The livestream's viewers grew from a few hundred at the start...
To a thousand...
Then to several thousand...
Until it broke ten thousand concurrent viewers at this very moment.
Relying on a fan game, Guinaifen had successfully surged in popularity.
She was extremely pleasantly surprised right now, not because of the livestream, but because of Castorice standing before her.
An attendant of the Ashen Hand, where everything withers wherever she goes—isn't this ability just too domineering and cool?
I want her!
I want to pull for her!
But at that moment, Guinaifen had a sudden brainwave, as if she had thought of something.
"Eh! Family, I have an idea!"
"She said not to let us get close, so what happens if we actually do?"
Putting words into action, Guinaifen didn't even think before she directly leaned in close.
As a result, not long after she approached, the phone screen instantly went black, and then the game restarted on the spot!
"Ah?!"
[Hahaha, you're killing me, Guinaifen, haha!]
[This is a classic server-wide operation; it's just a case of reverse psychology—if you're told not to touch, you just have to touch.]
[Well, look at that, Guinaifen's phone actually restarted. This game's Author is too humorous.]
[Spread the word, family: when Castorice tells you not to get close and you do, it triggers a special easter egg!]
[There really are a lot of good people upstairs, hahaha!]
[...]
[Now is not the time for adventure. Perhaps you should follow her suggestion and maintain a safe distance.]
When she restarted the game again, Guinaifen was already speechless upon seeing this line of text.
She could only continue forward with Phainon to face the upcoming Incarnation of Strife, Nikador.
And to welcome the main feature of this version.
Seeing this, Xu Qiong switched back to the system backend and conveniently created an Interastral Communication account.
That's right!
The the nameless one MV was ready, the Aglaea PV was ready, and Xu Qiong even had the assets for Lady Hat-Tip.
"The time is now!"
In theory, there was no need to include The Herta as well.
However, a large portion of the subsequent main storyline was related to Herta.
Most importantly, Herta was quite popular throughout the cosmos. By borrowing Lady Hat-Tip's popularity, he could attract players and whales much faster.
This would help promote the rebirth of Amphoreus.
Besides, after testing the simulated universe for so long, it was time for some payback!
So, without wasting any time, Xu Qiong quickly began his operations.
...
Aboard the Astral Express.
After learning that Stelle and Dan Heng had crashed and completely lost contact with the Express, Himeko and Welt had been silent for a long time.
But clearly, they still didn't believe this was a so-called prophecy.
Welt analyzed that if one speculated based on the different flow of time inside and outside Amphoreus, this might be a deliberately packaged effect.
Rather than a prophecy, it was simpler to call it a live broadcast, or perhaps something the other party had orchestrated.
The download numbers for honkai: star rail were increasing. Since the other party wanted to play tricks, the Astral Express would naturally play along.
So Welt and Himeko downloaded the game together.
"Welt, as it stands, there really are no clues at all."
"However, since the game's main story focuses on the children's perspective, we can observe to see what's really going on."
"Exactly." Welt nodded affirmatively to Himeko. "Whether it's a prophecy, a live broadcast, or something else, it's hard to tell while the two of them haven't come out yet."
"But I've discovered something else interesting. This game's community forum seems to have just been set up today. I wonder if there's any inside information?"
Welt pushed his phone in front of Himeko.
Naturally, every game has its player community.
And not long after honkai: star rail appeared, the community forum was also quickly established.
With a large influx of players, quite a few people were still skeptical about the game.
[Playing Cards to the Death: Why have I suddenly seen so many people playing this lately? I've even run into a bunch of streamers. Is this game actually fun?]
[Invincible Fire Dragon: Can a turn-based game really be judged by whether it's fun or not? I suggest it's best not to touch it...]
[Quality Over Quantity: This game's main story setting is too weird. And the person above is right; these kinds of fan games collapse quickly. It's only a matter of time before the production team runs away.]
[Peace Throughout Life: The main story part is really noisy. What kind of combat power does that white-haired guy have? Why can he disarm my Stelle? Even as an Astral Express fan, I find this surreal. How badly has the power scaling collapsed?]
[Ruthless Divination Machine: Uh, actually... actually, I feel like it's quite interesting?]
[Ruthless Divination Machine: After all, it's a game that appeared out of nowhere, so it's impossible for it to have any major promotion.]
[...]
The two of them browsed the community.
In the vast sea of information, finding useful news would likely be very difficult.
But just then, almost without warning and appearing out of thin air...
An account with an Interastral Blue V symbol, claiming to be the developer of honkai: star rail, actually appeared on the front page?!
Himeko and Welt, who were just about to decide what to do, were stunned one after another.
Huh?
Along with it came a message that caused a sensation throughout the community.
[This world has always been waiting for a hero. The Express's next stop is Amphoreus, the "Eternal Land"!]
[Thank you players for your support of honkai: star rail. Honkai Star Rail Version 3.0 is now live, and the game will officially enter the implementation phase. The first-half limited character banner "Adjudication of Fate" is now open.]
[An announcement will be released in the game at that time; please check it for yourselves, players.]
The account name was [Tonight Eat Roast Chicken], and it had also just been registered.
But that wasn't the point. The point was that under the announcement, the message actually included an Amphoreus theme song MV, a video titled "the nameless one."
Soon, due to Xu Qiong's sudden appearance, the community forum was in an uproar.
[Holy crap, for real? The game Author himself is here?]
[Wait, what's an Amphoreus theme song? A fan game actually has a theme song?]
[Are you kidding me, Author? What could a theme song for this kind of game even be?]
Less than two minutes after the announcement was posted, hundreds of messages and comments flooded in.
"This is..."
Recovering their senses, Himeko and Welt looked at each other, and Himeko spoke first:
"Welt, why don't we click and take a look?"
"Hmm... I was thinking the same thing."
Welt's brow furrowed even tighter.
Though he still felt a lingering sense of unease, in the end, his hand still pressed the play button.
The screen first went black.
One second.
Two seconds.
Welt thought there was a problem with the video.
Unexpectedly...
The next second!
Chanting suddenly rang out as golden pool water splashed onto a silver-haired man.
"Samsara~"
"This?" Both of them widened their eyes.
"Hope and despair alternate in song."
"Rise and fall~"
"Remembrance leaves only the echo of doomsday..."
The opening of the music was grand, epic, and tragic, as the Chrysos Heirs made their appearances one by one.
Without a doubt.
Just like the two of them, the real-time bullet chat was already filled with screens of '?', almost completely drowning out the upper half.
This lasted for a full half-minute.
Until the video reached the middle section, where a pink sprite floated toward Stelle in the center and transformed into a pink brush.
As the chanting reached its climax, Stelle swung the brush in her hand with a glare.
In an instant, all things fell silent.
The temple shattered!
And then!
That piercing music almost penetrated their skulls!
"Fate has exiled me."
"So—what—of—it—!"
At this moment, the bullet chat area exploded as well!
[Holy crap crap crap crap crap—!]
[My goodness, why did I stand up?!]
[Stand up, everyone stand up, it's so hype!]