Inside the space station.
The various departments had temporarily set aside their work to begin studying this miraculous new game.
Soon, someone found Guinaifen's stream on the Xianzhou broadcasting platform. Those who couldn't play the game themselves for the moment, or those who simply wanted to wait and see, flocked to the broadcast. They even went as far as switching the space station's largest display screen over to Little Gui's channel.
A massive crowd of curious onlookers and interested researchers gathered together, pointing and gesturing at the screen.
"So this is Honkai: Star Rail?"
"According to reliable sources, the plot of this game is entirely based on reality. Look at the characters in the streamer's team—they're all people we know!"
"Is that actually our Lead Researcher Asta? Am I seeing this right?"
"And every character's Ultimate is incredibly cool!"
The crowd grew larger. Many people, hearing about the game's mysterious origins, immediately began downloading it for themselves.
On the screen, Guinaifen's face was flushed with excitement.
"Everyone! Next up, we're going to try out Himeko's skills!" she announced. "I wonder what kind of flair the Navigator's Ultimate will have?"
Guinaifen brought up the trial version of Himeko. She zoomed the camera in close—so close that Himeko's details were perfectly sharp. Her pure white dress, the golden rose accessories... even the mole on the right side of her chest was visible.
The chat barrage scrolled past.
...
"The streamer knows exactly what we want to see!"
"Are there any other angles?"
"If she switches to those, she'll get banned."
...
Controlling Himeko, Guinaifen soon encountered a Voidranger.
With a click of the attack button, Himeko's suitcase materialized instantly. A chainsaw extended from one end of the case, slamming directly into the monster.
Once the battle began, Himeko's weapon became even clearer. Her Basic Attacks and Skills involved various tools from her suitcase to slice through enemies. When her Talent's follow-up attack triggered, sparks flew everywhere.
This combat style drew gasps from the station staff.
"Forget the monster, just watching that makes me hurt!"
"Himeko is beautiful, but she's absolutely ruthless when she starts fighting!"
"Of course! You don't become the Navigator of the Express for nothing."
"Does her Ultimate involve throwing the suitcase and blowing it up? I heard Himeko has an escaped satellite inside that case."
"I can't wait!"
Soon, Little Gui had charged enough energy for Himeko. Facing three monsters on the battlefield, she pressed the button firmly, activating [Heavenly Flare].
"Here it comes, guys, here it comes!"
Himeko spoke: "I suspect you don't quite understand."
Guinaifen blinked. "How did the suitcase suddenly turn into a chair?"
"And Himeko! When did you have time to brew that coffee? We're in the middle of a battle!"
When other characters activated their Ultimates, they usually struck a cool combat pose. Only Himeko went from standing to sitting, calmly holding a cup of coffee. This left everyone both confused and intensely curious about what was about to happen.
Guinaifen clicked the release button!
Himeko gently lifted her right leg, crossing it over the other in a relaxed posture while looking up at the sky. Beside her, a pillar of red light shot straight into the heavens, piercing through spiraling clouds to reach deep space.
"Humans never conceal their desire to control the heavens..."
The red light acted like a signal flare. In outer space, a satellite received the transmission, and its weapons system immediately engaged.
A satellite beam dropped vertically, a precise orbital bombardment striking the ground coordinates!
"And I am no exception," Himeko finished.
She sat on her chair, calmly taking a sip of coffee. Beside her, the towering flames illuminated half her body, the wind from the blast tossing her long red hair. She didn't seem to care in the slightest, not even turning her head to look back.
The Ultimate animation ended.
Little Gui froze in her stream, and the researchers watching from the station fell into a stunned silence. A few seconds later, the place exploded like a boiling pot.
Everyone stood up at once!
Exclamations of awe rang out, with some people even shouting in their native dialects.
"Elegant! Truly elegant!"
"Holy crap! An orbital cannon?"
"That was insanely cool!"
"If she actually fired that on the space station, she'd blow an entire segment to pieces!"
"Amazing! I can only say it's amazing! The special effects in this game are too exaggerated! Who could have guessed Himeko's Ultimate was summoning a satellite to fire on the ground?"
Not far away, Asta also saw Himeko's Ultimate through a nearby projection. Being Asta, she didn't lose her composure quite as loudly as the staff, but her eyes were twinkling like little stars.
"Himeko is just too elegant!" she whispered. "Especially that line, 'Humans never conceal their desire to control the heavens'... Ahhh, it hit me right in the heart!"
If there hadn't been people around, Asta would have hugged her phone and rolled around on the floor several times. She was simply too excited. She made up her mind right then and there.
No matter what, she had to get Himeko in this game!
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