"Are you okay? Can you hear me? Do you remember your name?"
March 7th leaned in close to Stelle, her voice calm and serious as she asked, "Are you alright?"
Unbeknownst to her, Stelle's brain had already short-circuited.
Is this really March 7th?!
"No reaction… Did the Fragmentum monsters injure her brain…?" March 7th propped her chin on her hand. "Dan Heng, we need to get her to a safe place."
"I'm… okay. Hello, my name is Stelle, and I'm zero years old…" Stelle replied dazedly.
Honestly, introducing herself – using Stelle's body felt incredibly awkward.
March 7th looked Stelle up and down, then said to Dan Heng, "Dan Heng, this girl doesn't seem quite right in the head. She says she's zero years old."
Dan Heng was silent for a moment. "Perhaps she's joking?"
Hiss—
As they spoke, the roars of monsters suddenly erupted. A squad of Antimatter Legion soldiers seemed to have spotted them and immediately charged, brandishing their blades.
"Get behind me!"
March 7th shouted lightly. A long spear materialized in her hand. Her movements were sharp and fierce; the spear spun 360 degrees, carrying immense force as it slammed heavily onto the lead Legionary's head.
Bang!
The struck Legionary let out a shriek, promptly entered its defeat animation, its entire body collapsing into a cluster of pixels before vanishing.
Stelle: ???
What version of Star Rail is this?!
Since when does March 7th use Cloud Piercer?! Is this the Destruction-path March 7th?!
Stelle stiffly turned her head.
If March 7th was equipped with Cloud Piercer, then what about Dan Heng…
Would he use a bow instead?
"Do you have a problem?" Dan Heng asked coldly.
"Uh… I wanted to ask, aren't you going to help her? Like, with a bow or something?"
"I don't use a bow," Dan Heng said expressionlessly.
"Oh, oh, oh, that's a relief then…"
"Dan Heng!"
March 7th called out sharply, "The Antimatter Legion nearby are all being drawn here! Prepare to retreat!"
"Understood."
Dan Heng nodded. Then, to Stelle's bewildered expression, he pulled out an antique bronze gourd.
Stelle's mind conjured an image of a certain cute dragon girl, which then began to overlap with the Dan Heng before her…
It doesn't match! No matter how you look at it, it just doesn't match!
"The truth of life and death, revealed in an instant…"
Before Stelle could even process it, Dan Heng was already chanting, casting his skill. The next moment, a water dragon burst forth from the gourd, intercepting the swarming Legionaries on one side of the corridor.
Meanwhile, March 7th glided across the water's surface, the tip of her spear glinting with specks of ice crystals.
With a light sweep, she solidified the water dragon into a physical barrier, completely blocking the Legionaries' path.
After finishing this, March 7th retracted Cloud Piercer, executed a graceful backflip, and landed lightly beside the two.
"All handled," she said airily.
What kind of dream am I having?
Stelle blinked. "Might I ask, are you the March 7th and Dan Heng from the Astral Express?"
He felt it necessary to confirm the story line now.
The two exchanged a glance. Dan Heng cleared his throat lightly. "Since you've heard of us, I'll keep it brief. The space station is currently under attack by the Antimatter Legion. We of the Astral Express, responding to Station Head Asta's request for aid, are here to assist…"
(The following extensive recap is omitted)
Stelle had no mind to listen to the rest. She only knew that these two were indeed Dan Heng and March.
"…In short, for your personal safety, please come with us for now," Dan Heng said. "There seems to be a weapon over there. You can use it for self-defense for the time being."
This part of the plot seemed normal.
In theory, she should pick up the baseball bat, and then…
And then, Stelle saw the assault laser rifles, polymer lightsabers, force amplifiers… scattered all over the ground.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
"Firefly, I recall you brought a lot of weapons this time. Are they all equipped on SAM?"
"Ah? Not all. I was just worried that Stelle might not adapt well after losing her memory. It wouldn't be good if she encountered danger."
"…Are you sure she can handle that many weapons by herself?"
"Uh… Stelle can definitely do it."
As she spoke, Firefly suddenly stopped. "But I'm still a bit worried. Should we go back and check on her?"
Blade glanced at the increasing number of Legionaries outside the window, his face stern. "No. If we go back now, we'll run into the main force of the Antimatter Legion."
"But, didn't Kafka say, 'If it's not in Elio's script, it's not important.'?"
"…Kafka has many good qualities. You don't need to only learn this one."
"But aren't you concerned about Stelle? She's like a newborn child right now. I'm really worried."
Blade suddenly regretted taking this mission.
Clearly, this was Kafka and Silver Wolf's job, but one was confined by Elio, and the other outright requested leave to play games, forcing the task onto him.
Stelle's safety? What did that have to do with him?
Stelle just lost her memory, she didn't become stupid. What could a few Legionaries do to her?
And this Firefly was being inexplicable too. Although he knew some relationships among young people these days were a bit… special, surely it shouldn't reach this level of motherly concern?
It seems, many years ago, there was also a Foxian girl who was like this. Tch…
"Just one look," Blade said shortly, holding his sword, expressing his stance.
"Thank you, Blade!"
…I have a bad feeling about this.
Blade rubbed the space between his brows, expressionless.
Whatever. No matter how bad the premonition is, it can't be worse than Imbibitor Lunae.
Just thinking about that guy made his hands itch. He wondered where in this galaxy that guy was now…
…
Stelle finally found her designated baseball bat among the pile of bizarre weapons, only to find that even it had started acting up.
"Welcome to your 'Honkai: Star Rail – Special Edition' experience. To ensure your enjoyable journey, we have implanted a 'Golden Finger' effect into this baseball bat."
"When you encounter a crisis, the Golden Finger effect will automatically activate. Regardless of the difficulty you face, this effect will ensure you have the capability to survive every story segment."
A voice abruptly sounded in her mind, startling Stelle.
Golden Finger?
Thank heavens! Finally, something slightly normal appears. Otherwise, with my squishy stats, I really wouldn't know how to get through the upcoming plot.
"Stelle, we should go," March 7th said. "There are too many Legion mooks. To get back to the Master Control Zone, we need to wait for Arlan to bring reinforcements. Once he arrives, you'll be safe."
"But don't worry. Until then, if you encounter danger, just hide behind me. I'll protect you."
March 7th casually brushed her short hair, her expression calm, but her tone carried undeniable confidence.
Stelle smiled awkwardly, then suddenly felt something was off.
Wait, according to the normal plot, shouldn't they be going to rescue Arlan right about now?
What kind of nonsense is "wait for Arlan to bring reinforcements"?
The roles are reversed…again?