Real World
The moment countless players had been eagerly awaiting was here. They could finally continue the main story of Honkai: Star Rail!
At five in the morning, the new main quest went live. A host of AC Station streamers were already waiting in the game, and a crowd of viewers, not content with enjoying the fun by themselves, were also waiting bright and early in the streams.
Finally, the time came. Streamers across the platform shouted "Honkai: Star Rail! Launch!" before opening their quest logs, heading to the Astral Express, and officially embarking on their Trailblazing journey.
And then, eighty percent of those streamers drank a cup of Himeko's coffee after boarding the train. "K.O."
"Huh?"
Kakaya stared dumbfounded at the cup of coffee that had sent his protagonist to a peaceful death and back to the revival point. He clutched his head, speechless.
[Huh?]
[Huh??]
[Huh????]
[I just love a certain phrase from Star Rail players: Huh?]
"No, seriously, this one cup of coffee is more powerful than the Doomsday Beast's mouth cannon!" Kakaya couldn't help but complain. His character was a "legendary figure" who had tanked the Doomsday Beast's beam without a scratch, yet he was taken down by a simple cup of black coffee?
Unwilling to accept defeat, Kakaya returned to the Astral Express. Then, amidst a sea of question marks from his stream, he picked up the coffee from the table and took another sip.
"Coffee Lover"
With a pleasant chime, Kakaya successfully obtained an achievement, earning the "generous gift" of five Stellar Jades.
[I'm out! I'm logging on to drink coffee right now!]
[That's Himeko's—I mean, Big Sis Himeko's coffee! Calm down!]
[But that's five Stellar Jades! A whole five! How do you expect me to stay calm!]
[Gotta say, I want Big Sis Himeko's coffee recipe!]
[Hello? 911? There's someone here trying to create a biological weapon!]
After the little coffee interlude, Kakaya began the main quest in earnest.
After talking with the crew, the train's next stop was the frozen planet known as Jarilo-VI. This was all stuff Kakaya had experienced in the beta, so there was nothing new.
What he really cared about was talking to the new character, Wende.
Originally, only two of the train cars were open to visit. But in the public launch, another car had been added for players to explore. This new car contained Wende's bedroom and the train's kitchen.
It's worth noting that players could enter Wende's bedroom directly, but it was unremarkable, with nothing inside.
Heading to the train's kitchen, however, players could see Wende cooking. Through dialogue, they could learn that ever since he'd shown off his skills, he had become the Astral Express's new logistics officer.
When the player's conversation with Wende reached this point, he would even thoughtfully remind them not to drink Himeko's coffee.
Kakaya, who had just downed two cups: "..."
[My husband can cook, too? I'm in love!]
[In the earlier conversation with Dan Heng, didn't he mention that Wende's medical skills are very similar to those from the Xianzhou? Does that mean Wende might be cooking Xianzhou cuisine?]
[Hot damn, bringing a little taste of the Xianzhou to the culinary desert of the Express crew.jpg!]
"By the way, I've made some afternoon tea. Would you like some?" the in-game Wende asked with a smile, handing the tea set to the player.
"Obtained Item: Wende's Carefully Prepared Afternoon Tea Set
Effect: Restores 5 Technique Points.
An afternoon tea set carefully prepared by Wende. Rabbit-shaped cookies served with condensed milk, accompanied by a cup of specialty flower tea from the Xianzhou Alliance. A warm afternoon begins now."
[Ah~ He gave me food! He has me in his heart!]
[You know what I'm about to say, right?.jpg]
Kakaya maneuvered his character around the train for a few more laps, teased Pom-Pom a bit, and then found March 7th to officially begin the Trailblazing journey to Jarilo-VI.
............
In-game
"So, are we really sure this is okay?" March 7th asked, looking doubtfully at Wende, who was currently squatting on the ground and packing snow into a ball.
"I think this is perfectly fine. It's one way to solve a problem," Dan Heng noted from the side with a quiet nod.
Stelle looked at Dan Heng in surprise. She never would have thought that the cold and aloof Dan Heng was secretly so two-faced!
"I don't think it's okay!! Big Bro, Big Sis! I really didn't mean it! You don't have to do this!"
From a snowdrift at Wende's feet, a "creature" with deep blue hair popped its head out and wailed at the three onlookers.
"Shh. Don't attract the Fragmentum monsters," Wende said with a smile, pushing the "creature's" head back into the snowdrift with a very "gentle" expression.
"Er... I think Wende is the more two-faced one..." Stelle's mouth twitched awkwardly as she watched Wende bury the person. She instinctively sidled behind March 7th, looking frightened.
So, what exactly happened to make Wende this angry?
Let's rewind time by half an hour.
Since this was the four-person team's first time on Jarilo-VI, they knew nothing about the place and proceeded with a bit of caution.
But just as Dan Heng had said, being cautious was a good thing.
Sure enough, before they had gone far, they encountered "Fragmentum monsters" swaying in the blizzard.
Although there was no Fissure nearby, the fact that these creatures could exist independently outside of one was a clear sign that the situation on Jarilo-VI was not optimistic. The plan to retrieve the Stellaron would have to be accelerated!
After easily dealing with the monsters, the small team encountered the first human they had seen on this planet—the very one currently buried in the snowdrift beneath Wende.
Originally, the four of them just wanted to ask for directions, but they never expected the guy to turn and run for his life the moment he saw them.
Wende, who recognized the "creature's" identity at a glance, didn't chase him at first. Instead, he told the others to ignore him.
After all, he'd have to deal with this fun-seeker later. If he wanted to run, let him run.
But what Wende didn't expect was for the guy to plant a mine on the path ahead of them!
Although it was just a smoke bomb, it still left the Express crew covered in soot and grime, and even attracted a few more Fragmentum monsters.
After dealing with the monsters, Wende discovered that this fun-seeker hadn't even run away! He was hiding in a snowdrift, waiting to watch their misfortune for his own amusement!!
And so, for the honor of the team, Wende decisively shot four lightning needles into the snowdrift. The needles flew swiftly and accurately pierced the "creature's" four limbs.
"You like staying in snowdrifts, don't you? In that case, don't come out."
Wende had said, smiling.