"Rocky! Rocky! Rocky!"
"Leslie! Leslie! Leslie!"
Their names echoed relentlessly throughout the Base Zone of Herta Space Station.
Watching this scene, Su Chen nodded in satisfaction:
He had done the best he could.
Both on and off screen, Rocky and Leslie had found their happy ending.
Su Chen and Stelle quietly retreated backstage this moment belonged to everyone's celebration.
"Little brother! You handled this beautifully!" Stelle kept vigorously slapping Su Chen's back.
"Easy, easy!" Su Chen caught his breath. "Their journey wasn't easy either. They were already in a long-distance relationship this basically breaks all the rules!"
Just then,
Su Chen's phone rang. He checked the caller ID
an extremely familiar number he hadn't seen in ages.
"Ah Wang? Why's he calling me?"
Without hesitation, Su Chen answered.
After all, aside from Scott, these two had contributed the most from the very beginning.
"Hello, Brother Ah Wang! What's up?"
"Long time no see, Brother Su Chen! When I watched A Short Play,' I knew you were extraordinary. Now look at you shaking the cosmos!"
"Too kind! Without you brothers' help, I'd still be taking detours. But what brings your call?"
"Brother Su Chen, Ah Lai and I brought our master to visit the Film Interactive Center, but we're unfamiliar with the area. Could we trouble you to be our guide?"
"Absolutely!"
...
Soon.
Inside the now renovated café which had lost its residential function—
(Cocolia had built a small adjacent building where the "Astral Express" crew resided)
the café became Su Chen's meeting place for important figures.
Following hospitality customs, Himeko unhesitatingly brewed coffee for the three guests—
fortunately, Su Chen acted quickly and dumped it before they could take a sip.
After all, what kind of person repays kindness with harm?
Su Chen observed the trio. Ah Wang and Ah Lai needed no introduction benefactors he couldn't forget even if they turned to ash.
But the figure sitting beside them was the heavyweight.
He wore a shirt with patterned shorts a fashion style at least twenty years ahead of its time.
Most strikingly, he also wore a mask.
Su Chen scratched his head:
Where had he seen this before?
Definitely familiar!
Hiss...
Masaka!
"Could this be...?"
"Hmm?" Ah Wang glanced at his master. "Apologies! Forgot to introduce you, Brother Su Chen. This is our master."
"Master?"
"Right. We originally studied cross-talk comedy, but as you know, in this era of booming film and TV, the returns aren't great."
"Fortunately, under our master's guidance, we honed our eloquence. With our quick wit, we transitioned to being film critics."
"If there's a chance, we'd still love to perform some routines for everyone."
"Exactly!" Ah Lai joined Ah Wang's laughter. "Film critics are our job cross-talk is life!"
Su Chen nodded deeply:
Truly Ah Wang and Ah Lai they'd even prepared his onboarding justification.
"But what's your master's name?"
"Got too carried away! I forgot!"
Ahem! The cross-talk duo's master cleared his throat. "Greetings, Su Chen. This humble one is called Aha!"
Su Chen felt the urge to laugh through tears
Aha?
The Aeon?
Aha does cross-talk?
Why did it sound bizarre
yet somehow perfectly fitting?
"Actually, since all three of you are here no time like the present I have a proposal that perfectly aligns with your needs."
"Oh?" Ah Wang, Ah Lai, and Aha slightly furrowed their brows.
"What do you mean, Brother Su Chen?"
"If you don't mind joining miHoYo you're already familiar with Belobog and Herta Space Station. The third venue is under construction."
"I could officially hire you two as cross-talk performers."
"In other words, I'm inviting you to get paid by my company to perform. How's that?"
Hearing this, Ah Wang and Ah Lai were visibly tempted—
but
their master, Aha, seemed unmoved.
"Acting versus cross-talk? Completely different. I never know what will make audiences laugh."
"In our craft, the most crucial thing is the comedic 'baggage.'"
"And the baggage must be delivered miraculously ideally, even you don't know when it's coming, letting it emerge naturally."
"Only then will the audience laugh unintentionally."
Su Chen forced an awkward smile he hadn't understood a single word!
Just then,
the doorbell chimed.
Scott walked in. "Boss, here's Lakshmi's onboarding documents for your review."
"Oh!" Su Chen took the file and immediately noticed the job title: "Security Guard?!"
He looked up at Scott. "You're really determined to be inhumane, huh?"
As Scott prepared to explain, he suddenly felt a tug on his pants.
"You? Who are you?"
Aha was clutching Scott's calf tightly. "Heavens! You're a one-in-a-million talent!"
Though his mask remained on, two streams of tears flowed down Aha's cheeks.
"Scott, just seeing you makes me laugh! Young man, with such vibrant energy how about learning cross-talk from me? I'd pay you to teach you!"
"Eh? The hell are you? I'm calling the cops!" Scott immediately shot Su Chen a pleading look.
Su Chen pulled out his phone and "answered" a call. "Hello, Firefly? Oh? You're dieting tonight and skipping tomorrow's breakfast..."
"I am a behavioral artist spreading joy to the masses! Won't you join my cause?" Aha stood up, caressing Scott's face.
Even without seeing his expression, everyone knew Aha was laughing uncontrollably.
"No! Not interested!" Scott turned to leave the café without looking back.
"Don't go!" Aha dropped to his knees again, grabbing Scott's pant leg. "We joy-spreading behavioral artists need talents like you! Not joining us would be a cosmic waste!"
"Someone control this guy! Boss Su Chen!!!" Seizing Aha's distraction, Scott bolted.
"Perfect!" Su Chen snapped his fingers. "Aha, that talent you fancy is our employee. Think about it if you join miHoYo, wouldn't you see him every day?"
Aha didn't hesitate for half a second. "Ah Wang, Ah Lai handle the paperwork! I'm going after him. He must become my disciple."
With that, Aha sprinted off, cackling "Ahahahaha! Ahahahaha!"
The three remaining wiped cold sweat from their brows.
Before long,
after finalizing the trio's onboarding, Su Chen finally relaxed.
He checked the web film's view count another impressive figure.
Suddenly, a ding echoed in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host. You've met the point requirement. Honkai Impact 3rd content is now unlocked!]
"So it's finally here?"