"...As long as you're happy. Ahem—I an, more or less, it's like you said, right?"
Although Li Yue's interpretation was a little strange, Hokuto figured it would be too troubleso to explain everything in detail.
So, to save himself so effort, he might as well let the misunderstanding continue.
"Still, even though you're very talented, Hokuto-san, I still think you should join Penguin. A powerful alliance like that would be better for miHoYo, for Honkai Impact 3rd, and for your own career developnt." Li Yue hadn't given up on recruiting Hokuto.
"My answer is still the sa."
"I see."
With a look of disappointnt, Li Yue ended the call with Hokuto.
Not long after he put down his phone—
Knock knock knock~~
Soone knocked on the office door.
"Co in."
Click.
With the crisp sound of the lock, a neatly dressed, well-grood middle-aged man pushed the door open.
"Manager Li, you're not busy right now, are you?" the man asked.
"I've got ti. Secretary Zhang, is there sothing you want to discuss?" Li Yue looked at the man who took a seat across from him.
Secretary Zhang hesitated slightly at the question, then rested his clasped hands on the desk.
"I'll be frank. Your departnt's failure with Desert Showdown... well, upper managent is— You know what I'm getting at, right?"
Li Yue slowly nodded.
"So, the higher-ups hope you can... Honkai Impact 3rd is a great case study, isn't it?" Secretary Zhang hinted tactfully.
"I believe... if Penguin Gas truly wants to grow stronger, then staying committed to original content is the only path."
"When you first took this position, upper managent had faith in your abilities and gave you a shot. It's just unfortunate that... the results were disappointing."
"But—"
"Manager Li—no, Old Li!" Secretary Zhang stood up and leaned over, patting Li Yue's shoulder. "With Penguin Gas' current resources, how many years do you think it'll take to independently develop sothing that surpasses Honkai Impact 3rd?"
"Well..."
"Give it so serious thought."
Secretary Zhang left.
Li Yue sat in his office, falling into a long silence.
...
...
Li Yue: [Any quiet bars in the Magic City? I suddenly want a drink.]
Sit-Up Guy: [I know a cozy bar. Mr. Minus Thirty Degrees and I go there a lot.]
Sit-Up Guy: [Location sent.]
Li Yue: [Thanks.]
As night fell, in a quiet corner of a small bar in the Magic City—
Warm yellow lighting, a long bar counter, and rows of finely crafted bottles lined up in the wooden racks.
Li Yue sat at the bar, waiting for the bartender in black and white uniform to finish mixing his drink.
To have a good, solid drink—
That was the most luxurious way for an adult to relieve stress.
A man with brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a black shirt, slacks, and black-rimd glasses, pushed the bar door open and walked in.
"One Godfather, please."
The brown-haired man sat down beside Li Yue and ordered his drink with practiced ease.
He then turned toward Li Yue and asked, "What's with the sudden need for a drink today?"
Li Yue didn't answer directly but asked a question in return.
"Can I ask why you suddenly changed careers from being a history teacher to a lawyer? What were you thinking at the ti?"
"Hmm..."
The brown-haired man paused, then chuckled twice. "Haha~~ Maybe I just read too many 'South Mountain Never Loses' s and got fed up."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
"Welt, you really are sothing else."
"You flatter , you flatter ." Welt waved it off casually.
He took a sip of the 'Godfather' the bartender had just placed in front of him. "Now it's my turn—why are you asking that?"
"I want to resign from Penguin Gas." Li Yue didn't hide his thoughts.
"Out of the blue like that? Why?" Welt asked curiously.
"If I had to give a reason... it's like Lu Xun once said—'Studying dicine won't save the Flower Kingdom.'"
Li Yue paused, then continued, "I feel like staying at Penguin Gas won't let actually make gas."
"Ha~~"
"What are you laughing at?"
"I'll be blunt." Welt didn't hold back. "Your thinking is a bit too naive for a grown adult."
"If anyone here is naive, it's you. With my qualifications, I can move to another company and still live well. But you... you changed careers completely. That's starting life from scratch."
"Fair point. I guess... we're all a bunch of idealists. Including Mr. Minus Thirty Degrees."
Welt chuckled, then took another sip of his drink.
...
The rest of the night, Welt just kept Li Yue company.
They chatted casually, had a few more drinks—
Let Li Yue pour out everything on his mind, while Welt quietly listened.
Until late into the night. After Li Yue had left, Welt drained the last drop in his glass and was about to stand up—
Another man walked into the bar, his short white ponytail tied back neatly, face striking and sharp.
"Mr. Minus Thirty Degrees?"
"I've told you several tis—stop calling that in real life," the white-haired man said calmly.
"Alright, Kevin," Welt relented. "What brings you here so late?"
"I just couldn't sleep."
Kevin was, as always, calm and distant.
Welt, however, leaned in curiously, "Can't sleep? Sothing happen?"
He paused, then guessed, "Let guess—you've fallen for a girl you can't have? Tossing and turning, can't sleep at night?"
"..." Kevin went uncharacteristically silent.
"Wait, don't tell I actually got it right?"
Welt gave a mischievous grin. "Didn't expect you to be flustered over a woman, Kevin."
Back in school, Kevin was known as "Prince-sama."
"Don't make sound like so playboy. Although I have encountered soone recently… ahem—but that's not why I couldn't sleep tonight."
Kevin glanced at Welt's smirking face, then took out his phone and unlocked the screen.
He pointed to a square icon of Kiana Kaslana.
"Welt, have you heard of Honkai Impact 3rd?"
"Uh... vaguely. I heard it's a wholeso, upbeat, and inspirational ga."
"That's right. Especially the main story update today—it's incredibly heartwarming."
Kevin sincerely recomnded, "So, why don't you try it?"
"Trust , Honkai Impact 3rd is really good. All thirteen of us gave it unanimous praise."
"It's the most 'healing' ga of the year."
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