Elysia wiped haphazardly at the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand, then raised a piece of cardboard she'd produced from who-knows-where up to her chest.
On the board, a giant "100" had been scrawled in crooked strokes with a thick red marker.
"Even though evil Su Yu keeps tricking tears out of a beautiful girl, and is honestly an unforgivable villain..."
She sniffled, her voice thick with an obvious sob.
"But this chapter's story is just too, too, too amazing. In the name of the brand ambassador, my NG rating: 100 out of 100! Blending top-tier animated shorts with a girl's growth into something this seamless — that's the strongest voice in the gaming industry right now, period!"
The danmaku scrolled by like falling snow, a flood of agreeing comments.
Players who, seconds earlier, had been cursing the "old villain developer" now found themselves having to admit it.
The quality of the animated short, the tension of the interlude story — it really had pushed tragic beauty to its absolute peak.
Sitting beside her, Himeko didn't answer right away.
She silently clenched the hands resting beneath the table.
Her nails dug deep into the soft flesh of her palms; the faint sting pulled her out of the tragic story unfolding on screen.
The white-haired girl on screen, struggling through ruins and illusions, gradually overlapped with a certain image buried deep in her memory.
It had been early June, an ordinary morning.
A hangover had left her irritable, and the clattering of things being smashed next door only made it worse.
She'd grabbed the spare set of keys and kicked open the door to Su Yu's apartment.
What met her eyes wasn't the usual mess of noise.
The living room was a wreck — the coffee table shattered, junk scattered everywhere.
Su Yu sat in the middle of the ruins, holding a white-haired girl tightly in his arms.
Himeko still couldn't forget the look in that girl's eyes.
It had been a face truly ashen with despair.
Those mismatched eyes had been stuffed full of hopelessness and numbness, without even a shred of will to live — like a corpse that simply hadn't stopped breathing yet.
In that instant, a dozen terrible scenarios had flashed through Himeko's mind.
Kidnapping. Confinement. Or something else too dark to name.
But the moment the white-haired girl's gaze slid past Su Yu's shoulder and landed on Himeko's face, everything changed.
Those once-lifeless eyes suddenly blazed with fierce longing and hope, along with a sense of relief, as if she'd finally found something to hold onto.
It hadn't looked like she was seeing a stranger neighbor who'd just kicked the door in — it was more like, in the middle of a hopeless wasteland, she'd finally laid eyes on a beloved family member she'd thought she'd never see again in this life.
The girl had scrambled free of Su Yu's arms, stumbling and crawling, and flung herself forward.
Before Himeko could even figure out what was happening, she'd been seized in a crushing hug.
The girl buried her face against Himeko's chest and let out a sound that tore at the heart.
That wail, thick with endless grievance and utter collapse, made even the usually carefree Himeko feel a lump rise in her throat.
All she could do was raise a hesitant hand and pat the girl's thin back, over and over, murmuring in as soft a voice as she could manage.
Later, she learned the girl's name was Kiana Kaslana.
From that day on, Kiana had stayed at Su Yu's place.
Su Yu's explanation had been "a Little Junior Sister who ran away from home."
Himeko had been more than a little skeptical at the time.
That was, until the day she'd watched Kiana haul several heavy delivery boxes in one go, while also tucking a wobbly-legged Su Yu under one arm, and climb all seven flights of stairs without so much as breaking a sweat.
Only then had she been certain: this girl was some kind of trained fighter.
After that, Kiana would occasionally come knock on her door.
Every time, standing outside, she'd looked timid, head bowed, fingers twisting together, her voice barely above a whisper, as if terrified of saying the wrong thing and upsetting her.
At first, Himeko had chalked it up to the girl simply being introverted by nature and hadn't thought much of it.
What truly overturned her understanding had been the kidnapping incident involving Ryusuke.
To get that old man off her back about marriage, she'd dragged Su Yu along to a banquet, forcing him to pose as her boyfriend.
What followed instead was the old man getting kidnapped by hired men working for a political rival.
Su Yu and Kiana had chased after them without hesitation.
Afterward, in the hospital, Ryusuke had haltingly recounted the scene from his hospital bed.
Himeko had pieced the fragmented clues together bit by bit, and gradually brushed up against a staggering secret.
That white-haired girl — untouchable by gunfire, able to catch bullets bare-handed, strolling through a hail of lead like it was nothing — there was no way she was some "Little Junior Sister of the School of Taixuan" who'd wandered out of the Deep Mountains and Old Forests.
In this world, no matter how deep martial arts training went into someone's bones, it still couldn't stop a metal bullet.
Add to that the top-level gag order the authorities had issued almost immediately afterward, strictly forbidding her and Ryusuke from ever speaking of that night.
It all pointed toward one fact: Kiana's existence defied common sense.
But what surprised and shook Himeko the most hadn't been Kiana's identity — it had been Su Yu's transformation.
That little punk had holed up next door to her ever since graduating from university.
He'd scraped by streaming games online.
Not many fans, not enough to starve, not enough to get rich either.
Back then, Elysia had come by often.
As a top-tier streamer with millions of followers, she'd show up at this run-down rental every few days, complaining the whole time about how Su Yu had turned his room into a pigsty, while her hands busily tidied up and bagged the trash anyway.
Himeko used to run into the two of them in the hallway all the time, in exactly that dynamic.
She'd even wondered, once or twice, if this kid Su Yu was mooching off Elysia.
If there wasn't something going on between those two, she'd have eaten her hat.
Back then, in Himeko's eyes, Su Yu had been a listless young man who "didn't care much about anything and just drifted from one day to the next."
But ever since that girl named Kiana had shown up, everything changed.
Whether it was the ruthless efficiency he'd shown diving into the kidnappers' den to save Ryusuke, or the lightning speed with which he'd later gone after Eden for investment and rushed to establish miHoYo Studio.
And now, with Honkai Impact 3rd sweeping across the internet, that same guy who used to hunch over a keyboard in a rental apartment had transformed into a business titan commanding the emotions of millions of players.
All these earth-shaking changes had started the moment Kiana arrived.
Himeko had spent enough years on the police force to know exactly what was going on in her own mind.
Su Yu's entire string of uncharacteristic behavior had to be hiding some enormous motive behind it.
And at the core of that motive was Kiana.
But she'd never pressed for answers.
In the world of adults, some secrets didn't need to be crudely torn open.
Keeping the right social distance was a form of mutual respect.
Still, lately, the number of times Su Yu and Kiana came back to the neighborhood could be counted on one hand.
She used to be able to hear the two of them bickering over the last slice of pizza through the security door when she got home from work; now all that greeted her was a cold, empty hallway and the locked door next to hers.
When she'd fished for an answer, Su Yu had only said the Company's business was too busy, so he was staying at Arc City Tower for the time being.
Himeko had to admit — after everything he'd been through, Su Yu's brow now carried a bit more of the steel and resolve a man ought to have.
But she was also the elder who'd watched this kid grow, step by step.
She knew Su Yu had long since had no family to lean on.
In the past, she'd always use a hangover as an excuse to mooch a hot meal off him, or pretend she needed help moving something just to call him over — really, it had just been her way of looking out for the kid a little more.
Now, he stood at the very center of the spotlight.
Deep down, Himeko had a strong feeling — that little punk who used to sponge meals off her next door was drifting further and further away, along a path she couldn't quite make sense of.
So when the invitation for this guest livestream appearance came, she'd agreed without hesitation.
She'd wanted to use the chance to dig up a little more information about the kid.
What Elysia had just said, far from putting her at ease, had only confirmed another suspicion of hers.
Su Yu was hiding something from everyone — even from Elysia, his business partner and brand ambassador.
Himeko took a deep breath and finally released her clenched hands.
The Kiana on screen, staggering through snow and ruins, her expression a mix of pain, despair, even numbness — it lined up perfectly, in Himeko's mind, with the eyes that had stared her down that morning in the rental apartment.
The story in the game.
The reality in front of her.
Himeko liked her drink, sure, but that didn't mean her head was scrambled too.
Kiana Kaslana. This white-haired girl who called her "Sister Himeko" every single day, whose cheeks puffed out like a hamster's when she ate —
was no ordinary person at all.
There were simply too many coincidences.
Why, of all things, make a game called Honkai Impact 3rd?
Why, of all names, give the game's female lead the name "Kiana Kaslana"?
Why did so many characters appearing in this game — in both looks and names — match, one for one, people she personally knew?
Countless tangled threads kept sprouting in Himeko's mind.
She looked over at Elysia, who was still interacting with the danmaku, and reached out to pat her on the shoulder.
"I'm going to go take a call."
With that, she grabbed the coat draped over her chair back and walked out of the broadcast room.
Crossing the hallway, Himeko stopped in front of a door.
A plate reading Director's Office hung on it.
Without hesitation, she raised her hand and knocked hard.
The solid wood door of the Director's Office rattled softly under the knock.
"Come in."
The door swung open.
The room's ample warmth wrapped around her instantly.
Her gaze landed on the wide leather sofa.
Kiana sat curled up in one corner of it, legs crossed.
Her silver hair, usually kept neat and tidy, was now mussed as if she'd just crawled out from under a blanket, spilling loose over her shoulders.
There was still a faint redness lingering at the corners of her eyes.
On the coffee table beside her sat two cups of steaming black tea.
Su Yu sat in a single-seat sofa on the other end, cup in hand, his gaze fixed on the LCD screen, where the feed from the neighboring broadcast room still showed Elysia swinging her inflatable hammer.
Himeko's eyes swept between the two of them.
"Am I interrupting?"
She reached back to shut the door and tugged her trench coat collar down a bit.
Kiana shrank her face a little further into the sofa cushion and shook her head slightly.
Himeko walked over and sat down beside Kiana on the sofa.
The white-furred, mismatched-eyed kitten that had been napping by the heater stretched, then leapt lightly onto the sofa and nuzzled against Himeko's hand.
Himeko scratched the kitten's chin absently.
"Kiana."
Himeko's gaze turned to the screen, where Elysia was now solemnly vowing to the camera to punish the evil producer.
"What did you think of this chapter's story?"
Kiana's back straightened slightly.
"I think it was amazing."
Her voice still carried a faint, barely noticeable nasal quality.
"Really moving, too."
Himeko leaned back against the sofa, gazing up at the ceiling lamp, and let out a sigh.
"Yeah. Who would've thought — the girl who blamed herself so much over her teacher's death, who wore herself down to nothing, who nearly lost every reason to keep living, could turn into someone this strong."
Himeko's gaze returned to Kiana's face, filled with the kind of warmth you feel watching a younger generation grow up.
"I think I finally understand why Su Yu goes around telling everyone the theme of this game is growth."
Kiana blinked.
She wasn't quite sure why Himeko had suddenly steered the conversation this way.
Sitting across from them, Su Yu set down his cup.
He picked up the teapot, took a clean cup from the tray beside him, filled it, and pushed it to the center of the table.
"Sister Himeko, you didn't come all the way here just to join them in condemning me as the evil game producer, did you?"
Himeko didn't stand on ceremony — she reached out and picked up the cup of tea.
The cup was scalding. She lowered her head, blew gently to scatter the wisp of steam rising off the surface, and took a small sip.
"That's not a game at all."
Himeko said it suddenly, her gaze cutting past the rim of the cup and landing squarely on Kiana's face.
"Am I right, Kiana?"
The white-haired girl on the sofa froze as though someone had hit pause.
Kiana's pupils contracted sharply, and her crossed legs tensed instinctively.
She stared blankly at the face so close in front of her.
That face, and the figure from her memory — holding a Greatsword, turning back amid a sea of flames — began to overlap, piece by piece, in her vision.
She opened her mouth, meaning to toss out some offhand excuse, or improvise some story to smooth things over.
But faced with that face, the lies and pretenses seemed to lodge deep in her throat — she couldn't get out a single word.
"It's fine. Let me handle it," Su Yu said.
Kiana turned her head as if a weight had been lifted, nodding twice, hard, her hands anxiously twisting the hem of her clothes.
"When did you figure it out?"
Su Yu's expression was relaxed.
Now that she'd come knocking, the excuses meant to fob her off had already lost their point.
Himeko set her teacup back down on the table with a soft click.
"I couldn't point to any one specific moment. It's just — put everything that's happened lately side by side, and the conclusion isn't hard to reach."
Her gaze bored straight into Su Yu across from her.
"Why?"
"There are plenty of reasons."
Su Yu leaned back against the chair.
"But I can't tell you yet."
Himeko didn't respond right away — she just sat there, silently studying him for a good long while.
"Because it's dangerous. Isn't it?"
"Sister Himeko, let's change the subject. Honestly, I miss the unreasonable version of you when you're drunk a lot more."
Himeko let out a short laugh through her nose.
She didn't press the matter further. Instead, she turned and reached her hand toward Kiana beside her.
Her broad palm landed on the somewhat disheveled silver hair and gave it a couple of gentle rubs.
"Su Yu. And Kiana."
Himeko called both their names.
"I didn't come here to demand an explanation. If you two don't want to talk, I won't ask — after all, nobody likes a woman who won't stop pestering, right?"
She paused, withdrawing her hand, her chest rising and falling slightly with a deep breath.
"I'm at least something of an elder to you two, and an elder's allowed to try and look cool once in a while. If you ever run into real trouble down the line and need my help, just say the word."
Kiana's lower lip trembled, almost imperceptibly.
Scalding tears welled up and spilled over, sliding down her cheeks without restraint.
But on that tear-streaked face, a brilliant smile bloomed.
"Thank you, Sister Himeko!"
Himeko looked at the smiling, tear-streaked face in front of her.
There was no longer any trace of that all-consuming numbness and despair she'd seen the first time she'd kicked that door open.
There was light in those eyes now — the kind of light you see in someone who's endured a long, endless night and finally glimpsed the first sliver of dawn breaking on the horizon.
This girl had reclaimed her own future.
And as for the one who'd pulled her out of the Abyss...
Himeko turned her head.
Su Yu was looking at Kiana, his relaxed posture unable to hide the tenderness underneath.
"Hey, Su Yu."
"What is it, Sister Himeko?"
"That celebrity's private wine cellar you promised to open up — what about it? If the payment's not generous enough, I can't promise this mouth of mine will stay sealed."
"Don't worry, it's already arranged. By the time you leave, someone will have loaded it into your trunk."
"Then I can rest easy."
Himeko stood, stretched with a big, satisfying yawn, her joints popping softly.
"After all, I do have professional ethics. I took the hush money, so whatever I saw and heard in this room today — as far as I'm concerned, it never happened."
She turned around, hand already on the doorknob, then paused and looked back.
"Whenever you two get some free time, come home for a visit. Bring Chongchong along too — it's getting cold, and I'm thinking of setting up a hot pot at home."
"We will."
The wooden door closed softly, and the faint footsteps in the hallway gradually faded away.
The room fell quiet again.
"Being able to come here."
Kiana stared at the closed door for a moment, then slowly turned her head, her gaze meeting Su Yu's.
"Being able to meet you, meet everyone — I really am happy."
"What's with this whole 'female lead delivering last words before charging into battle' vibe you've got going on?" Su Yu curled his lip, standing up and walking over to the coffee table. "Alright, wipe your tears. Don't forget, there's still important business ahead."
He pointed at the screen.
In the broadcast room, Elysia had just clicked open a new announcement on the game interface — a Chronicle story arc, Second Eruption.
"This is a full retrospective and completion of what Sirin went through back then."
Su Yu turned off the monitor.
"If we want to stand a chance against Sirin, we need to understand her completely — who she is, and everything she's been through. Don't you think?"
Kiana walked over to the table, pulled out two tissues, wiped her tears dry, and nodded.
"Let's watch it on the way to Anti-Entropy. There's a mess over there, plus a Spatial Rift that could hit at any moment — that'll keep us plenty busy."
The two of them pushed open the office door.
The instant they stepped through the doorway, a consciousness shot straight into Su Yu's mind through some kind of invisible connection.
That wave had come from Fenghuang.
And the message carried in that transmitted consciousness was simple.
The Queen, who had been sleeping deep within, hidden away all this time, seemed to have run into some kind of trouble.
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