Soon, Ah Xian received new information that made her perk up.
The story had progressed to the point where the Doomsday Beast invaded the space station, and Asta instructed the Astral Express crew to retreat.
In the dialogue where the crew temporarily withdrew to the support cabin, a new name appeared.
Himeko: "This is the support cabin where the maintenance staff work. The nearest platform to us is J-34. Let's head there to rendezvous with Welt and the others."
March 7th: "Uncle Yang and Leon? Aren't they staying on the train?"
Dan Heng: "The train's navigation system can track the tickets we carry and record our movements. With all the commotion in the space station, there's no way those two wouldn't notice."
Himeko: "When Asta asked us for help, I hurriedly informed Welt to guard the train with Leon. Platform J-23 is in the middle of the space station, making it an easy target for enemies from all directions. They'll definitely leave there and head to J-34. The Doomsday Beast isn't too difficult to handle, but if an Emanator of Destruction is involved in this attack…"
Stelle's face flickered with the confusion of someone new to the world, blinking.
"What's an Emanator of Destruction? Are they strong?"
Himeko: "I'll explain in detail later. For now, there aren't many Voidrangers invading this area, so let's seize the chance to get out of here."
"I swear on the sanitary pads I'll need for the next three days: there was no mention of Leon in the beta!"
Ah Xian's tone carried a hint of excitement.
"I thought we'd have to wait until the Xianzhou to meet the new character, but he's already on the train!"
"As everyone knows… well, only a handful of beta testers know, Uncle Yang is actually from Honkai Impact 3rd."
"There's also Void Archives, but he's nowhere to be seen. Then there's Himeko on the train…"
"Could Leon be an alternate version of someone from the Honkai universe, on the Abundance Path? Su, maybe?"
"Su was one of the thirteen Flame-Chasers from Honkai Impact 3rd's Previous Era, a doctor who worked tirelessly to combat the Honkai disease."
"It kinda adds up!"
Her words sparked a shared sense of anticipation among many veteran Honkai fans in the live chat.
Honkai Impact 3rd had too many unresolved regrets, but Star Rail was different.
This was a space comedy game.
How could a space comedy have any gut-punches?
Himeko, the big sister, being alive and well was the best proof.
If more alternate versions showed up, maybe they'd even see Mei or Elysia in the future.
With this in mind, Ah Xian eagerly pushed the story forward, racing toward the first boss battle.
Normally, haste makes waste.
In her rush, she hadn't noticed that two of her team's characters weren't leveled up.
But this time, her impatience led to a fortunate mistake—she got to taste the hot tofu early.
At this point, players who pulled sparingly, including some streamers, had already defeated the Doomsday Beast.
Among them, only a few beta testers noticed Leon but didn't think much of it.
Ah Xian casually refreshed the MiHoYo wiki during the battle.
The new character's info still hadn't unlocked, meaning no one on the official server had encountered him yet.
The Doomsday Beast boss battle's BGM had a strong rhythm, making it hard for anyone to resist tapping their foot.
But as the fight went on, Ah Xian gradually sensed something was off.
Why was Stelle almost dead?
A glance at the chat revealed the infuriating truth: the Doomsday Beast was targeting Stelle with nearly every attack.
"Playing favorites? Did it ask my fully maxed Seele's scythe for permission?"
"Hmph, time to set you free!"
"Vanish with the butterflies, phantom of the past!"
The screen exploded with a Boom as the Doomsday Beast's remaining arm's health bar hit zero, revealing its main body.
Seeing the massive damage numbers, Ah Xian smirked triumphantly.
"Think you can take me? Do you even know what pay-to-win means?"
One skill wiped out the Doomsday Beast's full health. But as it regained toughness and slowly took flight, her heart sank.
Oh no!
She'd forgotten there were two phases and hadn't renewed Stelle's shield.
Losing one or two characters didn't seem like a big deal, but it might lead to some viral live stream clips.
"Shock! Pay-to-win player with maxed Seele loses team members to Doomsday Beast!"
Or something like, "6+5 in hand, still can't protect teammates," and so on.
The Doomsday Beast unleashed its ultimate: Doomsday Descent.
Over a dozen gold-purple lasers shot down, instantly killing the low-health Stelle.
Viewers who'd already typed up their comments gleefully hit send.
[She's dead, and it's all your fault, come on!]
[How does someone lose team members fighting the Doomsday Beast?]
[Sigh, she pulled Natasha but didn't bring her.]
[No way she's actually going to wipe, right?]
Before the audience could keep interacting, as Ah Xian pondered her next move, headphone users collectively jolted.
A sudden shout rang out from the right earbud, without warning.
???: "I'm here to help!"
A cutscene triggered. A shadowy figure streaked into the air, revealing half a silhouette.
It reached out its left hand toward the ground, a faint white vortex forming in its palm, rapidly expanding to envelop everyone and the Doomsday Beast.
In a fleeting glimpse, all that could be seen was that the figure had wings.
And a third of a side profile that sent countless female players screaming.
"WOC, so handsome!"
Ah Xian blurted out instinctively.
Before she could process it, the screen returned to the battle, and everyone's health bars were fully restored.
A quick-select button, R, appeared on the right side of the screen, with a tutorial pop-up.
[Leon will assist in battle. Allied units' actions will charge Leon's energy. When fully charged, click to activate Reliable Adult's Support.]
"Ah!! Too reliable, husband!"
Live chat audience: ???
What the heck?
Husband already?
[We've got a super long, high-quality doujin in the works.]
[To be fair, he's pretty darn handsome, got that Blade vibe.]
"There was no boss fight assist in the beta. The public release not only has one, but it's linked to a character. Pretty well done."
Leon: "Given the current situation, it seems I've arrived just in time."
March 7th: "Couldn't be more perfect! Let's go, take down this Doomsday Beast!"
With Leon's support, everyone's health stayed full until the battle ended.
"Such abundant healing!"
Ah Xian exclaimed in awe.
If she wasn't mistaken, the healing amount was a fixed 467 points per character.
It didn't seem like much, but none of her characters' HP even exceeded that number yet.
They were healed to the brim.
The post-battle CG began. Stelle leaped high, delivering a critical strike to the Doomsday Beast, finishing it off.
Landing cleanly, she stowed her weapon and dusted off her hands, only to notice the Doomsday Beast launching a desperate counterattack.
A beam of terrifying destructive power shot straight toward March 7th.
Leon, Himeko, Dan Heng: "March!"
Leon immediately deployed his abilities to rescue her, but Stelle, being closer, took a half-step to shield March 7th, tanking the beam head-on.
A blinding light erupted from Stelle's chest, followed by an even more terrifying ripple of energy.
Under the impact of that fearsome energy wave, the Doomsday Beast was reduced to ashes.
Dan Heng: "Oh no, the Stellaron's about to erupt!"
March 7th, caught in the shockwave, nearly lost her balance, but Dan Heng grabbed her arm in time.
Himeko's gaze darkened.
Before she could take the next step, Leon moved first.