On the day of the BW exhibition.
"So hot, there are way too many people in the hall!"
Kosma wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead. Even though the air conditioning was on full blast, the sheer density of the crowd made it stifling. The chuunibyou youth had nothing but brute strength, and after bustling about with Su Mu and other miHoYo staff, they finally finished setting up the booth.
Due to Honkai Impact 3rd's status as a benchmark for mobile gas, it had naturally been allocated the largest area. The cost of setting up this space alone was staggering. As the BW exhibition officially opened, the flood of people surrounding the Honkai 3rd booth was so dense it was practically impenetrable.
Kosma looked up at the seemingly endless line and felt dizzy. "Brother Su, just how many people are there?"
Su Mu wasn't surprised at all. The Honkai 3rd booth was besieged by fans, and the Bilibili staff had to dispatch extra security to maintain order.
"Designer Carole! I love the characters you made! Their moves are so cool!"
Having appeared in the official livestream, Carole was imdiately recognized by the fans.
"Thank you, thank you for your support! I'll keep working hard to create more high-quality move sets!"
The players' enthusiasm caught Carole off guard, but being recognized and praised in person made her feel giddy with pride. Compared to Carole, Su Mu's side was quiet. Since the players had never seen his true face, they naturally didn't know who he was. However, many players noticed a certain "ordinary" staff mber at the booth.
"That staff mber... have I seen him sowhere?" "Mhm, why does he look so familiar?" "He looks so young, and he's really handso!" "He didn't appear in that special livestream, did he? Otherwise, I'd have an impression of him."
Though so felt a sense of familiarity, they couldn't put a na to the face and eventually let it go.
The Honkai 3rd booth was divided into several sections. First was the main stage, where hosts would interact with the players. For the stage hosting duties, Su Mu assigned Carole and a "mysterious guest"—a certain "VTuber"... ahem, the Lady Luna Vow! They would play mini-gas with the audience, such as a sneak peek at the new event "Reburn." Successful challengers would receive an extra reward bundle.
Then there was the official cosplay area. Finally, there was the rchandise distribution zone run by Firefly. Every attendee could present their Honkai 3rd account to receive a free gift set. Stocks were ample—roughly 30,000 sets for the three-day event. Kosma and Griseo were also there to help.
As for Su Mu, he ca to BW with a mission. After helping Firefly and the others distribute a large batch of rch, he greeted the team and left the booth. Many studios were participating in the exhibition, including several promising small-to-dium-sized developers. Su Mu's goal was to scout for studios that could collaborate with miHoYo. Before coming, he had shortlisted several single-player developers with live demos. He planned to browse these booths, assess their strength, and consider future partnerships.
"My fellow netizens! Your girl Guinaifen is here at the Arc City BW exhibition! It's so lively here; as far as the eye can see, it's just a sea of people!"
Guinaifen held her selfie stick, panning her phone cara around the hall. The sheer scale of the BW crowd left the livestream chat in shock.
[Holy crap, isn't there way more people this year?]
[Wait! Didn't Little Gui co to BW last year too? There weren't this many people back then!]
The viewers compared the crowd to last year and found that the attendance had indeed surged.
"That 'i Number One' viewer is right! When Little Gui ca last year, it really wasn't this crowded!" Guinaifen interacted with the chat as she pushed deeper into the exhibition hall.
[Duh, look at the gas exhibited this year! Honkai 3rd! Do you know Honkai 3rd?!]
[I bet over 90% of the people here are here for Honkai 3rd!]
[True!]
[Newbie here, what kind of strear is this?]
[She's a talent strear, she's the real deal! Ghost hunting at night, acrobatics by day, master of eighteen street-vending weapons!]
[Newbie, you don't understand. Our Little Gui is multi-talented! A follow is never a loss!]
If you were a viewer on the Huyu streaming platform, it was impossible not to know the famous Sister Gui. This strear was a true "wolf-tier" legend; "multi-talented" was an understatent. Feats like biting a lighter were child's play to her! Shattering stones on her chest, eating noodles while doing a handstand, whistling while brushing her teeth, the "Golden Spear Throat Lock," swallowing a sword to the spine... she could even whip out a gong and drum to perform a folk opera on the spot.
For Little Gui, these were basics. As the saying goes, "with great skill cos great courage." As a master of "hardcore content," she kept it real. She had personally assembled a "Ghost Hunting Squad" with her friends—the timid Huohuo, the uneducated but beautiful Sushang, and a certain tall, grey-haired "Galactic Baseballer" who loved rummaging through trash cans. The four of them ventured into all kinds of haunted sites: abandoned schools, ruined asylums, haunted cathedrals... there was nowhere they wouldn't go. Little Gui even had a fan group dedicated to collecting paranormal intel for their next mission.
In summary, Little Gui was a one-of-a-kind legendary strear on Huyu! However, despite her "hardcore" persona, Guinaifen was still a young girl who liked trendy and fun things. Naturally, she had tried the viral Honkai Impact 3rd and was quickly hooked by the exquisite graphics and beautiful Valkyries. She was now a loyal player who had even topped up a significant amount.
Hearing that Honkai 3rd would have a booth at BW, Guinaifen rushed to the scene early in the morning. But despite her early arrival, she spent a long ti in the queue outside. The attendance this year was incomparable to previous ones. Guinaifen queued from 8:00 AM until nearly 9:30 AM before finally entering the hall. Moving from the scorching sun into the air-conditioned hall, she let out a long sigh of relief. Her clothes were nearly soaked through from the wait. Luckily, she had only applied light makeup, or fixing it would have been a nightmare!
[Little Gui, did you co alone today? Where are the Ghost Hunting Squad mbers?]
"Them? Don't even ask..." Guinaifen sighed at the ntion of them. Huohuo didn't co, Sushang went back to the Taixu Sect, and the Galactic Baseballer found a batch of newly installed trash cans in the north of the city and went to observe the installation process. The first two were fine, but that last one... just how much does Stelle love trash cans!
[I bet they didn't want to co because of the crowds!]
[True, for a shut-in like , attending an exhibition is too hard.]
[Just seeing Little Gui queue for 90 minutes in that sun makes glad I didn't go.]
[Wait! I'm at ho in the AC eating waterlon while watching Gui's stream. Doesn't that an I'm basically at BW too?]
[No ticket needed! Little Gui gets views, we get a free tour, it's a win-win!]
Seeing her fans active in the chat, Guinaifen stretched her body. "Alright! In that case, your Little Gui will take you on a proper tour of BW! If you haven't followed, hit that follow button! Touring the whole place is going to be quite a workout for !"
Guinaifen's target was clear: she headed straight for the Honkai 3rd booth. Before she even reached it, she saw a dense mass of heads. The scale truly shocked her. She knew the ga was hot, but she didn't expect it to be this hot. Roughly 60-70% of the exhibition's attendees seed to be gathered in front of the Honkai 3rd booth, and the number was growing.
"Little Gui suddenly feels like this BW venue might be a bit too small..." she muttered to the cara. The rch redemption area had the longest line, so she imdiately gave up on that idea. It wasn't that she didn't want the rch, but the queue was simply too long. The cosplay area was relatively less crowded, and the main stage was mostly full of resting players since the events hadn't started yet.
"Can't be helped. While Little Gui wants the rch, I don't know how long that'll take. Let's take the family to see the pretty cosplayers first!"
[Holy crap, miHoYo really went all out. The quality of these cosplayers is insane!]
[There are several top-tier cosplayers from Bilibili here, right?]
[Whoa, is that Midori?]
[Where's Yubai? They didn't invite Yubai?]
[Duh! If they invited Yubai, the brothers would be dying of jealousy!]
Aside from the official cosplayers, there were many fans who had co in costu. Quite a few people recognized Guinaifen and ran up for photos. But soon, the crowd at the cosplay area surged toward the main stage as the Honkai 3rd BGM began to play. A girl with short hair, tanned skin, and high energy appeared on stage!
"Hello everyone! I'm Honkai 3rd's Brand Ambassador and Elysia's best friend—Carole!"
[Pfft!]
[Don't pause your sentences like that!]
[Hehe! I'm also Elysia's—loyal fan!]
[Eh? I rember her! She's the Designer Carole who appeared in the livestream! She's the one who designed those aweso combat move sets!]
[It is! Designer Carole looks so full of energy!]
The livestream audience recognized Carole and was surprised by her looks. Since Guinaifen always used a raw cara for her streams, they didn't expect Carole to be so photogenic. After an intro and thanking the fans, Carole introduced the "heavyweight" guest!
As the giant screen behind her went dark, a fair, small hand appeared on screen. The hand adjusted the cara, accompanied by so rustling sounds.
"Human equipnt is so strange... do I use it like this? Can you see clearly now?"
As the hand fumbled with the lens, the familiar voice left the players stunned.
[Is that Theresa's voice?]
[It sounds like it? But maybe because the venue is loud, it sounds a bit different from the Theresa I know?]
[Mhm, it's lower, and it doesn't sound as... ditzy?]
[Hey, do you want to get crushed by Judah?]
Guinaifen's viewers also recognized the familiar voice. But they were confused, because while the tone was Theresa's, the manner of speaking was completely different! As the screen flickered, the hand finally straightened the cara, and the audience finally saw the face of this special guest!
It was a girl with white hair and red eyes, wearing a red rose hair ornant. She was dressed in a black Gothic Lolita-style dress, her skirt as red as fresh blood. Her pale skin was almost translucent, making her look like an exquisite porcelain doll. Upon seeing this guest, one word surfaced in everyone's mind—
Vampire!
Vampires—supernatural beings from legend that sustain their longevity by drinking the blood of humans or other creatures. Pale skin, beautiful features, hidden fangs and claws, afraid of sunlight which burns or weakens them... They draw strength from blood to remain eternally young. Thus, in ACG culture, vampires are often depicted as handso n or beautiful won. Vampire characters are highly popular; many probably thought of a certain character from Bibi-no-Manangekyou...
Of course, a simple vampire wouldn't have caused such a stir.
[Wait, isn't that Theresa??]
[It's clearly Theresa!]
[Theresa turned into a vampire?!]
[??]
Little Gui's chat exploded. This version of Theresa was a far cry from the image they had of her! The contrast was shocking, and it inevitably made them think of that "Dog Thief" Su Mu behind Honkai 3rd!
[Did sothing happen to make Theresa beco a vampire?]
[What is Su Mu plotting! Is he coming for Theresa next?]
[Damn dog thief! Dropping a bombshell like this at an exhibition! I'm starting to regret not going in person!]
Many players had assud this BW exhibition would be standard: so cosplayers, a host playing gas with fans, and so rch giveaways. They never expected Honkai 3rd to pull such a big move—inviting a vampire-like Theresa to the scene!
[Is this a recording?]
[Not a recording, there should be soone streaming behind the avatar.]
[Then... could the person streaming be the prototype for Theresa, the idol Teriri?]
[It's a possibility!]
[Holy crap! Brothers, I'm so filled with regret right now. Is it too late to head to the booth!!]
While the chat was in an uproar, Guinaifen focused her gaze on the vampire Theresa.
"Please welco our Miss Theresa! So, are you all surprised to see her?" Carole's words drew cheers from the crowd.
"Theresa!" "Theresa, I'm your fan!" "Principal!" "Everyone, look at , I have sothing to announce! I am Theresa's dog!!"
The Theresa on screen snorted coldly. "Humans, I am not that white-haired shorty you know! I am another Theresa from a different dinsion. I am not the sa person as that brat who loves bitter lon juice, reads manga in secret, and stays short without ever developing!"
[Pfft!!]
[? She's a Theresa from another world?]
[Didn't you watch the last stream? Su Mu said Honkai 3rd would release event plots from other parallel worlds! This Theresa is likely a character from a different world!]
[But seeing her roast Theresa using Theresa's own face... I've lost it!]
[The key is she hit every single nail on the head...]
Guinaifen's viewers were laughing uncontrollably. This scene was also being watched by Theresa Apocalypse in another livestream.
"Rita... you bastard maid!!" She nearly jumped out of her chair in rage!
END OF CHAPTER
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