On this day, in the middle of Version 1.4, just as everyone was waiting for the clock to strike twelve to log into Honkai: Star Rail and pull for their new waifu Topaz, a massive 12 GB update suddenly appeared before their eyes, making the jaws of every player waiting to pull for their waifu drop in shock.
At the beginning of Version 1.4, a bill sent by Topaz to Belobog plunged the entire city into the trouble known as "debt." Although she and the Corporation's debt collection department never personally arrived in Belobog (in reality, they came and left), the Corporation's influence inevitably rippled throughout the entire city.
Fortunately, with the Trailblazer's suggestions, Belobog found a new way forward and even took the initiative to host the finals of the Aetherium Wars tournament, which presumably boosted Belobog's presence in the universe, right?
In short, for the first half of Version 1.4, the players in the real world had a great time. After all, who could say no to Honkai-mon?
But… happiness is always fleeting… This sudden 12 GB update caught all the players in the real world completely off guard!
This… this! What kind of decent developer drops a massive update in the middle of a version?! Who did they learn this from?! What genius taught them to update like this?
At the same time, the official Honkai: Star Rail account posted the update announcement on AcFun and other major websites.
"Dear Trailblazers, the contents of the 1.4b update are as follows:
A brand new planet, [Punklorde], has been added. Trailblazers can now head to the new planet to experience a brand new Trailblazing journey!
A new main story quest: rescue Punklorde from an unknown crisis and fight alongside brand new characters.
A new server has been added in this update. The cross-server friend system has been enabled (excluding the AcFun server).
Optimized…
Fixed…
600 Stellar Jades hush money.
This concludes the content of this update. We hope all Trailblazers will embark on a new Trailblazing journey and have a brand new gaming experience in Version 1.4b!
—The Honkai: Star Rail Project Team"
[[WTF! My phone! MY PHONE! Hang in there! You can't give up the fight yet! There's still 12 GB waiting for you!]]
[[??? Huh? Your satellite is dropping this fast? Was it launched on a budget rocket or something?]]
[[TL;DR: AcFun server gets left out, 600 hush money.]]
[[Topaz! As soon as I finish updating these 12 GB, I'm coming to bring you home!]]
[[So? It's 18 GB on PC. Am I supposed to call that merciful?]]
[[Who did you learn this from? Who?! I'm asking you… (sees 600 Stellar Jades) …Are you hungry? Can I make you a bowl of noodles?]]
[[So why add a new server? There haven't been any new third-party servers recently, have there?]]
[[No idea… not a peep on foreign forums either.]]
[[Damn, don't tell me they opened a server for aliens?]]
[[Is it possible, and I'm just saying, possible, that it's for another world?]]
[[Why don't you just say it's for the Honkai world? Delusional otaku are so cringe!]]
---o---
"Bronya… are you sure this is okay?"
Kiana looked hesitantly at Bronya, whose bedroom was now filled with all sorts of Honkai: Star Rail Seele merchandise. With such a huge expense, was she going to be eating dirt this month?
"Idiot Kiana. I only spent a little money on the game. Why are you so surprised?"
Hugging her Seele doll, Bronya wrote a detailed guide on the computer in front of her with a deadpan expression: The Strongest Team Composition for an E6S5 Seele!
Although there were two versions of her in this game, and they seemed to have completely different personalities, none of that mattered. Because Seele was there! This was the Bronya's pride!
The Bronya believed that if it were Seele, she would surely understand!
A Seele who was strong and independent, yet always considerate of her comrades…
"Uh… I won't disturb you then. The Class Monitor asked me to help her with her pulls! I'll get going!"
Seeing that Bronya was clearly not in her right mind, Kiana made a quick escape, abandoning any thought of asking for help with her own team comps.
At some point, Honkai: Star Rail had become the number one game in this world. Of the people who owned a phone or a PC, a staggering 40% had downloaded it!
And the various organizations of this world knew absolutely nothing about this mysterious game. The name "miHoYo" had become the greatest mystery in the world of Honkai.
On this day, darkness completely descended upon the world of Honkai!
---o---
"Lord Bishop, the analysis report on the in-game 'Welt Yang' is ready."
Amber handed the file to Otto, who was still safeguarding his Kallen fantasy, and then stood quietly to the side.
"Mm, thank you for your hard work."
Otto gave a slight nod and spoke gently to Amber. He put down his controller, picked up the report, and began to read.
"…So, this Welt Yang is very likely a future version of Welt Yang? Hehe, it seems many things indeed happened in the future. Joachim… tsk tsk, it seems my attention on you was not misplaced."
He shook his head slightly. He was, however, quite interested in the blond man who was kicked off the train mentioned in the text. He was certain that it wasn't him… In that case, there was only one other possibility…
"Lord Bishop, the strategy team you organized has completed all of the Version 1.0 story content. And… there is one character who may require your special attention."
Amber handed a photograph and a file to Otto.
"…"
"Luocha…"
Otto looked at the man in the photograph and his name… and the corner of his mouth curled into a faint smile.
"The Abundance, is it?"
---o---
"Hahahaha! This is killing me! That Cocolia woman! She's a major villain! Hahahaha! I can't—she really is a villain! There's no question about it!"
Tesla was laughing hysterically, relentlessly mocking the in-game Cocolia. A woman who can be taken down by a cup of coffee! Too funny!
"Dr. Tesla, please be quiet."
Einstein looked up from her research on the Simulated Universe, looking with some exasperation at Tesla, who had her white-stockinged feet propped up on the table like a wild older sister.
Far away, at the Anti-Entropy base in Siberia, Cocolia stared blankly at the choices her in-game counterpart made. She just silently closed her eyes, then quietly put away her account with an E6S5 Seele and an E6S5 Bronya.
If it were her, would she make the same choice as the Cocolia in the game? To shoulder the fate of an entire planet… would she also…