The moment Dr. Ratio collapsed, spitting blood, anxious shouts erupted around him.
"Professor! Professor! Professor!"
Aventurine, witnessing the scene, rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "How…? How could the professor lose?"
In an instant, he rushed to Ratio's side, lifting his upper body.
"Hold on, Professor, hold on! What happened? How did a simple mahjong game nearly kill you?"
Ratio slowly opened his eyes, his voice barely a whisper.
"They… they… were too strong. To think miHoYo truly had hidden talents among them… I can't go on..."
Aventurine looked up at March 7th and yelled, "Call an ambulance! The professor's dying!"
"Oh! Oh! Right!" March 7th immediately pulled out her phone but hesitated. "Uh… what's the number for emergency services again?"
Ratio suffered another critical hit to his psyche.
Just then, Sushang stepped forward. "March, March, if you don't know the emergency number, you can call directory assistance and ask!"
"Right! Sushang, you're so smart!" Yet March 7th still stared blankly at her phone. "But… what's the number for directory assistance?"
Pfft—
Watching this unfold, Ratio could take no more. Another mouthful of blood sprayed forth as he lost consciousness completely.
...
——
Several hours later, in the hotel's reception hall, only Su Chen and Jade remained.
Jade sat with her legs crossed, hands resting gracefully on her thighs, exuding the aura of a refined older sister.
Seeing that Su Chen hadn't spoken, she took the initiative. "So, all you want is for us to join you? That simple?"
"Yes. Just become my actors. Aventurine and Topaz were already on board, and Professor Ratio was literally defeated by sheer stupidity—he just got out of emergency care. Clearly, I won this round."
Jade lightly brushed aside the bangs obscuring her vision. "Rather than wins and losses, or high-risk gambles, I prefer to abide by one principle."
"And that is?"
"Equivalent exchange. You give me what I want, I give you what you want. A fair transaction."
"Honestly, my goal in approaching you is simple. You're like a guardian to Topaz and Aventurine—in the end, I needed your approval."
"Everyone who's been 'devoured' by me—no, I mean, everyone who's joined miHoYo—has done so willingly. I'm not the type to exploit my employees."
"Plus, I have a philanthropic project in mind. Unfortunately, I know nothing about how to run one."
"I've heard that you and Professor Ratio have been involved in charity work. Would you two be willing to help me with this plan? With your expertise, I'm sure it'll be more than enough."
"Hmm?" Jade's eyes widened slightly as she studied Su Chen, then she smiled faintly.
"I see. Now I think I understand why so many interesting people have gathered around you. I'll join."
Whew. Su Chen let out a relieved sigh, slumping back into the sofa. "Ms. Jade, may I ask you something? Do you know the shareholders of this hotel?"
"I do. Are you interested in running a hotel now?"
"I'm interested in the person who runs this hotel. And, well, the hotel itself too."
Su Chen tilted his head up, gazing directly at a security camera in the hall.
At the same time, in the hotel's top-floor office, Sunday watched Su Chen through the monitor, holding the number Su Chen had given him earlier.
For a moment, it was as if the two were staring at each other through the screen.
On the monitor, Su Chen smiled faintly. Though no sound came through, Sunday could roughly read his lips:
"See you next time?"
——
A few days later, in Herta's office at miHoYo Interactive Film City.
Su Chen lay sprawled on a sofa, wearing a VR headset.
"Sigh~" He exhaled deeply. "Not bad. With this, the audience will definitely get a deeper narrative experience, right? How long until it's widely available?"
Herta, typing away at her computer, didn't look up. "No rushing this. Ever since the Swarm Disaster was introduced into the Simulated Universe, bugs have been popping up nonstop. I'm already optimizing the VR system as fast as I can."
"Thanks for the hard work. But I do have one question—where's your old classmate, Ruan Mei? Why hasn't she shown up yet?"
"She has her own bioengineering research to attend to. She'll come when she's free, so don't worry."
"Fine. I'll wait for your good news, then." With that, Su Chen picked up his phone.
Since Season 3 is split into two parts, if we don't pull off something crazy in between, we'd be wasting the golden reputation of miHoYo.
He glanced at the time. "Whoa, it's already 6 PM?"
He immediately opened the Bilibili app and searched for miHoYo's official account.
Of course, given the company's current scale, Su Chen no longer had March 7th and Dan Heng obsessively monitoring data like before—he'd long since hired a professional team to manage the official account.
To his surprise, the latest companion quest video had been released without any prior promotion.
Yet, the live viewership was terrifyingly high—tens of thousands were already watching.
Connecting his phone to the VR device, he clicked on the newly uploaded video:
A Knight Stranger.
——
It all began with a simple text message.
After the Stellaron crisis erupted, the Six Commissions were overwhelmed, yet the mastermind remained at large.
Dahao, the magistrate of the Divination Commission, recalled how Stelle from the Astral Express had once saved the Dragon Maiden in the Exalting Sanctum.
He tentatively sent her a message—and to his shock, she replied instantly.
Not only that, she agreed to help.
Thus, the scene transitioned to Stelle arriving at the Divination Commission's office with March 7th and Welt Yang in tow.
Dahao, still buried in paperwork, didn't notice them until Stelle spoke up.
"I'm here to help investigate the suspect."
The sudden voice startled him. "O-oh! My apologies, you're here! Ah… and these two with you are…?"
March 7th struck a pose, hands on her hips, flashing a dazzling smile.
"That's right! I'm March 7th, and this is Welt! We're here to help!"