Kafka's gentle and charming voice successfully hooked quite a few people, leaving them hanging.
[Mother-son or mother-daughter reunion, right? Can't wait!]
[Hurry up and serve it, MiHoYo! It's been so long since the Divination Commission farewell that the kid's almost forgotten what mom tastes like.]
[Go grab some sunshine green grapes to munch on—you'll get a taste of mom flavor.]
"Didn't I already pass through the Artisanship Commission with Tingyun, taking the shortcut to the Alchemy Commission?"
"The next plot segment is finally our turn, everyone ready?"
Old Toby's smile carried anticipation.
[Speed!]
The live stream audience urged in various ways.
However, however...
Who would've thought, the moment Old Toby's mouse clicked the screen, a window popped up that made eyes widen.
[Intermission Break]
[To find out what happens next, please stay tuned for the next episode.]
Old Toby: "???"
Ah Xian: "Your mom..."
All players: [Damn!!!]
[MiHoYo! The 1.1 main story is this short? Beggar-level treatment?]
Ah Xian glanced at the bottom right corner of the computer screen: the 1.1 main story duration was less than two and a half hours.
If rushing through the plot without pausing for analysis, it could end in two hours.
"Compared to the launch version, it's indeed much shorter..."
"But there are still a few companion missions, plus the Belobog management activities."
"Allow me to indulge in a small complaint once again: we're still stuck on the Xianzhou and can't leave, so how do we run back to Belobog?"
"What are you complaining about? It's timeline chaos, of course."
"But this is also a MiHoYo tradition—many events, side stories, and companion missions use fragmented storytelling."
"No specific timeline nodes mentioned, so we can only guess."
"Fine, if the events and companion missions have substantial length and are satisfying, a short main story is forgivable."
"After all, launch needs a large volume of content to fill the facade; subsequent versions can't possibly maintain that production capacity forever."
Hearing this, the unsatisfied players figured it made sense.
And as expected, the companion missions and event plots had plenty of fun, with enjoyable experiences.
Especially Luocha and Silver Wolf's companion missions.
Welt's PTSD upon seeing Luocha's appearance, Luocha speaking in March 7th's tone, and—
The pitiful little Silver Wolf, whose game accounts were all banned, crying and throwing a fit.
These plots had players laughing their heads off.
No one expected, no one expected...
The Flag Silver Wolf set in the main story when Leon messed with her mentality turned into a boomerang that stabbed her right back.
As for the Belobog museum event, you could invite Express companions to join.
Though the event plot outcomes were consistent, the same characters had different exclusive dialogues during the process.
It could be confirmed that the event timeline was between defeating Cocolia Rand and leaving the planet.
But not many cared about the timeline.
What everyone cared more about was the preview trailer released by the official account.
Through extraterrestrial satellite communication, everyone knew version 1.2 would feature Blade and Kafka in the UP pool.
Their respective fans and chefs were very excited for their appearances, eager to pull them from the pool.
Of course, more people cared about the plot.
The 1.1 plot cut off at Kafka and Blade's part, fully whetting players' appetites.
When the 1.2 preview arrived on schedule and the version PV finished playing, Ah Xian tilted her head, full of question marks.
This preview... is someone missing?
Although Dan Heng also has an SP form, which is a huge surprise, the one she mains is Leon...
With no sign of Leon in the preview, she guessed only two possibilities.
One, no Leon plot.
But that's obviously impossible; it could only be that the plot is minimal, so no need to include it.
Two, there is Leon plot, but it involves major spoilers, inconvenient to show in the preview.
"No rush, they'll definitely talk about what the Express crew will roughly do in version 1.2."
She comforted the live stream audience this way, and herself too.
Soon after, Owlbert introduced the new BOSS Phantylia, leaving another hook for players.
Preview guest Welt: "I'm actually quite curious—where exactly did this Phantylia come from?"
"Why can she use both Abundance and Destruction powers?"
"Hmm... what do you think, is Phantylia a Destruction Emanator... or an Abundance Emanator?"
"I've been wondering about the possibility of dual Path powers coexisting before; now it's confirmed through Phantylia."
"Characters in the plot can possess more than one Path power."
"The Luofu Ambrosial Arbor reviving... could Phantylia originally be a Destruction Emanator who absorbed the Arbor's power to use Abundance?"
"Probably something like that? Otherwise, I can't think of a more reasonable possibility."
"As for where she came from, personal guess: related to the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus that Leon is infiltrating."
Owlbert: "To find out the details, please look forward to the plot of version 1.2, Trailblazers."
The preview content reached its end, with only Kafka and Yukong's companion missions left.
Until Owlbert announced the preview's conclusion, Ah Xian couldn't help muttering.
"Almost forgot Leon is still injured."
"So in that Phantylia BOSS battle clip, only March 7th is there... no, Dan Heng isn't seen either, so can't judge the plot from that."
"Dan Heng revealing his SP form—1.2 should be his spotlight, yet he doesn't enter the pool..."
"Entering in 1.3, incidentally unraveling his entanglements with Luofu's past?"
[How do you know SP Dan Heng enters the pool in 1.3?]
Ah Xian wasn't surprised someone asked.
As the saying goes, not everyone follows the community and official accounts.
Many play the game heads-down in silence, plus various reasons they can't follow, like strictly managed schools.
She explained:
"Just check the official account's posts—the extraterrestrial satellite communication from a few days ago."
"The order is the pool order: first half UP Imbibitor Lunae, that's Dan Heng SP; second half is Fu Xuan."
[Soga.]
"MiHoYo is so sneaky, wave after wave dangling appetites without pause."
"Oh well, as long as no one gets knifed, anything goes."
"Leon hubby, wait for me—just 10 more days, and we enter version 1.2 to find you~~"
"That said, with Dan Heng getting SP form in 1.2 and entering pool in 1.3, then—"
"Leon, who had SP form since launch, when will he come?"
"I'm anxious, dying of anxiety!"
"From launch up to version 1.3, the UP Path character order is:"
"Hunt, Erudition, Nihility, Abundance, Destruction, Nihility, Destruction, Preservation."
"Six of the seven major Paths already have their first limited character, with Destruction and Nihility having more than one."
"And the first limited Harmony that appeared—five-star Leon—scheduled for which version?"
[I think it's best not to rush; the earlier a character releases, the less value-proof they might be.]
[Yeah bro, yeah, the later five-star Leon releases, the stronger he might be.]