At night, P-site headquarters.
The explosive popularity of the Honkai Impact 3rd video had indeed shocked people around the world, while also bringing trouble to P-site's programmers.
Kevin was one of them.
From the first day he became a programmer, Kevin had known that he was about to embark on a road of no return.
The sound of keyboard tapping was especially crisp in the empty office. The building management had long since turned off the ceiling lights, leaving only the small USB desk lamp in front of Kevin's workstation to illuminate the room.
Under the desk lamp's glow, Kevin's face looked somewhat weary.
Suddenly, Kevin heard a noise behind him. Turning around, he saw a cup of Xingrui coffee.
"Young man, no bars and no dates? Planning to grow old with your test cases?" The senior colleague next to him smiled as he handed Kevin the coffee, then began packing up his things.
Under the cold glow of the monitor, the senior colleague's receding hairline was especially conspicuous.
Kevin took the coffee. The bitter liquid slid down his throat, yet brought him a hint of warmth.
"My girlfriend's lab has been busy lately. I'd only play games if I went back anyway, so I might as well finish my work first." As Kevin spoke, he instinctively looked at the photo frame on his desk.
In the photo, he stood side by side with a purple-haired girl wearing glasses, both of them smiling brightly.
"You brat, work is work, but you still need to take care of yourself." The senior colleague patted Kevin's shoulder and left the office with a smile.
The enormous office was once again left with Kevin alone.
He laughed at himself and threw himself back into work.
"Who would've thought that mighty P-site would crash because a single video caused traffic to surge..." Kevin found it hard to believe as he watched his furious boss in the work group chat.
Out of curiosity, Kevin clicked the video link, and things immediately spiraled out of control.
By the time he came back to his senses, it was already close to midnight.
The heroes in the video fighting to save the world, along with the excited comments flooding the screen, gave Kevin an inexplicable sense of detachment.
He watched it all calmly, without a ripple in his heart.
"It's obviously the kind of world-saving story that should get your blood pumping. Why don't I feel anything at all?" Kevin murmured, lightly tapping his fingers against the desk.
He picked up the coffee that had already gone cold, took a sip, and let his gaze fall on the photo frame again.
The purple-haired girl in the photo—Mei—was smiling at him.
Just then, his phone vibrated.
Kevin picked it up and saw a message from Mei on the screen.
Mei: Still working overtime? Don't wear yourself out. Go home early.
Kevin smiled and quickly typed on the screen.
Kevin: Yeah, I'll be done soon. What about you? Finished with your experiment?
Mei: Just finished. I'm getting ready to head back to the dorm. The lab data was a little complicated today. It gave me a headache.
Kevin: Thanks for the effort. Once you're done with everything, I'll treat you to something nice.
Mei: Sure, but don't push yourself too hard. Oh, right, I saw that Honkai Impact 3rd video today. It seems pretty popular. Have you watched it?
Kevin looked at the screen, hesitated for a moment, then replied anyway:
Kevin: I did. But... I don't know why, I just don't feel much about stories where people save the world. Do you think I'm just not cut out to be a hero?
After sending the message, Kevin waited uneasily for Mei's reply.
A few seconds later, his phone vibrated again.
Mei: Silly, who says a hero has to save the world? In my eyes, you've always been a hero. At the very least, you're my hero.
Kevin looked at the message, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled upward.
His fingers paused over the screen for a moment before he finally replied:
Kevin: Thank you, Mei. Hearing that from you is enough for me.
Mei: Go home early. Don't make me worry.
Kevin: Yes, ma'am! (Cat salute.JPG)
Putting down his phone, Kevin let out a long breath.
He looked at the photo frame on the desk again. Mei in the picture was still smiling, as if silently supporting him.
"Maybe I really did save the world in my past life." Kevin laughed at himself, and several blurry images suddenly flashed through his mind—flames, ruins, and thirteen indistinct figures...
But he quickly shook his head and cast those thoughts aside.
"But in this life, I just want to live an ordinary life with you." Kevin spoke softly, as though making a promise to the Mei in the photo.
He shut down his computer, tidied his desk, took one last look at the small USB lamp, and turned it off as well.
The office fell into darkness. Only moonlight streamed in through the windows, coating his silhouette in a faint silver glow.
As he walked out of the building, the night wind was slightly cool.
Kevin looked up at the starry sky, his heart peaceful.
"Leave the hero stuff to someone else." He murmured, then headed toward home.
Meanwhile, during the days when Honkai Impact 3rd had not updated, netizens could be said to have used every means at their disposal, practically dissecting its plot frame by frame in order to uncover the hidden subtext and foreshadowing behind its characters.
Among them, an uploader called Fictional Historian stood out as one of the best.
As a professional uploader, Fictional Historian naturally would not pass up such a perfect chance to ride the wave of traffic.
After analyzing and editing day and night, Fictional Historian uploaded her first video—"The Biggest Scam in Film and Television History! Healthy, Sunny, and Positive?"
At the start of the video, Fictional Historian declared with absolute confidence, "Guys, after studying Honkai Impact 3rd day and night, I discovered a shocking secret!"
"Of course, before I tell you the secret I discovered, I have to let everyone know one thing, and that is..."
"No one
understands
Honkai Impact 3rd
better than I do!"
"I'm sure those familiar with me know that although my fame isn't exactly widespread, you could at least say nobody knows who I am. But my greatest strength is that I never lie to my fans!"
In the video, when Fictional Historian said this, a few scattered comments finally drifted across the otherwise very clean screen.
The comments included things like, "Bullshit!", "Doesn't your conscience hurt?", and "Didn't you say you'd post yourself in women's clothing in the group once you hit a thousand followers? Did you do it?!"
Naturally, Fictional Historian could not see those comments and therefore did not react to them.
In the video, Fictional Historian continued explaining what the opening chapter of Honkai Impact 3rd had revealed.
"Brothers, based on what I understand, along with the situation in the real world, I boldly speculate that the worldview of Honkai Impact 3rd is one dominated by women."
"Otherwise, how do you explain why all the people going into battle are women rather than men?"
At this point, quite a few viewers came around and felt that Fictional Historian's words made some sense.
But at the same time, some people objected. "So what does that prove? Isn't that exactly the same as our real world?"
As if she had anticipated objections to her theory, Fictional Historian continued, "I'm sure there are tons of comments insulting me right now, saying, 'Isn't this just like the real world? What's there to talk about?'"
"But I want to say that you're wrong! Completely wrong!" Fictional Historian's voice suddenly grew excited in the video. "Think about it. What are the women in the video who fight against the Honkai called? Valkyries, right? But why are men merely called 'soldiers'?"
"Doesn't that prove that the main force fighting the Honkai is mostly female, while men are extremely scarce—or perhaps don't even exist?"
"But then another question arises! If men are scarce, how do we explain Ye Li? What is the meaning of his appearance?"
It had to be said that although Fictional Historian did not have many followers, she was indeed an excellent speaker.
With just a few words, she successfully guided the audience's thoughts into following her rhythm.
Perhaps sensing that her argument had successfully stunned the viewers in front of the screen, Fictional Historian's tone became smug.
"Of course, everything before this was just the appetizer. Now comes the best part!"
"According to my research, Ye Li looks about the same age as the protagonists like Kiana, but in reality, they are not peers! The fact that he and Himeko are comrades is the best proof!"
"And based on my careful observation, I can't feel even the slightest youthful vigor in Ye Li's eyes. Instead, he seems more like a gloomy old man."
"It's the same when he spends time with Kiana and the others. The girls right in front of him are so adorable... (ten thousand words of The Big Three fangirling omitted here), yet he remains completely unmoved!"
"He had so many opportunities, but he turned a blind eye to every one of them. It makes me so jealous... No, that's not it... It makes me so angry!"
"People say that free things are the most expensive. By the same logic, someone like Ye Li, who asks for nothing in return, is the most terrifying."
"From the current plot, we know that two of the three main characters are Herrschers capable of destroying the world. Combined with the illusion of Ye Li that appeared in Kiana's dream space, I have more than enough reason to conclude that Ye Li approached the main cast in order to control them, thereby achieving his goal of ruling the world!"
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