Recaps

After awakening the Popular Character System, Jiang Yu appeared in Honkai: Star Rail’s opening video and gained strength from the attention his scenes attracted. He learned a new sword skill and asked the system to arrange an early, stylish entrance into the story.

• Jiang Yu worried that the coming Ambrosial Arbor disaster would kill him because he had no money, strength, or way to leave the Luofu.
• The Popular Character System awakened and explained that Jiang Yu could influence game content and grow stronger by becoming popular.
• The system arranged for Jiang Yu to appear in the Interstellar Journey opening video, where viewers on Siberian Duck’s stream reacted with excitement to his brief appearance.
• Jiang Yu gained strength and the skill Pure as the Wind after thousands of people repeatedly watched his scenes.
• Jiang Yu decided to seek more screen time and asked the system to let him enter the story early, and it promised an exceptionally stylish entrance.

As the Honkai: Star Rail launch stream played, a white-haired sword immortal named Jiang Yu crashed into Herta Space Station and joined Stelle, March 7th, and Dan Heng. After defeating a group of Voidrangers, Jiang Yu teamed up with Dan Heng to search for Arlan while March 7th escorted Stelle to the Master Control Zone.

• Siberian Duck streamed the game’s launch and collapsed when the expected Dan Heng mouth-to-mouth scene was interrupted by March 7th.
• Jiang Yu crashed through Herta Space Station on a flying sword and helped Stelle to her feet.
• Jiang Yu asked whether the damage was his fault, and Dan Heng explained that the Antimatter Legion had attacked the station.
• Dan Heng, March 7th, and Stelle prepared to fight approaching Voidrangers, but Jiang Yu killed them with Pure as the Wind.
• Jiang Yu introduced himself to March 7th, Stelle, and Dan Heng, then offered to help Dan Heng find Arlan.
• Dan Heng agreed to go with Jiang Yu, while March 7th took Stelle toward the Master Control Zone.

Jiang Yu and Dan Heng fought a Trampler together and reached the monitoring room, where they found Arlan while Stelle and March 7th waited by the elevator. A livestreamer played through Jiang Yu’s introduction and the new Dan Heng scene, then discovered that Jiang Yu’s trial abilities were limited.

• Jiang Yu followed Dan Heng and hinted that Dan Heng looked familiar, but Dan Heng said Jiang Yu had mistaken him for someone else.
• A Trampler ambushed Jiang Yu and Dan Heng from behind, and Dan Heng protected Jiang Yu from its attack.
• Jiang Yu saved Dan Heng from the Trampler’s stomp, and the two combined their powers to kill it.
• Jiang Yu and Dan Heng entered the monitoring room, found Arlan, and saw Stelle and March 7th waiting by the elevator.
• Siberian Duck’s livestream chat reacted to Jiang Yu’s appearance and personality as she played through the new scenes.
• Siberian Duck tried Jiang Yu in the battle, then noticed his Ultimate was locked and his HP was hidden.

Siberian Duck tested Jiang Yu’s trial character, whose attacks dealt far more damage than Dan Heng’s and quickly defeated the Trampler. Meanwhile, Jiang Yu gained a skill and a character-design option through his system, and the group reunited at a broken elevator, where Dan Heng asked Arlan what was wrong with it.

• Siberian Duck tested Jiang Yu’s basic attack and skill, which dealt 309 and 721 damage to the Trampler and applied six stacks of Wind Shear.
• Dan Heng and Jiang Yu helped defeat enemies before their story segment ended with them finding Arlan and spotting March 7th.
• March 7th and Stelle reached a ring-shaped platform, but March 7th failed to activate its elevator and blamed the Antimatter Legion.
• Jiang Yu’s system awarded him the Strutting Around skill, 500 Stellar Jade, and the ability to design his playable character and choose his rate-up timing.
• Dan Heng, Jiang Yu, and Arlan arrived behind March 7th and Stelle, and Jiang Yu explained that they had found Arlan in the monitoring room.
• Dan Heng asked Arlan whether he knew what was wrong with the elevator.

The group restored the elevator and crossed the space station, where Jiang Yu’s leaping slash cleared a sudden ambush. Two more Voidrangers blocked their path, and Jiang Yu opened the next fight by leaping at them with his blade.

• March 7th found the access card she had misplaced, and Dan Heng took it to keep safe.
• Arlan explained that the elevator only reached the top floor, and he apologized for the detour caused by his safety precautions.
• The group crossed the repulsion bridge, avoided enemies, and reached the top-floor elevator.
• Voidrangers ambushed the group, and Jiang Yu smashed a quantum arrow and knocked back two Eliminators with a leaping slash.
• After the group defeated the first enemies, two more Tramplers appeared, and Jiang Yu told his companions to back him up as he leaped into the attack.

Jiang Yu, March 7th, Dan Heng, and Stelle defeated a group of Antimatter Legion enemies and returned to the Master Control Zone with Arlan. They met Himeko, who introduced herself to Jiang Yu and Stelle.

• Jiang Yu, March 7th, Dan Heng, and Stelle coordinated their attacks to defeat two Tramplers, but more enemies appeared and surrounded them.
• Jiang Yu unleashed a sweeping storm that cut through the Voidrangers and wounded the Trampler, while Himeko's mechanical device finished the Trampler off.
• March 7th led the group back to the Master Control Zone, where Himeko greeted them and her device transformed into a suitcase.
• March 7th joked that they could blame Jiang Yu for damaging the space station, leaving him bewildered.
• Himeko checked on Arlan, who left to report to Asta, then introduced herself to Jiang Yu and Stelle as the navigator of the Astral Express.

Jiang Yu reunited with the Astral Express Crew and learned that Herta planned to come to the space station to deal with him after seeing him crash into it. As he left Asta, an unknown account claiming to be Aha invited him to the Tavern.

• Jiang Yu impressed March 7th by explaining the Astral Express, then teased her about her carelessness as Dan Heng separated them.
• Asta reported that the station was damaged, its staff were panicking, and Herta had finally replied that she would come soon.
• Himeko and the Astral Express Crew left to reassure the station staff, while Asta kept Jiang Yu behind to thank him for saving Arlan.
• Asta told Jiang Yu that Herta had seen him cross space and crash into the station, and that she wanted to deal with him personally.
• Jiang Yu received a message from an unknown account named with three question marks that claimed to be Aha and invited him to the Tavern.

Jiang Yu received a message from Aha, and after a chaotic vision confirmed the sender was real, he accepted a portion of Aha’s power. He planned to save it for the Doomsday Beast’s arrival and went to find the Astral Express Crew.

• Jiang Yu doubted Aha’s invitation to the Tavern and replied with jokes, including calling IX “Black Marshal.”
• Aha sent Jiang Yu a photo that overwhelmed his senses with chaotic visions, and the system announced that Aha had provided him with power to use.
• Jiang Yu confirmed that Aha was real, exchanged jokes with him, and then saw Aha’s account disabled after multiple user reports.
• Jiang Yu told Mengming and Mr. Xiyan that he had arrived safely and made new friends, then set out to find the Astral Express Crew.
• Jiang Yu decided to save Aha’s power for the Doomsday Beast’s arrival, when Stelle’s stellaron would react to Nanook’s gaze.

Siberian Duck played through the Astral Express Crew’s first encounters with Jiang Yu, then the crew helped researchers across the space station. The chapter ended with the Doomsday Beast attacking the station as Asta ordered the crew to evacuate.

• Siberian Duck watched Jiang Yu fight alongside Dan Heng, March 7th, and Stelle, then reacted to Himeko’s arrival and Jiang Yu’s banter with March 7th.
• Asta asked Jiang Yu to stay behind, so Siberian Duck continued playing without his trial character and later returned to the missions with a new team.
• The Astral Express Crew helped Hinkel calibrate a telemetry satellite and comforted the anxious Abraham before returning to Asta.
• March 7th noticed Jiang Yu was missing, and Asta realized he had gone looking for the crew.
• The space station shook as the Doomsday Beast tore at its defensive barrier, and Asta told the Astral Express Crew to evacuate while she stayed behind.

Jiang Yu found the Astral Express Crew and helped them escape through the Supply Zone as the Doomsday Beast attacked the space station. At the Space Bridge, he and Stelle paused to admire the stars while the crew headed for the Platform to find the Astral Express.

• Himeko and Dan Heng decided to evacuate with Stelle, but Jiang Yu broke through a door and found them before they could leave.
• Jiang Yu joined the crew as they hurried through the Supply Zone, where March 7th scolded him for smashing holes through the station’s walls.
• The crew activated the Repulsion Bridge, used Asta’s keycard to leave the Supply Zone, and reached the Space Bridge.
• March 7th ran ahead to check whether the Astral Express had arrived while Jiang Yu and Stelle stopped to gaze at the stars and the Blue Planet.
• March 7th called to Jiang Yu and Stelle, and they caught up with the others.

Jiang Yu and the Astral Express Crew fought the Doomsday Beast, destroying its Antimatter Engine and claws before Himeko’s Orbital Cannon brought it down. The beast then took flight and launched a desperate antimatter barrage at the crew and Herta Space Station, leaving them facing an immediate new threat.

• The Doomsday Beast ambushed March 7th, and Jiang Yu blocked its strike with a blade that shattered, giving March time to escape.
• Jiang Yu, Stelle, Dan Heng, and March 7th attacked the Antimatter Engine and the beast’s two hands while Himeko charged the Orbital Cannon.
• Himeko’s Orbital Cannon struck the Doomsday Beast’s head, and Jiang Yu destroyed the Antimatter Engine as Dan Heng and Stelle shattered its claws.
• The Doomsday Beast collapsed, but then beat its wings, opened Imaginary Rifts, and began firing antimatter streams at Herta Space Station and the crew.

Jiang Yu destroyed the Doomsday Beast with a fragment of the Space Bridge, but the beast’s final attack triggered Stelle’s Stellaron power and left her body tearing apart. As Stelle’s power surged out of control, Jiang Yu rushed into it with the power Aha had given him.

• Jiang Yu charged through the antimatter stream and smashed a Space Bridge fragment into the Doomsday Beast’s core, mortally wounding it.
• The Doomsday Beast unleashed a final antimatter jet at Jiang Yu, and Stelle rushed between them, using the Stellaron’s power to break the attack and destroy the beast.
• Stelle was drawn into a vision of a colossal figure associated with Destruction, while the Stellaron’s power began burning through her body.
• Dan Heng and Himeko shielded the others from Stelle’s surging power, and March 7th caught the falling Jiang Yu.
• Jiang Yu awakened and used the power Aha had given him to rush into the space filled with Stelle’s out-of-control Stellaron power.

Jiang Yu suppressed the rampaging Stellaron and saved Stelle, then pretended to remain unconscious while the others carried him away. In Siberian Duck's livestream, the story showed Jiang Yu rejoining the Astral Express Crew to face the Doomsday Beast, and the chapter ended as his blade began to crack.

• Jiang Yu reached Stelle through Nanook's Karmic Flames, covered her eyes, and soothed her into unconsciousness.
• Welt, Dan Heng, and March 7th saw the Stellaron's energy vanish and caught Jiang Yu and Stelle as they fell.
• Jiang Yu pretended to be unconscious while March 7th carried him, hoping his apparent sacrifice would help him join the Astral Express Crew.
• Siberian Duck watched Jiang Yu tear through the space station to reach the Astral Express Crew, prompting excited reactions from the chat.
• Jiang Yu leaped up to block the Doomsday Beast's attack, and the blade he had taken from Arlan cracked.

After Jiang Yu helped defeat the Doomsday Beast, he woke up to system rewards for his rising popularity. March 7th and Dan Heng greeted him, and the chapter ended as a Herta Puppet confronted him about crashing into her space station.

• Siberian Duck used Jiang Yu’s Celestial Torrent support to weaken the Doomsday Beast, and the group defeated it.
• The Doomsday Beast launched a final attack, but the protagonist shielded Jiang Yu before both of them passed out.
• Jiang Yu’s popularity earned him 200 Stellar Jade, the skills Astral Coil and Celestial Torrent, and progress toward a treasured sword reward.
• Jiang Yu woke up beside March 7th and Dan Heng, asked after the others, and exchanged phone numbers with March 7th.
• A Herta Puppet approached Jiang Yu and called him the one who had crashed into her space station.

Herta examined Jiang Yu’s power to suppress the Stellaron and learned that Aha had contacted him, then proposed making a deal. Dan Heng explained Aha’s nature and followers to March 7th, who wondered why the Aeon of Elation had taken an interest in Jiang Yu.

• Herta confronted Jiang Yu about his unusual ability to suppress the Stellaron and asked how he had done it.
• Jiang Yu showed Herta his chat history with Aha, and Herta concluded that Aha might contact him again.
• Herta offered Jiang Yu a deal instead of keeping him on the space station to repay his debt.
• March 7th asked Dan Heng about Aha, and Dan Heng explained that Aha was the Aeon of Elation and that Jiang Yu’s conversations with them interested Herta.
• Dan Heng described the Masked Fools and Mournful Actors, reassuring March 7th that Aha was unlikely to endanger Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu left Herta owing three hundred million Credits for the damage to the space station and planned to ask Stelle for help. Meanwhile, Stelle experienced visions of Aeons in the Simulated Universe, and Siberian Duck’s popular video helped Jiang Yu gain more fans before she received a message from him in the game.

• Dan Heng told March 7th that Aha’s interest in Jiang Yu did not mean Jiang Yu was in danger, and March teased Dan Heng for talking more about someone from his hometown.
• Herta told Jiang Yu he owed three hundred million Credits and left the payment arrangements to Asta; Jiang Yu decided to contact Stelle for help.
• Stelle finished the Simulated Universe test, saw Qlipoth and Fuli, and witnessed herself take on Nanook’s form before receiving a message from Jiang Yu.
• Siberian Duck uploaded a video celebrating Jiang Yu as the Sunshine Kid, and players praised him while the attention increased his popularity and strength.
• During her next livestream, Siberian Duck completed the Simulated Universe test and received a message from Jiang Yu in the game.

Jiang Yu asked Siberian Duck to meet him at Herta Space Station and help settle the 300-million-Credit debt he owed for damaging the station. He revealed his plan to ask wealthy heiress Asta for help, hoping Stelle’s reputation and luck would improve their chances.

• Jiang Yu messaged Siberian Duck that he owed Herta Space Station 300 million Credits and needed help with a plan.
• Siberian Duck accepted the gold Trailblaze Mission, which offered 200 Stellar Jade as a reward.
• Stelle met Jiang Yu in the Master Control Zone and asked what help he needed.
• Jiang Yu told Stelle that Asta often spent beyond the station’s budget, planned to buy a Star Destroyer, and was a rich heiress.
• Jiang Yu asked Stelle to accompany him to Asta, believing her reputation would help him secure assistance.

Jiang Yu and Stelle asked Asta to waive his 300 million Credits debt, and Asta offered to let him leave if they recovered a dangerous Curio. Stelle decided she wanted to travel with the Astral Express, while the chapter ended with Siberian Duck’s livestream chat reacting to Jiang Yu’s cuteness.

• Jiang Yu persuaded Stelle to accompany him to ask Asta about his debt, but admitted he had no Credits to pay.
• Asta teased the pair and listened as Jiang Yu offered Xianzhou tea, stories, and photographs in exchange for letting him go.
• Stelle weighed staying on the space station against joining the Astral Express and decided she preferred going on adventures.
• Asta offered to waive Jiang Yu’s debt if he and Stelle recovered the self-aware Curio #1145, the Horrific Maze, from the Storage Zone.
• Jiang Yu and Stelle accepted the mission, and Stelle announced herself as the Galaxy Bat Hero.
• Siberian Duck’s livestream chat celebrated Jiang Yu’s cuteness, and she took a screenshot to use as her wallpaper.

After accepting Asta’s mission to retrieve the Horrific Maze, Jiang Yu and Stelle sought information from Wen Shiling before heading to the records room. On the way, Jiang Yu caught a Warp Trotter, and Dan Heng warned them that it was not edible.

• Jiang Yu stopped Stelle from charging ahead and went with her to ask Wen Shiling about the Horrific Maze.
• Wen Shiling gave Jiang Yu and Stelle a map to the records room and warned Jiang Yu not to tear up the space station again.
• Jiang Yu spotted a Warp Trotter in a dim corridor and silently tried to catch it.
• The Warp Trotter fled and opened a dimensional rift, but Jiang Yu caught it before it could escape.
• Stelle sent Dan Heng a photo of Jiang Yu holding the creature, and Dan Heng identified it as a Warp Trotter and repeatedly warned that it was not edible.
• Stelle asked Jiang Yu whether he really liked eating that much.

Jiang Yu and Stelle discovered that Stellar Jade could be absorbed by Stelle, then collected the Horrific Maze file from a space station staff member. The file explained the maze’s effects and the precautions required to retrieve it.

• Jiang Yu persuaded Stelle to try Soda Douzhi someday, and Stelle agreed before noticing Stellar Jade fall from a Warp Trotter.
• Stelle absorbed the Stellar Jade, but she and Jiang Yu found no immediate change in her strength and decided to gather more Warp Trotters to test it.
• Jiang Yu and Stelle reached the records room, where a balding staff member gave them autographs and provided the Horrific Maze file prepared at Wen Shiling’s request.
• Jiang Yu and Stelle read that the Horrific Maze scrambled nearby space and caused mental interference, and that retrieval required five prepared combat personnel and an Imaginary Overflow Interference Field.

Jiang Yu and Stelle went to retrieve the Horrific Maze after learning about the equipment it required. They found the Security Department fleeing in terror and met a staff member who welcomed them as the station’s rescuers, just as an unseen voice mocked them.

• Jiang Yu and Stelle asked the balding staff member where the retrieval equipment was and learned it had been taken to the second floor of the Storage Zone.
• After Jiang Yu and Stelle left, the balding staff member shared Jiang Yu’s autograph in the Little Fish Fan Support Club, where Wen Shiling praised Jiang Yu and decided to research the Knights of Beauty.
• Jiang Yu and Stelle reached the corridor leading to the Horrific Maze and watched terrified Security Department staff flee into the elevator.
• Jiang Yu and Stelle entered the corridor and found the passage narrowed by the walls, with unfamiliar objects placed nearby.
• A female staff member told Jiang Yu and Stelle that Lead Researcher Asta had sent them to retrieve the Horrific Maze and eagerly clasped their hands.
• A voice echoed from all directions, laughing at Jiang Yu and Stelle for overestimating themselves.

Jiang Yu and Stelle learned to use the containment tools and entered the Horrific Maze to retrieve it. When a giant Warp Trotter appeared, they eagerly prepared to attack it instead of being frightened.

• The female Staff explained the Horrific Maze and showed Jiang Yu and Stelle the Designated Imaginary Overflow Storage Container and Narrative Attention Interference Field.
• Jiang Yu and Stelle learned to use the tools, strapped them on, and entered the maze despite the Horrific Maze's taunts.
• Jiang Yu and Stelle navigated the maze toward its center until a giant Warp Trotter blocked their path.
• Jiang Yu urged Stelle to hit the Warp Trotter and see how many stones it dropped, and Stelle charged it with her bat.

Jiang Yu and Stelle fought their way deeper into the Horrific Maze, defeating its giant Warp Trotter and Chesa Mole Man without fear. The maze abandoned brute-force scares and began a ghostly attack as they continued searching for it.

• Stelle killed the giant Warp Trotter with her Bat, and Jiang Yu and Stelle found that it dropped no Stellar Jade.
• Jiang Yu and Stelle continued through the increasingly complex maze while Jiang Yu planned to use the Imaginary Overflow Interference Field to disrupt it.
• The Horrific Maze sent a Chesa Mole Man after them, but Jiang Yu tore it apart with a wind attack.
• Jiang Yu tested the Imaginary Overflow Interference Field, but the maze remained unaffected, so he and Stelle pressed on.
• The Horrific Maze dimmed the passage and filled it with whispers, screams, cold air, and sinister laughter behind Jiang Yu and Stelle.

Jiang Yu and Stelle encountered the Horrific Maze’s illusions, but Jiang Yu calmly critiqued its scare tactics until it broke down and its maze vanished. As they recovered, the Horrific Maze’s true form fled past them sobbing.

• A chilling presence startled Jiang Yu and Stelle inside the maze, but Jiang Yu told Stelle not to fear it and to fight back.
• The Horrific Maze made Stelle appear possessed, but Jiang Yu recognized the illusion and dispelled it with a flick to her head.
• Jiang Yu mocked the Horrific Maze’s scare tactics and gave them a score of zero, causing it to break down crying.
• The Horrific Maze disappeared, and Jiang Yu woke the dazed Stelle as the station surroundings returned to normal.
• Jiang Yu explained that his criticism had made the Horrific Maze crack, then its pale cyan cube form sobbed as it rushed past them.

Jiang Yu and Stelle retrieved the Horrific Maze by mocking it until it broke down, then stomped on it and delivered it to Asta. In Siberian Duck’s livestream, the quest continued with a Warp Trotter encounter that prompted viewers to anticipate the Xianzhou storyline.

• The Horrific Maze fled to the Security Department staff member and begged to be captured so it would not have to see Jiang Yu again.
• Jiang Yu explained that he had mocked the Horrific Maze’s scaring methods, and Stelle confirmed they had not beaten it into submission.
• Jiang Yu grabbed the Horrific Maze and stomped on it, then Stelle joined him before he placed it in a storage container and took it to report to Asta.
• Siberian Duck progressed through the quest, caught a Warp Trotter with Jiang Yu, and asked Dan Heng for information about it.
• Jiang Yu told Stelle he would treat her to Soda Douzhi, and the livestream viewers looked forward to the Xianzhou storyline.