After setting his wallpaper, Siberian Duck continued with the story.
He couldn't help chuckling when he saw the conversation between Asta and Jiang Yu.
"Haha, Asta's just teasing a kid!"
[Chinese Coomer: I can't take it. Hoyo's giving us way too much fanservice after that big battle. I need to go replenish my nutrients.]
[Speedy Shipping: Elaborate on replenishing your nutrients.]
[AsUGU: Elaborate on why you need to replenish your nutrients.]
After he accepted Asta's mission to retrieve the Horrific Maze, the quest continued.
In the game.
After agreeing to help Asta retrieve the Horrific Maze, Jiang Yu and Stelle didn't immediately head to the second floor of the Storage Zone. Instead, they went to find Wen Shiling first.
Stelle had originally planned to charge in with her Bat, just as Jiang Yu had done against the Trampler and the Distorters it summoned, as well as during the fight with the Doomsday Beast-I'll rush in and hit it with a jumping slash.
But Jiang Yu stopped her.
Jiang Yu felt that Curios were strange, unpredictable things. According to Asta, this Horrific Maze even had a will of its own, so acting rashly wasn't a good idea.
As the saying went, know yourself and your enemy, and you could fight a hundred battles without defeat.
Before setting out to deal with the Horrific Maze, they were better off looking up some information, such as its properties and containment procedures.
As a staff member of the Department of Mundane Affairs, Wen Shiling ought to know something about this. Apparently, the six-year-old girl often took advantage of her position to give Curios to someone called "Young Master Bo."
As someone who worked at Herta Space Station, Wen Shiling had already heard of Jiang Yu and Stelle. Although she was a child, she also understood the impact the Horrific Maze was currently having on the station, so she told them straightaway where they should go to find the information.
Notably, the little girl also gave Jiang Yu a map. This was what she said at the time:
"Don't tear the space station apart again this time!"
Wen Shiling spread the map out in front of her, then sidled up to Jiang Yu. As she explained where he and Stelle could find information about the Horrific Maze, she helpfully traced the route on the map with her finger.
Clearly, repelling the Doomsday Beast wasn't the only thing that had made Jiang Yu famous on the station. His reputation for solving the problem of getting lost in a very direct way had spread far and wide too.
The little girl's pointed reminder left Jiang Yu feeling rather awkward, but he still made a serious effort to memorize the route.
Then Jiang Yu hurried away with Stelle.
Something about Wen Shiling's behavior felt a little off. The way she leaned close to show him the route, along with the faint admiration in her voice, made Jiang Yu feel as though he was about to become Capote Number Two. Capote was that "Young Master Bo."
At present, Jiang Yu's impression of that man could be summed up in one phrase-"all show and no substance."
Right now, Jiang Yu and Stelle were on their way to the records room.
Jiang Yu wasn't hopeless with directions. With a map in hand, he could navigate the space station perfectly easily.
Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed past Jiang Yu, and he stopped in his tracks.
Seeing Jiang Yu stop, Stelle came to a halt beside him. They were currently in a rather dim corridor, and she looked at him in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
Jiang Yu glanced at Stelle, then raised a finger to his lips and shushed her.
Stelle nodded.
Then Jiang Yu turned and moved silently toward the wall, inching his way to the junction as though afraid of startling something.
Next, Jiang Yu poked his head out and looked down the adjoining corridor.
A creature resembling a little wild boar came into view. Its upper half was mostly white, accented with golden stripes, while its lower half was black, and its ears looked like wings.
It moved gingerly, surveying its surroundings with extreme caution, but it hadn't noticed Jiang Yu.
Stelle carefully crept over, following Jiang Yu's example, and saw the little space pig as well. Although she didn't know what species it was, she felt that something about it was inexplicably drawing her in.
Still, she didn't act rashly. Instead, she looked at Jiang Yu, wanting to see what the boy would do next.
Jiang Yu watched the Trotter before him, a flicker of curiosity crossing his gray eyes.
In the game, encountering this thing and fighting it would earn you sixty Stellar Jade. He wondered what the little creature would yield now that he had entered the real Honkai: Star Rail universe.
At a time like this, he ought to take a picture and ask the all-knowing Dan Heng. But to avoid alerting it, he would catch the Trotter first.
Jiang Yu quietly stirred the power within him, and the wind made his body light.
The next moment, the boy stepped forward, arriving beside the Trotter in an instant like a gust of wind.
Startled by Jiang Yu's sudden appearance, the Trotter jumped into the air, its two winglike ears spreading immediately.
Then the Trotter took off at a mad sprint, practically turning into a black-and-white blur in the station's corridor!
The little space pig's speed was astonishing.
Jiang Yu froze for a moment, not expecting to be unable to keep up in his current state. Then he exerted a little more power, and a light push off the floor sent him darting several meters forward, incredibly nimble.
After running some distance, the Trotter opened a dimensional rift beneath its feet and sprang into the air, about to dive inside. Just then, it felt a gentle breeze that had no business blowing through the space station brush its face, and a pair of hands grabbed its feet.
The dimensional rift closed, and the Trotter failed to escape.
The little space pig kept wriggling its plump body and grunting, trying to struggle free of Jiang Yu's grip.
But all its efforts were in vain.
Holding the Trotter up, Jiang Yu brought it closer and sniffed it. It had a light, pleasant scent.
I wonder if it tastes good. As a born-and-bred Xianzhou native, that was the first thought that came to mind.
Seeing that Jiang Yu had caught the Trotter, Stelle ran over too. As she studied the rather cute creature, a hint of confusion appeared in her golden eyes.
She looked at Jiang Yu and asked, "What is this?"
"A Trotter," Jiang Yu replied. "I've forgotten the rest. Take a picture of me and ask Dan Heng."
Stelle nodded, captured an image of the boy holding the Trotter on her phone, and sent it to the all-knowing Dan Heng.
"Jiang Yu and I caught this on the space station. What is it?"
The all-knowing Dan Heng never disappointed, and his reply soon arrived.
The little white-haired boy held the Trotter and huddled together with Little Grey Hair for a lesson from Dan Heng.
"A Warp Trotter."
Dan Heng gave the species name first, then began explaining.
"A transdimensional creature lost among the stars. It has a gentle disposition and a sweet, pleasant scent. It is not edible."
"Warp Trotters spend most of their lives eating and fleeing. Travelers who happen across one consider it a sign of good fortune."
"Remember to tell Jiang Yu that it isn't edible. This is important: it isn't edible."
Looking at Dan Heng's repeated warnings on the screen, Stelle couldn't help raising her head to look at the fair, clean face of the boy beside her.
"Do you... really like eating that much?"
Before you continue