Chapter 149 Theresa: Su Mu, You Can't! I'm Kiana's Aunt!
The appearance of Twilight Paladin Theresa instantly ignited the passion of every player in the livestream!
Previously, Theresa's designs focused primarily on cuteness, but the moment Twilight Paladin debuted, that high ponytail sent Theresa fans into a frenzy! Coupled with those floating blades surrounding her like wings...
It was simply too cool!
[Holy crap! Holy crap!]
[I have no words, just one "holy crap" to rule them all!]
[This Theresa has such a distinct vibe! No, I'm seriously going to gacha until I'm broke!]
[Help, my bank card just jumped out of my wallet?! Why is it entering my account and password on its own!!]
[Theresa, Theresa, hehehe, Theresa....]
[Waaaah, Theresa is so beautiful, take me away, Theresa!]
Twilight Paladin Theresa turned the stream into a massive den of fanatics. This form gave them an incredible visual impact! It turned out the cute Theresa could also have such an elegant, mature, and heroic side—this gap moe was simply too perfect!
[This forty-year-old auntie is way too beautiful!]
[Who mentioned her age? Do you want to be flattened by Oath of Judah?]
[Isn't forty even better? She's a legal loli!]
[God, Old Thief Su Mu understands us too well! This Twilight Paladin design is so good; if you tell me he's not a simp for her, I won't believe it!]
[Heh! Su Mu is clearly playing favorites with Theresa! Look at how many battlesuits she has!]
[True!]
The viewers tallied it up and realized things were indeed not simple! From Sakura Rondo and Celestial Hymn in the Kallen chapters, to Luna Kindred in the summer event, and now the Augment Core Twilight Paladin—each one was more stunning than the last! Even if Violet Executrix wasn't that pretty at first, once they gave out the World's #1 Cutie skin for Blood Knight: Moonlight, the armor design was a masterpiece!
Isn't Theresa's treatment a bit too good?
Not only does she have a parallel world counterpart like Luna in event stories, but she also gets a massive power-up in the main plot... Every Theresa character is so adorable. This led the audience to conclude: Old Thief Su Mu is biased toward Theresa!
[I seriously suspect Su Mu is a Theresa simp!]
[Why suspect? He's 100% a Theresa simp! Look at 'A Midsummer Night's Fantasy'—the Trio didn't even get that kind of treatment!]
[So the Old Thief is a simp?]
[Wait, look! Honkai 3rd just posted a new collaboration announcement!]
[What? What is it?]
The players in the stream flocked to the video sites. When they saw the announcement from Ai-chan, the first idol of Honkai 3rd, they collectively exploded!
One of the world's most famous idols, the "Star of Hope for the Middle-Aged," Magical Girl TeRiRi, announced a collab with Honkai 3rd! The Sakura Rondo skin "Magical Girl TeRiRi" would be launched in the new version!
"TeRiRi is a top apprentice of the Schicksal Magicians' Church. After decades of diligent study, she realized church knowledge could no longer satisfy her. To achieve the highest magical prowess, the young girl took the church's magical tools and embarked on a journey of training and adventure. —TeRiRi's first quest: Go beat up Grandpa!"
As long as Captains actively helped Theresa or the Anti-Entropy companions implement the new "Schicksal Assault" operation, they could use event tokens to exchange for the Sakura Rondo 4★ outfit "Magical Girl TeRiRi" for free!
[One sentence for Honkai 3rd players—?]
[Is it New Year's already, brothers? This version gives away the Queen's swimsuit skin, and the next gives a TeRiRi collab skin??]
[A collab with TeRiRi must have cost a fortune, right? And it's a free event skin?]
[? Won't doing this make Su Mu lose money?]
[Collab skin for free? God, Su Mu, I declare you my god!!]
The announcement sent shockwaves through the player base. They were already overjoyed by the quality of the "Spring Sprite" skin. To find out a TeRiRi collab skin was coming next—and for free—was beyond belief.
[Seriously, won't the company go bankrupt by giving things away like this??]
[No, such a conscientious game can't go bust! Where else would I play?]
[Say no more, brothers, I'm topping up now!]
[My words remain the same: as long as the Old Thief doesn't betray me, I will gacha for Honkai 3rd every version!]
For a moment, the viewers were deeply moved. They knew that collaborating with an idol of that level required high licensing fees, yet Su Mu offered the skin as a free reward. Usually, under Su Mu's management, Honkai 3rd was already very generous. You could play comfortably without spending, and get most new characters. For "waifu-collecting" Captains, owning beautiful Valkyries was enough motivation to keep playing!
The players in this world were very straightforward: if the game is good and the rewards are generous, they praise it! They support it without hesitation! If the service is in place, many players are willing to pay for love!
The key was that with Honkai 3rd's current scale, Su Mu didn't need to resort to "forced spending" tactics. Making sure every player could enjoy the game was his core philosophy—a policy even written into the MiHoYo employee handbook! This ensured that the controversies from the "previous life's" operation didn't happen here.
Su Mu knew a game couldn't satisfy everyone, so they just tried their best to satisfy those who loved the game.
[Heh, I caught him! The Old Thief is clearly using company funds to chase stars!]
[Don't say it, he's 100% a TeRiRi true fan!]
[Indeed, who would spend so much on a collab if they weren't a fan?]
[True... but TeRiRi is indeed cute.]
At the same time, Theresa, who was also streaming, saw her fans' teasing comments. Even though she knew they were joking, seeing those words... she felt her cheeks getting hot. Her mind flashed back to what Seele had said that day.
"Doesn't Sister Theresa think Brother Su Mu is so excellent that maybe she should take some action too? Instead of letting your niece be with the excellent Brother Su Mu, why don't you try, Sister Theresa?"
She shook her head. Since that day, she had felt a very strange emotion in her heart. She hadn't thought much of it during the Midsummer Night plot, assuming Su Mu just wanted to try a new event style. But the design of Twilight Paladin was truly breathtaking to her. Plus, he specifically sought her out for the collab skin...
Theresa started to let her imagination run wild.
Why did he write the "Captain" in Midsummer Night as a ray of light in Luna Kindred's darkness? That path was clearly meant for the Captain to redeem Luna, and then be with her... Su Mu was the writer; what kind of feelings did he have when writing that?
Compared to his previous stories, Midsummer Night and Luna Kindred were too special, almost as if they were written specifically for her... Once that thought took root, she couldn't brush it aside.
"Could it be.... no, impossible...." Theresa covered her burning face, wanting to find a hole to crawl into out of shame! "Could it be that the reason Su Mu and Kiana haven't progressed for so long is because he didn't like Kiana from the start?"
"And the Midsummer plot was released only after he met me..." "No, you can't..." "I... I'm Kiana's aunt... I'm so much older than him... this kind of thing, it can't happen..."
Theresa felt like her brain was melting into mush. She hurriedly turned off her camera and squirmed in her chair, hugging a HOMU plushie. She knew her face was so red it could practically drip water!!
"It must be... it must be my imagination... But if Su Mu releases more plots about me later..." Theresa's voice trailed off. Those shameful words were simply impossible to say out loud.
————————————
At the same time.
Pardo controlled Twilight Paladin Theresa in a fierce battle against Gray Snake. As she defeated him, the plot continued. Under Theresa's full-power control, Gray Snake was bound. Rozaliya took the chance to find Liliya. When Gray Snake tried to counterattack, Rozaliya used Liliya's signature defensive counter move and successfully rescued her!
After his defeat, Gray Snake chose to self-destruct. Einstein finally arrived at the end. Although she had many scores to settle with Cocolia, for now, their interests aligned. Einstein had Cocolia hand over command of the Deep Sea City forces to resist the Schicksal Valkyries' attack.
Once things settled at the city, the screen shifted back to Seele's world bubble. The sudden appearance of Kevin blocked Sakura and Seele's path. Through their dialogue, Seele finally learned why Sakura betrayed the Moths. A special Honkai energy reaction was detected in her sister Rin; she was the unawakened Twelfth Herrscher!
[No wonder the Moths wanted to take her away....]
[But even so, the Moths shouldn't just kidnap someone's sister; isn't that just forcing Sakura to rebel?]
[But if Rin really is the Twelfth Herrscher, then it makes sense.]
Learning this, Pardo and Bronya sighed simultaneously. "Being chosen as a Herrscher... Rin is too pitiful." Pardo knew exactly what it meant to be a Herrscher and how people viewed them. They were apostles of Honkai, bringers of disaster... enemies of humanity. It was "normal" for Rin to be feared and imprisoned.
...But the tragedy lay in the fact that Rin, the girl chosen to be a Herrscher, was originally just an innocent girl.
"It reminds me of Yae Sakura and Yae Rin," Bronya's heart was heavy. "Failing to protect Rin was the shadow of Yae Sakura's life... she hated her helplessness, which left a gap in her heart for Hellmaru to exploit."
Pardo said hopefully, "But maybe there's a turning point? Rin hasn't awakened yet, right? And Herrschers aren't necessarily enemies of humanity, look at the Herrscher of Thunder and Reason..."
Beside her, Kevin sighed. "Pardo, in the story, Sakura and I are comrades, yet I appear here as her enemy... You probably don't understand what that implies."
Pardo froze, then realized. "Boss Kevin isn't cold-blooded. If he could, he would never watch Rin be taken... So there's only one possibility: Rin is currently so dangerous that she threatens everyone..."
She knew Kevin's personality. If even Kevin had to allow Rin to be taken, it meant... Rin's existence was that dangerous. In the game, Kevin explained the situation. The disaster brought by the Eleventh Herrscher was beyond imagination; humanity couldn't afford another loss like that. Rin's case was special; while she might control the power, she had to be under surveillance. Kevin believed Dr. MEI would make a wise judgment.
Sakura told Kevin she didn't doubt Dr. MEI's character, but she didn't trust the Moths. Those people had always viewed the MANTIS soldiers as monsters. This was why she betrayed them; she could never entrust Rin to such people!
[It seems the internal struggle of the Moths is worse than imagined.]
[True, the MANTIS warriors who protect humanity are seen as monsters...]
[How ironic! Aren't they the ones protecting everyone? Being seen as heretics by their own kind is just cruel!]
The negotiation failed, and Sakura drew her frost-covered blade. For a moment, the air seemed to freeze. In the next second, the two people before Kevin vanished. No one knew what happened in that second. When Kevin snapped out of it, he saw Sakura and Seele heading deep into the corridor without looking back. This was Sakura's ability, which even Kevin didn't fully understand.
The viewers were awestruck, guessing what Sakura's ability was to appear behind Kevin instantly! Kevin intended to give chase, but at that moment, an alarm blared throughout the base. MEI contacted Kevin with a terrifying update. The Twelfth Herrscher had awakened.
[The worst case happened, Rin really awakened!]
[Then aren't Sakura and Seele in danger as they head to the 33rd floor?]
[Maybe not? Even as a Herrscher, Rin should keep her consciousness, right? Maybe she'll recognize her sister...]
Everyone was worried for Sakura and Seele, and then they thought: Su Mu wouldn't write a sisters-killing-each-other plot, would he? Knowing that guy, it was a real possibility! No way, right? He wouldn't really do that?
In Senti's stream, seeing the guesses, she beat her chest and shouted: "Liliya was fine earlier, so I bet Rin will be fine too! We have to give the Old Thief some trust." She was confident because of what happened with Liliya. But as the plot progressed, her smile began to freeze.
On the way to the 33rd floor, Sakura and Seele encountered many zombies. In battle, Seele's stigma acted up, but with Sakura's help, they survived. When Seele felt distressed by her loss of control, Sakura comforted her gently.
["Everyone has something they want to protect, regardless of strength."]
["Even the weakest person can find ways to protect their precious treasure."]
["'No matter what, I don't want to lose it,' 'I'll protect it at all costs'—Seele has felt this too, right?"]
["In that moment, you are the strongest person in the world."]
Faced with the gentle Sakura, Seele asked: ["Sister Sakura, have you always protected Rin with this feeling?"]A gentle smile appeared on Sakura's face. ["Aren't sisters all the same?"]Seele nodded. ["Seele will always remember those words."]
The dialogue seemed fine, the logic was sound, but Senti instinctively felt this was very problematic! Seeing Seele talk to her other personality revealed that the stigma loss of control was because something terrifying had appeared. Seele felt a profound anger and sadness!
"No way? No way? NO WAY??" Senti hugged her monitor, almost burying her face in it out of shock! She had just sworn Rin would be safe, but what did this plot mean?
[Streamer, why are you quiet?]
[Didn't you say you understood the Old Thief? How do you explain this?]
[Following the streamer's logic, this is just the calm before the storm! That guy is sharpening his blade!!]
Senti's hand trembled as she clicked to continue. Soon, her heart... shattered.
In the story, Sakura and Seele finally reached the 33rd basement. However, it was a living hell. Blood was everywhere... This scene filled Sakura with intense dread. She told Seele to stay safe and rushed to find Rin.
[Sakura sprinted through the corridors, her silhouette blurring past iron door after iron door. The increasingly pungent smell of blood stimulated the girl's nerves.]
[(Faster, just a bit faster!)]
[(Rin, where are you?)]
Sakura finally found Rin's room. She burst through the door, desperately looking—toward the back of the room—
The sight before her seemed to drain all of Sakura's strength; she collapsed onto the floor. Unable to accept the shocking reality, her eyes became dull and vacant. At that moment, all sound vanished. The air was thick with the scent of blood. The image burned into her brain, leaving a deep scar on her consciousness.
Seele arrived and saw Sakura slumped on the floor, and the girl lying in a pool of blood, lifeless... Her body was covered in shocking scars and bruises. Clearly, before she died, she had suffered inhuman torture and abuse. Those marks spoke of the girl's despair before death. But knowing "who" did it didn't matter anymore. Only a bottomless malice remained in the room, chilling everyone to the core.
Zombies began to surround them, but Sakura stayed frozen like a puppet, staring at her sister with hollow, hopeless eyes. Her soul seemed to have been snatched away; she couldn't hear Seele's words at all.
["Rin...."]
["If... if only I could have been faster...."]
Seele knew Sakura needed time. She had to buy time for her. Facing the incoming zombies, Seele gripped her scythe, Child's Play.
END OF CHAPTER
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