Chapter 498: The IPC's Evil Deeds Brought to Light! Players Unite in a Combined Attack!
Boothill stared at the scene on the screen, thoroughly dumbfounded!
He never could have imagined that the three watershed stages of his life would actually be condensed into an image like this.
Good, good, good…
As expected of you,
—Honkai: Star Rail!
Then what in the fudge was going on with him right now?
Did this daddy turn into a kid?
Reverted back to his childhood?
This timid and polite voice was really both fudging unfamiliar and familiar at the same time!
And honestly,
it was kinda punchable!
...
"Uh… am I the main character now? Because of this gun?"
"It looks pretty nice, but taking someone's life with it? I've got no interest in that."
"How about you two settle your own grudge, and I'll take my leave first?"
Little Boothill clearly didn't understand the current situation yet.
He thought it was just a personal feud that had nothing to do with him.
At this moment, March 7 suddenly realized: "Wait, is this what you wanted me to witness?"
Professor Primon's proud voice rang out: "Precisely. You should be able to guess it as well. After all, it is merely an empty dream. Even if one turns into a monkey within the dream, their physical bodies in reality will not undergo any physiological devolution."
"Yet he, with his extraordinarily unyielding mind, has become a far more precious specimen. His psyche was not thoroughly obliterated; instead…"
"…Standing here is neither a monkey nor a Galaxy Ranger."
"Rather, it is the boy from years ago, before his homeland was wiped off the map, living carefree upon the prairie—a Boothill of the past."
At the scene.
Boothill closed his eyes.
He tried putting himself into those shoes.
If it were him from back then, what would he do in this situation?
Very quickly,
he let out a cold smirk.
"Seems like… there's no difference at all, huh?"
...
"Incomplete devolution… this is truly fascinating."
Professor Primon continued to prattle on.
Like an artist admiring a masterwork of his own creation,
he couldn't help but share and show it off to the people around him.
Even a research ape like him was no exception!
"Extrapolating from his memories, this appearance is at least a decade away from the first time he ever pulled the trigger against bandits."
"How miraculous. Whether it be this Sweet Dream Troupe or my true self, he could end it all with a single shot."
"Yet the power to pull the trigger… comes from the soul, not mere flesh and blood. Right now, he is nothing more than a child, completely ignorant of how to fire this shot."
"Now then, Mr. Cowboy, please come over here. It is time for us to complete your final subject—"
"A Galaxy Ranger standing on the side of Dr. Primitive, a traitor nurtured and born of my hand… this is worthy of several more academic papers."
...
"Ah?"
"In other words, even though Boothill's appearance is the same as before, his actual intellect is only that of a seven or eight-year-old?"
"His memories reverted to his childhood, even his voice changed."
"Scholars of the Intelligentsia Guild researched this before: human personality depends heavily on memory. If a portion of memory is lost, it can very likely cause a drastic shift in temperament."
"It's so over! Now it's an innocent kid facing a cunning, scheming old ape!"
"Mission description here: [ The prairie… familiar shouts… the aroma of wort… Most men lead lives of quiet desperation. ]"
"Wake up, old Boothill!"
"If he can't recover, it's the equivalent of the Galaxy Ranger Boothill we know being 'killed'."
"NOOOOOO!!!!!"
...
Boothill walked over, following the Slumbernana Monkey Academic's guidance.
"Am I… dreaming?"
"Of course. Based on your memories… where does your last memory stop? Herding cattle, or chopping firewood?"
"Neither. I was eating piping-hot stew. Strange, how did I fall asleep?"
Boothill seemed utterly bewildered.
"There's still a ton of chores to do. Nick's gonna kick me awake in a minute."
Professor Primon nodded: "Haha, you haven't brought up that name in a very long time. Naturally, to the current you, everything the IPC did is still in the distant future."
"Ha, what kinda nonsense are you babbling about? What a weird dream."
"Anyway, it's time for you to return to reality. How does it feel? Does waking up from the dream bring you pain?"
"Pain? Of course not!"
Boothill's tone was breezy,
with a hint of boasting,
"Too bad you're just a person in a dream, so you can't see the land I know so well. It's so beautiful you'd gladly die right there."
...
"Old Boothill turned into Little Boothill."
"Except that land doesn't exist anymore."
"Boothill's homeland was rich in a rare mineral. After the Marketing Development Department discovered it, they forcefully occupied the locals' land and slaughtered the nomadic people who had lived on that planet for generations."
"Boothill's brothers and sisters were killed just because they tried to stop their unrestrained mining operations."
"Even a little adopted girl who had just learned to walk was wiped out in the bombardment of the IPC's gunships!"
"To this day, that black mineral is still used as a rare metal in mass production of high-powered weapons, shipped to countless planets aboard IPC cargo freighters."
"Holy shit, no wonder Boothill hates the IPC so much…"
"Mission description here: [ Raging fire… mournful cries… the stench of scorched grass… Holy fork. I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world. ]"
"Waaaahhh…"
"Damn it, Marketing Development Department, are you guys even human?!"
"Oswaldo Schneider, Department Head of the Marketing Development Department. You goddamn scum, get out here right now!"
"The Marketing Development Department are absolute bastards! Back then, Aventurine's clan also believed in the promises of the Marketing Development Department. In the end, the second Katica-Avgin extinction event still happened! Numerous Avgins, including Kakavasha's sister, were slaughtered by the Katicans, and the IPC never provided the aid they had promised to the Avgins during the incident!"
"Any planet targeted by the Marketing Development Department—even if the Amber Lord Himself went there, they'd chisel a chunk of stone off His body!"
"Incredible! And with all that, they still have the gall to call it 'Interastral Peace'?"
"Destroy the IPC's tyranny! The universe belongs to the Galaxy Rangers!"
......
Inside the IPC.
The Honkai: Star Rail Plot Analysis Department and the Player Public Relations Department set off red alarms simultaneously!
This indicated that a massive public relations crisis regarding the IPC had erupted in the new storyline!
Now,
thanks to Honkai: Star Rail,
players across the entire cosmos were virtually united!
If they were targeted by a coordinated backlash,
it would bring immense fallout upon the IPC's assets, organizational framework, and future blueprints!
This was precisely why these two newly established departments were so vital!
They possessed the authority to directly report and contact the higher-ups at any moment!
Right now.
The heads of both departments sounded the alarm at the exact same time!
"Disaster!"
"The IPC's public reputation is plummeting rapidly!"
"Currently investigating and analyzing the relevant player comments across the entire network—"
"The results are in—"
"It's because the latest plotline touched upon the past of the Galaxy Ranger Boothill! The history of his homeland, Aeragan-Epharshel, has been exposed by the players!"
"The other players are banding together to launch a crusade against the Marketing Development Department!"
"What are you waiting for?! Quickly have our plants hidden in the major live streams spin the narrative and clear up the misunderstanding!"
"Hurry up and explain things from a player's perspective, do whatever it takes to minimize the anger of the other players!"
"If this goes on any longer, our IPC is going to become the public enemy of the entire universe!"