It must be miHoYo's doing.

The night was as dark as ink, thick black clouds obscuring the moonlight. Only scattered streetlights struggled to emit a faint glow in the darkness. On the outskirts of Sky City, the earth began to tremble. With a chilling roar, a dark horde of Honkai beasts surged in like a tide. Their scarlet eyes flickered in the darkness, like countless bloodthirsty demons.

The mecha troops' defense line is already crumbling.

"Third Squad, the gap on the left! Fill it quickly!" The commander's voice sounded hoarsely in the communicator.

"No! There are too many of them!" A mecha pilot shouted in despair as his mecha was torn in half by the giant claws of a Temple-level Honkai Beast. The flames of the explosion lit up half the sky red.

Just when the defense line was about to collapse——

A streak of white light streaked across the night sky!

"Bang! Bang!"

Crisp gunshots rang out, and two Thrust Three Slender Cage II Death Eight Fourth-level Honkai Beasts exploded. The figure landed lightly on a shattered mecha. The moonlight finally penetrated the clouds, illuminating her flowing white hair and resolute blue eyes.

"Kiana, focus." Fu Hua's calm voice echoed in her mind, "Remember to control the rhythm of your power and don't be swayed by your emotions."

"Understood, squad leader!"

Kiana took a deep breath, her twin pistols twirling in her hands, transforming into death's scythes. Her figure flickered among the beasts, each pause accompanied by the wail of a Houkai beast. In the moonlight, she resembled a silver storm, leaving only the remains of Houkai beasts in her wake.

"It's so awesome..." The surviving mecha pilots stared at the scene in amazement.

However, Kiana didn't know that her every move was under observation.

A secret room in Tianqiong City

In the dim room, only the central screen emitted a faint blue light. The image on the screen clearly showed Kiana's battle figure, every frame captured with precision.

"K-423 frequently appears at the site of the Honkai disaster," Raven folded his arms, his golden eyes flickering in the shadows. "We can't let her get close to the testing area."

The Jackal's fingers tapped lightly on the console, making a rhythmic sound. "It's indeed a problem... but the Lord has returned from the Quantum Sea, and the experiment must be accelerated." She paused. "Compared to that, Destiny is the greater threat."

"Are you going to tell Tianming about K-423's intelligence?" Raven tilted his head slightly, a sneer curling his lips. "Let them keep each other in check?"

A calculating glint flashed in the Jackal's eyes. "That suits my taste."

The two smiled at each other, and the room fell silent again. Only Kiana on the screen was still fighting without knowing it, and her figure looked particularly lonely in the surveillance screen.

No one noticed that there was a bracelet on Kiana's wrist with the three big words "miHoYo" engraved on it, emitting a strange light.

Volume 1: The Birth of miHoYo: 073 All Sides Respond, MiHoYo Under Target (2/5)

after an hour.

In the dim room, the light from the holographic projection cast shifting shadows on Raven and Jackal's faces. The coded message from Gray Snake hovered before them, its cold words seeming unreal.

"Your Excellency, are you going to stop the Stigmata Project?" Raven's fingers tapped lightly on the table, her golden pupils narrowing slightly. "Are you still going to ally with Hyperion and Anti-Entropy?" She raised her head, her eyes filled with suspicion. "Could it be that Gray Snake has spread false information? The verification experiment for the Stigmata Project is about to be completed, and its success is imminent. How can we..."

"That's enough! Raven!"

Jackal's expression grew serious as she pulled up the data panel, quickly reviewing the information. "Gray Snake's loyalty to the Lord is unquestionable, and the Lord's obsession with eradicating the Honkai is far deeper than ours. He must have other, better plans to halt the Stigma Project. All we have to do now is obey orders, but..." Her gaze lingered on the last paragraph of the information. "What is this 'terminal bracelet'?"

As she manipulated the bracelet, a three-dimensional projection of a delicate wristband appeared before them, rotating. The silver-white bracelet was intricately engraved with patterns, and the three Chinese characters for "miHoYo" were also inscribed on it.

Raven stared at the projection, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter. "Strange, I feel like I've seen this somewhere..."

"Wait!" Jackal suddenly pulled up the surveillance footage, his finger sliding rapidly across the virtual screen. Countless images flashed by like flowing water, finally settling on the image of Kiana in combat. She zoomed in—and on Kiana's right wrist, remarkably, was a bracelet identical to the one in the projection!

"Found it!" Jackal's voice trembled slightly with excitement. "K-423 has one on her hand! According to intelligence, the terminal bracelet is invisible after activation, which means hers hasn't been activated yet..." A cruel smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. "We can..."

Raven frowned. "But aren't we allied with Hyperion now? K-423 should be one of theirs. Doing this..."

"The Lord's orders are above all else!" the jackal interrupted her impatiently, "the so-called alliance is certainly a temporary measure." She suddenly remembered something, and her face changed.

"Damn it! We already leaked K-423's information to the Skyward Swords Headquarters..."

Raven frowned in thought, then quickly raised his head. "How about we play along? We pretend the Stigmata Project verification experiment isn't over yet, and accidentally let K-423 know. Didn't you say the results of the experiment could reduce Sky City to ruins? I'm sure K-423 won't be unconcerned. Then we'll lure him into a trap and close the deal."

The two smiled at each other, and the conspiracy was brewing in the darkness.

………………

Later, at the floating island of Destiny headquarters.

"Rita, why are you in such a hurry? Did something happen?" A man with long golden hair asked calmly, holding a red wine glass.

"Your Excellency, there are two things. One is that we have discovered the location of K-423, which should be Skydome City."

"Oh? That's good. Looks like we need to immediately deploy an operation to capture K-423. What about the second thing?"

Rita hesitated, but finally spoke out.

"World Serpent has formed an alliance with Theresa's Far East branch and Anti-Entropy. According to the intelligence passed on by our undercover agent in the Far East branch, they seem to have assigned a new S-rank mission - to find a terminal bracelet. As for what this terminal bracelet is, the undercover agent is not sure, but he only knows that Serpent went to Hyperion this afternoon and mentioned the organization miHoYo."

Too much information piled up at once, making Otto a little confused.

"The World Serpent has formed an alliance with my granddaughter and the others? Why would I have such a dream?"

"Also, why does the name miHoYo sound so awkward?"

"MiHoYo...Terminal Bracelet...What on earth happened..."

………………

Liyue Jade Pavilion

The afterglow of the setting sun streamed into the study through the carved window lattices, illuminating the jade pipe in Ningguang's hand with a shimmering light. She gently exhaled a wisp of smoke, her gaze settling on the intelligence file before her.

"Have you investigated the strange things that have happened in Liyue since yesterday?" Ningguang's voice was neither hurried nor slow, but it carried a majesty that did not allow for perfunctory treatment.

Ye Lan leaned against the window, aquamarine thread entwined between her fingertips. "Recently, there's been a sudden increase in adventurers from Mondstadt in Liyue." She narrowed her eyes. "These people are behaving strangely, always gesturing with small cards at buildings, terrain, and even passersby."

Ningguang tapped the tabletop. "Continue."

"What's even stranger," Ye Lan straightened up. "They keep promoting an organization called the 'Dream Seekers Association' to everyone they meet." A playful smile played on her lips. "They talk about things like the 'God of Wishes' and 'miHoYo,' claiming they can grant any wish."

Ningguang put down her pipe, a sharp glint flashing in her crimson eyes. "When did the Mond people start doing this kind of weird stuff?"

"Do you want me to check it out?" Ye Lan played with the silk thread in her hand, "But..." She dragged out the tone meaningfully.

Ningguang chuckled. "The allowance for long-distance travel will be doubled."

"Deal." Ye Lan turned around neatly, and the silk thread turned into blue light and dissipated at her fingertips.

………………

Winter Solstice: Fatui Headquarters

The ice crystal chandelier illuminated the conference room as bright as day. The executives left in twos and threes, leaving only "Puppet" and "Chief" Tartaglia behind.

"Tell me, what can I do for you? I have to go to Liyue to steal the Heart of God in a while, so please don't waste too much of my time." Tartaglia said in a muffled voice.

"Something's going on in Mondstadt." The puppet's voice was as flat as her codename. "The Adventurer's Guild's assets have been attacked by an organization called the Dream Seekers' Guild."

Tartaglia twirled her water blade idly. "Even an executive officer has to intervene in such a trivial matter?"

"Her Majesty the Queen takes it very seriously." The puppet pushed a briefcase in front of him. "And..." She paused for a rare moment. "It's said that behind this association is a demon called the 'God of Wishes,' who is said to have the power to grant any wish."

Tartaglia suddenly became interested. "Oh? Grant any wish? That's something that even Heaven can't do."

"You'll find out when you go," the puppet said calmly. "As a reward, I'll support your promotion to the eleventh seat at the next meeting."

Tartaglia's eyes lit up. "It's a deal!" He grabbed the briefcase, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit. "I'm going to meet this so-called 'God of Prayers.'"

………………

Blue Star, in the office of a special department.

"Team Leader, is there something wrong with our machine? Why is it that every time we go to a place with unusual energy, it's just a normal accident? The first holographic projection show was fine, but the last two were a tunnel collapse and a building power outage. There's nothing wrong at all."

On the side, Lan Yang, who was drawing on his notebook, seemed not to hear the complaints of his subordinates and looked very focused.

Suddenly, Lan Yang's expression froze. He drew a circle on his notebook and then looked at his men.

"Have you heard of the exhaustive method? Eliminate all impossible options, and the remaining one, no matter how outrageous, is the correct option. We had subconsciously ignored a certain company before, but thanks to that girl named Lin Xiaosa who reminded us. Perhaps these strange things really are related to them!"

The subordinate looked at Lan Yang's notebook and found three big words circled on it - "miHoYo".

Volume 1: The Birth of MiHoYo: 074: Crazy Exchange, Strengthening Strength (3/5)

"Huff! Huff!! Huff!!!"

Tianming suddenly jumped up from the bed and sneezed three times in a row, causing the teacup on the bedside table to jump up and splash tea onto the wooden tabletop, leaving a dark stain. He rubbed his red nose and looked around blearily. The sky outside the window was just beginning to turn pale, and the morning light filtered through the gauze curtains, casting mottled shadows on the ground.

"No, what's going on?" he mumbled, his voice still hoarse from waking up. "Didn't I already give the terminal bracelet to Kevin? Who's talking about me this time?"

He reached for the bedside cup of water and took a long sip. The cold water completely sobered him up. Remembering the painful experience Kevin had recounted yesterday, Tianming couldn't help but shudder. The mere thought of that white-haired, icy-faced man chilled him to the bone, let alone the thought of him being remembered.

"It's over, it's over," he scratched his messy hair, a few hairs sticking up stubbornly, "Some powerful being must have set their sights on me."

Several terrifying images flashed through his mind: the Seven Gods? The mysterious Three Consuls? Or that stern-faced Upholder of Heaven? Thinking of the last possibility, Tianming subconsciously shrank back.

"Forget it, no matter who it is," he said, tumbling out of bed, his bare feet touching the cold floor. "The most urgent thing now is to improve my strength. If I keep relying on experience cards to get by, I'll eventually fail."

He snapped his fingers, and the translucent system interface immediately unfolded before his eyes. On the pale blue screen, the number of fantasy points clearly displayed [4318]. This number made him whistle, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up.

"It seems all my efforts these days have paid off." Tianming rubbed his hands together, his eyes sparkling like a child seeing candy. "It's time to exchange for some real stuff."

His fingers slid rapidly across the virtual screen, unhesitatingly exchanging a portion of the power of every Star God in "Honkai Impact 3: Celestial Railroad." As his fantasy points rapidly returned to zero, a dozen or so light balls of varying colors slowly emerged before him, hovering in the air, emitting a captivating glow.

"Preservation, destruction, abundance, hunting..." Tianming listed them out like a treasure trove, and gently touched each ball of light with his fingers, "Cooperation, reproduction, joy, development..." Each ball of light exuded a unique aura: the power of preservation was as heavy as a mountain, the energy of destruction was as violent as thunder, the warmth of abundance was like water, and the joy was like a naughty wind, dancing on his fingertips.

"It feels so good to have a little fantasy!" Even though his account was nearly empty, Tianming didn't feel the pain at all. He knew these investments would soon translate into tangible benefits, just like spending real money in a game, except this time, it was his future.

"Then..." He took a deep breath and opened his arms, as if to embrace the whole world. "Begin absorbing! Let me see the true nature of the power of you Star Gods..."

More than a dozen balls of light penetrated his chest at the same time. At that moment, Tianming's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Ugh—!"

He suddenly fell to his knees, his hands clutching the clothes on his chest tightly, his knuckles turning white from the effort. His muscles were tensed to the limit, and the veins on his forehead were clearly visible.

Different forces collided within Tianming's body, and his consciousness was thrown into a chaotic universe, witnessing the rise and fall of countless civilizations. During the development of these civilizations, some civilizations or individuals, due to their ultimate pursuit of a certain "destiny", resonated with the universe, and eventually ascended to become Star Gods...

The steadfastness of preservation, the fury of destruction, the compassion of abundance, the perseverance of hunting... countless extreme wills collided in his mind, like ten thousand people shouting in his ears at the same time. His temples throbbed, and sweat soaked his back.

"So that's how it is..." In the interval of pain, Tianming suddenly realized, his voice hoarse and not like his own, "The Star God is the embodiment of the laws of the universe..."

Half a day passed and dusk came.

When Tianming opened his eyes again, the sunlight outside the window had turned a warm orange. He slowly sat up, feeling an unprecedented power surge through his body, every cell in his body cheering with joy.

"This power... is it that of an Emissary?" He spread his palms, a wisp of golden energy flowing through his fingertips, sometimes transforming into a raging fire of destruction, sometimes condensing into the ice of memory. Though far from a true Star God, he was already able to freely wield the various powers of destiny. He tried to mobilize the power of preservation, and an amber shield instantly enveloped his body. He then tried to use the power of abundance, and the room suddenly became full of greenery, the powerful vitality even causing weeds to grow on the floor.

Suddenly, a strange feeling washed over him. The air around him began to distort, and the papers on his desk twitched without a breeze. Some higher-dimensional force was attempting to merge with him. Tianming was surprised to find that his consciousness was being drained away, as if transforming into some eternal being...

"Am I...about to be promoted to a Star God?"

This feeling was all too familiar—just like what he'd felt from the power of those Star Gods, it was the embodiment of the rules. But Tianming's expression grew serious, his brow furrowed.

"You're kidding!" He gritted his teeth as he activated the system, his voice trembling with resistance. "I don't want to be bound by some kind of fate!"

The final ten fantasy points transformed into a golden light, shattering the power of rules surrounding him. With a crisp "crack," the urge to ascend vanished, but an unexpected gift remained...

"Is this... the power of my own destiny?"

Tianming curiously sensed the new energy within him. Unlike the pure, single power of other star gods, it was filled with infinite possibilities. Following its guidance, his spirit easily penetrated the barrier of the Dust Song Pot and descended upon the continent of Teyvat.

At that moment, he saw countless glittering points of light—the aspirations of all living things. Powerful, weak, blazing, gentle... The entire city of Mondstadt transformed into a sea of ​​stars in his eyes, each one representing a desire.

"Heh," Tianming couldn't help laughing, "I was pretending to be the Devil of Wishes before, but I didn't expect it to come true now."

His gaze swept across Mondstadt, like flipping through a book filled with wishes. Unexpectedly, the brightest spot of light didn't come from the members, but from a young girl in the residential area.

Mondstadt · Residential Area · Night Art Qi Liuyin san2 leek 2

"I am Fischl, Princess of Judgment!" The blonde girl stood on the balcony, arms outstretched to the night sky, her purple eye mask gleaming faintly in the moonlight. "Demon of another world, please heed my call, appear here, and drink with me!"

Volume 1: The Birth of MiHoYo: 075 "Honkai Impact 3rd" Trial Video Uploaded (4/5)

The night breeze blew through her hair, bringing with it a hint of her delicate fragrance. Hiding under the eaves, Oz, the night crow, shook his head helplessly, his black feathers gleaming blue-purple in the moonlight.

As soon as she finished speaking, the space in front of her suddenly distorted, and the starlight gathered into a vortex. Tianming slowly emerged, draped in a cloak woven from starlight. His face was covered by a half-mask, and a mysterious smile played at the corner of his mouth.

"As you wish, Princess of Judgment." His voice had an ethereal echo, as if it came from far away.

"Wow!" Fischl staggered in fright and nearly fell off the balcony, but luckily she grabbed the railing. "He's really summoned?!" Her voice was eight octaves higher than usual, and the shock on her face could not be concealed.

Tianming suppressed his smile and waved his hand in a pretentious manner: "I received your wish." An exquisite terminal bracelet appeared out of thin air, hovering in front of Fischl, emitting a soft purple light.

"This is a 'certificate of conviction'. The holder can..."