The border of the Shackling Prison.
There was a fork in the road here. One path led into the heart of the Xianzhou Luofu, while the other led to the docks to leave the ship.
At this moment, Kafka, Silver Wolf, and Blade stood at the intersection of this fork.
Blade had managed to maintain his composure at first, but as the figures in his vision drew closer, he gradually became agitated and manic.
"...Those emotions are surfacing, Kafka. I can feel them. That sensation again! That..."
"Then release it. The Mara-struck..." Kafka said softly.
Ahead, four figures were approaching.
Silver Wolf stroked her chin and sighed. "Is it really such a coincidence? It's so perfect that I feel like I'm in another one of Elio's scripts."
"Forget it..."
"You guys fight. I'm going to check out the new character release."
"Oh ho! If it isn't our Great General Jing Yuan!"
Silver Wolf, who had looked weary just a moment ago, suddenly widened her eyes. Her gaze began to sparkle as she looked at the newly opened character banner. It seemed that to her, the content of Honkai: Star Rail was far more interesting than reality.
But in Blade's eyes, everything around him was mere background noise. In his world, there was only Dan Heng.
"The time has come to pay the price! The time is here!!"
"Look at yourself!"
"Do you finally dare to face your own past?"
"Vidyadhara High Elder."
"Imbibitor! Lunae!!"
Blade was usually a man of few words, a man who treated every syllable like gold. But the moment he saw Dan Heng in this form, he couldn't hold back. In these few minutes, he had spoken more than he had in the entire past year. His voice was forceful, each word striking like a hammer. His mental state seemed... exceedingly "vibrant."
Inside the Shackling Prison, hearing the commotion, Jing Yuan and Yanqing, along with Luocha and Jingliu, hurried toward the scene. Everyone's expression was heavy. It was as if the air itself had turned into shifting ink, constantly roiling, entangling, and clashing.
Yanqing wiped cold sweat from his forehead.
"Imbibitor Lunae..."
"I've heard of that infamous name. Guilty of the Ten Unpardonable Sins... a traitor to the Xianzhou who incited a great rebellion. A sinner exiled for all eternity."
"What is wrong with the Xianzhou today? How did so many high-profile criminals sneak in at once!?"
He now understood why General Jing Yuan had let the Stellaron Hunters go earlier. You couldn't catch them all. There were simply too many!
Seeing the exhilarated Blade, Dan Heng frowned and explained, "I have told you and that woman many times... I am Dan Heng."
"I have nothing to do with your past."
"Dan Heng... Do you think that by donning a new face and changing your identity, the sins of the past can be wiped away? You... you haven't even experienced death..."
"I will make you feel that agony, Dan Heng. I will make you know the pain of death!"
Blade launched an attack instantly. Dan Heng stepped forward to meet him alone, signaling his companions from the Express Crew to stay back.
Stelle saw Kafka from a distance. Kafka returned the look with a gentle smile.
March 7th looked at her own side and then at the Stellaron Hunters. She asked warily, "We don't have to fight the Stellaron Hunters, do we? I just finished fighting the Antimatter Legion, my arms are still sore."
Stelle comforted her. "Don't worry. This is the 1v1 phase. We haven't reached the team fight yet."
Suddenly, Welt took a step forward, his expression turning solemn. He had noticed the man walking out from the Shackling Prison behind the groupthe man calling himself Luocha.
Luocha raised his head and caught Welt's sharp gaze. He looked slightly surprised. "We seem to be strangers, Mr. Welt? Why such hostility?"
"You look exactly like someone I used to know," Welt replied.
"Oh~" Luocha showed a look of sudden realization. "I presume you must be the friend General Jing Yuan mentioned, Mr. Welt."
"Ahem..." Jing Yuan coughed.
"General?" Luocha looked at the slightly awkward Jing Yuan and explained further. "General Jing Yuan, I was not lying."
As he spoke, he reached for an ornament in his hand to show Jing Yuan. Luocha intended to say: "General, my power comes from the Abundance, it's true. But like you, I am an enemy of Yaoshi."
However, to Welt, this movement looked as if Luocha were drawing a gun on Jing Yuan. In an instant, a massive chill ran down Welt's spine!
Star of Eden, Zeroth Rated OutputEngage!!
Luocha was stunned. He had no choice but to leap into the air immediately. Staying in place would mean being swallowed by that distorted gravity!
Dark red lightning wrapped around Welt's right hand. He vanished from his spot instantly, pursuing Luocha into the sky.
March 7th was dumbfounded. "Didn't we say it was 1v1! Why did even the steady and mature Uncle Welt start a fight without saying a word!?"
In the sky, amidst the clashing of water dragons and blood-light, there were now flashes of cyan brilliance and dark red lightning.
Just then, Jing Yuan stepped forward. "Yanqing, follow me."
"Yes, General."
The two of them walked directly in front of Kafka.
"Kafka, I had intended to let you leave, yet you lingered."
"And so?" Kafka looked at Jing Yuan with a playful expression.
"And so, you cannot leave now. With the Express Crew here to assist, you, who brought a Stellaron into the Xianzhou, must answer for your crimes!"
Hearing Jing Yuan declare his intent to prosecute Kafka, Yanqing's eyes lit up! He shouted "Yes!" in his heart. He had suffered a loss at Kafka's hands before and had been itching for a rematch. With the General backing him up, this was the best chance to bring this high-profile criminal to justice!
Kafka said calmly, "What if I told you... I wasn't the one who brought the Stellaron in?"
"Then why have you Stellaron Hunters appeared here with such fanfare? What is your intent?" Yanqing questioned.
"Sigh..." Kafka let out a helpless breath. "It seems no matter what I say, you won't believe me."
"Then let's do it. It's already chaotic enough. Let us add some fuel to the fire."
"Silver Wolf..."
However, Silver Wolf acted as if she hadn't heard a thing, completely immersed in her Warp animation. She muttered crossly while pulling, "Why is it another 'Eyes of the Prey'? Who the hell is getting 'Resolution'!"
Kafka: "..."
"Silver Wolf, help me out."
"I'm pulling. Don't @ me."
"I don't need you to fight. Just pull up the game's live stream."
"Oh, fine."
Silver Wolf tapped a few times on her wrist. In front of Jing Yuan and Yanqing, Guinaifen's live stream appeared.
"Please, have a look," Kafka said. "In this game's plot, I have already been captured by you. Master Diviner Fu Xuan is about to use the Matrix of Prescience to uncover my true intentions."
"Even if you don't trust me, the content of Star Rail won't lie. This should clarify whether or not we have anything to do with the disaster on the Xianzhou."
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