Chapter 68: Fu Hua: Kiana, Please Help Me Pull the Gacha!
Ultimately, Eden agreed to accept the shares, becoming one of miHoYo's major shareholders.
As a side note, due to the immense revenue generated by the Honkai Impact 3rd project, Bronya and Kiana discussed the matter and decided to make Su Mu a shareholder as well. In truth, it was less a "discussion" and more Bronya making a proposal that Kiana finalized... such a level of hands-off management would seem utterly shocking to any outsider.
The problem was... Kiana's hands-off approach hadn't bankrupted the company; instead, it had made miHoYo thrive. Even Bronya couldn't help but remark, "Kiana's vision... it's so sharp that I can't even hope to catch up."
Hearing those words would have made Kiana want to spit blood.
Kiana could attribute the success of the first game, Getting Over It, to blind luck—happening to find a streamer like Pardo to make the game go viral. At the time, she believed in Su Mu's "ability"; as long as Su Mu was there, they would surely lose enough money to make her the "Wealthiest Loser."
But what about the second time?
She had initially heard they were making a 3D game, and then he wanted to hire a huge lineup of real-life celebrities as prototypes. The costs were astronomical, and the risks were extreme. When the project was first announced, no one in the industry had a single good thing to say about it. It was a situation destined for failure, yet through the sheer, god-tier quality of Honkai Impact 3rd, it didn't just survive—it exploded!
At the time, looking at the monthly revenue report for Honkai 3rd, Kiana felt as if she were in a trance. Where am I? Where did you take me? Is this still Shenzhou?
Where exactly did it go wrong?
Kiana looked at Su Mu, who was driving beside her. No, it can't be! Su Mu was just a fresh-faced, "cleverly-stupid" university graduate! She had hand-picked him herself, and she trusted her own eyes; Su Mu didn't look like someone who could create a smash-hit game.
Could it be...?
Kiana had spent the past few weeks mulling over every possibility. After a round of "rational analysis," she decided that the game's success still wasn't Su Mu's fault! That guy had just stepped in dog-crap luck again!
His first game let him get a foot in the door with Pardo, and then through Pardo, he successfully roped in Eden! Kiana knew exactly how powerful Eden's popularity was. She finally understood: she had lost from the very beginning! Once Eden joined, Honkai 3rd had effectively won half the battle.
As for the other half... weren't the people Bronya recruited all monsters? Then there was that Project Bunny 19C; an AI that could do the work of a dozen people—it was simply abnormal! The game didn't fail because Eden and Bronya each carried fifty percent of the responsibility!
As for Su Mu, he had simply reaped where he hadn't sown! Yes, it was just good luck, nothing more. Her "Money-Losing Tree" couldn't possibly betray her, right...
Kiana wasn't exactly suited for deep thought, and after being bombarded by so much information lately, her "not-so-clever" brain had turned into a total mush. Of course, it wasn't that she didn't suspect Su Mu, but she didn't dare to, nor was she willing to believe such a possibility. Acting like an ostrich, self-hypnosis... in short, Kiana could only cope by constantly finding excuses.
She finally concluded that the success of Honkai Impact 3rd was a "Grand Accident" made up of several "Small Accidents"! Yes, accidents, all of them! I don't care, I don't care! They're all accidents!!
Su Mu naturally had no idea about Kiana's rich internal monologue. Seeing her remain silent, he asked again, "President Kiana, what kind of business does your Aunt want to discuss with me?"
Kiana sighed, resting her chin on her hand as she looked out at the scenery. Her fair legs were crossed, drawing quite a bit of attention. "I don't know... my Aunt is a very impulsive person. Sometimes I can't guess what she's thinking at all."
"I see... and what kind of person is she?"
"An old woman who pretends to be young."
"Pfft!" Su Mu nearly choked. Kiana was truly bold to judge her aunt like that. "What? I'm just telling the truth. You know Magical Girl Teriri, right?"
"I do. Didn't she just perform in Arc City?"
"That's my Aunt."
"Mhm..." Su Mu wasn't surprised. As soon as that name appeared, he knew Teriri's true identity. He was more curious about what the real-world Theresa looked like. Could she really be an ageless young girl? There was no Honkai energy in this world... surely it was impossible for her not to develop at all?
Soon, they arrived at the meeting place Kiana provided—it happened to be the Arc City branch of Schicksal Entertainment. At the entrance, they were greeted by an elegant, dignified woman in a maid outfit—Rita Rossweisse.
Rita wore a gentle smile, but Su Mu knew this woman was not as simple as she appeared. Her approachability was real, but she was definitely a formidable character. While Su Mu was observing Rita, she was also observing him. Every tilt of her head and every smile seemed to carry a thousand charms; it would be a lie to say one wouldn't be moved by such a beauty.
However, Su Mu could remain calm even in front of Eden. Therefore, Rita's charm had no effect on him. Instead, he returned her gaze with a very warm, calm look.
"How rude of me. You must be Mr. Su Mu? Hello, I am Lord Theresa's secretary, Rita Rossweisse. Please follow me; Lord Theresa has been waiting for you."
A strange glint flashed in Rita's eyes. She had intended to test Su Mu, but why did his gaze feel like that of an "old father"? It was almost as if he were a family elder feeling relieved to see his family living peacefully and happily in this world... Have I seen him somewhere before?
Before Su Mu could speak, a figure suddenly dashed out.
"Student Kiana! You finally arrived! This is great!"
Fu Hua, dressed in black athletic wear and looking overjoyed, rushed out from the building. Seeing Kiana, her happiness was written all over her face.
"Class Monitor, you're here too?" Kiana greeted her. She knew Fu Hua worked for Schicksal, but she hadn't expected her to be in Arc City. In fact, she had only recently found out that Theresa was here as well. No wonder Theresa sounded so strange on the phone... as it turned out, she was right here.
"We can talk about that later, Student Kiana. I have an important matter I need to trouble you with."
Fu Hua pulled out her phone, and on the screen was the Honkai Impact 3rd gacha interface!
"Please! Student Kiana, please help me pull the gacha!" She lowered her head, making a solemn request!
END OF CHAPTER
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