Xu Ziling

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Xu Ziling (徐子陵)
Alias(es)	Little Mouse; Little White Mouse; Little Ziling; Assistant Xu; Mr. Xu 4 7 35 49
Species/Race	Human transmigrator with an anomalous, self-altering body 2 20
Gender	Male 7 48
Affiliation	Mobius's Research Institute; Chiyu Academy (temporary lecturer/assistant) 4 35 36
Occupation/Role	Mobius's experimental assistant, bodyguard, and romantic interest; occasional biology instructor 4 36 49
Status	Active; residing with Mobius and the Institute's members 49
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Awakened anomalous body	1, 5	Emerges from a stone statue with overwhelming hunger and rapidly recovering bodily control. Mobius estimates his punch strength at 12,000 kg and movement speed at 225 km/h. 1 5
Star Rail Cultivation System activated	5, 6	Gains access to daily quests, quest rewards, Stellaron Shards, and a seven-day beginner-protection period. 5 6
DNA Mimicry awakened	20	After contact with Mobius's blood, he reproduces her appearance and thought patterns for roughly two to three minutes. 20 21
System 2.0 resilience assessment	25	The System identifies poison immunity and resistance to Honkai radiation below 2000 hw; continued mission completion is stated to improve this resistance. 25

Background

Xu Ziling is a transmigrator who awakens inside an ancient stone statue in the Previous Era. His first conscious experience is extreme hunger; acting on instinct, he breaks free and attacks Mobius in search of food before his awareness returns. 1 2

Mobius feeds him, recognizes his intelligence, and offers him a place as her experimental assistant in exchange for cooperation with her research and institutional support. Xu Ziling accepts while concealing the uncertainty surrounding his actual origins. 2 4

To account for his emergence from the statue, Xu Ziling adopts the persona of a survivor from a lost “pre-pre-civilization.” He supports this story with improvised explanations about cryogenic survival, tardigrade-like DNA adaptation, and the use of Honkai energy, while deliberately leaving his claims difficult to verify. 3 13 14

Appearance

Xu Ziling is a male with a highly feminized, almost androgynous body; his appearance is regularly mistaken for that of a beautiful woman. He confirms his male sex through his Adam's apple, despite his soft facial features and pronounced feminine curves. 5 7

• Brilliant golden, waist-length hair and emerald-green eyes in his usual form. 5 20
• Delicate facial features described as “National Goddess”-level in appearance. 11 36
• Possesses an Adam's apple despite his predominantly feminine physique. 5 7
• Often wears Mobius's lab coat while working at the Research Institute. 4 28
• Later wears a white-and-gold bishop-style outfit with a black inner shirt; the garment is fitted from a women's version of the attire. 27 28
• Can alter his face, hair, build, and apparent sex characteristics through DNA Mimicry. 20 38

Personality

Xu Ziling is adaptable, socially perceptive, and highly skilled at maintaining a convincing façade. A former salaryman who also wrote novels and manga, he relies on practiced workplace etiquette and acting ability to navigate conversations with scientists, Flame-Chasers, and students. 6 13

He is strategic rather than straightforward. He fabricates a plausible ancient-civilization identity, carefully moderates what he reveals about himself, and manipulates Klein's fear and curiosity to bring her into Mobius's orbit. 13 14 46

Despite this opportunism, Xu Ziling is not indiscriminately cruel. He comforts Mobius after Blanca's departure, respects the boundaries he sets for his friendship with Elysia, and attempts to reason with the Honkai-corrupted Oddity before killing it when negotiation fails. 17 32 41 42

“I can understand you at all times… but friend, understanding does not equate to approval.” 42

Abilities & Skills

Superhuman Physiology

Xu Ziling's body greatly exceeds ordinary human limits in strength, speed, energy absorption, and structural flexibility.

• Tore through an alloy sink with his bare hands; Mobius estimates his single-fist power at 12,000 kg. 5
• Mobius estimates his movement speed at 225 km/h. 5
• Can compress and rearrange his bone structure, drastically changing his body's volume. 5
• Absorbs food energy with exceptional efficiency; he consumes large quantities of instant noodles without visible weight gain. 3 5
• Can leap to rooftops more than ten meters above ground and use walls for midair leverage. 41
• Crushed alloy scissors into a small lump of scrap metal to demonstrate his strength to Klein. 45

Cellular Decay

Cellular Decay is the condition that continuously generates the immense energy supporting Xu Ziling's physical capabilities.

• Rapidly boosts his physical power by releasing energy from his cells. 20
• The released energy gradually envelops and hardens his cells, eventually removing their activity. 20
• Direct sunlight triggers severe reactions and accelerates his condition; prolonged exposure can encase him in a stone statue. 15 19 20
• His hair can react violently to sunlight, attacking nearby targets before hardening. 19
• Mobius develops a partial “Sunscreen Liquid” treatment, but its documented effect lasts less than nine seconds. 28 33

DNA Mimicry

DNA Mimicry allows Xu Ziling to reshape himself using another person's genetic material.

• Can imitate another person's face, hair, body structure, and general physical traits. 20
• Can reproduce a target's thought patterns and behavioral knowledge, but not their memories. 20 21
• Mobius's blood first triggers the ability, allowing Xu Ziling to transform into her for approximately two to three minutes. 20
• Does not require blood exclusively; hair with intact follicles is sufficient DNA material. 38
• Used to impersonate an ordinary passerby during the kidnapping incident involving Mobius and Klein. 38
• Xu Ziling states that he retains control of himself rather than becoming the person he imitates. 21

Honkai Resistance and Poison Immunity

The System identifies Xu Ziling as unusually resistant to harmful substances and Honkai energy.

• Immune to poisons, according to the System's assessment. 25
• Can withstand Honkai radiation below 2000 hw without discomfort. 25
• Faces a half-mutated Honkai Beast directly and defeats it despite its regeneration and escalating Honkai energy. 41 43

Combat and Improvisation

Xu Ziling combines overwhelming physical strength with deception, positioning, and improvised tools.

• Uses hair-made rope, a discarded mask, a coat, and a borrowed stool to construct a false kidnapping scenario. 46
• Defeats an Honkai-corrupted Oddity with a single punch before later engaging it in a prolonged fight. 41 43
• Uses a System-supplied Kloros Pistol against the Oddity when dialogue fails. 42
• Uses psychological pressure against Zhao Zhiheng by challenging his obsession with being “correct.” 43

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Star Rail Cultivation System — Issues daily and exploration quests, distributes rewards, and tracks longer-term objectives. 6 25 47
• Galactic Lottery ticket — Obtained from the beginner gift package. 6
• Kloros Pistol — System-supplied firearm used against the Honkai-corrupted Oddity. 42
• White-and-gold bishop attire — A church-styled outfit selected by Elysia and worn by Xu Ziling. 27 28
• Platinum crystal flower — A gift from Elysia, understood by Xu Ziling to be significant to her identity and fate; he agrees to keep it secret from Mobius. 10
• Sunscreen Liquid / B-R-17 — Mobius's experimental reagent intended to mitigate his sunlight aversion. 28 33

Relationships

• Mobius — His discoverer, researcher, employer, and nominal girlfriend. Xu Ziling reveals DNA Mimicry to her rather than hiding it, offers to take responsibility for her if she takes responsibility for him, and later identifies himself as her bodyguard and romantic interest. 20 21 22 49
• Elysia — A close friend who welcomes him warmly, gives him a crystal flower, and helps protect him from sunlight. Xu Ziling calls her “Sister Ellie” and intentionally keeps their relationship within boundaries he considers respectful. 10 16 17
• Blanca — Mobius's original assistant and an early confidante. Xu Ziling uses his fabricated history to explain his survival to her, works alongside her in the Institute, and helps comfort Mobius after Blanca leaves. 13 14 32
• Klein — Initially abducted during Xu Ziling's improvised scheme, then sheltered at the Institute. Xu Ziling guides her toward working under Mobius while concealing his own involvement in the previous night's events. 38 46 49
• Kevin Kaslana — Pursues Xu Ziling while attempting to rescue Mobius and Klein. Kevin's charge fails against Xu Ziling's physique, leaving the two in direct conflict. 40
• Zhao Zhiheng / the Oddity — A Honkai-corrupted man Xu Ziling first tries to understand and dismiss peacefully. After the Oddity attacks and becomes fully hostile, Xu Ziling kills him. 41 42 43

Story Role / Major Arcs

Statue Awakening and Recruitment

Xu Ziling awakens from the ancient stone statue beneath Mobius's research facility, survives his initial hunger-driven rampage, and becomes Mobius's experimental assistant. 1 2 4

Photosensitivity and DNA Mimicry

After discovering that sunlight causes severe physical reactions, Xu Ziling becomes the subject of Mobius's research into Cellular Decay. Contact with her blood awakens DNA Mimicry, forcing him to disclose the frightening scope of his biology to her. 15 19 20 21

Chiyu Academy

Following Blanca's departure, Xu Ziling accompanies Mobius to Chiyu Academy. He presents himself as Professor Serpent's assistant and later teaches a biology class using a harsh scoring system, negative points, and chalk-throwing discipline. 33 35 36

Kidnapping Incident and the Simulated Herrscher

When Mobius and Klein become entangled in a planned abduction, Xu Ziling uses DNA Mimicry to disguise himself and carry them away. He subsequently confronts and kills the Honkai-corrupted Zhao Zhiheng, later learning that the foe was a Simulated Herrscher whose defeat may have delayed the First Herrscher's birth. 38 41 42 43 47

Klein's Recruitment

Xu Ziling brings Klein to the Research Institute, reassures her about Mobius, and steers her toward becoming Mobius's student and assistant. 45 46 49

Trivia

• Xu Ziling explicitly explains his name as “Xu” from the double-person radical and “Ling” from “tomb.” 49
• He is repeatedly mistaken for a woman due to his appearance, including by Kevin and Klein. 34 48
• His original body and current form are so different that he initially compares his appearance to Otto Apocalypse. 5