Herta Space Station.
The post-disaster reconstruction had come to an end. The surviving staff members had returned to their peaceful, leisurely lives.
Inside a meeting room, a staff member was secretly scrolling through his phone under the desk. Compared to his colleague's endless droning at the podium, he felt his time was much better spent on games. He opened the "New Releases" section.
Scrolling down, he suddenly saw three words: Honkai: Star Rail.
"Star Rail? Isn't that the Astral Express crew that helped us a while back? I remember the train was parked at the platform for quite a while! This is a thing? Let me see!"
...
The Xianzhou Luofu.
Qingque was slacking off as usual. However, she had recently received a severe warning from that terrifying boss of hers at the Divination Commission, so she couldn't slack off too openly. She could only take out her Jade Abacus and scroll through it during her breaks.
"Little Gui seems to be streaming. Let me take a look. Eh? She stopped doing acrobatics and started streaming games? Wait, wait, wait! Are you sure that's a game? Isn't that the wanted criminal, Kafka? I saw her wanted poster just this morning! Oho, this looks interesting! I'm skipping cards after work tonight. I need to see what the story of this game is all about!"
...
The Astral Express.
In the vast carriage, only Welt and Himeko remained besides the conductor, Pom-Pom. Welt was sitting by the window in the parlor car, reading a book. Outside, a planet covered in ice and snow drifted by. However, he wasn't reading very intently, occasionally glancing out at the scenery.
Himeko walked over with a cup of coffee and sat beside him. "Worried about the kids? It's their first Trailblaze, after all. It's natural to feel uneasy."
Welt smiled. "No, the youth need opportunities to train."
"Then relax. How about a cup of my new coffee blend?"
Looking at the black liquid, Welt felt his throat tighten. He quickly opened his phone. "Uh... no, thank you. I prefer to play games when I want to relax."
In reality, Welt didn't have a single game on his phone. He opened the new games section, intending to download something random to use as an excuse. However, among the dizzying list of names, he saw one that caught his eye.
Himeko noticed the change in his expression. "What is it?"
"Look at this game."
"Honkai: Star Rail? It seems to be a game designed with our Astral Express as the theme."
"There's no mistake." Welt pushed up his glasses. "The icon is a train."
"Developers have used train elements before," Himeko noted. "But since they aren't Nameless who have actually boarded the Express, their designs are usually wild and far removed from a true Trailblaze."
Welt knew Himeko was being polite. "Wild" was just a nice way of saying "a mess." Usually, they were just trashy projects trying to capitalize on the Express's fame. Himeko clearly thought this was another one of those games.
However, Welt didn't agree. He was less concerned with the last four words and more focused on the prefix: Honkai. He hoped the developer was just using it as a descriptive adjective and not referring to the Honkai he knew.
"Since we have some free time, why don't we check it out together?"
"Sure," Himeko agreed readily. "But let's be clear: if it turns out to be a cheap, poorly made game, I'm not playing along."
...
Lin Yu had no idea that his mobile game was already attracting the attention of some very important figures in the galaxy. At that moment, through Guinaifen's stream, the turn-based gameplay of Honkai: Star Rail was about to be revealed—
The voice of another Stellaron Hunter came through the screen. "Can I have some fun this time? The last few missions were so boring."
"Apologies. Today's task is very dull: we just need to 'put it in' the target." Kafka's tone then shifted. "But if you want to find some entertainment, I won't stop you. After all..."
As she spoke, the cabin door in front of Kafka opened automatically. She walked forward, resting her hands on her waist. Standing before her were three menacing Voidrangers!
"After all, whatever Elio didn't write in the Script doesn't matter!"
She drew her twin guns. Her pupils dilated instantly, and her lips curved into a joyful smile. It was as if an impromptu performance had reached its climax! It looked like Kafka was about to spray the Voidrangers with lead at any moment.
Most people, including Guinaifen, didn't fully understand the dialogue, but they knew one thing: the Stellaron Hunters were there to cause trouble! A battle with the Antimatter Legion was inevitable!
This moment confirmed their expectations. But just as the dramatic tension hit its peak, the screen froze. Cracks appeared across the display, and when it cleared, the scene had shifted to a turn-based battle with the two sides facing each other.
—"???"
—"I was getting hyped, and you show me this?"
—"I'm not seeing things, right? This is a turn-based game!"
—"Disappointing. I thought we were getting a big action scene."
—"I was actually interested, the opening hook was great, but turn-based? Nah."
—"This kind of gameplay is totally outdated!"
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