Chapter 164: Sparkle: New characters revealed! It's actually Black Swan and… myself?
Inside the villa.
Lin Yu opened the [ Heliobus Perfect Utilization Device ].
"As expected of Phantylia, this energy index is incredibly high!"
"It's worth the hard work of catching a hundred ordinary Heliobi."
Inside this perfect utilization device was a self-contained space used to seal Heliobus-type creatures. Without his permission, escape was absolutely impossible. Furthermore, Lin Yu could enter the space to observe.
With a thought, Lin Yu entered directly.
The interior was pitch black, like a cold and lonely universe. Only a ball of golden fire hovered in the very center.
"You… who exactly are you…?"
Phantylia's voice was somewhat hoarse. It no longer possessed the previous resonance of gold and jade or the majesty of a queen. Now, she appeared very weak, as if she had been drained dry.
"Who I am isn't important, but my current status is… your master."
"Presumptuous!"
The golden flames suddenly became much more turbulent, as if she wanted nothing more than to rush over and fight Lin Yu to the death.
"I am a Lord Ravager. If you dare treat me like this, you will surely face the vengeance of [ Destruction ] in the future!"
"The Lord Ravagers will burn everything you cherish to ashes—"
"Then why don't you tell them to come find me?"
Lin Yu revealed a smug smile. He even felt a bit too arrogant himself. But watching the once-unbeatable Phantylia become his toy, the feeling was truly… refreshing!
"It is said that Heliobi originally had no independent consciousness; it was only by consuming the emotions and desires of too many creatures that they gained their distinct personalities."
"Don't worry, Phantylia. I know you are strong, and your energy will be used by me until… the day you acknowledge me as your master."
Exiting the space of the perfect utilization device, Lin Yu intended to try utilizing this energy.
Not long ago, a Cycrane had delivered a package containing a box of SoulGlad he bought online. Lin Yu opened the package and took out a bottle. He added some of the energy converted from the Heliobus, imbuing this bottle of SoulGlad with the emotion of [ Excitement ].
Taking a sip, the corners of Lin Yu's mouth curled up slightly.
"I see…"
"Not bad! This feeling…"
Spark leaned over, thinking it was something delicious. Seeing the SoulGlad, she was instantly disappointed: "Tch, this stuff is everywhere in Penacony…"
"This bottle is different. Give it a taste."
Spark took a sip, half-doubting. Suddenly, her eyes lit up.
"Ahhh…"
"This feeling… Elation! I see Elation!"
"No!"
"I… am Elation!!"
Half a minute later, Spark slowly calmed down. The excited flush on her face faded.
"What flavor of SoulGlad is this…?"
"Why do I feel so excited after drinking it?"
"Wait, it's just the original flavor…"
Spark was still there investigating, while Lin Yu had already reached a conclusion.
"It seems drinking a whole bottle can maintain the excitement effect for about half a minute."
"If I were to sell it, it would be best to dilute the concentration to one-thousandth."
"Of course, if I'm drinking it myself, I'll stick to this full-strength version."
Spark took another sip of the SoulGlad, leaned close to Lin Yu, and asked: "You said before that if I helped you bring the stuff back, you'd let me leak the news. So, what exactly is the content?"
Lin Yu took out his phone. With a "ding," he sent two character splashes to Spark.
Spark picked up her phone to look. First to enter her sight were various divination cards, followed by books related to divination, crystal balls, and other items.
Spark showed a look of realization.
"Oh~"
"It seems the new character is a diviner?"
Immediately after, the image gave a close-up of the new character's face.
The woman wore a purple veil and had long, light purple hair. Her eyes revealed a thick sense of playfulness, and her lips carried a joyful curve. Her entire body was posed as if lying on the ground, light and languid.
In the bottom left corner was her name.
——[ Black Swan ]
[ Wind, Path of Nihility, 5-Star Character ]
"Black Swan…"
"As far as I know, she seems to be a Memokeeper from the Garden of Recollection?"
"If she enters the gacha pool, things will get really interesting…"
"Hehe, let me see who's next."
Spark swiped lightly on the screen. Entering her sight were several red goldfish.
"This person has good taste."
The next second, her smile froze on her face. Because she saw a red-and-white fox mask exactly like her own!
It would be one thing if someone else liked red goldfish… but there was no way the Masked Fool's mask could be duplicated!
Sure enough! The next second, the close-up of the face was exactly her own smiling face!
"Wait…"
"I'm not mistaken, am I?"
She looked at the name in the bottom left corner.
——[ Sparkle ]
[ Quantum, Path of Harmony, 5-Star Character ]
Confirmed. It really was herself!
Spark's face instantly looked like fireworks blooming; her expression was incredibly colorful. However, she suddenly turned her gaze toward Lin Yu.
"Hold on, hold on!"
"What a coincidence! The new character for the next version is me?"
"You aren't playing a prank on me, are you?"
Spark stared at Lin Yu suspiciously, fearing that in the next second, he would say with a wicked grin, "That's right, I'm just messing with you!"
Fortunately, Lin Yu's expression was natural. He said, "Do you think I'm like you? I'm a man of my word."
Confirming that Lin Yu wasn't joking, Spark let out a breath and rubbed her hands together. The excitement on her face was reignited.
"Could it be…"
"I will really become a character in [Honkai: Star Rail]?"
"Aiya, I knew it! How could such an interesting group like the [ Masked Fools ] not be noticed by Feathered Spirit?"
Spark paced back and forth… admiring her own splash art. The curve of her mouth gradually widened.
"Ha… Hahaha…"
"Interesting! This is too interesting!"
"Let me organize my words. I'm going to post these two character splashes on the forum and give Feathered Spirit a brutal backstab!"
Lin Yu nodded: "Exposing the new characters in advance… Feathered Spirit will definitely be furious when he sees it…"
"Exactly, this is just so much Elation~"
Watching Sparkle excitedly edit her post, Lin Yu took a sip of SoulGlad. He opened the system mall. Refresh!
[ "Honkai: Star Rail" OP: White Night ]
[ Price: 10 Billion Points ]
Lin Yu's eyes lit up slightly. Finally refreshed to this!
And below it was another product of the same type.
[ "Honkai: Star Rail" Myriad Cosmos PV: Fables About the Stars Part 1 ]
[ Price: 10 Billion Points ]
"Two big ones in one refresh?"
Lin Yu bought them without hesitation! These kinds of short films were not included in the version update content; whether they appeared depended entirely on luck. Obviously, today's luck was good.
He observed the players' progress data and set a release time. First, he uploaded Fables About the Stars Part 1. Time to give all the players a little Aeon-sized shock!
…
Penacony. Hotel Lobby.
A flash of blue light flickered, and Black Swan's figure emerged. She was one of those invited to Penacony to participate in the Charmony Festival. But not only that, she also knew that the next stop of the [Honkai: Star Rail] plot would take place here.
Currently, everything seemed normal. However, the Family, the IPC… various factions were already moving in the undercurrents.
Black Swan wasn't in a hurry. She chose a quiet place and manifested a table. She laid out divination cards on the table, followed by a crystal ball, candles, an astrolabe… arranged in order. Even without any sign, anyone passing by would understand at a glance what she was doing.
——Divination.
Black Swan rested her chin on one hand, revealing a leisurely and relaxed expression. Although few people passed by here, she had plenty of time. As long as she was willing to wait, she would eventually find interesting people or things.
With her other hand, she took out her phone and casually scrolled through news online.
Although in [ Star Rail ], the dialogue from the Express crew indicated the next stop would be Penacony, so far, no related content had been implemented in the game. She didn't know what kind of things would happen in this gathering place of beautiful dreams. But it was foreseeable that… this journey would definitely not be boring.
Suddenly, she received a notification on her phone.
[ Feathered Spirit has posted new content——Myriad Cosmos PV: Fables About the Stars Part 1, come take a look~ ].