Hokuto closed the chat window with Elysia, revealing the previously hidden video file behind it.
It was a short animated clip of teoric Salvation submitted by Durandal.
He took a few screenshots, then uploaded them to his private pilipili account. After that, he browsed for trending Honkai Impact 3rd videos on pilipili, planning to act as an insider to leak so juicy content and boost the ga's visibility.
After all…
[Current Honkai Impact 3rd user count: 8,013,333]
Thanks to a recent update packed with main story content—and the players who'd been "emotionally destroyed" by it recomnding the ga out of "love"—he was now just a step away from completing the system's main mission.
Hokuto pulled up so popular Honkai Impact 3rd analysis videos from major pilipili creators.
One was about whether Hiko was destined to beco the Herrscher of Flas.
In the video, the creator spoke with absolute certainty, analyzing the possibility of Hiko's return.
Stuff like—Hiko looked like she still had a breath left in her final monts.
Or maybe she hadn't fallen into the Imaginary Space, but had remained in the space Sirin created.
In conclusion, the creator theorized that Hiko had a strong chance of returning in the form of the "Herrscher of Flas."
By then, as a ntor, teacher, and Valkyrie, everything she once fought to protect would be overturned by her own hand.
This ti, it would be up to her students—up to the paracium—to "repay the lesson."
A massive plot twist! And totally in line with miHoYo's usual writing style.
Honestly? The analysis actually made so sense.
If Hokuto didn't know what really happened in the story, even he might've believed it.
Scrolling down to the comnts, he found the section blowing up thanks to the recently released interlude to Chapter 11, Void Sky, Lonely Moon.
Everyone was deeply invested in whether Hiko would return.
Hokuto, who originally intended to leak spoilers, blinked and typed a comnt in the thread:
It's all Otto's fault:
"I think everyone shouldn't get their hopes up too high. Hiko's story wrapped up beautifully. Based on what I know about miHoYo's writers, they wouldn't ruin it by adding unnecessary plot twists."
This video was one of the most-watched at the ti. Naturally, many players went on to read the comnts—and there it was, Hokuto's post.
[Talking out of your ass? Who knows miHoYo's writers better than you?!]
[What do you an "unnecessary"? Hiko's return would be the ultimate climax!]
[WTF!! I just clicked on this guy's profile—you'll never guess what I saw! He's got screenshots from miHoYo's next unreleased short animation!]
[For real?! Is this guy an insider?!]
So players started piecing things together.
If this person really worked at miHoYo, then what he said might actually be true.
Was Hiko really gone?
More and more replies flooded Hokuto's comnt.
[Bro, are you serious? And you know the miHoYo writers, right? Could you give them a "warm" ssage from us?]
[No! I refuse to believe it! Hiko-senpai can't be gone like this!]
[Good news! I just finished digging through this guy's page—looks like Hiko shows up in the next short! And she's with Kiana!]
[Could it be?! Is Hiko-sensei coming back??]
[I'm starting to think this guy is trolling us on purpose, pretending Hiko's dead to stir up hype.]
The more they speculated, the further they drifted from the truth.
And yet, they trusted their conclusions wholeheartedly.
So even spread the theory in Honkai Impact 3rd fan circles.
Soon, rumors that Hiko would return in the next main chapter exploded across the community.
Countless players were hyped—was Hiko-senpai really coming back?
Knock knock knock~~
A sudden knock ca from the office door.
Before long, soone couldn't wait and burst in.
Kiana Kaslana stord in shouting, "Hokuto! Bad news! I think there's a mole in the studio!"
Durandal followed her in with a serious face and said, "Hokuto, I believe this matter must be taken seriously. This ti it's just version info—next ti they might leak our confidential files."
"Exactly!" *N girls nodded in unison.
Hokuto: "..."
"So here's the problem. If none of you are the mole—then who is?"
"Well..." *N girls looked at each other.
Honestly, no one else looked like a traitor either.
Kiana crossed her arms, tilted her head, and wore a look of genuine confusion. "Everyone seems pretty trustworthy though…"
"Indeed." Theresa nodded in agreent. "We've all worked at miHoYo for years—I know everyone well. No one here seems like the type."
Durandal mimicked Kiana's stance and added thoughtfully, "If I had to na the most suspicious one, it would be… the last person who joined miHoYo."
She paused there.
Because the last one to join miHoYo—was herself.
The girls all turned to look at Durandal at the sa ti.
Kiana's eyes widened, and she was about to say sothing dramatic.
But Rita raised a hand to stop her, maintaining her usual elegant smile as she looked at Hokuto.
"So... Hokuto, is there sothing you'd like to tell us?"
Hokuto cleared his throat twice. "Ahem, well—though it was unexpected, both the act and the outco... yes, I intentionally leaked the info."
"...Huh? Ahhh!!" *N
"Hokuto Hokuto, why would you do that?!" Kiana rushed up to his desk.
They'd been racking their brains to find the mole—only to discover it was their own boss?!
"Relax, relax."
Hokuto calmly pushed aside the beautiful face practically in his face. "What do you think happened to player activity after the leak?"
Kiana stepped back. Bronya walked forward hugging her laptop and answered for her.
"After the latest main story update, players entered a burnout period. Enthusiasm dropped. So who weren't into dailies even stopped logging in."
She flipped the screen around.
"But starting just now, there's been a huge spike in logins. Players are grinding dailies again—probably to stock up crystals for the next Valkyrie battlesuit."
"That's exactly what I wanted."
Hokuto stood and explained, "Sotis leaking a little news isn't a bad thing. It keeps players emotionally engaged longer. And when outsiders see how hyped the Honkai Impact 3rd community is, they're more likely to get into it."
"Do you get what I an?"
The girls thought about it—and it did kind of make sense.
"Bottom line: I want Honkai Impact 3rd's active users to hit ten million!"
"Ten million?"
Kiana finally reacted. "Wait—are we really about to hit ten million active users?!"
She knew the ga was popular, but had no idea it had gotten that big.
To think it had surpassed Nonsensical Hero's Grand Adventure's all-ti user base in such a short ti.
"Yup." Hokuto grinned.
"Wow! That's amazing!"
Kiana got excited, hugging i. "i i! Our Honkai Impact 3rd is so amazing!!"
"Kiana, your reaction speed could orbit Earth." i, wrapped in Kiana's arms, sighed and teased her before pushing her away. "Also—everyone's watching. Let go."
"I wasn't really paying attention before…"
Kiana released her, one hand sheepishly behind her back, and giggled.
"Pfft~~" *N The others couldn't help but laugh at her antics.
After a while, Kiana sobered up and beca curious again. "Hokuto~~ when do you think Honkai Impact 3rd will hit ten million users?"
"When we roll out teoric Salvation, we'll probably be close."
Hokuto thought aloud. "And if we're still a little short, once the year-end holidays co and everyone has free ti, a lot of people will be looking for gas. Honkai Impact 3rd will obviously be the best choice. We'll hit the goal for sure."
"I believe we'll reach it even before year-end! This is our Honkai Impact 3rd we're talking about!" Kiana said with absolute confidence.
Hokuto chuckled, "Well then, if your words co true, and we hit the goal before year's end—I'll double your year-end bonuses."
That bonus pool wasn't small. Doubling it would be a huge expense.
But Hokuto didn't mind.
"If that's how it is~~ then I guess I'll just have to give it my all~~"
Kiana wasn't really in it for the money—she just thought it sounded fun.
She also wanted to repay Hokuto. After all, thanks to him, miHoYo and everyone here had the future they now shared.
"I've got an idea."
"Hm? What idea?" Hokuto was curious.
"What if we did a livestream—with facecam—playing Honkai Impact 3rd? Wouldn't that totally blow up?" Kiana suggested excitedly.
Hokuto was montarily stunned.
If the girls were willing to go on cam and stream Honkai Impact 3rd…
It would be way more than just "blowing up."
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