An open-air plaza.
A woman wearing light makeup stood among the crowd, engrossed in the content displayed on her Jade Abacus—just like everyone else.
However, unlike the others, she wasn't playing Honkai: Star Rail or watching Guinaifen's livestream.
Instead, she was communicating with a companion far across the galaxy.
[Silver Wolf]: "Kafka, as you wished, the Astral Express crew has changed course and arrived at Xianzhou Luofu."
[Kafka]: "Perfect. That means the corresponding part of my script is complete."
Not long ago, she had delivered an impromptu performance aboard the Express.
Truthfully, she hadn't lied.
The Stellaron Hunters did have ulterior motives—but not for their own sake.
Their goal was to forge a connection between the Astral Express and the Xianzhou.
To put it bluntly, they wanted the Xianzhou to owe the Express a favor.
In the foreseen outcome, the power of the Hunt was indispensable.
Though there had been some twists and turns, Kafka had successfully fulfilled her role.
[Kafka]: "Alright, Silver Wolf, I'll leave opening the Jade Gate to you."
Yet, no response came from the other side.
After waiting three minutes, Kafka couldn't help but send another message.
[Kafka]: "Hey, you there?"
Another three minutes passed.
[Kafka]: "Hey hey hey hey hey hey?! If you don't act soon, the Express crew will turn back!"
[Silver Wolf]: "Relax."
"Let me finish farming these materials first."
Kafka: "..."
[Silver Wolf]: "I'm raising eight characters at once. There's never enough materials—so annoying."
[Kafka]: "How do you even have that many five-star characters?"
[Silver Wolf]: "I'm also raising some four-stars, like March 7th, Asta, and Tingyun."
"They might be four-stars, but their skill mechanics are fun. Until better replacements come along, it's worth investing in them."
"Ah, done farming."
[Kafka]: "Can you open the gate now?"
[Silver Wolf]: "Let me check… Oh, they've already entered the Luofu."
[Kafka]: "Huh? Wasn't the Jade Gate locked down in advance?"
[Silver Wolf]: "You didn't read Elio's script, did you?"
[Kafka]: "Ever since *Star Rail* appeared, fate's been thrown into chaos. You know that better than anyone."
[Silver Wolf]: "The area was locked down, but it's become a viral hotspot. A Luofu dockworker opened it for us."
[Kafka]: "The epicenter of a Stellaron outbreak turned into a tourist attraction? Xianzhou natives really are something else."
[Silver Wolf has gone offline.]
[Kafka]:** "Hey, stay and chat a little longer~"
[Silver Wolf has come online.]
[Silver Wolf]: "You seem unusually cheerful today?"
[Kafka]: "Elio's script has me, and *Star Rail*'s story has me too. Why wouldn't I be happy?"
[Silver Wolf]: "When you get added to the gacha, I'm pulling for you like crazy."
[Silver Wolf has disconnected.]
Ending the conversation, Kafka downed the Calyx Brew in front of her in one go.
Her gaze drifted toward the distant, shadowy cluster of buildings.
"All good things must come to an end."
"Blade, just wait…"
"I'm coming to save you."
---
Palace of Astrum.
Led by Yukong, the Express crew arrived at their destination.
The moment they stepped inside, two pairs of intense holographic eyes from the projection sand table locked onto them.
"...This is General Jing Yuan of the Luofu, and this is Lady Fu Xuan, head of the Divination Commission," Yukong introduced them one by one.
March 7th immediately grew nervous, whispering into Stelle's ear, "So many big shots right off the bat… I'm not used to this."
Stelle nodded. "Same."
Just as Welt was about to introduce himself, Jing Yuan smiled and spoke first.
"Members of the Astral Express, I've long heard of your exploits and admired you from afar."
"Not only through rumors across the cosmos but also through witnessing your Trailblazing journey from start to finish in Honkai: Star Rail's story. Truly magnificent!"
March 7th bashfully poked her fingers together.
As expected!
The game had already taken Xianzhou by storm.
Even Luofu's own general knew everything about them.
"This should make many things easier to explain," Welt remarked with a nod.
"Indeed! Had we not seen the game's story, the Divination Commission would've suspected you of colluding with the Stellaron Hunters," Fu Xuan said, crossing her arms.
"But now? I trust you completely."
"Then let's get straight to the point."
With a wave of Jing Yuan's hand, the sand table projected the image of a man—
The Stellaron Hunter, Blade.
"His identity is no secret to all of you."
"Currently, Blade is imprisoned in the Luofu's Shackling Prison. We've foreseen his attempted escape and have deployed most of our forces to guard the area."
"However, the game's story also foretells another event—the Stellaron's eruption."
"With two major crises overlapping, the Luofu's military strength is stretched thin."
"This is precisely the time when the Astral Express's aid is most needed."
March 7th's eyes lit up. "I get it! So, General, you want to entrust us with finding clues about the Stellaron and sealing it in advance to prevent disaster, right?"
"No."
Jing Yuan's gaze lingered meaningfully on Dan Heng.
"We have our own methods for handling the Stellaron."
"I'd like to ask you… to head to the Shackling Prison as an unexpected force to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the chaos to rescue a high-profile prisoner."
The moment these words were spoken—
Dan Heng, March 7th, and Stelle were all stunned!
Not long ago, aboard the Express, Kafka had tried to commission them to infiltrate the Shackling Prison and help her rescue Blade.
Now, Jing Yuan was also commissioning them to go to the Shackling Prison—to stop anyone from rescuing Blade!
To save, or not to save?
That was the question!
To be continued…
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