Chapter 200: Kiana's Widow? Auntie Mei Has Become a "Bereaved Person"?
In the Anti-Entropy Entertainment office, Old Yang, who was playing the game, suddenly sneezed. Immersed in A Post-Honkai Odyssey (APHO), he was naturally unaware that the outside world had already given him a brand-new nickname.
To be honest, Old Yang himself felt a vague sense of unease. Why did it feel like he was always the one getting into trouble? Putting APHO aside—where he no longer held the Core of Reason and had retired from being the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, making him significantly weaker than his main story self—even in the main plot, he seemed to face mishaps quite often. The memory of being crushed by Kevin in the Sea of Quanta was still fresh.
This led Old Yang to sigh. Why is it that even though Otto, Kevin, and I are among the most famous people in the world, I'm the only one who feels so "weak" at times?
Sigh! "Welt-ups" (Yang-wo-qi-zuo)!
Meanwhile, in the livestream of MiHoYo's #1 Idol, Ai-chan, Carole had finished her dialogue with Mei. The next step was to deploy into the open world of St. Fountain to search for clues regarding Welt's disappearance. Since the squad members weren't all present yet, Carole could only control the protagonist, "Su Mu," to act alone.
Upon entering the open world, the streetscapes of St. Fountain were revealed to the audience! Thanks to technical improvements, the graphics of St. Fountain were significantly better than in Su Mu's previous life. Especially at night, the lights reflected off the scenery, creating an intense sense of atmosphere.
[Whoa! The MC is this handsome?]
[This trench coat and this sword... it's literally me!!]
[LMAO, but the codename Carole chose is 'Old Thief.' If you praise him for being handsome, aren't you praising the Old Thief?]
[Wait, everyone knows codenames are just for fun, right? I can be the Old Thief, you can be the Old Thief!]
[Is the whole world just full of Old Thieves then?]
Although Carole was the primary focus of the stream, she admitted she couldn't play and narrate at the same time, so the task of controlling the character was handed to Su Mu. Now, the game developer had actually become the streamer?
Su Mu manipulated "Su Mu" in the game... admittedly, it felt a bit awkward. Carole truly knew how to pick a name.
He moved along the streets toward the station. Thanks to the "Icarus Landing Device," he could jump from a height of twenty-five meters while maintaining a safe buffer—this served as an in-lore explanation for why APHO could feature "Ace Combat" mechanics. Moreover, thanks to this device, characters in the game could double jump!
When Su Mu first played this part in his previous life, he couldn't help but roast it: A 25-meter height is enough to kill hundreds of Witchers! Unfortunately, since The Witcher 3 didn't exist in this world, he didn't see any funny meme comments about it, which disappointed him slightly. But it didn't matter. You have to take things one bite at a time, and games have to be made one by one. Sooner or later, the brilliant gaming culture of Blue Star would bloom in this world!
Su Mu continued forward and soon reached an open circular plaza. However, the plaza was filled with dense, strange red crystals. They were everywhere, even blocking some passages. These crystals reflected the night lights of St. Fountain, giving off an unspeakable sense of danger and eeriness.
As Carole investigated the plaza, a terrifying monster descended, accompanied by screen tremors and urgent background music!
Codename: "The Fool." It looked like a beast, moving on all fours and launching fierce attacks with its claws! Su Mu began fighting the successive "Fools." The enemy's assault was intense, but thanks to Su Mu's skilled operation, it was easily neutralized. During the battle, Su Mu specifically showcased the brand-new aerial combat system to the players.
"Of course, this demonstration is still incomplete, since only one character has appeared," Carole explained patiently to the viewers. To pull off infinite aerial combos, certain conditions were required. Once the teammates were gathered later, they could show off what true skill looked like!
These sudden monsters were very strange. The Honkai energy detectors showed no reaction from them; they didn't seem like biological organisms, but rather machines!
[The monsters in APHO aren't Honkai beasts anymore? Where did these things come from?]
[Who knows? But with these weird crystals and inhuman monsters appearing... I feel like there's a massive conspiracy behind this.]
[I hope Old Yang is okay.]
[When has he ever actually been in trouble? You're underestimating my 'Welt-ups'.]
Su Mu explored the city, showing players some collection side-quests and interesting puzzle mini-games before returning to the base. There, he exchanged intel with Raiden Mei. They learned that the barriers enveloping St. Fountain were circular, with the floating city in the sky as the center.
["It seems all the strange phenomena in St. Fountain are directly related to that Sky Island, as well as those monsters we've never seen before... I've sent the data back to HQ. I believe the Doctor and the others will be very interested."]
In the next mission, Mei would accompany the protagonist to assemble Honkai energy detection devices at high points in the city. Thus, Raiden Mei joined the party. Unlike the protagonist, Mei—using a katana—had faster attack speed and frequency, with a more agile and elegant combat style. While there was a gap in single-hit damage, her high-frequency strikes compensated for the lack of raw power. Dermabrasion (low damage), but fast... that was essentially the idea.
Coincidentally, monsters with "hit-count shields" appeared, which could be broken by Mei's high-speed strikes. As Carole explained to the players and the game progressed, various monsters were revealed. Watching Su Mu manipulate the two characters to pull off stylish combos amidst the monsters, many viewers were already itching to play!
[Is the Old Thief playing this stylishly?]
[I didn't expect the Old Thief to actually play his own games? And his skill is legit!]
[And if I remember correctly, the Old Thief chose Hard difficulty, right? On Hard, enemy HP and damage are boosted, and their aggression is significantly higher...]
[Seeing how familiar he is with the game, he must have practiced a lot, right?]
[Does the Old Thief spend his work hours slacking off and gaming?]
In fact, it wasn't just the viewers who were surprised; even Carole was stunned. she knew Su Mu; as an absolute workaholic, it was impossible for him to sneak in game time during work. Moreover, he rarely participated in test plays—he usually confirmed things once and didn't touch them again. Yet looking at how skilled he was, he didn't look like someone playing for the first time at all!
"Director Su, your gaming talent is way too high! Hey, Director, I heard Anti-Entropy is holding a HOMU Contract tournament with a massive prize pool. How about we form a team?"
[LMAO, mentioning 'HOMU Contract' during an APHO stream? Carole is going to get her bonus docked!]
[What? didn't you know? 'HOMU Contract' is a collaboration between MiHoYo and Anti-Entropy!]
[Eh? For real? I only knew it was a 5v5 shooter published by Anti-Entropy. I didn't know MiHoYo was involved!]
[Actually, if you look closely, 'Su Mu' is on the credits as producer...]
[Su Mu? Who is Su Mu? I only know the 'Old Thief'! I don't know any Su Mu!]
[Hey! Su Mu! Hey! Old Thief!]
[A study on how Su Mu fell from 'God Su' to 'Old Thief Su Mu,' and finally lost his name to just 'Old Thief'...]
[Isn't it well-deserved? Isn't it?]
Amidst the chatter of the chat, the APHO Main Story 1.1: The Cataclysm reached its end. The monsters appearing in St. Fountain were diverse, and the stronger ones seemed closer to humanoid forms, with visible signs of being "cobbled together." In other words, these monsters were manufactured to imitate humans. Curiously, while they had many human elements, their appearance suggested their creator had no real understanding of human civilization and simply combined things they saw! This left the viewers confused. Are the creators not human? If so... is it an alien invasion?
[That possibility exists. The game never said there are no other alien civilizations in the Honkai world, right?]
[LMAO, the main story is still dealing with the Honkai, but APHO is going to space already? Haha!]
[Seriously though, maybe the Honkai really does reach space one day.]
Watching these comments, Su Mu was secretly shocked. Good lord, we have a prophet here. Someone actually guessed the next project involves space? I suggest investigating this person to see if a MiHoYo employee leaked it! Of course, he was joking; the proposal was still sitting on his computer and hadn't been shown to anyone. He couldn't have leaked it himself, could he?
As 1.1 concluded, a side story related to Mei followed. In the side story, the whereabouts of the third member—Carole—were mentioned. Originally, the task of collecting monster data was for Carole, but due to a manpower shortage, Mei and the MC had to share the burden. As for Carole... she had run away from home. However, she was caught and brought back that morning. Carole was dead-set against coming to St. Fountain and had climbed over the wall to escape while her parents were sleeping the night before departure.
["That little girl's anti-reconnaissance skills are truly impressive; she wasn't caught for two or three days. I heard she ran out of money and went to the police herself to be sent back..."]
["Schicksal said she's on her way here. Once she arrives, we'll have to hold a reflection session for her."]
["Her behavior is technically—desertion. While it could be seen as a minor or major issue, a lecture is necessary."]
["she's a good kid in every way, except when she gets hot-headed; then she'll do anything."]
Mei's evaluation in the game left the real Carole feeling... deeply embarrassed. Uh, what is this feeling of being executed on a livestream? And the evaluation is too accurate; I really am the type of girl who does anything when my temper flares... Stop making the character settings so realistic, Director Su!!
After mentioning Carole, Mei's expression turned somewhat lonely.
["Yes... a girl like that... that's quite nice too..."]
[Her gaze passed over you, as if staring at something far away. As that something drifted further, her expression became dazed. After a moment, she snapped out of it and gave you a smile.]
This segment made the viewers connect the dots.
[A girl like Carole? Is she talking about Kiana?]
[It has to be Kiana. I feel Carole's behavior is definitely something Kiana would do. Those two would have so much in common!]
[But only for the Kiana before she grew up, right? The matured Kiana would never desert a mission!]
[Wait, why does Mei look so sad?]
[Yeah, Kiana hasn't been mentioned in APHO yet. we don't know where she went...]
[Based on Mei's reaction, has it been a long time since she saw Kiana?]
[Mhm, I agree. If Kiana were by her side, she wouldn't make that face.]
[Does that mean... does that mean... Kiana sacrificed herself in the fight against the Honkai?]
[Does that make Mei a widow?]
[Pugh! Don't talk nonsense! How could Kiana die that easily! she's the protagonist!]
Many viewers worried about Kiana's status in APHO. However, Mei didn't mention it further, leaving them as "Anxious Kings" with no choice but to keep watching patiently. To investigate the monsters' habits and gather more intel, Su Mu and Mei went deeper into St. Fountain to battle various enemies. After collecting the info, a communication from Theresa appeared in the game!
["Hello, Mei..."]
["Good day, Overseer. You look pale... have you been staying up late again?"]
This seemingly ordinary dialogue was like a thunderclap!
What was going on? The Overseer of Schicksal... was actually Theresa??
END OF CHAPTER
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