Chapter 110: Luna Vow's Debut, A Theresa from a Parallel World?
On the day of the BW exhibition.
"So hot, there are way too many people in the hall!"
Kosma wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead. Even though the air conditioning was on full blast, the sheer density of the crowd made it stifling. The chuunibyou youth had nothing but brute strength, and after bustling about with Su Mu and other miHoYo staff, they finally finished setting up the booth.
Due to Honkai Impact 3rd's status as a benchmark for mobile games, it had naturally been allocated the largest area. The cost of setting up this space alone was staggering. As the BW exhibition officially opened, the flood of people surrounding the Honkai 3rd booth was so dense it was practically impenetrable.
Kosma looked up at the seemingly endless line and felt dizzy. "Brother Su, just how many people are there?"
Su Mu wasn't surprised at all. The Honkai 3rd booth was besieged by fans, and the Bilibili staff had to dispatch extra security to maintain order.
"Designer Carole! I love the characters you made! Their moves are so cool!"
Having appeared in the official livestream, Carole was immediately recognized by the fans.
"Thank you, thank you for your support! I'll keep working hard to create more high-quality move sets!"
The players' enthusiasm caught Carole off guard, but being recognized and praised in person made her feel giddy with pride. Compared to Carole, Su Mu's side was quiet. Since the players had never seen his true face, they naturally didn't know who he was. However, many players noticed a certain "ordinary" staff member at the booth.
"That staff member... have I seen him somewhere?" "Mhm, why does he look so familiar?" "He looks so young, and he's really handsome!" "He didn't appear in that special livestream, did he? Otherwise, I'd have an impression of him."
Though some felt a sense of familiarity, they couldn't put a name to the face and eventually let it go.
The Honkai 3rd booth was divided into several sections. First was the main stage, where hosts would interact with the players. For the stage hosting duties, Su Mu assigned Carole and a "mysterious guest"—a certain "VTuber"... ahem, the Lady Luna Vow! They would play mini-games with the audience, such as a sneak peek at the new event "Reburn." Successful challengers would receive an extra reward bundle.
Then there was the official cosplay area. Finally, there was the merchandise distribution zone run by Firefly. Every attendee could present their Honkai 3rd account to receive a free gift set. Stocks were ample—roughly 30,000 sets for the three-day event. Kosma and Griseo were also there to help.
As for Su Mu, he came to BW with a mission. After helping Firefly and the others distribute a large batch of merch, he greeted the team and left the booth. Many studios were participating in the exhibition, including several promising small-to-medium-sized developers. Su Mu's goal was to scout for studios that could collaborate with miHoYo. Before coming, he had shortlisted several single-player developers with live demos. He planned to browse these booths, assess their strength, and consider future partnerships.
"My fellow netizens! Your girl Guinaifen is here at the Arc City BW exhibition! It's so lively here; as far as the eye can see, it's just a sea of people!"
Guinaifen held her selfie stick, panning her phone camera around the hall. The sheer scale of the BW crowd left the livestream chat in shock.
[Holy crap, isn't there way more people this year?]
[Wait! Didn't Little Gui come to BW last year too? There weren't this many people back then!]
The viewers compared the crowd to last year and found that the attendance had indeed surged.
"That 'Mei Number One' viewer is right! When Little Gui came last year, it really wasn't this crowded!" Guinaifen interacted with the chat as she pushed deeper into the exhibition hall.
[Duh, look at the games exhibited this year! Honkai 3rd! Do you know Honkai 3rd?!]
[I bet over 90% of the people here are here for Honkai 3rd!]
[True!]
[Newbie here, what kind of streamer is this?]
[She's a talent streamer, she's the real deal! Ghost hunting at night, acrobatics by day, master of eighteen street-vending weapons!]
[Newbie, you don't understand. Our Little Gui is multi-talented! A follow is never a loss!]
If you were a viewer on the Huyu streaming platform, it was impossible not to know the famous Sister Gui. This streamer was a true "wolf-tier" legend; "multi-talented" was an understatement. Feats like biting a lighter were child's play to her! Shattering stones on her chest, eating noodles while doing a handstand, whistling while brushing her teeth, the "Golden Spear Throat Lock," swallowing a sword to the spine... she could even whip out a gong and drum to perform a folk opera on the spot.
For Little Gui, these were basics. As the saying goes, "with great skill comes great courage." As a master of "hardcore content," she kept it real. She had personally assembled a "Ghost Hunting Squad" with her friends—the timid Huohuo, the uneducated but beautiful Sushang, and a certain tall, grey-haired "Galactic Baseballer" who loved rummaging through trash cans. The four of them ventured into all kinds of haunted sites: abandoned schools, ruined asylums, haunted cathedrals... there was nowhere they wouldn't go. Little Gui even had a fan group dedicated to collecting paranormal intel for their next mission.
In summary, Little Gui was a one-of-a-kind legendary streamer on Huyu! However, despite her "hardcore" persona, Guinaifen was still a young girl who liked trendy and fun things. Naturally, she had tried the viral Honkai Impact 3rd and was quickly hooked by the exquisite graphics and beautiful Valkyries. She was now a loyal player who had even topped up a significant amount.
Hearing that Honkai 3rd would have a booth at BW, Guinaifen rushed to the scene early in the morning. But despite her early arrival, she spent a long time in the queue outside. The attendance this year was incomparable to previous ones. Guinaifen queued from 8:00 AM until nearly 9:30 AM before finally entering the hall. Moving from the scorching sun into the air-conditioned hall, she let out a long sigh of relief. Her clothes were nearly soaked through from the wait. Luckily, she had only applied light makeup, or fixing it would have been a nightmare!
[Little Gui, did you come alone today? Where are the Ghost Hunting Squad members?]
"Them? Don't even ask..." Guinaifen sighed at the mention of them. Huohuo didn't come, Sushang went back to the Taixu Sect, and the Galactic Baseballer found a batch of newly installed trash cans in the north of the city and went to observe the installation process. The first two were fine, but that last one... just how much does Stelle love trash cans!
[I bet they didn't want to come because of the crowds!]
[True, for a shut-in like me, attending an exhibition is too hard.]
[Just seeing Little Gui queue for 90 minutes in that sun makes me glad I didn't go.]
[Wait! I'm at home in the AC eating watermelon while watching Gui's stream. Doesn't that mean I'm basically at BW too?]
[No ticket needed! Little Gui gets views, we get a free tour, it's a win-win!]
Seeing her fans active in the chat, Guinaifen stretched her body. "Alright! In that case, your Little Gui will take you on a proper tour of BW! If you haven't followed, hit that follow button! Touring the whole place is going to be quite a workout for me!"
Guinaifen's target was clear: she headed straight for the Honkai 3rd booth. Before she even reached it, she saw a dense mass of heads. The scale truly shocked her. She knew the game was hot, but she didn't expect it to be this hot. Roughly 60-70% of the exhibition's attendees seemed to be gathered in front of the Honkai 3rd booth, and the number was growing.
"Little Gui suddenly feels like this BW venue might be a bit too small..." she muttered to the camera. The merch redemption area had the longest line, so she immediately gave up on that idea. It wasn't that she didn't want the merch, but the queue was simply too long. The cosplay area was relatively less crowded, and the main stage was mostly full of resting players since the events hadn't started yet.
"Can't be helped. While Little Gui wants the merch, I don't know how long that'll take. Let's take the family to see the pretty cosplayers first!"
[Holy crap, miHoYo really went all out. The quality of these cosplayers is insane!]
[There are several top-tier cosplayers from Bilibili here, right?]
[Whoa, is that Midori?]
[Where's Yubai? They didn't invite Yubai?]
[Duh! If they invited Yubai, the brothers would be dying of jealousy!]
Aside from the official cosplayers, there were many fans who had come in costume. Quite a few people recognized Guinaifen and ran up for photos. But soon, the crowd at the cosplay area surged toward the main stage as the Honkai 3rd BGM began to play. A girl with short hair, tanned skin, and high energy appeared on stage!
"Hello everyone! I'm Honkai 3rd's Brand Ambassador and Elysia's best friend—Carole!"
[Pfft!]
[Don't pause your sentences like that!]
[Hehe! I'm also Elysia's—loyal fan!]
[Eh? I remember her! She's the Designer Carole who appeared in the livestream! She's the one who designed those awesome combat move sets!]
[It is! Designer Carole looks so full of energy!]
The livestream audience recognized Carole and was surprised by her looks. Since Guinaifen always used a raw camera for her streams, they didn't expect Carole to be so photogenic. After an intro and thanking the fans, Carole introduced the "heavyweight" guest!
As the giant screen behind her went dark, a fair, small hand appeared on screen. The hand adjusted the camera, accompanied by some rustling sounds.
"Human equipment is so strange... do I use it like this? Can you see clearly now?"
As the hand fumbled with the lens, the familiar voice left the players stunned.
[Is that Theresa's voice?]
[It sounds like it? But maybe because the venue is loud, it sounds a bit different from the Theresa I know?]
[Mhm, it's lower, and it doesn't sound as... ditzy?]
[Hey, do you want to get crushed by Judah?]
Guinaifen's viewers also recognized the familiar voice. But they were confused, because while the tone was Theresa's, the manner of speaking was completely different! As the screen flickered, the hand finally straightened the camera, and the audience finally saw the face of this special guest!
It was a girl with white hair and red eyes, wearing a red rose hair ornament. She was dressed in a black Gothic Lolita-style dress, her skirt as red as fresh blood. Her pale skin was almost translucent, making her look like an exquisite porcelain doll. Upon seeing this guest, one word surfaced in everyone's mind—
Vampire!
Vampires—supernatural beings from legend that sustain their longevity by drinking the blood of humans or other creatures. Pale skin, beautiful features, hidden fangs and claws, afraid of sunlight which burns or weakens them... They draw strength from blood to remain eternally young. Thus, in ACG culture, vampires are often depicted as handsome men or beautiful women. Vampire characters are highly popular; many probably thought of a certain character from Bibi-no-Manangekyou...
Of course, a simple vampire wouldn't have caused such a stir.
[Wait, isn't that Theresa??]
[It's clearly Theresa!]
[Theresa turned into a vampire?!]
[??]
Little Gui's chat exploded. This version of Theresa was a far cry from the image they had of her! The contrast was shocking, and it inevitably made them think of that "Dog Thief" Su Mu behind Honkai 3rd!
[Did something happen to make Theresa become a vampire?]
[What is Su Mu plotting! Is he coming for Theresa next?]
[Damn dog thief! Dropping a bombshell like this at an exhibition! I'm starting to regret not going in person!]
Many players had assumed this BW exhibition would be standard: some cosplayers, a host playing games with fans, and some merch giveaways. They never expected Honkai 3rd to pull such a big move—inviting a vampire-like Theresa to the scene!
[Is this a recording?]
[Not a recording, there should be someone streaming behind the avatar.]
[Then... could the person streaming be the prototype for Theresa, the idol Teriri?]
[It's a possibility!]
[Holy crap! Brothers, I'm so filled with regret right now. Is it too late to head to the booth!!]
While the chat was in an uproar, Guinaifen focused her gaze on the vampire Theresa.
"Please welcome our Miss Theresa! So, are you all surprised to see her?" Carole's words drew cheers from the crowd.
"Theresa!" "Theresa, I'm your fan!" "Principal!" "Everyone, look at me, I have something to announce! I am Theresa's dog!!"
The Theresa on screen snorted coldly. "Humans, I am not that white-haired shorty you know! I am another Theresa from a different dimension. I am not the same person as that brat who loves bitter melon juice, reads manga in secret, and stays short without ever developing!"
[Pfft!!]
[? She's a Theresa from another world?]
[Didn't you watch the last stream? Su Mu said Honkai 3rd would release event plots from other parallel worlds! This Theresa is likely a character from a different world!]
[But seeing her roast Theresa using Theresa's own face... I've lost it!]
[The key is she hit every single nail on the head...]
Guinaifen's viewers were laughing uncontrollably. This scene was also being watched by Theresa Apocalypse in another livestream.
"Rita... you bastard maid!!" She nearly jumped out of her chair in rage!
END OF CHAPTER
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