Chapter 241: If Not on the Face, Where Else Would You Put the Mosaic?
In Kafka's eyes, this little excursion to the Xianzhou Luofu was drawing to a perfect, if entirely unpredictable, close.
Elio's carefully crafted script had been torn apart and rewritten beyond all recognition, yet the tides of fate were flowing in a remarkably positive direction. For the Stellaron Hunters, the harvest had far exceeded their wildest expectations.
Had things followed the original trajectory, the Xianzhou alliance would have merely revoked her own wanted status, leaving Blade's name firmly pinned to their most-wanted pursuit list. Escaping safely would have required heavy reliance on Stelle and Caelus. Without the Trailblazers' intervention, she and Blade would have inevitably clashed with the young prodigy Yanqing, ultimately finding themselves thrown into the abyssal depths of the Shackling Prison. Even if Sam and Silver Wolf staged a violent breakout, Blade would have suffered grievous injuries, and any semblance of a working relationship with the Xianzhou would have shattered into irreparable hostility.
But now? Thanks to her early transmission of intel to Stelle and Caelus, Blade's destined role on the Luofu had concluded well ahead of schedule. Neither of them possessed any lingering reason to stay. All in all, it had become a rather pleasant memory.
Her only lingering regret was the elusive shadow of "fear."
She still hadn't found it. Even with the staggering knowledge that five actual Aeons were currently present on the Luofu, the divine entities showed absolutely no interest in a mere Stellaron Hunter. She might have felt a fleeting whisper of tension or a ripple of worry, but it was a far cry from true, visceral terror.
However, Elio had recently offered a tantalizing addendum to her script: if she wished to recover that missing emotion ahead of schedule, she might find her answer in Leon.
Kafka's magenta eyes drifted, catching Leon's relaxed profile in her peripheral vision. The man had casually cured Firefly's terminal Entropy Loss Syndrome—an absolutely miraculous feat that defied the laws of the universe. But as a direct consequence, the tragic script dictating Firefly's "three deaths" would likely never come to pass. Imagining Elio rubbing his temples in exasperation over his derailed prophecies brought a faint, nearly imperceptible smile to Kafka's elegant lips.
Across the table, Guinaifen's initial anxiety was slowly melting away. Seeing that Kafka was every bit as graceful and composed as her digital counterpart—rather than the bloodthirsty terrorist the Interstellar Peace Corporation painted her to be—allowed the street performer to finally relax her tense shoulders.
"It is quite fascinating, really," Kafka mused, her slender finger lightly tracing the rim of her delicate porcelain teacup. "So many people fear the unknown. They fear danger, they fear loss... These emotions are incredibly vivid. They drive ordinary mortals to hide in the dark, to scheme, and even to rise up in desperate resistance."
She tilted her head, allowing a silken strand of plum-colored hair to slide gracefully over her shoulder. "But for me? I have to exert genuine effort just to conceptualize that feeling. It is akin to being served a dish I have never encountered. I can read the recipe, I can analyze the ingredients, but I cannot truly experience its flavor upon my tongue."
Sitting beside the Stellaron Hunter, Sushang blinked in utter bewilderment. The Cloud Knight recruit tugged discreetly at Guinaifen's sleeve, leaning in to whisper loudly, "What is she talking about? Is the food here not good? I think it tastes pretty amazing..."
Guinaifen's eye twitched. "Um, Sushang... she isn't actually talking about the food. The banquet is delicious. Just... just keep eating, okay?" She released a long, helpless sigh, quietly envying her best friend's blissful, empty-headed ignorance.
But Guinaifen understood the subtext perfectly. If she was interpreting this correctly, Kafka's poetic metaphor meant she fundamentally lacked the capacity to feel fear. Was this the grand, hidden lore behind the infamous Stellaron Hunter? A thrill of gamer excitement surged through Guinaifen's chest. If her deduction was right, this woman was absolutely going to be a massive, top-tier character in Honkai: Star Rail. Was she getting exclusive, behind-the-scenes developer lore before the official release? The sheer hype was intoxicating.
"Kafka-mom..." the streamer blurted out, the internet slang slipping past her lips before her brain could hit the brakes.
The teacup in Kafka's hand paused for a fraction of a second. She was well aware of her notorious nickname among Leon's player base, but in the waking world, outside of Stelle, Caelus, and Leon's relentless teasing, Guinaifen was the very first person to address her with that title to her face.
"Ah! If you don't like it, I'll change it immediately!" Guinaifen squeaked, shrinking back into her chair like a startled rabbit. Seeing the woman's peaceful, almost dangerously gentle demeanor had short-circuited her filter. The Stellaron Hunter's aura genuinely radiated the overwhelming, intoxicating presence of a matriarch.
"No, it's quite alright," Kafka replied, her voice smooth as velvet. A faint, undeniably maternal warmth pooled in her eyes.
After several rounds of fine Xianzhou wine, the banquet's atmosphere reached a lively peak.
"By the way," Leon casually announced, swirling the amber liquid in his glass with a lazy grin. "I'm planning to put all of you into Honkai: Star Rail. None of you mind, right?"
Taking advantage of the rare gathering, he dropped the bombshell without warning. Almost every major player of the Xianzhou Luofu's storyline was currently seated at this very table. There was no better time to secure their likeness rights. As for the captive Lord Ravager, Phantylia... well, she hardly had the use to refuse.
"Put us... in the game?"
Jing Yuan's smile stiffened, a subtle twitch pulling at the corner of his mouth. The dreaded moment had finally arrived. If given the choice, the Divine Foresight would have vastly preferred to keep his face out of a universe-spanning video game. But the man making the request was Leon—a being heavily suspected to be the reincarnation of Akivili. Recalling the sheer, unhinged chaos of Aha's promotional teaser video, the General knew that any attempt at opposition was entirely futile.
He wasn't alone in his resignation. Fu Xuan and Qingque exchanged a look of deep, silent defeat.
'It's over,'Qingque wailed inwardly, burying her face in her hands.'My entire slacker history is going to be broadcasted to the stars...'
Yet, on the surface, the Master Diviner and the slacking scholar maintained their composure. Since public exposure was now an unavoidable absolute, it was far wiser to agree gracefully and stay on Leon's good side.
"Honkai: Star Rail?! Wait, I get to be in it too?!" Guinaifen bolted upright, her eyes sparkling with unadulterated starry-eyed surprise. Her ties to the Astral Express Crew were relatively shallow, so she never expected to make the final roster.
"I... I'm going to be in a video game?" Sushang blinked owlishly, pointing a chopstick at her own nose.
Leon chuckled, resting his chin on his hand. "Of course you are."
"Then... sure, okay!" Sushang scratched the back of her head. Seeing that both General Jing Yuan and Master Diviner Fu Xuan had already offered their silent, albeit pained, consent, the Cloud Knight eagerly followed suit.
"Fine," Jingliu murmured, her tone as cool and indifferent as moonlight.
"I get to join the fun too? Fantastic!" Bai Heng cheered, raising her cup in eager agreement.
"Mm," Blade grunted, crossing his arms in a display of absolute apathy.
"Bailu gets to be in it too? That's wonderful!" the little High Elder cheered, her tail swishing happily behind her chair.
"I suppose I don't need to say much, do I?" Kafka chuckled softly. She had already made her grand, villainous debut in the prologue, so she hardly minded another appearance on the digital stage.
"I'm glad you're all so cooperative," Leon grinned, his eyes gleaming with mischievous intent. "Actually, even if you had refused, I would have just used your likenesses anyway. At most, I'd just slap a pixelated mosaic over your faces to avoid copyright."
The moment the words left his mouth, March 7th slammed her hands on the table, unable to hold back her retort. "Hey! Who in their right mind puts a censorship mosaic directly over a character's entire face?!"
"Oh?" Leon raised a challenging eyebrow, a wicked smirk playing on his lips. "Then where else should I put it, March?"
"Obviously, it should be put on..." March 7th puffed out her chest, ready to deliver a scathing correction, before her brain suddenly stalled. Wait. Where did mosaics usually go?
"I know! It should be put on—" Stelle's eyes lit up with chaotic, trash-panda energy as she bolted up to answer the question.
Before the gray-haired Trailblazer could finish her undoubtedly cursed sentence, two pairs of elegant hands clamped firmly over her mouth from both sides.
Himeko and Kafka had moved with terrifying synchronization. Although neither woman knew exactly what degenerate thought was about to spill from Stelle's lips, a deeply ominous premonition had flared in their minds, triggering an absolute reflex action. It was a display of peak, maternal defense.
"Mmph! Mmph, mmph!" Stelle thrashed lightly, her golden eyes wide with deep confusion. Why did Kafka-mom and Auntie Himeko suddenly gag her?
Weren't censorship bars usually just placed over the eyes? Saying 'over the face' was just factually inaccurate. Why were they treating her like a biohazard?
"Isn't it supposed to just be a black bar over the eyes?" Caelus tilted his head, looking genuinely perplexed by the sudden physical restraint. "Is that not right?"
"Oh... so that is what you were going to say."
Kafka and Himeko exhaled in unison, simultaneously releasing their hostage. The two women exchanged a loaded glance over Stelle's head. Himeko's crimson eyes narrowed with a flicker of elegant disdain, while Kafka offered a gentle, thoroughly provocative smile in return.
"Even if it's just over the eyes, what's the difference?! It's still on the face!" March 7th groaned, dragging a hand down her face in exasperation.
"But it's a much more anatomically accurate way to describe it!" Stelle and Caelus argued in perfect, synchronized unison, sounding incredibly justified in their pedantry.
"Honestly, I'm way more curious about why Himeko and Kafka got so nervous just now," Guinaifen laughed, leaning forward to join in the teasing. "What exactly did you two think she was going to—"
The streamer's voice died in her throat. She suddenly realized that two pairs of breathtakingly beautiful, yet utterly terrifying eyes had locked onto her. Himeko and Kafka were staring at her with a calm, suffocatingly oppressive pressure that promised immediate and silent execution.
"Cough... Never mind. I didn't say anything," Guinaifen squeaked, immediately shrinking back into her chair with absolute obedience.
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