The security door at the end of the corridor suddenly buckled—then blew open under some enormous force.
Three pitch-black monsters charged in, energy weapons in hand—Voidrangers.
Huo Linfei had never seen them in person, but the distinctive armor plating and glowing energy cores were unmistakable. He recognized them instantly as enemies from the game.
He instinctively took two steps back. The Voidrangers raised their weapons, energy beams gathering at their muzzles.
[Combat posture detected.]
[Energion activated.]
A surge of heat exploded from his chest and rushed through his limbs. Huo Linfei felt as if every cell in his body was cheering. A red haze crept along the edges of his vision. His right hand lifted on its own, palm facing upward.
"Fire Cloud Art!"
A ball of scorching flame formed out of thin air in his palm. With a forward thrust, it shot out like a firebolt. The lead Voidranger took it head-on—its black armor flashed red-hot as it staggered back.
It's really Fire Cloud Art? I haven't even armored up yet!
Shock and delight hit him at the same time, but the other two Voidrangers had already split apart. Their beams grazed his shoulder and slammed into the wall, leaving charred streaks behind.
The pain made him suck in a sharp breath—then, strangely, anger rose hotter than the wound.
"You trash mobs think you can hurt me?"
He crossed his arms over his chest. Movements from Huo Linfei's memories flickered through his mind like a rapid slideshow.
He sprang upward—ridiculously high—nearly five meters, close to the ceiling. He kicked off, launching like an arrow toward one of the enemies.
"Fire Cloud Art!"
Crimson flames wrapped around his right fist. He drove it into the Voidranger's chest plate with brutal force.
Metal caved in with a heavy crunch—followed by the crisp crack of an energy core shattering. The Voidranger was blasted backward, disintegrating into broken pieces before it even hit the wall.
The last Voidranger seemed to judge close combat as disadvantageous. It retreated fast and kept firing.
Huo Linfei dodged left and right, but one beam still grazed his thigh. Blood immediately soaked into his pants.
"—Tch!"
The pain dropped him to one knee. The Voidranger seized the opening, raising its weapon for the finishing shot.
In that split second, something inside Huo Linfei ignited completely.
His heart hammered. His blood burned like molten lava. The world turned orange-red, and a mechanical voice rang in his ears like a hallucination:
[Initiating Phantom Qilin Armament.]
A suit of blazing red armor materialized around him, encasing his body. The helmet resembled a roaring qilin. The shoulder plates flared like living fire. In the center of his chest sat a blue energy core.
Huo Linfei knew exactly what it was—Huo Linfei's armored form.
It's got an auto mode too?!
The Voidranger's beam struck his armor and only threw off sparks.
Huo Linfei rose slowly, curling his right hand into a loose grip.
"It's over," he murmured.
His figure blurred—then the energy in his fist detonated against the enemy's body in an instant.
"Fire Cloud Art!"
The Voidranger froze—then exploded into a burst of firelight.
The armored form dissolved immediately after. Huo Linfei dropped to the ground on one knee, panting hard.
The fight had lasted only minutes, but it felt like he'd run a full marathon. Every muscle screamed in protest.
"Is using Energion really this exhausting?" he growled through clenched teeth, half-kneeling as he slammed a fist into the station floor. "I nearly died to a bunch of grunts—how the hell am I supposed to beat the Doomsday Beast?! Where's the healer?!"
"Baboo! Save me already!"
A crisp, bell-like female voice called from the other end of the corridor.
"Hey! Are you okay?"
"Huh?"
Huo Linfei looked up—and forgot how to breathe.
A pink-haired girl sprinted toward him, blue eyes full of concern.
Behind her, a black-haired young man holding a long spear scanned the battlefield's remnants with guarded focus, his gaze settling on Huo Linfei.
A wave of dizziness washed over Huo Linfei.
Not from blood loss—more like his heart was accelerating so violently it hurt. Something in those eyes, that hair, that presence… it sent a strange familiarity through him, as if an emotion lodged in memory had been forcibly stirred awake.
Am I being affected by Huo Linfei's memories?
He lowered his head, suddenly unable to meet her gaze.
"I'm March 7th," the girl said. "And this is Dan Heng. Are you a researcher on the station?"
"I… no. I'm Huo Linfei. Just now, those monsters—"
"Voidrangers. Soldiers of the Antimatter Legion." Dan Heng stepped forward, eyes sharp. "Your abilities are unusual. You don't look like an ordinary Pathstrider."
"Pathstrider?" Huo Linfei didn't know how to answer. His attention was glued to March 7th.
Her bright eyes. The playful curl at the ends of her pink hair. Even the cute little decorative details on her outfit—he couldn't tear his gaze away.
The feeling was bizarre—familiar and unfamiliar at once, like he'd known her for ages in some parallel world.
"Hey—why are you staring at me?" March 7th frowned, absentmindedly twirling a lock of hair around her finger.
"Sorry, it's just…" Huo Linfei racked his brain for an explanation.
Then the entire space station lurched violently. The alarms grew even more shrill.
"Not good!" Dan Heng's expression changed instantly. "Something bigger is here!"
The three of them rushed to the nearest observation window.
Outside, in the vast black of space, an enormous mass of metal and energy crawled out of a Imaginary rift. It had a dragon-like silhouette, its body covered in the Antimatter Legion's signature violet patterns.
[Doomsday Beast detected.]
[Emergency mission: Defeat the Doomsday Beast.]
Huo Linfei swallowed hard. The bravado he'd been running on earlier had vanished the moment he'd finished off those Voidrangers.
A few grunts had already drained him to the bone. This boss didn't look like something he could even scratch.
"That thing looks like it could slap the whole station to pieces!"
"We have to stop it!" March 7th had already drawn her ice bow. Frost gathered along her arrows. "Dan Heng—contact Himeko and Mr. Yang!"
Dan Heng nodded, tightening his grip on the spear. "Huo Linfei—whoever you are, we need every fighter we can get right now."
Huo Linfei drew a deep breath and called on the armor again.
Flame-red plating wrapped his body—but this time the Energion inside him churned wildly, far less stable than before. The firelight flickered uncertainly.
"I… might not last long," he said through gritted teeth.
"Then we finish fast!" March 7th leapt out of the chamber. Somehow, she stood steady even in zero gravity, loosing ice arrows in rapid succession. They burst against the Doomsday Beast's surface, blooming into frost.
Dan Heng followed, his spear becoming a streak of green light as he thrust toward the beast's eye.
Huo Linfei jumped after them—then froze in surprise as he realized he could actually move in space.
He surged toward the Doomsday Beast's flank, driving his twin blades into a seam in its armor plating.
The Doomsday Beast roared, the sound like thunder ripping through his bones. A massive claw swept for him.
He barely dodged, but the shockwave still flung him several meters away.
Worse—his armored form was destabilizing. Flames flickered in and out like a dying signal.
[Energion insufficient: 15%]
[Recommendation: retreat]
"Not done yet!"
Huo Linfei forced himself forward again.
Then he saw March 7th get struck by an energy beam—tumbling from open space back toward the station.
A rage he'd never felt before surged through him, scorching straight into his skull.
Energion erupted within his body. Something deeper—something heavier—stirred and began to wake.
A memory flashed: summoning the Superbeast God.
"Superbeast—Armament—!"
Space warped.
A colossal vortex of flame formed behind him. At its center, a pair of enormous blue eyes glimmered. In the swirling inferno, the vague silhouette of a mechanical fire qilin began to take shape.
"AAAH—!"
But at the moment it was about to solidify, the vortex suddenly spiraled out of control—then shattered like an explosion, vanishing in an instant.
In return came backlash.
Every cell in Huo Linfei's body felt like it was burning alive. The pain nearly knocked him unconscious.
His armored form forcibly disengaged. He spun through space like a kite with its string snapped.
His vision blurred. The scenery twisted and swam.
[Attempting to cut off Energion supply.]
[Superbeast Armament link terminated.]
The Doomsday Beast gathered power. A violet beam—strong enough to tear apart half the station—lanced toward the defenseless Huo Linfei.
At the critical moment, a steady male voice spoke:
"Star of Eden: Zeroth Power."
Space folded.
A miniature black hole appeared in the beam's path and swallowed the attack whole.
Then a bespectacled middle-aged man, cane in hand, appeared beside Huo Linfei and calmly caught his falling body.
"Mr. Welt!" March 7th cried out, overjoyed.
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In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? (All Chapter 26)
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