The sight of Jiang Yu sitting on the floor and petting Pom-Pom was utterly lovely.
For people who liked cute things, the scene was clearly a critical hit, while those with absolutely no resistance to cuteness were already dropping dead on the spot.
Jiang Yu and Pom-Pom together really were a lethal combination, capable of shooting a tough guy straight through his girlish heart even across two worlds.
[China Jerk-Off Fan: Aaaah!!! I want to pet Pom-Pom too! I want Little Fish to hold me too! (Rolling all over the floor.)]
[Reclusive Old Otaku: I mean, I don't think that's the point. Doesn't Pom-Pom look like they're in absolute heaven?]
[One Pan-Fried Bun: Of course Pom-Pom's enjoying it. Look at Little Fish's movements-he knows what he's doing.]
Siberian Duck gritted her teeth and thumped her desk several times.
"I want to pet them too! Little Fish is obviously out of reach, but surely Pom-Pom isn't? I have to buy a Pom-Pom plush!"
The story continued, and Pom-Pom soon fled in panic. Then March 7th began complaining to Jiang Yu about how Pom-Pom wouldn't let her pet them.
"That settles it. Pom-Pom's got a blatant double standard!" Siberian Duck said.
[Old Mi the Big Liar: A double-standard Conductor. It couldn't be more obvious.]
[Cold, Handsome, Blade Maniac: Calls the Trailblazer a dimwit, then gets struck speechless by Little Fish's beauty. Won't let March 7th pet them, but never gets mad no matter how Little Fish does it. Pom-Pom, don't push your luck!]
[Start Over, You're Beyond Saving: Got it. Our Conductor's a sucker for pretty faces. You have to be gorgeous enough to earn petting privileges.]
[Wind Over the Wall: This Pom-Pom is such a scumbag!]
[Huahua’s Increasing Baldness: Ever since I became a Little Fish fan, inspiration just keeps pouring out of me. This scene is fantastic. Time to rush another comic!]
[My Pee Is Yellow: Please take a break, master! If you work yourself to death, I won't have any good comics to jerk off to!]
Siberian Duck also noticed Huahua’s Increasing Baldness’s chat message.
Honestly, she had already studied both of their previous doujinshi in great detail. The composition and art style were exactly her thing, the artwork was excellent, and they even thoughtfully added color.
Wanting to protect the doujinshi she loved, she felt she ought to check on this master artist too.
"Master Huahua, is your liver holding up?"
[Huahua’s Increasing Baldness: What a joke! Every hair on my head is another liver! For Little Fish, I'm going completely fucking wild!]
After the Pom-Pom-petting incident, the livestream returned to its cheerful atmosphere.
The next part of the story had March 7th taking the Trailblazer and Jiang Yu on a tour of the train while finding rooms for them to stay in.
The viewers poked fun at Dan Heng's meager bedding on the archive room floor, then admired March 7th's pretty-girl bedroom. In the end, though, they hadn't expected their own room to be the most bare-bones of all.
The new guest room actually looked quite nice, clean and tidy, but it was far too empty.
After the room tour, Pom-Pom announced that the warp would begin soon, and Siberian Duck steered her character back to the parlor car.
She followed the quest marker to speak with Pom-Pom. Everyone except Dan Heng was there.
Pom-Pom explained that Dan Heng wouldn't be coming over, so there was no need to worry about him.
After finishing the conversation with Pom-Pom, she followed the quest directions onward and saw Jiang Yu sprawled on the couch as though his soul had departed for the afterlife.
Triggering the dialogue here prompted Himeko to explain that Jiang Yu had just drunk some coffee she'd brewed.
Jiang Yu then woke up and went to sit with Old Yang, while the Trailblazer started talking to March 7th.
"Huh? Himeko's coffee knocked Little Fish out?"
[Tang Seng Washes His Hair with Rejoice: Judging by the earlier story, Little Fish should be a little glutton, but one cup of Himeko's coffee knocked him out. It's hard to imagine what kind of coffee that was.]
[If You Can, Read My ID: I hereby dub Himeko's coffee the Astral Express's ultimate weapon!]
[Little Seal Patting Its Belly: If the mighty Roly-Poly Mountain Roller can choke a demon god to death, what's wrong with my dear Himeko's coffee packing a little extra punch?]
[Ten-Year Star Rail Fan: Nothing wrong with it. Nothing at all! Perfectly reasonable. Absolutely reasonable!]
[Punch You: The funniest part is that Little Fish gave Himeko a thumbs-up after he woke up! He didn't say a word, but I feel like he said everything.]
[KUGsuod: Do you think Little Fish was being sarcastic or giving her a compliment?]
[Punch You: Considering Little Fish's personality, I think he genuinely meant it. But considering what he went through, it feels more like sarcasm!]
[Ouch Ooo~: Of course it was a genuine compliment. Little Fish is a good boy. He saw Old Yang sitting alone and went over to keep him company!]
[Little Fish’s Dog: He's so sweet, I'm crying my eyes out!]
Finally, Siberian Duck played through to the end of the warp, then stretched.
She checked the time. She had streamed enough for the day.
So she said, "That's all for today. We'll keep progressing tomorrow."
But just as she was about to end the stream, a chat message drifted into view.
[Danxin Hengjiu: Streamer, the official account posted Little Fish's character art. Aren't you going to take a look?]
"The official account posted Little Fish's character art?"
Siberian Duck blinked, then deftly closed the game and pulled up the official Honkai: Star Rail account to check its posts.
"Since they've released his character art, let's take a look before we wrap up."
As she spoke, Siberian Duck found the latest post and clicked on it.
The character art was set in a pleasant forest. Jiang Yu was high above the ground, seemingly beneath the canopies of the towering trees.
In the art, Jiang Yu had changed out of the blue-green outfit he wore in the story and into a white robe. He did look ethereal, but the sunny smile on his face kept him from seeming lonely and aloof.
A pitch-black broad-bladed heavy sword floated in midair, supporting Jiang Yu as he lay in a relaxed pose. The massive sword looked much longer than he was.
The bottom-left corner of the image bore the words "Cosmic Sword Immortal-Jiang Yu," with a gentle breeze swirling around the lettering.
In the upper-right corner was a short quote: "You can't even dodge a jumping slash, and you want me to get serious and show my strength? Hmph! Have it your way. Watch closely-I'm putting one percent of my strength into this strike!"
"Slurp... Little Fish is so cute..." Siberian Duck sucked back her drool as she stared at the screen.
[Wind Boy Solo Fan: He really is cute. But wow, that quote on the right is so cocky!]
[Danxin Hengjiu: What's wrong with the Xianzhou's little Sword Immortal showing off a bit? He's the Cosmic Sword Immortal. It makes sense for him to be strong, right?]
[Tang Seng Washes His Hair with Rejoice: I'm more curious about who he's talking to! Haha!]
[Squidward’s Silence: Jumping slashes, jumping slashes again! Just how much does Little Fish love jumping slashes?]
[asdofh: Can't help it. Jumping slashes are simple, direct, and effective. All I can say is that they suit Little Fish's personality. This here is what we call getting back to basics!]
The viewers launched into a lively discussion of the character art.
Still, the art was one thing. The funniest part was the official caption.
"You can look, but you can't pull!"
They had even thoughtfully added a dog-head emoji sticking its tongue out afterward, making no secret of the fact that they'd posted the art now just to rile people up.
And so, the comments beneath the post looked like this:
[Stop Grinding, Stop Grinding: miHoYo! Have a heart!]
[Toward the Stars, Thank You: Who exactly is running this account? I'd like to mail you some local specialties!]
[Wandering Girl: Cut the pointless teasing and tell us straight. When is Little Fish getting a banner?]
[Honkai: Star Rail Official replied to Wandering Girl: Still a long way off.]
Before you continue