Honkai Star Rail: I'm a Big Villain, Starting with Wiping Out the Astral Express Crew

"I thought... you didn't come because you hated me..."

Jiang Mo looked at her lowered head, and a certain emotion welled up within him.

He didn't hate her; he just hated this place.

"How could that be?"

Jiang Mo looked into Bronya's eyes and said earnestly, "You're different in my heart, Bronya. You're special."

Bronya heard this and suddenly looked up at Jiang Mo.

Her small face was slightly red, looking a little embarrassed, but her eyes sparkled with the joy of being recognized.

Some other children were peeking from a distance.

They stopped playing, their eyes fixed on the incredibly delicious-looking Ice Mountain in Bronya's hand.

Some whispered, their eyes filled with envy and jealousy.

"What's that? Looks so good!"

"How did Bronya get something like that? Did that big brother next to her give it to her?"

"Isn't that the guy who didn't play with us last time?"

Several children, who were usually more mischievous and hungry, became increasingly envious as they looked.

A dessert worth fifty Winter City Coins was beyond their wildest dreams.

Jealousy festered in their hearts like a poisonous snake.

Finally, one of the bolder children, a boy with freckles on his face, suddenly walked towards Jiang Mo and Bronya.

Two slightly smaller children followed behind him.

"Hey!" the freckled boy shouted. "You... what is that thing? Can I have a bite?"

Jiang Mo turned his head, looking at them with a bewildered expression.

That look made the freckled boy hesitate.

"This is for Bronya, none for you."

Jiang Mo said sternly, leaving no room for negotiation.

As soon as he said this, the freckled boy's face flushed instantly, feeling like he had lost face.

"What! Why only her?!" another child shouted.

"Yeah! We didn't get any!"

Jiang Mo didn't answer, just sat upright on the swing, exuding an aura that was difficult to approach.

He didn't do anything deliberately, but perhaps it was because he had experienced life-and-death struggles, or perhaps it was some kind of change brought about by the system, but the feeling he gave now was completely different from the little vagrant child who had been struggling to survive.

The freckled boy became angrier and angrier, feeling more and more unfair.

Why could they only eat dry bread, while Bronya, this loner, could eat such good things?

"Jiang Mo... right, I remember you were beaten by Huzi and the others last time, weren't you?"

The freckled boy suddenly remembered something and pointed at Jiang Mo, shouting.

Hearing this, Jiang Mo's eyes narrowed slightly.

Huzi and his group occasionally came to this orphanage to beg for food. Although they were street thugs, Natasha didn't drive them away because she saw that they were quite honest in the orphanage, and she would give them a bite to eat, just telling them to leave as soon as they finished.

Huzi probably bragged and made up this story to those kids; they were really a bunch of bad seeds.

"Get lost, it's none of your business."

Jiang Mo cursed directly.

The freckled boy was frightened by Jiang Mo's gaze and shrank back.

But when he saw the Ice Mountain in Bronya's hand, the intense greed overcame his fear again.

If he couldn't get it, he didn't want Bronya to get it either.

His eyes darted around, and he suddenly bent down and picked up a piece of gravel from the ground.

"You won't give us any, huh! Then no one gets to eat it!"

He shouted viciously, raising his arm, aiming at the soda Ice Mountain in Bronya's hand, ready to smash it!

Bronya exclaimed in surprise, instinctively wanting to dodge.

Chapter 16: Seducing a Rich Woman

However, Jiang Mo's reaction was even faster!

The moment the freckled boy raised his arm, it was as if something was awakened in Jiang Mo's body, and a force exploded instantly.

His body shot out like an arrow released from a bow.

"Courting death!"

Jiang Mo let out a low growl.

He flashed in front of Bronya, his right hand shooting out like lightning to catch the flying rock before it could hit her!

The pebble, imbued with the freckled boy's resentment, struck Jiang Mo's palm, sending a sharp pain through him.

But Jiang Mo didn't let go, clutching the stone tightly.

The freckled boy hadn't expected Jiang Mo to catch it, and he froze for a moment before reaching for another stone on the ground.

How could Jiang Mo give him the chance?

He tossed aside the stone in his hand, pushed off the ground with his foot, and charged towards the freckled boy.

Immediately, he threw a punch, slamming it into the freckled boy's stomach!

"Ugh!" The freckled boy cried out, his body arching like a cooked shrimp as he collapsed to the ground.

Jiang Mo didn't stop.

Seeing the freckled boy struggling to get up, his eyes hardened, and he landed two more punches on the freckled boy's face as he lay on the ground!

"Ah!" More screams echoed as the freckled boy went completely still, only groaning on the ground while clutching his face.

"Stop!"

At that moment, Headmistress Natasha rushed over.

Her face was anxious, and seeing the child on the ground and Jiang Mo's appearance, she immediately understood what had happened.

Seeing that the freckled boy was unable to get up, Jiang Mo retracted his fist, his eyes sweeping coldly over the other two children, who were trembling with fear.

When those two children saw him look over, they ran away as if they had seen a ghost, scrambling over each other.

Natasha quickly crouched down to check on the freckled boy's condition.

Seeing that his life wasn't in danger, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She looked up at Jiang Mo, her eyes filled with reproach, but even more with helplessness.

She didn't scold Jiang Mo immediately, but instead took the injured child and quickly walked into the orphanage's infirmary.

Jiang Mo stood there, breathing slightly.

The outburst just now had startled even himself.

He hadn't used Rampage this time.

Jiang Mo felt as if his body still possessed some kind of instinct, or rather, a talent, that had been suppressed when he was hungry.

After eating his fill, this power seemed easier to tap into.

He looked at his fist, then at the spot where the freckled boy had fallen, and sneered.

Jiang Mo turned around and looked at Bronya.

Bronya was still sitting on the swing, the ice mountain in her cup not spilled at all.

Her eyes were fixed on him, unblinking.

In those eyes, there was no fear, only a kind of shining light.

In this moment, Jiang Mo seemed like a little hero who had descended from the sky, strong and reliable!

Jiang Mo walked up to her and asked:

"Are you okay?"

Bronya shook her head, clutching the cup tightly:

"I'm okay... the soda ice mountain is okay too."

Jiang Mo breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the cup in her hand: "Eat it quickly, it's melting."

They sat back down on the swing.

Bronya continued to eat the ice mountain, her eyes still glancing at Jiang Mo from time to time.

"Thank you... Brother Jiang Mo."

Jiang Mo just smiled and said, "It's nothing."

The soda ice mountain was quickly finished, leaving only melted liquid in the cup.

Bronya looked a little regretful, carefully placing the small wooden spoon back into the cup.

Jiang Mo looked at her reluctant expression and felt that the time was right.

So, he looked into Bronya's eyes and said seriously:

"Bronya, I'll come see you again next time."

"And I'll bring you something even more delicious."

Bronya's eyes lit up: "Really?!"

"But you have to promise me something..."

Jiang Mo paused, observing her reaction.

Bronya immediately tensed up, nodding vigorously.

"Then I agree! What do you want to say, Brother Jiang Mo?"

Jiang Mo smiled slightly, thinking that this child was too easily fooled.

"You need to take good care of yourself and live well."

"That way, in the future, we can leave this place together and see the outside world together."

Hearing this, Bronya was stunned for a moment.

Leave here? Go to the outside world?

She grew up in an orphanage and had limited knowledge of the outside world, only knowing that this was Rivet Town, and there was Boulder Town next door. Beyond that, apart from the Upper District, which she had never seen, there was only the fantasy novel that Natasha usually read to them.

That book described magical ice and snow cities, pastoral lands as warm as spring, and even the legendary land of lava, as well as the unreachable outer realms.

Although it was just a story, Bronya vaguely believed that the outside world was like that because Jiang Mo had told her before that it really was like that outside.

"Is there really...really a way to get out?" Bronya asked softly.

"There definitely will be."

Jiang Mo looked into her eyes, very firmly. "Believe me."

Bronya looked at him; Jiang Mo's eyes were always so special, so reassuring.

She nodded vigorously. "Yes! I will definitely live well! Brother Jiang Mo, we'll go outside together in the future!"

Jiang Mo stood up, looking at her trusting gaze, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Good, the plan had successfully taken its first step.

Jiang Mo stood up, looking at her trusting gaze, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.