Bronya inford Su Mu about Cocolia's upcoming visit and explicitly ntioned that Cocolia wished to et him in person.
"She's probably curious about you," Bronya speculated when discussing why Cocolia wanted to see him. "After all, you wrote her as a major villain in the ga. She might be coming to settle the score."
Faced with Bronya's half-joking remark, Su Mu raised both hands in surrender. "Then I should definitely give Ms. Cocolia a deep kowtow." Since Cocolia was Seele's mother, kowtowing to a future mother-in-law was only natural.
"Anyway, you'd better be ntally prepared. Mother is a tough person," Bronya warned. "She might ask you so difficult questions... but with Seele and there, she shouldn't do anything too drastic."
"Then I'll thank you in advance." Su Mu didn't ntion that he was already in contact with Cocolia. He didn't think she was as scary as Bronya made her out to be. To be fair, her image in the ga was so dark it wouldn't be surprising if she wanted to beat him up... but Su Mu couldn't help it; that was just how the original plot was written.
With so ti before Cocolia's arrival, Su Mu's schedule was packed. First, he had an appointnt with Herta to visit her studio and attempt a collaboration using her latest holographic technology. Su Mu had decided that while implenting holographics directly into gaplay might be premature, using it to create a VR promotional trailer for Titanfall's cockpit was perfectly feasible. Being able to feel imrsed in a Titan's cockpit, charging through smoke and fire... the re thought was enough to get the blood pumping.
Firefly's Glamoth Studio had been established for three months now. With the basic ga frawork provided by Su Mu, progress was incredibly fast. Since the underlying logic was already set—like building the internal fra of a Gundam—all that remained was to fill in the outer plating. Furthermore, the presence of the "bug-like" AI, Project Bunny 19C, allowed the production cycle to be significantly compressed.
In Su Mu's previous life, developing a large-scale single-player ga was a grueling process that often took years. So projects were even cancelled halfway through due to various reasons, becoming eternal regrets. Fortunately, the technological level of this world was far superior, so Titanfall wouldn't take years to develop. With the complete frawork provided by Su Mu, the cost and difficulty had plumted.
Even so, it would still take at least six months—a speed that was actually incredibly fast. After all, Honkai Impact 3rd had taken nearly three months just to develop its initial mobile launch. One of the main reasons for this progress was Bronya's Project Bunny 19C. Its full-power performance was so ridiculous it hardly seed like a product of this era—though Bronya didn't know that miHoYo's version of the AI had been enhanced by Su Mu's System.
The "Ga Producer System" Su Mu possessed allowed him to exchange "Reputation Points" for more than just gas. Through Reputation, he could enhance various talents, which was why he appeared to be a genius in every field. This was also why he frequently made guest appearances in livestreams and perford "skits" about being healthy and positive. It was all to increase the "Old Thief's" fa; the more people knew him, the higher his Reputation points grew.
Normally, such a system would require a step-by-step progression from indie gas to AAA blockheads—like a leveling novel. However, this world was so perfectly suited for Honkai Impact 3rd that this one ga alone allowed Su Mu to unlock a vast array of subsequent functions. Eden's fa, the natural hype of the character prototypes, and the terrifying revenue-generating power of a free-to-play gacha ga had turned Su Mu into an "Outer World Demon" in the industry.
However, precisely because of his terrifying accumulation speed, the System realized he would speedrun everything if this continued. It imdiately applied a "patch," ordering Su Mu to develop other types of gas or lose access to new features. It was as if the System itself was trying to save face.
Of course, even without the System's prodding, Su Mu intended to make great gas. He felt nothing but disappointnt for the current ga industry of this world. If he didn't give them a "little Earth-style shock," he would have wasted this reincarnation!
After letting Bronya know he was heading to Herta's studio, Su Mu ssaged Herta and drove to her Arc City location. Although it was nominally a ga studio that developed so titles, they were mostly just tech-demos for her holographic inventions. According to Mobius, Herta's studio wasn't a ga studio at all, but a research institute. Making gas was just a way to show off new tech—"just for fun."
Su Mu felt helpless. Using a ga studio as a cover for a high-tech lab... is there any other studio like this?
As soon as Su Mu stepped through the door, he saw two familiar figures. One was Herta. The other was a woman as cool and refined as a plum blossom, with a very elegant na: Ruan i. She wore a form-fitting qipao that accentuated her enviable long legs.
"You're here." Ruan i noticed Su Mu's arrival. She sized him up, a hint of "hunger" visible in her eyes. "I heard from Herta that you were coming today, so I ca to see."
Su Mu recalled Mobius's previous warning. He knew Ruan i was interested in him... and it seed that interest hadn't faded with ti, but had grown deeper.
"Test subject arrived?" Herta appeared before Su Mu in her black thick-soled leather shoes. Her doll-like, exquisite face held little expression, but the slight curve of her lips suggested she was in a good mood. "You're just in ti. Ruan i and I just finished calibrating the equipnt. We're waiting for you to test it..."
At that mont, a pink-haired figure appeared beside them. "Wow! You must be the famous Su Mu! Welco to Herta's Studio!!"
It was a girl who looked full of vitality, curiosity, and energy. Her employee ID read: "Acting Station Master of Herta Studio—Asta."
Pink-haired but calculating, a beautiful girl, the power of money... she had many labels, but the most impressive was "Rich Girl." After all, in the Honkai: Star Rail story, Asta possessed terrifying wealth. Most of the facilities on the Herta Space Station were funded by her. In one mission, it was ntioned that she tried to buy a fleet of Star Destroyers just to upgrade security, but they were out of stock. In another, she casually offered a Star Destroyer to the Trailblazer as a thank-you gift. In the "Luofu" arc, she could spend 200 million credits of "pocket money" on a whim, leaving the recipient stunned while Asta simply asked, "Is that a lot?"
She was a true heiress.
Su Mu had researched the studio's structure beforehand, and it was exactly as he thought. Herta was the nominal President, and Asta was the Acting President... but in reality, Herta hadn't spent a di; Asta funded everything.
"President Asta, hello." Su Mu greeted the energetic girl, careful not to let his guard down. He wasn't stupid; Asta was by no ans as "naive and easy to trick" as she appeared. You think every pink-haired girl is as pure as Elysia? Being 'pink on the outside, black on the inside' is the standard!
"Mhm.... I actually investigated you before. It's the first ti I've seen Madam Herta praise soone's ability so much. Now that I see you, you really are a man of talent." Su Mu responded to her pleasantries in kind.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
As they spoke, a small white dog with a golden carrot collar ran out, circling Asta anxiously. Su Mu recognized it imdiately: Asta's pet dog, Peppy. He fully believed that carrot was solid gold; being a rich girl's dog, its treatnt was beyond imagination. But Peppy looked incredibly distressed, whimpering and barking non-stop.
"Peppy, what's wrong?" Asta looked at him with concern. "Are you feeling unwell?" Peppy couldn't speak, only pacing and barking. "What should I do... he was fine a mont ago." Asta beca frantic; Peppy was family to her.
Su Mu wanted to help, but he wasn't a vet, and the System was being stingy with talent exchanges. "If only I could understand what Peppy is saying."
This offhand remark caused Herta to step forward and shove a uniquely designed headset toward Su Mu. "Put it on. Perfect for a test."
Su Mu was startled but, under her expectant gaze, put on the headset.
"I'm being strangled! I'm being strangled! Any tighter and you're gonna have a dead dog on your hands!!"
Su Mu jolted. A female voice rang in his mind, its frequency matching Peppy's barks. He realized Peppy was "talking."
"Peppy, do you feel uncomfortable?" "Woof woof? (You can understand ?)" The dog stopped at Su Mu's feet, its eyes full of human-like intelligence. "Let take that off for you...." Su Mu knelt down and reached out. Peppy didn't run, staying perfectly still.
As Su Mu removed the golden carrot collar, the dog looked visibly relieved. It barked happily and then, to Asta's shock, lunged into Su Mu's arms to lick his face. Su Mu explained to Asta that the collar was simply tied too tight, causing the discomfort.
"My bad, my bad," Asta said sheepishly. "I was changing his collar and heard a guest was coming, so I rushed..."
Peppy looked at Su Mu with adoration: "Woof woof! (Thank you! You really saved my dog life! From today on, you're my Big Brother!!)"
Herta and Ruan i watched with surprise in their eyes. Ruan i explained: "Madam Herta and I developed the Synesthesia Beacon to communicate with life forms, but it's still in testing. It only works on people whose 'brain developnt' has reached a certain level."
Herta shook her head. "Indeed. Ruan i and I can only catch the general gist; we currently can't achieve cross-species communication as fluently as you just did..."
Asta knew about the project and looked at Ruan i in shock. "Does that an... Mr. Su Mu's brain developnt is higher than Madam Herta's and Ruan i's?"
"Mhm, it's the highest I've ever seen," Ruan i said. "I suddenly understand how you can hold so many roles and be a master in so many different fields..."
Su Mu was confused. "Brain developnt? What's that?"
"There was once a theory that humans only use 10% of their brain's potential, and that famous scientists in history had much higher developnt levels..." Herta explained the concept. Simply put, the higher the developnt, the higher the IQ. Su Mu didn't know if he truly had a high developnt rate, but on reflection, his "cheating" behavior probably looked like "abnormal brain developnt" to scientists like them.
Su Mu put Peppy down. "So you two were waiting for today to test this Synesthesia Beacon?"
Herta nodded. "Yes, that was my goal today. I suspected sothing after hearing about you from Hiko... it seems my hunch was correct." Ruan i's gaze remained unshielded—she was looking at Su Mu as if he were a precious experintal subject. It made him feel a bit uneasy.
Asta stepped between them, smiling as she handed over a black-gold card. "Regardless, thank you for saving Peppy! There's 10 million on this card as a thank-you gift!"
Su Mu's mouth twitched. A true rich girl....
"I should be thanking Ruan i." Su Mu tried to take off the beacon, but Herta stopped him.
"Keep it. Consider it a eting gift from Ruan i and . This device only achieves its true value in the hands of soone who can use it."
"....It's not free, is it, Madam Herta?"
"You're right. I want you to assist in developing the Synesthesia Beacon. Your usage provides us with invaluable experintal data."
"Can I refuse?"
"What do you think?" Herta rolled her eyes. Ruan i said nothing, just stared at Su Mu with a blank expression. Su Mu knew her personality; refusing her here might lead to trouble later. Assisting with a beacon was much better than Mobius's "kidnap you off the street and experint on you in a dark basent" approach.
"Fine. Let's talk about the reward then." Su Mu wasn't going to help for free. He had to be realistic.
"! ! !" Asta raised her hand, offering the black-gold card again with an expectant look. This kid gives off the 'I'll pay for the upgrade' vibe, Su Mu thought.
Su Mu wasn't planning on a massive shakedown, but he wanted to state his position: there's no such thing as a free lunch. If you want help, you either owe a favor or show sincerity. "My request is simple. Our company will soon develop a new ga called Honkai: Star Rail. I want the portrait and na rights for everyone in Herta Studio, including Peppy. I'll also need your help as interdiaries to get authorizations from others."
Su Mu had long wanted to develop Star Rail, but lacked the right channels. Now, the solution had fallen into his lap. With Herta and Ruan i's status, getting most prototypes to sign off wouldn't be an issue. As for others he hadn't t, he'd find another way.
"A new ga?" Herta's eyes showed a hint of suspicion. "You want to add us as characters like in Honkai 3rd?"
"Exactly."
"And my setting?"
"Madam Herta—solved the Soliton Wave problem and Spark Model conjecture in her youth; discovered the Sigma Baryon conversion thod in her teens; proposed the Herta Sequence and published a paper on reverse aging in middle age; in old age, she achieved reverse aging and solved the mystery of Imaginary Overflow, capturing and sealing a Stellarons from deep space; saved her planet from destruction nineteen tis and t Aeons twice." Su Mu recited Herta's lore from mory.
"Fine, I accept." Herta waved her hand, taking the deal. From her smirk, she was clearly extrely satisfied with that setting!
"Also, I want to collaborate with your studio to use your advanced holographic technology..."
"Done. Anything else?"
"Not for now."
"Tell Asta if you think of anything later," Herta waved him off. "Exchange contacts. As long as you cooperate with our experints, we will satisfy your requests to the best of our ability."
Su Mu was stunned. Classic Herta. If she was interested in sothing, she'd pay any price. It was basically giving Su Mu a wishing machine; if it was within her power, she'd agree without hesitation.
"Hehe, exactly! Mr. Su Mu, just let know what you need! The whole Herta Studio is at your service!" Asta exchanged contacts with Su Mu. Her enthusiasm was a bit overwhelming. "Let pay a deposit first; Herta Studio never mistreats anyone!" She offered the 10 million card again.
"Regarding that, if you're interested, why not take a stake as an investor when I develop Honkai: Star Rail? The returns won't disappoint you."
Asta nodded solemnly. "New gas are expensive! Is 100 million enough? If not, how about 500 million?"
Hearing those numbers, Su Mu was speechless. A true rich girl.
Coming to Herta's studio once had resulted in a collaboration, character rights for Star Rail, and a major investor. This trip was a massive win. So what's the catch? Su Mu hadn't realized that "selling his body" (for science) could be so lucrative.
Harvesting so much from one trip, Su Mu was ready to head back and officially greenlight Honkai: Star Rail. Just imagining the scene where Old Yang sees the Honkai chasing him even into the Star Rail world made Su Mu chuckle.
END OF CHAPTER
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