Unsurprisingly, miHoYo's latest preview stream shot straight to the trending charts.
And this time, not just in China—the hype spread overseas as well.
Casual bystanders were stunned, many joining the discussion. After all, who could have imagined a game preview being broadcast live in dozens of countries around the world—and pulling in such amazing numbers?
It was an unprecedented feat in gaming history.
People began discussing this Chinese studio, while players themselves debated a hundred different topics—Chronicle of the Broken Sword of Shenzhou, Zhongli and Ganyu's PVs, Rita and Mo Li's first on-screen appearances…
But what they were most excited for was the Valkyrie battlesuit collaboration with Qiancheng Fashion. Male or female, everyone was hyped.
Other game companies, meanwhile, were seriously considering how to imitate miHoYo.
They had finally seen the true value of an IP. Like any hit anime, once the name was made, the ways to monetize the IP were endless.
Compared to that, their old strategy—ignoring the story, focusing only on hack-and-slash—now seemed foolish.
Look at miHoYo: just the revenue from Honkai Impact 3rd alone was enough to make them drool with envy.
And beyond that, they realized miHoYo even had the potential to create a whole new generation of top-tier idols.
Sure, it might be hard to find real-life beauties like the girls of miHoYo… but even so, once an IP was established, it could spawn endless merchandise.
Take cosplay costumes—just one line of them had already driven fans into a frenzy, while boosting the visibility of an entire fashion brand worldwide.
Click, click… miHoYo was about to make a bank.
…
miHoYo Studio
"Boss~ let me try again, please~"
Kiana tugged on Mo Li's sleeve, using every ounce of wheedling charm to get her way.
Ever since the preview stream, she'd been pestering him nonstop.
And her one request? To voice-act her own in-game character.
Mo Li rubbed his temples. "Didn't you already try? You can still manage old Kiana, but the current Kiana… you just can't capture her state of mind."
Kiana pouted. "That's… only because I wasn't in the right mood! It's just lowering my voice a bit, I've already figured it out."
Before she could finish, Mo Li flicked her forehead.
"Ow…" Kiana clutched her head, pitifully. "Boss, you hurt me…"
Mo Li: "…"
"Don't fake it, I barely touched you." He sighed, then grew serious:
"Voice acting isn't that simple. It's not just dropping your pitch. You have to inject soul into the role—really become the character. You should learn properly from your sisters first."
Kiana shot back: "Then how come Hu Tao can voice her own character?"
Mo Li: "Because Hu Tao is Hu Tao. But the current Kiana isn't… Buggy."
"Wh-what buggy?! You jerk!"
Seeing she was about to explode, Mo Li quickly laughed. "Alright, alright. Don't you have a joint stream with Hu Tao soon? Go on ahead. Himeko's dubbing is on a tight schedule—don't bother her."
Kiana snorted, but obediently left.
Only when she was gone did Mo Li open the studio door.
Inside, Himeko was seated, eyes fixed intently on the screen—so focused she hadn't noticed him enter.
"Himeko, done watching?" he asked, stepping closer.
She finally looked up—eyes red-rimmed, staring straight at him.
Mo Li froze. "…You okay?"
Himeko drew a deep breath. "You bastard… how can you write a story this… cruel?"
Mo Li looked innocent—it wasn't even his script!
"Cruel? I thought it was fine…"
Himeko steadied herself, then rose. "Never mind. I've read the script. Let's head to the recording room."
Mo Li blinked. She'd already collected herself? Was her heart really that strong?
Well, that was good—better to get it over with quickly.
The equipment was already prepped.
Himeko sat down, ready to record.
Of course, what she was about to record… was none other than Chapter 25, the climax of climaxes.
A chapter with both tears and fire. The kind of fire that burned so hot it brought tears.
After The Final Lesson, Kiana hadn't even had the chance to say goodbye. That regret weighed on both her and the players.
And now, this half-hour-long dialogue between Kiana and Himeko was her farewell. Kiana's bottled-up feelings, pouring out at last.
It wasn't just her farewell—it was the players', too.
That was why—even though it was "just" dialogue—it was an emotional wrecking ball.
Perfect atmosphere, flawless visuals, haunting music.
This was the chapter that would show the world the true magic of Honkai Impact 3rd.
"Boss, I'm ready~"
Mo Li gave her an OK sign and adjusted the console.
The animation began.
White space. Soft piano notes. Kiana's voice calling—
"Himeko… sensei…"
Himeko was instantly pulled in.
She became the Himeko of the Honkai world, heart aching as she witnessed all the suffering Kiana had endured.
Her own voice trembled, gentle to the core.
"Was I… too sudden in appearance?"
"You've changed so much~"
…
Watching from outside, Mo Li was floored.
Incredible.
He'd already been stabbed by this "knife" once before, yet hearing it again—seeing Kiana and Himeko's dialogue once more—his emotions still surged wildly.
"Nope, nope, I can't sit through this again…"
An idea struck him.
"What if… I had Elysia watch over it instead?"
After all, in his impression, Elysia was the one person who would never cry.
But then he dropped the thought. Even if she was the Herrscher of Humanity… She couldn't handle audio processing.
Another image popped into his mind.
Pink hair. Fox ears. Yae Miko!
"Right! Would that sly woman actually cry at this knife?"
His curiosity piqued, Mo Li messaged her.
Soon, the fox herself arrived.
Before she could say a word, Mo Li dragged her in.
"Miko, help me handle the audio. I've got other things to do."
Yae Miko glanced through the glass at Himeko and immediately understood.
"So I thought Boss had invited me out alone… turns out it was just for work~"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll make it up to you later. Gotta run now." Mo Li bolted.
It wasn't a lie—he did have things to do.
But also, he couldn't take another round of emotional devastation.
After all, Honkai's new version had just gone live—Chronicle of the Broken Sword of Shenzhou, Chapter 23's main story. He had to prepare the next content.
…
Elsewhere, with the live update, Kiana and Hu Tao had started a joint stream.
At this point, post-update streams had become routine. If it wasn't Kiana, it was Elysia—and no matter who, players flocked in.
After all, watching cute girls play the game was way more fun than playing yourself.
"Another new Herrscher, huh… it's starting to feel like watching a mystery drama~"
Onstream, Hu Tao and Kiana pushed into Chapter 23's main story: A One-Man Theater.
"Lol… Dark Seele is doting on Seele so much."
The early part of the chapter built up to the Herrscher of Domination's appearance, with perspective sticking closely to Seele.
She investigated the chaos while fans were treated to plenty of sweet Dark Seele x Seele moments.
Kiana and Hu Tao watched with wide grins, auntie-smiling nonstop.
Players also noticed something huge—Otto was gone.
After his deal with Kevin and his beatdown by the Herrscher of Sentience, he had indeed kept his word—vanishing.
Durandal now managed Schicksal in his absence.
But just as Kiana and Hu Tao were immersed—
A voice cut in, heavy with tears and rage:
"Otto, you damn dog!!"
They whipped around—Himeko, eyes red, wielding the Heaven's Fire greatsword, chasing Mo Li furiously.
"Himeko, calm down! Calm down!!"
"Calm down?! How am I supposed to calm down—aaah! Get back here!!"
"Rita, Bronya, help me hold her off!"
Himeko chased, Mo Li ran.
The other girls just stared in confusion.
Ganyu tugged Durandal's sleeve, whispering: "Did Boss… do something bad to Himeko?"
Durandal shook her head silently.
Ayaka blinked. "Should we… help?"
Bronya's eyes sharpened. "No need. Himeko can definitely handle him."
Ayaka: "…"
(I meant to help the Boss…)
But looking at Bronya's frosty aura, she swallowed her words.
Meanwhile, viewers were in a frenzy:
[I think I just heard Himeko!]
[Is Himeko beating Otto?!]
[LOL Kiana, turn the camera, we want to watch!]
[Mutiny! This is hilarious…]
Kiana and Hu Tao exchanged looks, abandoned their game, and rushed over.
Inside, Yae Miko was calmly explaining to the girls:
"So, the script Mo Li gave Himeko… it broke her defenses."
The girls stared. "The script did that? What kind of story could make Himeko break down?!"
Yae Miko sighed. "See for yourselves. I almost lost it…"
Ayaka froze in shock. Even Miko almost broke?! What kind of demonic story is this…
"I remember… Kiana kept begging the Boss to let her voice-act, didn't she?"
Kiana nodded quickly. "Yeah! But my boss never let me."
Yae Miko grew serious.
"Thank goodness. If you'd tried… right now it wouldn't just be Himeko chasing him with a sword."
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