"Seriously, if you were to one day transmigrate into a game and become a playable character, what would you do?"
In his bedroom, a tall man sat at his desk, writing this very sentence down in a notebook.
But as he wrote, he set down his fountain pen, rose from his chair, and walked to the bedroom window to gaze at the view outside.
There were no singing birds or soaring skyscrapers, only the deep, tranquil expanse of the cosmos standing silently outside the window. A tapestry of stars glittered with light, some bright, some dim, accompanying the train on its journey forward.
"Knock, knock, knock! Wende! Time for afternoon tea!"
A voice brimming with energy came from the bedroom doorway. The man called "Wende" turned and answered the young woman outside.
"Alright, I'm coming."
Turning back for one last look at the starry sky outside, Wende gave a helpless smile. He opened his bedroom door and headed towards the train's observation car.
The story had to begin back on Earth, on April 26th, 2023.
On that day, miHoYo's new game, Honkai: Star Rail, officially launched. As a die-hard miHoYo fan and an enthusiast of turn-based games, there was no way Wende would miss a title that so perfectly suited his tastes.
In fact, he had been waiting for this game for a very long time. From its initial announcement to the first and second closed betas, he had been following it obsessively. As for why he was only following it... it was because someone cursed to always hit hard pity like him could never manage to snag a beta key, leaving him to only watch with envy as others experienced the story.
But today was finally the day! He could at last experience the game's plot for himself!
At eight in the morning, Wende, having just woken up and washed his face, was drawn in by the frantic buzzing of his phone.
[QQ Group Chat: Astral Express - African Division]
[(Group Owner) Huffing March 7th's Sweaty Feet: WTF! Bros, bros! Star Rail launched early! Everyone get online and snag a good UID!]
[(Admin) Any Evil Will Eventually Bury Me: Trying to trick us again, are you?]
[(Group Owner) Huffing March 7th's Sweaty Feet: Why would I lie to you! login_screen.jpg]
[(Admin) Any Evil Will Eventually Bury Me: WTF!]
[Kafka is My Forever Wife: WTF!]
[Himeko Murata is Already Dead!: WTF!]
[(Group Owner) Huffing March 7th's Sweaty Feet: @Himeko Murata is Already Dead! You better change that fucking name! you_little_shit.jpg]
Wende, who had still been groggy from waking up early, found his eyes widening as he read through the conversation between the degenerates in his group chat. Without even bothering to wipe the toothpaste foam from the corner of his mouth, he scrambled back into his bedroom, sat down at his computer, and rapidly clicked on the game icon—the one with the energetic, pink-haired girl.
"Honkai Impact 3rd! Ah, no, wait... Honkai: Star Rail! LAUNCH!!!"
"Wooooom..."
The moment he clicked "Start Game," Wende's vision went black, and he lost consciousness.
..............
"Himeko! Come try the new mango pudding our Conductor just whipped up!"
A young woman with pink hair and blue-and-pink eyes held out a piece of yellow pudding, offering it to the elegant woman sitting on the sofa. The graceful lady, dressed in a long white skirt and a black coat, brushed back a strand of her fiery red hair and accepted the pudding with a smile.
"It seems our adorable Conductor's skills have been improving lately."
The red-haired woman took an elegant bite of the pudding, which radiated a rich mango aroma, and praised the "Conductor" who stood nearby holding a tray of drinks.
"Of course! Passenger Himeko has great taste, pa!"
Placing the tray of drinks on the coffee table by the sofa, the fluffy, adorable Conductor placed its small, round hands on its waist, looking immensely proud.
"Has our Conductor invented another new treat?"
A middle-aged man with glasses and a handsome young man walked into the observation car.
"Uncle Welt! Come try Pom-Pom's new drink! Dan Heng, you too!"
March 7th, holding a small plate of pudding, waved them over.
"Mm."
Dan Heng nodded, walked over to the coffee table, and picked up a glass of green liquid.
"Is this... mint lemonade?"
Feeling the sweet and sour taste and the cooling sensation in his mouth, Dan Heng looked at the unassuming drink in his hand with some surprise.
"Hehe! How is it! Tastes pretty good, pa!"
Seeing Dan Heng's surprised expression, Pom-Pom nodded with satisfaction.
"This was all the new passenger's idea! It's very good, pa!"
"The new passenger? You mean Wende?"
Himeko recalled the attacked fleet the Astral Express had rescued that day. So that was the name of the young man who had survived.
"Yeah! I just went to call him for afternoon tea!" March 7th said with a little nod.
"In that case, is he doing alright now?" Himeko's gaze softened, her voice laced with concern. That boy didn't look very old. He was a bit tall, sure, but after experiencing a disaster of that magnitude, it was inevitable that some trauma would linger, right?
"Thank you all for your concern. I'm fine, really."
Wende walked into the observation car carrying a tray, upon which were arranged all sorts of cute little pastries.
"These were just baked. Please, help yourselves!"
Wende said with a smile to the group of familiar faces before him.
It was truly something else. He had just been trying to snag an early UID, but he never expected to snag himself a one-way trip into the world of Honkai: Star Rail.
"Wende! Are you okay?!"
March 7th, whose thoughts tended to leap all over the place, saw the faint, helpless smile on Wende's face and her drama-filled mind instantly conjured up countless scenarios.
"Uhh... don't worry, I'm really okay," Wende said, feeling his heart grow weary as he looked at March 7th, who was suddenly fussing over him.
Just thinking about how he had first arrived in this world—aboard a spaceship that was about to disintegrate—sent a shiver of lingering fear down his spine. If the Astral Express had arrived a moment later, he would have become a compatriot of Kars.
That disaster had happened just three days ago. With the help of the Astral Express crew, he had already been living here for three days.
Seeing the clear shift in Wende's expression, everyone on the train unanimously assumed he was still being affected by the disaster.
"Sorry, Passenger Wende. I shouldn't have dragged you into the kitchen, pa..." Pom-Pom said, bowing its head with self-reproach.
"Uhh... I'm honestly fine!"
"Really? Don't force yourself! How about you go back and sleep for a bit? Maybe a nap will help?" March 7th said earnestly, her pink-and-blue eyes wide.
Wende screamed internally, Damn it, if you all keep this up, I'm actually going to get traumatized!
"Alright, little March. I think our young friend Wende is already fine."
Seemingly noticing Wende's increasingly helpless expression, the steadfast Welt immediately came to his rescue.
"Oh... really? Don't bottle it up if you're feeling down, okay!"
Just as March 7th opened her mouth to say something more, the scenery outside the train window suddenly changed. A silver streak of light appeared in the once-empty void of space, growing closer and closer to the Astral Express.
"Esteemed passengers! We are about to arrive at the Herta Space Station!"
Pom-Pom's voice filled the observation car, though its figure had vanished from sight at some point.
At the same time, Wende, who was still wearing a helpless smile, suddenly froze. His brow furrowed.
"...W... TF?"
Frozen stiff in the observation car, Wende listened to the voice echoing in his mind and couldn't stop a choice bit of his mother tongue from escaping his lips.