Chapter 108: Midsummer Night's Fantasy and Luna Vow! The Brand New Version Is Coming!
After finishing the content of the "Gratitude Arc," Theresa immediately played through "Dilemma Dream" and "Kallen Fantasy."
"Dilemma Dream" tells the story of Fu Hua using her power to wake Bronya, who had fallen into a deep sleep after burning her neural chip. The origin of her Soul-Awakened armor, Silver Wolf's Dawn, also comes from here. Simultaneously, the Fu Hua appearing in this dream, under the identity of the "Sage of Flowing Stones," guides Bronya step-by-step, eventually succeeding in waking her. The HOMU Kingdom that appears in the dream contains many metaphors, allowing the audience to understand that Bronya also hides an unknown, heavy past.
"Kallen Fantasy" is actually a game created by Otto Apocalypse. In this game, players control Kallen through various trials to defeat the demon fox situated at the top of the academy. This is the origin of Kallen's A-rank battlesuit Sündenjäger and Yae Sakura's S-rank battlesuit Goushinnso Memento. Of course, in reality, the data for Memento was not developed by Otto; it came from Sakura of the Previous Era's thirteen Flame-Chasers. However, the audience was not yet aware of this.
It's worth mentioning that at the end of "Kallen Fantasy," Otto became so absorbed in the game that he drew the ire and nagging of his secretary, Amber. Because Otto was addicted to the game, various documents had piled up as high as a small mountain... Regarding this, Amber expressed deep emotion. Finally. Finally, someone understood her feelings!
"It's like he's speaking my heart!" Otto, addicted to Honkai Impact 3rd, was identical to the Otto in the game addicted to Kallen Fantasy! Life is hard, and Amber sighs!
Eventually, Theresa happily completed the latest Chronicle chapters, shot down a few planes in the Memorial Arena, and ended her stream. Although the new Chronicle stories sparked discussion, most players were busy finding new ways to persecute Lord Otto. After all, while the Chronicles were good, the hype for Main Story Chapter 9 was much higher. "Final Lesson" was so well-made that it directly or indirectly raised the bar for player expectations.
With the support of the main plot and the animated short, it was no wonder the "Vermilion Blade" version became such a massive hit, even surpassing the previous "Queen's Descent." It also left many industry professionals dumbfounded.
Wait, brothers? You killed off a major character from the main cast, and the revenue didn't drop but instead skyrocketed? Just how many more mind-blowing things was this damn Su Mu going to do!
Currently, the mobile game rankings were completely dominated by Honkai Impact 3rd. Looking at its consistently high revenue, many studios in the industry were practically crazed with envy.
[Damn! Honkai 3rd isn't leaving a path for anyone else!]
[It's eating the entire cake by itself! I'm dying of jealousy!]
[What's the use of jealousy? If you're so capable, go make a mobile game of this quality!]
As the saying goes, a tall tree catches the wind. Seeing Honkai 3rd making so much money naturally drew the ire of competitors. They began dispatching "water armies" (paid internet trolls), hoping to suppress the game's momentum. Otherwise, if things continued, their studios might have to close for good.
The first point of contention they tried to ignite was about "Honkai 3rd's predatory monetization." The trolls pointed out that the number of banners released each version was staggering, with back-to-back S-rank characters being common. They tried to use this to call for a boycott. However, the players weren't idiots. Many quickly posted screenshots of their accounts below.
[F2P, all characters. Problem?]
[No way, does someone really not know that the resources given every version of Honkai 3rd are enough to secure a limited character?]
[LMAO, you're really trying such low-level troll tactics? Give it a rest!]
Suddenly, many studios looked like jumping clowns. They were utterly perplexed. Wait, for a game of this quality, with welfare this good? What are you thinking? Aren't you afraid of making less money? Could there really be a game studio in the world that doesn't treat its players like leeks to be harvested? Impossible!!
Unfortunately, they didn't know that these tactics were all too familiar to Su Mu from his previous life. As someone who lived in online communities, what kind of drama hadn't he seen? If this were the original Honkai 3rd from his previous life, where monetization was indeed predatory and gacha was expensive, Su Mu might have agreed with them. But what was being served now was not the Honkai 3rd of the past. On that foundation, not only had technical power improved, but welfare and player treatment had been fully optimized!
True, there is no game studio that doesn't want to make money. If they don't make a profit, the studio goes bust and everyone starves. But there are many ways to make money; you don't necessarily have to "harvest leeks." Industry outsiders shallowly assumed that better welfare meant lower revenue, but they didn't consider just how terrifyingly large the player base was. If every one of those players just bought a Monthly Card, it would keep the game at the top of the charts. Not to mention the whales. When your player base reaches a certain point, you don't need predatory schemes; the money flows in naturally.
To be serious, because Su Mu had stood in the rain, he wanted to hold an umbrella for the players of this world! Everything he optimized was a pain point for veteran Captains in his previous life! Please, compared to the chaotic game circles of his past life, the industry here was like child's play—they couldn't even hire competent trolls. You expect them to have combat power?
Furthermore, the players in this world were very genuine. If your game quality is good and your service is on point, they will praise you and spend money. If the quality is trash and you try to harvest them, who's going to tolerate you? Close your servers already! If it's fun, it's fun; if it's not, it's not. As players, there aren't that many twists and turns! Today, Honkai 3rd is doing well and providing great service, so they spend! As long as it maintains this quality, what does it matter if they keep spending? Happiness can't be bought for any price!
Of course, if Honkai 3rd ever put out trash content, the players wouldn't tolerate it either! Because Su Mu had made ample preparations, the "drama" had no legs to stand on. Thus, while there were minor controversies during this period, they were all useless. Seeing the revenue remain high, the studios that paid for trolls were hopping mad with rage. What made them spit blood even more was that they spent large sums of money to suppress Honkai 3rd, but instead of reaching their goal... the controversy actually boosted the game further, bringing it into the sight of even more people! It made the members of the project team laugh themselves hoarse; wasn't this just "reverse marketing"?
Regarding the recent turbulence in the industry, Theresa had naturally heard of it. She had also received many reports from Rita regarding Su Mu and the internal situation at miHoYo. The results were indeed shocking to her.
The vast majority of miHoYo employees were young people, some even fresh graduates from a few months ago. Although some lacked experience, they had overflowing passion. The entire company atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant, without rigid hierarchical rules. Staff and supervisors acted like friends. To ensure employee health, the company not only had leisure areas, snack areas, and a gym, but even the cafeteria was run by the legendary chef "Kalpas." You should know that to eat Kalpas's cooking outside, money alone wasn't enough; the line would be a year long. But once you join miHoYo, you can eat it every day...
There was no petty infighting among colleagues; instead, they often explored, researched, and studied together, progressing as one. If you knew it was a game studio, you'd recognize it; if you didn't, you'd think it was a classroom at a top-tier university with an excellent academic atmosphere. This left Theresa stunned. No. She had seen companies with good atmospheres, but never one this good. She had seen companies with good benefits, but never this generous!
Looking at Rita's report, Theresa felt dizzy. No. Kiana spent so much money on employee benefits and even set salaries at the highest end of the industry—is that really okay? Won't the company go bankrupt? Although that was her first thought, looking at the internal statistics for Honkai 3rd's revenue and profit, Theresa was instantly petrified. The revenue created by Honkai 3rd alone could match the Schicksal Arc City Branch. And don't think the branch's income was low; in terms of GDP contribution, it had always been in the top ten of Arc City. In other words, Honkai 3rd alone allowed miHoYo to create enough GDP to become a pillar of Arc City!
You have to remember, only six months ago, miHoYo was just a small studio on the verge of collapse... the leap was simply too terrifying. Theresa finally understood: these employees deserved these benefits!
"I didn't expect my idiot niece to be so capable." Theresa sighed. She had always thought Kiana was a fool. But she hadn't expected Kiana to create such a terrifying legend. Many of the moves looked to Theresa like they were aimed at losing money and causing bankruptcy. Even the plan to make a massive 3D next-gen action mobile game had been dismissed by the whole industry as wishful thinking. But no one expected miHoYo to not only succeed but become a renowned enterprise in Arc City. It was like slapping the faces of everyone in the game industry back and forth!
"No, I'm afraid the real reason for miHoYo's rise isn't that my niece is particularly talented." Theresa naturally understood that Kiana had no talent for business. Her success was due to nothing else but a very simple reason: she chose the right person. That one simple reason brought miHoYo back from the dead. If Kiana hadn't chosen Su Mu but someone else, Theresa felt miHoYo would have disbanded long ago. But that idiot niece—who knows where she got the luck—happened to find a genius like Su Mu. And as if that wasn't enough, she was a "lazy dog," a "salty fish" who just wanted to lie down and be a hands-off boss.
She handed all the work to Su Mu and only showed up for minor things to symbolically nod her head. As a result, her trait of being a hands-off boss actually gave Su Mu the space to fully display his talents. In any other company, Su Mu wouldn't have such vast power; a mountain of useless protocols alone would have drained his energy. Therefore, Rita also summarized miHoYo's success: Su Mu's ability was the primary factor, but Kiana's luck and her "trust but don't verify" (actually lazy) personality allowed Su Mu's ability to be fully unleashed. That was how miHoYo defied fate and rose so rapidly!
Who would have thought? Theresa felt both amused and annoyed; her niece's laziness had actually become an indispensable part of miHoYo's rise. It was... hard to put into words.
"Su Mu, huh..." Theresa looked at the resume for Su Mu on her desk. "As Rita said, if he could become my assistant, it would certainly help me succeed Grandpa's position more smoothly."
Was she going to poach from her niece? She couldn't bring herself to do that...
The scene of her last meeting with Su Mu flashed through Theresa's mind. For some reason, when she thought of Su Mu's smiling face, she felt... if she could recruit Su Mu under her wing, it wouldn't be bad.
"I..." Theresa's cheeks felt a bit warm, and she shook her head vigorously. This was the first time she had been so mindful of a member of the opposite sex... "Hmph! I-I just appreciate his ability and think he's truly outstanding!" Theresa found an excuse and accepted the thought with a clear conscience. After all, no one would dislike a diligent, capable, and very handsome person!
However. Theresa didn't know. At this moment, inside Su Mu's office, he was looking at the event plot for the upcoming version update with a thoughtful expression.
The first arc of the Captain's Bizarre Adventure—
"Midsummer Night's Fantasy"!
END OF CHAPTER
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