Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

After everyone sealed the star core and handed it over to Walter to take back to the train, it was all over.

With the star's core sealed, the stability of its orbit has begun to improve, and it is expected to be able to jump again in a few days. Pam has also changed the stay time back to seven days.

During these seven days, everyone also had a great time relaxing. This time, without Cocolia interfering, the train crew members finally experienced VIP treatment.

Of course, the most comfortable one here is Bronya, since she looks almost exactly like Bronya Rand in this world.

As for Bronya Rand, she held a succession ceremony in the square of Belleburg three days after the event ended, and informed the people of the Upper District of the prepared history. Bronya Rand's first order after taking office was to lift the blockade of the Lower District.

From that moment on, the decades-long blockade of the lower district was completely lifted. The train crew members and Bronya Rand still remember the curious looks on the faces of the children in the lower district when they saw the sky and the sunlight. As for the divide between the upper and lower districts, only time can heal it.

An interesting incident occurred during this time: Silva, who had met the train crew once before, expressed her desire to board the Starry Sky Train after hearing about its exploits.

However, after a series of events with Xing, Shiluwa ultimately decided to give up boarding the Star Train.

With her home planet still far from over the crisis, Hilva was worried about it, especially since her brother Jepard was a constant source of trouble. After much deliberation, Hilva ultimately decided to abandon her space journey.

Today is the day the train crew departs.

"First of all, Pam welcomes these new members to the Star Train. Now, let's have the new members introduce themselves."

Pam's wobbly walk was so adorable that Seele couldn't resist hugging her.

"Bronya, look! This armed doll is so cute!"

"Passenger, put the train conductor down immediately! And Pam is not some armed puppet!"

Seeing that Pam was a little angry, Seele immediately put Pam back on the ground and apologized, "I'm sorry, Seele didn't know Pam was the train conductor. Please don't mind, conductor!"

"Fine, I'll let it go since it's your first offense. Honestly, why is it that every time we meet someone, they pick me up as soon as we meet?"

Himeko chuckled, put down her coffee, and said, "What can I do? Pam is just so cute."

"Himeko, you should know that Pam hates it most when people say Pam is cute!"

"Okay, don't be angry. It's okay to be called cute. After all, our train conductor is both cute and dignified!"

"You just said it was cute again, didn't you!"

“Bronya, she is…” Seele asked quietly as she watched Pam and Himeko interact.

"That's right. Although I had already learned about the situation from Kiana and was somewhat prepared, I didn't expect them to look so alike after we actually met. No wonder Kiana cried at the time."

"I don't think I told you I cried, did I? How did you know?"

"It was March 7th who told me. I didn't expect you to actually cry. Aren't you ashamed at your age?"

"You...! Forget it, I'm too lazy to argue with you. It's only been three months! And you actually brought up the fact that I cried. How are you going to apologize for that?"

Seeing Kiana's resentful gaze, March 7th gave an awkward smile: "How about I treat you to the next destination?"

"Okay! You can't go back on your word!"

"Can I come along?" Xing asked, seizing the opportunity.

"Go away! I only invited Kiana because I accidentally let it be known that she cried. What reason do you have for me to insist on inviting you?"

Seeing this, Xing showed a pitiful expression, like a cat that had been abandoned, and March 7th was instantly defeated.

"Alright, alright! I'll treat you, okay? Please stop looking at me like that, it makes my conscience bother me!"

Bronya watched the two of them joking around and couldn't help but laugh, recalling her days at St. Freya Academy.

Seeing the two looking at her with confusion, Bronya stopped laughing and said, "But since you're inviting Kiana... March 7th, I think you'd better check if your wallet has enough money to pay!"

Seele recalled the time she went shopping with Kiana and nodded in agreement. Seeing their reactions, March 7 felt a pang of unease.

Now that the die is cast, let's just hope that Kiana and Hoshiguma will show mercy.

"Everyone can joke around, but it's time for the newcomers to introduce themselves. Let's give Pam some face."

Himeko interrupted the group's interaction, pointing to Pam, whose mood was gradually becoming melancholy, and the scene became somewhat quiet for a moment.

“Yes…yes! Then I’ll go first!” Seele was the first to speak. “My name is Seele Voller. I’m from the same world as the Captain, Kiana, and Mr. Welt. We may not have known each other for long, but please take good care of me!”

"Same background, my name is Bronya Zaychek, I am a game producer, and I have some connection with Mr. Walter."

Bronya's speech excited March 7. She instinctively felt that there was some unspeakable secret between Bronya and Welt. Even Xing, who was standing next to her, showed a gossipy look.

Finally, Walter, unable to bear their stares any longer, stepped in and interrupted their fantasy.

"I regret to inform you that my relationship with Bronya is not the complicated one you might imagine. It's simply that I collaborated with Bronya as an animator on game development. Of course, Bronya and Kiana were also once my students, but that's all."

"What?! I thought there would be some tragic love story segment!"

“Unfortunately, that’s impossible,” Bronya replied. “First of all, the age gap between Mr. Walter and me is too large, and secondly, Mr. Walter is a married man, so I have no interest in being a mistress.”

"What?! Yang Shu actually has a family?! That…"

Walter interrupted March 7, "We can talk about me later if you're still interested. Now, let the last member introduce himself!"

As he spoke, Walter began to look for Bella, and then he found her behind a potted plant.

At this moment, Bella was hiding behind a potted plant, peeking out half her head and looking at them warily, or rather, watching Himeko drinking coffee nearby.

"Bella? What are you doing standing so far away? It's your turn to introduce yourself!"

"No...no, Lady Kiana, I think it's fine for me to stand here."

Kiana, seeing Bella's wary look, immediately recalled what had happened. It seemed that Himeko's beating of Bella had left some trauma on her. Seeing this, Kiana had no choice but to take Bella's place and begin the introduction.

"Her name is Bellars, you can just call her Bella. As for her identity..."

Kiana scratched her head, and after organizing her thoughts, she spoke again: "Do you know what a Herrscher is?"

Everyone shook their heads, and Kiana continued to explain.

"Simply put, a periodic disaster called Honkai erupts in our region. It filters civilizations, and those that fail are destroyed. Herrschers are beings born after large-scale Honkai eruptions. Each Herrscher is likely to be born with their own companion Honkai Beast. Bella is my companion Honkai Beast, or you could say my familiar. In short, Bella will be very well-behaved with me around!"

"So Kiana is that so-called Herrscher? Doesn't that make her an accomplice in the destruction of the world?"

"There are good and bad Herrschers! Of course, all of this is thanks to the help of the previous civilization, which allowed each Herrscher to have the possibility of humanity at the beginning of their birth. Everyone here except the captain is a Herrscher."

"All of them? So Uncle Yang is one too?"

Kiana looked at Welt, who nodded in acquiescence, allowing Kiana to continue.

“Mr. Welt was the second Herrscher of Reason, while Bronya was the third. The first Herrscher sacrificed his life to protect humanity. Mr. Welt, who was still young at the time, took over the Herrscher core, inherited his name and will, and became the second Herrscher of Reason. He also changed his name to Welt Yang from then on.”

"So, Uncle Yang wasn't originally called this?"

"For details, you should ask Mr. Walter. I won't go into too much detail here, provided that he is willing to reveal it."

"Now that everyone knows each other, the next step is to tell you the destination of this train's next stop..."

Suddenly, a holographic projection interrupted Pam's words. It was a projection of a woman with long purple hair, wearing sunglasses, and holding an umbrella.

Himeko recognized the figure; it was Kaffa, the Star Core Hunter. That was the woman's name.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you all on the Star Train. This is Kafka."

Those present who recognized Kafka's fearsome reputation immediately became wary. Pam looked around in alarm and cautiously retreated behind Walter.

"Ah, the timing is good. Everyone's here, it seems like everyone's here, and there seem to be quite a few new faces."

Kafka looked around and found that Danheng was not among them, and there were a few more people around than before.

“There’s no need for that charming self-introduction,” Himeko interrupted Kaffa, her tone less than friendly. “Star Core Hunter.”

Kafka chuckled softly, the projection of the umbrella in her hand vanishing as she turned to look at Himeko and said, "Himeko, right?"

After saying that, Kafka continued walking forward on her own.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your gathering, but I believe you’ll understand my abruptness after hearing my request.” Kafka tapped her fingers lightly on the table and turned to look at everyone present. “I would like to ask you to change your destination.”

“Star Core Hunter, I’ve seen you before, but it was on the company’s bounty list. It was an astronomical reward—dead or alive. Do you know how much your bounty is?”

"I don't really care. The company's bounty is more of a compliment than a sign of infamy. The bigger the bounty, the greater the praise."

"...So, Black Tower also praised you: 'A madman who claims to be able to see fate, leading a group of reckless lunatics, chasing the most dangerous thing in the universe!' Black Tower rarely praises people."

"Chasing the most dangerous things in the universe?... In this respect, your train and I are the same kind of people."

“You’ve come to the wrong place, Kafka. We have no intention of accepting your request, nor do we intend to have anything to do with Starcore Hunters. It was a pleasure chatting with you, and perhaps one day you would be willing to pay us a visit, at which time we can talk again.”

Have any of you heard of [Luofu]?

Faced with Kafka's sudden name, Himeko and Welt exchanged a glance and decided that Welt would be the one to respond.

"...One of the six giant ships of the Immortal Ship Alliance, the Immortal Ship [Luofu]. We know that."

"Well, what you don't know is that this immortal ship is very close to you right now, within reach of two warp jumps. Moreover, before the 45th System Time, a star core on Luofu... erupted. An undeserved disaster... isn't it?"

"Star Core Hunters, what are you up to...? The Immortal Ship Alliance isn't as easy to talk to as we are. Once you're targeted by the [Patrol], you're no longer hunters, but prey. The Alliance will chase you to the ends of the universe—"

"Say what you have to say directly. Stop being arrogant, Kafka."

Himeko interrupted Welt in an unfriendly tone, clearly having lost her patience.

"...It's very simple. This star core has nothing to do with us, but the Immortal Ship has already pinned the blame on the star core hunters; my companion Blade was taken away by the Cloud Cavalry, and I want to bring him back to resolve this star core crisis and clear our names."

As she spoke, Kafka's projection transformed into a man with long black hair and crimson eyes.

"Nothing to do with you? Who would believe that? What a coincidence! You showed up right after the Star Core erupted," March 7th questioned. "Besides, you have no connection with us. What does it matter to us whether the Star Core Hunter is innocent or not?"

"What good will this do us?" Xing asked.

"No! I don't want to listen to her—the Alliance is so powerful, surely they can handle a star core! We're the Star Train Crew, not star core sealing specialists!" March 7th objected.

The blade's projection transformed back into Kafka.

"Of course you can stay out of it. Before the star core pollutes this airspace, you can initiate a jump and go to the next world. But in time, this star track will be blocked again."

Then Kafka dropped a bombshell that no one could refuse.

"I can tell you what the future holds: if you do not go to [Luofu], the star core will eventually contaminate the entire immortal ship, and about half of the inhabitants on board will perish... The brave and fearless pioneers, the nameless guests who do good deeds, will surely not stand idly by."

"...Your companion, the one named Blade, also couldn't escape it. Isn't that right?" Himeko asked.

Kafka replied, "Well, I can't say. The coordinates are here; it's up to you to decide. Although your goals are completely different, the orbits of the stars will eventually intersect. Goodbye."

After she finished speaking, Kafka's projection disappeared, leaving everyone looking at each other in bewilderment. Finally, Himeko spoke up.

"March, get Dan Heng here."