Kiana woke up. She had a dream where she saw that person from her previous dreams again, the one who looked exactly like her... except this time, she wasn't trying to tempt her. Instead, she was grumbling and scolding her, constantly using various skills to fight off clumps of black matter...
Then, a gentle power suddenly appeared, absorbed the substance, and made her dream world incredibly brilliant. She thought she saw the corner of her look-alike's mouth curve up, as if in satisfaction. Her golden eyes gave Kiana a meaningful look.
And then she woke up... looking at Wende's face. For a moment, she even suspected she had died... Had she arrived in the world of Honkai: Star Rail?
So she just stared blankly.
Fortunately, Mei pulled her back to reality. Otherwise, she would have already made plans to travel to Belobog...
Speaking of which, why was she sitting here now? As a patient, shouldn't she be receiving Mei's exclusive care, enjoying a world of just the two of them?
Looking at Bronya playing video games with Wendy, and then at Mei bustling around the kitchen with Wende, a dazed look flashed across Kiana's sky-blue eyes...
Oh, right. Wende had said she was completely fine, and as compensation, he was going to treat them to dinner...
"Kiana? What's wrong? You look like you're spacing out. Did the cookie fry your brain?"
Bronya deadpanned as she bit into a Pocky stick, all while showing off her Star Rail account—on which she had whaled $200,000—to Wendy and scolding Kiana at the same time.
"Huh? Did I? I feel fine..."
Kiana shook her head in a daze, her blue eyes looking a bit vacant. But they quickly became lively again as she whipped her head toward Bronya.
"Aha! You little brat, Bronya! You're making fun of me again!"
"Alright, it took you that long to react. It seems your brain really isn't working well."
Looking at Kiana's expression, Bronya nodded with great certainty.
"Eeh? Bronya, what's this preview?"
Wendy, who was admiring Bronya's Star Rail account, looked curiously at the preview announcement that had popped up on the screen. She turned to Bronya, who was bickering with Kiana.
"Oh, it's just the preview livestream for Version 1.2. Same old, same old. Wait, no!"
Looking at the announcement for the 1.2 livestream, Bronya seemed to remember something. Her gaze shifted to Wende, who was bringing a dish to the table.
"Hm? What is it?"
Sensing Bronya's scrutinizing gaze, Wende asked with some confusion.
"Bronya wants to know, is Mr. Wende an employee of that miHoYo?"
Bronya handed a recording of the previous Version 1.1 preview livestream to Wendy. Watching the surprised little expression on her face, she silently asked her question to Wende.
"Ah, this..."
Wende raised an eyebrow and finally just nodded.
As a character in Star Rail, he supposed he was technically working for miHoYo, right? Hiss... why hadn't miHoYo ever paid him a salary?
It seemed that after being influenced by Stelle and March, his own train of thought had become quite jumpy...
"So... did Wende personally attend the previous preview livestream as well?"
Bronya pointed to the recording, asking with a serious face.
"I did," Wende nodded helplessly. It's not like he wanted to... The last preview mission almost gave him PTSD.
"Then will Mr. Wende be hosting the livestream this time as well?" Bronya pressed.
"I probably won't. I haven't received any notification yet," Wende said, shaking his head.
He had just checked the information for the Honkai world's preview livestream on his phone. It seemed the host this time wasn't him. It looked like some tool of an owl had been forcibly dragged to do the job. Maybe miHoYo finally realized that constantly exploiting him, their hidden employee, wasn't a good look?
But then again, playing as himself on his own phone... was certainly a novel experience.
"So Wende really is a miHoYo person! Then can you give me some Stellar Jades? Trailblaze Power would be great too!"
Kiana's eyes instantly lit up, and she spoke to Wende with great excitement.
"Er... I'm just a worker bee..."
Wende shrugged, looking rather helpless. If he could modify Star Rail, the first thing he'd do is raise his own character to max Eidolons!
Wait a minute...
Wende seemed to have remembered something. Version 1.2... wasn't that when his five-star character model was set to debut? In that case...
Wende couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. He had already witnessed the scene back in the real world. He could only hope that everyone in the Honkai world would be a little more rational...
"Really?" Kiana looked at him suspiciously.
"Really," Wende nodded very seriously.
"Alright then... can you tell me what your job is like? And why did you become Wendy's rehabilitation therapist? Is it a part-time job?"
Kiana fired off a series of questions like a curious child, which put Wende in a bit of a bind... but in the end, he managed to bluff his way through each one.
Although her infected brain worked in mysterious ways, it was still quite sharp.
"Our work is mainly motion capture and voice acting. As for becoming Wendy's therapist, you could say that's my actual profession. Working for miHoYo is indeed a side gig."
"Ah... so that's how it is. Then where is your miHoYo headquarters?"
Kiana nodded thoughtfully, then dropped a bombshell question.
In the Honkai world, miHoYo's existence was the stuff of legend. No organization had ever managed to find their headquarters. Moreover... the game Honkai: Star Rail was full of mysteries. Its purpose was completely unknown...
Considering this, Wende was indeed a potential breakthrough to solve the puzzle.
At this thought, Bronya looked at Kiana with a hint of gratification.
She was finally getting a bit smarter...
"In Modu, the Magic City, in Shenzhou."
Recalling miHoYo's location in the real world, Wende answered decisively.
"Modu in Shenzhou? The one with the xiaolongbao?"
"Mm."
Bronya secretly committed this information to memory. She could go look for miHoYo's headquarters later... and then see if she could buy it.
Bronya was quite interested in such a legendary company.
"What are you all chatting about? The food is ready, come and eat!"
Mei, wearing an apron, placed two plates of freshly stir-fried dishes on the table and called out warmly to everyone.
"Yay! It's Mei's cooking!"
Kiana cheered!