Interastral Peace Corporation, News Department.
Conference room.
A group of employees was holding a meeting.
"Director! Our listener count dropped another 10% this month compared to last month."
"The data shows that more and more listeners are losing interest in our traditional news broadcasts."
"It's the era of Star Rail now. Everyone only cares about the content Yu Ling releases..."
"It's safe to say he's mercilessly destroying our industry."
"If this continues, our department might be shut down by the higher-ups..."
"The executives have always prioritized profits. If our exposure rates hit another new low next time, it might really happen."
The atmosphere in the conference room grew increasingly heavy.
Finally,
one employee stood up.
As if determined to risk everything,
he spoke up: "I have an idea..."
"Since Yu Ling has mercilessly dominated our industry, why don't we take the initiative to align ourselves with him?"
"We could change our approach and ride on the coattails of Honkai: Star Rail's popularity!"
Upon hearing this,
all the employees in the conference room turned their gaze toward this staff member!
The director adjusted his glasses.
"Go on."
The employee paused briefly.
He said, "The next big trend should be information related to Amphoreus."
"Although we currently know nothing about this place, we can still make some reasonable speculations."
"Earlier, we watched Little Gui's live interview—"
"Sampo said Earth is a very mysterious planet, one that even the Trailblaze Aeon has never visited..."
"Isn't that exactly the same as the setting for Amphoreus?"
"Let's go with this headline—"
"'Amphoreus Suspected to Be Welt's Hometown, Earth'!"
"It will absolutely attract a massive wave of traffic!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the conference room erupted into discussion!
The director's gaze sharpened: "If we do this and the facts turn out to be far from our speculation, our department's credibility will likely plummet."
"Director, times have changed."
"Now, if we don't follow the trends of Honkai: Star Rail, we won't get any traffic at all!"
"Rather than slowly withering away, we should fight with our backs against the wall!"
"Let us restore the glory of our Interastral Peace Broadcast!"
The director let out a long sigh and finally made a decision.
"Alright, in that case, you will be fully responsible for creating this content and will serve as the team leader."
"Understood, Director. I guarantee the task will be completed!"
...
Astral Express.
The Astral Express Crew, having just finished dinner, were resting in the Parlor Car.
March 7th and Stelle were simultaneously playing both Honkai: Star Rail and Honkai Impact 3rd.
While one game was idly farming materials, they were manually controlling the other.
Both had become somewhat addicted to gaming recently, almost turning into shut-ins on the train!
Of course, this wasn't an isolated case.
Even Old Yang and Himeko were idly sitting on the sofa, scrolling through related news and information on their phones.
It was simply because the amount of information lately had been overwhelming.
Even for past main storylines, players would occasionally uncover hidden clues and expose them.
Dan Heng, on the other hand, immersed himself in the Data Bank right after dinner, organizing relevant information.
Sunday, having just boarded the train not long ago, wasn't quite used to the crew's relaxed way of life.
He either stayed in his room or lingered in the Party Car.
In short,
life had been unusually harmonious and tranquil lately.
"Hah..."
March 7th yawned,
"I really need to sleep early tonight."
Stelle stood up.
"I'm going to change the song. This one is too sleep-inducing."
"I support that!"
Old Yang put down his phone.
Perhaps because he had been staring at the screen for too long, his eyes felt a bit uncomfortable.
He spoke up: "It's been a while since we listened to a news broadcast. Since we're at it, let's tune in."
With that,
he pressed the radio button on the table.
March 7th and Stelle exchanged a glance, showing resigned expressions.
After a burst of music,
the host's standard voice came through.
"Welcome to the Interastral Peace Evening Briefing."
"A breaking news story—"
"According to analysis by relevant personnel, Amphoreus is suspected to be the star system where Welt's hometown is located!"
"Recently, the game Honkai Impact 3rd has garnered significant attention from players."
"The planet where these stories take place is called Earth, which is also the hometown of Astral Express member Welt."
"If the Astral Express chooses to head to Amphoreus, it is highly likely that the next stop will be Earth!"
"At that time, we will witness Welt's return to his homeland together, and the story of 'Honkai: Star Rail' will officially connect with that of 'Honkai Impact 3rd'..."
March 7th and Stelle were stunned.
They had initially thought it would be another boring news broadcast,
like the Interastral Peace Corporation providing reinforcements somewhere or rapid economic growth and so on...
But they never expected
it to start off with such a bombshell right away!
This kind of content, usually only seen within the community, had actually appeared on the Interastral Peace broadcast!
"Could it be... could it be they really found some clues proving that Amphoreus is Uncle Yang's hometown?"
"This is Interastral Peace News, right? So it should have some credibility, right?"
As for Old Yang, who heard the related information,
he sat on the sofa,
his gaze solemn, his expression deep!
His first reaction was:
Impossible,
absolutely impossible!
But as the broadcaster explained the relevant analysis in a professional tone,
he felt himself truly wavering a little!
Perhaps,
the solar system really is called Amphoreus in the Garden of Recollection?
It's not impossible!
When the true face of Amphoreus is revealed,
will it be the image of the eight planets of the solar system?
A flicker of doubt passed through Himeko's eyes.
She couldn't help but feel that this news flash seemed a bit careless?
Could unverified information really be broadcast as news?
She opened the comments section of the news flash.
Clearly,
the listeners tuning into this broadcast were also greatly shocked by this news!
Many comments had already been left.
[Seriously, wow? I was wondering why Yu Ling has been updating Honkai Impact 3rd content lately—could it really be to connect the two worlds?]
[Interastral Peace News, is this for real?]
[So, does that mean I might get to see Kiana and the others in my lifetime?]
[I really want to see what this so-called Honkai is like on Earth!]
[It's all speculation, not a single piece of substantial information.]
Has the Interastral Peace News really fallen so low that it has to rely on piggybacking on Star Rail's popularity to stay relevant?]
[You guys are really something—Yu Ling hasn't even revealed anything yet, and you already understand it all.]
Himeko took a sip of coffee, already understanding the situation.
"Welt, don't pay too much attention to this news."
"It's most likely a marketing piece capitalizing on the topic."
Old Yang nodded.
After the initial shock, he had now come to his senses.
"It's just that hearing the word 'Earth' inevitably stirred up some emotions."
Just then,
a woman's voice, not belonging to anyone on the Astral Express, sounded.
"Want to learn about Amphoreus?"
"I might be able to help everyone."
Everyone turned to look.
By the window, an elegant and charming Memokeeper slowly approached.