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As the silhouette teaser emerged on screen, the live stream's bullet comments exploded, flooding the display with a barrage of messages.
"AngryFanGreatWei: Whoa! Mother-in-Law! It's Mother-in-Law!"
"DuckIsMyWife: I declare her as my new wife!"
"MerryOldCaptain: Duck: So, does love fade?"
"DuckIsMyWife: Nonsense, they're all part of my wings! (dog emoji)"
"SensibleAnalysis: Wait, if it's Mother-in-Law, shouldn't the figure not be so slender? Besides, isn't Cecilia already deceased?"
"IHeartQiBao: La la la, can't hear you! It's definitely Mother-in-Law, it is, it just is!"
"PrincipalLovesBitterMelon: Exactly, Honkai Energy explains everything!"
Despite being just a silhouette, it significantly sparked the players' interest, leading to an influx of bullet comments on the live stream. From an outsider's perspective, this was seen as an excellent scoop.
Soon, the version preview concluded, but many players remained in the chatrooms, speculating about various possibilities for the new character. The buzz even overshadowed discussions about Himeko's new armor.
Remarkably, some theories were strikingly close to the truth, eventually narrowing down their focus between House Kaslana and House Schariac.
Based on these predictions, the new character was likely to be a white-haired girl.
This comment instantly stirred up another wave of excitement. It's well-known that Chinese gamers have a penchant for white-haired characters, with 2016 being a peak period for this trend.
Currently, there were already two existing white-haired characters in the game, yet players still craved more.
Of course, several players proposed alternative opinions. Regardless, as discussions heated up, Honkai Impact 3's popularity surged accordingly. Even without her official debut, Ana Schariac had already garnered significant attention among players.
For Ana within the game world, this newfound hype could not have come at a better time, akin to receiving aid amidst adversity.
In the Honkai World, Ana sprinted towards the Lava Emperor with all her might. She needed to attract its attention as much as possible; otherwise, given Chen Tianwu's strength, one hit from this behemoth would spell certain doom.
Even within the game, the Lava Emperor is considered a notoriously challenging boss for early Captains due to its shield, fire resistance, and resilience against stun effects.
In reality, it proved even more formidable.
Ana swiftly grabbed an iron rod and hurled it at the Lava Emperor. Before the rod could make contact, the intense heat melted it instantly, causing Ana's expression to darken slightly.
Without proper weaponry, she had no chance against this creature. Currently, her only option was dual pistols—the Pixie Type-I. If they were Type-II, it might have been viable.
However, Type-I pistols were merely standard anti-Honkai weapons. Attempting to confront the Lava Emperor with these was akin to chasing a pipe dream. Even an A-Class Valkyrie equipped with such gear couldn't hope to tackle such a powerful Honkai Beast effectively.
Only a Valkyrie with MANTIS-like fusion abilities, like Theresa, could possibly achieve that.
"Ah well, no need to defeat it outright," Ana muttered to herself. She then drew her Pixie Type-I pistols and fired at the Lava Emperor. Earlier, tossing the iron rod was merely to gauge its strength.
Fortunately, the makeshift weapon served its purpose effectively.
"Roar—"
The Lava Emperor let out a deep growl as it advanced towards Ana. Everything in its path was melted by intense flames, turning into charred debris, causing her to gasp sharply.
Wow, this truly is an extremely weakened miniature version of the Herrscher of Flame.
"At least its speed isn't too fast!" Ana whispered, continuously firing upon the Lava Emperor while guiding it away from populated areas. She had already thoroughly explored the outskirts, ensuring the survivors' safety wasn't immediately at risk.
As for the central region of the eruption, there was no doubt; unless someone was a divinely chosen individual, they would have either perished or transformed into Zombies long ago.
The Lava Emperor's sluggish speed was Ana's only advantage against it.
However, even this benefit wasn't significant, as the Lava Emperor could bulldoze through obstacles, destroying everything in its path, while Ana had to evade or detour around them.
Moreover, once the Lava Emperor unleashed its dishonorable beam attacks, her advantage vanished entirely.
Stationed firmly, the outer structure surrounding the Lava Emperor began rotating, emitting multiple Honkai beams towards Ana.
Left with no choice, Ana had to abandon her offensive and continuously leap to dodge the onslaught. As time passed, her stamina steadily depleted.
It had been four hours since the Honkai outbreak in Manila, and throughout this period, Ana hadn't taken any proper breaks, significantly draining her energy reserves.
Now, she was nearing her limit.
"This thing just won't give up!"
As Ana continuously dodged, she inwardly cursed her predicament. Feeling increasingly weaker, yet the Lava Emperor seemed relentless and full of vigor. Its beams showed no sign of stopping; even in games, there would typically be a cooldown period, right?!
"This isn't sustainable."
Suddenly, Ana slipped and fell backward just as one of the beams landed precisely where she had been standing moments ago. However, at the same time, a sharp spike pierced her thigh, causing blood to gush from the wound.
The intense pain drained the color from Ana's face instantly, but her Valkyrie resilience prevented her from crying out. Nevertheless, she was truly reaching her limit.
"No... I can't give up here."
Struggling to rise, Ana gritted her teeth and swiftly pulled the spike from her leg. Her body wavered momentarily, but without pausing to regain balance, she hastily evaded another attack.
A beam of Honkai energy swept past, singeing a strand of Ana's hair.
Just then, another voice echoed in Ana's ears—the familiar robotic tone of the system notification.
"Beep! Detected character appearance in Version 1.2 preview, gaining player attention and affection. Rewards now being distributed."
"Based on character status, abnormal conditions will be resolved."
As the robotic sound played, Ana felt her exhaustion completely vanish. Even the wound on her leg had fully healed, leaving no trace behind.
With the Lava Emperor mere inches away, Ana sighed in relief, swiftly leaping several times to create distance between them. Now, she was temporarily out of immediate danger, having managed to overcome this challenge.
"Generating random reward; character may choose to decline."
However, the robotic voice continued with an unexpected announcement:
"Attention, accepting or declining this reward will impact the character's future."