Inside the Herta Space Station meeting room.
A group of people sat staring at the screen as if they had collectively lost their minds.
"So that's how the Trailblazer came to be?"
"The Stellaron was physically jammed into her?!"
"Is this something I'm even allowed to see?"
"This confirms it! The game's plot is exactly what happened recently, and it even includes details we didn't know!"
"Quick, go get Station Lead Asta!"
Soon, Asta arrived at the office, surrounded by a crowd. A staff member had already recorded the previous stream. When she saw the scenes of the Antimatter Legion invading the space station and the ensuing chaos, Asta's mouth hung open in shock.
The memories were still vivid. They were still cleaning up the mess from that disaster.
So, the Antimatter Legion was lured here by the Stellaron Hunters! These detestable hunters!
They had strolled through the Storage Zone as if they were in their own backyard. They were supposed to be there to steal the Stellaron, yet they acted like they were home. They had broken into Lady Herta's collection room so casually and shoved the Stellaron into a girl's body.
Wait! That girl looked familiar...
"Oh my, isn't that the Trailblazer! So she was a vessel created by the Stellaron Hunters!"
In just a few minutes, a massive stream of information crashed into Asta's mind. It was as jarring as seeing three months' worth of shopping bills all at once.
"Miss Asta, could the Trailblazer be a mole planted by the Stellaron Hunters?"
"Don't talk nonsense! This is just a game. We shouldn't think so maliciously of our friend," Asta said, putting her hands on her hips with a hint of displeasure.
"But so far, the game's plot matches reality perfectly," the staffer argued.
"We aren't sure yet. Let's keep watching."
Asta gestured for the main screen to return to the stream. The streamer, Little Gui, was visible in a small corner at the bottom right. The rest of the frame was filled with Honkai: Star Rail.
Silver Wolf: "How much longer are you going to talk? According to the script, the people from the Astral Express (the Trailblaze travelers) are almost here. we shouldn't be seen by them."
"I know, Silver Wolf. Just a moment longer, just a moment."
Kafka sounded almost like she was wheedling. She then looked directly into the camera and said, "[Listen to me]: Someone will find you soon. You can trust them and go with them. You won't remember anything, except for me."
[No, don't...]
[Goodbye...]
[Kaf... ka...]
Even without voice acting, everyone watching could feel it the protagonist was still in a state of awakening, confused and lost.
"When you have the chance to make a choice, don't let yourself regret it..."
As Kafka spoke those final words, the screen faded to black, signifying the protagonist falling back into a slumber.
After an unknown amount of time, a male voice spoke.
"This person's coordinates weren't sent from the space station..."
A female voice urged, "Does it really matter right now? There's a literal human being right in front of us, they can't be fake."
"The heartbeat and pulse are very weak. March, get ready to perform artificial respiration."
"Huh?! I... I don't have any experience! Dan Heng, you do it!"
At that moment, the protagonist's eyes finally opened. The first thing Stelle saw was a massive man's face. It only looked massive because it was inches away.
"Stop hold it right there!"
A hand reached in at the critical moment and pushed the man's face aside. Then, the owner of that hand leaned in. She had short pink hair and a pair of bright, multi-colored eyes. She looked down with a cheerful smile.
"They're awake!"
"Are you okay? Can you hear me? Do you remember your name?" the pink-haired girl asked.
Watching this, Asta was completely speechless. That was March 7th and Dan Heng! Although their identities had been revealed in the dialogue, seeing them rendered so lifelike in the game was incredible.
It really is the Astral Express crew! That Trailblazer helped us so much on the space station. Who would have thought she was born like this?
I should get in touch with the Express crew immediately. Asta picked up her phone, ready to find their contact info, but she stopped. A thought occurred to her. If the staff on our space station have already seen this game, the Express crew must know about it too, right?
Forget it. The game has only just started. No need to jump to conclusions so quickly.
She closed her contacts and opened the app store. She searched for Honkai: Star Rail and quietly began downloading it. This game... she was definitely going to play it, if only for the plot! Surely, it would have more surprises in store for her.
On the Astral Express.
Welt Yang and Himeko looked at each other. At this point, everything was starting to connect.
After a long silence, Welt spoke first. "According to the report Dan Heng uploaded, he and March 7th did indeed find her inside Herta's Curio collection room."
"Are you saying the plot of this game really is based on real events?"
"Based on what we've seen, the possibility is very high."
"Could the Stellaron Hunters have the technology to make a game like this?" Himeko asked, almost to herself.
"I suppose... it's possible," Welt replied uncertainly. "For now, it seems this creator named Yu Ling has an extremely detailed understanding of Kafka and Silver Wolf. Otherwise, it would be impossible to include details that even we weren't aware of."
"What about the Express? Don't forget, the game is named after us." Himeko took a deep breath, her eyes sparkling with intense interest. "Welt, I have a feeling this game is only just beginning."
"Look, a new feature has been unlocked [Character]."
"I'm already starting to wonder what Little March and Stelle's skills look like."
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