Premiere Day
[Firmly boycott miHoYo's theatrical films—don't spend a single cent! Only when audiences stand firm can miHoYo understand this is unacceptable!]
"As of now, all premiere tickets for the theatrical film 'High-Cloud Quintet' have sold out!"
[It's just a premiere—must be miHoYo buying their own scalped tickets. Wait till the official release and wide screening; let's see if it still has this much hype!]
"Tickets for the premiere ceremony are in extreme demand, with multiple lead actors attending in person. This has drawn intense attention from online influencers."
Premiere Day
"Hello, sir and madam, please present your movie tickets."
The ticket inspector at the cinema entrance politely tilted her body slightly and bowed.
A gray-haired youth took out two tickets and pointed to the blue-haired girl behind him.
"This is my younger sister. We're together."
"Understood!" The inspector smiled, then proceeded to verify the tickets.
"The tickets are valid, but we'll need to confirm the purchasers' information."
The gray-haired youth looked puzzled. "Since when did premieres have these rules?"
"Apologies. This time, all movie tickets must be tied to identity verification it's a requirement from miHoYo. We don't know the reasoning behind it, and we regret any inconvenience."
"Uh…" Seeing the inspector's earnest attitude, the youth exchanged a glance with his sister and smiled. "I'm Wise, and she's Belle. Upstanding citizens of Sixth Street."
Belle even playfully flashed a "V" sign.
"Thank you both for cooperating! Your seats are in Row 8, Seats F and G. Enjoy the film!"
After entering the hall, Wise and Belle quickly found their seats. However, to Wise's left sat an orange-haired girl.
She deliberately lowered her voice, whispering into her phone, "Hey everyone, your girl Guinaifen's back! This is the premiere ceremony for High-Cloud Quintet!"
Clearly, this was none other than Guinaifen live-streaming.
"Brother, doesn't this young lady seem familiar?" Belle squinted, scrutinizing Guinaifen.
Wise nodded. "Yeah, kinda like the actress from—"
"Get your mind out of the gutter!!! This isn't the time for film critiques!"
Belle then lightly tapped Guinaifen's shoulder.
"Ah—!" Guinaifen nearly dropped her phone in fright. She immediately ended the stream, clasped her hands, and muttered, "Sorry, boss! I won't do it again! Never again!"
Wise and Belle froze for a few seconds before Belle waved her hand. "Don't worry, it's just me! Are you Guinaifen?"
Hearing her name recognized, Guinaifen lit up as if meeting family.
"Yeah! So, fellow fan, are you one of my followers too?"
"Sort of! Your 'Night Exploration of miHoYo' video went pretty viral. I remember everyone speculating whether you got eaten! It caused quite a stir, though it died down mysteriously later.
"At the time, rumors spread that miHoYo's interactive theme park had man-eating ghosts at night totally off-limits.
"But you know how it is the world's full of daredevils. Some tried night explorations again, but before they even reached the gates, someone appeared on the rooftop… and that was that."
Guinaifen clutched her chest in anguish. "Yeah! That video had amazing metrics, but it wasn't even posted on my own channel just screen-recorded by viewers. Ugh, I could've gained so many followers from it.
"Such a waste!"
"So why are you at the premiere?"
"My boss arranged it. No clue what he's thinking! Oh, I didn't catch your names yet."
"I'm Belle, and this is my brother Wise." Belle spoke rapidly, cutting off Wise's attempt to interject. "We run a video rental shop."
"Oh? Then you must've seen tons of films! Ever thought of working at miHoYo? My boss wants to hire more people."
"Huh?"
Meanwhile, Wise, sandwiched between the two, could only sigh in exasperation.
He wanted to switch seats, but Belle refused.
So there he sat like a third wheel—arms crossed over his chest. Sigh
Before long, Wise couldn't take it anymore and swapped seats with Belle.
By then, Belle and Guinaifen were already chatting like lifelong besties.
Thankfully, the premiere ceremony began soon after, and the two fell silent, focusing on the stage.
Next, Baiheng and Jingliu made their entrance, drawing cheers from the crowd.
However, Wise noticed the person to his right showed no reaction at all.
This person wore a mask, sunglasses, and a hat as if terrified of being recognized.
A quick glance revealed unusual markings near their eyes, and Wise found himself staring absentmindedly.
A hand from the seat behind Wise snapped him out of it. "Hey, pal, the film's about to start. Aren't you gonna pay attention?"
Wise forced an awkward laugh, realizing his rudeness. "Sorry! My bad!"
He turned to the screen, now with a hunch about his neighbor's identity but he didn't dwell on it.
Instead, he pulled out his phone and put in an earpiece. "Hey, Fairy! Activate film analysis mode!"
A moment later, a voice responded in his ear:
"Affirmative! Analysis mode activated. I will process data in real time and dissect all details!"
Wise solemnly put on his 3D glasses and fixed his gaze on the screen.
The film had finally begun!
—
The screen was pitch-black, yet it wasn't pure darkness the camera's perspective kept pulling back, accelerating as it did.
As the shot zoomed out, a speck of light emerged, revealing the stage to be an endless starscape.
Then an opening shocker.
The frame froze, and the vast cosmos appeared as a glass marble cradled in a dragon's claw.
The caption blazed in crimson text: "The 'Permanence' Dragon!"
The scene then cut abruptly to a wildly different setting—a boundless ocean.
Calligraphic text identified it as the "Primordial Sea."
Under a cloudless sky, a horned boy burst from the water, a crab claw clenched between his teeth.
Soon, more horned figures surfaced, laughing and playing, swimming with effortless grace.
Their lives seemed idyllic.
The perspective shifted to a bird's-eye view, unveiling more of the "Primordial Sea" world.
But a closer look revealed something eerie.
The mountains were giant fish, seemingly numb to pain as the dragon-people tore at their flesh.
A colossal crab with thousands of legs scuttled by.
There were other indescribable entities enough to make one's sanity waver.
This grotesque aesthetic starkly contrasted their carefree joy.
The focus returned to a horned youth diving underwater, hunting for delicacies.
When he resurfaced, the sky had been swallowed by darkness.
The once-emerald waters now ran red.
Then, one by one, the corpses of his companions floated to the surface.
"What… what's happening?!"
Before he could react, Lovecraftian horrors swarmed him.
The screen went black a scream echoed.
The narration intoned:
"The descendants of the dragon—the Vidyadhara—one day lost the 'Permanence' of their forebears, along with the ability to reproduce. The Primordial Sea itself became uninhabitable."
"The Vidyadhara could only struggle to survive!"
"Until Star Calendar 4800, when the Xianzhou Alliance arrived, delivering them from peril."
"The five Vidyadhara Dragon Chiefs gathered on the Yuque, forging an unbreakable pact with the Xianzhou Alliance."
"Thus, the Vidyadhara ended their suffering, joining the Xianzhou as one of its peoples."
"Each Dragon Chief led their kin to a different ship, upholding their duties."
"The Dragon Chief of the Luofu was named Yubie—charged with guarding the Ambrosial Arbor!"