The price seemed a little steep, but considering the massive undertaking of pulling people's consciousnesses in from all across the universe, a hundred million it was!
Inside the Interastral Peace Entertainment Corporation.
After a busy day, Mr. Jimi returned to his room. Judging by his expression, he seemed rather troubled, and the reason lay in his work.
Although Jimi was the ratings pillar of Interastral Peace Entertainment, it was not entirely because of his hosting skills.
The position of host was practically about to be optimized away by AI!
Jimi was already the last real bird host in the company. Didn't that make him the pillar?
Jimi, his face full of worry, now feared that one day he would receive a notice from the company telling him to come in the next day, pack up his things, and leave.
A bird in middle age, facing an unemployment crisis!
With birds above him and birds below him, what was he supposed to do?!
No, he would go submit résumés as soon as he got home. Hmph, this lousy company wanted to fire him? He would fire them first!
But when he opened a job-hunting app, he found that hosting jobs, with most of the market already seized by AI, were pitifully scarce. The pay they offered was also far lower than what he currently earned.
In the end, Jimi fell into a deep sleep while browsing. In his dream, he was even sold into a pet market!
Just as he was about to be locked in a cage, Jimi could not help crying out!
"Don't... don't—!"
He abruptly opened his eyes. Realizing it had been a dream, Jimi let out a long breath and patted his chest with his wings, only to notice something was wrong.
The surroundings looked like a Studio, and he was sitting in the host's seat.
Where was he? Hadn't he just been in bed submitting résumés?
Before Jimi could react, Lin Guang's altered, magnetic voice came from nowhere.
"Welcome, Mr. Jimi. I have long admired your name, and today I finally have the honor of working with you!"
The suddenly appearing mysterious voice startled Jimi. However, seeing that the other party seemed to harbor no ill intent, he could only ask.
"Uh... I still don't know where this is. Wasn't I sleeping just now? And, um, who are you?"
A string of questions filled Jimi's mind, but Lin Guang did not answer directly. He merely chuckled softly.
"Don't be impatient, Mr. Jimi. A few more guests are still on their way. I'll explain the reason to all of you together shortly."
A few more guests?
Just as Jimi was wondering about that, two chibi figures appeared in the guest seats of the Studio: Jing Yuan and Yukong!
Upon realizing that her surroundings had changed, Yukong frowned and immediately considered drawing her weapon in defense. But when she saw the chibi Jing Yuan beside her, she could not help exclaiming in surprise.
"General, why are you here as well? What exactly is going on? Why has your body become..."
Jing Yuan appeared quite calm. Seeing chibi Yukong, his gaze turned curious as he began looking himself over from every angle.
"Mm, interesting. It seems we are within some kind of dream aggregate, not in our real bodies. I imagine you entered this place in your sleep as well, Yukong."
As Yukong pondered the situation, Jimi, seeing others in the same predicament as himself, hurriedly greeted them.
"Hi, hello, you two. I'm Jimi, a host from the Interastral Peace Entertainment Corporation. May I ask who you are...?"
"Yukong, helm master of the Sky-High Fleet of the Luofu Xianzhou. Mr. Jimi, forcibly dragging people into a dream—could this be your company's method?"
With her guard fully raised, Yukong directed her accusation at Jimi's company. The force in her voice made Jimi wave his wings repeatedly.
"N-No, it isn't! I'm a victim too!"
Jing Yuan also spoke up to defuse the situation.
"This matter should have nothing to do with Mr. Jimi. Otherwise, he would at least know our identities. Mr. Jimi, allow me to introduce myself as well. I am Jing Yuan, currently serving as the General of the Luofu Xianzhou."
The casually spoken words "Xianzhou General" landed in Jimi's ears like thunder.
A Xianzhou General? Didn't that mean a Hunt Envoy?!
Wait, what was going on with this dream? How could it forcibly pull even a Hunt Envoy inside?!
Just as Jimi was reeling in shock, the final guest also entered the dream.
However, due to Lin Guang's arrangements, Silver Wolf was hidden in a dark corner of the dream, and no one noticed her for the time being.
"What the hell, where did this send me?"
In her last memory, she had been staying up late gaming until she was exhausted. Her phone seemed to have slipped from her hand and smashed into her face. When Silver Wolf opened her eyes again, she had arrived here.
Looking at the three chibi figures talking ahead of her, Silver Wolf recognized Jing Yuan and Yukong among them.
Mm, pretty cute.
Wait, didn't I look like that too?!
Just as she was wondering what was going on, Lin Guang's magnetic electronic voice sounded again.
"Welcome, everyone, to the recording site for the Honkai: Star Rail Version 1.1 Preview Program."
Hearing that voice mention Honkai: Star Rail, the smile at the corner of Jing Yuan's lips became meaningful.
It seemed the game's developers had made their move.
Preview Recording, I Was Forced Into It!
Within the Dream Space, as Lin Guang spoke, a script appeared before each of them. It contained an introduction to the overall Version 1.1 activities, as well as a rough outline of the program.
Jing Yuan was somewhat surprised after picking it up and looking through it. He had not expected to learn about the next version's activities ahead of time!
Silver Wolf, hidden in the shadows, was also reading with great interest. No wonder they had dragged her in too. Her Character Banner was in the next version!
Yukong looked at the script in her hands and asked skeptically.
"You pulled us into this dream merely to record a game version preview? Why not send an invitation openly?"
If it was for promoting a game program, they could have sent an invitation in reality. Given the promotional collaboration Honkai: Star Rail had previously established with the Luofu, that would not have been difficult.
Lin Guang could only smile helplessly at that. If he went through real-world invitations, who knew how troublesome it would be? Better to just bundle everyone into a dream.
"Miss Yukong, we mean no harm. We only need you to record the Preview Program according to the script. Once it concludes smoothly, you will naturally return to reality. Of course, this includes your appearance fees."
The moment Jimi heard the words "appearance fees," he could no longer sit still.
"Uh... well, how much exactly are the appearance fees? Of course, I'm only asking to understand the situation!"
"Hahaha, we certainly won't treat any of you poorly in that regard. Please rest assured."
Seeing the other party say he would not be treated poorly, Jimi immediately fell into a dilemma.
After all, he was still a full-time employee of Interastral Peace Entertainment. Hosting another program on the side did not seem quite right.
But judging by how generously these people operated, the compensation was surely substantial...
"B-But I'm still an employee of Interastral Peace Entertainment. Earning some extra money privately would be fine if no one knew, but your program seems like it will be made public. If the company finds out I took on outside work..."
"Mr. Jimi, you did not take on outside work. We forced you to record this program, understand? You were helpless in the matter as well."
Hearing Lin Guang's explanation, Jimi's eyes lit up as he nodded repeatedly.
"Ah, right, right, right! Forced! I was forced!"
With that explanation, Jimi was completely at ease. He boldly began reading the script.
As for Yukong, although she wanted to ask what would happen if they refused to record the program as requested, the current circumstances clearly did not suit a complete falling-out.
After all, this was not the Luofu. This was a dream controlled by the other party.
Just as she was about to ask Jing Yuan what he planned to do, she saw him staring at the script with an eager, serious expression.
"General, it seems you have already decided to participate in the recording."
"Haha, Yukong, there is no need to be nervous. I have more or less guessed why the game chose to pull us directly into a dream."
Seeing that Jing Yuan believed there was no problem, Yukong had no choice but to pick up the script provided by the game and read it as well.
She had not realized it before reading, but what exactly was all this content?!
A Stellaron Hunter, Silver Wolf, could actually appear as a playable game character? What kind of game was this? It was corrupting people terribly!
Hm? Why was there even a game character version of herself?
As someone from an older generation who no longer interacted much with games, this game content that mirrored reality was truly shocking. Fortunately, judging from the script, she did not have many parts.
Once the three had finished preparing, the Preview Program recording officially began.
And when Silver Wolf emerged from the shadows according to the script, Yukong finally understood why it was inconvenient to record the program in reality.
"Stellaron Hunter, Silver Wolf!"
Jimi immediately cried out in alarm beside her. What kind of interstellar joke was this? If the company found out he had recorded a program together with a wanted Stellaron Hunter, his bird life would be over!
Thus, Jimi's expression was exceptionally colorful. It showed some terror at the appearance of a Stellaron Hunter, some helplessness at being coerced, and a trace of yearning for the program's appearance fee!
That expression seemed to be declaring his loyalty to someone: Boss, I had no choice! They forced me to do it!
"Enough, enough. Do you think I wanted to come? I was gaming perfectly fine, then the developers suddenly dragged me here. What kind of nonsense is this?"
Silver Wolf still spoke in that indifferent tone.
Jing Yuan was not at all surprised by Silver Wolf's appearance. Silver Wolf's Character Banner had been in the script just now, so how could the real person possibly be absent?
Still, this made Jing Yuan even more curious about the other party's methods. They could even directly seize a Stellaron Hunter whose whereabouts were always uncertain and bring her in for a preview!
Under normal circumstances, it was difficult to imagine these people appearing on the same screen at once!
Yet now, they had all become chibi figures, obediently recording a Preview Program for someone!
The moment the recording ended, Lin Guang looked over the footage and spoke in satisfaction.
"Thank you once again for your support and cooperation with the Preview Program. Your consciousnesses will be returned to their original places shortly, and your appearance fees will be transferred as well. Sweet dreams to you all."
As his words fell, everyone's consciousness returned to their own bodies.
When Silver Wolf opened her eyes on the sofa again, it was already the next morning.
The phone that had fallen onto her face had been taken away and placed on the table. She was covered in the coat Kafka had draped over her.
The sizzling sound of frying came from the kitchen in the distance, where Kafka, wearing an apron, was preparing breakfast.
"You're awake, Silver Wolf. Why did you play so late last night? You even fell asleep on the sofa."
Silver Wolf untied her hair ribbon and retied her messy silver hair as she spoke.
"Last night, I think my consciousness was taken to a room by the Honkai: Star Rail developers. I even recorded some kind of game preview program."
Upon hearing that, Kafka finished up in the kitchen and deliberately walked over to Silver Wolf. She carefully felt Silver Wolf's forehead with her hand, then checked the temperature of her own forehead too.
"Kafka, there's nothing wrong with my brain. It really happened!"
"Alright, alright. I'm genuinely worried about you too."
After waking up, Yukong immediately headed to the Divine General's Manor. As though he had expected it, Jing Yuan was waiting at the entrance.
"General, since you are here, that means everything that happened in that dream last night was real."
"Yes. It was already beyond my expectations that the plot developments in the game matched reality. I never expected it to possess methods like this as well. Truly, one lives long enough to see anything!"
Seeing that Yukong had also begun engaging with Honkai: Star Rail, Jing Yuan ultimately decided to tell her about the matters within the game in advance.
Finally, there was Jimi.
The very first thing Jimi did upon waking in the morning was hurriedly open his personal account.
When he saw the eight-digit sum newly added to his savings, Jimi's beak nearly curved into a grin.
After the Preview Program had been recorded, Lin Guang's side also released the Version 1.1 Preview Program announcement.
When players saw Silver Wolf in the promotional image, another wave of discussion swept through the community.
Firefly Trap
When Lin Guang posted the promotional announcement for the Version 1.1 Preview Program, the figures of Silver Wolf and Luocha in the version artwork immediately ignited the audience's excitement.
"It's here! We finally got news about Version 1.1!"
"Whoa, it's Wolf Cub! My beloved Wolf Cub!"
"Look, there are several tiny Silver Wolfs beside Silver Wolf in the artwork too! They're absolutely adorable!"
Before you continue