My Honkai Star Rail: Reversing All Phenomena

"I personally recommend logging into Interstellar Delicacies to browse. Of course, you can also try other shopping platforms and experience the strengths and weaknesses of different websites for yourself."

"Understood. I guarantee I'll complete the task assigned by the Station Master!"

It was not just his research talent. Hua Yi's words and mannerisms when interacting with others were also impeccable. He was serious when he needed to be, humorous when the moment called for it, and always made Asta feel at ease, keeping the smile on her face for a long while.

The girl nodded and said no more, adopting an attitude of letting Hua Yi do as he pleased so she would not add to his pressure.

The Station Master's Office fell quiet, leaving only the soft sounds of papers being handled and terminals being operated.

In the past, those sounds had come from only one source: Asta. Now, Hua Yi had joined her.

The doubled number of sound sources did not make the room noisy. Instead, it gave the place an oddly lively feeling, as though her thoughts were moving a little more swiftly. The girl buried herself in her work and quickly entered a state of total concentration.

Little Rich Girl

"Hello. Your meal set has been delivered. Enjoy your meal."

The Station Master's Office was evidently classified as a special location in the backend Database. The delivery robot skipped facial recognition entirely and, upon reaching the office door, directly delivered the meal Asta had ordered.

"Mhm."

The Station Master, absorbed in her work, gave a soft response. Her eyes remained fixed on the documents in her hands, and she had apparently forgotten there was someone else in the office. Out of habit, she signaled for the robot to place the tray to one side.

Freshly prepared food was often piping hot. Eating it in a rush could burn one's mouth and throat, while letting it cool slightly actually made it possible to eat faster and save more time for work.

Asta had previously become so focused on her work several times that she forgot to eat, allowing her food to go cold. If her official duties were light, she could heat it back up. But if the day was especially busy, she could only hurriedly eat the cold food and fill her stomach any way she could.

After all, if she failed to do her job as Station Master properly, she would have to go home and inherit the family business.

For Asta, that was hardly a good thing.

Soft footsteps sounded nearby. She instinctively ignored them, until several more minutes passed and Hua Yi finally spoke.

"Miss Station Master, breakfast is ready."

"Huh?"

When Asta looked up, she discovered that Hua Yi had already tidied up the side of her desk and laid out the meal tray.

By some unknown method, he had determined the importance of the documents, devices, and assorted clutter on the desk, clearing out a place for her to eat.

He had been remarkably precise. He had not mixed up the completed and unfinished documents that she had sorted into categories, nor had he moved any delicate instruments without permission. Even the miscellaneous objects he had set aside had been arranged with careful consideration, making the result pleasing to the eye.

Hua Yi had organized things so neatly that, by comparison, the Station Master's previous desk arrangement now looked somewhat messy.

"..."

Asta could no longer remember how many times Hua Yi had surprised her. Gradually getting used to it, she set the document in her hand aside.

"Thank you."

"I should be thanking the Station Master for the meal. This whole spread looks, smells, and tastes amazing. I won't hold back, then?"

"Mhm! Make sure you eat plenty. If it isn't enough, I'll have the robot bring more."

The girl was hungry too. Early that morning, she had heard that the Department of Light Abyss Archives had activated an emergency protocol and requested the Defense Department to protect a laboratory. Then the Five Research Departments had gathered outside Hua Yi's dormitory. She had rushed over in a hurry and had not had time to eat at all.

Yet even as her taste buds relayed delightful sensations and her stomach began to rumble contentedly, Asta still could not stop thinking about work. Her eyes occasionally drifted toward her work terminal, which displayed various interfaces, before she remembered the task she had assigned Hua Yi.

"How was it? Did you browse the Interstellar Delicacies website?"

"Yes. This shopping site seems to use a membership invitation system. Individual users cannot register accounts without authorization, but I managed to log in. Does the Station Master have invitation privileges?"

"I've bought quite a lot of things there—do you have anything you want to buy? Let's add each other as friends, and I'll clear out your shopping cart for you. Consider it a small personal gift from me."

Asta did not ask Hua Yi whether he had found suitable vendors according to the Space Station's equipment requirements list.

From the very beginning, she had never intended to treat it as a compulsory assignment. She merely hoped this extraordinary newcomer could familiarize himself with the Space Station's online shopping methods, so that if he needed something in the future and the Space Station lacked the proper reserves, he could buy it through the Interastral Peace Network.

But Hua Yi had already completed the additional work.

"I originally wanted to let the Station Master focus on eating and avoid bringing up work, but since we've already mentioned it—please take a look. I compared several shopping platforms and manufacturers, then drafted the following procurement plan based on the equipment list. Most of the products are from Interstellar Delicacies, though a few come from other shopping sites. I found that several stores shared the same shipping location and logistics company, meaning they were secondary distributors, so I contacted the original manufacturers directly."

A newly completed procurement report appeared before Asta. It was richly illustrated and clearly structured, listing the vendors for the Space Station's required equipment, comparing differences between platforms and merchants, and arriving at conclusions.

It even explained why some equipment had been purchased from more expensive vendors: deceptive front-page pricing, unreliable logistics, obscure supplementary clauses hidden in the details, and more.

For products with relatively high sales due to low prices, Hua Yi had also captured screenshots of the product interface. The buyer reviews praising the products in several hundred words each seemed suspiciously like manufactured positive reviews, while every negative review, only two or three lines long, complained of quality issues. He had used this as evidence to choose another store whose customer feedback appeared more genuine.

Asta's mouth hung half open as her gaze shifted back and forth between Hua Yi and the screen in his hand.

"So detailed! Wait, why is the scroll bar beside the document like that? There's so much content—you completed the procurement requirements for the entire list?!"

"I can only say it is roughly complete. While working on it, I used my Level IV Researcher privileges to check the transaction records between the Department of Universal Matter and these manufacturers, hoping to understand their historical credibility. But I found another issue. Why are there so few equipment procurement records in the Department of Universal Matter's Database? Abnormally few. The numbers do not match the amount of equipment being retired and replaced."

"Th-that..."

For some reason, seeing Hua Yi's serious expression made Asta feel inexplicably nervous.

"I bought the equipment with my own money instead of going through the Department of Universal Matter's process. I thought it could save the Space Station money, and the deliveries would arrive faster too. It shouldn't be that big of a problem, right?"

"It is a very serious problem. Even if the Station Master is a little rich girl and is paying out of pocket with the best intentions, this should not continue. It will not only cause you personal financial losses, but it is also detrimental to the Space Station's long-term development."

The new researcher was pointing out problems with the Space Station Station Master, and he had even called her a "little rich girl" rather than "Lady Rich Girl." The heavens had truly been turned upside down.

Yet Asta's first reaction was not annoyance at having her authority challenged.

Hua Yi's displayed talent and wisdom were convincing. The gentle, kindhearted girl scratched her cheek, failing to notice that her fingertips were still greasy from the bread, and her tone carried a hint of seeking guidance.

"I haven't spent that much money, so it doesn't really count as a financial loss... Why would this affect the Space Station's future development? I can keep paying for the equipment indefinitely."

Don't Question the Station Master's Decision!

"If the Space Station were in its early stages of establishment, or had suffered a sudden disaster and was struggling to stay afloat, then it would naturally be fine for the Station Master to turn the tide. But the Space Station has already been established for years. If it cannot even achieve a balance between income and expenses, that only proves there is a problem with its operating model."

No one knew who the Station Master was and who the newcomer was anymore. In any case, Asta had become the one listening to a "senior" share management experience.

"As far as the Space Station itself is concerned, if the researchers here consume far more money than the Academic Achievements they ultimately produce, they will lose their competitiveness. Strip away the glamorous title of Herta Space Station, and these people are merely fledglings sheltered in a harbor, never having truly spread their wings and flown. As for you, Station Master, even if your wallet is more than full enough, the Space Station's cash flow will become extremely fragile if you fall ill, take leave, or are temporarily unable to focus on management."

"Is it really that serious...?"

"Of course, that was an extreme way of putting it."

Hua Yi changed tack and operated his terminal for a while, using his Level IV Researcher privileges to pull up the income and expenses of the Department of Universal Matter.

"The Department of Universal Matter's former head, Wen Huairen, had a sharp eye. He kept careful track of where every Credit came from and where it went. He must have noticed that the Station Master had been funding the Space Station's construction out of pocket, so he did not simply increase research investment just because the department's funds were becoming more abundant. His personal temperament played a part as well, but this created a balance between the generous young lady and the shrewd department executive."

But such a balance, maintained artificially, was neither healthy nor stable.

Even though Hua Yi said the situation had not yet reached an extreme, Asta, having been alerted to it, still realized where the issue lay.

If the girl took a few days off, boarded an interstellar ship for a trip, and failed to monitor the Space Station's situation in real time, then the equipment she had long been replacing and replenishing would go unmanaged, affecting the research of the relevant departments.

And that was only a vacation.

As for Wen Huairen, if his son Wen Mingde were allowed to manage the Department of Universal Matter and the department's practices changed as a result, then the current Department Head, who did not know the full story, might create a superficial balance of income and expenses. The situation would become even worse.

"However, from another perspective, Station Master Asta's importance has also risen considerably because of your identity as an angel investor. With a little publicity, you could significantly strengthen your personal prestige. If you mention this appropriately to Madam Herta, you can consolidate your position as Station Master. Even if Madam Herta currently pays very limited attention to the Space Station, if she remembers it in the future, she will not forget your role."

"I never thought about any of that. Using my pocket money to buy equipment was simply meant to help the Space Station develop better."

Asta hurriedly waved her hands to stop him.

She suspected that if Hua Yi continued, the topic would become rather dangerous.

It might develop into proving to the Space Station's experts and scholars who exactly bore the burden of the five research departments and four support departments, who was Madam Herta's true representative, and who was the supporter of scientific research and the pillar holding up the Space Station.

Vaguely, the opportunity to hold everything in one hand seemed right before her. The girl stared in shock, but she was not tempted.

Not only was she grateful to Madam Herta for taking her away from The Family and wanted to manage the Space Station well for her, with no desire to seize more authority or profit, but Hua Yi's proposal had also gradually risen to another level. Greater power meant heavier responsibility, and Asta did not believe she could carry out sweeping reforms or guide the entire Space Station's direction.

The role she played was more that of a caretaker than a Trailblazer.

"Madam Herta truly has the eye of a Genius. Miss Asta is also the person most suited to be Station Master of the entire Space Station."

Hua Yi had changed the way he addressed her several times, calling her "Station Master," then "little rich girl," then "generous young lady."

Thinking carefully, his tone earlier had not sounded like that of an ambitious young man urging his superior to seek greater power so that he could profit from it himself. Instead, there had been a teasing quality to it.

Hua Yi had guessed from the beginning what choice she would make.

Such behavior was highly suspicious of a subordinate teasing his superior!

After sorting through the twists and turns of it, Asta spoke, half joking and half serious.

"Actually, the process of me becoming Station Master was quite simple. You can create a High-level Rite related to [Wisdom], draw the attention of the Five Departments in such a short time, and say things like you just did that could make the entire Space Station move because of you. Perhaps you are the more suitable person."

"I believe the Station Master simply does not seek fame or profit, which is why you have never considered how to consolidate your personal prestige. As for whether I am more suitable—Miss Asta, you are the person most suited to be Station Master of the entire Space Station. I was not lying."

"Why?"

"Because Herta Space Station remains neutral in all actions involving Aeons."

It was an unexpected answer, but the exceptionally intelligent Asta almost immediately understood Hua Yi's meaning from his response.

This brilliant newcomer, dazzling as the morning sun, held different views regarding the Space Station's principles. Or rather, if Hua Yi himself became involved in an incident concerning an Aeon, he would not remain neutral and simply watch from the sidelines.

As Station Master, the girl should have sternly emphasized the absolute nature of the Space Station's regulations and upheld Madam Herta's will.

Yet when she recalled how some researchers had encountered the Antimatter Legion while returning home, or even found that their home planets had been destroyed by the Legion, while the Space Station could only stand by and could not forcibly interfere with forces related to the Aeon of [Destruction], Asta felt that she could completely understand Hua Yi's way of thinking.

Their eyes met, their gazes crossing, and the Station Master became even more certain of it.

The kindhearted girl sensed his kindness.

Asta's expression unconsciously softened, while Hua Yi handed her a tissue.

"There is grease on this side of your face. It got there when you scratched your cheek with your finger after picking up the bread."

"Huh? Oh... thank you."

So from then on, I had been speaking so seriously to him with the image of a little tabby cat?

Remembering how she had alternated between earnest and solemn during their conversation, and how her expression had changed along with her emotions, Asta nearly wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.

"You—"

Why didn't you tell me sooner?

What was wrong with the dignified Space Station Station Master venting a little irritation at her subordinate in embarrassment? Even an ordinary girl would have every right to blame a mischievous boy who had watched her make a fool of herself for so long while deliberately keeping a straight face and never revealing a hint of it.

But Asta was different.

"Alright, you should head back first. There should be many people waiting for your news. This procurement list counts as extra work you completed, so I'll give you a bonus as well."

"Out of your own pocket again?"

"You are not allowed to question the Station Master's decision now!"

A Loyal Minister

"'[Hunt] on the left, [Harmony] on the right, [Wisdom] in the heart, [Preservation] before the chest'—what fine calligraphy. I never expected Hua Yi's handwriting to be this outstanding as well."

At the Department of Light Abyss Archives, Hua Yi's workstation was packed with upper management from the various departments. Although Station Master Asta had told them to return to their posts, she had not said they could not leave after finishing their work.

As long as they temporarily handed off their own work to colleagues, they could carry the hopes of their entire department to the Department of Light Abyss Archives and continue extending olive branches to Hua Yi.

Thus, a group of experts and scholars who could be considered titans in the academic world gathered around Hua Yi's workstation. None of them touched anything carelessly. They simply examined it meticulously from left to right, top to bottom.

"More than that, the content itself has lofty ideals. It expresses the author's longing for home... Ah, no, it expresses Hua Yi's reverence for the Aeons."

"That is so typical of the Department of Land Surveying. You just spout nonsense. Longing for home? Have you done too many reading comprehension exercises?"

"Oh? A desk-bound fellow from the Department of Applied Materials actually dares provoke those of us who venture deep into the cosmos and conduct research firsthand? Want to fight?"

"Enough."

Gunn, the founder of the Department of Legal Affairs, signaled for everyone to quiet down.

"No matter how much we argue here, Hua Yi and Station Master Asta will be the ones making the decision. Let us wait honestly for the notice."

The ordinary office of the Department of Light Abyss Archives now presented an exceptionally unusual scene.

Several important figures from the five research departments stood in a cluster around Hua Yi's empty workstation. Many more upper-level staff surrounded them in another ring, while ordinary researchers stood farther outside.

Some were merely there to watch the excitement, while others hoped Hua Yi would transfer to their department.

Emily from the Department of Secret Scrolls kept a tense expression. She knew the people from other departments were trying to steal Hua Yi away, but there was nothing she could do. A mere Level II Researcher had no voice at all in such a setting.

The little girl Wen Shiling from the Department of Applied Materials had anticipation flash through her eyes, hoping she could work alongside her idol.

Lamina from the Department of Boundary Seeds pressed her lips together, her mind full of worries. She hoped Hua Yi would transfer into her department. If he did, perhaps she could volunteer herself as his assistant and achieve something at the Space Station, only then repaying her sister's sacrifices.