[Cosmic Shards +10]
[Cosmic Shards...]
Only one day after the announcement, the number of new players surpassed ten thousand.
"honkai: star rail" was officially implemented, with a limited-time rate-up banner launching simultaneously.
But Xu Qiong knew that version 3.0 was mainly for setup and didn't have any major hooks to entice players to spend money.
Therefore, he didn't plan to use the Cosmic Shards he had gathered, including those from the upcoming Agy banner, to directly exchange for abilities.
Instead, he would prioritize redeeming the content for version 3.1 first.
On Guinaifen's side, after browsing the the nameless one MV released by the community, Aglaea's character PV followed immediately.
"Fatal Romance"!
Just minutes after this PV was posted, the view count quickly broke a thousand.
Similarly, the quality was surprisingly high.
The comment section was filled with unanimous praise.
The most liked comment was one that called it "realistic"!
This led Guinaifen to hear the whispers of angels and demons in her ears after watching it.
When she logged back in, she found a "Warp" page had indeed appeared in the top right corner.
"I see, so this is the monetization channel for this game?"
Guinaifen carefully read the banner information.
"It's not a direct purchase, but a gacha draw?"
"Eighty pulls for a Soft Pity with a 50% chance to lose the 50/50 to another character, and one hundred and sixty pulls for a Hard Pity."
"But these'spook' characters are just too..."
The second half of her sentence got stuck in her throat.
Because when she clicked to see the characters she could lose the 50/50 to, Guinaifen was completely dumbfounded.
Can this even be called "losing"?
Can this even be called a "penalty"?
Looking across, it was an all-star lineup!
Miss Himeko and Mr. Welt from the Astral Express Crew, and besides some she didn't recognize, there were those Guinaifen knew all too well—all big shots from the Xianzhou!
Even members of the Stellaron Hunters were there?!
[Swimming into the Sea and Turning Blue: Reignbow Arbiter above, I must be dreaming, right?]
[Open the Door, I'm a Mouse: The big one is coming! It's really here this time!]
[Jing Yuan is my Original Husband: Lady Bailu, Master Yanqing, even... even Lady Fu Xuan is in the banner?!]
[Ruthless Divination Machine:???]
[Shang Shang Only Account: No way, why didn't anyone tell me about something this interesting sooner? Can the Author make a Guinaifen? I'll max her out immediately!]
[Invincible Swordsman 123: Cool!]
[Chiming Online: The game characters are made quite exquisitely. But as a pure passerby, I think Lady Bailu is the most powerful. I'm not belittling other characters, but look, Lady Bailu is cute and the only healer currently available. She's truly unique and worth getting!]
[IP: Xianzhou Luofu, Alchemy Commission]
[Immortal in the Cup: May I ask if this is Miss Bailu?]
[Rather Go Without Than Have Something Substandard: Holy crap, you knew and you still dared to open it!]
[User Deleted: Wait, isn't this Blade from the Stellaron Hunters? I heard the Corporation's bounty on him is terrifyingly high. This Author really values money over their own life.]
[...]
[Apricot Core Splitter: Interesting.]
Amidst the forum's commotion, Guinaifen seemed to have figured it out.
Each character has six Eidolons and a corresponding Signature Weapon.
To fully max out a character, it would cost about ten thousand Creditss.
"Hiss!"
How should she put it?
If she still had a bit of Reason earlier, Guinaifen felt she was about to lose control now.
But she hadn't forgotten what she was there for—wasn't she there to criticize and suppress this game?
That's right!
Even though she really wanted the fan-made characters, she hadn't experienced the game Author's original character yet. Who knew what it would be like?
Maybe the special effects would be very half-hearted.
Thinking this, Guinaifen decided to "appreciate" it thoroughly with a critical attitude!
"The fan characters are okay, but the main focus this time is the current rate-up. Let's check her out in actual combat!"
[Entering Battle]
Soon, she opened the character trial page.
"These skills are a bit complex? This Skill summons a Memory Spirit?"
"The Dressmaker Spirit assists in attacks, and using the Ultimate grants an enhanced Basic ATK. That means I have to summon the Memory Spirit first!"
Guinaifen tinkered with it, and after a brief learning process of the rotation...
Then on the battlefield, facing five Strife Servants ahead, Aglaea twirled the rapier in her hand and suddenly lifted it, a golden clothes rack soaring upwards.
"Dance with me."
"Hiss!"
Guinaifen blinked: "A tag-team fight? The production value of this animation is quite high."
She clicked the Basic ATK, and the Dressmaker began to automatically target enemies, slashing out arcs of golden light.
After a moment, her Ultimate energy was full.
Guinaifen, naturally, didn't hesitate.
The clothes rack, in a gentlemanly manner, took Aglaea's hand.
Upon releasing it again, she turned sideways and pulled a golden sword from the chest of the clothes rack.
"Our fates are intertwined from this moment."
Enhanced Skill [Thousand Kisses of the Lone Blade] activated!
Both held blades.
Like two golden arrows, they thrust out rapidly, and even the surrounding environment changed.
Amidst the dazzling display, Guinaifen could only see two golden flashes darting across the field, weaving an invisible web!
"Life is but a fragile thread—!"
Just a moment later.
With a low murmur from Aglaea, strands of golden leaves bloomed, and both turned around as golden light erupted!
Boom—!
The massive damage directly broke ten thousand, instantly vaporizing the elite monsters and even the small fry on the field.
The most ridiculous thing was that due to her unique mechanic, it was actually Aglaea's turn again when the next round started!
"Oh my god, guys? How is the damage this high? She just one-shot them?"
"And she can move infinitely!" Guinaifen was stunned.
Imbibitor Lunae needs three whole Skill Points for one attack, but Aglaea does this much damage with only one point?
It went without saying.
Seeing the monsters get insta-killed, the livestream chat also lost it.
[LMAO guys, how broken is this?]
[I said life is a fragile thread, are you guys deaf—?!]
[She's the least talented among us...]
[Sorry guys, I tried my best but I can't stop laughing.]
[...]
It was all too late.
After an intense internal struggle, Guinaifen ultimately couldn't overcome her desires.
Thinking about it, even if she lost the 50/50, she would only lose it to a character she wanted.
Thinking about it even more, wasn't it just a win-win situation?!
If not now, then when!
Soon, the livestream screen went black, and the sound of switching screens could be heard.
[Why is the screen black?]
[Oh no! Guinaifen is spending money on this fan game!]
[What happened to being a Nameless Spender for life?]
[Stop!!!]
...
By using the images of various big shots from the Cosmos to attract traffic, the once-unknown Astral Express fan game quickly drew in a large number of players.
Since Dan Heng and Stelle had already appeared as playable characters...
Himeko and Welt were certainly prepared.
But seeing their own images actually appear in the game still left them more or less speechless.
Of course, this model was also impossible to replicate.
This was the Reason why only Xu Qiong dared to do this for so many years.
The Astral Express Crew might be easy to talk to and wouldn't care about someone using their likeness or Portrait rights.
But the galaxy-renowned Stellaron Hunters were different.
As wanted criminals, they were capable of anything.
Misusing their image wasn't just a matter of legal rights; it could cost one's life.
In front of a floor-to-ceiling window in a Space Station.
A young girl with curly grey hair was scrolling through her phone while blowing pink bubble gum.
"Interesting."