Playing Stat-Sticks in Honkai: Star Rail

He didn't relax at all, his gaze still fixed on the pirate ships over there.

However, he suddenly noticed that the moment his side was accelerating to leave, the pirate ships on the other side were also accelerating.

In an instant, his heart clenched.

This abnormal scene made Liuge even more convinced of his judgment.

At this time, Tingyun also noticed something was wrong with the ships on the other side.

Why was it that as his side accelerated to leave, the ships on the other side, which only contained Mara-Struck Soldiers, were also accelerating and turning to ram them?

It felt as if... as if someone was controlling and directing everything.

The intelligent Foxian lady, at this moment, also remembered what Liuge had suddenly mentioned about the Lord of Ruin. Could it be...

She was starting to panic now.

That was a Lord of Ruin!

While she was in a state of slight panic, Liuge, observing the ships, suddenly caught a glimpse of a faint green light flashing by.

"As expected!"

The moment he saw that faint green light, Liuge knew his guess might have been confirmed.

Lord of Ruin: Phantylia was indeed on these four pirate ships.

Judging by her objective, she seemed to want to use this method to approach the Minghuo Merchant Guild's ships, and when the people on board were investigating the ships, she would replace Tingyun here.

However, she probably didn't expect the Minghuo Merchant Guild to have a sly old fox who directly controlled the investigation remotely, disrupting her plan...

036 The matter... has already begun!

At this moment, Phantylia was hidden among the cargo in the hold of the third pirate ship.

She had originally planned to use these wrecked pirate ships to approach the Minghuo Merchant Guild's ships, allowing them to eliminate some of the Mara-Struck Soldiers she had casually left behind as cannon fodder, and then receive the cargo.

At the moment of reception, she would take advantage of their unpreparedness to directly possess and replace Tingyun, the chief representative of the Minghuo Merchant Guild, on board.

She never expected that her plan, which was going so well, would be disrupted by an unexpected sly old fox from the Minghuo Merchant Guild, who not only used remote investigation capabilities to scout the ships, This in itself wasn't a big deal, but who could have imagined that this sly old fox would, for some reason, deduce the presence of a Lord of Ruin here.

It was outrageous!

Phantylia now felt that this sly old fox was as troublesome as if he had the ability to predict the future.

On the other side, the Minghuo Merchant Guild's merchant ship had been traveling at high speed for some time, but the ships behind them were relentlessly pursuing, and the distance was getting closer and closer.

"This is bad, Young Master! The merchant guild's ship's power system seems to be inferior to the opponent's."

Tingyun looked at the scene, feeling a bit nervous.

Although the merchant caravan's power could also achieve a burst of high speed, it was inherently designed for stability. Compared to pirate ships that focused on plundering others and were naturally built for speed, their side was completely outmatched.

"Damn it!"

Liuge also looked at the approaching ships, gritting his teeth.

At this moment, he suddenly noticed three golden Stat-Stick Light Orbs drop from Tingyun.

Casually picking them up, Liuge's eyes narrowed.

[Character Stat-Stick: Foxian]

[Item: Six-Ribbed Folding Fan]

[Stat-Stick: Merchant]

Liuge looked at these Stat-Sticks and the items he had obtained, his eyes slightly dazed.

He turned to look at Tingyun beside him, then at the Character Stat-Sticks and the Stat-Stick Library.

He suddenly realized that he might have met the conditions to assemble Tingyun's Character Stat-Stick.

Of course, this was just his guess; he would only know for sure after verifying this idea.

"Young Master, why do you have that look? Is there something wrong with me?"

Tingyun looked at Liuge's dazed and conflicted expression with curiosity.

"Miss Tingyun, if my guess is correct, the entity within those pirate ships behind us is after you."

"After me?!"

Tingyun exclaimed, but being as intelligent as she was, she understood after a moment's thought.

She was the person in charge of this Minghuo Merchant Guild, the chief representative, and more importantly, her return to the Loufu didn't require any inspections, making her identity the most ideal.

"Young Master, are you saying... the one behind us wants to infiltrate the Loufu using my identity?"

"It's possible."

Liuge naturally wouldn't reveal that he knew the plot, only giving an ambiguous answer.

"What should we do! How about I contact the Loufu? After my merchant fleet returns, we can immediately inspect everyone, including myself!"

"I think it's already too late. The moment they started chasing us, our communication signal was likely cut off."

Liuge pondered for a moment.

He began combining the Stat-Sticks.

First, he selected the "Character Stat-Stick: Foxian" and then added the "Merchant" Stat-Stick. After a moment of thought, he decided that if he were to truly do this, he would also need to add the "Insomnia" Stat-Stick, and the result would be the "Stat-Stick Character Card: Tingyun" (Partial).

"Stat-Stick Character Card: Tingyun" (Partial)

Description: Equip this Stat-Stick and you will transform into the Minghuo Merchant Guild's Chief Emissary, Tingyun. (Current Character Stat-Stick is missing, only able to exert fifty percent of your true strength.)

"Miss Tingyun, I have a method. I wonder if you would be willing to accept it?"

"Young Master, please speak. If this humble girl can accomplish it, I will certainly comply."

Upon hearing this, Tingyun realized that even at this moment, there was still a way. The young master before her was clearly no ordinary person.

"Follow me."

Liuge looked around. There were quite a few people from the Minghuo Merchant Guild nearby, so it wasn't easy to discuss this matter. Thus, he took Tingyun to the previous room.

"Young Master, what is this?"

As they entered the room, Tingyun watched Liuge close and lock the door, a hint of strangeness appearing in her brows.

"Regarding this method, for now, only you and I can know about it."

Liuge turned around and looked at Tingyun.

"What method is it?"

Hearing this, Tingyun became even more curious.

What responded to her was Liuge's changing form.

As his body gradually became smaller, matching her own, and even his appearance and clothing became identical, the intelligent Tingyun understood what method Liuge was proposing.

"Young Master, are you planning to replace me and face that entity in the open?"

"Yes!"

"Absolutely not! To have you risk yourself for me in this manner, Tingyun feels deeply ashamed!"

Tingyun immediately objected to this method.

Although she didn't know how Liuge managed to transform to look exactly like her.

Deeply aware of the danger that lay ahead, Tingyun absolutely would not allow Liuge to take the risk in her place.

"Don't worry, I have a way to protect myself. As for you... do you have a way to protect yourself?"

What Liuge meant by "protect himself" was to utilize the characteristic of the "Insomnia" Stat-Stick to keep his consciousness constantly awake, preventing him from falling into any state of unconsciousness or sleep, thus appearing completely lucid.

Only in this way, even if possessed by Phantylia, would there be no problem.

And after arriving at Xianzhou, he would have Tingyun seek help from someone comparable to a Lord of Ruin, like General Jing Yuan. Then he should be fine.

Of course, there were still dangers involved.

However, Liuge didn't care.

Before his transmigration, he had felt a sense of lingering regret regarding Tingyun's situation. Now that he had encountered this himself and had the ability to help Tingyun, why wouldn't he?

"But..."

"No 'buts,' it's settled! If you truly need to use your identity to enter Loufu, that entity should only make their move to completely replace you after you've entered Loufu. Before that, they would likely be in a hidden state."

"Upon arriving at Loufu, you should directly find General Jing Yuan and explain everything."

Liuge took a deep breath, finished explaining everything, then opened the door and walked out.

Behind him, Tingyun looked at Liuge's receding figure, wanting to reach out and stop him, but the closing door blocked her.

Staring blankly at the closed door, Tingyun inexplicably felt a stir in her heart.

An indescribable feeling.

But she knew that now was not the time to dwell on such things.

She knew that from this moment on, she had to hide, to conceal everything thoroughly, and absolutely not reveal herself before reaching Loufu.

Meanwhile, Liuge, having walked out the door, headed straight for the deck.

At that moment, the starfaring pirate ship collided with the merchant ship. Instantly, Mara-Struck Soldiers who remained on those ships swarmed forward.

Simultaneously, the guards of the merchant ship engaged them.

The battle was fierce for a moment.

At this time, Liuge, having transformed into Tingyun, took out the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan he had obtained earlier. He skillfully maneuvered through the fighting, observing who was in a more difficult situation. He would then step in, deliver a fan strike to the enemy, disrupt their rhythm, and give the guards a chance to recover.

It was precisely because of Liuge's supportive fighting style that the entire battle concluded.

However, Liuge knew that the Lord of Ruin, Phantylia, had already possessed someone on their side at this moment.

This was because, just moments ago, she had faintly sensed a flash of green light that had entered the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan in her hand.

Under normal circumstances, anyone would ignore such a situation, as there was nothing special about it.

But Liuge knew that things... had begun!

037 Arrival at the Loufu

Time passed quietly. Three days had gone by since the space pirate ship incident.

For these past three days, Liuge hadn't deactivated Tingyun's transformed state at all.

After all, he was currently impersonating Tingyun, and it was expected that Phantylia was attached to the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan he held in his hand.

With the situation being this close, it was impossible for Liuge to say he wasn't nervous.

However, to avoid Phantylia noticing anything amiss, Liuge had been on high alert for these past few days, only breaking his watch to eat. His focus was on managing the affairs of the entire merchant ship.

To outsiders, it seemed Tingyun was being extra cautious due to the space pirate ship incident and was prioritizing the return voyage.

But Liuge knew he was acting under the influence of the "Insomnia" Stat-Stick, and his actions were meant to deceive Phantylia.

He wanted her to believe that, as Tingyun and the person in charge of the entire merchant ship, he couldn't afford to be careless in the slightest.

He was the very picture of a diligent and capable little Foxian.

This also left Phantylia, who was possessing the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan, without any suspicion. In fact, Phantylia was getting bored.

Everything was too dull.

Meanwhile, the real Tingyun, who had been hidden in the ship's cabin, watched Liuge's actions, her heart stirred.

Working tirelessly for days just to keep the Lord of Ruin stable and prevent her from noticing anything.

Such composure, such perseverance.

Tingyun felt a little ashamed of herself in comparison.

At the same time, Tingyun was also very curious. Why was Liuge playing her role so skillfully? It was as if he were intimately familiar with her every move, and his actions lacked any awkwardness.