Finally, finally, Stelle had saved up enough money. Her room had finally been transformed from a cluttered storage space into a fully functional bedroom.
March 7th scanned the spacious room. "Whoa, now I want to renovate my own room too. Watching it gradually fill up from nothing really feels so comforting. A good day like this calls for some kind of celebration!"
Dan Heng looked puzzled. "Aren't we already celebrating?"
"No, no! I mean a celebration just for the Trailblazer herself! If it were me, I'd definitely take a long, hot bath tonight and thoroughly enjoy some me-time~"
Stelle scratched her head. "Where's the bathtub in your room?"
"Hidden design—you wouldn't understand, would you?" March 7th raised an eyebrow as if it were the most trivial thing in the world.
Welt Yang strongly agreed with March 7th. "Indeed. It's about time the Trailblazer enjoyed some personal time."
"Even though the room is finished, you still have to take cleaning duty seriously from now on, Pom! The Express is about to set off again, and there's a lot to prepare!" Pom-Pom was visibly delighted to see Stelle's home finally renovated.
Finally, Dan Heng gave the closing words. "Then, Trailblazer, once again we wish you—"
"Happy housewarming!!!"
[I really love this atmosphere on the Express crew. I hope the Express stays this wholesome forever.]
[Heh, I've already developed PTSD from HI3. I've finally realized that all the good stuff is just setup for getting stabbed later.]
[Exactly. The prettier it looks, the harder Hoyoverse is going to stab you later. That's their specialty—build you up, then knife you.]
[Relatable.]
[But we're watching HSR right now. It shouldn't be that dark, right?]
[HSR also carries Honkai.]
——
Everyone clinked glasses, finished their drinks, laughed, said their goodbyes, and left Stelle's room together.
Almost the instant the door closed, someone knocked again.
A certain someone appeared in front of Stelle and immediately started chattering away.
"Dear Nameless, are you free at the moment? Dear Nameless, good evening.
Would you like some beverages? Or perhaps some light snacks? My knowledge base indicates that late-night snacks may burden your health, yet they can bring unimaginable joy.
I once knew a young Nameless who slept early, rose early, exercised diligently, strictly controlled caloric intake, and rejected every single one of my suggestions. To him, late-night snacks were practically poison.
Later, he lived a healthy, long life. Dear Nameless, quite the cautionary tale, isn't it?"
Stelle glanced down at her chest. The Stellaron inside her seemed to be saying, You're a Stellaron Hunter—eating a late-night snack is going to kill you or something?
So without the slightest hesitation: "Awesome! I was just craving a midnight snack!"
The certain someone shook their head. "I'm sorry, but this is a battlefield with no 'midnight snacks.' How's that joke? 'Midnight snack' and 'gunpowder smoke' sound similar in Chinese—quite amusing, no?
But to the point. I heard you were planning to take a bath, so I decided to come and present you with an appropriate gift: a bar of soap with legendary history.
This is the soap most favored in life by the lupit hero of Asdina, 'Hanunu.'"
The hemispherical glass cover of "Shut Up" slowly opened. A mechanical arm retrieved the "soap" from the rising platform and solemnly placed it in Stelle's hand.
The silver-plated base already showed faint rust, yet the upright iron bristles remained painfully sharp.
Perhaps it's a cultural difference, but in the normal human world, objects like this are generally called "metal scrub brushes."
Stelle's mouth twitched. "This thing is called 'soap'???"
"Lupit fur is difficult to manage."
Stelle let out a heavy sigh. She hoped Himeko could quickly find this thing's owner and give them a thorough beating.
She waved her hand and went into the bathroom alone.
Through the special frosted glass, the viewer could only see a young woman slowly removing her clothes on screen.
Once the loose clothing was discarded, the audience finally realized just how stacked Stelle really was!
[So Stelle is this gorgeous… I'm trash for only noticing now.]
[She's not just beautiful—she's stunning in every angle, and her looks go with literally any outfit.]
[I really want to move that frosted glass aside.]
——
"Busy Nameless who's had a long day, would you like to take a bath first, have a drink first, or hear another joke from me first?"
Shut Up's voice came from outside the bathroom.
In the shot, Stelle's long legs were fully on display as she slowly approached the bathtub.
"I'm going to bathe. Please leave."
As Stelle headed toward the tub, the rest of the Express crew were also enjoying their own nights.
"There have been many nights in this world, and there will be many more."
At this moment, March 7th and Dan Heng were playing chess. March 7th's board no longer had a king.
She pondered for a long time, finally made a move—only to have it instantly captured by Dan Heng.
March 7th clutched her head in agony.
Meanwhile, Dan Heng was holding Stelle's phone, looking at who-knows-what.
[As expected of March 7th—still delivering consistent performance.]
[Wait, March 7th's board has no king. Hasn't she already lost?]
[No king? Dan Heng also ate four of her queens. He's just humoring her at this point.]
[Dan Heng playing chess while on his phone… is he looking up guides?]
[No way. March 7th can't possibly be at that level yet.]
[Wait—Dan Heng's phone case is black, right? The one he's holding is Stelle's.]
[I looked closely. Yeah, that's Stelle's phone.]
[So… what's the point of all this?]
"…Among them are countless nights belonging to heroes, countless to the nameless, countless to geniuses, countless to fools…"
The camera cut.
Shut Up skillfully mixed a drink and poured it into Himeko's glass in the blink of an eye.
She took a small sip and nodded in satisfaction.
The camera focused sharply on the far right background.
Welt Yang was helping Pom-Pom change clothes. Whatever wild idea Welt had just said made Pom-Pom tremble all over.
"But tonight belongs only to you. No one can take it away. The Tok people of Tidore have a blessing they only give to their most cherished friends: nogat i kamap tunait."
"It means—'Nothing happens tonight.'"
Lying in the bathtub, Stelle let out a long, relieved breath. "Shut up! And get out of my bathroom!"
At the very end of the video, text appeared:
"Wishing all Trailblazers sweet dreams tonight!"
With that, Honkai: Star Rail Season 7 officially concluded.
[It's over? Sigh!]
[Is the Penacony story really finished?]
[Definitely not over, but my heart still feels empty.]
[Gotta kill time by trying the sugar-overloaded HI3 in the meantime.]
[Solid choice!]
[Yay! Hoyoverse just dropped new info—Hoyoverse Interactive City is reopening!]
[Holy crap, finally, finally open!]
[Great news, fam—we finally have something to play!]
First, rewind the clock one week earlier.
Su Chen arrived alone at the entrance of a place called "Golden Grand Hotel."
He twisted his waist. "Sigh… finally here. Wait—no. Why do I feel kinda uneasy?"
He pressed a hand to his chest. This was too abrupt. He hadn't brought a single helper on this trip. If something unexpected happened, he'd have no way to respond.
Miscalculation!
"Excuse me, do you know how to get to Interactive City?"
A familiar voice came from behind him. He turned and looked—exactly as he expected.
Speak of the devil.
"Miss Acheron, how did you manage to get lost all the way here?"
"I'm not lost. I'm simply not very familiar with the roads." Acheron gave a slight nod. "I didn't expect to run into you here, Boss Su Chen."
Su Chen's mouth twitched. "Pretty sure that's my line. I came here on purpose. You're the one who wandered here unintentionally."
"Actually, I have a purpose too."
Su Chen raised a hand to stop her. "Never mind, no need to explain. Since you're already here, come have dinner with me in the hotel."
"Right now? Honestly, restaurants and roadside stalls are the same to me—my taste buds aren't very sensitive." As she spoke, Acheron lowered her head slightly, her expression no longer visible.
"No problem. If you can't taste anything, I'll make you try every food in the world until we find one you like—or at least one you can actually taste." Su Chen raised an eyebrow.
"If we still can't, I'll have the hotel chef develop new dishes until you finally taste something. How's that?"
Acheron stared at him blankly for a few seconds, then gave a faint smile. "Thank you…"
"No need to thank me. Let's go. I've got experience acquiring hotels."
Just then—
"Acheron-neesan~"
Another familiar voice rang in his ears.
Compared to the relief he felt hearing Acheron, he now frantically rubbed his cheeks with both hands.
"Acheron-neesan, is it really you? I haven't seen you in so long!"
With that, Kiana threw herself into Acheron's arms, burying her face against her.
"So why the hell are you here?" Su Chen pressed his temples twice, suddenly feeling an intense headache for no apparent reason.
"Hm?" Kiana slowly looked up, blinked at Su Chen. "Boss? Why are you here?"
Su Chen looked up at the sky and sighed dramatically. "Can your eyes see anything besides Mei for once? Anything?! I'm not a thing—uh, I mean, I am a thing?"
Kiana answered without the slightest hesitation. "And eating, sleeping, and gaming."
"Very on-brand for you. But seriously, how did you end up here?"
"Me? I went to an all-you-can-eat buffet. Ate for a whole hour. Then the boss personally dragged me here, gave me a Golden Grand Hotel card, said there's still 2000 credit left, told me to eat whatever I want, and finally warned me never to go back to his buffet restaurant again."
Su Chen didn't hold back praise and gave a thumbs-up. "Kiana's combat power is as terrifying as ever. Since we're all here, let's go in and eat together—the three of us."
"Yay yay!" Kiana pulled out her card. "Come on, Boss, Acheron-neesan—I'm treating!"
——
Meanwhile.
Inside Interactive City.
"Dan Heng, take everyone out for a break." Sparkle was sitting in Su Chen's office, holding the phone and perfectly imitating Su Chen's voice.
"But do we really get a vacation? What about the remaining shoots?"
"Your NG count is extremely low—basically one-take wonders. And March 7th has almost no scenes except sleeping in bed. I think after being cooped up in Interactive City for so long without a chance to go out, you all deserve this—for your own sake."
Silence on the other end for a long while.
Eventually, Dan Heng spoke slowly. "I'll take the Luofu group and Belobog group out for a trip."
"Mm. Time isn't an issue, so I'll cover all expenses. Just enjoy yourself."
"…Okay."
Dan Heng hung up.
But deep down, he felt Su Chen's tone was a bit off—more delicate and gentle than usual.
…
Elysia sat on the sofa, clapping her hands excitedly. "Your ability really is outstanding~♪"
Sparkle hung up the phone and gave a playful grin. "Imitating his voice is way too easy."
"But you're playing Su Chen way too obviously. Sending hundreds of people on a fully reimbursed vacation? That's insanely expensive. Dan Heng's smart—won't he see through it?♪"
Sparkle smiled faintly. "He won't. Don't worry. Su Chen is exactly that kind of person. Sure, the way he recruits people can be pretty underhanded and shameless—but once you're his employee, he'll give you the maximum protection he can."
"That's good then. So tell me—where's Kevin right now?♪"
"Where else could he be?" Sparkle hopped over to Elysia's side. "But I've got an even better spot. Wanna go?"
"Where?♪"
"There's a doctor in Interactive City named Luocha! Why don't you use your methods to bring him under control? Honestly, half of Hoyoverse already belongs to you."
Elysia lowered her head in thought for a few seconds, then gave a wicked smile. "If he really can join us, the entire follow-up plan will become much easier~♪"
"Ta-da! See? Everything is for the sake of a beautiful tomorrow." Sparkle pulled out her phone and dialed.
"Hello, who is this?" Luocha's voice came from the receiver.
"Help~ Dr. Luocha, I accidentally drank Himeko's coffee…" Sparkle's imitation was flawless. Watching from the side, if Elysia hadn't been there in person, she would've sworn Sparkle was about to get cremated.
At that moment, she couldn't help but feel smug inside. "Finding Sparkle really was the best thing~♪"
On the other end, Luocha sighed first, then—carrying a simple emergency kit specially prepared for patients accidentally poisoned by coffee—left his office to treat the "victim."
——
The next day.
Interactive City, Sixth Street.
"Any clients yet?" Nicole was almost out of energy to even speak.
Billy's hands trembled as he pointed at Nicole. "Boss Nicole! Aren't we Hoyoverse employees? Didn't Boss Su Chen pay us? Why are we still this broke?"
"Because all the money got invested by Nicole." Anby stared at the ceiling, feeling her eyes growing heavier.
Nekomata asked weakly, "Invested in what, nya?"
"New energy…"
Everyone's last shred of hope died.
Nicole desperately tried to explain. "I followed Aventurine's lead and invested! How was I supposed to know his luck doesn't work on the stock market? Sigh… whatever. I don't want to be the first Hoyoverse employee to starve. Let's go find Su Chen and freeload a meal."
Anby mentally gave a thumbs-up. "As expected of Nicole—making freeloading sound so refined and elegant."
The moment they heard "freeload a meal,"
Everyone's faces instantly lit up.
Nicole dialed Su Chen. "Hey, Boss Su Chen, where are you? Everyone at Cunning Hares misses you so much.
Oh oh oh… Golden Grand Hotel?"
She hung up and curved her lips slightly. "Let's go!"
[Wishing everyone good luck on the college entrance exam and a spot on the golden list!]