Chapter 44: Do You Think I Care If My Eyes Are Dry?

"Protagonist?"

Everyone present cast incredulous looks but dared not question further.

The veterans like Dan Heng understood best—

Su Chen never acted without reason,

yet the current situation was so bizarre that concerns lingered.

"Boss, since when do you practice nepotism? Even if she's your sister, this is too blatant!" March 7th blurted out before Dan Heng could stop her.

"Must you state the obvious? He's still our boss!" Dan Heng chided sternly.

March 7th shrugged. "Relax, the boss isn't that petty."

"Who said I'm his sister?" Stelle struck a pose radiating "I'm the baddest bitch alive," hands on hips. "I'm his older sister!"

This only cemented everyone's belief in their sibling relation—

such resemblance couldn't be coincidental.

Stelle marched up to March 7th, jabbing her own nose. "Know who I am?"

March 7th dumbly shook her head.

Stelle smirked. "Ever heard of Shanghai's Trash Queen?

Back then, I chased two garbage can thieves

from Food Street all the way to Pedestrian Street—

three days and nights nonstop!

They ran, I chased. They ran, I chased.

Didn't blink once until I caught them.

That's why they call me 'Big Sis Stelle'!"

March 7th tilted her head. "Wouldn't your eyes get dry after so long?"

Stelle froze. "Who cares about dry eyes?! That's your takeaway?!"

"I'm just curious! Three days without blinking sounds painful—"

"Are we discussing ophthalmology?! Did you miss the entire point?!"

Su Chen facepalmed hard.

Recruiting Stelle might've been a mistake. The fools had multiplied.

"Enough! Stelle, show me your ID. We'll settle this."

Stelle patted her pockets. "Wait, why don't you go first?"

"Me?" Only then did Su Chen realize—he'd never checked his age since transmigrating.

Pulling out his ID, he gasped.

"What?! I just...

turned eighteen?!"

"I'm nineteen. Call me older sister."

"..."

After the farce, business resumed.

Su Chen switched to professionalism.

"I know you're confused. I'm not stepping down—

we'll film two versions starring Stelle and me separately!"

This shocked them more than replacing the protagonist outright.

"I don't under—" Dan Heng bit back his words.

"Why stop?" Su Chen grinned.

"Never mind. Explain."

"Simple. We'll shoot near-identical episodes—

one with Stelle, one with me."

"Doubling costs and workloads? Will audiences pay twice for the same plot?" Bronya finally interjected.

As a real estate heiress, the math was obvious.

"The plots will overlap 90%.

Dialogue adjusts for characterization.

We only need reshoot key scenes—

the rest gets swapped digitally.

Flawlessly."

The crew exchanged baffled glances. "Digital swapping" sounded impossible.

"AI face replacement?"

"CGI compositing?"

"Why hire a new actor for CGI?"

"..."

Dan Heng raised a hand to quell theories.

"'Swapping' means Photoshop-style editing—replacing Su Chen's image with Stelle's.

With fixed camera angles, it's feasible.

But one photo equals one frame.

Our show runs at 60fps—the workload would be astronomical!

Remember A Short Play? Silver Wolf spent 20 hours rendering three seconds of the space station panorama."

"I've got it covered." Su Chen winked.

Dan Heng relaxed instantly:

Anyone else? No faith.

But Su Chen? Always delivers.

"Two versions cater to different tastes—

fans of female leads get Stelle, male leads get me.

Our dialogue branches differently during choices,

adding replay value.

Crucially, subscriptions only unlock one protagonist—

the other requires extra payment."

This clarified the financial logic,

though skepticism remained—

who'd pay double for minor variations?

Like buying two nearly identical dishes to spot a one-minute cooking difference.

To intellectuals like Dan Heng and Bronya, it still seemed unprofitable.

But Su Chen had calculated thoroughly:

Some PVs feature only Stelle, others only Caelus.

Stelle's natural "trash gremlin" charm complements the Trailblazer's cool decisiveness.

Dual releases mean double emotional value gains—accelerating unlocks for Honkai Impact 3 and future Star Rail content.

The team ultimately trusted his vision—miracles were his specialty.

With that, Su Chen clapped.

"Alright! Space Comedy: Belobog Arc, take one—

Action!"

——

August 30th. Herta Space Station opening day.

Master Control Zone.

"Welcome to Herta Space Station! I'm Su Chen, founder of miHoYo!"

Thunderous applause echoed.

"By 10 AM, 9,527 guests had entered.

Thanks to Bilibili for live-streaming this historic event.

For our inaugural day, we've prepared:

The alternate ending where Rocky receives the blue backup.

A free VR experience—Simulated Universe—in Herta's office.

The premiere of Space Comedy!"