It was still that uniquely Bronya-like deadpan voice.
But compared to the game, there was now a faint trace of emotion, and a touch of maturity.
Still, it was just as pleasant to hear.
After the barrage of question marks rolled past in the livestream chat, the tone of the screen shifted instantly.
Now it was filled with—
[Duckie! Your license has been revoked!]
[Duckie, curse me again!]
[Duckie, you'd better beat me up!]
…
Watching the stream, Mo Li couldn't help but laugh out loud.
But the moment he felt Bronya's murderous glare, he quickly reined in his smile.
He truly hadn't expected that even in this world, Bronya had ended up with the nickname "Duckie."
What's more, the "revoked license" meme had already gone completely viral.
…
Bronya glanced at the chat again, only to feel her blood pressure spike even higher.
She decided it wasn't worth paying attention, and simply cursed Mo Li silently in her heart.
Damn it, I hope the players give you an even worse nickname!
At that moment, Himeko suddenly remembered that—oh right, she was still livestreaming…
She shot Bronya an apologetic look.
Bronya, however, waved it off:
"It doesn't matter. They've already guessed it anyway. Whether I'm exposed or not doesn't change anything."
"…Alright then." Himeko nodded gently, then asked,
"So, what did you come to find me for just now?"
Bronya pointed toward Durandal and the others.
"You'll understand once you go over."
Himeko turned her head and saw Durandal and the others gathered together, waving for her to come over.
That scene left her a little surprised.
She cast Mo Li a side glance. "It's still work hours though…"
Bronya chuckled softly.
"Your livestream doesn't count as work… Besides, haven't you always been the bold type?"
"Oh, right!" Himeko finally recalled that this stream was just meant to lower her lofty, untouchable image in the players' eyes.
And honestly, even if she slacked off during work, Mo Li rarely interfered.
She'd even been caught by him drinking on the job several times.
Of course, she only did it when there was nothing important going on—not the type to loaf around recklessly.
When there was real work, Himeko was always serious.
Thinking of this, she smiled toward the chat.
"Something came up, I'll step away for a moment."
The moment Himeko left, the chat exploded with wails.
[miHoYo's Himeko livestream pulls in over a million viewers!]
[Duckie, come on screen!]
[My dying wish is to see 3D Duckie just once…]
…
Bronya gave the screen a disdainful smirk.
She had zero interest in livestreaming.
Just as she was about to leave, Kiana suddenly stood up and pulled her over.
Clutching Bronya's arm, eyes glinting mischievously, she chirped,
"Hehe~ Since you don't care, Bronya-nee, then come livestream with me~"
After a brief moment of fluster, Bronya quickly regained her composure.
She coughed lightly, ignoring the audience entirely.
"I still have something to discuss with your sister. You play by yourself."
With that, she pried Kiana off and walked out of frame.
Kiana could only pout helplessly and drag Hu Tao over to keep her company instead.
But those few seconds of Bronya on camera completely stunned the audience.
Wasn't Bronya supposed to be a little girl?
How could she be so tall and mature-looking?
The nickname "Duckie" suddenly felt completely unfitting!
After a brief stunned silence, the chat erupted.
[Ahhh! I demand miHoYo make this version of Bronya into a real character!!]
[My daughter grew up and is this gorgeous… I'm in love…]
[Duckie don't go! I swear I'll never joke about your revoked license again…]
…
Mo Li shook his head with a wry smile.
He'd seen this reaction coming a mile away.
Still, the big "Duckie" character template wouldn't be appearing until several versions later.
…
Meanwhile, at Timi Studios.
Ever since Himeko started her stream, Zhao Wenbo had been secretly watching.
When he saw that staggering viewer count, a surge of jealousy rose in his chest.
He couldn't help but compare it to his own collaboration with Yu Weiwei…
The gap in popularity was simply too massive.
After this update, Zhao Wenbo decided to copy miHoYo's approach.
He asked Yu Weiwei to stream herself playing Girls' Odyssey.
At first, Yu Weiwei had been reluctant—after all, she was a celebrity.
But when she remembered that even a singer of Eden's caliber had streamed and gained so many new anime fans, she finally agreed.
The results were decent—over 300,000 viewers.
Not bad for a second-tier singer willing to interact directly with fans.
But in her heart, Yu Weiwei couldn't stop thinking about miHoYo's side.
She was itching to know—did their livestream pull even higher numbers than hers?
Unfortunately, she was still streaming, so her curiosity would have to wait.
"Wow~ So this is the model Penguin made for me!"
Yu Weiwei admired her in-game character with growing satisfaction.
In terms of looks, the model was even prettier than she was in real life.
With Penguin carefully managing the chat, the stream was flooded with praise.
"Let's take a look at the new story content from the update~"
She clicked into the newly added story chapter.
The plot of Girls' Odyssey was fairly straightforward—just a war between two kingdoms.
Penguin had clearly tried to imitate Honkai Impact 3rd by beefing up the amount of story content.
In the previous chapter, one of the "Big Three"—the cute white-haired girl Erica—had been captured by the enemy.
This new chapter was about the Big Three hiring the female war-god Yu Weiwei to rescue her.
…
It was a very standard setup, but compared to most games in this world, already counted as ambitious.
Most titles barely had a skeleton of a plot.
So, players did find it somewhat fresh.
And since they'd been playing Girls' Odyssey for a while, many had built up some attachment to the Big Three.
Naturally, they were looking forward to the rescue mission.
In the game, Yu Weiwei controlled her character, sneaking into the enemy base with the red-haired onee-san and the black-haired, straight-laced girl.
But what the protagonists didn't know was that their every move was already under enemy surveillance.
After they reached Erica—badly injured but alive—enemy troops swarmed in and surrounded them.
Following a grueling escape sequence, Yu Weiwei finally reached the last stage of the new chapter.
Beating it unlocked… an anime-style cutscene.
The lurking Honkai 3 players watching the stream lost their tempers instantly.
Everything was copied from Honkai 3.
The gameplay, the UI…
Even ending a chapter with an anime short.
And the plot? Rescuing one of the Big Three?
But Girls' Odyssey's writing felt so cheap and petty compared to Honkai 3.
Penguin's shamelessness was nothing new.
Open plagiarism was practically their brand.
Most players were already numb to it.
Still, this time Penguin had shown some improvement—actually spending money on a non-monetizable animated short was rare for them.
Compared to their past games, this was almost sincerity.
So, while far below Honkai 3, many players considered it a decent start for domestic games.
It seemed miHoYo really had put pressure on the big studios.
…
"Wow! There's even an anime short to watch!"
Yu Weiwei feigned excitement and clicked play.
The cutscene opened on a battlefield engulfed in fire.
Enemy soldiers closed in from all directions.
The female war-gods stood back-to-back, covered in wounds, barely holding on.
After a clumsy fight sequence, music swelled.
The red-haired onee-san turned to Yu Weiwei, her expression grave.
"Miss Yu Weiwei… I'll unleash the zeroth-level output of the Sunblade to carve a path forward.
When I do, take Erica and the others and run."
"No, Aunt Zera!" Erica shook her head frantically.
"If you do that, you'll—"
"Erica… there's no time. From here on… I want you to be strong, stop being so reckless."
With that, the red-haired woman charged forward, greatsword blazing.
"Go!"
A burst of white light engulfed the battlefield as she unleashed her weapon's ultimate form, cutting down the enemy.
In the final shot, accompanied by Yu Weiwei's sorrowful singing, the red-haired woman collapsed.
Wave after wave of monsters swallowed her completely.
…
Viewers everywhere were stunned.
[Ahhh!! No!! Miss Zera!!]
[She just… died? Just like that?]
[And in such a brutal way??]
[What the hell… this death came out of nowhere!]
[What kind of trash writing is this? Do you even know how to copy properly?]
[Miss Zera!! Penguin, you damn hacks!]
…
Yu Weiwei didn't look at the chat.
Truth be told, she was also surprised the plot went that way.
But she reacted quickly, recalling the buzz around Himeko's death in Honkai 3.
She immediately put on a show of grief.
"Miss… Zera…"
Her eyes widened in disbelief as she forced out a few tears.
"How… how could this happen…"
Her fans, seeing her act, rushed to comfort her.
"Uuu~ Miss Zera sacrificed herself to save Erica… so touching…"
In reality, Yu Weiwei wasn't moved at all.
And most players just felt baffled.
Penguin's writers simply lacked the skill to stir genuine emotion.
The "noble sacrifice" trope was already overused, and here it was done with no buildup whatsoever.
In Honkai 3, Himeko's sacrifice had been foreshadowed from the start.
Her death was inevitable, and the climactic battle was spectacular, elevating her character to legend.
Facing a godlike foe, she raised her sword to the heavens and changed Kiana's fate.
In contrast, Girls' Odyssey's war-gods had been steamrolling everything, even joking around in battle.
Then suddenly, in the next chapter, one of them dies?
Not just abrupt, but downright distasteful.
This wasn't delivering a tragic gut-punch.
This was shoving filth down the players' throats.
No wonder the chat was fuming, cursing Penguin for not even knowing how to plagiarize properly.
…
Meanwhile, Zhao Wenbo sat in his office, staring at the Weibo trending tab and the furious chat.
"How could this happen…" His face was dark.
Bang!
He slammed his fist onto the desk, venting his frustration.
"Why is it that when Honkai 3 kills a character, the players praise it to the heavens—
but when my game kills one, they say I'm feeding them crap?"
"Why can their short film hit the trending list in minutes, but mine can't?"
His eyes fell on the trending topic, the four bold characters:
#Falling Star of the Skies
"Xiaoyi… once Yu Weiwei ends her stream, have her post a few Weibo updates to comfort the players."
"Then hire water armies. Smear Honkai 3."
Zhao Yi nodded. "What should the angle be?"
Zhao Wenbo's eyes gleamed.
"Say their game is only playable if you pull Herrschers.
That their A-rank Valkyrie suits are all just scams to milk money!"
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