On the train, March 7th, whose phone had been snatched away by Himeko halfway through the game, hurriedly urged her on.
So Himeko controlled March 7th and used a Skill, giving herself a shield.
"Th-This... is Preservation?"
Having read the system introduction, March 7th knew that Preservation was a survival-oriented class of characters capable of providing shields for allies.
But why did she look like Preservation herself? With a bow like that, this young lady was going to be the Main DPS!
Meanwhile, the protagonist had built up enough energy through a round of attacks and activated her Ultimate: Stellaris Ace!
"Rules are meant to be broken!"
On the screen, Himeko casually spun her Baseball Bat before bringing it down with all her strength!
The three-digit damage numbers instantly got the viewers worked up. After all, the numbers before had only been in the tens.
"Oh my god, does the Trailblazer have such insane damage scaling?"
"I thought these free story protagonists were usually pretty useless—marketed as 5-star characters but really only worth 3 stars. But looking at this, she seems pretty amazing!"
"She's so pretty. I'm going to fall in love with myself!"
After another stretch of story, March 7th tried the elevator leading to the Master Control Zone. After repeatedly pressing buttons and smacking it around, she finally...
"Did I break it?"
"—It wasn't me! It must be the Anti-Matter Legion's fault! If only the all-powerful Teacher Dan Heng were here. He knows all sorts of weird things—maybe he can even fix elevat..."
At that point in the story, Dan Heng calmly looked at March 7th.
"If I remember correctly, you needed the key Station Master Asta gave you."
"Ah... haha..."
After they progressed through the story, Dan Heng automatically joined the team. In his character art, he leaned against a red maple tree with a Long Spear in his arms. The exquisite illustration immediately caught many people's attention.
"They gave us another character! Now the Train Crew's trio is complete!"
"Following the usual mobile game formula, this is when they should pop up a top-up discount!"
Congratulations! You have activated a limited-time 6 Credits top-up package! Countdown: 4 minutes 59 seconds!
"Stop posting that, I can already picture it in my head!"
"I just wonder how strong this character is. Usually, the few characters they give you at launch aren't very good. Otherwise, how would they force you to spend money?"
Do You Think I'm Dumb?
In the story, just as March 7th was talking about the all-powerful Teacher Dan Heng...
"I can't do that."
March 7th let out a strange cry and stepped back, looking exactly like that tug-of-war granny meme.
"Why are you here?! ...How did you get here before us?"
Dan Heng explained that he had already found Arlan. The three of them then headed to the Surveillance Room together and found Arlan resting there.
Meanwhile, at Herta Space Station...
"Arlan, Arlan, look! That's you!"
Asta excitedly pointed at Arlan in the mission story on her phone.
"Miss, that isn't the important part, is it? We don't even know how they obtained this information. This is a security risk for you."
"But I have you, Arlan. I'm actually really looking forward to how this game develops. Will it be exactly like reality? Is there a character based on me? And how many stars will old Madam Herta be?"
Seeing how excited Asta was, Arlan could only swallow the words he wanted to say. He quietly resolved to inspect the Space Station's surveillance system later.
At the same time, he decided to download the game—not because he was in it, but because Miss Asta was!
In the story, the Train Crew reunited with Arlan and asked about the elevator.
"After the evacuation was completed, the elevator's access was temporarily locked to prevent the Legion from attacking the Master Control Zone. Miss Asta asked you to find me, so she should have given you the key to unlock it, right?"
"Uh... I think... she gave me a card..."
"March..."
"I don't remember where I put it..."
"You..."
The Barrage was immediately amused by March 7th's behavior.
"Hahaha, she looks kind of goofy!"
"She feels adorably dumb. You could just take her home!"
"Do you think I'm dumb.jpg"
"My wife is so cute!"
"Pulls out a Savings Card Table Tap.jpg"
On the train, March 7th watched as her embarrassing moment was turned into part of the game's story and preserved forever. By now, it had probably spread throughout the universe.
March 7th covered her flushed cheeks with both hands, so embarrassed that her toes curled. She only wanted to dig a hole and bury herself in it.
"It's over! Why is this part in there too?! I'll never be able to face anyone again!"
Although March 7th found the key on her afterward, her goofy image had already been deeply imprinted in everyone's minds.
With the key, they successfully unlocked the access. Arlan originally wanted to stay behind and lock the permissions again, but after some discussion, he ended up leaving with them.
When they arrived at a certain department, March 7th spotted something and exclaimed in surprise.
"Hey, that shiny thing is... a [Light Cone], right? Isn't that rare stuff only available inside the Interastral Peace Corporation?"
At the sight of the familiar name Interastral Peace Corporation, another fierce discussion broke out.
"There it is, the Interastral Peace Corporation!"
"If the game is based on reality, then of course it can't avoid the Interastral Peace Corporation!"
"Will there be characters from the company? I want to play as a boss!"
"Hey, subordinates can't kiss their bosses!"
"That's a great idea. Report your employee number—I'll give you a raise right away!"
"By the way, who's the strongest force in the universe?"
"Hard to say. Probably the company?"
"That depends! Excluding Star Gods from the discussion, if we're only counting Emanators, it should be the Xianzhou. But that's just my personal opinion!"
"Any faction other than Elation, I guess!"
"Aha really has no dignity!"
At the mention of the Interastral Peace Corporation, many company employees among the livestream viewers began wondering whether company executives would appear in the game. Some people from related departments also began reporting the matter to their superiors.
"Oh? A game made with reality as its setting, and the Interastral Peace Corporation appears in it?"
Aventurine became interested after learning of the matter. As a P45-level executive in the Strategic Investment Department, he was mainly responsible for liquidating non-performing assets, but allowing a business opportunity right in front of him to slip away was not the company's style.
He immediately began gathering relevant information and discovered that the other party had business dealings with a branch company.
Yan Shi had been busy monitoring the promotional results when he suddenly received a message from Aventurine, leaving him somewhat panicked.
What's going on? Why is a senior executive suddenly contacting me?
Although he held some status in the branch company, he was nothing more than a small fry before the main company's leadership. As a subordinate, he could only obediently reply.
"Sir, I'm here. What are your instructions?"
Aventurine brought up the Star Rail game and asked about their cooperation with the other party. Unfortunately, Lin Guang only kept pouring money into the project and had provided almost no useful information.
"The next time they contact you, give them my contact information."
Unable to get anything useful, Aventurine left behind a number and cut off contact, preparing to use a little company technology to investigate the other party.
What surprised Aventurine, however, was that even after investigating for a long time, the technical department failed to find any useful information.
The other party seemed shrouded in a mysterious veil, blocking every method of investigation.
Aventurine had no choice but to temporarily let the matter go and wait until the other party contacted them before making further plans.
Back in the story.
Dan Heng began explaining the purpose of [Light Cones], and Arlan had the trio equip them, saying they would help in battle.
Then the screen flashed, and a new feature was unlocked: Character Light Cones!
"Provides attributes for characters. If the wearer follows the same Path as the Light Cone, the wearer will gain special abilities."
Lao Mu studied the Light Cone feature's description and understood that it was probably this game's weapon system.
"Using Light Cones as weapon equipment? This game really is novel!"
"Using Paths to distinguish Light Cones makes things much more convenient. Otherwise, who knows how many kinds of weapons they'd have to design!"
"The card art looks pretty refined too. It would probably be very popular as Merchandise!"
As the story gradually advanced, they suddenly encountered an attack upon reaching the elevator entrance. Dan Heng immediately stepped forward with his spear and blocked it. A tall Centaur elite—Trampler—appeared!
"It's here! Let me show everyone what Dan Heng can do!"
He entered the battle with full energy stacks, and Lao Mu immediately clicked Dan Heng's Ultimate!
Ultimate: Ethereal Dream, Everlasting Slumber!
"Between life and death, reality and illusion, lies but a single thought!"
A gorgeous illustration flashed past. Dan Heng held his Long Spear across his chest, and as maple leaves fell, the scene shifted. Dan Heng and his target were reflected in a gray-white space, while red maple branches at the edges added a vivid splash of color.
"Ethereal Dream, Everlasting Slumber!"
At his command, blood turned into ink, forming something like an exquisite ink-wash painting.
"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! Is it really this beautiful?"
"Xianzhou! This is Xianzhou's art style!"
"They even made the Ultimate animation for a 4-star Character this refined!"
"Ten-year veteran fan here, uninvited!"
"Dan Heng, stop waking up monsters and bend me over!!!"
Testing the Waters with Two Hundred Million
As the battle ended, the Trampler in the story let out a shrill cry and immediately summoned a huge number of Voidrangers to surround them.
Seeing this, March 7th complained.
"Hey! Ganging up on us because you can't win... aren't you ashamed?"
Just as they protected the injured Arlan and slowly retreated, at a complete loss for what to do, they suddenly heard a sigh.
A propeller-shaped drone suddenly appeared in the middle of the battlefield. Spinning at high speed and equipped with a Monomolecular Saw, it easily scattered the Anti-Matter Legion's encirclement.
Seeing a gap in the encirclement, Dan Heng immediately led the others out of the trap.
The scene shifted to another part of the Space Station.
An elegant, mature woman wearing a white Dress beneath a military-style coat was packing up her handbag.
"Every time, it gets this dangerous. Still, it's good that you're back."
Himeko's appearance instantly ignited the livestream viewers' enthusiasm.
"She's an elegant and dependable senior character! I love her already!"
"She's so beautiful!!!"
"That voice... I can't take it anymore. I have no resistance at all!"
"Kafka, I'm not coming home tonight!"
"That's Miss Himeko, the navigator of the Star Rail Express! So we really are going to join the Star Rail Express afterward!"
Before you continue