"You're saying Honkai Star Rail released another new character? Jing Yuan, the [Divine Foresight] of Xianzhou's Seven Arbiter Generals?"
Space Station, Main Control Section
As she listened to Arlan's report, Asta took a deep breath.
"What on earth happened in Honkai Star Rail while I was busy working?"
"Oh no! I'm falling behind the players' progress now!"
Asta hurriedly launched Honkai: Star Rail.
Earlier, she had received news that an important individual was about to visit. As the station's director, she naturally had many responsibilities to oversee. Now that she was finally free, she was just about to play when Arlan delivered this shocking update!
"Does this mean my five-star Himeko is outdated now?"
"No way! I'm Himeko's dedicated supporter!"
"Then I'll just pull a maxed-out Jing Yuan to pair with her! Himeko can just sit back and enjoy her coffee!"
Arlan swallowed hard.
He knew Astra had already spent 200 million credits last time and still had plenty of Stellar Jades left.
"Miss, as long as you're happy…"
Asta nodded and began pulling.
After hundreds of pulls, she successfully obtained a five-star Jing Yuan!
"His signature weapon, [Before Dawn], is pretty good, but the cover art featuring Jing Yuan still isn't as nice as [Night of the Milky Wayl]'s Himeko."
"Getting it to refinement level 5 is enough. No need to pull extra copies for Himeko."
Arlan finally understood.
The young lady was purely playing this game based on her preferences!
Meta? Tier lists? None of that mattered to her!
Pulling a Five-star Jing Yuan was just to make him work for Himeko!
A true waifu-over-meta player!
After finishing her pulls, Asta happily took control of Himeko and started playing.
Her main story progress was slow—most of the time, she just wandered around the space station map.
For Asta, simply watching Himeko run around was enjoyable enough.
She had found the purest joy of gaming.
"By the way, where's the Trailblazers' next expedition?" Asta suddenly asked.
"Miss, you actually remembered the game has a main story?"
"No, I just want to know if there's more Himeko content later."
Arlan: "…"
"After leaving the space station, the Trailblazers headed to a planet called Jarilo-VI."
"But Himeko didn't participate in either of the last two expeditions."
"I see…" Asta sounded disappointed, but then her eyes lit up.
"As expected of Himeko! She doesn't even need to lift a finger for ordinary expeditions!"
"Let me check how far the latest story has progressed."
Asta switched to another screen and opened Xiao Guizi's livestream, which she had been following.
"Surely, the developers will let Himeko make an appearance soon…"
After tuning into the stream:
"Why are they still on the space station map?"
"Arlan, are you lying to me?"
Arlan was at a loss for words.
Just then, the livestream echoed with Xiao Guizi's rhythmic chant:
"With nothing to do, I return to the station,
Side quests now are my fixation.
Blame the devs for the story's stagnation,
One more verse ends my narration."
Asta's expression cleared.
"Oh, the main quest is on hiatus, so Xiao Guizi came back to do side quests."
Arlan wiped his sweat, thinking, These Xianzhou lyrics are oddly intense… Maybe the security team should try reporting like this too?
"Let me update the livestream viewers."
"We're back at the station because of a mistaken message."
"A guy named Rocky confessed to his crush, a female coworker—but she just ghosted him. Let's see what's going on!"
Hearing Xiao Guizi's explanation, Asta froze.
"Rocky? That's the name of the staff member who submitted his resignation this morning!"
"Could his resignation be related to this side quest?"
She kept watching.
[No reply is a soft rejection…]
Xiao Guizi selected this option.
Rocky immediately objected: "No way! If she wanted to reject me, why would she chat with me so much? And before I confessed, she even described an incredible stellar phenomenon to me!"
"Think about it—a dying star! Most would flee, but my Ley Ley not only got firsthand data but even rescued a hitchhiker escaping death!"
"You have no idea how happy she sounded in that letter!"
Space Station
Xiao Guizi's livestream played on the main screen, drawing laughter from the surrounding staff.
"Rocky's too naive!"
"Love-struck fools are blind!"
"Women are traps, Rocky! She's clearly stringing you along!"
"Haven't seen Rocky all day. Probably off moping somewhere."
In the stream, Xiao Guizi also expressed skepticism about Rocky's romance.
Next, she headed to the Containment Section to check the records—hoping to crush Rocky's hopes for good.
This quest should wrap up soon.
But then—
"Huh?"
"Black Tower Love Poems, Part 1, 2, 3…"
Xiao Guizi clicked through them.
"Ley Ley, my Ley Ley…"
"From the Black Tower's mouth…"
"Beyond the rings and starlight…"
After reading, she remarked, "Honestly? These are kinda sweet."
Space Station
The staff burst into laughter again.
"The streamer's diplomacy is next-level!"
"High EQ: 'Sweet.' Low EQ: 'Cringe!'"
"Rocky! When I see him, I'm giving him a piece of my mind—never simp!"
"Simp? This is pure love! I was young and lovestruck once too…"
Xiao Guizi found the superalloy parts, repaired the broken relay, and was about to leave when she noticed an option to check past signal logs.
"Since Rocky's already like this…"
"Let's see his chat history with Ley Ley—see if he's exaggerating or delusional."
[Sender: Unknown, light-years away (beyond detectable range)]
[Recipient: [Vita] Rocky Martinez]
[Translated text follows…]
Xiao Guizi began reading carefully.
Minutes later, she frowned.
"Judging by these logs, Rocky and Ley Ley really did have great chemistry."
"From Ley Ley's arrival in the Abundance starfield, to how to use [Ancient Spindles], to surviving a starquake…"
"They cared about each other, with occasional little fights…"
"This isn't one-sided at all!"
"So why did she suddenly stop replying?"
"What's really going on?"
Space Station
The staff were stunned.
These logs didn't lie. Their earlier assumption about Rocky's unrequited love was overturned!
"Seems the situation's more complicated than we thought."
"Objectively, Rocky and Ley Ley were… a mutual match."
"Then what went wrong?"
"Is the problem on Ley Ley's side?"
Asta's Office
Asta set down her phone, now fully invested in Rocky's story.
"So there's more to it…"
"As the station director, I should support staff who genuinely care for each other!"
Meanwhile—
Space Station, Departure Deck
Rocky, clad in a spacesuit, was about to embark on his journey.
With limited funds, he could only afford the most basic spacecraft.
Food and supplies might run short. Dangers lurked ahead.
But none of that mattered.
As long as he kept moving, there was hope.
Clutching the relay device close, his eyes burned with determination.
Ley Ley, wait for me.
To be continued…
Advance 100 Chapters are up on my Patreon!
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