Playing Stat-Sticks in Honkai: Star Rail

Using a quote from the internet, I'd say…

The mood is already like this. If things revert to how they were, everyone will probably be awkward.

Behind them, Welt gave a faint smile as he watched the somewhat noisy scene before him. For a moment, he seemed to see the figures of three vibrant young girls.

The white-haired girl entwined with the purple-haired figure, and the expressionless Audi Shuangzhuan following them…

He shook his head and followed behind them, remaining silent.

Instead, he turned his attention to the green-haired woman standing to the side, holding a pink parasol.

It was then that Welt noticed this woman didn't carry the aura of someone who had stepped onto a Path.

Yet, she possessed the presence of a powerful individual, which was enough to indicate that the woman herself was very strong.

"If she were to step onto a Path, would her strength take another qualitative leap?"

Welt mused.

Bronya listened as Tingyun recounted the deeds of Liuge helping her, though it seemed she had omitted quite a bit.

However, it was not difficult to discern the depth of Tingyun's affection for Liuge.

Instantly, she began chatting with Liuge through their mental link.

[As expected of you. It hasn't been long, and you've already charmed the renowned chief representative of the Minghuo Merchant Guild!]

[Hey, hey, hey, don't slander me. Honestly, I'm a bit bewildered myself right now.]

Liuge shot a glance at Bronya, who was following Stelle, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

[Speaking of which, you seem to be getting along quite well with the Astral Express crew.]

[Not bad! I spend most of my time playing games in the recreation room.]

Bronya smiled and continued in their mental link.

[What about you! I heard that before you summoned me, you seemed to have done quite a few things using my identity.]

[Ah, this!]

Liuge wiped away nonexistent cold sweat, finding it difficult to speak.

Whether it was arguing with Silver Wolf while impersonating Haxxor Bunny, playing games with Silver Wolf in her stead, or even taking down a Doomsday Beast as her, the overall conclusion…

was that he was bullying Silver Wolf.

[Don't worry, I'm not that petty. Besides, that person called Silver Wolf is quite interesting. Even if she's a bit bad at games, her hacking skills are really good. She can spar with me to improve her hacking!]

[That's good, that's good!]

Liuge breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, they followed Tingyun to the outskirts of the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs.

Upon arriving here, Tingyun's explanations came to an end.

"Since you are all newly arrived on the Xianzhou, you will need to register here at the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs. Lady Yukong also wishes to meet you all. Please wait here for a moment. I will go and inform them with my companions…"

Tingyun put away her Six-Ribbed Folding Fan and turned to address them.

"Okay, Miss Tingyun!"

March 7th nodded, then turned to look at the magnificent and lively scene outside the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs. She raised her camera and began taking pictures from various angles.

Seeing March 7th's actions, Tingyun smiled, nodded at Liuge, and then entered the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs.

Inside the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs, Liuge saw that the main doors had closed. Only then did he revert to his original form from the identity of Kazami Yuuka.

He looked at Tingyun's half-smiling, half-knowing expression and sighed helplessly.

"How does it feel to see your companions again, honored benefactor Liuge~?"

"More than that, I'm more curious about how my Miss Tingyun views me now."

Liuge's words caused Tingyun to freeze. A visible blush slowly spread across her face.

"This… this is… I misspoke… Please don't mind, young master!"

"Oh~ is that so? But I already mind it quite a bit!"

Liuge looked at Tingyun's reaction and chuckled lightly.

The atmosphere was so perfect just now, it made me feel awkward about reverting back.

Can I still make you feel awkward now?

"Ugh… Then… then…"

"Hmm?"

"Then it's the truth~"

In an instant, Liuge's expression truly froze.

Wait a minute?!

—Is Tingyun… giving up and accepting it?!

058 A Slight Change

Seeing Tingyun close her eyes, her face flushed, as if resigned to her fate, Liuge felt a bit at a loss.

He had originally just wanted to get back at Tingyun as much as possible, and of course, stop while he was ahead.

Who knew that as soon as they started, Tingyun would immediately surrender and go all out!

How could he play this game, how could he play!

For a moment, the atmosphere between the two became awkward and unresolved.

"Um, Warden Tingyun, why are you standing here?"

Just then, a subordinate walked by and noticed Tingyun standing at the main entrance without moving, asking with some curiosity.

This question was like a great axe, cleaving apart the strange atmosphere between them.

Tingyun was startled and looked around, then walked into the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs without looking back, completely ignoring Liuge.

But as Liuge watched her retreating back, he could clearly see a faint pink blush spreading across her fair neck.

"Honestly, she shouldn't have gone all out, but she did it so quickly, leaving me completely unprepared."

Turning around, Liuge also walked out of the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs.

As soon as he stepped out, he saw a few people outside and showed a surprised expression.

"Huh? What are you guys doing here?!"

His expression and eyes suggested he genuinely hadn't expected them to be there.

Only Bronya, who understood everything clearly, saw through his act, but she chose not to expose him.

March 7th, Stelle, and Welt were all taken aback when they saw him.

"Liuge, why are you in the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs?"

March 7th walked up curiously, examining Liuge from head to toe.

"Hmm, you don't seem to have changed at all."

"It's only been a short while, how could you have changed!"

Liuge rolled his eyes and said helplessly.

"That's true!"

March 7th smiled. Now she was even more curious about how Liuge had come out of the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs.

"As for why I was in the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs..."

As Liuge spoke, he took out an exquisite token.

"With this token given to me by the General, except for some special restricted areas, places like the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs generally don't require me to announce myself before entering."

"Whoa~"

March 7th and Stelle were both surprised.

As for Welt, he looked at the token in Liuge's hand with interest.

"Liuge, this..."

"Uncle Yang, you want to see it? Here you go..."

Saying that, Liuge handed the token in his hand to Welt.

Welt looked at the token in his hand. The back had the character '景' (Jing), and the front had a pattern resembling a Qilin.

"If I'm not mistaken, this token should be from the General of the Luofu, General Jing Yuan."

Although he hadn't been to a Xianzhou before, Welt had some understanding of the Luofu Xianzhou.

So, after a brief assessment, he understood its purpose.

"Indeed, General Jing Yuan gave it to me."

Liuge nodded, thinking, As expected of Old Yang.

"Hey, hey, hey, Uncle Yang. Is this thing very valuable?"

"Yes!"

Welt pushed up his glasses and then explained to March 7th what the authority of a General entailed.

Just as March 7th understood and grasped its significance, Tingyun also emerged from the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs.

However, she didn't look at Liuge beside them, but rather at everyone else.

"Everyone, Lady Yukong is aware of your arrival. Please follow me. The Lady wishes to meet you all."

"Alright!"

As the leader of this group, Welt naturally took on the role of spokesperson.

Following Tingyun into the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs, they soon met Yukong, who was seated before the central command console.

At this moment, Yukong still exuded the aura of a capable and powerful woman, making Welt feel as if he were seeing an old acquaintance.

"Welcome, everyone from the Astral Express. My name is Yukong, and as you can see, I'm the Supreme Commander of the Ministry of Interdimensional Affairs."

Upon seeing Welt and the others arrive, Yukong stood up and smiled slightly.

"Hello, Yukong! My name is Welt, and I'm the leader of these kids..."

These two, who looked young but were actually quite old, began to converse.

Watching from the side, Liuge couldn't help but feel like two homeroom teachers from different schools were exchanging notes.

Stelle tugged on March 7th's sleeve and whispered, "Do you feel a really subtle vibe when those two talk?"

March 7th glanced over and nodded.

As for Bronya, she couldn't care less at this moment. She had produced a handheld game console from somewhere and was playing it.

Seeing this, Liuge quietly walked over and crouched beside her.

Noticing Liuge squatting beside her, Bronya frowned slightly.

"What do you want?"

"Get me a game console too!"

"That's it?"

Bronya thought it was something more, but it was just this.

With that, Bronya pulled out a foldable GBA handheld console from who knows where and handed it to Liuge.

Liuge took the game console, expertly turned it on, and was pleasantly surprised to find it was Pokémon Emerald 386 Version. This was a game he used to love the most.

The reason was that this game allowed him to catch all 386 Pokémon and randomly encounter all of them, including legendary beasts, in the tall grass.

It was awesome!