My Honkai Star Rail: Reversing All Phenomena

"This involves some Backend System settings. Just as Star was granted the identity of Trailblaze Aeon Akivili, they are interfering factors for me. Still, things can remain as they are for now. I'll try stepping onto multiple Paths at once and see what happens."

"We'll talk about that when the time comes. The Miniature Universe needs time to grow as well."

Herta nodded, as though Hua Yi, the tester, rather than the Genius herself, was now the one leading the Simulated Universe.

Without needing to deliberately stir things up, he could draw the attention of several Aeon simulacra. His uniqueness had already been proven. That made him the best possible match for a Genius attempting to unravel the Mystery of the Aeons.

"The data shows that the Aeon of Memory's simulacrum has been observing you. It locked onto you through the Virtual Path. That kind of Path Fluctuation wasn't concealed, so I assume you felt it too."

"Being locked onto in the Simulated Universe is a good thing. Only by understanding how Path-level targeting works can I avoid it better."

"What if the mechanical head—Nous of [Wisdom]—has already calculated the moment that belongs to you? [Memory] preserves the past, while [Wisdom] calculates the future. Perhaps your future has long since become a result known to the mechanical head."

"...No matter what the Sentient Celestial Bodies have calculated or know, as long as they haven't directly influenced me, everything proceeds as usual."

"I didn't expect you to dare question Aha before—and actually receive an answer. No one knows how much of [Elation]'s answer was true and how much was false. But if you encounter Nous in the Simulated Universe—[Wisdom] is far more reliable than [Elation]."

Genius Miss spoke seriously, and Hua Yi looked into those crystalline, beautiful Puppet's Eyes.

"Could it be that Madam Herta thinks I've already leaned toward [Elation]? That isn't the case. I haven't even come into contact with any Walkers of the [Elation] Path. If we're talking about inclinations, I'm clearly closer to your side—the side willing to keep my secrets and explore the truth with me."

Herta had to admit that she was rather pleased to hear Hua Yi's answer.

"You encountered Stellaron Hunters in No Heavens Left Unspoken—Kafka and Silver Wolf. They clearly had some purpose in seeking the Stellaron, and they seemed to know Star already. I assume you can guess some of the circumstances. Since you don't intend to keep your distance from that Stellaron brat, you're destined to be drawn into the Stellaron Hunters' plans. Do you understand what it means that I transferred Silver Wolf's account to you?"

"To learn about their schemes and uncover Star's background? I don't think Kafka and Silver Wolf will easily reveal their true objective. Besides, Star isn't a bad girl."

"As long as you understand. Don't forget to punish Silver Wolf severely for me. She dared provoke me! If you simply return all those accounts, I really will have the company delete all their data. I'm not joking."

"Understood."

"Go find Asta. Don't you always say I'm exploiting her? Go help her out, then."

You Are Currently in Safe Mode

"...They're gone. They're all gone. She really didn't leave me even one account."

On the rooftop of a high-rise in an alien city, neon lights flickering all around, Silver Wolf leaned against the railing. She kept entering account names and passwords into her games, changing passwords and filing appeals. There was none of the expert poise she'd had when preparing to wage a data war against Herta in the Simulated Universe. Her face was utterly bleak.

"Outrageous. This is too outrageous!"

By the end, the Hacker girl's voice was even trembling.

Kafka watched her helplessly from beside her.

"Alright, stop crying and making a fuss. You're not a child anymore."

"I'm not crying and making a fuss!"

"Yes, yes. So what are you planning to do next? It sounds like Herta handed all your accounts over to Hua Yi?"

"I'll contact him."

Silver Wolf operated her Smart Terminal for a moment and found Hua Yi's social account. Thankfully, he hadn't disabled Friend Requests from strangers.

"I'm Silver Wolf. Accept the Friend Request."

[Your Friend Request has been accepted. You may now begin chatting.]

"Give my accounts back!!!"

The girl used three exclamation marks to express her intense demand. If she hadn't been in such a hurry to send the message, she would have filled the entire screen with them.

"I can't return them. Herta said before that if the information for your account 570 is changed again, the data will be deleted."

"...She wasn't bluffing?"

"No."

"Then what gives Herta the right to change the ownership of my accounts without authorization? The Interastral Peace Corporation is seriously inhuman! What rule says she can alter account information whenever she wants?!"

"I'm not a customer service representative, but if you insist on examining the relevant basis—Stellaron Hunters are wanted by the company and aren't considered normal users. Also, one person owning seventy-six accounts qualifies as studio activity. I think Miss Silver Wolf should avoid trying to retrieve the accounts through appeals. It could make it easier for the company to locate you."

"What studio activity?! I haven't profited from these accounts. I was just playing normally, and I even left records on all kinds of game leaderboards. Damn it! From the sound of it, Herta didn't directly tell the company these were Stellaron Hunter accounts, so am I supposed to thank her instead?!"

Silver Wolf was both furious and anxious. Kafka, who had watched the entire exchange, offered a kind reminder.

"When we infiltrated Herta Space Station and ran into Hua Yi in No Heavens Left Unspoken, he showed no hostility. He also wasn't the one who had your accounts altered. Star is under Hua Yi's care now, and all your accounts are in his hands as well. You should try not to throw a tantrum, okay?"

"I'm throwing a tantrum? I—"

The famed Hacker Miss was so angry her head hurt. She held her forehead and groaned.

"Ugh... Help me."

"Hmm?"

"Help me talk to him, Kafka. I just want my accounts back."

"The information can't be changed back. At most, I can help you think of another way."

Kafka sighed. Seeing Silver Wolf's pitiful expression, she took out her Personal Terminal as well and sent Hua Yi a Friend Request.

[Your Friend Request has been accepted. You may now begin chatting.]

"Hi, I'm Kafka. It's been a while since we last met. Do you remember me?"

"I do. A lady much more mature than Silver Wolf."

"Tch."

Silver Wolf had been leaning over to watch Kafka's conversation with Hua Yi. When she saw his reply, she immediately gritted her teeth.

It's like he knows I'm crying and making a fuss right now... No, I'm not crying and making a fuss!

The girl tried hard to control her emotions as she waited eagerly for Kafka to find a solution.

Yet the purple-haired, pink-eyed older woman did not immediately bring up the accounts. Instead, she began chatting with Hua Yi.

"I heard that after Silver Wolf and I left the Space Station, a Doomsday Beast launched an attack. Yet it still failed to harm the people under your protection."

"I didn't defeat the Doomsday Beast alone. Star charged in with a Baseball Bat at the time, and Asta and the Astral Express crew contributed a great deal too."

"I see. Thank you for taking care of Star. She hasn't caused you any trouble, has she? If she accidentally caused any problems, I'll apologize to you on her behalf and am willing to pay compensation for her."

"Star is working toward her goal of becoming the Galaxy Bat Hero. She gets along well with everyone on both the Space Station and the Astral Express. I have another question to confirm—were you acting according to Elio's script before? Was I in it?"

"No. Elio called you [Possibility]. I think that refers to the possibility of a better future, just as you protected everyone on the Space Station during the Legion Attack. Isn't that right?"

"I sincerely hope so."

Seeing Kafka chat with Hua Yi for so long without showing the slightest intention of helping recover her losses, Silver Wolf grew anxious and loudly reminded her.

"The accounts! My accounts!"

Hacker Miss tried to grab her companion's coat, but Kafka lightly sidestepped her.

"Regarding Silver Wolf's accounts, could I ask you to leave them alone, and perhaps tell us the current passwords? Those accounts are her life's work. If she loses them completely like this, Silver Wolf will cry. I'll send you a photo so you can see her expression right now."

"Hey?!"

"Alright. I sent the password package to Silver Wolf. I won't change them."

"Thank you."

Silver Wolf truly received the password file, and delight immediately appeared on her face. She picked up her game console and entered the long string of characters.

The login succeeded. It wasn't a password error prompt. Yes!

The girl nearly jumped with joy, but then an unexpected system prompt appeared on the character screen, and her jubilant expression froze at once.

[Your login location does not match the primary account's location. You are currently in Safe Mode and cannot perform sensitive actions such as trading or discarding items. To disable Safe Mode, please use the primary account to grant temporary permissions.]

"What is wrong with the Interastral Peace Corporation?! They don't protect accounts when they should, but pull this kind of nonsense when they shouldn't?!"

"Is it troublesome?"

"Tremendously troublesome. It means I can't play games at all unless I ask Hua Yi to disable Safe Mode. But those temporary permissions have a time limit, so I'll have to contact him every so often... I can't even top up normally!"

"That really is difficult. It wouldn't be good to keep bothering him."

"You think I want to?! It's all Herta's fault."

Kafka decided not to remind Silver Wolf that, in the end, all of this had started because she wanted to obtain Aetherium War, deliberately left a Backdoor Program in Herta's office, and repeatedly provoked Herta.

"At least you haven't completely lost your online accounts. That's something to be thankful for."

"Forget it. I'll search online for polite phrases to use when frequently bothering someone. There's no way I'm giving up these accounts. I'll do my daily missions first."

Come to My Room to Watch the Stars

In the Station Master's Office, Asta saw Hua Yi enter and excitedly pulled over a chair. Her eyes curved into crescents as she patted the seat, signaling for him to sit beside her on the inner side of the desk.

The girl made no attempt to hide her delight. Simply seeing him appear put her in a good mood.

Still, she had received some other news from Madam Herta, leaving her slightly preoccupied. As the Station Master, Asta's professionalism allowed her to temporarily suppress her scattered thoughts and casually ask a question.

"You've been chatting with people on your Smart Terminal the whole time. Have you already added Himeko and March 7th from the Express crew as friends?"

"No, it was Stellaron Hunter Silver Wolf and Kafka. While we were testing the Simulated Universe earlier, Silver Wolf triggered the Backdoor Program she left on the Space Station and provoked Herta several times. Then she got punished, and all her accounts became mine."

Hua Yi openly recounted what had just happened. He shifted his chair until he was directly beside Asta, then placed his terminal on the desk and shared his conversation with the Stellaron Hunters, along with the photo of defeated, limited-edition Silver Wolf.

There was nothing to hide.

He had not deliberately concealed his talent for Imaginary energy from Herta, nor the way he wielded Path power differently from a Walker. How could he possibly beat around the bush with Asta and forcibly skip over his connection with the Stellaron Hunters?

This was a moment for sharing amusing events from his life. Hua Yi spoke of Silver Wolf the Great's former grandeur, as well as her utter panic upon learning that her online accounts had changed hands.

He had a gift for vividly describing the whole affair. More importantly, the trust and closeness in his words sweetened the Station Master's heart. The smile on her face had not faded since the moment he arrived.

"Why does it feel like Silver Wolf was forced into youth mode, and you became her guardian? When Madam Herta made her move, she struck right at the weak point."

"Compared with an established Genius, Silver Wolf is indeed a little immature. But Stellaron Hunters are no children. The Space Station's electronic security system poses no real obstacle to her. Once Hacker Miss frequently comes to me to disable Safe Mode and starts feeling embarrassed about it, I'll top up some money in her games and see whether I can invite Silver Wolf to help reinforce the Space Station's Firewall. Mainly because Herta doesn't want to waste energy on trivial matters."

The hero who had turned the tide was still considering the Space Station's needs. He had not yet said the sweet words ordinary people spoke of, yet every sentence Hua Yi uttered sounded sweet to Asta.

"There's no need to force it. It's best if you can take things easier yourself."

The girl rested her head against Hua Yi's shoulder and murmured softly.

She was neither sleepy nor tired. She simply cherished the warmth of this moment, wanting to grasp the sands of time and keep them from slipping through her fingers.

Earlier, Herta had sent her a rare message, stating that Hua Yi intended to board the Astral Express in the future.

A hero would eventually trailblaze the universe rather than remain forever in a corner of the Space Station. When Asta learned the news, she did not know whether she felt more happy for him or more reluctant to part with him.

The Space Station's repairs could not be completed in the short term, and the friendly Express crew would remain here for some time. Yet no matter how slowly time passed, it merely brought Hua Yi closer, little by little, to the day he would finally leave.

Madam Herta had only explained the situation and had not asked Asta to do anything in her message. Asta understood what she meant.

The Genius had given the girl the right to choose, and the girl chose to support every decision Hua Yi made.

Sensing the Station Master's complicated emotions, Hua Yi turned his head slightly and whispered into her ear.

"You have something on your mind."

"N-No, I don't."

"Girls who lie need to be punished."

Asta's delicate, fair ear was lightly bitten. A blush spread visibly across her skin, covering her earlobe and cheeks.

She would not tell the truth—that she had thought of Hua Yi leaving in the future and felt just a tiny bit, truly only a tiny bit, sentimental.

Being too emotional did not fit the rational atmosphere of the Space Station. More importantly, the aftermath of the Legion Attack had not even been dealt with, yet the Station Master was already immersed in personal feelings. That was rather unprofessional.

Negative emotions such as melancholy should be kept under control. But if she changed to a more positive mindset, then naturally, the more the better.

For example, before the train departed, she should understand the value of time, strive harder, gather some courage for herself, and fight for something.

As her thoughts turned, Asta felt that resting her head on Hua Yi's shoulder was not enough. Their fingers needed to be intertwined too.

She thought of it, then did it. Feeling the warmth from his palm, her body warmed as well.

Her face was still burning hot.

She tried to start a conversation.