["…Breathing and pulse are weak. March, prepare to perform CPR."]
["Huh?! I—I don't have much experience! Dan Heng, you do it!"]
[A glimmer of light finally appeared on the Celestial Screen. In the next moment, Dan Heng on the screen closed his eyes and leaned in, pressing his lips toward Stelle's.]
"T-this… this is moving way too fast?!"
"Don't humans in that world need to establish a romantic relationship before reaching this level?!"
Seeing this scene, Mine's already slightly cooled pink cheeks burned uncontrollably again. She covered her eyes but couldn't resist peeking through her fingers.
People from another world could kiss upon their first meeting, yet she and Tatsumi, despite facing life-and-death situations together multiple times, had barely held hands.
The difference was just too stark.
Or was it just her who was conservative? If you really like someone, should you just go for it?
——
[Of course, Dan Heng didn't actually kiss her. Just as he was about to touch Stelle's lips, March 7th noticed Stelle's eyelids twitch and immediately pushed Dan Heng away.]
["Stop, halt! She's awake!"]
Seeing this, Mine actually felt a little disappointed.
Truthfully, she really wanted to see Stelle and Dan Heng kiss—it would've given her a reference for when she finally went after Tatsumi.
[March 7th approached Stelle and asked with concern why she had fainted here. But the newly awakened Stelle merely held her forehead, her expression pained: "I don't remember anything."]
["That's troublesome," March 7th said worriedly. "Can you try to recall something? At least remember your name."]
["Name… I'm Stelle."]
["Stelle? Nice to meet you. I'm Dan Heng, and this is March 7th." Dan Heng briefly explained the current chaos. "This space station has been attacked by the Antimatter Legion. We were commissioned by Station Master Asta to come and assist."]
[Seeing Stelle's dazed expression, March 7th enthusiastically explained about the Antimatter Legion—the Destruction Aeon Nanook, the Emanators of Destruction—and even thoughtfully added, "Dan Heng and I are members of the Astral Express. Nice to meet you~"]
["The Astral Express?" Stelle looked confused.]
[March 7th tilted her head. "Huh? Haven't you seen it? Doesn't the train come to the space station?"]
[Seeing Stelle's still-uncomprehending expression, Dan Heng continued, "It's a miraculous train, empowered by the Aeon of Trailblaze, capable of traversing the sea of stars."]
"..." Mavuika withdrew her gaze and said coolly, "The Aeon of Destruction, the Aeon of Trailblaze… It seems that world isn't peaceful either."
The mention of the word "Aeon" unconsciously reminded Mavuika of Teyvat's Archon War thousands of years ago.
Back then, Teyvat was truly a battlefield of demons, with gods slaughtering one another, corpses piling up in mountains and valleys, rivers of blood flowing—all for the sake of a throne called "Archon."
As the Pyro Archon, no one understood divine power better than Mavuika. Yet she faintly sensed that the authority wielded by the Aeons of "Destruction" and "Trailblaze" likely surpassed anything within Teyvat's comprehension.
One thing was certain: if these unfamiliar "Aeons" truly went to war, the scale of devastation would far exceed that of the Archon War.
Fortunately, these Aeons had nothing to do with Teyvat—that was the only silver lining she could find at the moment.
"March 7th and Dan Heng are from the Astral Express, and the train possesses the power of the Trailblaze Aeon. In other words, are these two youths followers of an Aeon?" Citlali was the first to voice the question.
"That's possible," Mavuika nodded. "They may have received the Aeon's acknowledgment and possess a fraction of divine power."
Mavuika was curious about what kind of power this "Trailblaze Aeon" held. In Teyvat, if a person's ambition burned strongly enough, it could attract the gaze of the divine—the product of such acknowledgment was a Vision, proof of humans as "allogenes."
——
["Where should we go now?" Stelle was still lost about what to do next.]
["Back to the Master Control Zone. Station Master Asta and the evacuated researchers are all there."]
["The Astral Express is also parked nearby, so don't worry about the monsters. We'll take care of them." March 7th confidently brandished her massive bow, nearly as tall as herself.]
["Then let's go." Stelle rubbed her head. Though her mind was still blank, she decided to trust March 7th and Dan Heng's judgment.]
[Dan Heng glanced toward the Security Department nearby and added, "You two go ahead. Arlan from Security lost contact in this area. I need to bring him back."]
["Alright, then be careful on your own." March 7th reminded him.]
[Once Dan Heng was gone, March 7th sneakily peeked at the only path leading to the Master Control Zone—now swarming with Antimatter Legion's Voidrangers, drifting back and forth.]
[A sudden unease gripped her. Scratching her head, she chuckled awkwardly, "The way back doesn't look too safe either. Maybe we should grab some weapons, just in case. But it's just a suggestion—what do you think?"]
["Mm… makes sense."]
[Under March 7th's guidance, Stelle wandered around Herta's Curio Collection room. After seeing all sorts of bizarre curios, her gaze was drawn to a baseball bat lying in the corner.]
[The bat's plain appearance made it stand out starkly among Herta's flashy collection.]
[The grip still carried a faint warmth, as if a certain white-haired veteran from the Honkai series had just finished swinging it. Its weight and feel were perfectly balanced—just right.]
[As if fate had ordained this meeting, Stelle felt the strings of her heart plucked.]
[She weighed the bat in her hand, a satisfied smile spreading across her face.]
[Perfect. This is the one!]
——
Honkai World —
"Kiana, hahaha, she likes beating people up with a baseball bat just like you!"
"With so many weapons in that little room, why would she pick a bat?"
"Hah, you'll have to ask Kiana about that~ She's the expert."
"Speaking of which, can a bat even kill those Voidrangers? That woman Kafka was using a submachine gun."
Kiana let out a smug "hmph" and looked at Stelle with newfound appreciation—great minds think alike! After all, none of the other Valkyries had tried smacking people with a baseball bat. They had no idea how satisfying it felt!
Still, Kiana was curious. She was a trained Valkyrie, so she could handle such a weapon with skill. But Stelle had just woken up—could she really use it effectively?
Her worries were quickly dispelled by Stelle's performance.
March 7th had intended to clear the path for Stelle, but before she could even nock an arrow, Stelle charged forward and smashed a Voidranger's head with a single swing.
The Voidranger didn't even struggle. After letting out a dying "arghhh," it dissolved into a tiny black hole and vanished.
"Wow, never judge a book by its cover! You're pretty good at fighting!" March 7th was genuinely surprised. Was this amnesiac girl actually as strong as Dan Heng?
Once she recognized Stelle's strength, March 7th promptly changed tactics. Though she had claimed to "lead the way," she now followed behind Stelle, constantly shielding and buffing her as Stelle plowed through the Voidrangers like a god of slaughter—one swing per enemy, no survivors.
——
"Like a demon descended from the heavens, a god of calamity walking the earth. This girl—"
Zhongli held a cup of tea, gently blowing away the floating Chenyu Jade Mist leaves before sighing in admiration.
"Impressive."
As the oldest Archon bearing the title "God of War," though he had long retired from battle, Zhongli could instantly tell that this girl named Stelle was a natural-born warrior.
Her movements seemed trained yet lacked the stiffness of over-practice. Wielding the simplest and cheapest weapon, she achieved such astounding results.
As for that girl March 7th…
Why does her shield feel thicker than mine?