Chapter 84: Himeko Is Injured
[After returning to Earth, their landing spot was still Nagamitsu Ryousuke's balcony. Though Welt couldn't fully trust him, they could still achieve limited cooperation.
Upon entering the living room, Ryousuke and Welt realized it was unusually quiet—Himeko was missing. They found her collapsed at the kitchen doorway. After rushing Himeko to the hospital, Ryousuke waited outside the ward, consumed by anxiety and self-blame. Seeing Ryousuke grieving over the potential loss of a loved one, Welt was reminded of his own past—the death of his father, Joyce. Soon, doctors wheeled Himeko out of the operating room. The two doctors from Anti-Entropy informed them:
Himeko was no longer in critical condition, but although the machine had been removed, her body already contained corrupted cells, and the erosion was spreading rapidly. With current medical technology, treatment was impossible. Within three days, her consciousness would completely fade. "How could this…" Nagamitsu Ryousuke slammed his fists against the wall in despair. "No… There must still be a way."
"Professor Nagamitsu, could you repeat what you know about the Sky People?"
Welt refused to abandon his student and resolved to seek answers from the Sky People.]
[Durandal]:"Did the Sky People target Himeko?"
[Nagamitsu Himeko]:"I did end up hospitalized back then… So this was why?"
[Kiana]:"Don't worry, Teacher Himeko! If those Sky People dare show up on Earth again, I'll make sure they never leave!"
[Raiden Mei]:"We'll protect Earth!"
[Fu Hua]:"But why would the Sky People focus on Himeko? There's no connection at all."
[March 7th]:"Then it must be Nagamitsu Ryousuke's own scheme. What's his goal?"
[Stelle]:"Building a massive spaceship?"
[Vita]:"The solar system is completely locked by the Cocoon of Finality~ With Earth's current technology, there's no way out. Su has tried many times." [During Himeko's surgery, the two doctors intercepted a peculiar signal—one originating from the Sky People's scout planet! The simplest way to halt the erosion in Himeko's body was to destroy that planetoid.
But with current methods, compressing the timeline to under three days was nearly impossible. So Einstein proposed a far riskier plan. "It's fine! As long as it saves my daughter, I'll take any risk!"
Nagamitsu Ryousuke responded fervently. Einstein glanced at Welt, who smiled and said: "Don't worry about me, Ein. I won't stand by while my student is in danger, nor will I ignore a threat to humanity."
At that moment, Tesla clenched her fists and snapped: "Fine! If he wants to go, just let him!"
"Idiot! Absolute idiot! He'll get himself killed one day!"
Tesla's inexplicable outburst left Welt utterly baffled. Einstein then revealed the daring plan—they needed to go into space!]
[Einstein]:"You're quite concerned about Joachim."
[Tesla]:"Birdbrain! Who's concerned about him? Idiot! Absolute idiot!"
[Stelle]:"Compared to Tesla's usual rants, those 'idiot' remarks at Mr. Yang sounded almost affectionate~"
[March 7th]:"Wait—wouldn't going to space play right into Nagamitsu Ryousuke's plans?"
[Durandal]:"But… even if they go to space, what could he possibly do?"
[Otto]:"Think carefully, my dear Durandal. Besides him, Welt is going too. What does Welt possess?"
[Bronya Zaychik]:"The Herrscher of Reason core…!"
[Raiden Mei]:"With that authority, his spaceship project might become feasible."
[Future events:
Inside a Sky People base, Welt and Void Archives infiltrated a room. Void Archives eagerly rummaged through data. Most were useless records like cafeteria menus, but Void Archives eventually uncovered the facility's map.
Their target? The central control room! After a chaotic chase sequence, the two soon reached their destination. Amid Void Archives' sarcastic commentary, Welt politely planted explosives on the control room door. Welt ignored the quips: "Before that, how about we discuss what you've been hiding?"
He produced a tablet and pointed at it: "What is this?"
"Hmm… Cafeteria menus and employee of the month?""Don't waste our time. I'd recognize my student anywhere—but that's impossible because she…" —is already dead. Welt left those words unspoken. "What's really going on? Who is she? Why are the Sky People interested? What does this say?"]
[Otto]:"Void Archives and Welt—my two old friends seem quite close in this future."
[Honkai Star Rail·Welt]:"Who's close with him?!"
[Honkai Star Rail·Void Archives]:"Who's close with him?!"
[Stelle]:"That Himeko in the records… Isn't she ours?"
[Honkai Star Rail·Welt]:"Correct. It's Himeko."
[March 7th]:"Our navigator is being targeted too?!"
[Stelle]:"If they dare come, we'll send them straight to oblivion!"
[Pom-Pom]:"No need to worry! The Astral Express fears no challenge!"
[Honkai Impact·Himeko]:"You all…"
[Dan Heng]:"We're the Astral Express family!"
[Jing Yuan]:"The Nameless have aided the Luofu greatly. Should you require assistance, do not hesitate."
[March 7th]:"I'll start praying for those Sky People—wherever they are."
The entire cosmos now burns with fury toward the Sky People. Daring to target the Nameless? Do they not realize these are the ones maintaining starrails across the universe? Who's going to repair those train if not them?!