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In the Honkai World, on Schicksal's floating island, within a lavish broadcast studio...
Former Schicksal Bishop Otto Apocalypse was delivering his final farewell speech. Beside him, Bai Zhi, dressed in her Valkyrie attire, leaned casually against a wall, quietly waiting.
Honestly, she had expected Otto to give a live speech; many Valkyries, including those from Anti-Entropy and Saint Freya faction, anticipated the same. However, he ultimately chose to pre-record it for later playback.
Truth be told, although Ana is now the Lord of Finality, witnessing Otto's farewell speech felt somewhat honorable to her. Primarily because it held significant commemorative value.
This sentiment led Bai Zhi to take action—she pulled out a camera, posed with a gesture, and snapped a photo.
Since only Otto was present, Bai Zhi conveniently removed her mask while taking the picture, shedding her disguise.
The camera promptly ejected a photograph, which Bai Zhi—or rather, Ana—carefully placed into her album.
How should I put it?
Leaving aside any simple and pure commemorative value, once we reach the Star Rail universe, showing this photo could surely elevate Uncle Yang's blood pressure—wouldn't that be delightful?
"Someone like me isn't worth documenting."
Otto's voice sounded behind Ana as he reached out to take the camera from her hands. With a smile, he approached, appearing every bit the charming gentleman: elegant, handsome, and captivating.
Honestly, if one disregards his past dirty deeds, he indeed comes across as an exceptional man. Unfortunately, such a fellow has eyes only for one person; otherwise, with affection towards others, he could have been truly good-hearted.
Wait, what? You're not convinced he's a good man? But isn't Otto a decent guy? Kallen is his fiancée, bound by a formal engagement, after all.
"No matter who someone is, their existence holds value to be documented," Ana replied leisurely, then glanced at the equipment behind Otto.
"Is everything ready?"
"Yes." Otto nodded.
"Now—it's time to commence the final act!"
"Hmm, referring to the Herrscher of Dominance?"
Ana softly replied, her face revealing a resigned expression.
"Actually, if you needed it, I could have directly given you one. There was no need for you to collect those escaped ones."
Due to Ana's actions involving the Herrscher of Dominance, the current core count far exceeded 999. However, with Schicksal's relentless assaults, most dolls were destroyed, and many cores either collected or transformed.
Despite this, one core chose to flee successfully, evading capture, just as in the original storyline.
Anti-Entropy remained unaware of this, primarily because the Herrscher of Thousands encompassed nearly three thousand individuals. With Anti-Entropy lacking access to Schicksal's data, they had no knowledge of how many cores Otto possessed.
In reality, forming a single core only required 999 others.
In other words, Otto's subsequent actions were unnecessary, driven purely by his own perverse interest. If Anti-Entropy had known that the current Herrscher of Thousands comprised close to three thousand members and that creating a group core needed merely 999, Otto's performance would have lacked an audience.
Unfortunately, Anti-Entropy lacked this information, and currently, they couldn't even form two Herrscher Cores for the Skill of Domination from their available doll cores. Many dolls had already been assimilated by Susannah and others to become Herrschers of Human.
"But Otto Apocalypse's final act deserves an exceptional performance, don't you think?" Otto smiled.
"That may be true, but..." Ana hesitated, then decided not to continue. After all, it held no significance; once Otto made a decision, nobody could change his mind. He was, after all, Otto.
Before embarking on this last journey, perhaps indulging his whims a little wouldn't hurt! Besides, his eccentricities do no real harm to the world.
The hidden Core, honestly, posed a potential threat. Based on her true self's habits, she would likely choose to ignore it until it caused chaos, only then addressing the aftermath - which would indeed be tedious.
"Sigh, just make sure you don't go too far. Those children can't withstand your antics forever." Ana rubbed her temples, sounding somewhat resigned. Throughout history, Otto's actions appeared under his control, yet in reality, he constantly tested others' patience with his manipulations.
Otto rarely considered others' thoughts, feelings, or perspectives when pursuing his objectives. Yet at times, he unexpectedly displayed a hard-to-describe concern for them.
In summary, this guy was simply a mixed bag—a complete scoundrel. However, his unwavering dedication was indeed admirable.
Ultimately, sending him away as soon as possible would be the wisest choice. Until then, it's best to cooperate with him as much as one can.
"By the way, are you really not interested in becoming a Schicksal Bishop?" Otto asked with a smile.
"In comparison to Theresa, you actually have more claim to that position," he continued. "If it were Theresa, she might not align so well with your plans."
"Hmph, if I were in charge, it'd be even less cooperative. Do you think I could convince them to work on such dangerous projects? Are you assuming they're all like you?" Ana retorted irritably, putting on another mask—an elaborate clown mask this time.
As for why her alias is Bai Zhi (White Gardenia)? Good question. Could she just say it's because someone suddenly thought of gardenias and found the name pleasing to the ear? If others knew, they might accuse her of being careless, even negligent, in choosing a pseudonym.
If anyone found out, they might accuse her of being careless, not even putting thought into choosing names.
"Alright, enough chitchat. Let's double-check one last time; it's almost showtime. My time is precious."
"Oh dear, can't Your Excellency be a bit more lenient with me during these final moments?"
"Hah? Are you listening to yourself? If Dr. Tesla were here, he'd likely leap up and give you two punches!"
"Ha ha ha, indeed, that's his character," Otto chuckled, his words carrying a hidden meaning.
"Let's see how things go first. After all, I am somewhat deceiving their emotions too, but..." Ana slowly replied, a hint of regret and loneliness flickering in her eyes.
"I'm just as stubborn, far from any unreachable divine figure."
In truth, Ana didn't finish her sentence. From the moment she embarked on this path, she became bound by its constraints. Despite appearing free and unrestrained, wielding multiple avatars and terrifying power, much like the Finality Insect trapped on the moon, perhaps she too needed saving now. The burden she carried and the knowledge she possessed rivaled Fu Hua's significantly.
In the Present World, Brother Cake's live stream:
Due to MiHoYo's developers temporarily regaining their senses, immediately after the latest update, Brother Cake started streaming Honkai Impact 3 again. As for Genshin Impact? Not his forte!
This reflects one advantage of being a non-contract-bound streamer like Brother Cake; even if viewership dwindled, he wouldn't care and wouldn't be swayed to switch over to broadcasting Genshin Impact.
Of course, with Brother Cake's substantial fan base, losing a few viewers was hardly noticeable—it merely meant purifying the audience.
First up, as always, came the eagerly anticipated gacha drawing segment, a standard opening for most streamers. Each gacha event typically lasted several days, and if it were Genshin Impact, given Brother Cake's volume, it might have stretched until the end of the version update.
However, eager to progress through the storyline quickly, Brother Cake randomly selected some generous commenters from the bullet chat to make in-game purchases on his behalf. After letting these supporters spend a bit, he promptly dived into advancing the main questline.
At first glance, this chapter's plot seemed unrelated to Ana.
But soon, Brother Cake spotted something intriguing.
Within the video Einstein sent to Theresa—Otto's resignation speech—an unmistakable figure appeared: Ana. Although not entirely clear and her demeanor noticeably different, the person in the video appeared overly languid.
However, for a dedicated fan like Brother Cake, he could still discern it.
"Wow! Look at this speech video! That person... must be Ana! But Ana wasn't..."
For a moment, Brother Cake's words stumbled, becoming somewhat incoherent.
After witnessing Himeko's return, Brother Cake had been eagerly anticipating Ana's comeback as well. Although the previous writer's promise was now void due to their departure, it didn't dampen his hopes.
Moreover, he couldn't imagine MiHoYo willingly abandoning such a highly popular character. It was important to note that Ana's popularity rivaled even the Main trio.
Captains have always been drawn to characters with compelling backstories and strong abilities, and Ana conveniently excelled in both aspects.
[Brother Cake, you're not mistaken, right?]
[No, no! The silhouette... indeed looks very much like Ana!]
[Damn, is Ana making a comeback?]
[Ha ha ha ha, I knew it! Ana definitely isn't dead!]
[Stop kidding yourselves, Ana is gone. There's no way she can come back, ha ha ha!]
[You guys are getting too obsessed with these games!]
"..."
In Shanghai's mansion, Ana watched the incessantly floating bullet comments on her screen and swiftly typed out a response. Honestly, she hadn't anticipated this situation at all.
That Bai Zhi, or rather, that avatar, was clearly standing quite far from the camera. How could such an on-screen mistake occur? And Otto, why didn't he say anything if he noticed it?!
This... although she had planned to eventually make an appearance, she certainly didn't intend for it to be now.
In the Present World, there might be some differences, and the reaction hasn't been overwhelmingly significant. However, in the Honkai World...
It's crucial to remember that this video is broadcasted globally. The Anti-Entropy scientists will likely scrutinize it closely, making it only a matter of time before they discover her presence.
"Really... I was too careless!"
Ana scratched her head in frustration, but soon, her eyes sparkled with a new idea. She hoped the feedback would arrive in time.
Although updates for Honkai Impact 3's content were released after each patch, it was akin to Schrödinger's cat—until observed, no one knew exactly what changes had been made.
In other words, if some alterations occurred in the Honkai World, the discrepancies and issues here could be rectified, allowing the narrative to align seamlessly.
"Hmph, since Otto caused this mess, let him deal with it," Ana muttered to herself before conveying her plan to her true self and subsequently to Bai Zhi, her avatar.
***
In the Honkai World, at Kolosten.
Otto and Bai Zhi had already arrived early to prepare for this grand performance. The actors from the Hyperion hadn't reached yet, providing Ana with a chance to rectify the situation.
"Otto, can I temporarily add a role to your script? My doppelgänger can play this part," Bai Zhi spoke solemnly, observing Otto as he reminisced about the past.
"Certainly, my friend. However, this seems uncharacteristic of you," Otto replied with a smile, a hint of puzzlement in his voice. In his experience, Ana always meticulously planned ahead and wouldn't typically engage in impromptu acts.
"It's all because of you, making me unexpectedly appear in your resignation speech!" Bai Zhi gritted her teeth, clearly placing the blame on Otto! It was entirely his fault! How infuriating!
"Oh dear, apologies, my friend." Despite the faint smile on Otto's face, Bai Zhi felt that beneath it, he was secretly reveling in her predicament—though she couldn't prove it.
"I thought you'd be willing to appear publicly, considering as the future God of the World, it's beneficial for people to recognize you sooner."
Otto paused momentarily.
"However, since you seem shy, I naturally respect your choice."
"You better hurry up; your guests will arrive soon. My representative can't stall them indefinitely."
As Bai Zhi spoke, she lifted her head and gazed towards the direction from which the Hyperion approached. Indeed, someone there was working on her behalf—Himeko, precisely.
As a companion, Himeko had proven remarkably reliable, consistently guarding Bai Zhi's secret until now.
"Don't worry, my friend, remain calm," Otto reassured Bai Zhi while swiftly carrying out his tasks. Ana kept a close watch on him, noticing that Otto maintained a persistent smile, unyielding. It wasn't merely a polite grin.
"You're still smiling, you jerk! For fuck's sake, asshole! Prepare for an explosion!"
What followed was a cacophony reminiscent of a cat-and-mouse chase...