Chapter 50: Lucky Star
Belle stared at the chat interface, her shoulders slumping.
[Zenless Zone Zero · Belle]: "It feels so hard to take the plunge. What if my luck is terrible? What if all I get is one guaranteed green item, and the rest are just useless white trash..."
[Genshin Impact · Zhongli]: "It is merely a matter of probability. From a universally rational perspective, everyone gathered in this group possesses extraordinary fortune. There is no need to let anxiety cloud your judgment."
While the rest of the chat group hesitated, pacing around the metaphorical edge of the gacha pool, Stelle suddenly slapped her thigh with a resounding smack. The sharp crack echoed through the Astral Express, nearly making Pom-Pom drop the feather duster they were using to clean the parlor car windows. Ignoring the conductor's startled squeak, Stelle puffed out her chest and typed into the chat with overwhelming bravado.
[Honkai: Star Rail · Stelle]: "Hmph—! The atmosphere is already set! What is with all this dawdling? Let me, the champion, get us off to a glorious start! I will show you all what the luck of a true chosen one looks like!"
She shot up from the plush sofa. Under the utterly bewildered gazes of March 7th and Dan Heng, she marched over to the corner of the parlor car. Grunting with effort, she wrapped her arms around her most prized possession—a gleaming, spotlessly clean, solid gold trash can—and painstakingly dragged it right to the dead center of the room. The metal scraped against the floorboards, drawing a wince from Dan Heng.
"Stelle, you..." March 7th's eyes widened to the size of saucers, her hands pausing over her camera. "What in the world are you doing?"
Dan Heng's brow furrowed. He watched in deep silence as Stelle turned around and solemnly sat down on the golden lid. She wiggled a bit, adjusting her posture with absolute gravity, treating the metallic garbage bin not as a receptacle for waste, but as a sovereign's throne.
"It is all about the ceremony! Do you guys not get it?" Stelle yelled, waving her arms dramatically. "Everyone move aside! I am about to perform a sacred ritual! System, give me the goods!!!"
Before the echo of her voice even faded from the parlor car, she raised her hand and brought her index finger down with the force of a meteor strike, smashing the virtual [Ten-Pull] button hovering in her vision.
Swoosh!
A staggering 1,280 points instantly vanished from her account balance.
A split second later, the space in front of her erupted. Ten dazzling streaks of light burst forth, illuminating the entire carriage. One deep, brilliant blue pillar of light pierced the ceiling, striking in its intensity. Three vibrant green orbs swirled closely behind it, while the remaining six settled into the dull, ordinary glow of white light.
The chaotic light show quickly converged, solidifying and taking physical form. With a heavy series of thuds, ten distinct items dropped directly into Stelle's eagerly outstretched arms, nearly toppling her backward off her golden throne.
The Express fell into a pin-drop silence. March 7th and Dan Heng both held their breath, leaning in slightly. Their eyes were glued to the chaotic pile of loot overflowing from Stelle's embrace, waiting for the self-proclaimed champion to announce her results.
Stelle lowered her head, her golden eyes darting rapidly over the assortment of items. Slowly, the corners of her lips twitched upward. That familiar, infuriatingly playful, and utterly narcissistic smirk crept onto her face.
She let out a long, highly exaggerated sigh. Slowly rising from her golden trash can, she spread her arms wide, letting a few of the white-tier items clatter to the floor. She tilted her head back, lamenting in a tone usually reserved for a weary veteran who had just finished fighting a universe-ending war.
"Life..." she whispered dramatically. "Ah, life is truly as lonely as the falling snow!"
March 7th blinked, her face scrunching up in utter confusion. '???' She took a hesitant step forward, genuinely worried that the gacha results had overstimulated her friend's already fragile sanity.
Dan Heng silently averted his gaze, staring intently at a blank spot on the wall. He looked like a man who simply could not bear the secondhand embarrassment.
"Indeed..." Stelle's voice suddenly spiked in volume, ringing with absolute arrogance. "I! Am the chosen one! How could a mere ten-pull possibly measure the great depths of my luck?"
Throwing all shame out the window, she began her grand exhibition, completely ignoring March 7th's worried fretting and Dan Heng's helpless, exhausted sighs.
First, she dug into the pile and whipped out a piece of fabric. It looked like an entirely ordinary, red-and-white checkered picnic blanket.
[Gourmet Tablecloth (Green)]
"Stelle... are you feeling okay? Do you need me to get you a glass of water?" March 7th asked, her voice laced with extreme caution. She was now entirely convinced that Stelle had pulled a mountain of useless garbage and had finally snapped, treating a cheap diner tablecloth like a divine artifact.
"Hmph. The limited wisdom of mortals," Stelle snorted proudly, her nose practically pointing at the ceiling. She marched over to the small round coffee table in the center of the parlor car and slapped the checkered fabric down over the polished wood.
Smoothing out the wrinkles, she puffed out her chest. Under the increasingly bewildered stares of her two companions, she pointed a finger at the empty table and loudly declared, "One serving of... hmm... Immortal's Delight!"
The moment the words left her lips, a soft, magical glow pulsed from the seemingly ordinary fabric. The light swirled, condensing rapidly until a tall, sweating cup of [Immortal's Delight] materialized right in the dead center of the tablecloth. A thick plastic straw was already pierced through the lid, and the rich, enticing aroma of sweet milk tea and tapioca pearls wafted into the air.
"Wow!" March 7th shrieked, nearly dropping her camera. "It actually appeared?!"
A rare flicker of genuine surprise broke through Dan Heng's stoic facade. He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing as he inspected the cup. "Materialized food? Is this an application of advanced spatial teleportation technology? Or some kind of conceptual, rule-based creation?" His archivist brain immediately went into overdrive, attempting to dissect the underlying principles of the checkered cloth.
Ignoring his muttering, Stelle snatched up the cup and took a massive, greedy slurp through the straw. She chewed on the tapioca pearls, her eyes narrowing into happy little crescents of pure bliss. "Mmm! Now that is the authentic Xianzhou taste! How about it, you two? Are you witnessing my greatness yet?"
But the show was far from over. Setting the tea aside, she rummaged through her pile of loot again, her fingers closing around a small, unassuming glass shaker. Inside was a fine, shimmering powdery substance.
Stelle's gaze shifted, locking onto the far end of the carriage. There, Himeko was elegantly seated on a velvet chair, quietly reading the latest edition of the Interastral Peace Broadcast.
"Himeko~" Stelle called out, her voice dripping with a sickly-sweet, almost musical tone.
Himeko lowered her paper, her elegant brows rising in mild surprise. "Hmm? Stelle, is something the matter?"
"Could you brew me a cup of your special handmade coffee?" Stelle requested, clasping her hands together. She widened her eyes, putting on the most sincere and innocent expression she could muster. "I suddenly really want to try it."
The air inside the parlor car instantly froze.
March 7th gasped, slapping both hands over her mouth. In the corner, Pom-Pom's long, floppy ears shot straight up like lightning rods, their fur puffing out in sheer terror.
Himeko's coffee. It was widely considered one of the Great Unsolved Mysteries of the Astral Express—a biohazard so notoriously foul that the mere mention of it could drain the color from a grown man's face. To voluntarily ask for a cup? That was a level of suicidal bravery far more dangerous than swan-diving directly into the gaping maw of a Doomsday Beast!
Himeko raised an eyebrow. Even she seemed momentarily taken aback by the request. But quickly, that surprise melted into a warm, deeply gratified smile. "Oh? It is quite rare to find someone who appreciates my brewing techniques. Give me just a moment."
She gracefully stood up and walked to the brewing station. A few minutes later, she returned, carrying a steaming porcelain cup. The liquid inside was a thick, viscous, abyss-like black. It bubbled ominously, emitting an indescribable, pungent aroma that smelled vaguely of burnt motor oil and cosmic despair.
Stelle accepted the cup without a flinch. Under the horrified gaze of March 7th, the deeply inquisitive stare of Dan Heng, and the pleased look of Himeko, she calmly unscrewed the cap of her newly acquired shaker. With a practiced flick of her wrist, she sprinkled a tiny pinch of the sparkling, iridescent powder directly into the toxic sludge.
The powder fizzed upon contact. Then, while everyone held their breath in morbid anticipation, Stelle raised the porcelain cup, tilted her head back, and downed the entire thing in one massive gulp!
"Ha!"
Stelle slammed the empty cup onto the table, letting out a deeply satisfied sigh. She even smacked her lips, savoring the lingering notes.
"Delicious!" she cheered, her eyes sparkling. "It is rich, with just the right hint of sweetness! The bitterness is perfectly balanced by the earthy aroma. It is incredibly refreshing, and the aftertaste is practically endless! Himeko's masterful brewing skills combined with this magic seasoning... it is an absolute match made in heaven!"
Everyone else in the room froze. They were collectively petrified, staring at her as if she had just grown a second head.
March 7th took a trembling step forward, her voice shaking. "Stelle... did the Stellaron finally fry your brain? Is your sense of taste still functioning?"
Dan Heng did not say a word. He simply pulled out his databank terminal, his fingers flying across the holographic keyboard. He was carefully recording this historic, unmatched anomaly—the day Stelle actually consumed Himeko's coffee and called it delicious.
Himeko, meanwhile, beamed. A genuinely delighted smile graced her elegant features. "Well now. It seems my coffee has finally found a true connoisseur."
Stelle waved her hand dismissively, acting as though conquering the Express's greatest biological weapon was mere child's play. "Just basic operations, guys. Nothing to see here."
Having sufficiently flexed her minor prizes, she decided the groundwork was laid. It was time to reveal the true prize of her ten-pull. Reaching into her coat, she carefully extracted an ancient-looking, thread-bound book. The parchment pages looked weathered, radiating a faint, mystical energy.
Four large, aggressive characters were inked onto the cover in a flourishing, masterful calligraphy: Fire Dance Whirlwind!
"Look at this!" Stelle's voice trembled with irrepressible excitement, her golden eyes practically glowing in the dim light of the carriage. "This is the main event! A blue-quality martial arts cultivation technique! The Fire Dance Whirlwind!"
Unable to contain her impatience, she flipped open the heavy cover, eager to study the ancient stances.
Unexpectedly, the moment the pages parted, the entire secret manual dissolved. It transformed into a blinding streak of crimson light that shot directly into the center of Stelle's forehead.
The sudden flash startled March 7th and Dan Heng, both of them instinctively reaching for their weapons, terrified that some cursed artifact had just possessed their friend.
Stelle stood frozen, her eyes glazed over. But after five or six agonizing seconds of silence, she blinked rapidly, her consciousness snapping back to reality.
"Whoa!" she gasped, clutching her head as the influx of martial knowledge settled into her brain. "These sword moves! The sheer power behind this! Especially that final ultimate move—Heaven and Earth Share Longevity! Just listen to that name! How insanely domineering is that?!"
She pumped her fists in the air, practically vibrating with adrenaline. "It gives off the ultimate world-saving protagonist vibe! It is practically tailor-made for a Galactic Baseballer like me! No, I have to go master this right now. Once I have got it down, I am going to show you guys exactly how overpowered I have become!"
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