Chapter 256: Himeko is Dead? Impossible!

"People will change. It looks like Mei has made friends in World Snake, which is good," Einstein sighed.

When Mei violently beat Kiana and left, the players were all worried about whether Mei would face problems after turning dark, and if she would be targeted in World Snake. But now it seems that she is doing well in World Snake and has even become friends with Raven.

Raven then drove the car and took Mei to a new location. During the drive, they talked more. Mei discussed her past, reflecting on how the people kind to her never seemed to have happy endings.

In the flashbacks, the live broadcast viewers also learned that Mei had once asked Kevin about the whereabouts of the Plague Gem but found nothing. Of course, what she was really searching for wasn't the Plague Gem, but *that* person. However, Kevin gave a direct and harsh answer: Wuliangta Himeko is dead.

Mei couldn't accept this cold response. She continued using her own resources to investigate further but discovered a truth even colder and crueler than Kevin's words that day.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the live broadcast room panicked!

"Su Mu! What's going on? Himeko-sensei can't really be…"

Elysia's eyes widened, filled with disbelief.

Ever since the last mission, Himeko's life and death had been a continuous topic of discussion among players. At first, everyone thought Himeko was truly dead, but as the plot unfolded, with more Herrschers on the human side, players began to speculate.

Would Himeko eventually return as the Herrscher of Fire?

After all, *Honkai Impact III* is still a gacha game. If Himeko came back as the Herrscher of Fire, wouldn't it make players cry while still pulling for her in the gacha? This theory, balancing both logic and marketing, was the most widely accepted one among players on major forums.

But now, seeing the answer Mei sought, it poured cold water on everyone's hopes. Even World Snake hadn't been able to locate the Plague Gem. Could Himeko truly still be alive?

"No, I'm just waiting for Sister Himeko's return. Su Mu, you're not going to say Himeko is dead, are you?"

"Su Mu, you don't want *Honkai Impact III*'s revenue to plummet, do you? If Himeko-sensei is really dead, I swear I'll never spend another penny on this game!"

"Yeah, just let Himeko return as the Herrscher of Fire! We'd all happily spend money on pulls. Isn't that the best outcome?"

"Don't worry," Einstein said, calming the chaotic players in the live broadcast room. "Just because World Snake couldn't find the Plague Gem doesn't mean anything. You want to see her alive, and if she's dead, you want a body. Until there's concrete proof, any talk of Himeko's death is just a smokescreen, and misleading players is Su Mu's specialty."

Einstein's words calmed Elysia and the viewers. Right, hadn't Su Mu fooled them countless times before?

Veliona was a perfect example. Everyone had thought Red Seele would be separated from Seele by the Herrscher of Thousands, and they had been worried for ages. But what was the result? Veliona defeated the Herrscher of Thousands and showed that her bond with Seele was unbreakable!

So, it had to be the same with Himeko. Su Mu was just throwing out smokescreens to see their frightened reactions!

Seeing the live broadcast room gradually calming down, Su Mu's lips curved slightly. Einstein's guess had some merit. But unfortunately, this time, Su Mu wasn't lying.

Who could tell the difference between truth and lies?

Su Mu wondered, *Will the players be completely ruined by me? That would be exciting!*

After Mei shared her troubles, she asked Raven a question: "Do you expect your brother to be alive?"

The car stopped by the beach. On the golden sands, with the orange sunset in the distance, Raven and Mei walked side by side. Then, with a nostalgic expression, Raven spoke gently about her childhood with her brother. Those precious memories were a past she would never forget.

Finally, Raven gave her answer. Of course, she hoped her brother was still alive.

"Did you know? He really did appear," Raven said.

"What?" Mei asked, shocked.

It was a snowy winter. While Raven was driving, she saw a man who looked exactly like her brother crossing the street. She chased after him for a long time, but things like red lights and obstacles kept her from catching up.

But how could the number one mercenary in North America fail to catch up? Later, Raven realized it wasn't that she couldn't catch him; it was that she *didn't want* to catch him. She feared that if she did, she'd hear the dreaded words: "Sorry, you've got the wrong person."

This conversation deeply moved everyone watching the live stream. People often have hopes, but when they get close to fulfilling them, they fear their expectations will be shattered.

Raven also reflected on her island villa, thinking it had been her dream. But when it sank, she realized she hadn't truly lived for years. Only when she was with the children did she feel alive.

This part of the story enriched Raven's character, making her more three-dimensional.

"Laughter through tears—Raven is a real woman!"

"I didn't know Raven had so many burdens... *Honkai* characters really don't have happy lives."

"I can totally understand Raven's feelings. I once saw someone who looked like a friend of mine who passed away. It was such a complicated feeling."

After watching this scene, viewers' impressions of Raven changed. Although they still joked, they no longer saw her as just a comic relief character.

Of course, even with Raven's tragic backstory, the game might still use her to continue some absurd side storylines. After all, how many people can pull off 150 SP in one second?

"Raven is a tragic character," Elysia sighed. "Her past was filled with darkness, but she still had her light and her own moral compass, unlike Jackal."

"And that's why Mei can befriend her," Einstein added.

After the heavy conversation ended, Mei tried to lighten the mood. Casually, she asked, "Isn't it hot wearing a hat on the beach?"

Raven took off her hat. Under the beautiful sunset, a tuft of hair on top of her head stubbornly swayed in the sea breeze. It suddenly made her seem less cold and more… cute.

Mei couldn't help but laugh.

"Haha, so Raven wears a hat because she's afraid of being mistaken for a kid."

Elysia giggled, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

"I see, this is what people mean by 'cute contrast,' right?" Tesla said with interest.

"She *does* look cuter without the hat," Einstein admitted.

"But wait... this whole storyline is about Mei and Raven. Is Kiana about to get jealous?" Tesla teased.

"I think it's great that Mei's relationships with other girls are improving," Einstein said with a chuckle. "It'll make Kiana feel like she has some competition, which could be fun."

"Don't even think about it!" Elysia declared. "Mei belongs with Kiana! Raven may be cute, but I, Elysia, will not allow any love triangles!"

In Sirin's live broadcast room, Kiana couldn't help but feel irritated watching Mei and Raven bond.

"Dammit, Su Mu, why is Mei getting along with Raven so well?"

"Why can't I have my own friends?" Mei rolled her eyes and playfully knocked Kiana on the head. "Or do you not trust me?"

"Of course I trust you, Mei! But I don't trust Su Mu! He loves to mess with us, and I don't want to be the one left out in the game."

"Kiana, you're being ridiculous again!" Mei said, embarrassed, pulling on Kiana's cheeks in frustration.

"Hehe, I really want them to take advantage of Sister Mei and Raven. If not for any other reason, I just want to see Kiana's twisted look of regret," Sirin grinned, showing a typical happy-go-lucky smile. 

"Tie baa!" Kiana was so angry that she really wanted to punch Sirin away. "Minotaurs and everything else deserve to die!"

After some fighting, Sirin continued the game.

At night, Raven and Mei arrived at the warehouse and successfully found the suspicious person. After opening the box, Mei was pulled into the Domination Theater. Like Bronya, Mei chose to wait and observe in the beginning, without using the Herrscher's power. 

But seeing Mei get pulled deeper into the Domination Theater made everyone in the live broadcast room worried. They feared that Mei might lose her Herrscher powers to the Dominating Herrscher, like Bronya did. That would be troublesome.

Then, Mei met the doll, and under its guidance, ventured into the depths of the Domination Theater. The doll didn't attack Mei this time but instead offered to help her and Kiana live normal lives. The deal? Mei would have to give up her Herrscher of Thunder powers. In return, they would take away the Herrscher of the Void's power, allowing Mei and Kiana to return to their ordinary lives.

But how could Mei be tempted by such a shallow offer? She rejected it outright.

Angered by the refusal, the puppet summoned mechas created with the power of the Herrscher of Reason to attack Mei. But even without using her Herrscher powers, these mechas posed no threat to her.

Soon after, Raven arrived, and together, they killed the doll and returned to the real world.

"Strange... Why did the doll act differently this time compared to last time?" Mei frowned, expressing her doubts.

"It is a bit different," Sirin nodded. "Compared to when it dealt with Bronya, this time the doll seemed to deliberately push Mei into using her Herrscher powers. It knew this would make her wary, yet it still did it. And it even openly admitted it had the power to strip away the Herrscher's abilities… What's the angle here?"

"Could it be that the doll also likes Mei and is trying to win her over with a softer approach?" Kiana guessed, scratching her head.

"How is that possible...?" Mei shook her head. "Since the doll knows so much about Bronya, it must also be well aware that a few sweet words won't convince me."

"Hey, that's true. After all, Mei was willing to plunge herself into darkness just so I could return to the light," Kiana said with a grin.

"…Kiana, can you stop saying things like that?" Mei's face twitched in embarrassment as she covered it with her hands.

God knows how Su Mu came up with so many cringe-worthy lines for Mei to say in-game. Every time she heard herself in the game spout those lines, she felt the urge to crawl into a hole. Mei even started wondering if Su Mu had somehow missed going through his "middle school cringe phase" and was making up for it now.

At the last comic show, she had been surrounded by a group of fans who excitedly begged her to reenact famous lines like: "Surprise wind, surrender to me!" or "One strike, two cuts!" or the infamous "I will fall into darkness to pull you back into the light!"

The less said about how mortified Mei had felt at the time, the better.

What Mei didn't know, however, was that this was nothing compared to the real "dark history." The true crown of cringe belonged to the line passed down from generation to generation: "Answer me, Elysia!"

Thankfully, Su Mu hadn't recycled those classic cringe-inducing lines from the previous world, which in a sense allowed Mei to escape that fate.

In the ensuing conversation with Raven, thanks to the doll's deliberately suggestive behavior, Mei analyzed that the Dominator Herrscher might have found a way to bypass the Herrscher core and seize powers directly.

Seeing this, the players in the live broadcast room sighed with relief. Now that Mei had deduced the truth, it was clear she wouldn't fall into the same trap the Dominating Herrscher had set for Bronya.

So… was this a world where only Bronya got hurt?