Chapter 16: The Number Of Downloads On The First Day Exploded!

As expected, both WB and Douyin were buzzing with activity. Several news articles about Eden were rapidly gaining traction. Every topic seemed to be tagged with the words "[Honkai III]." This has propelled Honkai III to a massive surge in traffic and popularity.

Inside Mi Huyou's studio, the atmosphere was charged with excitement.

"Bronya, how's the data looking?" Mo Li asked, his tone eager.

Bronya paused her game and quickly opened the backend to check the numbers. However, when she saw the figures on the screen, her pupils shrank in disbelief. She was so stunned that she didn't speak for several moments.

Mo Li, noticing her silence, asked with a hint of concern, "What's going on, Bronya?"

"Boss, wait... let me double-check," Bronya murmured, not quite able to believe her eyes. The numbers on the screen were staggering, and she feared she might be imagining things. She leaned in closer, squinting at the screen as her finger traced the data, counting aloud.

"Ten hundred... thousand..." She trailed off as her hand hovered over the keys, confirming the unbelievable numbers.

Just then, Mo Li, standing behind her with a cup of coffee, caught a glimpse of her position—Bronya in her OL outfit, her figure outlined by a black silk skirt. She was slightly bent over, her waist curved in a way that was unavoidably seductive. Mo Li, startled, nearly spilled his coffee.

"Cough cough..." he choked, scrambling for air.

Rita, passing by at the right moment, saw Mo Li's coughing fit and approached with concern.

"Boss, are you okay?" she asked, her eyes flicking to Bronya's position and then back at Mo Li. Her lips curled into a knowing smile as she seemed to understand exactly what was happening.

Still chuckling, Rita patted Mo Li on the back to help him recover.

Meanwhile, Bronya's soft voice broke the moment: "Boss, our game... exploded!"

Rita, a little surprised, looked at Mo Li, who seemed to have expected this. "As expected," he said, calm and composed.

"By the way, what I'm more interested in is... did you just laugh?" Mo Li teased.

Bronya rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I'm not paralyzed, what's so strange about laughing?"

"Is it strange?" Mo Li raised an eyebrow. "It's the first time I've seen you smile!"

"Well, aren't you supposed to be facially paralyzed too?" Bronya shot back.

With a bemused smile, Rita joined in: "Don't talk about Mo Li, Bronya. I rarely see you smile either."

"..." Bronya just glared at both of them.

The playful moment didn't last long before Bronya reminded them of the more pressing matter. "Are we focusing on the right things here? I said the game's data exploded, our studio is on fire. Aren't you supposed to be happy about that?"

Rita, catching the gravity of the situation, nodded. "Of course I'm happy! But I don't quite understand the game data... Can you explain?"

Mo Li walked over to the computer and observed the data himself. Just like Bronya, his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Ten million! 30 million downloads!" Mo Li exclaimed.

Rita stared in confusion. "??"

But before Rita could fully process the numbers, Mo Li's next words stunned her even more. "10 million of them have played for over two hours. And 2 million players have made purchases..."

What kind of data was this? Even some well-established games that had been in beta for a year couldn't achieve these numbers, let alone Honkai III, which was barely hours into its official release. It was completely unheard of.

Rita, still in shock, couldn't help but reflect on her own game, which had only seen a few hundred thousand downloads over a longer period. Daily active users numbered barely over 10,000. The difference was night and day compared to Honkai III's performance.

Bronya, who had been standing quietly nearby, couldn't contain her excitement any longer. She glanced at the data, still in disbelief. "I thought I was seeing things earlier..." she admitted, her voice tinged with awe. She turned to Mo Li. "What kind of mind could produce such a game?"

Mo Li, equally astonished, responded, "I never expected these numbers either. The total number of pre-registrations was only 30 million. But in less than ten hours, 30 million downloads? It doesn't add up... People pre-register, but that doesn't mean they download."

He ran through his mental calculations. Originally, he'd expected around 15 million downloads by the end of the first day. But now, the actual number had surpassed his expectations in just a few hours.

The number of paying users had already hit one million.

Excitedly, Rita relayed the good news to the other girls in the studio. No one could quite believe the 30 million downloads at first. But once they all huddled together to examine the numbers closely, counting the hundreds of millions, they jumped up, ecstatic.

Bronya, still quietly watching, smiled to herself as the girls celebrated. It had been a long time since the studio had been this animated.

After the excitement calmed down, Bronya noticed the girls' posture as they examined the data... Their pouting expressions were all too noticeable.

She turned to look at Mo Li, who was strategically sipping his coffee. Suddenly, an idea crossed her mind, and her face flushed red.

Clearing her throat, she said, "Cough... calm down, everyone. Pay attention to your image."

But the girls were far too caught up in the moment to care about their image. They were too busy discussing the numbers, unable to hide their joy.

At that moment, Mo Li broke the tension. "Mushrooms, let's check for any server issues first, and then we can expand the system."

After a pause, he added, "It's nearly time to clock out. I'll treat everyone to a celebratory meal."

To his surprise, the girls exchanged uncertain glances. No one seemed eager to jump at the offer.

Mo Li raised an eyebrow. "What's going on? Don't want to celebrate with a meal?"

The girls seemed uncomfortable. Ya Yi quickly spoke up, "Boss, we usually don't go out to eat together. We're not used to the attention of strangers."

Mo Li, understanding the situation, nodded. He had to admit, with the looks of the girls, it was no surprise that they'd attract attention wherever they went.

"How about ordering takeout?" Ya Yi suggested. "We can stay here, keep an eye on the data."

Rita agreed, adding, "I think that's a good idea. If the boss wants to celebrate, takeout works for us."

Seeing the girls' decision, Mo Li took out his phone. "Alright, what would you like to eat?"

"I want fried fish with flavor," one girl requested.

"Fengren Chicken with Hunan flavor," another chimed in.

"Steamed Shrimp Head with Kuroko," a third one said.

"Steamed Mullet with Kuroko," another added.

And so, they all made their choices, the excitement still hanging in the air.