The next day.
Hessian arrived at the company early as usual.
The moment he stepped inside, he saw Aponia standing at the entrance, dressed in an OL professional outfit. The clothing perfectly outlined her figure.
Even from a distance, her magnificent chest was strikingly prominent.
Hessian immediately took several steps back.
He checked the company sign…
Yes, it was definitely the right company; he hadn't walked into the wrong place.
Then… why was Aponia dressed like this and appearing here?
Last night, during his late talk with Elysia, she hadn't mentioned signing Aponia or even knowing her.
How did she suddenly show up at the company?
With doubts in mind, Hessian walked into the company again.
Aponia approached him: "Good morning, Director He."
She slightly bowed in greeting. The buttons, already strained, were deliberately left open at the top two, revealing an incredibly deep cleavage.
It was practically an abyss!
Hessian quickly averted his gaze and asked: "Aponia? Why are you here?"
Aponia hadn't expected him to recognize her and happily explained: "I was invited by Mobius to come to the company and serve as Director He's assistant."
Mobius!!
Hessian instantly understood.
After hearing yesterday that he had no interest in the Shenzhou flatboard, she directly brought in the Aponia nuclear bomb, huh?
He nodded to indicate he understood.
Then headed toward his office.
Though he didn't know what Mobius was planning, keeping distance from Aponia was definitely the right choice.
He had just sat down in the office when Aponia brought coffee over, placed it in front of him, and stood behind him to massage his shoulders.
"Cough cough!" Hessian coughed violently several times.
He quickly asked: "What are you doing?"
Aponia said: "You must have been very tired writing the script last night. I'll give you a massage. Close your eyes and relax for a while."
"…"
Hessian was speechless.
This is a massage?
Whose massage involves resting on such soft pillows?
He immediately refused: "No need. I still have some script parts to refine."
"Understood."
Aponia obediently stood by his side, ensuring that every time he looked up, he could see her.
"…"
Hessian couldn't write more than two words and asked: "Didn't Mobius give you any other instructions?"
Aponia replied: "She told me to take close care of all your needs at the company. She said you are the company's most precious asset—because of you, the company was able to revive; because of you, the Honkai Impact 3rd TV series is so outstanding. My purpose is to let you work with peace of mind."
Hessian said helplessly: "Do you think I can work peacefully with you standing here?"
Aponia asked curiously: "Why not? If you find it unsuitable, I can stand behind you so you can lean back and rest whenever you're tired."
"No need!"
Hessian stared at the office door for a moment.
He noticed SAKURA hadn't come in yet.
No need to ask—Mobius must have stopped her on purpose to leave him alone with Aponia.
After thinking, he said: "I don't like this outfit. Go to Vill-V and get a nun's habit. Tell her I sent you. From now on, wear the nun's habit to work."
Hearing this,
Aponia murmured softly: "So you like that kind of style."
She agreed: "I'll go right now."
Once she left the office,
Hessian grabbed his script and ran to the filming studio.
Kiana and the others, seeing him like this, asked: "Director He, did you see a ghost?"
Mei was also curious: "Director He, what's wrong? Being chased again?"
Theresa was used to it: "Being chased is normal. With his level of courting death, I'm worried whether Honkai Impact 3rd can even reach the ending."
Thud!
Hessian knocked Theresa on the head with the script: "Stop talking nonsense!"
Then he distributed the scripts to everyone present: "This is the plot for the next episode. The filming tasks this time are very heavy. As before, Mobius will handle Mei's parts, and I will personally direct Fu Hua's parts."
He explained the filming tasks in detail and had everyone prepare.
Just as they were about to rest,
Aponia appeared in a nun's habit, holding a thermos: "Director He, you've worked hard. Have some tea."
Whoa!
All the actors present exploded.
If Hessian were stabbed to death by fans right now, or hit by a fan driving a car outside, or secretly knifed by one of the company actors—everyone would find it perfectly normal.
But!
When someone treated Hessian so gently,
everyone felt something was wrong.
Extremely, extraordinarily wrong.
Kiana even murmured: "That woman's brain must have grown into her chest, filled with nothing but fat, to do something like this~?"
Mei was also surprised: "Besides Elysia, who loves everyone, is there actually someone who would be this nice to Director He?"
Theresa was a bit dazed: "Pinch me quick. Am I still dreaming? Someone's actually bringing tea and water for Director He."
Rita rubbed her eyes: "You're not dreaming. I see it too."
Faced with everyone's reactions,
Hessian was helpless and explained: "She's the assistant Mobius arranged."
Kevin said: "Then she definitely hasn't watched Honkai Impact 3rd."
Even Kevin knew that anyone who had watched Honkai Impact 3rd would never treat Hessian this kindly.
Before Hessian could speak,
Aponia smiled and said: "It's precisely because I've watched Honkai Impact 3rd that I understand what an outstanding person Director He is. His talent fascinates me, his stories immerse me, and the longing for beauty in the drama makes me yearn for it."
Kevin: "…"
Kiana: "…"
Mei: "…"
Theresa: "…"
Rita: "…"
Durandal: "…"
Fu Hua: "Kiana, you're right. Her brain really did grow into her chest—now it's all fat. Otherwise, she wouldn't say something like that."
Aponia didn't mind and said: "Just wait. When the later plots come out, you'll understand how outstanding he is."
"Cough cough!"
Hessian interrupted them.
"Enough. Stop discussing these meaningless things. Everyone, familiarize yourselves with the script!"
"Yes."
…
Over the next few days, whether Hessian was filming, resting, or doing post-production… Aponia accompanied him the entire time, even wearing different nun's habits every day.
However, Hessian never crossed the line once. He only looked at her occasionally, treating it as something pleasing to the eye.
Mobius, on the other hand, suffered a bit.
Hessian directly assigned her very heavy filming tasks, beautifully named: "This is for the next drama."
After staying up all night for a full week,
Mobius finally got a chance to breathe.
It was also the day Honkai Impact 3rd aired.
This day, like the previous week, everyone watched together at the company.
The difference was that Elysia chose to sit beside Hessian.
He was a bit curious about this.
But Elysia's explanation was: "I have to spend time with my husband sometimes. Otherwise, what if such an outstanding husband gets stolen?"
Of course… Eden was still on her other side.
On Hessian's other side sat SAKURA, while Aponia and Mobius sat together, seemingly discussing something.
Soon,
Honkai Impact 3rd began.
The TV plot continued directly after Mei's departure. After arriving at World Serpent, she was assigned to cooperate with Schicksal to kill the Fifth Herrscher.
The mission did not go smoothly. During it, a World Serpent teammate betrayed them and became the Sixth Herrscher, but was ultimately defeated by Mei and Durandal together.
After completing the task, she contacted Kevin to report.
While they were carrying out this mission, Kiana and Bronya also left the Anti-Entropy base and headed to Taixu Mountain to search for clues about Fu Hua.
At the same moment, an anomaly occurred at Schicksal headquarters.
In boundless darkness, the deceased immortal regained consciousness…
She felt her hands, clenching them into fists.
Her ten fingers and hand bones greeted her with solid reliability. She felt as if she possessed infinite strength.
This body's condition was so excellent…
The last time her body was this good was perhaps five hundred years ago, or even longer—she could no longer remember.
She raised her hand and smashed the glass of the life-support pod in front of her. The liquid enveloping her eagerly withdrew, taking away all pressure and leaving her only with ease and comfort.
She lightly stepped out of the life-support pod, her feet touching the ground.
"My old friend!—You've finally awakened."
A familiar voice sounded. She looked toward the door and saw a blond man smiling.
Her mind instantly made her aware of everything. This man was Otto Apocalypse—her supposed friend who had deceived her.
Otto said: "Won't you greet me? Well, it's fine. You've just awakened and still need continued observation and treatment… Though the examination results show you've fully recovered, you never regained consciousness. I was always worried something went wrong."
"You won't blame me, will you, old friend? Are… you okay? Do you recognize me?"
In her mind, her id, ego, and superego all had different answers, but she finally spoke: "I'd recognize you even if you were reduced to ashes."
Otto gave a self-mocking smile: "…You resent me? Ah, old friend, this is the second time you've hurt my feelings. You should understand—it was unavoidable. I couldn't let you stop my plan; I couldn't allow even the slightest error."
"From the results, everything is fine. I'll tell you everything. Give me some time—you'll be satisfied too."
She then asked: "Why am I here?"
Otto replied: "Because I didn't want you to die. We've known each other for a long time, old friend. I knew a brain injury wouldn't kill you, but I didn't want to wait twenty years."
"In the end, you don't owe me anything, yet I shot you. So I brought you back and healed all your wounds."
At this point in the broadcast, a special note appeared: Five hundred years ago, Fu Hua was killed by her disciple stabbing a sword into her brain, taking twenty years to revive.
Otto continued: "Alright, old friend, this isn't the place to talk…"
She did not move.
Countless images flashed through her mind.
Once again, he pointed a gun at her head and said: Phoenix Immortal, I'm not lying!
Then decisively pulled the trigger and killed her.
And Cheng Lixue, almost forgotten, was also killed by him…
Even Murata Himeko, who shouldn't have died, was because of him…
She walked toward Otto Apocalypse.
"Wait, old friend… I—"
Before Otto could finish,
her movement was lightning-fast, giving him no chance to continue.
Her palm gripped his cheeks. On that face, the smile hadn't yet turned to confusion.
Otto looked at her, seemingly wanting to say something, but from the mouth firmly held, only a few meaningless syllables escaped.
She punched Otto's handsome face hard.
…And kept punching.
Until his face was distorted and he lay powerlessly on the ground.
Seeing this scene,
the audience was first stunned, then erupted in wild joy.
"Holy shit, so satisfying! This is how it should be—kill that dog Otto!"
"This episode let me vent all the frustration I've built up. That damn Otto finally gets what he deserves today."
"Hahahaha, exhilarating! So exhilarating! Dog Otto deserves this ending."
"Don't stop—keep beating him, whip the corpse! Must whip the corpse."
"This is Fu Hua? So satisfying right after reviving? Done—I'm a Fu Hua fan from now on."
"Damn Otto, letting you die like this is too lenient. You should be cut into a thousand pieces."
"I'm going to buy fireworks right now to celebrate Otto's death. Really beaten so well, hahahaha."
"Did the director change? Or was the dog director threatened? Writing such a satisfying plot—my period feels smoother."
"…"
Not only the audience—even the actors felt a huge release, their moods much lighter.
Only Aponia slightly frowned, feeling this plot wasn't so simple.
And the TV plot continued.
Durandal sensed something wrong and rushed to Otto's location, seeing only Otto lying dead on the ground.
The entire Schicksal headquarters fell into chaos.
Alarms blared everywhere: "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!! Enter combat readiness immediately!"
Schicksal Valkyries shouted orders into microphones while running toward the half-burning airport.
Warriors ran past Hua without seeing her, as if she didn't exist.
In her hand, she toyed with a crimson feather.
This was what she had taken back from Otto Apocalypse's corpse after killing him.
"I once left something like this with Otto… Incomprehensible."
She smiled and looked at her handiwork—
In the distance, flames and black smoke intertwined and rose. Half of Schicksal had turned into ruins.
Not satisfied? A voice sounded in her mind.
Hua immediately said: "How could I be? As battle results go, this is already impressive. Without Schicksal and Otto, many things wouldn't have gone so wrong. The world would be a bit more peaceful."
"Though it's a pity about those Valkyries. Think about it—they were just pawns manipulated by Otto…"
The voice in her mind: Quite a few casualties this time.
Hua quickly said: "…I controlled it well. I only broke the cage, destroyed a few buildings and… ah, ugh… damn! Didn't I control it well?"
"Who can consider every detail perfectly, top to bottom? Who can? Could Dr. MEI?"
"…Even she sacrificed many people, right? For victory, for justice, there must be some sacrifices."
"Whatever. Why am I talking nonsense to myself?"
"Let's leave the airport with some sentiment."
The voice in her mind asked: Where do you want to go?
Hua shook her head: "Haven't decided yet. The world is vast—I can go anywhere, but nowhere in particular. Maybe visit my old friends. They'd be shocked to learn I'm still alive."
"Honkai isn't eliminated yet. Peaceful days ahead won't be many. For now—at least take it one step at a time."
Seeing this,
many viewers noticed Hua was different from the previous Fu Hua.
Some thought this might be Fu Hua's original personality, reverting after revival.
Others always felt something was off.
But they continued watching.
Watching Hua wander around the base.
And proudly muttering to herself: "No complaints this time, right? I spared everyone—not a single one killed."
Then the voice of Otto, who should have died, suddenly rang out: "I wish you had shown this mercy earlier, old friend."
"—?! Eh!"
Hua immediately rushed to the source of the voice.
There stood a blond figure.
She hadn't expected to encounter this person and was startled, then quickly reacted.
"Otto…"
"Hi~" Otto greeted her.
Hua was helpless: "…Of course. A guy like you wouldn't die so easily."
Otto said: "Ah, I did die, but… fortunately, the spare body wasn't kept in the same place."