"Ah..."
Stelle stared in astonishment at the planet before her, completely enveloped in white ice and snow. It wasn't just different from Himeko's description; it was a far cry from it.
"After several thousand years, has Jarilo-VI really become like this..." Himeko lamented, looking at the ice planet that was completely different from the one on her star charts.
The passage of a millennium had turned what was once a lush, verdant planet into a world of endless white snow.
"Huh?! That pure white planet is our destination this time?" March asked, looking at Himeko in surprise.
"That's right... I imagine this Trailblazing journey won't be easy, either," Himeko said, crossing her arms beneath her chest.
Wende stroked his chin, then glanced at Stelle's chest.
Mm, indeed. It won't be easy in more ways than one.
Pom-Pom walked over and announced to everyone in the car that the train's stop had been changed from "seven days" to "indefinite," until the "anomaly" preventing the train from proceeding was resolved.
It didn't take a genius to figure it out. Everyone on the train, except for the "newbie on her first run," Stelle, knew what the so-called "anomaly" was.
"A Stellaron..."
Seeing Himeko and Stelle begin a Q&A session, Wende didn't want to interrupt and returned to his room alone.
He knew that as a newcomer to the Astral Express, he would definitely be a part of the Trailblazing mission to Jarilo-VI. Rather than listen to information he already knew, it was better to prepare for the trip down to the planet's surface.
He didn't really need to prepare much. Wende just brought along that cup of Himeko's coffee. In the journey ahead, that coffee might just have some "unexpected" uses.
Ever since Wende joined the Astral Express, the wings he flapped had been so frequent that many events had strayed from their original trajectory. But among these countless changes, not a single one had truly deviated from the predetermined destination. Was this what they called fate?
Gazing at the white planet outside the window, thousands of thoughts flashed through Wende's mind, ultimately dissolving into a long sigh.
Forget it. Since I'm here, I'll play it by ear. Based on his experience at the space station, this Trailblazing journey to Jarilo-VI probably wouldn't follow the original script completely, either.
"Ding-dong. Player Favorability +2000. Progress to unlocking 5-Star Level: 2010/10,000."
The system, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly piped up, bringing news of an increase in his Favorability.
"Huh? Why did it go up so much this time? I don't think I did anything special, did I?"
Wende scratched his head, completely baffled.
His handcrafted skill set was pretty broken, but it couldn't be that broken, right? It used to give him ten points at a time, and now it jumped by two thousand?
Could it be that his performance in the story cutscenes also counted as a bonus?
If that was the case, did he have to become the Astral Express's resident attention seeker from now on?!
The image of himself digging through trash cans alongside Stelle sent a shiver down his spine.
"No, I have to find a way to cure Stelle of her trash can addiction!" Wende thought, completely unaware of the real reason he was gaining so much player favor.
In the real world, a full day had passed since Honkai: Star Rail's launch.
For some reason, the developers seemed to be deliberately time-gating the story. After finishing the space station plot, players had to wait until the next day for the new story to unlock. This caused a flood of players who wanted to rush the game's progress to spam the word "Anxious!"
While it was true that some quests in the beta required waiting for a real-world day to pass, who asked them to apply that to the main storyline! This was even worse than level-gating!
Some speculated it was a deliberate choice to maintain a sense of novelty for the players. And while some grumbled at this theory, it was the only explanation that made sense.
Wende, in the world of Honkai: Star Rail, had no idea that the real-world game had undergone so many changes.
He certainly would never have guessed that the explosive growth of his Player Favorability was a direct result of this.
One hour after the game server went live, the official account had already posted Wende's character art to their social media. However, most players were still engrossed in their initial exploration and hadn't noticed the official post.
But once the players were freed from the world of Star Rail, that piece of character art was instantly sent to the number one trending spot on AC Station. Its popularity even surpassed the original number one topic: "Honkai: Star Rail Public Launch"!
As for the reason.......
[WTF! That chest, those legs, those pecs! Bro! I wanna be sworn brothers with you!]
[Husband, husband, husband, husband!]
[I'm critically injured and have fallen! I need Wende's heals to get back up!]
[Let me clarify, I'm straight. And I think... I can make an exception!]
[I think... everyone should calm down a bit. After all, this is my husband.]
[Forgot the beginning, forgot the end, but I'm good now!]
[Brother! I've never asked you for anything in my life!]
The comment section was pandemonium, far exceeding the reaction to the "daddy-type" character from that predecessor game of Star Rail. It was an event historically known as the "miHoYo Zero-Spill Incident"!
Some had been dismissive. Could a mere male character shake their resolve to pull for waifus? But after seeing Wende's character art, they found themselves with a new husband.
[Is this what they call universal appeal? It's terrifying!]
[Thanks, this is my horniest episode yet!]
[miHoYo, you've done it now! How did you design a character that slays both men and women? And he's a healer! I'm just gonna call him Healer-Daddy, AAAAAAAAHHHHH!]
[Damn it, he's so masculine, but why do I... Apologies, please excuse me for a moment!]
A famous female streamer resurfaced and posted a screenshot from below Wende's character art on her AC Station page.
"Family, who gets it?! Why are the men trying to steal our husband too!"
At the same time, on a certain blue, P-initialed platform, over a hundred pieces of fan art featuring Wende appeared in a single night. Countless artists worked themselves to the bone, pulling all-nighters to draw all sorts of pictures of Wende. Some were safe for work, others... were better left unsaid.
In short, even if Wende wracked his brain, he would never have guessed that his Favorability points were obtained in such a manner. If he knew, he would have immediately bought a ticket for a train going as far away from the protagonist as possible. He'd be afraid for his chastity late at night!
But thankfully, Wende didn't know any of this. He was still pondering what kind of 5-star template he should create once he saved up enough Favorability points.