"Ah! Now I understand why Hoolay was so confident."
"It's because he never intended to escape the Xianzhou."
"His goal, from beginning to end, was to lure Feixiao out, then use the power of the Scarlet Moon to make her the new Warlord of the Borisin, turning her against the Xianzhou."
"If Feixiao becomes Warlord... with her current strength, she could easily leave the Xianzhou Luofu whenever she wanted!"
In the live stream, Little Bear admitted to having a slight change of heart toward Hoolay.
Hoolay was a true man, worthy of the title of Warlord.
But...
But a change of heart was just that. Acknowledging Hoolay as a true man didn't change the fact that, in Little Bear's mind, Hoolay still belonged at the same table as Duke Inferno—among the "true men."
After all, Hoolay's plan relied on the absence of a certain "helpful" Abundance Emanator on the scene.
As for this Scarlet Moon, Little Bear had looked into it in the comment section.
It was just a cheap imitation of the Abundance Divine Miracle, effective only on Borisin and Foxians, and nowhere near the level of an Emanator.
With Lumina's power, a simple wave of her hand would likely completely eliminate the Scarlet Moon's influence on Feixiao.
Doesn't Hoolay sound exactly like Duke Inferno?
Lumina: "I don't know. I thought he was just a minor patient—what serious illness could be cured with a wave of my hand? Hmm? Why did someone die after I healed him?"
[ Hoolay is going to become that too? You know, that thing? Therefore, I intervened.jpg]
[ How to deliver the most badass line while uttering the most useless and hilarious words. ]
[ Waaah, where's my Jingliu?! ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡ Where's my Jingliu?! I'm a hardcore Jingliu x Lumina shipper! Why isn't she here?! Answer me, you damn Mihoyo!!! ]
[ Ask me! I've got you covered! Jingliu x Lumina (Lumina dominant), full-color edition, at least 400 pages. If you prefer Jingliu dominant, I have that too, also full-color but slightly shorter at 200 pages. Prices range from 98 to 6488—affordable and negotiable. If you're interested, click my avatar and DM me ASAP! ]
[ "I'm a psycho. I want to see Hoolay's Main Body and Human Form. Is there anything like that?" ]
[ "?" ]
[ "?..." ] Seeing this bizarre comment in the Comment Section, even Little Bear, with his strong mental fortitude and extensive experience, was momentarily speechless. He typed out a question mark to express his shock.
If this hadn't been posted in the live stream's Comment Section, Little Bear would have demanded compensation for psychological damages.
For the commenter, it might have been just a casual remark, but for those who saw it, it was deeply traumatizing.
After all, curiosity is one of humanity's most fundamental psychological drives.
Whenever people read a sentence, their minds instinctively conjure up an image based on its content...
[ "Ahem... Let's get back to the story, back to the story." ]
As Little Bear thought this, an image involuntarily flashed through his mind: Hoolay's Main Body and Human Form intimately intertwined.
After a few coughs to clear his throat, Little Bear snapped back to attention and resumed playing through the game's storyline.
As Little Bear had anticipated, after Feixiao consumed the Scarlet Moon, she became unable to distinguish friend from foe, treating Yanqing and his companions as enemies.
The battle began, and as expected for a typical story sequence, auto-combat was disabled.
After a brief manual struggle, the fight was swiftly concluded by the Gold Bullion Truck's overwhelming force.
The battle ended, transitioning into a cutscene.
In the animation, Feixiao utterly overwhelmed the trio, leaving them utterly defenseless.
"Truly worthy of being the Triumphant General of the Xianzhou Luofu," Little Bear couldn't help but exclaim, even though he had anticipated this outcome. "Her martial prowess is no mere boast."
After all, Yanqing was a Cloud Knight Lieutenant, among the most elite warriors in the entire Cloud Knight order.
Yunli seemed to be among the elite of Xianzhou Zhuming as well.
As for March 7th... well, she was definitely someone to be reckoned with.
Even with such a "star-studded lineup," they couldn't withstand more than a few rounds against Feixiao, who had been driven mad and was attacking solely with her raw physical strength.
In the animated short, after the trio's defeat, the camera didn't focus on Feixiao, Yunli, or Yanqing. Instead, it lingered on March 7th.
Just as everyone was wondering why, March 7th revealed the ring on her finger.
This single shot sent Little Bear and the live stream audience into a frenzy.
"Oho! Is March 7th finally going to step up?" Little Bear raised an eyebrow, his anticipation growing. He imagined her harnessing the ring's power to unleash a devastating counterattack.
"Go, March 7th! Use your "hidden power" against Feixiao!"
After all, the life-saving measure Lumina had given March 7th—wasn't that a "hidden power" in itself?
But the scene Little Bear had envisioned didn't materialize. Just as March 7th began to glow with green light, ready to activate the ring, the light suddenly dissipated, and a pure white figure materialized behind her.
It was Lumina!
Lumina was about to confront Feixiao!
"Yes! This is exactly what I wanted to see!" Little Bear's eyes lit up at the sight.
Little Bear had been curious about Lumina's true strength for ages. Now that she was finally facing an Emanator head-on, how could he not be bursting with anticipation?
[ Fight! Fight! Fight! ]
[ Hurry up and fight! I love watching beautiful women brawl! (Heart-eyes emoji) ]
[ Mihoyo, I'm warning you—you'd better deliver this battle! Don't pull another Space Station stunt where the screen goes black and the fight's over in a flash! (Smirking emoji) ]
Of course, Little Bear wasn't the only one brimming with curiosity and excitement; the live stream viewers felt the same.
After all, the last time Lumina had truly unleashed her power was a year ago, during the Space Station confrontation against a Lord Ravager!
But that battle had only been partially shown, with viewers only knowing that Lumina ultimately emerged victorious.
Now that Honkai: Star Rail was flush with funding, wasn't it time to fill in the gaps and show us Lumina's full confrontation with an Emanator?
"Fight, fight, fight!" Little Bear's eyes were glued to the game as he watched the animated short unfold, Lumina gradually approaching Feixiao.
As Lumina approached, Feixiao summoned Flying Aureus.
Seeing this, both Little Bear and the live stream audience erupted in excitement.
Lumina x Feixiao, Abundance vs. The Hunt—who will prevail?
Hmm... While both Little Bear and the audience unanimously believed Lumina would undoubtedly surpass Feixiao, that didn't diminish their enthusiasm for watching beautiful girls fight.
It was fortunate this was Little Bear's Livestream. Otherwise, their earlier comments would have been exposed long ago.
Were they truly interested in an Emanator battle?
Clearly, they just wanted to see Lumina and Feixiao, two beautiful girls, clash.
After all, such a battle between two beautiful girls could be traced back to Penacony's animated short, Rondo Across Countless Kalpas.
"Feixiao, I'm sorry," Lumina said.
"Corrupted by the Scarlet Moon, you can only fight in the Spirit World."
"But rest assured, you're not alone. I'll help you resolve all external troubles."
"Just... during this process, some physical injuries will be unavoidable."
As the words faded, Lumina's hair began to sway gently, and emerald-green starlight gradually coalesced around her.
"Abundance... Abomination..."
"Die!"
Feixiao roared madly, and Flying Aureus beside her let out a furious bellow.
The battle between the two beautiful girls was about to erupt!
Hmm...
Wait, is it starting?
Clearly, it wasn't.
Or rather, it was sort of starting.
At least, that's how it looked from the Players' perspective.
After Feixiao's declaration and Flying Aureus's roar, the highly anticipated clash failed to materialize.
Instead, the screen went black, switching to Feixiao's perspective within the Spirit World.
[ Little Bear: ? ]
[ Live stream audience: ? ]
[ "Fuck!" ]
After a moment of stunned silence, the only response was a melodious, resonant sound...