The sudden appearance of the visuals caused the livestream chat to burst into activity.
[The universe, the galaxy, the Express?]
[Why did the stream suddenly change to this? Little Gui, are you still alive? Squeak if you are!]
[It's over, it's over. Did the stream get hacked? Did Little Gui offend someone?]
[Nooo! Don't kill Little Gui!]
On the other end of the stream, Guinaifen was doing an outdoor broadcast and had just found a seat in a nearby teahouse.
The reason she hadn't spoken for so long was that she had been captivated by the loading screen the moment she entered the game.
The main menu was actually quite striking.
"This game seems a bit interesting?"
"Don't worry, fam, I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm just getting ready to review a game; these are just game visuals."
[It's Little Gui's voice! Little Gui is alive! So it was just game footage?]
[Scared me to death. Wait, game footage?]
[What game is this? The name is honkai: star rail? Why does it sound like it's related to the Astral Express? Is it *that* Astral Express?]
[Amphoreus version? I've never heard of this planet. As the most loyal Express fan, I have no idea that the Trailblazers ever went there.]
[It's probably some knockoff fan game made to farm money, hahaha!]
In fact, Guinaifen shared the same mindset, so she didn't refute the criticisms in the chat at all.
To be honest, she streamed mostly for the laughs anyway.
If the game was a total train wreck, that would still make for good content.
"Alright then, now we officially enter the game!"
With the intention of seeing how ridiculous it would be, Guinaifen immediately registered an account and clicked to enter the game page.
As an epic scroll unfurled before her eyes...
What met her gaze was the single planet constantly flickering amidst the stars.
Its shape was like an '∞', the composition exquisite and magnificent, making one instinctively yearn for its light.
Amphoreus.
The nine letters were inscribed in the upper right corner.
Guinaifen's finger paused on the screen as she couldn't help but frown.
"Is this it?"
Nothing happened after entering the game, just a single planet?
She thought she knew why her 'fam' had sent her this game—they really wanted her to tear it apart!
Fine, then she would have to provide some sharp commentary and see just how bare-bones this game really was.
Without another word, Guinaifen tapped directly on the only planet, Amphoreus.
The next second.
The screen first went black.
Silence—
It was so quiet that almost nothing appeared.
Guinaifen waited for dozens of seconds, to the point where the chat impatiently began spamming question marks.
"Uh..."
This left Guinaifen bewildered. Was this game just an empty shell?
Why did it go to a black screen as soon as she clicked in?
"What's going on?"
Guinaifen touched the screen to see if it had crashed.
However.
The moment she touched it, a spark flared, and golden threads spread upward!
[The beginning of the world was a mass of chaos.]
[Then, the gods cast down the sparks.]
[The Titans were born from the fire.]
The spreading threads sketched out a giant holding up a sphere in the center of the screen.
Accompanied by a slow, soothing female voice, it gave Guinaifen a start.
[Three weave destiny, three open the heavens and earth, three mold life, and three guide through calamity.]
[The fire of the Titans ignited civilization, allowing the living beings of ten thousand nations to thrive.]
[But the Golden Age was fleeting, and the blasphemous black tide descended from beyond the heavens...]
As the narration continued, epic murals shifted and moved, as mysterious and glorious as an ancient civilization.
Guinaifen's gaze was completely captured by the sudden animation.
[?]
[?]
[?]
The livestream chat was also filled with a screen full of question marks.
They spammed for nearly half a minute.
[Holy crap, what is this? What on earth is this?]
[I thought this game was an empty shell, but there's actually stuff here! Is this the game's lore? Titans, sparks, gods?]
[Wait, this animation is way too grand! It's so lifelike, as if it actually exists.]
[I've never heard of this planet; it must be the Author's imagination.]
[Aglaea the Golden Weaver, the Three-Faith Messenger, Anaxagoras the Dull, the Priest, and that lion—are these characters from the opening animation? They're a bit too detailed.]
[Look, this Attendant of the Ashen Hand actually has a dragon following her. She looks like a final boss! Do you dare to stare into her eyes for ten seconds?]
The Golden Descendants appeared one by one in the animation like a poetic scroll, revealing the world-building and characters of this world.
Until a brilliant sun shone brightly, and a silver-haired man held a holy sword high.
[And the nameless new King was crowned, alongside ten thousand heroes.]
[To embark upon the great undertaking of Deliverance!]
[...]
[Fire Chasing is a journey of constant loss.]
[Indeed, we have committed ourselves to the flames.]
[Only to write the opening stroke in the epic of creation.]
About three minutes passed.
With the appearance of a group portrait of the Golden Descendants, the screen gradually dimmed, feeling somewhat grand yet tragic.
But Guinaifen and the viewers in the chat were watching with eyes wide and glowing.
Unexpectedly, however, it wasn't over yet.
In the blink of an eye, a lady with a pointed hat appeared on the screen.
She looked relaxed as she gazed at the '∞' ring reflected in the mirror and smiled:
"Most hero's journeys in the universe are but dice cast casually by Them."
"Will your answer be any different?"
"Amphoreus."
The words faded.
In an instant.
Guinaifen gasped, her expression shifting from curiosity to pure amazement.
Wait!
That outfit, that appearance—even if she wasn't some high-ranking official of the Xianzhou, Guinaifen naturally recognized who it was.
After all, although this person rarely showed her true self to the outside world, her fame was incredibly massive!
Could this be the 83rd member of the Genius Society, Ms. Herta?!
The creator of the Herta Sequence?!
A real-world figure had actually appeared in the game.
But most importantly, with this appearance, could it be her true body?!
[Herta? This is Herta, right?]
[You must address her as Lady Herta! This is definitely that Genius Society Member. The game actually includes Herta?]
[Oh my god, and this is Herta's true body, right? This is the first time I've seen the full appearance of that Genius Society Member. It's over, I'm a total fan now!]
[A knockoff fan game actually dares to put Ms. Herta in it? The Author must be desperate for money, are they trying to get killed?]
[Does he have the copyright for Herta? How does he dare use Herta's image? I remember this Genius Society Member hates showing her face in public the most...]
Revealing Herta's true body clearly caused a significant stir.
All of a sudden, the popularity of Little Gui's livestream began to skyrocket.
A room that originally had only a few hundred people quickly broke a thousand.
One must remember that this was the 83rd member of the Genius Society, a legend rumored to have met Aeons twice.
Anyone who knew what her true body looked like made people suspicious of their identity and the fate they would suffer.
After all, rumors said that Ms. Herta's temper wasn't exactly great...
However, at the very end of the animation.
"Of course..."
[What the?!]
[There's an expert!]