Honkai: Star Rail – Banner Character, Delivering Knives to the Player [2]

A parallel world, known as The Blue Star.

Countless streamers had already started their livestreams early, hands poised over their gear, eyes glued to the screen, faces brimming with anticipation.

As for the audience crowding into their streams, most were working adults or students unable to play the game right away — but with just enough wiggle room to slack off.

“As someone who took part in all three closed betas, I’m really looking forward to seeing how much the launch version has evolved.”

On-screen was a female streamer with a generous personality — and a wardrobe that flirted with the platform’s terms of service. Her name: Jiang Wuxian.

Thanks to her absurdly high-resolution dual monitor setup, the internet had dubbed her Miss 8K, or simply Ah Xian.

Though she had a VTuber model, she chose to go live with her real face for the game’s launch reaction.

She was also famous for a certain literary niche critical to the continuation of the human species — and bold enough to use herself as the star subject. Unsurprisingly, her popularity was sky-high.

Her chat knew her too well. The moment she said something seemingly sincere, not one viewer believed her.

[Drop the act, Ah Xian!]
[If I hadn’t stayed up last night reading your new “blue P” release, I might’ve believed you.]
[Seele tofu-rub moment, legit top-tier!]
[New here — what’s “blue P”? And what’s with the tofu? Help, someone drop some cold, hard science…]
[Don’t ask. Just trust in the science.]

Ah Xian also knew her chat’s habits well. Completely unfazed, she calmly set up a giveaway.

“Just send a comment in chat to enter! I’m giving away three maxed-out Seele and Jing Yuan units — cash value optional. Plus a free custom doujin of your chosen character and genre.”

In an instant, the chat exploded into a single wall of bullet messages.

With that done, Ah Xian cradled her cheeks and sighed dreamily.

“Jing Yuan-hubby, wait for me~ I’ll be coming to Xianzhou to see you soon~”

[Sand Monk’s Burden]|[tips SC1000]: Host makes a good point. Ever thought of drawing a doujin of yourself with Jing Yuan?

“Thanks for the SC, Sand Monk's... jump—thanks for the SC. You baiting bastards, is that really what you wanna see? Me in cosplay getting frisky with a 2D character?”

[Can’t help it. You’re just too damn illegal, Ah Xian.]
[Honestly, the host is just too noble.]

“Cut it out. My doujin with Jing Yuan-hubby is for my eyes only.”

[So you are hoarding the goods.]
[Nothing a fat enough donation can’t fix.]
[Tch. Woman, don’t go catching feelings for some even hotter guy later.]

Suddenly, Ah Xian turned to the camera and declared solemnly:

“Even if the tides of temptation rise high, I, Jiang Wuxian, will only ever love Jing Yuan!”

[Care to throw in a punishment clause for that flag?]

“Big deal. If I switch sides, I’ll draw myself with the new guy — and release it to the public for free. A full Snow Girl-tier doujin!”

[WOC!]
[All right, all right — clip team, start slicing.]
[Hey HoYo, you know what we want.]
[First time I’ve ever prayed a gacha game drops a man so hot he sends Ah Xian a full-on karma boomerang.]

“Give it up. You think I don’t already know what future hotties are in the pipeline?”

Sure, the Bishop and Blade Bro were handsome — but for her, only Jing Yuan reigned supreme.

[SERVER’S LIVE EARLY!]

Ah Xian’s eyes sparkled. She slammed the login button—only to see a message pop up: a 500MB patch required.

“SON OF A—!!”

---

The Astral Express.

Lingzhou’s new identity this time was simple. His backstory, even more so: the classic setup.

A nameless traveler boarding the train in search of lost memories.

Trash-tier system or not, at least it had never failed in setting up identities.

To the crew of the Astral Express, Lingzhou was a familiar companion, someone who had traveled with them through several expeditions. A man with some medical knowledge — the train’s doctor.

He stepped out of the lounge car into the observation car.

Welt was seated on the couch, fiddling with a model. Conductor Pom-Pom was mopping the floor.

“The others already departed?”

“Himeko saw you were sleeping soundly and decided not to wake you,” Welt replied.

Lingzhou nodded.

It wasn’t that he was sleeping well — he’d been reviewing the plot.

The story had something akin to the Stellaron Hunters.

System-provided, of course.

The difference was, the script the system gave him had plenty of flexibility. He could make changes — shape it as he saw fit.

Calling it a "script" was underselling it. It was participation.

And everything that happened as a result of that participation — was real.

To players in the parallel world, he and the others were just game characters. The world, just fiction.

All the cutscenes and story beats they watched had been trimmed and edited by the system.

But Lingzhou knew: everyone here was real. Unique. Alive.

To put it bluntly: these characters had lives of their own.

He couldn’t just wing it through a plot event. Couldn’t just do whatever he pleased.

“If my timing’s right, they should be back from the space station with supplies by now.”

Welt glanced at the clock — just as the Astral Link received an emergency signal. He quickly accepted and turned on the speaker.

“What’s wrong, Himeko?”

“The Antimatter Legion ambushed Herta Space Station. Asta requested our help — we’re staying behind to assist!”

“The Antimatter Legion…” Welt’s brow furrowed.

“The train’s parked at Platform J-23. That’ll draw their attention for sure. You and Lingzhou stay put and await further updates.”

“Understood.”

The call cut off. Welt met Lingzhou’s gaze. They exchanged a silent nod, and Welt opened the Express’s navigation monitor.

The monitor showed Himeko and the others split into two separate positions.

“Welt, outside.”

Lingzhou pointed.

A swarm of Antimatter Legion husks was headed straight for the train.

“You’re the doctor. Let me handle it.”

Welt set aside his half-assembled model, flexed his fingers around his cane, and adjusted his glasses.

“A doctor who can’t fight isn’t much of a Yuforian. I know a bit of martial arts and spellwork. We’ll be more efficient together.”

Before Welt could reply, the husks outside were swept up by two opposing gusts of wind, slammed into each other, and shattered into pieces.

“Your powers are back?” Welt asked, surprised.

The Yuforians were born with a natural affinity for wind.

“Barely thirty percent. But more than enough for small fry like this.”

…

Time passed. The swarm began thinning out. The two of them gradually lowered their guard.

Welt checked the monitor again. The three signal markers had regrouped — he breathed a small sigh of relief.

But just then, the entire space station trembled. Alarms blared louder than before.

“Doomsday Beast,” Lingzhou murmured, looking up.

“The station’s shield is destabilizing. Comms are glitching. We’ve lost contact with Himeko and the others.”

Welt’s voice dropped low.

“The navigation system’s readings are starting to flicker too.”

Lingzhou smiled faintly.

Right on cue for a dramatic entrance.

“The station’s in chaos. There will be casualties. You stay and hold the train.”

“What about you?”

“While the nav is still working, I’ll go assist. If you see them retreating toward a nearby platform, alert Pom-Pom to go pick them up.”

“Understood. Be careful out there.”

---

T/N:
Blue P is naughty doujinshi
Seele tofu is basically yuri seggs
Sand Monks Burden is basically uhh calling urself a simp

This is a fan translation of 崩铁：卡池角色，给玩家发刀 by 三十度幻. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!