The interview continued.
"I have one final question," the journalist said. "This one comes from the online community. Why is the game called Honkai Impact 3rd? Is there a deeper meaning behind the name?"
"..."Hokuto fell silent.
There was no deep meaning. But explaining that… didn't seem ideal either.
In the end, he simply offered Qing a polite, noncommittal smile.
Qing nodded thoughtfully. As she suspected, there was some hidden meaning behind it.Was it connected to the rumors about the game's characters being based on miHoYo's actual staff?
"In that case, today's interview concludes here."
"You've worked hard. I'll have Rita escort you downstairs."
"No need, no need."
Qing quickly declined and, together with the intern Yuyu, exited miHoYo's office.
Not long after—
On Game Day's official Weibo account, a teaser post appeared:
Breaking: Honkai Impact 3rd's Main Story Will Soon Be Updated!Players interested in details can look forward to the next issue of Game Day magazine.
The entire playerbase of Honkai Impact 3rd exploded with excitement:A new story update was coming soon!
Those who had already started playing—including a certain group of Thirteen Flame-Chasers—began grinding the story even harder.
Interestingly, Qing never mentioned miHoYo's internal situation in her report.
Perhaps because Rita hadn't given her permission.
In a way, she showed admirable professional ethics—unlike certain unscrupulous journalists who would have ignored privacy entirely and manufactured a sensationalized scandal.
Had it been them, the internet would've been in an uproar by now.
After seeing off the journalists, Hokuto once again picked up the manuscript on his desk.
Rita, who had quietly stood nearby as a professional background presence, finally approached and asked:
"Is this the new main story script? Isn't it a bit too soon to release it? Honkai Impact 3rd just launched."
"Well—first," Hokuto said, "you know our company's financial situation isn't great. We need some momentum to secure funding. And second…"
"Second?" Rita asked curiously.
A warm, gentle smile spread across Hokuto's face."I just can't wait to show players… what Honkai Impact 3rd truly is."
If it weren't for the need to let players first bond with the characters and experience the early story naturally…
Honestly, Hokuto would've pushed the game to Chapter 9 from the very start.
After all, Chapter 9 was the true turning point of the entire Honkai narrative.
"The real Honkai Impact 3rd…"Rita found herself a little uneasy.
She recognized that smile—it was the same smile she herself often used to hide her true feelings.
Her gaze drifted downward, landing on the thick script in Hokuto's hands.
Somehow, she had a bad feeling about this.
The coming story… didn't seem like it would be "wholesome" at all.
"Can I take a look at the script?"
"No rush. Call everyone to the recording room—you can all read it together."
"…"
Rita quietly left to gather the team.
Meanwhile, Hokuto used the time to print extra copies of the script, carefully binding them together.
After all, once the emotional damage started, at least he wouldn't have to watch them drop pages everywhere.
Yes. He was a thoughtful boss.
"Hey Hokuto, I heard from Rita that you've finished the next part of the story?"
Kiana was the first to barge into the room.
As the studio's main writer, of course she was the one most excited for the script.
"I also heard it's supposed to be a really wholesome, uplifting, inspiring story!"
Her eyes curved into joyful crescents."That's wonderful~~!"
"…"
"Well, at least you have a highlight moment coming up," Hokuto said, keeping a straight face.
Technically, he wasn't lying.
After all, Herrscher of the Void was Kiana's alternate persona.So a highlight for the Herrscher… was kind of a highlight for Kiana… right?
Totally legit.
"Really? Really?!"Kiana's face lit up."Am I finally going to singlehandedly crush Schicksal?!"
She cupped her chin thoughtfully."A brave hero charging into the Demon King's castle… classic protagonist move."
"Cough."
Hokuto had to cough lightly to hold back a laugh.
Actually… it was more like the hero becoming the Demon King.
He quietly handed the stack of bound scripts to Rita for distribution.
Shuffle shuffle shuffle—
The room was instantly filled with the sound of pages turning.
Chapter 5, Tundra Reunion, started out normal enough…
Until—
"Theresa, you're getting wrecked again," Kiana pointed out, reading the scene where Theresa gets her arm broken.
"…Sigh. I'm used to it now."
Theresa let out a heavy sigh.
By this point, she fully understood her role in the story.
On paper, she was the Headmistress of St. Freya Academy, an S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal.
In practice?She was clearly just the designated punching bag and comic relief.
Still, she clung to the hope that Hokuto wasn't lying when he promised her a future "highlight moment."
The more suffering she endured now, the more glorious her eventual comeback would feel.
At least, that's what she kept telling herself.
One day… she would tear apart the skies that mocked her!
Meanwhile, because her story arc came later, Himeko finished reading faster than anyone else.
And her expression quickly soured.
"Hokuto… are you serious about the story later on?"
"I thought you said it would be wholesome, uplifting, inspiring?" Her voice was noticeably louder.
"What's wrong?" N
"Turns out I'm getting written off!" another unfamiliar voice chimed in.
Fu Hua quietly closed her copy of the script.
In the studio, she was relatively low-key compared to the others.
It wasn't that people disliked her—her personality was simply quiet, reliable, but easy to overlook.
She wasn't the type to demand attention.
"Written off?!"A wave of unease swept through the girls.
They had poured so much passion into Honkai Impact 3rd.
This wasn't just a project—it was their project.Their work.Their mirror world, where they truly lived as Valkyries fighting against the Honkai.
"No way! Hokuto! What did you do to Fu Hua and Himeko?!"Theresa practically jumped up, ready to punch Hokuto in the knee.
"Fu Hua doesn't die," Hokuto quickly clarified.
After all, the legend of Fu Hua doing sit-ups alongside push-ups wasn't something that could be taken down so easily.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief.
Then Hokuto added—
"But… Himeko does."
"???"
"My Auntie Himeko's dead?!"Kiana gasped—and promptly got bonked on the head by Himeko herself.
Still looking a little melancholy, Himeko grumbled:"Stop calling me Auntie! I'm not that old!"
"But you're already at the age where you're supposed to be going on arranged dates," Kiana teased."Even though somehow, every time, some accident ruins the date before it even begins…"
"Waaah~~! Poor Himeko! Even in real life she suffers—and now you're making her suffer in the game too!"
Kiana turned to Hokuto with teary eyes.
"Hokuto, you have no heart!!"
Hokuto took a silent step away from the scene, pretending he hadn't heard a thing as Theresa and the others began murmuring indignantly.