Honkai: Star Rail: I'm a Big Villain, Opening with the Annihilation of the Astral Express Crew

[You control your own Suyang Fire, releasing a surge of energy far surpassing the listless Suyang around you.]

[A Yong had been wandering aimlessly in the prison, forced by his superiors to select a Suyang-possessed cursed object, scared to death.]

[Suddenly, he felt a different kind of aura. Turning his head, he saw a ball of blue-green flame, particularly conspicuous in the dark prison cell.]

[Then, the voice rang out in his mind.]

["Choose me... survive... achieve merit and establish a career..."]

["Really? Can you really help me?"

A Yong stared intently at the ball of fire, as if he had seen a savior.

"Of course."

After that, you said no more.]

["Th... that's it!" After thinking for a long time, A Yong finally pointed at you tremblingly, shouting to the guard beside him.]

[The deal is done! The guard opened the prison door, and you "whooshed" into A Yong's body.]

[Deception successful! Villainy +50.]

[It's been so long since you've been this free! Even though you're temporarily living in someone else's body, you still feel incredibly good.]

[You can feel how weak A Yong's body is, and how scared he is in his heart.]

[Soon, A Yong's unit was urgently transferred to the front lines – the outer battlefield of the Xianzhou Yaoging. This is one of the most intense places to resist the Abundance Fiends' offensive.]

[For A Yong, participating in such a large-scale interstellar war for the first time was a hellish experience.]

[Lasers tore through the starry sky, the wreckage of warships fell like burning meteorites, and the roar of artillery fire was deafening.]

[A Yong was piloting a small assault boat, his hands shaking so badly that he could barely hold the joystick.]

[Just then, an energy cannon, fired from who knows where, was about to hit A Yong's cockpit!

A Yong was scared out of his wits and didn't have time to react at all.

However, you immediately seized control of the body!

A Yong's trembling hands suddenly performed a series of dazzling maneuvers.

The spaceship drifted to the limit, flying past the cannon shell!

The heat wave made the spaceship's shield creak.

A Yong gasped for breath, cold sweat soaking his clothes.

He looked at his still-shaking hands, which had just performed godlike maneuvers, and then thought about the Suyang in his body. The fear in his heart turned into admiration.

"Th... thank you, Brother Suyang!"]

[In the following battles, you continued to demonstrate your value.]

[Several times when they encountered enemy ambushes, you directed A Yong to dodge, and even directly controlled A Yong's body to launch a counterattack, killing many enemies.]

[With your guidance, A Yong, this mediocre soldier, repeatedly made great achievements, gradually gaining some fame on the bloody battlefield and earning several promotions.]

[But A Yong's dependence on you became heavier and heavier... His own spirit was riddled with holes under the continuous high pressure of war, fatigue, and your erosion.]

[Finally, after a great battle that lasted for several days and nights, A Yong's unit was almost completely wiped out.]

[A Yong himself was seriously injured, and his spirit completely collapsed.]

[This was the opportunity you were waiting for! Your powerful Suyang consciousness crashed through A Yong's last resistance like a flood, "eating" him whole.]

[Possession successful! Villainy +100.]

[When "A Yong" opened his eyes again, there was no longer any fear in those eyes, only coldness.]

[This body, inside and out, is all yours!]

[At this time, the war between the Xianzhou and the Abundance Fiends was still being fought fiercely.]

[But you have no interest in working for the Xianzhou.]

[You controlled A Yong's body, using his newly promoted position as a squad leader as an excuse to scout behind enemy lines, and took a small assault ship capable of space jumps.]

[Then, taking advantage of the dark night and high winds, the assault ship did not fly to the battlefield, but plunged into the dark depths of the universe far away from the Xianzhou.]

[But your unusual behavior did not escape the observation of those who were interested.]

[A Xianzhou officer in charge of supervising battlefield discipline happened to notice this small ship deviating from its course.]

[The officer could tell at a glance that something was wrong with you and that you were trying to run!]

["Captain Hao Yong of the Seventh Patrol Brigade! Report your position and mission immediately! You have seriously deviated from your patrol route!" The officer's angry voice came through the communicator.]

[You ignored him and instead opened the ship's speed to the maximum.]

["Traitor! You can't escape!" The officer was so angry that he personally drove a warship and chased after you.]

[A cosmic chase began!]

[The officer's warship had strong firepower and high speed. But he didn't know that he was chasing not that coward A Yong, but a powerful and intelligent Suyang!]

[You calmly drove the spaceship, weaving through the dense artillery fire.]

[Every evasion was fraught with danger, yet always managed to avoid fatal attacks just in the nick of time.]

[You even exploited the officer's eagerness to pursue, cleverly leading him towards a nearby asteroid belt.]

["You coward! Traitor! Xianzhou trash!" the officer roared in the comms, beside himself with rage.]

[You completely ignored him, weaving left and right through the asteroid field, leading the officer's warship deeper and deeper.]

[Finally, at a bend, the officer's warship slowed down, unable to see the path clearly.]

[You seized the opportunity, abruptly turning the ship around and unleashing all the firepower you had in one go!]

[Boom boom boom!]

[The officer's warship, riddled with craters from asteroid collisions and bombarded by your relentless fire, was directly blasted into a cloud of cosmic fireworks.]

[Afterward, you didn't give him a chance to launch an escape pod, adding a few more shots to ensure he was thoroughly dead.]

[Villainy +200.]

[Soon, pursuers arrived.]

[However, you had detected their approach early on and set up traps in the asteroid belt, ensuring they wouldn't return.]

[Having dealt with the pursuers, you piloted the battered assault ship straight out of the Xianzhou's sphere of influence.]

[Ahead lay the boundless, dark universe.]

[Thus, you, in the body of a Xianzhou native, finally escaped the Xianzhou's cage, gaining true freedom...]

Chapter 31: Interstellar Peace Corporation

[You navigated the small assault ship, seized during your escape from the Xianzhou, drifting alone in the vast and boundless universe.]

[The experience of a millennium of imprisonment gnawed at your consciousness day and night, like maggots in a bone.]

[Those dark and sunless years settled and fermented in your heart, ultimately transforming into a deep-seated hatred for the Xianzhou Alliance.]

[The flames of revenge burned deep within your core, but you understood that the time was not yet ripe.]

[The Xianzhou Alliance, that behemoth, was not something you could easily shake in your current state.]

[The immediate priority was to find a new host, a vessel that could temporarily house you and allow you to continue growing stronger.]

[You continued to wander through the star sea, searching for lone ships that were easy to prey on.]

[By chance, you successfully possessed a low-level employee of the Interstellar Peace Corporation.]

[From his jumbled memories, you learned about this commercial behemoth that spanned the universe – the "Interstellar Peace Corporation."]

[What made your Suyang fire surge even higher was the realization that this company was an ally of the Xianzhou Alliance!]

["Hmph, birds of a feather flock together!" you thought, a murderous intent rising within you.]

[Since you couldn't touch the Xianzhou Alliance for the time being, taking some interest from its allies and turning things upside down would be a small act of revenge.]

[Your hatred found a new outlet.]

[At the age of 1800, after careful screening, your gaze settled on a star cruiser called the "Queen."]

[This cruiser, belonging to the Interstellar Peace Corporation, was one of its top-tier luxury flagships.]

[It was renowned throughout the star systems for its extreme extravagance and supposedly watertight security system, and it regularly carried high-ranking officials of the Interstellar Peace Corporation, wealthy merchants from across the universe, and influential figures from various star system civilizations.]

[The "Queen" was not just a cruiser, but also the face of the Interstellar Peace Corporation, showcasing its strength and wealth to the outside world.]

[If you could stir up some trouble on this ship, it would undoubtedly be a resounding slap in the face to the Interstellar Peace Corporation.]

[You began to prepare.]

[After some twists and turns, you set your sights on a low-level maintenance worker on the "Queen."]

[The process wasn't complicated. For you, who had lived for nearly two thousand years, possessing a weak-willed ordinary person was as easy as turning your hand.]

[Thus, you gained the qualifications to board the "Queen."]

[Soon, the "Queen" was about to set sail on a luxury voyage, and you successfully blended in.]

[The moment you stepped onto the "Queen," the invisible golden threads within you spread to every corner of the cruiser.]

[The false conversations over drinks in the VIP lounge, every command issued by the captain in the cockpit, the loopholes in the security system, the unknown dirt on the personal terminals of the executives, and even the most unspeakable secrets in the depths of some passengers' hearts... everything poured into your consciousness.]

[You felt like you had transformed into the omnipresent ghost of this giant ship, hiding in the shadows, coldly observing every prey.]

[You felt a strange excitement and satisfaction.]

[Then, you planned to start dismantling from within the security system.]

[You successfully possessed a security captain in charge of a specific area.]

[Using this security captain as a springboard, you repeated the same trick, and in the following days, you infiltrated the cruiser's key positions like a virus.]

[The star engine captain, the communications supervisor, the catering manager... one by one, these people who held the power to operate the cruiser's core functions fell under your control.]

[You carefully erased parts of their memories when they were possessed, allowing them to act freely under your mental suggestions like puppets, as if everything was normal.]

[Under your secret manipulation, cracks began to appear in the seemingly calm voyage of the "Queen."]

[The navigation system would occasionally experience brief malfunctions, causing the route to deviate.]

[The meticulously prepared food in the restaurant sometimes makes diners vomit, and sometimes causes terrifying illusions to flash before their eyes.]

[Surveillance footage will mysteriously cut out for a few seconds, as if something has been deliberately erased.]

[The ship's broadcast system occasionally bursts into distorted, ear-splitting static, or interference signals carrying terrifying whispers.]

[These inexplicable and bizarre events have stirred up unease among the passengers.]

[Unrest begins to spread throughout the ship.]

[And you are waiting for the most opportune moment.]

[Finally, during a grand banquet held for a high-ranking executive of the Interstellar Peace Corporation, you draw back the curtain on the "feast."]

[The crew members you control have infiltrated the system, and evidence of this executive's abuse of power, corruption, and suppression of dissent is suddenly projected onto the giant screens in the banquet hall.]

[The images and recordings on the screen are clear and explicit, instantly turning the face of this usually sanctimonious executive ashen.]

[But this is just the beginning.]

[Immediately afterward, the scandals of other executives and wealthy merchants are exposed in various unexpected ways:]

[Private communication records are broadcast directly, shady transaction contracts appear on public terminals, and even certain photos are projected onto the advertising screens on the outside of the ship.]

[In an instant, the dignity that the upper echelons of the cruise ship prided themselves on vanishes, and the banquet hall instantly transforms into an Asura arena.]

[Panic-stricken dignitaries accuse each other, desperately trying to contact the outside world for help.]

[However, they soon discover in despair that no matter what communication device they use, they cannot connect to the outside network.]

[Even more terrifying, when someone tries to leave in an escape pod, they find that all the escape pod doors cannot be opened.]

[This interstellar cruise ship has become an isolated island in the universe.]

[Subsequently, people begin to suspect each other, and panic spreads like a virus in this confined space.]