"Why does this feel like a farewell ceremony?"
Ganyu looked utterly confused.
"Because you're the least guarded among us."
"It's like a sheep walking into a tiger's den, in every sense."
As she spoke, Ei and A-Tzu began stroking the ram horns on Ganyu's head.
"That's so mean! Even I wouldn't surrender that easily!"
Ganyu puffed out her cheeks in anger, adjusted her red horns, and marched inside with great momentum.
Yet less than two minutes later, sweet moans drifted out from the room, followed by even louder commotion than Keqing's.
"Why does Ye Ming know where I'm most sensitive?!"
A moment later, Ganyu ran out crying, clutching her horns.
"Kiana, come in for a moment."
"Ooh, it's finally my turn!"
Kiana still looked completely carefree. She did not understand why everyone had come out looking like they were about to get pregnant.
She swaggered inside, spent more than ten quiet minutes there, then casually walked back out.
"What the heck! You guys were way too dramatic!"
The moment she stepped outside, Kiana could not help complaining.
"Ye Ming didn't do anything weird. I didn't feel a thing."
"R-Really?"
"Why would I lie? And motion capture was really fun! They recorded all of Miss Kiana's cool moves into the model!"
Kiana planted her hands on her hips and smugly looked at the girls Ye Ming had just conquered, like a student bragging about getting first in the class in front of classmates who had failed their exams.
"Strange, did we misunderstand?"
"A-Tzu."
"I'm coming right away."
A-Tzu entered the room dubiously, but soon she came out just like Keqing and the others, looking utterly beguiling and barely able to stand.
Ei was the same afterward. By the time she stepped out, her eyes nearly had hearts in them.
"This is strange. I clearly had nothing happen to me."
Seeing that Kiana truly seemed perfectly fine, A-Tzu could not help asking.
"When Ye Ming touched you, didn't your body react strangely at all?"
"No. And isn't not reacting the normal thing?"
"I get it!"
Having witnessed the entire situation, Bronya suddenly realized.
"It's a body issue. Idiot Kiana's figure is too poor, so she didn't feel anything. Himeko and the others have much better figures, so their reactions were much stronger."
"Huh?!"
Naturally, Kiana could not accept Bronya's conclusion. She puffed out her chest and protested indignantly.
"Miss Kiana's figure is amazing too, okay?!"
"It's completely nothing compared to Himeko and Keqing's."
Kiana Digs Her Own Grave
"It definitely isn't a body issue!"
"I'm merely conducting an objective analysis based on the available information."
Bronya remained expressionless, but she had thoroughly infuriated Kiana, as if Kiana having a poor figure were an objective fact.
"And even if my figure isn't as good as the others', it's still better than yours."
"???"
Bronya had merely been stating facts, but Kiana's sudden provocation immediately ignited her anger.
"So, in idiot Kiana's opinion, my figure is terrible?"
"You said that yourself. Though I don't disagree."
"In that case, if I don't react at all during motion capture either, wouldn't that prove idiot Kiana's figure is just as terrible as mine?"
"Huh?"
Kiana had not expected Bronya to retaliate in such a mutually damaging way, and she panicked for a moment.
"A-Tzu, isn't that right?"
"Mm... Logically speaking, there's indeed nothing wrong with that."
A-Tzu's body had not fully recovered from the pleasure just now, but her wise mind was already back online.
"Idiot Kiana, face reality properly."
After saying that, Bronya entered the motion-capture room at Ye Ming's call.
"What's wrong? Why are you so angry?"
"Nothing. Idiot Kiana said I have a bad figure."
"Haha, you're still young. You still have room to grow."
Ye Ming said as he attached tracking markers to Bronya.
"In the future, your figure will definitely amaze everyone."
"You... how do you know?"
"Huh?"
That question really stumped Ye Ming. He could hardly say that he had seen her future self, could he?
"Because Bronya has the makings of a beauty. Judging by this chest shape, you'll definitely grow into a curvaceous girl like Keqing and the others."
Ye Ming was completely talking nonsense. Back then, he had been the one most enthusiastically calling her "flat duck." Who could have expected Bronya to become a busty office lady in the future?
"Then after I finish developing, will I also become strange because of your touch, like Himeko and the others?"
"Probably."
Ye Ming did not avoid the question. After Bronya grew up, her body had indeed become much more sensitive. Ye Ming had experienced that personally.
"Ye Ming is really perverted."
"Sigh..."
Ye Ming felt terribly wronged. After the little duck grew up, her sense of oppression was overwhelming. Every time, he was the one being pushed down.
"But for some reason, Bronya doesn't dislike perverted Ye Ming."
Expressionless, Bronya stood on tiptoe and whispered into Ye Ming's ear.
"I'll work hard at drinking milk."
···················
"Idiot Kiana! I didn't feel anything at all!"
After the motion capture was complete, Bronya held a HOMU plushie and delivered her verdict with a blank expression.
"The facts prove that your figure is in the same league as mine."
"No! I don't believe it!"
"If you don't believe it, you can ask Ye Ming."
"Ugh... I mean, I don't believe your theory."
Kiana protested stubbornly.
"Tomorrow, I'll bring my roommate over and let her try too."
"Shouldn't you get Ye Ming's permission first?"
Ei reminded her from the side. Ye Ming, who had finished processing the motion-capture data, happened to walk out of the room as well.
He asked curiously, "Who's your roommate?"
"Mei... You wouldn't know her even if I told you."
"Oh."
Not only did I know her, I had even helped Mei put on a black bodysuit.
"Oh, right, Kiana. Why not have Mei join us too? She can keep you company in the game."
"Really? Can the in-game me become friends with Mei too?"
"Of course. You two will definitely be inseparable partners. No one will be able to separate you."
After that, Ye Ming began assigning work. Besides voice acting and music, the girls were also responsible for commercial operations, server setup, and more.
Ye Ming personally handled the core programming and art direction, while Ganyu, as a programmer, also provided plenty of help.
Soon, with technology far beyond its era, the first version of the prototype was complete.
"Everyone, these are the character illustrations I drew for you. If there's anything you're unhappy with, remember to tell me."
"Th-This... isn't this a little too beautiful?"
They said a painting reflected everything in an artist's heart. So when the girls saw versions of themselves in the illustrations that were even more beautiful than they were in person, they understood Ye Ming's feelings.
"To draw us with such accuracy and beauty means you're very familiar with every detail of our bodies, Ye Ming. But where exactly does that familiarity come from?"
The intelligent A-Tzu grew increasingly suspicious that she had known Ye Ming long ago, and that their relationship had been anything but ordinary.
"Because everyone's beauty left a deep impression on me, I was able to draw you with confidence."
Ye Ming had intended to casually make up an excuse, but he instinctively began sweet-talking them instead, making every girl blush.
"Besides the illustrations, everyone should try out how the game feels too."
Ye Ming sent the first prototype to the computers at the girls' workstations. After entering the game, they were struck a hundred times harder than they had been by the illustrations.
"I've never seen this kind of 3D technology before. Why are the visuals so exquisite?"
"This is cel-shaded rendering technology. It can reproduce everyone's appearance to the greatest extent possible."
Ye Ming explained it to them.
"Miss Kiana's moves are way too cool! The motion-capture results from before turned out great!"
As the first protagonist, Kiana gave the handling of her own moves tremendous praise.
"Looks like it isn't just the appearance. The characters' personalities are reproduced very well too."
Everyone smiled wryly as they watched Kiana clown around in the game.
"Oh, right, am I the first female protagonist of Honkai Impact 3rd?"
"Mm. Although everyone can be considered a protagonist, the primary protagonist really is Kiana."
"Awesome!"
Kiana first looked incredibly smug, then ran to Ye Ming's side and asked in a low voice.
"Ye Ming, can you spoil some of the later plot for me..."
"Are there any scenes where I get to show off in front of Himeko?"
"Preferably a plot where I save everyone right in front of her."
Kiana looked as expectant as a cat spotting dried fish.
"What's wrong? Why are you asking that?"
Before you continue