"Bailu is so cute!"
"Finally, a 5-star character from our own Xianzhou!"
"I wonder how the High Elder would react if she saw herself turned into a game character?"
"This character is broken. Once you pull her, you never have to worry about dying while pushing the plot or farming materials!"
"Behold the power of the High Elder!"
*[Tier 3: Himeko, Welt, Yanqing. These three can all serve as main carries for new players during the early game. Himeko is great for AOE, Yanqing is a single-target beast, and Welt is a versatile all-rounder who handles both single and group targets while providing slows and crowd control!]*
Welt and Himeko were familiar faces to the players, but when Guinaifen saw the young boy, Yanqing, she froze. The chat exploded.
"Huh? Am I seeing things?"
"Isn't that Yanqing, the Cloud Knight Lieutenant and the strongest swordsman on the Xianzhou Luofu?"
"Even he's in the gacha? Does that mean our Divine Foresight might also..."
"General Jing Yuan in the gacha? I can't even imagine it! Every Luofu player would go bankrupt pulling for him!"
Guinaifen felt her throat go dry. As more content was unearthed from the game, it continued to shatter the players' expectations. If the day actually came when the General of the Luofu was added as a playable character, Guinaifen would be amazed, but not entirely surprised.
The developer really had some guts...
*[Tier 4: Clara. A young girl who looks completely harmless, making her combat capabilities seem a bit weaker. She relies on being hit to trigger a robot's counter-attacks. For now, she doesn't seem very suited for new players starting out. If a F2P player pulls her, they might just have to restart their account.]*
"She must be a Belobog character."
"She's barefoot... how cute!"
Although the video creator didn't think much of her, Guinaifen believed there was no such thing as a weak 5-star character. Clara's mechanics were unique; she might become incredibly strong once players reached higher levels.
After finishing the video, Guinaifen took a deep breath. It was as if this video had opened a door to a new world for all Star Rail players. She had only one thought now:
She wanted them all! Her wallet was already trembling in fear.
Suddenly, another heavyweight notification reached the top of her screen. It was from the developer she followed Yu Ling!
*[Honkai: Star Rail Seele Character PV A Night of Peace]*
The moment Guinaifen clicked in, there were already 500 people watching simultaneously. Then 2,000. 6,000! 10,000! 20,000! 50,000...
The livestream chat went quiet as everyone likely headed over to watch the PV. On the screen, real-time comments began to flood in.
"Look what I found!"
"Star Rail players are eating good today!"
"So cool!"
"This is amazing!"
"The background music fits Seele perfectly!"
Accompanying the cool, rhythmic music, Bronya appeared. The two coordinated their attacks, showcasing their Ultimates in a blood-pumping combo! It felt as if Yu Ling was teaching the players: pairing Seele with Bronya would yield twice the results with half the effort!
Once the video ended, Guinaifen didn't hesitate. She went all-in on Seele.
"The character and the Signature Light Cone I'm getting both!"
Meanwhile, on the Express.
Himeko and Welt were focusing entirely on the story. After resolving the dispute between the miners and the vagrants over a new ore vein, they had encountered Svarog and his adopted daughter, Clara, in the Robot Settlement of the Underworld.
They had helped Clara repair the settlement's power supply and successfully convinced her to lead them to negotiate with Svarog. They wanted to see how quickly they could progress through the plot. If they went any further, the game's progress would sync up with what March 7th and the others were experiencing in reality!
"We're almost at Svarog's base. This must be what March and the others went through yesterday," Himeko said as she prepared to open the gates to the compound.
Through the Trailblazer's perspective, she had begun to immerse her own emotions into the story. Whether it was her "family" on the Express or the people on Jarilo-VI like the young Clara, Seele, or Bronya they all had brilliant souls, even if they belonged to different factions. Despite never having met them in person, Himeko hoped they could live well on that planet.
Welt added, "According to the logs Dan Heng sent, they successfully negotiated a truce with Svarog and learned information regarding the Stellaron from him."
"I know," Himeko said with a smile.
While other players might feel nervous or expectant here, Himeko and Welt were different. They already knew the outcome.
The negotiation began. Stelle acted as the representative.
"We... we are the variable!"
"No..."
"We are here for the Stellaron."
Had Himeko or Welt been the ones negotiating, they might have used more sophisticated rhetoric tailored for a robot. But Stelle and the others were young, and this was their first time. They mentioned the Stellaron immediately.
This seemed to trigger Svarog instantly. The red light on his head flared brightly!
"In recorded history, humans have attempted to contact the Stellaron multiple times," he warned in a low, mechanical voice. "Without exception, they were driven by selfish desire, attempting to claim the substance for their own use."
"Instruction from The Architects: Any attempt to contact the Stellaron will result in severe consequences. Re-evaluating... target threat index has reached maximum."
"There is no evidence to suggest you are an 'exception.' Maintaining original calculation results."
"Peacekeeping protocol suspended... Requesting activation of annihilation protocol."
Himeko was stunned. "This isn't right. Didn't they successfully negotiate in reality? Has the game plot diverged from reality here?"
While she was thinking, the battle began. Himeko's characters were well-leveled. To ensure she could push through the story smoothly, she had spent a bit of money. She had stopped after pulling her first guaranteed 5-star Clara.
However, since she hadn't met Clara in the story yet, she was still using the Express crew. Stelle, Dan Heng, and March 7th, with Natasha as a healer, were quite satisfactory.
As for the other characters... Bronya, Seele, and even herself... of course she wanted them! But for now, she was primarily a story-focused player.
Soon, Svarog's health bar was depleted, and a cutscene triggered. Natasha and Sampo arrived as reinforcements. The fierce battle resumed.
The outcome was inevitable. Svarog was eventually overwhelmed.
Just as Natasha prepared to fire a final shot to shut Svarog down for good, Clara suddenly rushed forward, crying as she shielded the robot with her body.
"Wait... stop!"
"Please don't hurt Mr. Svarog!"
Her face was flushed, and "little pearls" of tears fell from her eyes. The scene moved Himeko deeply. She found Clara adorable, but her heart ached for the girl. This young lady possessed a purity untainted by the world. She appeared fragile, yet she was incredibly strong inside.
Seeing her cry, Himeko felt a sudden urge to scold the rest of her team.
"Why are you guys bullying Clara?!"
"We agreed to negotiate, but instead, you all ganged up on a robot that's been around for centuries and beat him into this state!"
"Do you have no humanity left?!"
"Does your conscience not hurt?"
Himeko reached out as if to pat Clara's head and wipe away her tears. She wanted to tell her it was okay Big Sister Himeko would help her fix Svarog and handle everything!
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