Star Rail, Starting as Kiana Chapter 5

"By the way, your task is different from Stelle's. I've adjusted the data for you—you just need to speak without restraint. In theory, the probability of triggering your ability within the Simulated Universe should increase."

As Herta's words faded, Kiana's consciousness sank into the Simulated Universe.

"Oh? Then I want to eat some Bishoujo Flavor instant noodles."

The moment Kiana spoke, a steaming cup of noodles appeared before her.

But Kiana noticed it was just an ordinary cup of noodles, with the brand name simply being Bishoujo Flavor.

"Then what if I said I want control of the Simulated Universe?"

As Kiana's words fell, countless devices in Herta's office went haywire, as if hacked, slipping out of control—though Herta quickly restored order with a few operations.

Still, an interface materialized in front of Kiana inside the Simulated Universe.

Chapter 8: Aha, Turn Into a Girl!

"Huh! It actually works?"

Kiana swiped through the interface before her, discovering she could freely obtain Blessings and Curios, and even alter the surrounding settings.

After a flurry of adjustments, a fully maxed-out happy account appeared—every Blessing, every Path, every Curio.

Unfortunately, Kiana still hadn't encountered any Aeons.

This puzzled Herta. In her view, Stelle and Kiana shared some similar trait. Stelle had already met two Aeons, and that was just the start—so why hadn't Kiana run into any other Aeons yet?

"Could it be the Stellaron?"

Herta speculated, ready to end Kiana's experiment—until Kiana activated all the Blessings of Joy. Then, something changed.

Where there had been nothing before Kiana, a patch of shadow suddenly emerged. What lay within the shadow was impossible to see, but it was surrounded by countless masks.

"Haha, an interesting little one, you—"

Before Aha could finish, Kiana found his voice grating and blurted out a complaint.

"Turn into a girl!"

Not just Aha in the Simulated Universe, but even Herta—watching the data and the scene—froze.

Because she had already overestimated Kiana's power, but now it seemed she had still underestimated her.

Her ability could actually affect an Aeon, even if it was only one within the Simulated Universe.

The black mist wrapped in masks gradually solidified. As a ray of sunlight fell, the first thing to appear was a slender, jade-white hand.

Then came a red cheongsam, a pair of long, shapely legs, and finally a pair of red high heels.

"Pfft!"

Herta was dumbfounded. She was very curious now—was this face the true form of the Aeon of Joy, or was it caused by Kiana's power?

Kiana looked at the cheongsam beauty before her, whose face still wore a mask, with various other masks drifting around her. She wanted to keep talking, to make her take off the mask.

But this time, the ability didn't work.

"Aha has lost face, but it seems Aha is still one step ahead, hmhm!"

Through the mask, Aha gazed at Kiana, as if trying to see who she really was.

But Aha didn't press further.

"Pity, this isn't the real world—otherwise Aha would definitely make someone as interesting as you an Emanator. No, your ability is true Joy."

With that, Aha looked up at the empty air.

Amid a burst of laughter, Aha departed.

Only Herta felt a thrill.

Because Aha's gaze just now had been aimed at the surveillance camera—or rather, through the camera, at her.

"Interesting. It seems the Simulated Universe has gained many new variables."

But the experiment ended there. Stelle had already finished her battle and returned to reality. Seeing that the data was collected, Herta chose to terminate the test.

If they actually lured the real Aeon of Joy over, the joke would be too big.

"It worked! I need to tell Stephan right away."

"If you two want to keep playing, go ahead and explore. If you meet any other Aeons, let me know."

"I feel like you should show me some respect."

Maybe because she'd just conversed with several Aeons, her mind crammed with all sorts of strange knowledge, Stelle was annoyed that Herta didn't comfort her—a newborn baby—but instead wanted her to keep working.

Stelle puffed out her cheeks, planted her hands on her hips, and stood over Herta, looking down at her.

Kiana found it amusing and mimicked Stelle's pose, standing beside her.

"Oh, you're right. I got carried away—sorry. Stelle, you did great! If it's convenient, please go in and test again."

"What about me? What about me?"

Herta just rolled her eyes at Kiana, then pulled out her phone and tapped a few times.

Kiana felt her phone buzz twice. She opened it, saw what Herta had sent, and broke into a smile.

"Ms. Herta, you're the best!"

Kiana hugged the tiny Herta, wanting to nuzzle her little cheek.

But Herta didn't stop her; instead, she kept talking seriously with Stelle.

Stelle, however, looked at the scene before her and found it a bit strange, but she just agreed to come back for testing later and turned to leave.

Once Stelle was gone, Herta pushed the white-haired girl away.

"One hug is enough, don't push it. I'm logging off now. Don't bother me if there's nothing important."

Seeing Herta log off, Kiana stopped messing around and pulled out her phone to play.

She was very satisfied with the reward Herta had given her—a game. If any old acquaintances were around, they'd recognize that Kiana was playing Guns Girl Z.

A long time ago, Kiana had mentioned it to Herta. After all, if they could build a Simulated Universe—even if it wasn't solely her achievement—surely that ability could easily make a game from her memories.

Kiana hadn't expected Herta to actually do it. She just didn't know if Herta made it herself or had some researcher do it.

But looking at the familiar characters, the familiar interface, and the familiar story, Kiana felt like she'd returned to her original world.

She sat down on a nearby chair and started playing.

Herta: Asta, you spoil Kiana too much. Giving her that much money.

Asta: Um, Ms. Herta, you took precious time to personally make a game, and you're blaming me?

Both: You just spoil her.

After playing for a long time, Kiana realized a lot of time had passed. Remembering that the Express crew might still be waiting for her, she quickly got up and rushed straight to the Platform.

When she arrived, the Platform was empty, with only the train still parked there.

"Ah, this... am I late?"

Like a tardy student, Kiana crept up to the train and poked her head inside.

"What are you looking at? Come in."

The moment Kiana poked her head out, she found herself face-to-face with Himeko, who was sitting on the sofa.

Hearing Himeko's words, Kiana could only slink into the train and stuck out her tongue.

"Sorry, Himeko, I'm late."

Kiana didn't try to make excuses. Between people, trust was the most important thing. You could stay silent, but you shouldn't make excuses for small mistakes.

But Himeko didn't scold her.

"It's fine, it's not like you're late. We still need to restock supplies at the Space Station. Because of the Anti-Matter Legion invasion, a lot of supplies are short. We have to wait another week. Don't look so guilty."

"Huh?"

Chapter 9: Hey, Wife

Kiana really hadn't expected the train to launch a whole week later.

It wasn't until Himeko finished speaking that Kiana slapped her forehead. She'd been completely confused by the game, thinking that once people boarded, the train would take off.

"Alright, since you're here, let's have dinner together. Hmm, the Space Station's food... forget it. Come sit, I'll make you a cup of coffee."

In the end, Himeko didn't comment on the Space Station's food. After all, there were things like earthworm jerky, synthetic meat, and vegetable slices with a chance of causing injury.

Even higher-level researchers, or even Station Master Asta, could only eat fried rice.

No matter how fancy the name—like Cosmic Fried Rice—it was just a plain bowl of fried rice, not even with eggs, just two vegetable pellets and some peas.

Kiana, technically still a researcher at the Space Station, felt a bit awkward hearing Himeko's words. Improving the food had been brought up many times, and Asta had even considered paying out of her own pocket to give the staff extra meals, but it never got implemented.

But when she heard Himeko was going to make coffee, Kiana stood up and stopped her.

Himeko looked at Kiana, who had grabbed her hand, with a puzzled expression.

"Auntie Himeko, you rest. I'll go help cook."

By the time Himeko snapped out of it, Kiana was already gone.

A vein bulged on Himeko's forehead.

"One by one... I'm still young. Why does everyone keep calling me auntie? March 7th does it, Stelle does it, and now Kiana too. Do I really look that old?"

At that moment, Ouyang had just come back with some things. Hearing Himeko's complaint, he hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should come in.

After thinking it over, Ouyang decided it was still early. He could wander around a bit more before going back.

"Train Conductor! I'm here to help!"

As soon as Kiana reached the train's kitchen, she saw Pom-Pom standing on a small stool, chopping vegetables on the cutting board.

When Pom-Pom noticed Kiana barging in, it was startled.

It spun around sharply and nearly fell off the stool, but thankfully it didn't.

"Passenger Kiana, please go out. Dinner will be ready soon, pa."

"Lord Conductor, just let me help."

That "Lord Conductor" made Pom-Pom's heart bloom. After all, countless passengers had come through, and every single one treated it like a mascot. This was the first time anyone had called it "lord."

But Pom-Pom still forced himself to stay calm, putting on a serious face.

"Then, Passenger Kiana, there are ingredients and cooking utensils over there. If you want to cook something, just go ahead and do it yourself, Pom."

"Got it!"

About ten minutes later, Ouyang figured Himeko should have cooled down by now, and March 7th and the others had returned with their things, so he went back to the train with them.

But as soon as they stepped inside, they saw only Himeko sitting on the sofa.

"Where's Kiana?"

"She said she went to help Pom-Pom cook."

Clatter!

Everything Ouyang was holding fell to the floor, and even his glasses—which hadn't budged an inch during the fight—nearly slipped off his face.

The others watched Ouyang charge toward the kitchen like a madman, completely baffled about what was going on.

Ouyang thought: Oh no, Kiana's cooking. The Kaslana family—every single one of them—first in eating, but when it comes to cooking, they've got six out of seven orifices open, and not a single one works.

But it was already too late for him to stop it. Pom-Pom and Kiana had already come back carrying the finished dinner.

"Time to eat, Pom!"

Once the dishes were set on the table, Pom-Pom served rice for everyone and was about to start the meal when Ouyang suddenly spoke up, interrupting everyone's movements.

"Everyone, hold on. Kiana, can I ask—which dish did you make?"

Though confused, Kiana pointed at the plate of scrambled eggs with tomato.

Seeing that the scrambled eggs with tomato had a normal color, no strange hues, and hadn't turned into charcoal-burnt tomato, Ouyang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Everyone found Ouyang's behavior today strange, but figuring the two might have known each other before, they assumed this was just how acquaintances interacted.

That was, until they picked up their chopsticks, ready to enjoy a hearty meal.