Back in the livestream, the plot wasn't moving forward. The screen was fixed on the interior of the Astral Express parlor car.
"Huh? Where did the streamer go?" Fu Xuan asked, puzzled. She subconsciously looked toward Jing Yuan.
Jing Yuan shook his head. "Don't look at me, I don't know either. She was just there a second ago."
The viewers in the chat were also starting to get restless.
"Where did Guinaifen go all of a sudden?"
"Wrap it up, guys. She probably got hauled off by the Cloud Knights."
"Did she really get banned?"
"Realm-Keeping Commission, was that really necessary?! We're just about to start the Luofu arc! You take her away now? Is the future really that much of a secret?"
"I'm going to go play through the main quest myself and see what disaster happens to the Luofu!"
"Give us back our Little Gui!"
...
In front of their screens, Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan were completely baffled.
Jing Yuan, in particular, had specifically told the Realm-Keeping Commission not to interfere with this stream so that it could proceed as smoothly as possible. And now, she was gone? Who could have moved so fast?
Regaining his composure, Jing Yuan began tapping on his Jade Abacus.
[Surfing with Real Name] gifted the streamer Guinaifen 1 Diting Storm!
[Surfing with Real Name] gifted the streamer Guinaifen 3 Diting Storms!
[Surfing with Real Name] gifted the streamer Guinaifen 5 Diting Storms!
Seeing the colorful notifications flooding the screen, Fu Xuan understood immediately.
Gifts!
The channel wasn't in troublethe stream was still live, not banned. The streamer likely just had an emergency. But what could be more important than pushing the story forward? The entire universe was watching this game's development!
Not to be outdone, Fu Xuan followed suit.
[Relentless Divination Machine] gifted the streamer Guinaifen 5 Super Starskiffs!
[Relentless Divination Machine] gifted the streamer Guinaifen 10 Super Starskiffs!!!
...
"Holy crap, what's happening today? Is this a clash of the titans?!"
"Guinaifen, hurry back! These big spenders are showering you with gifts, and even I'm getting anxious for you!"
"Stop gifting, you two! You're going to attract the official monitors!"
...
At that moment, Guinaifen suddenly performed a spinning drift followed by a backflip, landing perfectly in front of the camera. Her eyes were sparkling.
"Thank you to [Surfing with Real Name] and [Relentless Divination Machine], my two super bosses!!"
"I just had to run to the bathroom, everyone! I've been holding it in all night!"
"To live up to your passionate expectations, I will continue to work hard on the story and provide the best experience for my stream family!"
Fu Xuan let out a breath. Good, she's still there.
How would the Astral Express and the Xianzhou Luofu collide? What major events would happen on the Luofu? She began to immerse herself completely. It would be best to see the future plot ahead of time so she could make decisions and be prepared for any eventuality.
......
Meanwhile, on a snowy plain on Jarilo-VI.
Aventurine led a group of IPC security employees as they surrounded a very suspicious-looking trash can.
"Come out, Sampo," Aventurine said, casually flipping a coin in his hand. "Do you really think a trash can appearing here makes sense?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a man crawled out from under the bin.
"Hahaha, it was just a little joke with the bosses. May I ask what business you all have with Sampo?"
One of the employees pressed a gun forward, growling, "Cut the act. You're the developer of Honkai: Star RailYu Ling, aren't you?"
Sampo raised his hands, looking utterly aggrieved. "What? You're saying I'm [Yu Ling]?"
"I've been framed! I'm being wronged!"
"I've been looking for that god-awful developer myself! Have you seen how he depicted me in the Belobog arc?"
"I, Sampo, am a man of integrity and clean hands, yet that guy turned me into a slippery, unreliable old con artist! It's a complete inversion of reality!"
Aventurine narrowed his eyes, watching Sampo's every move. Suddenly, his phone vibrated. He opened it to see a new announcement from [Yu Ling]the animated short titled "A Flash."
Sampo immediately grabbed onto this like a lifeline. "Look! If I were Yu Ling, how could I be posting updates online right now? This Yu Ling is clearly using me as a meat shield!"
Aventurine, however, remained unfazed. "That's not necessarily true. If I recall correctly, these announcements can be scheduled to post automatically, right?"
"Maybe this is just a trick to confuse everyone. Wouldn't you agree?"
Sampo looked like a giant question mark had appeared over his head. After a moment, he sighed. "You're making so much sense that I'm starting to believe I'm [Yu Ling] myself."
"Just take me back and collect the reward." Sampo held out his hands, looking like a man who had lost all will to live.
Aventurine offered a slight smile. "Don't worry. The IPC will give you a fair trial."
Sampo nodded as if accepting his fate. Suddenly, several bombs with lit fuses rolled out from his sleeves. Dense smoke erupted instantly.
Aventurine waved his hand to disperse the smoke, but Sampo was already gone.
"Lord Aventurine... cough... should we chase him?"
"No need. I was just testing him. Sampo is not the developer, Yu Ling." Aventurine looked out over the distant snowfield, muttering to himself.
"My mission was to confirm if Sampo was the developer. The answer is now obvious. This task is complete."
"As for finding the real [Yu Ling]"
"Heh, someone capable of developing a game like this isn't someone who can be easily manipulated. A job of that difficulty... let someone else handle it. I'm certainly not taking it on."
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