[Speaking so softly and still wants to drive the Astral Express—redo, redo!]
[Such an old meme, bro—it's 5202 and you're still using this?]
[This is what they call a classic that never dies.]
—
After getting up, Stelle stretched her body.
"Chores begin!"
At that moment, the background music also became rousing.
Over the course of the day, Stelle helped Himeko inspect the train, accompanied March 7th for snacks, assisted Dan Heng in organizing the archive…
She was so busy she herself didn't even know what she was busy with all day.
Finally, after repeated, repeated, and repeated dinner meetings, the exhausting day came to an end.
Before going to sleep, she thought about having a little drink.
Stelle arrived at the Party Car, only to be surprised to find that Shut Up had broken down?
"Bzzzt bzzzt bzzzt bzzzt…"
Shut Up sounded like a deflated balloon, speaking in a language only Cybertronians could understand.
Just then.
March 7th happened to pass by. "What are you guys doing? Did Shut Up malfunction or something?"
Shut Up said: "Dear Nameless guest… bzzzt… As a dining robot, I still have shortcomings in my cleaning function… bzzzt… Miss Himeko is currently making adjustments to this."
Dan Heng explained further: "Miss Himeko is preparing to take over part of the system, manually inputting data for the realistic intelligence module to learn from."
[What is he saying?]
[He's speaking a very profound language.]
[Commonly known as not speaking human words.]
—
Himeko glanced at Shut Up. "I've already connected a controller to Shut Up, but I still need to experiment a bit to figure out how the buttons map."
Stelle quickly answered: "I know—up up down down left right left right B A B A."
Originally listless, Shut Up suddenly perked up, speaking fluently again. "Cheat code correct. Entering self-destruct mode. Dear Nameless guest, see you in the next Eternal Recurrence!"
Hearing this, March 7th was so frightened she quickly covered her head. "Wah wah wah wah! What's going on? Himeko-neesan, quick—hit the cancel button!"
But Stelle, Himeko, and Dan Heng remained perfectly calm.
"Don't worry—this is just a cheat-code joke from my previous master's phone. Do you like it?"
Himeko crossed her arms over her chest. Her expression was calm, even carrying a trace of relieved smile.
But upon closer inspection, her hands were trembling with rage, veins bulging.
[Himeko gazes at you gently, veins bulging.]
[Hahaha, this generation of netizens is way too OP.]
[Just reading the comments is killing me.]
—
Himeko gritted her teeth, enunciating each word. "Your previous master—I will definitely find him!"
March 7th puffed out her cheeks angrily. "When we do, he definitely won't get off easy!"
"Sigh…" Himeko let out a breath. "Forget it. But I do have some good news to share with everyone."
Himeko flashed a confident smile. "Today, I will personally cook and prepare a creative lunch full of innovation for all the passengers. Are you ready?"
[Ready for what? Coffins?]
[Please select the auspicious burial site for your interment!]
[Is it really that exaggerated? Himeko's coffee is bad, but surely her cooking isn't too?]
[Bro, instant coffee—the kind in bags—can be brewed into something resembling pesticide. You really think her cooking skills are fine?]
[I don't believe it. I feel like Honkai: Star Rail might pull a reverse twist.]
—
March 7th, upon hearing the news, put on an expression of facing death calmly. "Bring it on—I'm mentally prepared!"
Stelle scanned the group—one person was missing. "Where's Uncle Yang?"
Dan Heng shook his head. "He escaped early…"
"That old slick!"
March 7th quickly tried to smooth things over. "Don't be like that, you guys. Look—the ingredients are all normal. How bad could it possibly get? Miss Himeko rarely cooks—give her some face!"
[Little March, please don't use my stomach to satisfy your moral standards.]
[This could actually kill people.]
[Ah!!!]
—
Himeko interrupted everyone. "Hold on—I'm reviewing the menu one more time."
She began muttering to herself. "After heating the oil in the pan, let it cool—how cool exactly? When the butter melts, add… does that mean when it starts melting or when it's fully melted? This bottle is salt, right? Let me taste…"
Himeko pulled a bottle from her fourth-dimensional pocket, lightly touched a bit of the white powder with her finger. "Oh—it's laundry detergent…"
[Hahahaha, I'm dead.]
[Wait? Why is there laundry detergent in the seasoning bottle?]
[Holy crap—no wonder the Express crew is so hard to kill. They've been training under negative load all this time.]
[Others might not know, but this batch of Nameless must be the most top-tier ever!]
Hearing the words "laundry detergent," March 7th went even paler.
"Why is laundry detergent here?! I take it back! Teacher Dan Heng, save us!"
Dan Heng sighed helplessly. "Uh… no choice. Miss Himeko, do you need me to assist?"
Himeko looked at Dan Heng's sincere eyes, pondering: Should I let him help?
No! As head chef, I must uphold my dignity.
A true chef never needs assistance!
"No need, Dan Heng. You've already done so much for the train—it's time I treated you. Just relax and enjoy the meal."
Dan Heng's face filled with despair. "I tried my best."
March 7th turned to Stelle, tears about to spill. "Stelle! It's up to you now—think of something quick!"
"Uh, why aren't you thinking of something yourself?" Stelle suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Got it! This is the only way!"
She forced a smile. "I just remembered—I have a voucher from the Warhol Gourmet Fleet! Full 300 gets 1000 back as a grand opening reward! It expires in three systems—we have to hurry and head over! The fleet's a bit far!"
[300 gets 1000 back! 6!]
[You can tell Stelle really tried her best.]
Himeko furrowed her brow slightly. "You three! Leaving before even tasting the dishes is extremely rude behavior."
The three little ones put on serious faces and spoke in unison. "Yes, Chef!"
That night—no one knew how they survived it!
The only certainty was that everyone ended up vomiting bile.
[Good thing Old Yang slipped away—left a spark behind!]
[That day, Old Yang learned common hospital knowledge about stomach pumping and post-food-poisoning treatment.]
["Overnight, the Astral Express was wiped out?"]
—
Not long after.
Stelle finally saved up enough money for a major room renovation. A carpet was added, along with a work desk.
Stelle nodded in satisfaction. "All the recent effort paid off—full sense of achievement!"
"Good evening, dear Nameless guest." Shut Up the robot entered Stelle's room, full of praise. "Congratulations on completing your bedroom construction. Seeing this room come back to life fills me with genuine joy!
A bedroom to a Nameless is like an energy core to a mech—stable shutdown and rest allow smoother operation in Chongqing."
At this point, Shut Up finally got to the point. "And a bedtime story is as crucial as long-pressing the standby button before shutdown."
Stelle let out a heavy sigh of relief. "Then go ahead and tell one. But please—absolutely no dad jokes."
"Dear Nameless guest, you must be joking. When have I ever told dad jokes?"
[I want to ask: do people who tell dad jokes really not know their jokes are cold?]
[They really don't.]
[Very easy to understand—Himeko doesn't know her coffee is undrinkable either.]
Immediately after, Shut Up began the story: "There was a mech who was always moody at work. Over time, he discovered a pattern: if he was very irritable, he had definitely charged fire electricity the night before; if he was very calm, he had charged water electricity.
One day he was extremely polite to everyone at work. Question: What electricity had he charged?"
Before Stelle could answer, Shut Up eagerly revealed: "The answer: Harmony electricity! Do you get it? 'Harmony' and 'nuclear' are homophones—quite amusing!"
[Why not static electricity?]
[No homophone there.]
[I feel like I charged madness electricity—'electricity' and 'insanity' are homophones, quite amusing!]
[Quite amusing!]
—
Stelle gave a slight smile. "How about I tell you one?"
Shut Up instantly perked up. "Oh? Dear Nameless guest, I knew early on you were a master of humor too! I will store your humor firmly in the corpus and pass it down to generation after generation of Nameless!"
"Once upon a time, there was a person who liked to cover their mouth and nose with the blanket while sleeping. Later, they never woke up. Question: How could such a tragedy happen?"
Stelle immediately revealed the answer: "Because they had no nose or mouth. Do you get it? 'Nose mouth' and 'shut up' are homophones—conveying a certain meaningful warning, quite amusing."
[Hahaha, Stelle is a genius too.]
[I'm really worried about what Sunday Bro will turn into after boarding.]
[Should be fine—he already got vaccinated by Oneweek.]
—
Shut Up understood immediately. "Understood. Please rest well—I'll roll out now."
Watching Shut Up leave, Stelle turned to look at her bedroom. "Bedroom construction complete—no more sleeping in cardboard boxes. Sigh… how come I kind of miss the feel of cardboard?"
She glanced at the spacious room. "Then next, I'll just keep this pace and finish building the other areas."
Stelle dove straight onto the bed.
Soft mattress, warm blankets. Stelle rested her head on the cloud-like pillow—sleepiness surged over her like a tide.
She pondered one question: How long should I sleep?
"Too sleepy… I want to sleep until the universe extinguishes! Good night, Astral Express."
And so, Stelle slept until the universe extinguished—even the Great Way was worn away.
No one can wake someone pretending to sleep. Even less so someone determined to keep sleeping.
Perhaps this too is a form of Trailblazing—toward sleep duration.
The screen went black, subtitles popped up:
"Honkai: Sleepy Rail"
"The End!"
Then came the Express crew's credits roll.
Only March 7th's actor was marked with two question marks.
The audience didn't notice—just thought this detail was key for next season.
Finally, two more subtitles floated up:
"May this journey ultimately reach the stars!"
"And allow me… to sleep a little longer!"
[Hahaha, I'm actually dying of laughter.]
[This is genuinely god-tier.]
[Ever since I started watching the Honkai: Star Rail web series, my friends say I'm getting more and more spirited.]
—
"What are you thinking about, Pom? Time to get up!"
Pom-Pom woke Stelle up—and shattered her dream of sleeping until the universe extinguished!
Then, still groggy, Stelle got out of bed and came to the parlor car.
There, she saw March 7th lying lifelessly on the sofa. "So idle~"
Stelle lay down beside March 7th. "So idle~"
"Ey!" March 7th extended a finger. "Stelle! Time for an intense and thrilling indoor sumo match—are you brave enough to duel me?"
"Woof woof woof."
Barks entered Stelle's ears. "Where's that dog barking coming from?"
March 7th put on a fierce expression. "You actually insulted me—how dare you! Since you're so arrogant, don't blame this lady for going hard."
"Woof woof woof!"
March 7th heard it too. "Wait—no, there really is dog barking, and that accent sounds exactly like…"
March 7th and Stelle looked down to see Peppy happily wagging his tail. "Woof woof woof~"
"Peppy! One listen to that accent and I knew it was you—how did you sneak onto the train?" March 7th lit up the moment she saw the cute pet.
"Woof woof~"
March 7th pondered a moment, using her innate animal-language translator.
Soon, she spoke. "Oh—so you didn't sneak on. Asta and Arlan are going on a business trip, so they decided to board you with us first. Got it."
Stelle delivered a sharp roast. "How can you translate him? How does his barking carry so much information? How many languages do you even know? How can you tell his accent? Sorry—this line is too on-point, I almost couldn't remember it!"
[Hahaha I'm actually dying—who save me.]
[I knew it—once Honkai: Star Rail hits daily life episodes, it always drops a massive one!]
March 7th huffed. "A beautiful girl's business—you don't need to understand it all."
Then she turned to Peppy. "Looks like Peppy's gonna live with us for a while, hehe—we can play fetch together!"
Peppy barked happily a few times.
"And since Peppy is our guest on the train, shouldn't he help out with chores too? With you around, my work will be so much easier~"
Peppy tilted his head. "Woof woof woof, woof! Woof, woof woof woof! Woof woof, woof, woof! Woof woof woof woof woof woof, woof! Woof, woof!"
[I heard it—Peppy's in a hurry!]
[So urgent he's almost speaking human.]
[Peppy's confused—I might not be human, but you're a real dog!]
[Never thought a dog would get exploited too.]
March 7th immediately replied: "He said okay."
Stelle's mouth twitched. "There's no way that's what he said!"
However, no one can escape capital's exploitation—not even a dog.
Peppy naturally joined March 7th's chore team.
[If dogs count, then I can too—I'm March 7th's dog!]
[I'm Kafka's dog!]
[I love Silver Wolf!]
[Actually, I'm Miss Tingyun's dog!]
—
After finishing chores, Stelle returned to her room to rest.
At that moment, March 7th pushed open the door. "Stelle, free tomorrow?"
Stelle shook her head. "I'm very busy—busy resting."