Chapter 226 Rita's Death, Kongming's Madness? This Is the "Sugar" You Promised?
Kongming's transformation was so abrupt that it left many players in the livestream finding it difficult to accept. They were shocked, and some even wondered if this Kongming was an impostor. After all, everyone knew Kongming's true character through the foreshadowing of previous plots.
However, Kongming's current actions left them terrified and bewildered.
[What's going on? What on earth happened!]
[Why did Kongming become like this?]
[She's like a completely different person... making Himeko and Fu Hua kill each other, treating human life like grass—this is too cruel!]
[And the Captain just parted with Kongming not long ago...]
The mood of the viewers grew heavy. A person doesn't change their nature for no reason; something major must have happened. In the game, the Captain was equally shocked by Kongming's change.
After ending the judgment of Himeko, Kongming invited the Captain to drink with her. However, during the drinking session, she noticed that the maid had ruined the taste by warming the wine incorrectly. Sensing this, she smashed the wine cup on the floor and scolded the maid. Then, she simply ordered men to drag the maid away. The other maids nearby remained quiet and expressionless, as if they had long grown accustomed to such events.
["How disappointing..."]Kongming looked furious. The Captain didn't know how to respond, so he could only take a sip of wine to moisten his throat. ["The wine is indeed good, but the person..."]
["Captain, your words seem to have a hidden meaning."]
After several cups of wine, the cold sweat on the Captain's back finally dissipated, and his long-stalled brain began to function again. He scanned his surroundings once more and finally noticed something.
["By the way, Rita... is the Prime Minister not here?"]
The Captain's question made the audience suddenly realize that a key person seemed to be missing from the Empyrean Empire. From the moment the Captain returned until now, Rita, the Prime Minister of Empyrean, had never appeared. This clearly defied logic. Rita would never miss something as significant as the disposal of the Hero King and the Pirate King. Moreover, if Rita were present, Theresa likely wouldn't be treated this way, and Kongming's "game" of making the two kings slaughter each other wouldn't exist.
But even after all this commotion, Rita had not shown up. This was extremely suspicious.
"Could it be... Kongming's change is related to Rita?" Sitting before the computer, Theresa offered her theory. Familiar with the previous plot, she knew Rita was ageless like Kongming. Logically, if Kongming was here, Rita should be too.
Chronologically, the story of The Day You and the Stars Disappeared takes place after the events of Honkai Kingdoms, where everyone worked together to seal the beast. Thus, before the story of The Day You and the Stars Disappeared began, something catastrophic must have happened to this world.
Theresa's guess was quickly confirmed. In the game, Kongming held her wine cup, her movements suddenly halting, though she didn't speak. she rubbed the cup repeatedly, staring at the sky from afar.
["You noticed it too, didn't you..."]The Captain followed Kongming's gaze, seeing only a flickering star as Kongming's hollow voice rang in his ear. ["Rita is dead."]
Three simple words struck the Captain's heart like a thunderbolt. The news was so shocking he couldn't believe it. When faced with the unacceptable, a person's first reaction is denial.
["Impossible! Just now, Theresa was asking about Rita's movements—does she not know?"]
Kongming's words also made the real-life Theresa widen her eyes in disbelief. "Rita... is dead? How is that possible? isn't she like Kongming, under the power of the wish-granting machine..." But soon, Theresa realized her error. "Right... even if one is ageless, it doesn't mean they are immortal..."
Realizing this, Theresa felt a wave of sadness. Although in reality she found that boundary-less maid annoying, she would be truly sad if something happened to Rita. Despite the lack of boundaries, Rita wasn't without redeeming qualities... Ultimately, if she didn't view Rita as family, Theresa wouldn't have tolerated her being so unbridled.
And the Rita in the story, as the Prime Minister and someone who had lived through the same era as Kongming until now—her importance to Kongming was self-evident. After all, the people from Kongming's original era, aside from Rita, were long gone... Second Prince Kiana, Grand General Durandal... they had turned into the frost and wind of a millennium ago. The only one left who walked beside Kongming was Rita.
Longevity was more like a curse for Kongming. While Rita was there, the curse might not have affected her deeply. But once Rita died, realizing she was truly alone in the world, how could Kongming not go mad?
In-game, Kongming sipped her wine expressionlessly and continued to toy with the cup.
["You likely noticed that you arrived here three months later than I did... in those three months, the world changed completely."]
["And the cause of that change was the three years I spent on that deserted island."]
["Although I reinforced the seal on Huodou several times, the three years I was away was too long—long enough for Huodou to break free and wreak havoc."]
["And the first target Huodou attacked was the Empyrean Empire."]
Kongming hollowly recounted the recent events to the Captain.
["A thousand years ago, I used a formation to seal Huodou and protect the nation. But when I tried to activate the formation again this time, I realized that those who once walked by my side are no longer here..."]
["With only the formation and none of their help, I realized that sealing the beast this time would be far more difficult than before. It could not be completed overnight."]
As for reinforcements... the envoys Kongming sent to the other two nations received no reply. Both nations chose to stand by, waiting for Empyrean and the beast to exhaust each other so they could seize an opportunity. By the time Kongming researched a new formation and went to find Rita to seal Huodou together... Rita had already sacrificed herself.
["I saw Rita's scythe by the river. There was no trace of Huodou, only flower petals bobbing on the water's surface."]
["Rita lay in the water, looking as if she were sleeping peacefully."]
["She was covered in wounds, but they had long stopped bleeding."]
["I picked Rita up. Her clothes were soaked, but her body had become so light, as if all the blood had drained out of her..."]
In Kongming's memory, she held Rita's cold body by the stream. The CG was exquisite and beautiful, yet anyone could feel the despair and rage in Kongming's heart.
["I looked at the Prime Minister and suddenly felt I didn't recognize her, though I didn't know why."]
["I held her and thought and thought, until the shadow of the scythe vanished by the river and the stars rose from the sea, shedding a freezing chill."]
["Whenever Rita looked at me, I always felt she was smiling, because her eyes were always smiling."]
["But... I can no longer see Rita's eyes."]
At this moment, everyone finally understood the sequence of events. They knew why Kongming had become what she was. The bond between Rita and Kongming was far beyond simple friendship or a monarch-subject relationship. Over a thousand years, they had become each other's sole support.
Yet when Huodou emerged, the two nations stood by and allowed the beast to ravage the land. In Kongming's eyes, this indirectly killed Rita... naturally, she would not spare them.
[But... would Himeko and Fu Hua really stand by and watch Huodou cause destruction?]
[Yeah, they don't feel like that kind of person.]
[In the previous Honkai Kingdoms, the Captain interacted with them too, right?]
[I was in the Pirate faction back then, and I don't think Himeko would just watch!]
[Exactly. Even if they didn't intervene due to national disputes, you don't kill envoys in war. They wouldn't have just kept the messengers Empyrean sent, right?]
[There must be some hidden truth...]
The audience remembered the Honkai Kingdoms plot. The Hero King and the Pirate King were not petty people; they fought for their respective beliefs and goals. There had to be a misunderstanding... but...
[Is a misunderstanding even relevant now? Himeko and Fu Hua are already...]
[Yeah, and Rita is...]
[Himeko is dead, Fu Hua is dead, Rita is dead, and now Kongming has gone mad...]
[...]
[Wait, brothers? didn't someone say back in Honkai Kingdoms: ZERO that the next part of Kongming and the Captain's story would be a sweet daily life?]
[Does the person who said that have a conscience? Come out here so I can give you a 'buff' on your head!]
[I seriously suspect the people promising sugar were shills hired by the Old Thief! You call this sugar?]
Players snapped out of it and began "settling accounts" with the creators who had speculated about a sweet plot, even suspecting they were plants by Su Mu! The goal was to build up the players' expectations just to deliver a sucker punch of a "knife"!
Damn it! A triple kill right at the start! Previously, he'd at least pretend for a bit before dropping a blade halfway through. Now he wasn't even hiding it, killing everyone right in front of you from the jump! Old Thief, you bastard! you're truly a piece of work!!
For a time, the chat was filled with various "praises" for Su Mu. The intensity was enough to shock Otto, the guest. Looking at the overwhelming backlash, Otto tried to put himself in Su Mu's shoes and found it hard to handle. Meanwhile, Theresa's stream popularity exploded, ranking first on the entire site by a massive margin. Many viewers flooded in from other streams after seeing the plot, intent on "torturing" the Old Thief!
However... facing these "praises," Su Mu felt nothing. On the contrary, a smile played across his lips! This left Otto, beside him, stunned.
Wait? What's the situation? Being cursed at by so many people and he can still smile? If anything, he looks like he's... enjoying it?
Otto wiped his cold sweat. In all his years, he had met many people, including some oddballs... Truly, geniuses are built different. ...No, wait, is this guy a masochist? Does he get more excited the more players curse him?
"Grandpa, get used to it..." Theresa cast a helpless look at Otto. "Su Mu has always been like this... as long as he sees players crying and screaming in his hands, he instinctively feels happy..."
Otto froze. That's no masochist! That's a total sadist! A black-bellied monster...
Su Mu overheard their conversation. He coughed and replied righteously: "How can you say that? It's only normal to feel happy. Theresa, you must understand: as a writer, receiving such a strong reaction from players is a great honor!"
"R-reaction?" Theresa looked at the chats calling him "inhumane" and thought, you call this a strong reaction? Are you sure they don't want to stab you?
"Is that... so?" Otto was also lost. These players were hopping mad, and he calls it an honor? But on second thought, it seemed true. If the story hadn't struck a chord, the reaction wouldn't be this violent. Back when he watched his own plot with Kallen, he had the urge to knife Su Mu too...
Yet this man, who was daily roasted by players, was the rising star of the industry. Otto suddenly felt he couldn't understand this world. The gaming industry is truly doomed!!
"We've only just begun," Su Mu said, shaking his head at the chat. you didn't think this was the end, did you? The story of The Day You and the Stars Disappeared has only just started!
END OF CHAPTER
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