Chapter 4: Turn-Based Combat—Isn’t This Outdated?
Herta Space Station
The
post-disaster reconstruction
was finally complete.
The
surviving staff members
had returned to their
calm and leisurely routines
.
Inside a
conference room
…
A
bored researcher
was
secretly playing on his phone
beneath the table.
Compared to his
colleague’s endless droning
, he found spending time
on games
much more
meaningful
.
He
scrolled
through the
new game listings
…
Until suddenly—
The title
[Honkai: Star Rail]
caught his attention.
“Star Rail?”
“Wait… isn’t that the Astral Express? The group of Nameless travelers that helped us out a while ago?”
“I remember their train even stopped at the station’s platform for a bit!”
“That’s crazy! Let me check it out!”
Xianzhou Luofu
Qingque was, as always,
slacking off
.
But recently, her
strict superior from the Divination Commission
had issued
a serious warning
.
Now, she
couldn’t openly slack off
anymore.
She could only
sneak in some downtime
, using her
Jade Sign
to
scroll through the latest updates
.
“Huh? Xiao Gui started doing livestreams?”
“Might as well check it out.”
“Wait, wait, wait!”
“Are you sure this is a game?!”
“Isn’t that
Kafka
, the wanted criminal?! I literally saw her bounty poster this morning!”
“Oh wow, this is getting interesting!”
“Forget playing tiles tonight—I’m staying in to see what this game’s story is all about!”
Astral Express
Inside the
vast train car
, only
Pom-Pom, Welt, and Himeko
remained.
Old Yang sat by the
observation car’s window
, a
book in hand
.
Outside, a
frozen planet
stretched across the landscape.
But he wasn’t
fully focused
on reading—every now and then, his gaze drifted
toward the icy world outside
.
Himeko approached, holding
a steaming cup of coffee
.
“Worried about the kid?”
“Well, this is their first
pioneering expedition
—it’s natural to feel a little concerned.”
Welt chuckled softly.
“No. Young people need to face challenges to grow.”
“Then take a break. Try this new coffee blend I made.”
Looking at the
pitch-black liquid
before him, Welt suddenly felt
his throat tighten
.
He instinctively reached for his
phone
.
“Uh… no thanks.”
“I prefer relaxing with games.”
The truth was—
Welt
didn’t actually have any games
on his phone.
So, he opened the
new game listings
, planning to
randomly download something
to cover his tracks.
But then—
Among the
sea of new releases
, a
particular game title
caught his eye.
Himeko, ever perceptive, noticed
his expression change
.
“What is it?”
she asked.
“Look at this game.”
“Honkai: Star Rail? Seems to be a game
themed around our Astral Express
.”
“It has to be. The logo is literally our train.”
Welt adjusted his
glasses
.
“There have been previous attempts to make games featuring the Express.”
“But since those developers weren’t actual
Nameless travelers
, their designs were always wildly inaccurate.”
Himeko nodded.
Her wording was still
polite
.
Rather than calling them “
wildly inaccurate
,” she could’ve just called them
absolute garbage
.
Most of those games were
shameless knockoffs
, trying to
leech off the Express’ reputation
.
Himeko assumed
this game
was
just another one of those
.
She was already
used to seeing them
.
But Welt thought otherwise.
It wasn’t the
title
that intrigued him.
It was the
first word
—
“Honkai.”
“Hopefully, the developer just used that word as a generic adjective.”
“And not… the Honkai I’m thinking of.”
“We have some downtime. Want to check this game out?”
“Sure,”
Himeko smiled.
“But let’s be clear—if this turns out to be some
low-quality cash grab
, I’m not wasting another second on it.”
Meanwhile…
Lin Yu was
completely unaware
that his game had already
caught the attention
of some
key figures
in the galaxy.
At this very moment, thanks to
Guinaifen’s livestream
—
The
turn-based gameplay
of
Honkai: Star Rail
was about to be revealed.
A
new voice
echoed from the screen.
“Will this mission finally be fun?”
“The last few have been so boring.”
“Apologies. Today’s mission is simple—just place the target
inside
.”
Then, Kafka’s voice took a
sly turn
.
“—But if you’re looking for fun… I won’t stop you.”
“After all…”
As her
words faded
,
The
airlock doors
in front of her
slid open
.
Kafka
stepped forward
, placing her hands
on her hips
.
Before her—
Three menacing Voidrangers
glared at her
with murderous intent
.
“—After all, whatever
Elio
didn’t write in the script… doesn’t matter!”
She
drew her dual pistols
.
Her
pupils dilated
.
Her
lips curled into a delighted grin
.
It was as if she was performing
the grand finale of a personal symphony
.
As if, in the
very next second
, she’d unleash
a storm of bullets
, gunning down the
Voidrangers
in a ruthless display.
Livestream Chat
Most viewers,
including Guinaifen
, didn’t fully understand the earlier conversation.
But they
understood one thing
—
The Stellaron Hunters were
up to something big
.
And a
fight
against the
Antimatter Legion
was inevitable.
This scene
confirmed their expectations
.
But just as the
tension peaked
—
The screen
froze
.
Suddenly,
cracks
spread across the screen.
And then—
A
turn-based battle interface
appeared.
Enemy units on one side.
Player characters on the other.
Everyone
standing still
, waiting for their turn.
Livestream Chat Explodes
“???”
“I took my pants off for THIS?!”
“Wait… isn’t this a turn-based game?!”
“Kinda disappointed… I thought we were gonna see some crazy action.”
“The opening was so hype, but it turns out to be
turn-based combat
.”
“This kind of gameplay has been outdated for ages!”