"Little kitty, come with me, okay? I'll buy you some cat treats!"
Sushang's girlish heart was ignited. Right now, she simply held the pet in her arms and gave it a thorough face-washing rub.
"Sushang, let me handle it. I've raised a Tiding for a while, so I have experience. Your filming schedule is packed—better not get distracted." Guinaifen gently pressed down on Sushang's overflowing emotions.
Plastic sisterhood… Belle mentally roasted them in her heart, but she still had zero resistance to felines. After all, petting a cat feels great once, and petting cats forever feels great forever!
"You guys should just forget it. Hand it over to me to raise. I have plenty of experience."
"Don't you already have a Bangboo?" Guinaifen asked.
"Bangboo and this little cutie are totally different, okay?" Belle suddenly changed the subject, looking at Bubble, who was tilting its head on the shelf watching everyone. "Little guy, what's your name?"
"Meow? Meow~"
"Oh, so your name is Bubble!"
Sushang and Guinaifen looked at Belle with puzzled eyes and said in unison, "You can actually understand what it's saying?"
"Is that hard? Bangboo usually go 'mm-hmm mm-hmm' too, and I understand them just fine. It's basically the same thing."
Guinaifen gave an awkward laugh. "I thought only March 7th had that special talent. Didn't expect you to have it too."
"Bubble~" Sushang beckoned with her hand, deliberately softening her steps as she slowly approached Bubble. "It's too high up there. Jump down and I'll catch you, okay?"
"Meow, meow meow, meow meow…"
Seeing this, Sushang turned her head to Belle. "What did it say?"
"It said your movements are very nimble, but you'd better be careful."
"No need to worry about me, Bubble. Let big sis hug you—hehe~" Drool uncontrollably dripped from the corner of Sushang's mouth.
Next, Sushang stealthily closed in. She was getting closer and closer to Bubble—right when she was almost within reaching distance.
Bubble suddenly leaped and landed squarely on top of Sushang's head.
Caught off guard, Sushang stumbled forward one step and accidentally stepped on a pencil.
Clang.
A beautiful headbutt.
The back of Sushang's head smashed hard against the floor. "Ah!"
"Sushang!"
"Miss Sushang!"
Everything went black before Sushang's eyes. She saw her great-grandma standing on the opposite bank of the river, waving at her—then she lost consciousness.
"Quick, get her to the hospital!"
Guinaifen and Belle each took one side and hoisted the unconscious Sushang up, then rushed out the door at full speed.
At that moment, Bubble tilted its head, watching the three figures leave. "Meow?"
Then it went to a certain spot in a certain office, bit the edge of the carpet with its mouth, and pulled it aside—revealing a dog door about the width of a person. Faint cries for help drifted out from inside.
"Help! Is anyone there? Save me—I'm stuck!"
"Meow meow!"
Bubble shook its head, then crawled inside. After just a few steps, it saw a man's lower half facing it.
Bubble bit down on the corner of Su Chen's clothing and began dragging backward with effort.
— —
Not long after.
Belle and Guinaifen had already brought the still-unconscious Sushang to the hospital.
For some reason, the hospital was in complete chaos.
Many people were clutching their swollen bellies with one hand, looking exactly like pregnant women.
Su Chen jogged past the three of them.
Guinaifen shouted at the top of her lungs, "Dr. Su! Emergency! Sushang accidentally hit her head on the floor just now—she's unconscious!"
"Huh?" Su Chen glanced at Sushang. "What happened?"
Before Guinaifen could explain, Bailu dashed out from a ward. "Dr. Su! Yunli and Yanqing both need emergency induced vomiting right away."
"Got it…" Su Chen headed in another direction. Before leaving, he didn't forget to remind them, "Sushang's situation is urgent too. Take her to the fifth floor—Dr. Luocha should have time."
Then he vanished.
"Fifth floor? Isn't the fifth floor the ICU? Who's hospitalized?" Guinaifen blinked, still not processing everything. "What the heck is going on today? What happened to Yunli and Yanqing?"
"Sigh…" Belle let out a helpless sigh. "The ramen boss on Sixth Street held a big-eating contest today. Whoever eats the most in the shortest time wins the championship—and the prize is free ramen for a month."
"There's such a good deal?"
"Sixth Street has tons of events. I'm guessing big sis and big bro just overate."
"No wonder everyone's bellies are puffed up like that."
The two didn't chat much more. They continued carrying the unconscious Sushang up to the fifth floor.
Coincidentally, at that moment Luocha was standing in the hallway and let out a sigh.
"Dr. Luocha, help! Sushang fell and she's unconscious now!"
Luocha immediately looked up and saw the three rushing over.
In one swift step he reached them, wordlessly took Sushang into his arms, and placed her in the nearest ward.
Luocha briefly checked her breathing and pulse—thankfully, nothing critical for the moment.
Then he lifted her eyelids and examined her pupils carefully before turning to ask Belle and Guinaifen, "What happened to her? With Miss Sushang's physical conditioning, how could she suddenly fall unconscious?"
"Let me explain, Dr. Luocha. Basically the three of us went to Su Chen's office to find him, then Sushang went whoosh, then clang, then ahhh, and that's how it ended up like this."
Luocha kept his gentle smile. "Miss Guinaifen, could you perhaps speak in Chinese?"
"Let me." Belle couldn't stand it anymore and gave a rough summary of the whole incident.
Luocha pondered for a moment, then gently lifted Sushang's head and felt around lightly.
He didn't notice her eyelids twitch a few times.
"So the back of her head hit the floor. If that's truly the case, we should get her a brain CT immediately. The occipital region is relatively fragile—we don't want any lasting issues.
If the brain was actually injured, this could become serious."
"Ah! Is it that bad?" Guinaifen looked at Sushang. "Sushang, don't die on me!"
Tears poured from her eyes like a broken dam.
"Miss Guinaifen, please calm down. It's not quite that severe—this is just the worst-case scenario. Given Miss Sushang's long history of martial training, her constitution far exceeds the average person. In most cases, there won't be any major problem." Luocha comforted her.
"I shouldn't have suggested going to find Boss Su Chen." The thought that she was the one who proposed it filled Belle with guilt.
"I don't know what's wrong with today. It's usually pretty quiet, but everything's coming in waves. Lingsha, Su, and the others have been busy since morning without even a sip of water."
"Dr. Luocha, I saw you come out of a ward earlier—who's in the ICU?"
"Sparkle…" Luocha had long grown used to it. "She insisted on pulling some prank, sneaked into the ramen shop boss's back kitchen to steal food, and ended up eating a bowl of Himeko's freshly made ramen. Laundry detergent—Himeko mistook it for salt and dumped a whole pound in!"
Belle: "…"
Guinaifen: "…"
"Uh… let's just take Sushang for that brain CT."
Right then.
Sushang's fingers began twitching unconsciously.
Just as the group was about to wheel her out of the ward, Sushang suddenly propped herself up halfway.
"What happened to me?"
Belle and Guinaifen glanced at Luocha, seemingly wanting a reasonable explanation.
Luocha was also stunned—how did she wake up so suddenly?
He held up one finger. "Miss Sushang, how many fingers is this?"
"One."
"Do you remember who you are?"
"Li Sushang."
"Do you remember how you lost consciousness?"
"I must have lost focus for a moment, tripped over some object, lost balance, fell, and then passed out."
"Sushang. Do you remember me?" Guinaifen pointed at her own nose.
"Stage name Guinaifen, real name Guinevere."
"???" She actually knows my real name? Guinaifen secretly grumbled inside, feeling that Sushang seemed a little off.
"What about me?" Belle asked.
"Belle. On the surface you're the owner of a video store, but actually you're a film analyst. Now you're the supervisor for Hoyoverse's Honkai Impact 3rd web drama."
Luocha raised an eyebrow. He too sensed something wasn't quite right.
"Miss Sushang, do you remember me?"
"Luocha. Doctor at Hoyoverse's Interactive City, also the dean of this hospital, and former principal of St. Freya Academy. But Luocha isn't your real name—your real name is Otto Apocalypse.
Once, because you took it upon yourself to euthanize an emotionally unstable capybara, your conscience couldn't bear it, and you eventually parted ways with everyone at the academy…"
"Stop stop stop…" Luocha quickly interrupted. "How do you know all this?"
Sushang clasped her hands together. "Su Chen happened to mention it before. If you want to ask, I'll tell you."
"Holy crap! Sushang, you've changed." Guinaifen scratched her head. "Did hitting your head suddenly make you super smart?"
"Hmm…" Luocha nodded silently. "It's not impossible."
"Perfect! Absolutely perfect!"
Belle jumped up in excitement. "No problem—definitely no problem. Sushang, say a line. Give us a line from Honkai Impact 3rd."
Sushang nodded. "With heart as the scabbard, nurture the sharpest blade."
As soon as she spoke, Sushang no longer hid her aura. A powerful presence burst forth.
The room fell instantly silent!
Belle's eyes widened—this matched the character image in her mind perfectly. "Yes! That's exactly the feeling! Quick, let's head to the Honkai Impact 3rd set—go!"
Belle grabbed Sushang's hand and dashed out of the ward.
"Hey, wait for me!" Guinaifen hurried after them.
In the end, only Luocha was left standing there quietly. "This actually works? Looks like I still have a lot to learn."
— —
"An island full of bananas."
"a lovely nest for Slumbernanas!."
"Ba na na na~."
"Eat bananas, nap the day away!."
Accompanied by the brainwashing tune, the story of Honkai: Star Rail set off once again.
This time, the main stage returned to Penacony.
And the prelude was a viral brain-rot song that swept the entire internet.
In terms of creating chaos and generating hype, Honkai: Star Rail truly never loses to anyone.
It all began with a message from Himeko. She invited everyone to gather in the parlor car.
Stelle was the last to arrive.
Seeing that everyone was present, Himeko announced, "Since we're all here, let's get to the point. Just now, the Astral Express received an invitation from the 'Planet of Festivities'…"
March 7th interrupted. "Wait! Why does this scene feel so familiar?!"
Stelle chimed in. "We're not still in a dream, are we…"
"No way!" March 7th still felt lingering fear. "Don't pull the same trick twice!"
Welt Yang adjusted his glasses. "Relax. This time the invitation the Express received is a normal one—from Penacony's academy, 'Origami University'."
"The school plans to hold an academic symposium on 'Trailblaze' during the 'Moment of Sun.' They are inviting the Astral Express as special guests." Himeko continued explaining.
Of course, the academic side would be handled by Welt Yang and Himeko.
The three little ones could simply attend as auditors and experience university life without any pressure or responsibility.
The Express crew unanimously agreed, so Himeko immediately set course for the legendary Origami University.
…
Stelle sat quietly, but the comfortable sofa made her feel drowsy the moment she lay back.
On the way to Penacony, as expected, she dozed off…
"Ba na na na~ "
Stelle's heart jolted. "What the heck is that noise?"
"Ba na na na~ "
The strange sound lingered in her ears, but sleepiness overpowered the disturbance. Stelle's eyelids didn't budge…
After an unknown amount of time, Stelle rubbed her eyes. She found herself already inside the familiar Reverie Hotel.
March 7th asked kindly, "We're here. Why do you always get sleepy during jumps? I couldn't wake you no matter how much I called."
"So that weird noise was you?"
"What weird noise! I was super gentle when I called you, okay?"
Dan Heng knew this team was hard to lead. "Alright, let's go check in."
The three little ones arrived at the front desk. As Penacony's newest shareholders, they naturally received special treatment.
A staff member personally came to greet them and said everything had already been arranged.
And although "Mr. Pom-Pom" had no companion staying with him.
"Pom-Pom?" March 7th frowned slightly. "What are you talking about…"
Dan Heng immediately realized who "Mr. Pom-Pom" really was. "I understand. Thank you for the family's hospitality. Please check us in for the three of us."
After the receptionist left, Dan Heng explained, "If I'm not mistaken, this 'imposter' visitor… is most likely Boothill."
"Holy beans, it's him!"
"Mm. Back when we acted together in Penacony, he also borrowed Pom-Pom's name. I can only think of him."
But even though they knew who was impersonating Pom-Pom, they still didn't know Boothill's purpose. Better to just ask him directly in the dream.
The three little ones split up and went to find their respective rooms.
Stelle glanced at her room card. "My room is still the same one as last time… Time to enter the dream."
At the same time.
In a certain familiar room, two members of the Hound Family were searching for something.
Suddenly the door was pushed open. The two instantly turned alertly toward the intruder.
A female Hound Family member asked, "Who are you?"
Stelle looked at the two expressionlessly. "I'm the 'big shot'."
The other man chuckled. "Come on, sister. Everyone who comes here says they're a big shot. I'm numb to it already."