Making Genshin Impact: Elysia Becomes My Spokesperson

"Alright..." Kiana could only put away her phone in disappointment.

Meanwhile, online, a video titled "Himeko Sister Breaks Through the Dimensional Wall" was spreading like wildfire.

The video was, of course, a screen recording from Elysia's previous livestream.

Anyone who saw this video was deeply shocked by Himeko and Kiana in it.

[OMG! Aunt Himeko isn't dead!!]

I give this cosplay a perfect score, it's 100% faithful to the original!

[Dude above, is there a possibility that these are the real Himeko and Kiana?]

[What a joke? Himeko walked out of the game?]

[Didn't you read the title? Elysia and Eden went to MiHoYo Studio, and Himeko is a MiHoYo staff member]

[Hiss... Does this mean Himeko used the beautiful female employees at MiHoYo as templates to create game characters?]

[Now that you mention it, I suddenly have a bold guess... Could it be that all the Valkyries in Honkai Impact 3rd are MiHoYo employees?]

[Hiss... Excuse me, is MiHoYo still hiring?]

[Heh~ This is clearly a marketing tactic. Seeing as Tencent's popularity is about to surpass Honkai Impact 3rd, they're using this method to hype it up?]

[It was just a fleeting shot, it's definitely fake]

[Honestly, I don't really believe it either. After all, there's still a gap between 2D and 3D]

[Tencent's paid commenters are here~ Everyone come and watch~]

[Whether it's real or fake, all I want now is to play the game!! Hurry up and update!]

Seeing Honkai Impact 3rd once again trending, Zhao Wenbo felt extremely troubled.

"They actually thought of this kind of marketing strategy... I have to admit, when it comes to understanding the anime and gaming culture, MiHoYo's boss is indeed better than me..."

Although they were rivals, Zhao Wenbo had to admit that Mo Li's operation was very eye-catching.

As he was thinking, Zhao Yi hesitantly spoke, "Uncle... that Miss Himeko... she really does exist. I met her once before."

"Even Bronya, Durandal, Kiana, Rita... and other Valkyries have prototypes at MiHoYo Studio..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenbo was stunned.

"You mean... MiHoYo's boss actually used employee templates to create game characters?"

Zhao Yi nodded.

"How accurate is the appearance resemblance?"

Zhao Yi: "...Almost 100% resemblance, even... their personalities are very similar."

Zhao Wenbo: "..."

This is impossible to compete with.

He was naturally familiar with Honkai Impact 3rd and knew how popular the Valkyries were among players.

As long as those girls were willing to show their faces, they could debut on the spot.

Their popularity could even surpass some second-tier celebrities.

Moreover, the looks of these girls were far superior to those celebrities.

"Tsk... This won't do... If they want popularity, they just need to let their employees show their faces, and the internet will explode."

Zhao Yi thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "From my impression, those girls don't like appearing in public."

"If they were willing to show their faces, why would they keep hiding? Even when 'The Last Lesson' came out, MiHoYo was criticized so much, but Himeko never came out to explain."

"If Himeko had stepped forward, MiHoYo wouldn't have been criticized so harshly."

"So, I don't think we need to worry about this for now."

Hearing Zhao Yi's guess, Zhao Wenbo's eyes immediately lit up.

"That makes sense..."

Suddenly, Zhao Wenbo seemed to have thought of something and urged, "Xiao Yi, try to contact Eden and see if she's willing to play 'Maiden Voyage' for two hours during her livestream."

"If Eden is unwilling, then contact other celebrities!"

This was a new idea that Zhao Wenbo had just come up with.

Currently, sending paid commenters to smear Honkai Impact 3rd and buying trending topics for the Weibo hot search list was a thankless task.

Since that was the case, why not use that money to find a celebrity endorser?

"Even... I could emulate MiHoYo and choose a female celebrity, using her as a template to create a character in the game!"

"I'm so stupid... How did I not think of this before..."

Zhao Yi seemed to understand his uncle's idea and, with an excited expression, went to contact female celebrities in the entertainment industry.

With the strong reputation of Tencent, it was quite simple for them to find female celebrities to collaborate with.

Soon, Zhao Yi came running back excitedly.

"Uncle... Eden didn't answer, but I managed to contact another female singer."

"Who?"

"Yu Weiwei," Zhao Yi said excitedly. "She didn't even ask about the price, she just agreed right away."

"I think she probably saw the news on the trending topics and wants to harvest some anime fans..."

As he said this, Zhao Wenbo seemed to recall something. "Besides, I heard she has some past issues with Eden."

Upon hearing gossip about Eden, Zhao Yi immediately became interested. "There are actually people who dislike Eden?"

"Heh~ No one can make everyone like you, no matter how outstanding you are..." As he said this, Zhao Wenbo shook his head. "To say it's past issues isn't quite accurate."

"To be precise, Yu Weiwei was jealous of Eden's talent and stirred up trouble."

"That makes sense~ With Eden's gentle personality, how could she possibly have conflicts with others?"

"Alright, enough with the gossip. The game is launching tomorrow, go and keep an eye on it."

PS: I've received the love and support from my dear readers. Thank you for your support. I'm going back to writing now, and if all goes well, there will be another chapter today.

Chapter 44: Launching Simultaneously, A Head-on Battle

After much anticipation, it finally arrived.

At 2 PM on the afternoon of the 21st, Honkai Impact 3rd finally updated.

At the same time, Tencent's Maiden Voyage also began its open beta.

It truly lived up to Tencent's reputation.

Even though it was blatant plagiarism, many players still rushed to download it.

After all, with such a large population in the country, not everyone uses Weibo, and not everyone browses Douyin.

However, at least 90% of the country uses Tencent's chat software.

With these two applications, Tencent certainly wouldn't lack traffic.

Therefore, the download volume for Maiden Voyage in its first hour after launch was still explosive.

Meanwhile, on Douyin, bilibili, Douyu, and many other game live streaming platforms, both games were being discussed.

There were streamers playing Honkai Impact 3rd, and of course, there were also streamers playing Maiden Voyage.

At this moment, a game streamer on Douyin named "Fallen" downloaded both games simultaneously with a critical mindset.

His fans knew that this streamer primarily played single-player games.

Even when Honkai Impact 3rd was at its peak popularity, he hadn't tried it.

The only reason he downloaded these two games today was out of obligation due to his fans' urging.

He couldn't help it, he doted on his fans.

"Moderator, please ban those who are arguing."

"Let me state clearly first, I am not a MiHoYo fan, nor am I a Tencent fan, so I will view the strengths and weaknesses of both games from a neutral perspective."

"I will not belittle or elevate any game; I will only share my personal opinions."

As he spoke, Honkai Impact 3rd also prompted that the update was complete.

"Since Maiden Voyage just launched its open beta, I still need to download it."

"And I downloaded Honkai Impact 3rd yesterday, so let's experience this game first."

"It should take about half an hour for Maiden Voyage to download. By then, we can try Tencent's new work."

As he spoke, Fallen had already successfully opened Honkai Impact 3rd and registered an account.

Like all players, upon entering the game as a novice, the first thing that greeted him was an animated short film.

This was followed by the novice tutorial.

"No wonder you all say MiHoYo is an animation company. The quality of this short film is indeed high. If it were an anime, I would definitely follow it."

"The combat feedback is also perfect, the character models are flawless... the graphics are so exquisite... Holy crap? Is this really a mobile game?"

He hadn't even finished the novice tutorial yet, and Honkai Impact 3rd had already given him such a huge surprise.

This was something he never expected.

"Although I'm not into anime, I really love this art style!"

As he was saying this, the novice tutorial finally ended.

However, to Fallen's surprise, the game screen immediately went black.

This scene left many veteran players confused.

They remembered that after completing the novice tutorial, the game would fully enter free operation.

Why did it go black? Was there a problem?

Before Fallen could curse, a mature and capable female voice came through his headphones.

"The priority now is to deal with the interference from Schicksal. They've already sent people to Shenzhou… Don't let them get in my way!"

Immediately after, music with a suspenseful style slowly played.

At the same time, another female voice appeared.

"K423's whereabouts hold greater significance for Schicksal, so… let Schicksal be busy chasing him."

"Very good~ They'll be very surprised~"

The dialogue ended, and the music gradually became more urgent. The heavy bass seemed to pound in Fallen's heart, leaving him in awe.

In the game footage, Kiana, holding dual pistols, had a serious expression. Behind her, Rita, Otto, and Raven appeared like vipers hidden in the darkness, flashing by in an instant.

The entire short film exuded a strong sense of suspense.

Fallen's attention was quickly drawn in.

He couldn't understand what the short film was trying to convey, but his emotions shifted with the rise and fall of the music.

As the music grew more urgent and seemed to be reaching its climax, it suddenly stopped. Then, a Bagua symbol appeared on the screen, and the music… changed key.

It became more intense, and seemed to carry a hint of aggression…

Fallen didn't understand music and didn't know how to express it.

But with the change in key, coupled with the sudden appearance of the Valkyrie illustration, he felt goosebumps all over.

"Every move you make, I have long since mastered."

As Fu Hua's voice rang out, a Fu Hua with a single ponytail, wearing a monocle, and looking incredibly dashing appeared on the screen.

"Azure Feathers."

"Valkyrie Fu Hua·Azure Feathers."