter the outcome, as long as it was unknown, there was a fifty percent chance it was bad. And if you put it in the context of the Star Rail universe... it was probably seventy-five percent bad!
[Ding... Please use [] to unlock the next mission. If the next mission cannot be unlocked, the character will be temporarily switched to Power-Saving Mode until [] is used.]
Wende's hand, holding the thermos, froze. His eyes widened as he stared at the system panel in horror.
What's wrong with you? Where did you hide the emotionless system panel from before? You've already threatened me with this thing twice today! Aren't you tired of it!
"Tsk... so can you just tell me what that thing is? If it's something bad, I'd honestly rather go into Power-Saving Mode."