At long last, after much anticipation, the release date for the Valkyrie Armor outfits had finally arrived.
At exactly 8 PM, the moment the pre-order portal opened, countless players flooded the page within seconds.
Among them were not only average players, but also other clothing manufacturers and game companies.
At the same time, the international pre-order links also went live.
But everyone's attention was fixed squarely on those armor-style costumes priced above 100,000 yuan.
On the domestic site, only 3,000 sets of the armor outfits were available.
As for the remaining 7,000 sets, Ningguang had allocated them to various other countries.
Right now, inside a lavish villa in the Imperial Capital, a stunning girl with flowing black hair and crimson eyes was nervously staring at her computer screen.
"9… 8… 7..."
Her voice was crisp and pleasant as she quietly counted down with intense focus.
"3… 2… 1!"
The moment the countdown hit zero, the girl instantly moved her mouse and clicked on the pre-order option for the armor-style cosplay outfit.
Style selected—[Crimson Knight: Eclipse]. She swiftly filled out her measurements.
Then came the shipping address. Click—Purchase!
…
[Sold Out]
Seeing the notification pop up, Yun Jin froze in disbelief.
"What… How is this possible? Already sold out?!"
She clicked again, but the same message popped up: [Sold Out].
Worse yet, the page had refreshed, and the armor option had gone completely greyed out.
A look of deep disappointment surfaced on Yun Jin's delicate face.
She had been waiting nearly a whole month for this day.
Ever since seeing the armor previews during the last miHoYo developer livestream, she had wanted to buy them.
Then, after watching the entire Everlasting Flames storyline live on Eden's stream, her resolve had only strengthened—she had to get two armor sets:
[Crimson Knight: Eclipse]and[Flame-Chaser: Herrscher].
But who could've guessed? The moment the sales went live—barely 20 seconds in—and everything was already sold out?
She was sure her data entry speed was already lightning-fast.
Her internet connection certainly wasn't the issue—back when she used to grab Eden's concert tickets, she never missed.
Suddenly, an idea struck her. She quickly scrolled down the page and selected Eden's signature outfit:
[Golden: Radiant Song].
She again filled in her measurements and shipping address as fast as possible and hit "Buy."
But… It was already too late.
Same message: [Sold Out].
Yun Jin stared at the screen in shock for two seconds. "Wait… weren't the fabric outfits supposed to be unlimited stock?"
But even as she asked aloud, the truth dawned on her.
"Of course… This is Eden's outfit we're talking about. Her popularity is off the charts—she's got fans all over the world."
Sigh…
She let out a long breath, never expecting that these outfits would be even harder to snag than Eden's concert tickets.
And just then, her phone buzzed beside her.
Opening the group chat, her disappointment deepened.
[Yesss! I got Eden's armor set!]
[Damn girl, big spender… that's over 20K!]
[Hehe~ I asked my boyfriend for it. Told him I was getting the C-suit, and he wired me the money without even blinking!]
[I was too late. Even the fabric ones are sold out?!]
[Eden's just that popular, I guess.]
[What kind of godlike reflexes do you all have??]
[Hehe~ I pre-filled everything. Just waited to click "Buy" when it opened.]
[Wait, you could do that??]
[Wasn't Yun Jin aiming for the armor set? The 100K+ one? No way that sold out, right?]
[@YunJin @YunJin]
…
Reading these messages, Yun Jin finally realized why she had failed.
You could pre-fill everything ahead of time?!
She facepalmed, replied in the chat that she didn't manage to get anything, then quietly exited the group.
Right now, she really, truly envied the players who had snagged an armor set.
Ever since The Last Lesson made Eden cry and shot to the top of the trending charts, Yun Jin had discovered Honkai Impact 3rd.
As a devoted Eden fan, she naturally gave the game a try.
And before long, she was utterly captivated—by its music, its visuals, and especially its storylines.
The in-game background music, the theme songs released with each update…
Everything about Honkai Impact 3rd resonated with her.
Songs like Meteoric Stream, Dust to Dust, and Everlasting Flames—she could listen to them endlessly without ever growing tired.
Impressed and moved, she began following miHoYo closely.
She never missed a single announcement from the studio.
Naturally, when Genshin Impact was announced, she followed it too—from its teaser trailers to that first breathtaking Liyue soundtrack.
The first time she saw the Liyue region in-game, she was genuinely moved.
From that point on, she became a full-blown miHoYo fangirl.
In Genshin, the architecture steeped in Chinese aesthetics, paired with its East-West fusion of music, shocked and thrilled her.
Before Genshin, most games and films were dominated by Western settings and themes.
Traditional Chinese instruments and culture were fading into obscurity.
Let alone promoting them globally—just getting young Chinese players to take interest was already a rare blessing.
But with Genshin, not only did it spark global curiosity in ancient Chinese instruments, it quietly planted a seed in the hearts of Chinese gamers.
A seed of "Cultural Confidence in Chinese Heritage."
See? This is what Chinese aesthetics look like—grandeur and majesty, even when rendered in a fantasy game world.
That's one of the key reasons Genshin Impact earned such widespread acclaim.
Even if it didn't explicitly "export culture," it still carried immense significance.
Thanks to the path Genshin opened, Chinese cultural elements would soon become fashionable both at home and abroad.
Through subtle influence, more and more people would come to appreciate the richness of ancient China.
That's why Yun Jin admired miHoYo so much.
Watching a game studio like this make money didn't make her bitter—it made her proud.
But her only regret was that Liyue didn't showcase traditional Chinese opera.
She often wondered if she should visit miHoYo and suggest it in person…
Although the game mentioned Zhongli enjoying opera, the art form itself had yet to be truly portrayed.
But when she thought about how opera had faded from youth culture, she gave up on the idea.
After all, Genshin was a game targeting a younger audience. And young people? They weren't likely to appreciate opera…
So, for now, she only occasionally brought it up when filling out player feedback surveys.
…
Sigh…
Yun Jin let out another sigh as she continued browsing the remaining C-suits.
In the end, she decided to just pick a few nice ones to buy for now.
As for Himeko's and Kiana's armor sets—she'd just have to wait for the next restock.
Unfortunately, she didn't get much time to decide. Outfits for Rita and Yae Sakura quickly sold out too.
Even the Liyue-themed outfits for Ningguang and Keqing from Genshin Impact were soon grayed out.
"They're really selling out this fast?!"
Yun Jin was dumbfounded.
And it wasn't just her—other game and clothing companies were watching with jealous eyes.
Armor sets priced over 100K yuan, sold out in seconds!
They weren't stupid—although the domestic listing only had 3,000 units, the system wouldn't show "Sold Out" unless all 10,000 were gone.
That could only mean one thing—the other 7,000 international units had also been wiped out in seconds!
And not just the armor sets—even many of the fabric outfits hit "Sold Out" within one minute!
This time, miHoYo and Qiancheng Fashion had absolutely hit the jackpot.
Game companies around the world were now fully aware of just how massive the potential profits were.
They finally understood:
Once a game IP is built successfully, the money-making avenues go far beyond just in-game purchases!
A compelling narrative, a rich world setting, outstanding character design—and, most importantly, that sweet, sweet anime appeal…
That's what made miHoYo such a powerhouse.
Immediately, countless game studios launched emergency meetings to study miHoYo's operational strategies.
And not just game companies.
Plenty of domestic clothing manufacturers were also looking at Qiancheng Fashion with burning envy.
They had made a fortune—and gained international fame in the process.
How could anyone not be jealous?
…
That night, the global gaming community was buzzing.
By the next morning, miHoYo and Qiancheng Fashion's cosplay outfit sales had rocketed to the top of trending lists on Douyin and Weibo.
Underneath, countless players were either flexing or venting:
[Holy crap, miHoYo… 10K units of 100K+ armor sold out instantly…]
[miHoYo, can we PLEASE get a second batch? (angry)]
[Can't afford the armor sets, just give us more of Eden's outfit!]
[Seconded! Also more Lost Mistletoe, please!]
[Damn, even celebs are complaining—said it's harder than Eden's concert tickets!]
[Saw it! My bro got the Moonwheel armor, he's gonna cosplay it soon!]
[Wait, your BRO is wearing Moonwheel armor???]
[I don't see a problem. The armor's gender-neutral… cough… pretty elegant even on guys.]
[Y'all see the numbers? Moonwheel Armor was actually the top seller.]
[Totally expected. It was designed to be androgynous.]
[Crap! Why didn't I think of that earlier… I bought White Knight: Moonlight instead…]
[Guys, I got the Durandal's Moonshade armor (grin), but low-key regret it now. Anyone wanna trade for Moonwheel? No extra charge needed!]
[Not trading (picks nose)]
[So salty… ughhh…]
…
Inside miHoYo's studio.
Mo Li was scrolling through the online chatter, thoroughly stunned by how fast everything had sold out.
He'd originally estimated that they might sell around 7,000 armor sets globally.
But to have everything gone in mere seconds?
Even he hadn't expected that Moonwheel Knight would be the top-selling one.
"Gotta hand it to the internet… players' brains work in mysterious ways."
He was even feeling a little tempted to borrow Fu Hua's Moonwheel armor just to try it on.
"…Though the size probably won't fit me."
"Tut… what a shame~"
At the same time, Ningguang was reading through the online posts as well.
And now—she was starting to regret things.
Had she known male players would love Moonwheel Armor this much, she would've priced it higher.
The first batch had already shipped. Any price increase now wouldn't be significant—and hiking it too much would hurt their reputation.
"Ningguang, I just got contacted by a bunch of celebrities. They all want to pre-order the armor sets."
Ningguang was a bit surprised. "Even celebrities are coming to us?"
But it made sense.
Right now, Honkai Impact 3rd is globally famous, with an enormous fanbase.
Even Eden loved it. It was no surprise that some celebrities turned out to be fans too.
And even if they weren't, many would still check it out—hoping to collaborate with miHoYo.
Even if not, just posting cosplay photos in those high-end outfits could pull in fans.
Realizing this, Ningguang didn't hesitate. "Sure, double the price for them. As for the reason… make something up."
Keqing nodded. "Knew you'd say that."
"Hehe~ if there's money to be made, of course I'll make it~"
"You're not going to do a second batch?"
Ningguang shook her head. "We wait."
"Once influencers and celebs start posting their unboxings and videos, the hype will rise again."
"When players see how authentic and detailed the outfits look, their desire to buy will only grow stronger. That's when we raise prices again~"
…
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