After Furina said this sentence, she kept watching everyone from the corner of her eye.
Cheer!
Rejoice!
Hmph!
At this critical moment, Furina descended like a divine soldier bringing salvation to everyone!
She raised her chin slightly, assuming an even more dignified expression.
Then the room fell silent for a moment.
No one knew who it was, but someone suddenly let out a snort of laughter.
Right after that, the conference room swept away the previous gloom and was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
Furina was dumbfounded, stammering: "N-no, wait, what are you all laughing at!"
"Little Furina is so kind!"
Tribios covered her mouth, giggling: "Even at a time like this, you still crack jokes to lighten the mood."
Aglaea also let out a surprised laugh: "Miss Furina is optimistic and kind by nature. That line was indeed very humorous."
"Huh? Humorous?" Furina froze on the spot. She stomped her foot anxiously and raised her voice: "I, I'm not joking! I'm serious!"
She never expected that the whole group actually thought she was joking.
How awful!
She had lived in the theater for quite a while, did none of these people realize she was a very serious girl when she spoke?
"Yes yes, we know."
Hyacine's tone was gentle, as if coaxing her: "Furina is the most serious of all!"
"That's right."
Even Anaxagoras, who rarely relaxed her face, smiled and said: "Being acquired by the world's number one MiHoYo, what a luxurious dream. Just hearing it is relieving. Thank you, Miss Furina."
Everyone truly believed Furina was joking. Though they teased her with their words...
In their hearts, they were genuinely grateful for Furina's support and humor.
At least during such a difficult moment, those words really did lighten the pressure.
Being acquired by MiHoYo? What a joke.
It wasn't that they refused to dream, it was just too outrageous.
The achievements MiHoYo had earned worldwide, were extremely clear to the people of Okhema.
In a time when the global entertainment industry was declining, they alone continued to rise with unstoppable momentum.
Commerce, Story, art. They had practically completed the impossible triangle.
They never missed an episode of the Honkai: Star Rail series, and from it they had seen many philosophies that resonated deeply with them.
In everyone's eyes, MiHoYo was a colossal existence, a giant.
And now Furina was saying that MiHoYo wanted to acquire Okhema? That was like saying the world's richest man wanted to acquire the bakery across the street, absolutely absurd.
In everyone's minds, MiHoYo acquiring Okhema was about the same as the world's richest man buying a tiny bakery.
"Wait, stop laughing!"
"What I said is true!"
Furina's face was completely red. She originally wanted to put on a cool act.
But she was taken as a joke!
No way! She had to let these people know she was telling the truth!
She immediately pulled out her phone and opened the Star Rail crew's website.
In the official staff list, she pointed to the name marked as "Assistant Director" and showed it to everyone.
"Look!"
"Fu! Ri! Na!"
Furina enunciated her own name word by word.
"Eh?" Tribios, who was closest, saw it clearly.
After being converted into Greek, the name still had almost the same pronunciation as "Furina."
Her little brain jammed for a second, then she reacted, staring at Furina in shock.
The others also leaned in to look at the tiny text on Furina's phone. Could it be…?
"Heh heh!"
Furina took a deep breath and said triumphantly: "Now, you don't think I'm joking anymore, right?"
"If you still don't believe me, I'll have Silver Wolf upload my photo to the official site right now!"
"Ah, right!"
"I'll message her right now!"
At this moment, everyone in Okhema fell into a brief mental shutdown.
Even Anaxagoras felt her brain freeze for a moment.
Wait, what?
But why? Why would MiHoYo acquire Okhema?
Though given Okhema's current crisis, this was indeed a good thing... But still…
Why? Even Aglaea's usually calm expression fluctuated. Her eyes swept over Furina's serious face and the name on the screen that absolutely couldn't be a coincidence.
Her mind replayed all the moments since they first met this rich lady.
Shock washed over her face, confusion flooding in.
She had always said she didn't believe in pies falling from the sky, but now… it really seemed like such a thing was happening to Okhema, happening to her.
Phainon and Mydeimos stood there frozen. Their faces were filled with pure bewilderment.
As if they were trying to process the absurdity of a tiny bakery being bought by the world's richest man.
Even Hyacine was stunned.
Beside her, Castorice lifted her head, her eyes filled with disbelief… and a trace of fear.
Why… why would such good fortune have anything to do with someone cursed like her?
The entire conference room was filled with a surreal feeling.
"A-am I dreaming?"
"MiHoYo… really, really wants to acquire Okhema?" Tribios's eyes were round as saucers as she asked shakily.
"Of course it's real…"
After the earlier interruption, Furina no longer had any desire to show off. Pouting, she said: "Actually, the boss had already… um… started looking for related people long ago."
She originally wanted to say he contacted me in secret, but she remembered this shouldn't be told to others, so she kept it to herself.
"I, I'm feeling a little dizzy."
Aglaea held her head; the always-strong girl finally couldn't handle it.
Anaxagoras, however, straightened up and asked seriously and curiously: "May I know why?"
"After all, MiHoYo, Star Rail… to us in Okhema, to us in Greece, they're something we can only look up to."
"There has to be a reason." Furina hesitated for a moment but still revealed the truth.
"Actually, the boss told me that even before I met you all, after learning about Okhema's situation, he already had the intention to acquire it."
"Because he felt that Okhema and MiHoYo share a similar vision."
"I believe that when you all watch Star Rail, you often have similar thoughts."
After Furina finished speaking… Everyone nodded slowly, deep in thought.
I have to say, there really is a kind of "kindred spirit" feeling.
Whether it's the philosophy or the story, it fits our tastes exceptionally well.
"Only… at that time, if we talked about an acquisition, Aglaea… would absolutely not have agreed."
Furina said this as she looked at Aglaea.
Aglaea froze for a moment, then gave a bitter smile and nodded. "Indeed."
At that moment, everyone finally understood the key to the problem.
Before Okhema encountered the whole ordeal with Cinatti and the Art Committee, Aglaea still wanted to preserve Okhema's independence.
Back then, even if Mihoyo had approached them, Aglaea would have been on guard and refused the acquisition.
But now, things were different.
Under Cinatti's pressure, Okhema was almost visibly sliding toward despair.
Just like Aglaea and Furina had discussed moments earlier, if there truly existed a company in this world with enormous resources, a platform, and the ability to convince them that it wouldn't change Okhema's ideals…
That company would undoubtedly be MiHoYo.
Before all this, none of them had ever considered such a thing, not even in their dreams.
Because the gap between the two sides was simply too great.
Yet fate is fickle, sometimes absurdly miraculous.
A deputy director from MiHoYo had, by some twist of fate, come into contact with Okhema, and right when the theatre was facing hopelessness, brought them a glimmer of light.
"Fate… really is…" Aglaea leaned back in her chair, feeling like her thoughts were exhausted.
The drastic ups and downs of the past few days had truly worn her out. Of course, what filled her heart now was pure joy.
"So… You all, do you… do you want to..." Furina stammered, her hands behind her back fidgeting restlessly.
One side was her friends; the other was the boss and company.
If they could come together, it would be perfect.
But if they refused, Furina quickly shoved that imperfect outcome out of her mind.
Then, unable to withstand the rising tension, she burst out, "Damn!"
"How can I say something like this, something that feels like a negotiation, so casually?"
"It's all the boss's fault for making me bring it up!"
"Clearly we should do this formally, with everyone present, in a setting full of ceremony! Then sign the acquisition with solemnity!"
While Furina suffered her internal turmoil, Aglaea laughed and shook her head. "Furina, do you really need to ask? We… of course choose to agree."
"Among all the possible outcomes facing Okhema, this is undoubtedly the best."
"And to be honest… we're actually a little excited."
She didn't know what path everyone in the theatre would take after being acquired by MiHoYo.
Whether the unfinished script of Amphoreus would head toward a future they didn't even dare imagine, or be buried away,
These were things Aglaea couldn't know.
But one thing was clear to her:
The art, the stories, and the Star Rail shows they wanted to create, were undeniably compatible.
With MiHoYo's resources, the future of Amphoreus… just thinking about it made her heart stir.
"Disaster can sometimes be a kind of gift." A sudden clarity rose in Aglaea's heart.
If they hadn't encountered the Art Committee, hadn't been forced to the brink, she might never have considered things from a more realistic perspective, let alone agreed to an acquisition.
"Then, now, please allow me to discuss and vote together with everyone in the theatre." Aglaea spoke solemnly.
A brief voting process began.
Of course,
The result was beyond doubt.
Whether the ones seated here or the two who had yet to return, all cast votes of approval.
And after receiving unanimous support, Aglaea formally raised to Furina the various matters related to MiHoYo's acquisition of Okhema Theatre, and of course, most importantly, the meeting with MiHoYo's boss, Xia Wen.
"Oh, him?"
"You've actually already met him."
Furina pulled out her phone again and directly @mentioned the consultant in the group chat.
[Blue Jellyfish: @Consultant, come out and work! Hmph! When I step up, success is guaranteed! Now you can talk to them about the acquisition! (jellyfish smug)]
Right after sending the message,
Everyone's phone chimed at once.
At that moment, they all realized something.
"…No way, right?"
"That consultant… is actually, MiHoYo's boss?"
Castorice stared at the message on her phone, her lips slightly parted, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.
"Yep."
Furina flashed a mischievous, triumphant smile. She didn't know why the usually silent Castorice was suddenly reacting like this,
But she still grinned proudly. "Hehe, didn't expect that, did you?"
"Eek!" Castorice instantly buried her head, wishing she could crawl into a hole on the spot.
Oh no!
She had actually, actually confessed all those secret feelings, to him! To the boss!
And aside from her, no one else knew how terrifying that realization felt.
"No, my head is spinning…" Aglaea took in a deep breath, leaned back against the chair, and pinched the corners of her eyes.
One unbelievable event after another, she was finally reaching her limit.
So… this was MiHoYo.
The deputy director was a cute, pure-hearted girl, and the consultant had infiltrated the group chat as an undercover member.
At this point, she truly believed what Furina had just said, that the consultant and MiHoYo had been eyeing Okhema for a long time.
Just as everyone fell into an existential spiral, Xia Wen's call came through on Furina's phone.
"The boss is calling." Furina handed the phone to Aglaea.
She knew the call wasn't meant for her.
Aglaea didn't hesitate, took the phone, drew a deep breath, and answered, switching to speaker mode.
Everyone straightened their posture and perked up their ears.
And then, they heard it.
The third voice of the day that shattered their expectations: A young-sounding, pleasant male voice.
"Furina, you did great."
"Looks like our little jellyfish really outdid herself today. At this rate, I might have to hand over my director's seat to you."
The teasing voice on the other end rang out. Furina let out a squeak, her face instantly flushing bright red. She snatched the phone back and shouted in panic:
"B-boss! W-what are you saying! C-can you please talk properly! There are people here!"