"Ara." Miss Pink Elf♪ covered her mouth. "Should Eden and I leave you two alone now?"
"Elysia."
Mobius stepped forward, expression neither pleased nor displeased, and called out.
"Dear Dr. Mobius, long time no see." Elysia replied with a smile. "Didn't expect to run into you here, and also..."
She glanced at Hokuto who walked out after her: "You two are quite bold. I think it'd be better to find somewhere quieter for... this."
Mobius: "..."
"Elysia, even you have a limit."
"Alright, alright." Elysia clasped her hands together. "I'm just happy to see you two getting along so well."
"Regardless, how I get along with him has nothing to do with you, right?"
Mobius was clearly annoyed, yet didn't leave, instead standing there to banter with Elysia.
"How could it not?" Elysia shook her head. "You're both my dear friends. If you had a fight, of course I'd try to comfort you~~"
She paused, then showed a faint troubled expression: "Sigh~~ In order to cheer you up, I'd have no choice but to give you my favorite pink dress."
"That's the one Eden made for me. I really hate to part with it."
"...Elysia, I don't like pink," Mobius replied firmly, one word at a time.
"I thought you'd say something like..."
Elysia mimicked Mobius's tone: "What does giving me a dress have to do with cheering me up?"
"..."
"You'd surely follow that with: girls all like cute dresses, so if I receive one, I'd be happy." Mobius looked at Elysia like she'd seen right through her.
"Oh my, Mobius understands my heart so well♪ I'm so happy~~"
"..."
Mobius found herself unexpectedly helpless against Elysia.
She turned to Eden: "Do you still have a vacant room? I want to stay in Linjiang for a while. Of course, if you're willing to sponsor a temporary lab for me, that would be even better."
A temporary lab—Mobius looked like she planned to stay in Linjiang for a long time?
"We still have rooms," Eden answered. "In fact, I bought out the lower floors. Pick whichever you like."
Standing nearby, Hokuto blinked. He had a sneaking suspicion this place would soon be renamed "Golden Courtyard."
"No need for all that trouble."
"Shall I take you in now?"
"Mm."
Mobius and Eden turned to leave.
Elysia looked at Hokuto: "That's just how Mobius is. She always does unexpected things."
"I understand."
"I knew you wouldn't dislike Mobius~~ After all, she's so adorable♪"
"E–ly–si–a!"
"Sigh~~" Elysia responded, then said to Hokuto, "Let's chat next time."
"Sure."
After the three left, Hokuto stood there, thinking for a moment, then shook his head lightly.
Looks like things would only get more turbulent from here.
...
...
A few days later.
As expected, the main story quest was completed before the Spring Festival.
However, what came after was a little different from what Hokuto had anticipated.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, for completing the main story quest!]
[Choice One: Randomly receive a new game.]
[Choice Two: Honkai Impact 3rd Completion Bonus Pack (includes upgraded Homestead System, Honkai 3rd mini-games collection, and more premium content)]
Sitting at his desk in front of the computer, Hokuto heard the long-missed voice of the system loli.
"Two choices?"
Hokuto pondered. If it was about making money, Honkai Impact 3rd was already raking in profits.
He didn't need to make new games just to improve the studio's revenue.
What he wanted now was to bring the things he was familiar with into this world, even if it was just a few games.
To hear familiar memes from others' mouths.
That would make this unfamiliar world feel less alien.
"I choose two."
Hokuto's reason was simple. Not for anything else, just for that "Honkai 3rd Mini-Games Collection."
In his previous life, Honkai Impact 3rd had produced mini-games similar to Plants vs. Zombies, Fall Guys, and more.
Even excluding those already released in this world, the rest still had huge potential.
So compared to drawing a random game from a massive pool, just taking this bonus pack sounded way more appealing.
Even if games like Plants vs. Zombies or Fall Guys were simple, with the right foundation, modifying them wouldn't be hard.
miHoYo in the previous world had to consider costs. He didn't.
His desire to give players a better Honkai 3rd experience was genuine.
He even considered making a permanent system for these mini-games inside Honkai 3rd.
[Honkai 3rd Completion Bonus Pack issued!]
[Ding! New main quest issued: Reach 20 million active Honkai Impact 3rd users!]
A string of notifications followed.
Data streamed into his mind. In good spirits, Hokuto muttered to himself:
"Hope no other devs think I'm insane for taking ideas good enough to make standalone games and turning them into Honkai 3rd's mini-games."
To outsiders unaware of the context, this would indeed seem extravagant.
Of course, that's from the perspective of industry professionals. Players? They'd be ecstatic.
You can play anything inside Honkai 3rd.jpg
Amused by the thought, Hokuto eagerly tapped at his keyboard, converting the system's game data into basic game design documents.
After finishing, he contacted Rita.
"Rita, let everyone know. Time for a meeting."
Soon after, all members of the miHoYo studio—and representatives from Raven Studio, including Sora and Raven—gathered in the meeting room.
"The reason I've called everyone here today is for a few major announcements," Hokuto got straight to the point.
"First off, congratulations to our Honkai Impact 3rd for reaching 10 million users. Let's hear it."
"Oh! Our Honkai Impact 3rd is amazing!"
Clap clap clap~~ *N
The girls clapped with bright smiles on their faces.
Honkai 3rd's success made them genuinely happy.
Because Honkai 3rd held special meaning for them—far beyond just being a successful, money-making game.
"Alright." Hokuto raised his hand slightly. "Now onto the serious stuff—our development direction for next year."
"Hmm?" *N The girls perked up instantly.
Behind Hokuto, the projector lit up with words and rough diagrams.
He explained the contents of the slides in order:
"Homestead system... Valkyrie Dorms..."
"Valkyrie vs. Honkai Beasts... FallBean..."
"In-game mini-games?"
The girls' eyes lit up as they saw the content on the slides.
They hadn't expected Hokuto to once again unleash his wild imagination and propose integrating mini-games directly into Honkai Impact 3rd.
Most importantly, many of the mini-game concepts he described didn't even exist in the current market!
They were entirely new genres that could each stand alone as individual games.
Yet Hokuto wanted to use them for Honkai 3rd's internal content.
What did that mean?
Lavish. Stunning. Hard to describe...
Countless thoughts flashed through the girls' minds.
Hokuto concluded his presentation: "I think this marks the first step of our Honkai 3rd Metaverse Project."
"A small step for us, but a giant leap for miHoYo?"
Kiana suddenly said.
Everyone turned their attention to her.
Under the spotlight, she grew nervous: "Did I... say something wrong?"
"Not at all." Hokuto chuckled. "Kiana summed it up well—a small step for us, but a giant leap for miHoYo."
"Kiana, amazing!" Bronya gave a thumbs-up.
"Hehe~~"
Kiana giggled proudly and raised her chin: "Judge me with fresh eyes after just three days!"
"Kiana, every word you've said today has been spot-on. I'm impressed," Himeko praised.
"Himeko-sensei? So you usually think I'm...?"
Kiana pouted.
Himeko made a thoughtful face, then asked Kiana a question:
"What follows 'yellow millet one'?"
"Obviously 'yellow millet one meal'!" Kiana blurted.
"Pfft~~ Hahaha~~" *N
The meeting room burst into laughter.
After a while, the laughter died down.
Hokuto took the chance to bring up another matter: "Rita, distribute everyone's bonuses over the next few days. As discussed—double payouts."
"Understood," Rita nodded.
"Hokuto is so generous!" Kiana shouted.
"Humph."
Seeing their joy, Hokuto playfully waved his hand: "Our miHoYo is not short on money!"
"Boss is the best!" *N
...
...
As the New Year approached, the Honkai 3rd side event Honkai Chronicles was being updated steadily.
At first, players hesitated, wondering if this event would hit them with another emotional gut-punch.
But once they actually started playing, they found it shockingly wholesome—fun and full of joy.
And it had a living Himeko!!
Of course, some players still said, "This side story has four parts. No knives in the first? The next one's definitely gonna stab."
But as the story continued with lighthearted happiness, those voices dwindled.
The forums brimmed with festive energy.
That was, until the final part of Honkai Chronicles dropped: The Day You Vanished With the Stars.
At Elysia's house.
Aside from Mobius who had arrived early, the rest soon gathered in Linjiang one after another.
"Everyone, Honkai Impact 3rd's event just updated."
Elysia, holding her phone, walked into the living room.
Everyone was scattered about the room depending on their closeness, either sitting or standing.
"Let's play together."