My Honkai Star Rail: Reversing All Phenomena - Chapter 2

Emily, a Level II Researcher from the Department of Light Abyss Archives, was a youthful girl with short ash-black hair. She greeted Hua Yi.

"I just saw a researcher leave here looking overjoyed. Were you helping people again? Aren't you tired? You're still looking toward the Reception Hall—what, do you even want to show concern for visitors who only stop by briefly before leaving? Can you really handle all that?"

The string of questions, combined with the girl's slightly rapid speech and stern expression, gave her an imposing, almost aggressive air.

But Hua Yi knew that Miss Emily was already holding herself back.

She had an extremely illustrious social record. When a female colleague invited her to submit documents together, she had replied on the spot, "If you don't know the way, use navigation," nearly infuriating the other woman to death.

Another female researcher from the same department had once seen Emily asleep at her desk and kindly covered her with a blanket. When Emily woke up, not only did she fail to say thank you, she stiffly remarked, "The Space Station Temperature is regulated. You didn't know that?" Once again making people's blood boil.

If Emily had merely been harsh with her words, while also helping her colleagues at work and in daily life and possessing a decent nature, she would have long since been isolated.

Though things were almost like that already. Whenever the Department of Light Abyss Archives arranged experimental projects requiring multiple people to cooperate, no one dared ask Emily to team up.

Thus, this young researcher, who normally did not even have a friend she could truly talk to, naturally formed a connection with Hua Yi, the newcomer who had only just arrived.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Am I funny?"

"I just arrived here and don't know much about Herta Space Station or the Cosmic Stars, so I'm gathering information through various means. Besides, helping people is clearly a virtue. Otherwise, who would cooperate with you while you train your communication skills?"

"Wha? How did you know...?"

"The last time Miss Emily showed me around the Space Station, a book purchase list fell out of your pocket. It included, but wasn't limited to, The Art of Language, Skills in Expression and Communication, The Communication Bible: Thirty Tricks to Win Your Audience's Hearts, and so on. By the way, have those books arrived yet?"

"Ah! So annoying... I... I don't know what to do either! I know that I say hurtful things—I know!"

Seeing Emily stomp her feet as she admitted in shame and anger that she had been using her conversations with him to improve the way she communicated, Hua Yi, who had remained calm even while reading a Level III Researcher's project report earlier, feigned shock.

"That's actually your reaction?"

"What else did you think my reaction would be?"

"You'd deny it to the death, forcefully change the subject, or even angrily demand to know whether that book list had fallen out by accident or whether I stole it."

"Huh? No matter how bad I am at talking, I wouldn't falsely accuse a good person—unless you think my communication skills are so terrible that I'd lie through my teeth?"

"Classmate Emily, I was joking just now. You should have been able to tell from the speaker's tone and expression. But since my joke made you angry, how about I treat you to a meal later as an apology?"

"Uh, I wasn't really that angry... If you insist on treating me, I, I..."

Emily held it in for a long while, her pretty face nearly flushing crimson, yet she ultimately could not bring herself to say, "I'll treat you."

Chapter 4: Coin Toss Game

By comparison, calling Hua Yi a good person came much more easily.

Because it was an indisputable fact.

Though he was a newcomer to the Department of Light Abyss Archives and had only been at Herta Space Station for a few days, quite a few people had already become friends with Hua Yi in that short time, just like the researcher from earlier. Some had even shared thoughts they would never voice to ordinary colleagues.

Emily herself was one of them.

Hua Yi was absurdly popular. Whether it was energetic young people or seasoned workplace veterans, he seemed able to find common ground with everyone, chatting and laughing with them—and not just those from the archives department!

Being friends with someone like him was easy and pleasant.

His handsome appearance should only have attracted female researchers. There had to be some other quality at work—his eloquence, temperament, intellect... one of them, or perhaps all of them?

Like just now, researchers who had encountered difficulties received help from Hua Yi and left with delighted expressions. Emily had happened to witness that several times over the past few days.

This was not the first time he had enthusiastically helped someone, yet there had been no fresh gossip about who was struggling somewhere, who thought their superior was unreasonable, or who was constantly complaining about the Space Station. In other words, Hua Yi kept other people's troubles confidential after hearing them. He was not one way on the surface and another behind their backs.

If one had to identify what his arrival had brought to the Space Station, it was probably smiles.

Deliberately turning her gaze toward the tour group in the Reception Hall to give her disobedient, flushed cheeks time to regain their fair color, Emily suddenly thought of a question.

What kind of help had those researchers who solved their problems actually received?

How long had Hua Yi been at the Space Station? Could it be that he had already surpassed others and was able to answer their professional questions?!

"Come on, it's time to eat."

"Ah! Okay..."

Letting the absent-minded girl follow at his side step by step, Hua Yi rubbed the Herta Coin in his pocket.

The Interastral Peace Corporation controlled the economic lifeline of the universe, assigning a price to all things with Credits. Across the boundless sea of stars, countless people rushed about, fought, and traded, all for nothing more than a number displayed on a terminal.

But another encrypted currency circulated within Herta Space Station—Herta Coin.

It was said to have originally been a digital currency before, for various reasons, being converted into physical form. The coin contained no precious metals, but the Herta High-Definition Profile Digital Collectible within it was far rarer than any precious metal.

After passing through the platform and electric cabin doors, they only had to sit down in a designated dining area of the Control Zone. Before long, an Ordering Robot would come looking for them.

"How about... I, I treat you instead?"

Emily's cheeks were still tinged with red, but she did not want Hua Yi to spend money.

Though she could barely count as his senior, aside from acting as his guide at the beginning, she had later treated Hua Yi as someone to practice her communication skills on. She ought to show some gesture of appreciation.

Talking with him felt easy, nothing like the difficulty Emily had expected. Her conversational skills could not possibly have improved by leaps and bounds; this guy's friendliness was simply unfair.

"How about we decide with a coin toss? Whoever wins pays."

"Why does the winner pay? Normally, shouldn't the loser pay?"

Emily had heard that there were tricks to this little coin-toss game.

Toss a coin high into the air, then press it down with your hand just before it landed on the table, concealing which side was up and making the other person guess. Some experts could feel the coin's pattern through their palm to determine the side, then silently flip it so it was opposite to the answer their opponent gave, winning every time.

Hua Yi was formidable. He had only been at the space station for a short while, yet he could already advise those veteran researchers. Emily absolutely could not let him toss the coin. If this guy had mastered some special trick, wouldn't she be doomed to lose?

"Then I'll toss it, and you guess!"

"Sure. The winner treats, right?"

"Fine. You even had to confirm that again. You're pretty suspicious, you know. Don't tell me you really can control whether you win or lose? The coin is clearly in my hand."

The young researcher eyed Hua Yi suspiciously. She deliberately shifted from sitting directly across from him to an angled seat, moving as far away as possible. Then she carefully inspected the Herta Coin he handed over, making sure it was genuine before tossing it into the air.

Bang.

A pale hand slapped hard onto the table, swiftly pinning the coin beneath it. Emily pressed her fingers tightly together, leaving no gaps to peek through, and stared straight into Hua Yi's eyes.

"Guess heads or tails. Hurry up, and no cheating."

"Heads."

"—Huh, it really is heads?"

She lifted her hand and saw the pattern revealed on the Herta Coin, her brows knitting together.

Her plan to treat him had failed. Hua Yi's luck was way too good!

"No, best two out of three. Keep guessing."

Bang.

"Heads."

"Again? Hey, is there something wrong with this Herta Coin? Does it always land heads-up?"

"Then this round doesn't count. Next round, I'll guess tails."

Bang!

Seeing the Herta Coin face tails-up this time, as though it obediently followed Hua Yi's words, the young researcher's face filled with shock and confusion.

How could he keep guessing right? Was his luck really that good?

Where had this absurdly lucky guy come from?

"If you think there's something wrong with the coin I brought out, you can try again with one of your own Herta Coins."

"So you can keep winning? Even if we play a fourth round, you're still certain you'll win? Why?!"

"Before it is observed, a coin exists in a state similar to Schrödinger's Cat. I define it, eliminating the uncertainty, so the final result naturally matches the conclusion I gave. That shouldn't count as cheating, since it had not produced a result beforehand."

"Wait, who's Schrödinger?"

"A scientist from my hometown. Schrödinger's Cat refers to sealing a cat inside an airtight container with a small amount of radioactive material and poisonous gas. There is a chance that the material will decay, and if it does, it triggers a mechanism..."

After hearing Hua Yi's explanation, Emily gritted her teeth in irritation.

"So he was a cat-abusing maniac."

"It's a hypothetical thought experiment."

"Coming up with something that cruel is scary enough! And I don't believe that nonsense about the coin being in a superposition of heads and tails! The moment it landed on the table and I pressed it down with my hand, wasn't the result already decided?"

"Even history that has already happened may be altered by Fictional Historians. The ever-changing fate of the universe does not have only one possibility. A tiny coin cannot form an unshakable reality, so beneath the surging Imaginary Energy, it is the one being swept along."

A Remote Planet Unknown Throughout the Cosmos

How had this somehow gotten tangled up with Fictional Historians and the fate of the universe?

And surging Imaginary Energy...

Emily lowered her head to look at the perfectly intact Herta Coin, then at her equally uninjured hand.

What was Imaginary Energy?

The surging power upon the Paths, the vessel of Spacetime, the rules beyond rules wielded by Aeons, Emissaries, and Pathstriders.

The visualized Imaginary system had even once been regarded as the Tree of the Universe, the sole structure composing the cosmos. Though the theory had been disproven, that did not diminish its grandeur.

If such power had ever flowed beneath the palm of an ordinary person like me, how could I possibly still be standing here perfectly fine?

Emily took Hua Yi's words as a joke. As an ordinary researcher at the space station, she was not about to dwell on the fate of the universe. As for Fictional Historians, although that group had a poor reputation among Scholars who studied historical facts, they were still followers of that Aeon of Enigma. And Imaginary Energy was connected to the Paths.

Herta Space Station had always remained neutral in all matters involving Aeons.

"I don't care about this Schrödinger's Cat stuff. I'm keeping this Hua Yi's Coin. I'll trade you two... no, ten Herta Coins for it."

"No need to trade. Keep it if you want. Even if you remember this grudge, I'll just be careful while walking so you don't knock me out from behind."

"Tch, I'm not holding a grudge! Do I really sound that harsh? Fine, fine. I just wanted to keep this Herta Coin as a memento."

"Hello, Ordering Robot Fried Rice Genius No. 123 is at your service."

The little ordering robot that flew over happened to completely change the subject. Emily was about to order food and spend extra Herta Coins on one of those luxurious meal sets, but then she remembered that she seemed to have lost the coin-guessing game—three losses in a row, a complete defeat. She immediately became torn between honoring the bet and making Hua Yi pay for himself, or sticking to her original plan and treating him to a meal.

Now that she had already accepted Hua Yi's Coin, wouldn't going back on her word be a little too much?

Even if she had only tried to renege so she could treat him.

"Identifying user information. Please do not move your employee badge or face—identification successful. The meal set currently available to you is the Space Station Business Set Meal. Friendly reminder: to enjoy more delicious food, please increase your researcher rank, or spend Herta Coins and Credits to add dishes."

"Don't take that Space Station Business Set Meal. It sounds nice, but it's really just filling food made from solidified purified water and basic ingredients. There's nothing special about the taste—it only fills your stomach."

"Understood. Since I'm treating you, I naturally can't order an ordinary business set meal."

Hua Yi took out some Herta Coin and handed them to the little robot floating in midair, its electronic screen displaying a smiling face.

"Two portions of Grand Cosmos Fried Rice. Emily, would you like to add red bean cakes or shumai?"

"The fried rice is enough."

"Then add two bottles of Kali White Soda."

"The current number of people waiting to collect their meals is: 0. Your order is being delivered. Please wait patiently."

The Ordering Robot flew off immediately, before Emily could even stop it. Grand Cosmos Fried Rice paired with Kali White Soda was considered a perfect combination by many department staff, but the problem was that it was rather expensive.

"Have you received your salary already? You're being so generous with this meal—don't end up unable to afford food ten days from now, or even just a few days from now."

"It's fine. I can collect a business set meal every day anyway."

"Wow, are you really going to run out of money? You'll get sick of business set meals if you eat them every day. I'll treat you after this. I'll come find you when it's time to eat."

"Actually, I still have some savings."

As he spoke, Hua Yi showed Emily the Herta Coin in his pocket, along with the Credits in his phone wallet.

It was quite a large sum.

"...You're this rich?"

"I helped a few staff members from my department with some small matters earlier. They insisted on giving me compensation for my trouble. Also, a junior staff member from the Department of Universal Matter fell while carrying a huge stack of documents. I helped him pick them up and sort them out again. Later, he found my account and transferred me some Credits. On top of that, the Department of Astral Boundary and Flora's Database was somewhat troublesome to search through, so I submitted a suggestion to simplify its categories. After it was adopted, I received another bonus."

"So, as a new member of the Department of Light Abyss Archives, you've already dealt with the Department of Universal Matter and the Department of Astral Boundary and Flora?"

"I've also had some contact with Galaxy Legalities and the Department of Universal Geodesy. After all, every department represents a vast field of research, encompassing countless precious forms of knowledge."