"Bailu is so cute!"
"Our very own 5-star character from the Xianzhou!"
"I wonder how the Dragon Lady would react if she found out she's been turned into a game character?"
"This character is super strong. Once you pull her, you won't have to worry about dying while pushing the story or farming materials!"
"This is the true value of Lady Bailu!"
...
[Third Tier: Himeko, Welt, Yanqing. These three characters can all serve as main DPS for new players during the early game. Himeko excels at AoE, Yanqing at single-target, and Welt is versatile, capable of both single-target and AoE damage, with added slow and control effects. He's an all-around powerhouse!]
Both Welt and Himeko were familiar faces.
But when Guinaifen saw Yanqing, she was momentarily stunned.
The chat exploded.
...
[Chat]
"Huh? Am I seeing this right?"
"Isn't this Yanqing, the guard by the General's side, known as the strongest swordsman on the Xianzhou Luofu?!"
"Even he's in the gacha pool? Does that mean our Divine Foresight General might also..."
"General Jing Yuan in the gacha pool? I can't even imagine! Wouldn't all us Luofu players go all out for him?"
...
Guinaifen also felt her mouth go dry!
As more and more content in the game was uncovered.
It kept refreshing players' perceptions!
If one day the Luofu General really became a playable character, Guinaifen would be amazed, but not surprised!
This developer really dares to go all out...
[Fourth Tier: Clara. A seemingly harmless and adorable girl, so her combat abilities are slightly weaker. She can only rely on passive counterattacks from her robot companion when attacked. Currently, she doesn't seem suitable for new players. If a free-to-play player pulls her, they might have to restart with tears.]
"This must be a character from Belobog."
"She's even barefoot, so cute!"
Although the video creator thought this character wasn't very strong, Guinaifen believed there were no weak 5-star characters.
Clara's skill mechanics were unique, and she might become very strong once players leveled up and built her properly.
After watching the video.
Guinaifen took a deep breath.
It could be said that this video opened a new world for all Star Rail players!
She now had only one feeling.
—She wanted them all!
Her wallet was trembling in fear!
Suddenly.
A new notification appeared at the top.
This time, it was an even more significant push!
From Honkai: Star Rail's developer—Yu Ling, whom Guinaifen followed!
[Honkai: Star Rail - Seele Character PV: [A Peaceful Night]
As soon as Guinaifen clicked in, there were already 500 people watching simultaneously.
Then 2,000.
6,000!
10,000!
20,000!
50,000…
Even the livestream chat became much quieter. Everyone must have received the notification and gone to watch the character PV.
On the screen, real-time comments flooded in.
...
[Chat]
"Look what I found!"
"Star Rail players are celebrating today!"
"So cool!"
"This is amazing!"
"The background music fits Seele so well!"
...
As the cool and rhythmic music played, Bronya appeared.
The two of them worked together perfectly, each showcasing their ultimate skills, delivering an exciting combo attack against the enemy!
It was as if Yu Ling was teaching players—
Pairing Seele with Bronya could yield twice the results with half the effort!
After watching the video, Guinaifen immediately went all-in on pulling for Seele!
"I want both the character and her signature Light Cone!"
Meanwhile.
On the Astral Express.
Himeko and Welt were pushing the story forward.
After resolving the conflict between the miners and vagrants over the new mineral vein, they encountered the mechanical settlement [Svarog] and his adopted daughter, Clara, in the Underworld.
They then helped Clara repair the settlement's power supply.
And successfully convinced Clara to lead them to negotiate with Svarog.
They wanted to verify how far the game's story could go.
Because if they continued, the game's progress would soon synchronize with the real-world progress of March 7th and the others!
"We're about to reach Svarog's base. This is what March 7th and the others experienced yesterday, right?"
Himeko said as she prepared to open the base's door.
Through the Trailblazer's perspective, she had already immersed herself in the story.
Whether it was the Astral Express family or the people of Jarilo-VI—
Like the girl named Clara, Seele, Bronya, and the others.
Though they belonged to different factions, these young people all had radiant souls.
Even though they had never met, Himeko hoped they could live well on this planet.
Welt said, "According to Dan Heng's logs, they successfully negotiated with Svarog and even learned some information about the Stellaron."
"I know." Himeko smiled.
Other players might feel nervous and excited at this point.
But Himeko and Welt were different. They already knew the outcome.
The negotiation began.
Our representative was Stelle.
"We... we are the [variables]!"
"No..."
"We're here for the [Stellaron]."
If Himeko or Welt had been the ones negotiating, they might have used more mature and targeted tactics for dealing with robots.
But Stelle and the others were young and inexperienced.
They immediately brought up the [Stellaron].
This seemed to instantly provoke Svarog.
The red light in its head grew brighter!
It warned in a low, mechanical voice, "In recorded history, humans have attempted to interact with the [Stellaron] multiple times. Without exception, they sought to possess it out of selfish desires."
"The Architects' directive: Any attempt to interact with the [Stellaron] will result in severe consequences. Re-evaluating—target threat level raised to maximum."
"No evidence suggests you will be an [exception]. Maintaining original calculations."
"Peacekeeping protocol temporarily suspended... Activating extermination protocol."
Himeko was slightly stunned.
This wasn't right?
In reality, didn't they successfully negotiate?
Could it be that the game's story diverged from reality at this point?
As she pondered, the battle began.
Himeko's team was decently built.
To smoothly progress through the story, she had spent a little money.
She got her first guaranteed 5-star character—Clara—and stopped there.
But since they hadn't met Clara in the story yet, she was still using the Astral Express crew.
Stelle, Dan Heng, March, and Natasha—a balanced team that could both tank and deal damage. Himeko was satisfied.
As for other characters...
Bronya, Seele, and even herself—of course, she wanted them too!
But for now, she was still a story-focused player.
Soon, Svarog's health was whittled down, and the story continued.
Natasha and Sampo arrived to support.
The intense battle resumed.
And the outcome was inevitable.
Svarog was ultimately defeated.
Just as Natasha was about to deliver the final blow to finish off Svarog, Clara suddenly rushed forward, tears streaming down her face as she shielded Svarog.
"W-wait!"
"Please don't hurt Mr. Svarog!"
Her little face was red, and tears kept falling.
This scene touched Himeko's heart.
She found Clara both adorable and heartbreaking.
This girl had a purity untouched by the world.
Though she seemed fragile, her heart was strong.
Seeing her cry, Himeko felt the urge to scold the Astral Express crew.
—"Why are you bullying Clara!"
"You said you were here to negotiate, but instead, you ganged up on a centuries-old robot and beat it to this state!"
"Do you have any humanity left?!"
"Don't your consciences hurt?"
Then she would gently pat Clara's head, wipe away her tears.
And tell her it's okay, Sister Himeko will fix Svarog and handle everything!
To be continued…
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