Click.
In the pitch-black room, a desk lamp suddenly turned on. Zell sat at the desk, gently clicked a ballpoint pen, and wrote these words in her diary:
"Today is the first day since I crossed over."
"I don't know how this happened, but one thing is certain—I've entered the world of the game."
"But why did I end up in Stelle's body?!"
"My real name is Zell, male, heterosexual. Although I haven't done many good deeds in my life, I've always lived honestly…"
"But… why did I end up in such an abstract world?!"
"An abstract entrance, an abstract storyline—the advantage I had as a player knowing the plot was completely useless. Since I have no clues right now, I think Aha is behind this."
Click—
Just then, a faint sound came from the doorway, making Zell instinctively look toward it.
—There was nothing there.
Was it just his imagination?
Zell shook his head and continued writing:
My intuition tells me that this Astral Express… is very suspicious.
Sister Himeko has always been elegant and gentle, but today when I passed by her room, I heard strange knocking sounds inside.
Mr. Yang is steady and reliable, but his eyes are always burning with fervor and excitement. I saw him muttering something about "power, ideals, home" or whatever…
Dan Heng seems relatively normal, but March… she's just, just…!
A pair of arms suddenly reached out from the darkness behind Zell, locking him in a tight grip. The next second, the desk lamp went out, and the only sound in the room was his struggle.
A dozen seconds later, even that sound vanished.
...
Ten system hours earlier.
Herta Space Station.
Beep, beep, beep—
Countless Voidrangers appeared out of thin air inside and outside the space station, frenziedly attacking everyone and everything in sight. Within minutes, the space station fell into chaos, with disorder and death beginning to spread.
In the Curio Collection Room, amid the constant warnings from the surrounding systems, a solitary man remained silent, clutching his broken sword as he gazed at the newly formed body before him.
Beside him stood a silver-haired figure. Her face was delicate and lovely, her worried expression revealing a hint of resilience. The summoning device in her hand glowed with a faint cyan light, as if ready to activate at any moment.
"We… seem to have come at a bad time?"
Firefly suddenly spoke. Truth be told, she hadn't expected Elio to reject Kafka's request and assign this mission to her and Blade instead.
"…It's not safe here. You'd better activate Sam," Blade said with his eyes closed, his tone indifferent.
He had no objections to the mission assigned by Elio, but it would have been better if he were alone. That way, he could test whether the power of Destruction could truly destroy him.
But just before departure, Kafka had asked him to ensure the safety of his two companions.
…Tch, what a hassle.
"I…" Firefly's eyes dimmed slightly. "When danger comes, I will… Don't worry, I won't hold you back."
"…It's fine."
Firefly smiled faintly. To outsiders, the Stellaron Hunters might seem like utter madmen and desperadoes, but to her, this place felt more like home than her past life ever had.
Take Blade, for example. Though usually silent and aloof, he was genuinely a good person.
At least, to his comrades.
"Firefly, Blade, it's about time."
A projection screen suddenly lit up before them. "The Stellaron has been implanted into Stelle's body. She'll wake up soon. Once you've confirmed she remembers nothing, you can leave."
"Ugh… 140 pulls and only a 0+0? My Yanqing is already at E4. How did my roommate get him in just 10 pulls?"
Just then, Zell suddenly muttered to herself, as if talking in her sleep.
"Ah!"
Zell's eyes snapped open as if she had just had a nightmare. She looked around in confusion, her golden eyes filled with bewilderment.
Am I still dreaming?
Zell stared blankly at the two people before her, then closed her eyes, ready to fall back asleep.
Blade frowned and reached out to pat Stelle's face firmly. "Wake up!"
"Ouch, ouch, ouch…"
Zell opened her eyes in pain. Realizing she was still here, years of reading web novels instantly helped her understand everything.
She had crossed over—into the world of Honkai: Star Rail.
But… which part of the storyline was this?!
Zell was bewildered. As far as she could remember, this scene didn't exist!
Could it be that she had transmigrated into some NPC?
But how did she deserve to meet Uncle Blade?!
"Blade, you're hurting her," Firefly said sympathetically.
"…Hmph, meddlesome," Blade snorted coldly and motioned for Firefly to take over.
"Stelle, do you still remember me?"
Firefly smiled softly and asked in a gentle voice.
Zell looked down at her clothes—yellow, black, and white as the main colors, pale long legs adorned with garters…
Could it be that I've taken over Stelle's body?
But I'm a guy!
Zell was utterly confused. She looked around again, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.
Is this Herta Space Station?
And Firefly is asking, "Do you still remember me?"
Then this storyline…
Hiss—it still doesn't seem right. Those are Kafka's lines!
"Who are you?" Zell thought for a moment and said.
She was a bit flustered right now, so it was better to play it safe.
Hearing this, Firefly smiled helplessly. "Stelle, remember—when you have the chance to make a choice, never let yourself regret it."
Is this the farewell line? Zell secretly gulped, her heart racing.
According to the storyline, she should be falling asleep around now.
But why didn't she feel sleepy at all? Oh, right—in the original story, Kafka would use her Spirit Whisper to hypnotize her. But the problem was, Kafka wasn't here right now…
Blade silently stepped forward and, under Zell's fearful gaze, struck her forehead hard with the flat of his sword.
·····
"This person's coordinates weren't sent from the space station…"
"At a time like this, why does it matter? This living person is right in front of us—it can't be fake, can it?"
…Ugh, my head hurts so much… Wait, are those Dan Heng and March's voices?
"…Her breathing and pulse are weak. March, prepare to perform CPR."
That's right—this is how it goes. The next part of the story should be her waking up and seeing Dan Heng about to lean in for a kiss…
"Okay."
That one casually spoken word made Zell freeze in place instinctively.
Wait, wait, wait—was that "okay" spoken by March?
?
Is that how the script goes?
Zell felt a faint, refreshing fragrance waft toward her—the unique scent of a young girl. Next, warm breath hit her cheek, constantly stimulating Zell 's heartbeat.
Is it really happening? Is it really happening?!
Zell's eyes snapped open. The first thing she saw was a pair of gem-like pink-and-blue eyes.
Dan Heng pushed March away and said expressionlessly, "She's awake."
Note: Just a heads up! I've changed the character's name from Zell to Stelle starting from Chapter 2. However, while I've changed the name, I was too lazy to go back and fix all the pronouns in every already-written chapter (I'm currently on Chapter 45!). So, if you see "Stelle" referred to with he/him pronouns in chapters before 45, that's why. It's a relic from when his name was Zell. I'll fix them eventually, but for now, just roll with it! Thanks for understanding!