Chapter 24: The Stellaron Hunters’ Interest
A Sudden Jolt
“BZZT!”
Silver Wolf
shuddered violently
, her arm twitching.
Her
consciousness snapped back
from the
Herta Space Station
to the skyscraper where she and
Kafka
were.
Kafka, noticing her sudden reaction, found it
amusing
and teased—
“Why so shaken this time? Did they finally catch onto you?”
But
Silver Wolf’s expression was ice-cold
—far from being in the mood for jokes.
She
immediately pulled out her phone
and began checking something.
A few moments later—
Her face
twisted in despair
.
“Gone.
Everything’s gone.
Not even a trace left…”
“This is
too much!
Way too much!
”
Kafka’s Amusement
“Alright, alright, no tantrums.
You’re not a kid anymore.
”
“I’m
not
throwing a tantrum!”
Silver Wolf took a
deep breath
—as if she had just needed that brief moment to vent.
Then,
her usual sharp focus returned.
“Kafka, I have something to show you.”
Kafka’s Skepticism
“What is it? That
‘Punk-Lorde Spirit’
thing you keep talking about?”
“You know I’m
not interested in that.
”
“No, not that.”
“Oh?”
“It’s
a different game.
”
“…?”
A Game Worth Noticing
“Listen, Silver Wolf,” Kafka sighed, “I know you
love
your games. Even if all your accounts got banned, you could just hack into a
nearby IPC branch
and retrieve them.”
“Let’s not
spiral into self-destruction
here.”
“You don’t get it.
This game is different.
”
With that,
Silver Wolf cast the game’s display
into a
holographic projection
in front of Kafka.
Kafka, still skeptical, decided to
humor her
, since she had been
so devastated earlier.
Game Start—Honkai: Star Rail
“BZZT!”
Honkai: Star Rail
launched!
On the screen, a
vintage-style steam locomotive
traversed the cosmos.
“The Astral Express?”
“This game uses
a train theme
? That’s actually pretty unique.”
Silver Wolf shook her head.
“Don’t ask me.
I’m playing it for the first time too.
”
“But I
can
tell you—
this game’s story follows real-world events.
”
“Who knows?
You and I might even make an appearance.
”
Kafka’s Interest is Piqued
“Oh?
Now I’m intrigued.
”
“I wonder how the developers
portrayed me.
”
But the moment she finished speaking—
Her smile froze.
Silver Wolf also
stiffened.
She had just
speculated
that they might be in the game’s storyline.
And yet—
The very first scene…
Was
Kafka, playing her void violin.
The Realization
They had expected some kind of
build-up
, maybe an introduction to the story’s world.
Instead—
The game
immediately threw them
into the
scene of their infiltration of the space station.
Kafka’s smile
disappeared
.
Her expression turned
serious
as she watched.
As the story
progressed
, her gaze became
sharper and sharper.
Unsettling Accuracy
“Silver Wolf…”
“Was our
space station infiltration
recorded by someone?”
“
Impossible.
”
“I disabled
all remote links
at the time. Forget security cameras—even
detection signals
couldn’t get through.”
“Besides, if we had really been caught on camera, don’t you think
someone would have tried to stop us?
”
“Not to mention—
we left without any trouble.
”
Kafka didn’t doubt her.
She
knew for a fact
that their presence at the
Herta Space Station
had been completely
erased.
So
how was this game recreating everything so perfectly?
Every
detail
was
spot-on
.
Even
tiny movements
, things neither of them had paid much attention to at the time, were perfectly mirrored.
Kafka’s Ultimate Move
The next moment—
Kafka’s
battle animation played
.
Her
ultimate move
—
[Trembling Sonata at the End of Tragedy].
She watched in
silent admiration
.
“Forget the story for a second—
this finishing move is quite something.
”
Even
she
had to admit—
The
animation was flawless
.
It
matched her combat style perfectly
—
A
blend of elegance and artistry
within destruction.
Silver Wolf’s Turn
Silver Wolf
whistled.
“Well?
Told you this game was good.
”
“Mm…”
“Look, look!
It’s my turn!
”
Silver Wolf’s
eyes gleamed with excitement
as her in-game character
joined the party.
She immediately
tested out her skills.
Her
ultimate move activated—
[Account Banned!]
“WHAT KIND OF NAME IS THAT?!”
Silver Wolf
almost laughed out of frustration.
But then—
She saw her character
playing a rhythm game mid-battle
, dealing rapid attacks to the enemy.
“…Well, at least the fighting style is accurate.”
“They even incorporated
Ether editing
into my animations!”
She was
satisfied
with the animation—
But her
sharp gamer instincts
quickly
spotted an issue.
A Balance Problem?
“Why is my
ultimate a single-target attack
, but yours is an
AoE
?”
“Not only that—
my single-target damage is lower than yours.
”
Kafka chuckled.
“How should I know?
I didn’t design the game.
”
Silver Wolf narrowed her eyes.
“Wait… I think I get it.”
“My skill must have
a hidden effect
—there’s no way it’s just raw damage.”
“Just watch—there’s definitely
some powerful secondary effect
attached to it!”
Kafka smirked.
“Fine, fine, I’ll believe you.”
A Chilling Realization
As they continued playing—
The story led them
to the Stellaron chamber.
On-screen,
Kafka carefully placed the Stellaron into the vessel.
For a moment—
It felt like
reliving the past.
Kafka murmured—
“I never thought I’d see this moment
again
.”
Then, Silver Wolf
slammed the table.
“
Enough!
This game has already
revealed far too much!
”
“This developer
knows us.
”
“Not just us—
they even know Elio.
”
A Theory Forms
Kafka gazed at the screen, her eyes flickering in thought.
“This level of detail…
it reminds me of Elio’s ability.
”
“But Elio writes
scripts of possible futures
. This developer…
has turned the past into a game.
”
Silver Wolf nodded.
“I’m posting this in the
group chat.
We need to hear what the others think.”
The Stellaron Hunters’ Response
Silver Wolf quickly summarized the situation and
sent it to their private network.
A reply came
immediately
from Sam—
“What’s this ‘Honkai: Star Rail’? Never heard of it.”
“Anyway, Kafka—Elio’s next script involves you. Shouldn’t you start preparing?”
Kafka typed back—
“Thanks, I’ll be ready.”
Sam didn’t reply again.
Silver Wolf wasn’t sure if he was
secretly downloading the game
, or if he truly
didn’t care.
A Certain Someone…
“Wait, aren’t we
missing someone?
”
Silver Wolf started
spamming Blade’s name.
After a long pause—
A
single reply came.
“Not interested.”
Silver Wolf
expected that.
So—
She sent Blade
a video
of Dan Heng’s ultimate move.
A few seconds later—
Blade
immediately responded.
“It’s him. Ying Yuejun!”
“Where did you get this battle footage?!”
“No… this isn’t real combat. Where is he?!”
Silver Wolf smirked.
“Relax. It’s just a game.”
Blade
went silent.
Silver Wolf leaned back, grinning at Kafka.
“You think he’ll play the game himself?”
Kafka chuckled.
“Who knows?
But Blade always pays attention when it comes to him.
“