"C-Customer Service Kiana-chan?"
Staring at the screen displaying the "System Spirit" using a chibi-faced Endgame Finality Kiana as its avatar, Lynelle was utterly dumbfounded.
[Yes. If you are unsatisfied with my service, I can change my avatar.]
[Hey, missed me? I'm Customer Service Ely-chan~?]
"So you just change the avatar but not the person... whatever, suit yourself."
Lynelle let out a relieved sigh. "And here I thought it was another one of those classic tropes where the so-called system spirit's avatar is actually them in person, and they'll later pop out of the system to become the wife."
[Ahaha… How could that be? I'm just an ordinary system spirit, meow.]
Maybe it was her imagination, but Lynelle felt a tinge of guilt in Customer Service Kiana-chan's voice.
"As everyone knows, the credibility of that kind of statement is about as solid as 'simulations don't affect reality' or 'the Hedgehog Cat System is reliable'. You probably couldn't even fool Theresa with that line."
[Ahem… Well, alright. But let's not dwell on that, Host. Shall I explain the system's functions to you?]
"Your subject-changing skills are seriously lacking…"
Lynelle was currently scrutinizing the screen that had appeared before her eyes. "Fine. So your system functions… it's these two gacha pools, right?"
[That's correct! Anything the host touches will appear in these gacha pools. The host can consume…]
"Consume Crystals obtained from missions to perform gacha pulls?"
The corner of Lynelle's mouth twitched. In less than a minute, she had already figured out the purpose of every icon on the screen.
Of course, it wasn't because she was some prodigy…
It was because this system was a complete, one-hundred percent replica of the MiHoYo Gacha and MiHoYo Daily Grind, dang it!
Daily missions granting up to 60 Crystals per day, a single pull costing 160 Crystals, a 0.6% base rate for a 5-star (gold) item on a single pull… Needless to say, Lynelle only needed to see the beginning to practically recite the rest from memory.
[Yes, yes!]
"Maybe you should tell me something people don't already know…"
[Alright. Although the system's functions are a bit basic right now, it can actually be upgraded.]
[As long as specific conditions are met, the system will automatically upgrade and unlock new features.]
"And what are the upgrade conditions?"
[Kiana-chan doesn't know~]
Customer Service Kiana-chan's voice sounded guilty again.
[I only find out when you, the host, trigger them…]
"...How predictably useless."
Lynelle facepalmed.
'I've achieved a top time of 1 minute in the "Guess the System's Origin" challenge, beating 1% of all Hedgehog Cat System Isekai survivors. Come try it yourself!'
"Whatever, something's better than nothing. So, should I try pulling a few times now?"
Lynelle moved her finger to the gacha interface. "By the way, judging by the stuff you've stuffed into the weapon pool… the character pool seems way more cost-effective than the weapon pool? And if I do pull a character card, how exactly do I use it?"
[Ahem, Host, please take another careful look at the User Agreement.]
Customer Service Kiana-chan reminded her.
[The character pool is different from the weapon pool; it's not a guaranteed item every pull. Unless you pull a 4-star or 5-star, it basically counts as pulling nothing. And right now, your character pool only has one 5-star: The Herta. The probability of actually getting an item is practically zero…]
[Furthermore, all items obtained from the system have a time limit. Items from the weapon pool typically last anywhere from half an hour to a full day, while character cards from the character pool might only be usable for one to three hours. Even if you pull one, you need to save it for a critical moment.]
"Oh… I see. So you're telling me to pull trial cards."
A look of sudden understanding, mixed with the expression of someone realizing they've been played by capitalist schemes, dawned on Lynelle's face.
"How scummy… You're not going to tell me next that the characters summoned by the character cards also have their own consciousness, and if I don't get along with them, the character card might even turn around and attack me, are you?"
[That won't happen. The actual method of using character cards is through 'Possession Summoning'. The effect is similar to a Class Card from Fate—it only grants the host power and a certain degree of personality influence.]
[By the way, since it's been a full seven days since your arrival, you probably have roughly fifteen initial login gacha pulls available… Would you like to try your luck now?]
"Let me do a few single pulls first. I'll hold onto that ten-pull and think about it a bit more."
After a glance at the pitiful contents of the weapon pool, Lynelle decisively decided to become a hoarder.
--+--
"Phew… I really am a genius, after all."
Meanwhile, over in the Star Rail Universe, Herta let out a long sigh of relief as she gazed at Lynelle, who was now floating inside the repair pod.
Not long before, she had dragged the fully reconstituted Lynelle all the way back into the starship.
Not even bothering to change out of her blood-stained clothes, she had stuffed Lynelle into the repair pod and initiated a full body scan.
The scan results were quite unexpected. Apart from her physical fitness being only at the level of an ordinary girl, Lynelle's brainwave fluctuations were abnormally and ridiculously active.
To put it more simply, she was currently dreaming very intensely.
Of course, if it were just an ordinary dream, it naturally wouldn't have drawn Herta's attention.
The key point was, just as Herta was about to pierce through Lynelle's dream and wake her up, a power she had never seen before suddenly emerged from within Lynelle's dreamscape and stopped her.
Moreover, this power, which didn't belong to any known Path, was definitely on a level surpassing that of an ordinary Emanator. One could even say it had reached the level of a powerful Emanator. This development left Herta feeling rather conflicted.
Forget the potential risks to herself if she were to recklessly interact with this power.
The crucial problem was that, given this girl's physical condition, she couldn't withstand any tentative probing from Herta.
The collision of two Emanator-level powers, even with deliberately controlled residual waves, could easily blow the girl's body into pieces all over again.
However, this didn't stump Herta for long.
If she couldn't probe directly, she would start with observation. Using some minor techniques borrowed from the Garden of Recollection, combined with Penacony's dream observation equipment, Herta easily managed to recreate a visual feed of Lynelle from another world.
"She seems to be communicating with something… some kind of information medium only she can see? That's it. Her changing expressions completely prove this point."
"The environment she's in doesn't seem great either. Living conditions like these were completely phased out on The Blue centuries ago… And both she and that purple-haired girl beside her seem to have needle mark traces. Combined with these very distinctive outfits… their identities are most likely some kind of special test subjects?"
"Hm? Wait, this is…"
Following a change on the screen, Herta's eyes widened sharply, and she glanced towards the nearby lab table.
Because, just a moment ago, a scalpel that clearly clashed with the art style of her surroundings had suddenly appeared in Lynelle's hand. Its pattern and design were identical to the scalpel Herta had just used to cut open Lynelle's clothes, which was now lying on the lab table.
Immediately after, a familiar black lace glove appeared in Lynelle's hand, followed by a tube of light green nutrient solution.
"I see. So that's how this ability operates… There aren't many abilities in the universe related to division and replication. To think I'd encounter one today."
Thoughts swirled in Herta's eyes, and a hint of joy, like someone who had just solved a long-baffling puzzle, couldn't help but curl at the corner of her mouth.
"So, this is why she saw me as her savior? To possess such an ability yet be trapped in such a remote part of deep space, no wonder she was never able to save herself… To have discovered something like this, I really am a genius."
"Still, it's a good thing I found out quickly enough."
"It seems this little one's ability to acquire items has its limits. I wonder if it consumes some resource or has a cooldown period. Anyway… Since she's somewhat agreeable, and I am genuinely interested in her ability, giving her a little help now should still be in time."
"Hmph. Remember to thank the great and benevolent Lady Herta properly after you get out~"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.