Chapter 171: Huh? Wait a Second…
"But... that doesn't stop me from putting you into the next version," Leon's message read, accompanied by a devilish smiling emoji. "Once matters on the Xianzhou Luofu are mostly wrapped up, the game update can follow suit. You don't have any objections, right?"
Just as Qingque was about to let out a full, body-wracking sigh of relief, Leon's follow-up message popped onto her screen. Her eye began to twitch.
Qingque typed back cautiously, "...Can I say no?"
The reply came almost instantly.
"That won't do~ You're one of the highlights!" Leon wrote, his playful tone practically radiating from the text. "You spent a whole afternoon playing Celestial Jade with three Aeons—and the three Aeons themselves agreed. If you don't agree, would that even be reasonable?"
Qingque's mouth twitched again. Good heavens! With the next version update, wouldn't she become the absolute center of attention? The thought alone was exhausting.
"Fine, you've convinced me..." she finally conceded. "But if anyone tries to hunt me down later, you absolutely have to protect me."
"Covered, buddy. Totally covered."
Seeing that promise, Qingque finally felt a sliver of relief settle in her chest. 'With Akivili backing me, what do I have to fear?'she thought. Though it hadn't been officially confirmed, she had already internally accepted that Leon was the returned Aeon of Trailblaze.'Oh well, what's done is done... wait, that's not the right saying. In any case, living for ten thousand years is the goal.'
Qingque glanced around the Divination Commission office, making sure no one was watching, then tapped on the game icon and started downloading the update. She had to admit, the commission's network was excellent; the progress bar filled in no time at all.
[Honkai: Star Rail! Launching...]
On the Astral Express, within the quiet Observation Car, Pom-Pom was diligently holding a mop, wiping down the very last corner of the polished floor.
Nearby, Himeko leaned back gracefully against the plush sofa, her long, slender fingertip lightly tracing the screen of her phone. Suddenly, the distinct chime of a special follow alert sounded.
She tapped the notification and saw that Leon's account had just posted an update.
"It seems this Trailblaze journey is going quite smoothly," she murmured, a soft smile gracing her lips. "He even has the free time to update the game."
If the Path he walked was truly fraught with crisis, how could he possibly spare a single thought for something like this? Her thoughts drifted to the current situation on the Xianzhou Luofu... With a casual flick of her thumb, she sent a message to the Astral Express crew's group chat.
[Astral Express: A Loving Family]
Himeko: "Is everyone doing alright? Has Dan Heng rejoined you all?"
After sending the message, she didn't wait for a reply. Instead, she handled to the game and began the update herself. If she guessed correctly, the content of this patch would be the Trailblaze records from their previous stop... Jarilo-VI.
Himeko had already learned the gist of their experiences in Belobog from chatting with March 7th and the others, but their retellings, however enthusiastic, could never be as detailed as what the game presented. Besides, the game was known to hide countless "Easter eggs" that were easy to miss without careful exploration.
For example, the little secret plot point where Leon stood at the edge of a great abyss and shouted to the heavens, "Nanook, I've brought you destruction!" had already been discovered by players, recorded, and uploaded online, sparking considerable discussion across the network.
'Hmm... that's to be expected,' she mused. As long as an Easter egg existed, someone among the vast sea of players was bound to find it.
A sudden itch of excitement, a familiar yearning, stirred within her. She hadn't disembarked for two consecutive stops... whether it was Belobog or the current Xianzhou Luofu, she had remained on the Astral Express. The days of trailblazing firsthand... she was indeed nostalgic for them.
The next stop, Penacony. She made a firm decision. No matter what, she would go down and see it for herself.
With a light tap of her fingertip, the downloaded game icon lit up. Himeko smiled and pressed "Launch."
Meanwhile, at the Herta Space Station, Asta sat at her desk in the Master Control Zone, her fingertip casually scrolling across her phone screen. Suddenly, a notification popped up.
[Ding!—The account you follow has a new update.]
Asta's eyes lit up. Had Leon finally released new content? She immediately tapped it open, only to find it was a version update for his game.
She quickly sent him a message.
Asta: "The game finally updated! Which planet are you on now?"
Leon: "We're on the Xianzhou Luofu."
Leon: "This update features content from the previous stop, Belobog."
He replied with a smile. After the game update went live, his message notifications hadn't stopped ringing. Greetings were pouring in from all sides.
Cocolia: "I miss you..."
Ruan Mei: "I'm running low on material samples. When can you bring me over to collect some?"
Herta: "The Simulated Universe has been updated. Come test it."
Leon's fingers flew across his screen, his typing speed a blur.
Leon -> Cocolia: "I miss you too."
Leon -> Ruan Mei: "When I'm free, I'll definitely satisfy you."
Leon -> Herta: "No time."
Just then, messages from Bronya, Seele, Topaz, and others popped up in succession, the dialogue windows piling up on his screen.
Herta: "You have time to update the game, but no time to test the Simulated Universe, is that right?"
Leon glanced at Herta's follow-up question and, without a second thought, began typing a quick, snarky reply. But in his haste, his thumb tapped the wrong dialogue window.
Leon: "Call me daddy..."
The message wasn't sent to Herta. It was mistakenly sent to Bronya's chat box.
Bronya had been carefully deliberating on how to greet Leon and ask about his recent status. When those three words suddenly appeared on her screen, her cheeks instantly flushed a deep, burning crimson.
'C-Call him... daddy...?'
Did Leon and her mother already... or was it... Although Bronya was composed and often used old-fashioned emojis, she wasn't completely ignorant of internet culture. She was well aware of certain special titles and the relationships they implied.
Her heartbeat suddenly hammered against her ribs. Her fingertip hovered over the screen for several long seconds, hesitating. Finally, blushing furiously, she lightly pressed the voice recording button and whispered, so quickly it was almost inaudible...
"Daddy."
Leon, completely oblivious to his blunder, was still frantically switching between windows to reply to the flood of messages.
Ruan Mei: "Just as you predicted, Tingyun's condition is gradually improving. She should wake up after a while. Should I set off for the Xianzhou now?"
Leon: "Come on, come over to the Xianzhou. I miss you."
This message was mistakenly sent to Herta's dialogue box.
Herta stared at the line of text on her screen. An eyebrow arched, and a subtle expression, a mixture of disdain and smug understanding, crossed her face.
'Hmph. As expected, the charm of this genius is unstoppable.'
Herta: "Won't Ruan Mei be angry if you do this?"
She was a genius herself; she certainly hadn't failed to notice the subtle relationship between Leon and Ruan Mei.
Just as Leon switched to the next window, he saw a message from Seele.
Seele: "What did you say to Bronya? Why did her face suddenly turn so red it looks like it's on fire?"
Leon froze.
He quickly scrolled back through his chats and only then realized that his previous message, "Call me daddy...", had been mistakenly sent to Bronya.
But what shocked him even more was that Bronya hadn't just replied—she had replied with a voice message.
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