After sincerely apologizing to Pom-Pom, Pom-Pom forgave Bai Luan.
Hmm, next time I must remember to message Pom-Pom before boarding the Astral Express.
After settling that matter, Bai Luan walked up to Welt Yang and said,
"Uncle Yang! I have a great idea! Do you want to hear it?"
Welt Yang smiled upon hearing this, nodded, and said,
"Of course."
Bai Luan then told Welt Yang about his idea of bringing him into Clock Studio to help make animation.
After listening carefully, Welt Yang looked at Bai Luan somewhat strangely and asked,
"Before that, I have something to ask you... with your work efficiency, do you really need my help?"
Welt Yang had heard from Stelle about Bai Luan's terrifying speed in making animated films.
As someone in the relevant industry, he understood Bai Luan's true value better than anyone else.
Making an animated film in such a short time, and with such high quality... Welt Yang felt that whether Bai Luan had help or not probably didn't matter.
Even if he was alone, he could still put together this film; it would just take a tiny bit longer to produce.
"You can't say that, Uncle Yang."
Facing Welt Yang's question, Bai Luan waved his hand and said,
"Although I work fast, my main profession isn't as an Animator. Games, music, and life are all side occupations for me.
Too many ideas flash through my mind, and it would be a pity if I couldn't make them because I'm too busy, so I need help."
Welt Yang nodded in agreement.
If others said such things, it might sound like humble-bragging, but for a genius like Bai Luan, whose achievements are verifiable, it only seemed natural.
"Alright, I can help. It's a good way to find something to do for myself, too."
"Great, I'll have Piers contact you about the salary and other details later."
"No problem."
Bai Luan pondered for a moment, then stated his true purpose for coming this time:
"Uncle Yang, I've heard from Stelle and the others that you've had many adventures before boarding the Astral Express.
You know, such experiences are very suitable for adaptation into animation or games, so..."
Bai Luan looked at Welt Yang and stated his true purpose for coming this time:
"Uncle Yang, have you considered turning your experiences into animation or games?"
"So, you're very interested in my past experiences?"
"Yes, I'm very interested. It would be even better if you'd be willing to tell me about them."
"It's rare for anyone to ask me that..."
Welt Yang thought for a moment, then nodded and said,
"I'd be happy to tell you my past stories, but it will take quite a long time."
"If understanding a wonderful story only requires the time it takes to read it, then I believe there's no more worthwhile transaction in the world."
Bai Luan sat on the sofa in the Astral Express, ready to listen to a long story.
Welt Yang smiled, seeing Bai Luan's readiness to listen intently.
Perhaps it was because he was getting older.
He always felt happy when young people were willing to listen to him talk about his past.
Welt Yang slowly began to tell Bai Luan the story of Honkai.
Of course, some parts were selectively omitted, Don't ask which one.
Pom-Pom walked around the Astral Express, fulfilling the duties of a conductor, cleaning and maintaining the Astral Express facilities.
After much busy work, the Astral Express finally became spotless. Pom-Pom wiped the sweat from their forehead, satisfied with the pristine Astral Express.
"Everything is spotless, Pom!"
Pom-Pom picked up the broom and, with small steps, prepared to put away the cleaning tools properly.
Just then, Welt Yang also finished telling his story.
After listening, Bai Luan pretended to ponder for a moment, then said to Welt Yang,
"Uncle Yang, I think your experience is suitable for a game, with the in-game cutscenes presented in animation..."
Welt Yang looked at Bai Luan with some surprise. He had only just finished telling the story, and Bai Luan already had ideas?
Perhaps this was what a genius was like.
After a brief moment of emotion, Welt Yang also chose to join in.
Then the two of them discussed how to make Honkai III for a long time.
Welt Yang was once again surprised during this process.
He was amazed by the things Bai Luan proposed: the UI design, level design, animation performances, and the ultimate attack animations for his companions—all were too perfect.
It even gave off a feeling that they were meant to be that way.
This was very strange.
Bai Luan had clearly heard their story for the first time, so how could he be so familiar with it?
Could someone really glean so much information from his few words and sketch out a complete character image?
Welt Yang even began to suspect that Bai Luan, like himself, might have come from his world.
Old Yang pondered for a moment, then decided to ask directly,
"Why do you... seem like you've already played this game?"
Bai Luan had already prepared a response for Old Yang's reaction:
"I don't know, after hearing your story, Uncle Yang, those images naturally appeared in my mind."
This was the most unbeatable move: mindlessly attributing everything to being a genius, pretending everything happened because of his genius.
Although to others, this requires the most brainpower and talent, as using genius as an excuse requires one to first be a genius.
But for Bai Luan, this wasn't a problem; he had already met the prerequisites.
Bai Luan called this move 'mindless genius-acting,' and it never failed.
He gave Welt Yang a seemingly brilliant, yet awkward, smile and spoke nonsense with a straight face:
"Perhaps this is talent."
Welt Yang fell silent after hearing Bai Luan's reply.
He had heard about the crazy things geniuses in this world could pull off.
Furthermore, he wasn't a genius himself and lacked a basis for judgment, so he couldn't determine the truth.
Perhaps this was what a genius was like.
This thought once again popped into Welt Yang's mind.
Regardless of whether this idea was factual, Welt Yang convinced himself and accepted Bai Luan's explanation.
After discussing the game, Bai Luan then discussed animation with Welt Yang.
Once they started discussing this, Welt Yang became interested, as it touched upon his professional field.
Bai Luan watched his eager expression, pondered for a moment, and then began to throw some Eva settings at Welt Yang.
Things like the Twelve Apostles, First Impact, Second Impact, Evangelion Unit-01, and so on.
After listening, Welt Yang's expression gradually became strange.
Why did it feel somewhat similar to his own experiences after hearing all this?
"...You didn't just come up with this, did you?"
Bai Luan suppressed his constantly rising grin and nodded, saying,
"Yes, exactly."
"…"
This was the third time today Welt Yang had marveled at the overflowing talent of a genius.
Hmm... what Bai Luan said was good, but it always gave him a strange feeling—as if Honkai was still chasing him.
Speaking of which, it was truly strange.
How was it that after changing worlds, the people and events he encountered all had a strange sense of familiarity?
Looking around, everyone seemed like a familiar face.
Had he really changed worlds?
In any case, under Bai Luan's persuasion, Welt Yang chose to join Clock Studio to work on the EVA animation and Honkai III.
Now that's what you call truly authentic.
By the way... should I make that Yang Chaoyue segment when Welt Yang isn't looking? (T/N: I don't play the game, but from what i can find, Yang chaoyue is version of welt that destroy Schicksal)
Bai Luan revealed a wicked smile.
Then he would just say that he deduced this segment based on the story Welt Yang told, and say:
Uncle Yang,
I think you would have said something like that back then.
Don't ask, just say it's genius.
Hehehe... this excuse is really useful...
A/N: Many people said that the 3.8 preview backstabbed me or something. Well... I can only say this is an unavoidable part of fanfiction for Mihoyo's works.
Who would have thought that Penacony would have been finished for a whole year, everything decided, and yet in 3.8, they could still open the coffin lid and throw a boomerang at me?
The most unbearable part is that the official source threw the boomerang... But it shouldn't affect me much, after all, Penacony's ending is already set.
And the way they patch it is similar to Penacony's Holy Grail War—events that happened very early in the timeline, which Stelle simply forgot for various reasons.
No matter how many patches you make, you're only filling in the details of how the ending was reached; you can't possibly patch it to change the ending, can you?
And my treatment of the main story is to put it in the background, only deeply participating in some interesting plot points.
Bai Luan actually didn't participate much in Penacony's plot; he was more of a bartender.
As long as Penacony's ending doesn't change, the impact isn't significant.
Looking back now, this was truly a wise decision.
Though I still couldn't completely avoid the boomerang... No, this boomerang really has some meaning, right...