miHoYo Interactive Entertainment City.
From the early days of miHoYo's development to now: Herta Space Station, Belobog, Xianzhou Luofu, and finally Penacony.
The map sectors are expanding step by step, with entrances growing from just Gates 1 and 2 to Gate 14.
However.
This time, the content of the web drama was so outrageous that it successfully sparked public outrage!
As a result, miHoYo is facing unprecedented attacks.
At Gate 1:
"Listen to me: everyone, please don't get worked up. Wait 42 days, and the fourth season will give you a reasonable answer," Kafka stood on the elevated platform at Gate 1, calming the crowd's emotions.
"I know everyone loves Firefly and Miss Robin. I'm glad you feel such connection and empathy for the characters, but every character has their own fate."
The entrance was already overcrowded, with fans looking at Kafka and starting to ask questions.
"Kafka, will you appear in Season 4?"
"Kafka, why did Firefly have to get the short end of the stick?"
"Kafka, can you tell us why miHoYo hyped Firefly so much with all that promotional buzz before the premiere, only to kill her off in front of the entire internet?"
"What kind of dark, twisted mind would come up with something like that?"
"And Miss Robin! Do you know how much I've been suffering?"
Kafka looked at the pitiful children below, speaking gently like a mother,
"Listen to me: meeting someone is already the best encounter. Trust that everything in this world has its own arrangement. Perhaps in another world, we'll meet again!"
The fans below spoke up again.
"Kafka, that's so philosophical, but why did they have to kill Firefly?"
"Yeah, why? And we have to wait over 40 days for the next season! Damn it!"
"…"
Kafka shook her head as she looked at the crowd.
It seemed Su Chen had truly provoked public anger this time.
"Listen to me: …"
—
At Gate 6:
A not-so-tall, black-haired woman with long hair stood expressionlessly in front of the crowd. "Please, everyone, do not enter."
A young man asked with slight dissatisfaction, "Why not? We're just here to have fun, definitely not to storm in and confront miHoYo's boss."
"Yeah, yeah, we brought razor blades just to, you know, buy some stuff. No ulterior motives at all."
"Exactly, pretty lady, how about you step aside?"
The black-haired woman shook her head. "I am currently practicing to prevent fans from entering the Interactive City."
"That's not gonna work! I'm getting through this gate today, who's with me?" a man shouted, rallying the crowd.
Like a virus spreading, everyone's emotions ignited.
"Yeah, if I say miHoYo's done for, then miHoYo's done for!"
"Charge!"
At that moment, a pink-haired older sister figure arrived with a man and a woman by her side. "Section Chief Miyabi, sorry for being late."
Hoshimi Miyabi nodded. "It's fine. Yanagi, how's the situation at the other entrances?"
Tsukishiro Yanagi adjusted his glasses. "Not optimistic. This is truly an unforeseen path—causing this level of public outrage is quite a feat."
—
Interactive City.
Silver Wolf and the Wise-Belle siblings were typing so furiously their keyboards were practically smoking.
"Damn it! Where are these hackers coming from? Why are they relentlessly attacking the database?" Silver Wolf gritted her teeth, pounding the keyboard.
"Where's Su Chen? He caused all this, and now he's nowhere to be seen!"
"No idea!" Belle sighed. "I'm about to lose it. These hackers are attacking nonstop, like they never get tired."
Wise glanced at the latest data. "If we don't upgrade the firewall again, it's only a matter of time before they break through. Why is the audience's resentment so intense this time?"
"It's because of Firefly! You know nine out of the top ten trending topics are about her? She's become the ultimate traffic magnet!"
"That's some insane energy. Let's keep at it. I heard Mr. Screwllum and the others are already upgrading the defense system."
At that moment, a figure pushed open the door.
The three looked over and exclaimed, "Su Chen?! Why'd you dye your hair white?"
"It's not Su Chen. It's Kevin." Kevin walked to a desk, pulling a new computer from his backpack. "Give me a few minutes, and I'll set up an extra layer of protection for the server."
Belle quietly gave Wise a look, initiating a mental exchange. "Brother, has Su Chen lost it?"
Wise shrugged. "No clue!"
But Silver Wolf silently observed the man who looked exactly like Su Chen but called himself Kevin. "How do I put this? He feels… familiar somehow."
Meanwhile,
Himeko was wiping cups at the bar counter. "I have to ask, are you really not going out to explain things?"
Su Chen, sitting inside the coffee shop, yawned lazily. "No need. Let the audience make as much noise as they want!"
"Oh? That's pretty bold of you," Himeko said, glancing at the people by Su Chen's side—Feixiao, Jingliu, Acheron.
The most capable fighters were all here.
"Honestly, giving the audience some hints wouldn't hurt. Maybe leak something through insider channels. It'd be better than the near-shutdown state we're in now."
Su Chen pulled out his phone and opened Bilibili's trending list.
"Good Things Are Meant to Be Destroyed"
"Can You Protect Her? No, You Can't Protect a Thing"
"Firefly Was Just a Dream After All"
"Got My Heart Broken Watching the Web Drama, Can I Report It?"
"Season 4 Faction Analysis, Summarized in One Chart"
"Season 4 Plot Speculations"
"Why Was Firefly's Screen Time So Short Yet So Impactful? Answer: The Sense of Brokenness"
"Doxxing miHoYo's Writer—Roast Chicken"
"Roast Chicken Is Just a Codename, No Trace of This Person?"
"miHoYo Interactive City Shut Down for a Day?"
"Firefly Created Over a Million New Entries Overnight!"
"…"
After scrolling a couple of pages:
"Firefly Might Not Be Dead!"
"It's All an Illusion, Firefly and Robin Might Still Be Alive"
Su Chen sighed.
The audience in this world was even crazier. After all, games require some effort to understand, but turning it into a web drama lowered the barrier significantly.
Still, this wasn't bad. At the very least, Firefly's popularity was about to skyrocket again.
Not only that, he planned to strengthen Firefly's portrayal in the web drama, deepening the audience's emotional attachment to her.
He picked up his phone and dialed Jing Yuan's number. "Let them all in."
A voice came from the other end. "You sure?"
"Absolutely."
With that, Su Chen hung up. He looked at the video in his hand.
"Masquerade Duet—it's time to air it."