「Can someone check on Kiana's mental state right now?」
「Is this the kind of story a human could write?」
「Up until now, I always thought Kiana was someone who wrote fairytale-like happy endings. After all, the past three versions all had perfect conclusions. The only slightly sad part was the previous Electro Archon, who's now getting a chance to come back. But this mini-game just exposed her true colors!」
「Alert! Everyone, stay alert! Kiana's mental state is clearly off. Genshin Impact is definitely going to drop some heartbreaking moments soon!」
「Holy crap! You shameless old thief, give me Himeko back!」
「Compared to the heartbreak, I'm more worried about my wallet now. Genshin Impact has gacha, and now this mini-game has gacha too. Can I even survive this?!」
「Can't you just hold back? There are plenty of free-to-play players who manage just fine. If you lack self-control, don't blame the game!」
「Be grateful. Even though it's called a mini-game, these three mini-games from Genshin Impact could stand on their own and still outshine other games!」
「Pull! Pull like there's no tomorrow! Self-control? What's that? I don't need my wallet anymore! I'll just live on instant noodles this month!」
「Kiana, can you give us your address? I have a little gift I'd like to send you.」
「Why not just send it to miHoYo headquarters? I've already sent my "gift" there—a whole box of it.」
「Wow, you guys are quick!」
「I'll send one too. I can't afford a whole box, but one is doable.」
「Count me in too!」
「Alright, alright. It seems we're all on the same page. Let's use our "gifts" to sincerely thank miHoYo and drown them in it!」
These players weren't joking on the forums.
The gaming industry in this world was still being shaped by Genshin Impact. Before Genshin, no game had ever taken storytelling seriously. So, when Honkai Impact 3rd dropped its heartbreaking moments, it was like a nuclear bomb going off, shaking the entire world.
Genshin Impact made players realize just how important a good story is to a game—it perfectly determines a game's potential. And Honkai Impact 3rd made players realize that games can hit harder than movies or TV shows when it comes to emotional punches. The immersion is just too strong!
The real heartbreak in "The Final Lesson" wasn't just about Himeko—it was about Kiana.
Maybe many players didn't even realize it, but the reason this moment hit so hard was because they had fully immersed themselves in Kiana's perspective.
If you only watched this chapter's story, you wouldn't feel it as deeply. Some casual players who only watched videos couldn't understand why people found this story so heartbreaking. It's just a character dying, right? What's the big deal?
They couldn't understand why.
—Because they didn't play the game!
Watching someone else's video doesn't give you the same immersion as playing it yourself. This isn't a movie, TV show, or anime!
The main reason casual players didn't feel the heartbreak while real players were brought to tears was that, throughout the game's story, players naturally immersed themselves in Kiana's perspective.
Players could intimately feel Kiana's pain and imagine her regret. Just thinking about how Kiana must have felt in that moment, and how she would face the cruel reality after waking up, was enough to make their hearts ache like they were being cut.
Players on this Earth had never experienced such emotional storytelling before—they had no resistance to it.
And unlike Honkai Impact 3rd in another world, which was a standalone game and couldn't compare to Genshin Impact in terms of player base, this world's Honkai Impact 3rd was directly tied to Genshin as a mini-game. Genshin players approached it as an event, so nearly every Genshin player was hit by Honkai's emotional punches. Plus, the number of Genshin players in this world far exceeded that of the other world, which led to…
"What's going on here?"
Kiana stood at the entrance of miHoYo's office building, staring in shock at the piles of delivery boxes in the lobby.
"Who ordered all these packages?"
"You did, Kiana," Himezo said, carrying two boxes as she walked up to Kiana, letting out a sigh before smiling. "This is all your doing!"
"What? I didn't order anything!" Kiana looked completely baffled.
"I mean, these are the extra profits you've brought to the company. You really know how to make money, Kiana."
Himezo continued to smile, then walked away with the boxes.
Next, Bronya walked over carrying a box. Before leaving the building, she glanced at Kiana and said with admiration, "You've single-handedly kept all the logistics companies in business. Bronya is impressed."
Kiana: "?????"
Kiana still had no idea what was going on.
"Kiana, stop standing there like an idiot. Come help move these boxes."
Fu Hua stood in the middle of the lobby, looking at Kiana with dissatisfaction.
"We can at least sell these for some money."
Kiana was still completely confused.
After a while, Kiana finally figured out that this was the aftermath of killing off Himeko in the story. Countless players had agreed on the forums to send "gifts" to miHoYo, and it quickly became a trending topic worldwide. People from all over joined in, and delivery companies were more than happy to oblige. So, on this agreed-upon day, piles of "gifts" were delivered to miHoYo.
"This is insane. I'm the one who got hurt the most by the story. Why do I have to bear the players' anger? I don't even have anywhere to vent my own frustration!"
Kiana gritted her teeth in frustration. After all, she was telling the truth. Other players might have immersed themselves in the game's Kiana, but when Kiana played, she practically became the game's Kiana herself.
After finishing the story, Kiana took days to recover. At the time, she had hugged Himezo tightly and cried for a long time. Especially when she thought about the story she had planned next, she felt like quitting altogether.
But today, she finally mustered the energy to come to work, planning to set Honkai Impact 3rd aside for now and focus on Genshin Impact to recover… only to face the players' unjustified anger.
"Alright, alright. You guys started this war. Don't blame me for what comes next."
Kiana clenched her fist, raised it high, and declared firmly:
"Let's go!! Honkai Impact 3rd continues!!"