Inside the conference room of the [Herta] space station, a group of individuals stared at the unfolding scene on the screen as if collectively mesmerized.
"So this is how the Trailblazer emerged?"
"The Stellaron was physically inserted!"
"Is it appropriate for me to be watching this?"
"It's confirmed now! The game's storyline mirrors recent real-life events, and there are many details we were previously unaware of!"
"Hurry, summon Station Director Asta!"
Promptly, Asta arrived at the office surrounded by a crowd.
One of the staff members had already recorded the entire live stream.
As they watched the chaos unfold with the Antimatter Legion invading the space station, Asta's mouth dropped open in astonishment.
The events unfolded vividly before her eyes.
Even now, many lingering issues from that disaster remained unresolved.
It turned out the Antimatter Legion was lured by the Stellaron Hunters!
Those despicable Stellaron Hunters!
They casually tampered with artifacts within the space station's Storage Zone.
Despite being there to steal Star Cores, they acted as if it were their own home.
And so nonchalantly, they infiltrated Lady Herta's collection chamber.
Then, they implanted a Stellaron into a young girl's body.
Wait!
Why does this girl seem familiar?
Oh no, isn't that the Trailblazer?!
So she was created as a vessel by the Stellaron Hunters!
Within mere minutes, a massive influx of information flooded Asta's mind, akin to suddenly facing three months' worth of her consumption bills all at once.
"Asta, could [Trailblazer] be a mole planted by the Stellaron Hunters?"
"Nonsense! This is just a game; we shouldn't maliciously suspect our friend like that." Asta placed her hands on her hips, somewhat disgruntled.
"However, based on what we've seen so far, the game's storyline aligns perfectly with reality," the staff member responded.
"Not sure yet. Let's observe further before deciding."
Asta switched the main screen to display the live broadcast.
It was from a channel called "Little Gui Zi Streamer."
In the small corner on the right side of the screen, one could barely see little Guizi himself.
The rest of the frame was dominated by gameplay footage of Honkai: Stellar Rail.
Silver Wolf: "How much longer do we need to watch? According to the script, the Astral Express's passengers (the Trailblazing Travelers) will arrive soon. We shouldn't miss meeting them."
"I know, Silver Wolf. Just a little more time, just a bit," Kafka responded almost playfully before addressing the camera.
"The moment is near; I must leave... [Listen carefully]: Soon, someone will find you. Have faith and go with them. Remember nothing except me."
["No, don't..."
"Farewell..."
"Kaf...fa..."]
Although there was no voiceover, everyone watching could sense that at this point, the protagonist was still in a state of fresh awakening, feeling disoriented and bewildered.
"When you have the chance to make choices, don't let yourself regret them..."
As Kafka uttered these final words, the screen gradually turned black, symbolizing the protagonist falling back into slumber once again.
It remained unclear how much time passed.
A male voice emerged.
"The coordinates weren't transmitted from the space station..."
Another female voice urged, "At this point, why quibble over details? This person is right here before us—can they be fake?"
"The heartbeat and pulse are both very weak. March, prepare to administer CPR."
"Ah?! I...I don't have much experience! Dan Heng, you do it!"
Just then,
the protagonist's perspective finally opened again.
What came into view was a massive man's face hovering close by, appearing extraordinarily large due to its proximity.
"Hold on—stop talking!" At a crucial moment, a hand intervened, pushing the man's face aside.
The owner of the hand then leaned forward instead.
Short pink hair framed a pair of vibrant, bright eyes that smiled warmly upon looking at the protagonist.
"He's awake!"
"Are you okay? Can you hear me clearly? Do you remember your name?" the pink-haired girl asked.
Witnessing this scene, Asta was utterly speechless with astonishment.
It was none other than March 7th and Dan Heng!
Although their identities were already revealed during the conversation, seeing them in person still felt surreal to Asta.
These truly were the characters from Honkai: Stellar Rail!
The Trailblazer had even assisted significantly at the space station. Who would've thought they originated like this?
Quickly, she needed to contact the Astral Express Crew! Asta grabbed her phone.
Just as she was about to search for their contact information, she paused, struck by a sudden realization.
"Our researchers at the space station have all discovered this game; I bet the Astral Express crew must know about it too."
"Never mind, the game has just started. There's no need to rush any conclusions." She closed the contacts interface.
Instead, she opened the app store.
Searched for "Honkai: Stellar Rail".
Without hesitation, she began downloading it.
With such compelling storytelling alone, she knew she'd be hooked on this game! It undoubtedly held more surprises in store for her.
Astral Express.
Old Yang and Himeko exchanged glances involuntarily. At this point, everything began to connect.
After a moment of silence, Old Yang spoke first, "Based on Dan Heng's report, he indeed encountered her in Herta's Curio Collection Room with March 7th."
"You mean, the game's storyline is genuinely based on real-life events?"
"From what we've seen so far, it seems highly likely."
"With the Stellaron Hunters' technical capabilities, could they create such a game?" Himeko pondered almost rhetorically.
"I suppose...they might be able to," Old Yang responded uncertainly.
"At first glance, this creator named 'Feathered Spirit' must have detailed knowledge about Kafka and Silver Wolf from the Stellaron Hunters. Otherwise, they couldn't have included intricacies even we were unaware of."
"What about the train? Don't forget, the game itself is titled after it." Himeko took a deep breath, her eyes gleaming with intense interest. "Welt, I have a feeling that this game has only just begun."
"Look, here's a newly unlocked feature—'Characters.'"
"I'm already curious about Little March and Star's abilities."
On the rooftop of a grand building,
Kafka sat perched on the railing, overlooking the bustling city below.
The gentle breeze stirred her coat and hair, imparting a sense of languid ease. If only she had a glass of wine, it would have completed the ambiance, Kafka thought to herself.
In stark contrast, Silver Wolf beside her was intensely focused on the screen before her, rapidly inputting commands without blinking for what felt like ages.
Finally, the corners of Silver Wolf's mouth curved upwards, revealing a triumphant smile.
"Success!" She pointed at a graffiti-like symbol on the screen, almost boasting as she addressed Kafka, "Remember this? It's the digital graffiti I left at the space station [Herta], serving as a backdoor program to hack into it.
"Just now, I've accomplished my goal." As Silver Wolf spoke, she pulled down the goggles from her forehead.
Kafka smiled slightly. "So, what's your next move?"
"Of course, it's getting my hands on the 'Punklode Spirit' game cartridge," Silver Wolf replied without hesitation. "There haven't been any exciting new games lately; it's been unbearably dull. Only this one piques my interest somewhat."
"Well then, good luck." Kafka raised his hand, mimicking a toast gesture.
With that, he continued enjoying these rare moments of tranquility.
Meanwhile, although physically present, Silver Wolf's attention had already shifted to the space station [Herta] at the far reaches of the universe.
"Hey folks! As expected!"
"I already suspected that Kafka and Silver Wolf were just for us to try out briefly. They wouldn't give such heavyweight characters right off the bat."
"What a stylish entrance—just one ultimate move wiped out all those Voidrangers!"
"Otherwise, our protagonist would seem completely useless!"
"With powerful characters like Kafka and Silver Wolf, you'll definitely have to spend money to unlock them later."
"That's understandable though. Considering the impressive effort put into their ultimate moves, it's reasonable to support by paying a bit."
As Guinaifen continued progressing through the story, she actively shared her thoughts.
Now, the narrative shifted back to the protagonist's perspective, and its pace finally slowed down.
The protagonist, March 7th, and Dan Heng introduced themselves to each other.
Next, March 7th led the protagonist towards the Master Control Zone.
Meanwhile, Dan Heng went to find Arlan from the Security Division.
The chat also became more lively at this point.
"I think we should observe more and see if any other characters appear later."
"No matter how Kafka is introduced, I'm determined to get her!"
"Young ones often overlook Silver Wolf's worth, mistaking the protagonist as the true treasure."
"I want them all! Already saved up a month's salary—hurry up and release these two characters!"
"Does the production team understand?! Give us the purchase link!"
As Guinaifen watched the barrage of comments, she followed the instructions and opened the character interface.
Her current team already consisted of two characters.
The protagonist Trailblazer and March 7th.
"Regardless, I'm definitely planning to roll for Stellaron Hunters when it comes out!"
"Not just because their ultimate abilities look incredibly flashy!"
"The characters on this screen should be our initial party members..."
"Besides the protagonist, there's also March 7th, a member of the Astral Express Crew!"
Understanding the character stats was straightforward: health points, attack power, critical hit chance, damage multiplier, and so forth—common elements in many games. Guinaifen didn't need to elaborate further.
"But what sets this game apart is—"
"Each character has different attributes and fates."
"Fam, check out Star in my team—the protagonist herself—is a Physical attribute Destruction Fate character, oh yeah!"
"As expected, Miss March 7th from the Astral Express Crew is an Ice attribute Preservation Fate character~"
While explaining her understanding, Guinaifen maneuvered the protagonist to pick up a baseball bat as a makeshift weapon.
Soon, they encountered the roaming Antimatter Legion.
This marked the first battle for both the protagonist and March 7th.
"Let's take a look at their abilities."
"Honestly, Little Guizi here isn't expecting much; just hoping they're half as effective as Kafka and Silver Wolf would be great."
"After all, our protagonist is wielding a mere baseball bat, and Miss March 7th doesn't seem particularly combat-oriented either."
In no time, energy levels filled up.
Guinaifen promptly activated March 7th's ultimate ability.
Whoosh!
March 7th's vibrant character portrait flashed briefly on screen.
[Ice Engraved Arrow Rain] initiated.
"It's about time I get serious."
With a gentle swipe near her dress, an arrow formed from condensed frost appeared in March 7th's hand.
"Have a taste of my prowess!"
Looking quite pleased, she placed the arrow on the bowstring, leaped into the air, and unleashed a powerful shot forward.
The ice arrow split mid-flight into numerous Pom-Pom dolls, raining indiscriminate bombardment upon the enemies.
Guinaifen's eyes lit up instantly.
"Wow, just like Kafka and Silver Wolf, she has her own unique close-up animation!"
"Ooh, ooh, these skill effects are impressive too!"
"I adore energetic girls like Miss March 7th—just as cute as us!"
"That's surprising! Could it be that every character has their own unique close-up animation?"
"Even without Kafka and Silver Wolf, starting with March 7th is still quite generous."
"In any other game, such a meticulously crafted character would easily cost at least 100,000 credits!"
"This game doesn't even have an option to recharge yet—I'm dying inside!"