"I see... There are some parts I don't quite follow, but Lynelle's abilities still feel incredibly impressive, even if I can't fully grasp them."
In the control sector, Lynelle and Asta strolled while chatting about Lynelle's earlier encounter with big Herta. Of course, she only gave a general overview of her abilities—skimming over the details about her system and the other world in her mind with just a passing remark.
"But, if I'm understanding you correctly, Lynelle... your current situation means you're in urgent need of combat power to protect yourself?"
"Mm, since my body is just at an ordinary person's level right now—not even a Pathstrider—there isn't much equipment I can use. At the very least, I need weapons that don't require energy to operate or years of training to wield effectively."
"No wonder Madam Herta's ship had such strange damage..."
Asta nodded, and then it was as if a lightbulb lit up above her head.
"Hey, if it's just weapons you need, Lynelle, would a star destroyer count? And it fits your requirements perfectly—fully integrated automated command systems, foolproof operations with comprehensive anti-error mechanisms. You could probably get the hang of it with just some basic training."
"If it works, I could buy one for you with my allowance? Don't worry, it won't cost many credits~"
"Uh, well..."
The corner of Lynelle's mouth twitched.
Forget that such a thing would never even make it into the gacha pool—if she actually managed to pull one, she could already picture it: her piloting a star destroyer, dominating the battlefield one day, only to find a famous planetary-level Honkai beast lurking near Earth the next.
"That kind of weapon is a no-go—it's way beyond the scope of equipment..."
Lynelle shook her head firmly.
"Hmm... even if you say that, none of the company's mechs seem to fit the criteria either."
Asta looked troubled. "After all, most of the stronger mechs require extensive training and a supply of imaginary energy. Some specialized models even need specific Path energy to activate. The ones ordinary people can use... mostly don't pack much punch."
"Ah, that's right!"
At this, Asta's eyes suddenly lit up.
"If weapons aren't working, why not replicate someone with combat power? Lynelle, you mentioned before that touching people allows you to copy their abilities, right?"
"Yes, that's true... but I can only use that ability in the other world inside my mind. For example, even if I just touched you, I couldn't transform into you right now. Plus, the stronger the opponent, the harder it is for me to obtain their abilities. With someone as powerful as Herta, even if I touched her, the probability of a successful draw would be close to zero."
Thinking Asta had come up with another novel idea, Lynelle hurriedly added.
"No, what I meant is, I happen to know someone who fits the bill—plenty of combat power, but probably not on the same difficulty tier as Madam Herta."
With that, Asta deftly led Lynelle to an office within Herta Space Station.
"Security Department...?"
"Yep, the head of space station security, Arlan. He's also a friend I trust."
Asta knocked on the door. "Don't worry, I won't reveal your abilities to him. It's just that Arlan's strength seems to meet your requirements perfectly—enough for self-defense, and not too hard to obtain."
"Oh, Station Head Asta?"
The one who opened the door was an ordinary Security Department member. He seemed taken aback to see Asta at the door.
"Yeah, I need to talk to Arlan. What's he up to right now?"
"Um..."
The staff member's voice grew hesitant. "Big Bro Arlan... he's conducting tactical training with Peppy!"
"I see, playing frisbee with Peppy, then. I'll go find him."
Without missing a beat, Asta perfectly decoded the subtext. But before she could step inside, Arlan himself emerged with Peppy.
"Young lady, you were looking for me?"
"Yes, it's like this."
Asta shifted slightly to the side. "Madam Herta brought back a guest, this is Miss Lynelle. She'll be staying at the space station for a while to assist Madam Herta with experiments."
"However, it seems I don't have any spare top-level access ID cards on hand, so I came to you for one."
As she spoke, Asta glanced at Lynelle.
Catching the hint, Lynelle immediately stepped forward and extended her hand. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Arlan."
"Ah, hello."
Arlan shook her hand lightly, then promptly said, "Top-level access ID cards... I think I do have some, but I'll need to look for them. Would you mind waiting a moment?"
[New character added to Star Rail roster: Arlan (4-star)]
Just as the notification popped up in Lynelle's system, Arlan nodded to the two of them and turned to enter the Security Department's storage room. It seemed the access card Asta wanted was indeed a rare item.
"Mission accomplished."
Asta gave Lynelle a playful wink, then quickly added, "Oh, I almost forgot to introduce you. This is Peppy, my pet here on the space station. Don't let his cute appearance fool you—he's actually very clever."
"Can I pet him?"
Seeing how adorable Peppy was, Lynelle—who could never resist cute things—felt her hands itching to reach out.
"Of course, Peppy doesn't mind."
"Yay!"
With a cheer, Lynelle immediately reached for Peppy's fluffy ears.
But with just that one touch, she froze in disbelief.
She realized... something new had appeared in her gacha pool.
[New character added to Star Rail roster: Peppy (4-star)]
"Wait, so even Peppy counts as a pullable character?!"
--+--
Just as Lynelle made a major breakthrough in her gacha pool, Sirin, up on the moon, was keeping her appointment with the so-called "Will of Honkai."
However, her experience here was noticeably different from the original storyline.
Gone was the interception by Welt and Siegfried from the original, and the subsequent plot of hurling asteroids at Earth never happened.
After all, under Lynelle's guidance, Sirin had come to truly understand the weight of the word "hatred."
For her now, the target of her vengeance was solely the organization known as Schicksal.
If possible, she even wanted to narrow it down further to specific individuals—like that blond man with the jester mask—to avoid harming the innocent.
What she didn't know was that she didn't need to lift a finger—Otto had already swiftly dealt with everyone involved in the Babylon Tower experimental group faction.
After all, while high competence and low moral limits were both tolerable in Otto's book, the two things he absolutely could not stand were: first, anyone slipping from his control, and second, anyone interfering with his grand resurrection plan.
And as luck would have it, the Babylon Tower experimental group had managed to do both.
Of course, none of that was the biggest change in the worldline.
The real point of divergence was...
This Will of Honkai, which offered no guidance toward destruction and merely answered all of Sirin's questions.
And the five Cores now floating beside Sirin.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.