Star Rail, Starting as Kiana Chapter 19

To avoid polluting everyone's minds, only a snippet is shown here.

Early morning, the CEO leaped up from his bed of solid golden-thread nanmu, spanning a full ten square kilometers, strode across a carpet twenty kilometers long, took the elevator from his twenty-thousand-floor room down ten thousand meters underground, and drove through the underground streets that connected the world—built by his family for convenient travel.

He was driving to welcome his cousin back.

Upon seeing her, the CEO recognized her at once, because his three-year-old cousin had already grown to three meters tall. Her twin ponytails, over two meters long, pierced the clouds. Her multicolored black pupils emitted ultraviolet, infrared, X-rays, and gamma rays, making the CEO's heart flutter.

I'm still kind-hearted—I didn't write about things like forty-two-pack abs or making the Pacific Ocean a constant temperature.

But with the mindset of dragging others down—if she was disgusted, no one else should escape unscathed—Kiana didn't throw away or burn this book. Instead, she stored it in her space.

The other book leaned toward campus life, or rather, the time before Yarilo's snow fell. It told the love story of a pair of sisters who met, got to know each other, and fell in love at St. Mikael Girls' Academy.

Even with Kiana's personality, the bold descriptions made her cheeks flush. When she reached the climax, she quickly closed the book and tucked it into her space.

"Too... too intense. No, I'll read it later. I'm starting to feel weird."

But her blatant street-side reading still drew glances from many girls. Though the book titled Flower Kiss wasn't banned, no one casually read it in public.

Only a few girls bought it out of curiosity or on a friend's recommendation, quietly enjoying it in their own rooms.

So she didn't know if any fellow enthusiasts existed. Seeing Kiana openly reading on the street, many girls lit up—especially when they noticed her appearance, a blend of elegance and sharpness, like a fairy-tale prince, knight, and princess rolled into one.

Many girls believed they had been favored by fate.

"Thank you for the gift, King Amber."

At first, only a few brave girls asked for Kiana's name and address, claiming they were also readers of the book and wanted to discuss it with her.

Kiana handled it easily, even tossing out flirtatious lines that made the girls giggle and sway.

But as the crowd grew, some went beyond words. Taking advantage of Kiana being surrounded, many pretended to be pushed and pressed against her, or lightly traced their fingertips across the back of her exposed hand.

Someone even said, "My cat can do backflips. Want to come to my place?"

Sensing the situation slipping out of control, Kiana made an excuse and fled the crowd.

"As expected of the lesbian capital buried in snow—terrifying as ever."

"Lesbian capital? What kind of name is that?"

Kiana heard a familiar voice and spun around, only to find Silver Wolf had somehow appeared beside her.

"You!"

"That's right, me! I am the number one hacker across the galaxy, the invisible emperor of Punklorde's gaming world..."

"Silver Wolf, who had seventy-six game accounts banned!"

"The king of gaming! Damn it, that Herta."

Silver Wolf, who had been about to introduce herself properly, was instantly hit where it hurt. If she didn't have business with Kiana, she'd have tossed this exposé-happy brat to some uninhabited planet and made her answer for her words.

With Aether Editing altering reality's data, Kiana and Silver Wolf's figures vanished from the spot. The next moment, they appeared in a room.

But it still looked like Belobog—through the window, Kiana could see the girls who had surrounded her still searching.

Seeing Silver Wolf return and plop down sulkily, Kafka just smiled and said nothing.

"Kiana, this must be our first meeting."

"It is, Kafka-mom."

"Kafka-mom?"

Even with Kafka's composure, the title made her pause.

Her hometown was the New Babylon that stirred unknown fears, but even facing a smiling assassin with a blade, being called "mom" by a young girl was hard to take in stride.

Silver Wolf, who had been pouting, was drawn in by Kiana's words. She looked from Kiana to Kafka, her tone teasing.

"Kafka, when did you become a mom? And you didn't tell me? Could this white-haired ball of fluff be your daughter? You've kept us in the dark."

Chapter 35: If You Suck, Practice More. Can't Take the Loss? Don't Play.

But watching Kafka freeze, Kiana suddenly understood what Elation meant.

Seeing Silver Wolf tease Kafka while gaming, Kiana recalled a fan creation.

"Silver Wolf, you're about to lose the game. Elio said so."

"Me, lose? As if."

Hearing Kiana's words, Silver Wolf instinctively retorted.

"Wait, you know Elio? Are you one of us too? Elio never mentioned it."

Silver Wolf kept talking, but her hands didn't stop. The next moment, a data anomaly appeared on her phone.

After she worked her magic and logged back in, the game was already lost.

"Kiana!"

Thinking of the power of Kiana's mouth, Silver Wolf blamed her for the loss and lunged forward, claws bared.

But her companion Kafka held her back.

With Kafka backing her up, Kiana only grew bolder.

"If you suck, just practice more. If you suck, just practice more. If you can't take a loss, don't play."

"The past is the past. Now is now."

"If you're still treating the past like the present... suck, suck, suck, suck, suck."

Faced with Kiana's taunts, Silver Wolf instantly bristled.

"Kafka! Don't stop me. I'm going to teach that brat a lesson and make her know what it means to cross me."

"Silver Wolf, listen to me. Don't forget our plan. Go play your game."

Whether it was Kafka's words taking effect, or Kafka using her Spirit Whispers, Silver Wolf actually stopped making a fuss.

But when she returned to her seat, she still shot Kiana a glare full of resentment, as if she was memorizing Kiana's face to settle the score later.

"Mom Kafka, look at her! She's glaring at me!"

For the first time, Kafka felt she really had the makings of a mother—at least when it came to handling kids, she seemed genuinely capable.

After calming Silver Wolf down and pulling Kiana away to keep them from bickering, Kafka suddenly felt exhausted.

"Kiana, listen to me..."

"Not listening, not listening. Turtle chanting sutras."

Silver Wolf had just cooled off, opened her handheld console, and started a new game, but when she heard Kiana's words, she immediately turned her gaze to Kafka.

Because she, too, wanted to know if Kiana's mouth was really that sharp.

Not that she wanted to see Kafka in turtle form, of course.

Though at that moment, she had her phone in hand and had even started recording—completely contradicting her inner denial.

But nothing seemed to happen.

Until she looked at her console.

"Ah! What the hell?! How did my console get a virus?! Why is there a turtle chanting sutras?!"

To stop Kiana from spouting any more nonsense, Kafka chose to shut her up her own way.

Countless threads of silk appeared, wrapping around Kiana's limbs and binding her to the seat, robbing her of any chance to move.

Kafka's gloved fingertips lightly tapped Kiana's shoulder, traced slowly along her delicate collarbone, slid down to her neck, and paused for a moment at her throat.

But finding Kiana completely unflustered—in fact, a little excited—made Kafka hesitate about whether to continue.

Kafka's fingertips finally landed on Kiana's lips. With her other hand, she lifted Kiana's chin, standing before her and looking down at her from above.

Kafka thought her methods were flawless, but she overlooked one thing: she wasn't fierce enough. Despite her fearsome reputation as a Stellaron Hunter, in Kiana's eyes, Kafka was still a breathtaking beauty.

Bearing the bloodline of the Kaslana family, Kiana felt no fear—only a surge of excitement.

Just as Kafka was about to use her Spirit Whispers to shut Kiana up and make her listen, she found that Kiana had vanished from her seat.

Then Kafka felt her waist go empty. When she turned around, what she grasped wasn't her familiar long blade or the mid-range firearm she used in combat, but a pair of warm hands.

"Kafka, lower your guard. Let's sit down and have a proper talk."

By the time Kafka came to her senses, she found herself back in her seat.

The only proof that what had just happened wasn't an illusion or a dream was the weapon Kiana was now playing with in her hands.

"Alright. It seems we really should have a proper talk. But I do have one question. Can you answer it for me?"

"Of course. A beautiful lady's question—as a warrior of the Kaslana family, it's my honor."

Silver Wolf, eavesdropping nearby, couldn't hold back. She pressed too hard, and her controlled character moved in a bizarre way, costing her the first loss on her new account.

Kafka, however, didn't mind and simply asked her question.

"You're not a Pathstrider, are you?"

"I don't know. At least I've never felt I've gained the power of a Path. Or rather, I don't really understand what the power of a Path even is."

Looking into Kiana's eyes—so clear, with no trace of impurity—Kafka suddenly felt an urge to stain her with color.

"I don't know why Herta or the Express crew didn't tell you, but that's fine. Let me explain it to you."

"Every time an Aeon is born, a 'Path' is opened. When a mortal's will overlaps with that Path, they are considered to be walking upon it. If their will is strong enough, they can draw a sliver of power from the Path, and are thus called 'Pathstriders.' A Pathstrider's power surpasses that of ordinary mortals, but it is still weak. Once a Path is opened, it cannot be closed. Even if the Aeon who governs it falls, the Path remains open."

Kafka finished reciting the official definition of Paths in one breath—the truth accepted by most beings in the universe.

"However..."

Kafka shifted her tone. Silver Wolf stopped gaming and instead operated on a virtual screen, using Aether Editing to seal off the room from the outside world, ensuring no one else could know what was happening inside.

"As you can see, the Stellaron Hunters have never hidden what we seek. But the Stellaron on this planet seems to have undergone some changes, and in Elio's script, you're the most uncontrollable variable. So... can you do us a favor?"

"What favor?"

Kiana had thought Kafka's goal was to get her to settle down and let things return to normal. But Kafka's next words left her stunned.

"Recover the missing Stellaron, then seal it."

Chapter 36: The Missing... Stellaron?

"Missing... Stellaron?"

Kiana's expression froze as she looked at Kafka and Silver Wolf. Unfortunately, the two had impeccable control over their expressions, and Kiana lacked the ability to read minds.

Still, her instincts told her they had no reason to lie.

At the very least, Star was still her companion, so the Stellaron Hunters and the Express crew wouldn't be at odds.

And to be honest, Kiana's combat strength wasn't great right now—she was only good for surprise attacks, and her mouth worked only half the time. If they wanted to mess with her, they wouldn't need to go through this much trouble.

If the situation was true, and the Stellaron really had vanished, then things were seriously bad.

But...

Would Kiana really follow the script, acting according to Elio's plans?

"I believe what you're saying. And if the Stellaron really is lost, that's terrible for us too—it might even trap us here."

Just as Kafka and Silver Wolf thought things were settled and they could go back to rest, they heard Kiana's tone shift.

"But I refuse! One of my favorite things, Kiana Kaslana, is saying NO to those self-righteous bastards!"

"What the—do you have a screw loose? Didn't you just say you might get stuck here? Finding the Stellaron is good for everyone—you, me, all of us. Why refuse?"

"I believe you're more anxious than I am. Why should I be your unpaid labor? Besides, I already knew about this planet's Stellaron situation. My earlier actions were just for fun. Now working isn't fun, and there's no reward—why should I bust my ass?"

When Kiana first spoke, Kafka and Silver Wolf frowned. But by the time she reached her last sentence, their furrowed brows relaxed, and sweet smiles spread across their faces.

They caught the key point in Kiana's words: if working wasn't fun and had no reward, then all they had to do was offer a reward.

But they couldn't think of any reward that would tempt her.

The most direct reward was currency, but considering Kiana's caretaker—that heiress from a prestigious family—money was hardly an issue.

As for trading other items, most required catering to her tastes. But with enough money, 99% of problems could be solved, and the remaining 1% was just not enough money.