MGSFV?! Chapter 566: You're Talking About "Companions" in the Theater of Domination? Young Puppets; Could There Be a Backup Plan?
"..."
"Oh? You believe in us?"
Elysia's eyes curved into a smile as she heard Hokuto's words.
The joy on her face was visibly genuine.
"Then… we didn't let you down, right?"
"I thought you'd ask why I was so trusting of you—all of you," Hokuto countered with a blink.
"There's no need for that, of course~~ Cute girls are omnipotent~♪"
Which clearly meant she was referring to herself as cute...
As someone who knew her well, Hokuto naturally picked up on her meaning.
Thus—
Hokuto: ...
A brief silence.
"To be honest, I do have one question I want to ask, for example…"
It was Elysia who brought it up.
"When you say 'you all,' you don't just mean us, right?"
"…That's what I'm hoping for."
To this slightly odd question, Hokuto gave an equally strange answer.
But that was enough.
At the very least, Elysia understood what he meant.
"I'm glad your hopes weren't in vain," she said sincerely.
Hokuto looked back down at his phone and sent a Super Chat in that stream from earlier:
[Passing miHoYo insider: According to the internal info I've received, miHoYo did not add the so-called 'virtual blessings' to this stage.]
[???]
[Like, sure—but saying "insider info" makes it real? (Do you think I'll just believe that.jpg)]
[Hmm… I think this guy's point is that we shouldn't jump to conclusions. Especially not ones we start believing ourselves.]
[Bottom line, unless it's confirmed by officials, we can't say for sure whether virtual blessings were added.]
[Oh? That's what he meant? Yeah, true. No need to go too deep into all this speculation.]
Hokuto: ...
Elysia: "Pfft~~"
"I think 'Mr. Otto' should log into Ai-chan's account and send the streamer a donation. That'd make everyone believe it."
"..."
…
While the chat room remained lively—
Streamer Baa finally beat that unforgettable boss fight with the help of countless players.
How could she not remember it?
Whether it was the torment before, or what followed—it wasn't something she'd forget any time soon.
Now, having just finished hearing Ai-chan's final decision, the game popped up the prompt for her to enter her "Blessing" message.
"Write something... hmm…"
[Thousand-Laws Whisper: This world has never been beautiful (jjjj.jpg)]
[Stab him first—Baa, don't listen to that guy. Now's the time to write something bright, cheerful, and uplifting.]
[Why stab me? Aren't we all puppets? Aren't we companions?]
[LMAO. You're talking about "companions" in the Theater of Domination? (Oh, you naïve puppet.)]
[…]
But bullet chat was just bullet chat.
It didn't affect her. Right now, she was seriously looking deep within herself.
What did she want to say? What did she want… to leave behind?
While pondering this—
She thought about how she'd joined the game late, but never missed an event, story, or bit of content she could access.
And because she started late, she had experienced many arcs continuously, making the story very cohesive.
Though she still got wrecked by some plot twists...
Her experience was different from those who had followed the game since launch.
So...
As she pondered...
A certain emotion slowly welled up within her.
If she had to choose the one line she wanted to leave most right now, it would be—
As a player who worked hard to catch up with the main story, only to turn around and realize she'd been dancing in someone's palm the whole time—
This was a sincere parting message from the heart.
She placed her hand on the keyboard.
Clack clack clack—
A few words appeared in the text box:
"Poor Otto…"
[Huh? Is the streamer actually an Otto simp?]
[The streamer's name is "Otto**" after all. We don't know what the **** stands for, but it's probably just some extremely busted praise.]**
[How did you even manage to put "busted" and "praise" in the same sentence?]
These were the newcomers from the official forum link, here to top off their cursed energy.
Then the longtime viewers chimed in:
[I remember… didn't Baa used to be kinda... hostile toward Otto? Why the sudden shift?]
They were clearly confused by her "Poor Otto…" message.
But hey—who said she was done writing?
Clack clack clack—
Very quickly, she finished typing the rest of her message:
"…hope he suffers for the rest of his life."
Combined, her full message became—
"Poor Otto… hope he suffers for the rest of his life."
[…]
[I really didn't expect that to be the message. Hahahahaha.]
[Delete it and let me write one.]
[I think we just witnessed the birth of a new community meme.]
"This line... is actually meant for two people,"
Streamer Baa started explaining her thoughts on the story in her stream—
And why she left that particular message.
…
Ding~
Back with Hokuto and Elysia—
Elysia had leaned in seriously, wanting to hear what this newbie Captain had to say.
And then…
Hokuto exited the stream.
"…?"
"What's this? You suddenly exited? I wanted to hear what people were saying about you."
Elysia looked curiously at him.
She'd heard so many takes on Otto before—everyone had their own logic. It was hard to find two people who saw him exactly the same way.
Some admired his determination, though debated how much he contributed to civilization. He did sacrifice the first Herrscher of Reason…
Considering Bronya's current full-power Herrscher abilities, combined with top-tier scientists, a few hundred years of progress could've meant a lot.
Others believed Otto was selfish, sure—but he did protect many civilians. And without Otto, there would be no Kiana. A lot of what followed wouldn't have happened...
His merits seem indisputable—but so do his sins.
He's like a nameless monument...
Everyone carves their own judgment into him.
But Elysia rarely hears anything new about Otto. It's usually one of the same few lines:
"Bright and cheerful,"
"Chronicle-slasher,"
"Cursed ghost among the cursed…"
Maybe that's because Hokuto never revealed different sides of himself to the players?
That's what Elysia believed.
For example—her view of Hokuto was different.
Sure, sure... but Hokuto's a good person.
"..."
Unaware Elysia had just given him an internal "good person" card, Hokuto simply answered her earlier question:
"If you're interested, you can go watch the VOD later."
"I exited the stream just now because…"
He paused, put away his phone, and opened the car door with smooth motion.
Then, standing outside, he looked back into the car and said:
"We're here now. I was getting out."
"..."
"Miss Elysia, I apologize for not notifying you—we've arrived at the Golden Courtyard."
From the driver's seat, Rita offered a perfectly polite apology with her usual poised smile.
"Ah…"
Elysia blinked. As she stepped out of the car, she responded to Rita:
"Rita, you're being too formal~~"
"It's part of my duty to—"
"Don't say 'Miss Elysia'~ Call me Elysia or Ely. Those names are cute. Like me."
Elysia cut her off before she could finish.
Her priorities remained consistent.
But hey, it's Rita.
She smiled back immediately: "Well, it is work hours right now. If it were a private moment, I'd naturally use a more casual address."
"Work hours?"
Elysia stepped out, blinked, and pulled out her phone to check the time.
7:00 PM sharp.
"Last I checked, miHoYo's hours weren't 0-to-0…"
She turned to Hokuto.
But before she could say more, Hokuto nodded.
"Even if it's work hours, Rita, you can relax. We've worked together so long—it's not good to always be this formal."
"Just look at Kiana and the others… they're so lively at work."
As long as it doesn't impact development progress, and others don't mind—
Hokuto's always been chill about whatever antics happen in the office.
"Yeah… but no! You should've said it's not work hours anymore!"
Elysia nodded initially, then quickly called him out.
Are you making your staff work 007 shifts?!
Should she take back what she said earlier?
"..."
Hokuto caught her implication and explained: "Rita's under a special contract. Flexible hours."
"Actually…"
Rita cut in with the truth: "My boss didn't want me doing loads of overtime every month without extra pay."
"Ohh~~" Elysia nodded.
"I just didn't want Rita to feel exploited and leave," Hokuto added calmly. "It's not easy to find a secretary as competent as you."
Rita looked at him quietly for a moment.
"Boss~ Thanks to Honkai Impact 3rd, I'm pretty well-known now. Working elsewhere would probably come with all sorts of chaos… So 'leaving' may not be realistic for me anymore."
"You can say things like that to me?"
Any other boss would be thrilled hearing that—and probably cancel year-end bonuses on the spot.
"Well, if I want to retain my key staff, I've decided I'll give everyone a raise soon."
"..." x2
So that's why everyone at miHoYo has such initiative…
Like Raven's new game project—that only happened because she couldn't stand the SP meme.
Or Theresa, endlessly rethinking how to do something big—to prove herself.
Or…
Ahem. In short—everyone being proactive makes sense.
With a boss like Hokuto full of ideas, it's only natural the staff would be too.
Just… when's the next time someone's going to pitch another "huge" idea?
…
But let's leave that aside for now.
Hokuto and Elysia got out of the car, the three of them chatted briefly.
Since it was getting late, Hokuto told Rita to head back, while he and Elysia walked toward the Golden Courtyard.
As they reached the gate—
Rustle rustle~~
"What's that noise?"
"It's me."
A calm voice came from the shadows.
"Hmm? Kevin?" x2
The man stepped out from the shadows, and by the light from the building, they saw it was indeed Kevin.
"Kevin, what are you doing out here? Why not go inside?" Elysia asked.
"I was waiting for Hokuto," Kevin replied seriously, eyes on the man himself.
"Waiting for me?"
"Yes. Going in with you today is the safest option."
He was dead serious. Truly.
But…
Hokuto clearly didn't agree: "Kevin, I think you might be underestimating just how much aggro I pull. I'm obviously not safe."
Elysia: ...
'Mr. Otto' really is self-aware, huh.
Then why'd he walk right into the fire?
Could it be… he has a backup plan?
Kevin: "Correct."
He nodded... then shook his head. And said:
"Precisely because you're not safe... I'll be more safe with you."
Hokuto: ...
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