Honkai Star Rail: Destiny Card System of the Multiverse — Chapter 94

Chapter 94: Arrival Conditions Met, Dan Shu’s Request

One day later, the volatile situation aboard the Xianzhou Luofu had finally stabilized. The chaos had not spread beyond the initial quarantine zones, though achieving this fragile peace took a full two and a half days longer than the Seat of Divine Foresight had originally projected.

While the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus and various splinter cults continued to fester in the shadows of the outer starskiffs, Jing Yuan’s immediate and heavy-handed suppression ensured they could not stir up any major waves of rebellion for the time being.

Inside the Seat of Divine Foresight, the atmosphere was heavy.

Jing Yuan’s holographic projection hovered at the head of the long strategy table. His fingers swiped methodically across the glowing red files on the light screen. The reports detailed a string of disasters: ‘Fugitive Blade wreaks havoc at the Alchemy Commission’and’Artisanship Commission’s Creation Furnace damaged by Ambrosial Arbor roots.’ His brows furrowed slightly as he processed the mounting damage.

He shifted his gaze toward Chief Alchemist Dan Shu, who stood quietly near the lower end of the table. “Chief Alchemist, what are your thoughts regarding the incident at the Alchemy Commission?” he asked, his tone perfectly calm and measured.

Dan Shu stepped forward and offered a polite bow, her mechanical eyes entirely devoid of spirit or light. “I believe we should apprehend this fugitive as soon as possible to reassure the alchemists and medics stationed on the front lines.”

Jing Yuan nodded without a word. He flipped to the next page of the incident report and asked, “Then how does the Chief Alchemist explain the records of Abominations of Abundance remains discovered during the on-site investigation?”

Dan Shu’s expression remained perfectly static, her voice taking on a solemn weight. “The Ambrosial Arbor has experienced a rebirth, bringing disaster from the heavens. Because the Alchemy Commission’s skiff is adjacent to the Arbor’s seal and enveloped by its sprawling roots, the resulting tangle makes it inevitable that some patients and medical staff would be bewitched and undergo sudden mutations.”

Jing Yuan nodded again, his expression unreadable, before turning to look at the projection of Fu Xuan.

He noted silently that the Master Diviner’s skills had been improving steadily of late. After all, her ominous prophecy from a few days prior—’Lake above, Wind below; The Great Excess. The ridgepole sags, the withered poplar sprouts’—was currently unfolding into reality.

“Master Diviner, what is your take on this?”

Fu Xuan’s projection reached up to touch the Wisdom Eye resting on her forehead, a rare look of shame crossing her delicate features. “Apologies, General. The Matrix of Prescience is suffering from unknown interference, and I cannot lock onto Blade’s trail. The Divination Commission has yet to discern the inner situation at the Alchemy Commission.”

While she spoke with a perfectly straight face, she was frantically complaining about Jing Yuan in her mind. ‘Stop testing me, I don’t know either! You’ve been eyeing the Alchemy Commission ever since the Luofu went under martial law. Asking me now on purpose… isn’t this just to test if I’ve colluded with Chief Alchemist Dan Shu, who was propped up by the Vidyadhara?’

Hearing her response, Jing Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If even Fu Xuan were in cahoots with the Chief Alchemist and deliberately withholding intelligence, the resulting crisis would be catastrophic. However, a lingering puzzle remained. The Divination Commission’s Matrix of Prescience was historically infallible. How could it have completely failed to detect the rot festering within the Alchemy Commission?

Jing Yuan’s gaze then shifted to Kazuki, who was standing nearby, leaning casually against a pillar. “Your Excellency Kazuki, do you have any insights?”

The moment those words left the General’s mouth, the gazes of both Dan Shu and Fu Xuan snapped toward the young man in unison.

Kazuki, meanwhile, was busy rubbing a few strands of strangely colored hair on his forehead. He was staring blankly at his system interface, looking at the wish list for [Sword Champion Yanqing], which now displayed a fully completed status. He was entirely lost in the memory of the grueling events that had just transpired.

Just as his plan had anticipated, Jingliu had not refused the opportunity to slaughter the Abominations of Abundance. The problem was that she hunted them with such terrifying speed that occasionally, the moment Kazuki heard the screech of an Abomination, Jingliu’s blade had already severed its head.

Left with absolutely no other choice, Kazuki had resorted to exploiting the system’s temporal mechanics. He treated the situation like game frame-skipping, repeatedly diving into the card world and using the final sounds heard by [Sword Champion Yanqing] to calculate the exact proximity of the surrounding monsters.

He would then snap back to the real world and instantly swing his sword at the deduced coordinates, effectively stealing the kills right out from under the legendary swordmaster. It was precisely because of this relentless, non-stop sword swinging that he had luckily managed to gain Jingliu’s grudging approval.

Afterward, he had sparred with both Jing Yuan and Jingliu, fulfilling the final grueling conditions of the card.

Following the spar, Jing Yuan had remarked with a heavy sigh that he hoped [Sword Champion Yanqing] would not make a public appearance anytime soon, preferring to keep the identity acting as a hidden piece tucked safely under the Sabacc table. [Sword Champion Yanqing] had offered no objections to the arrangement. As for Jingliu, she had departed shortly after alongside [Vidyadhara High Elder Baiheng].

Now, neither Jing Yuan nor Kazuki dared to hope that Jingliu would actively lend them a hand in the coming war, but they at least prayed she wouldn’t actively cause more trouble.

Kazuki finally registered Jing Yuan’s question.

He raised his head, looking at the three important figures with a deeply unimpressed expression. “I’m telling you, why are you all so fixated on Blade’s little temper tantrum? All the Heliobi in the Creation Furnace have gone missing. Isn’t this problem ten thousand times more serious than Blade causing a scene at the Alchemy Commission?! That’s all the Heliobi! Why aren’t you rushing to call the other Xianzhou ships for reinforcements?”

Phantylia in this timeline was acting as if she had achieved complete enlightenment compared to the original plot. Not only had she broken away from the Astral Express Crew incredibly early, but she had also completely devoured the Heliobi sealed within the Creation Furnace. The sheer level of competence she was displaying made it feel as though Emanator of Beauty Herta herself had personally stepped in to direct her actions.

Jing Yuan offered a bitter, exhausted smile.

Of course he knew exactly how dire the situation was. Phantylia was originally a being composed of Heliobi, and her greatest strength lay in devouring her own kind to exponentially increase her power. Even if she couldn’t immediately erase the independent consciousness of the thousands of Heliobi she had consumed, her raw strength would skyrocket significantly in the short term.

If it weren’t for Kazuki feeding him the inside scoop beforehand, Jing Yuan would still be entirely kept in the dark, wasting time on the minor details of the Alchemy Commission’s internal strife.

Shortly after, the strategy meeting adjourned.

Jing Yuan’s projection remained seated at the Seat of Divine Foresight, though his actual body had already departed to handle other pressing military matters. Fu Xuan’s projection simply flickered and vanished from the room.

Under the quiet guidance of Qingzu, Dan Shu and Kazuki left the Seat of Divine Foresight together.

As they walked down the sprawling corridors, Kazuki’s mind drifted to the three Destiny Cards he had drawn the previous day: [Trashcan King Stelle], [Painter August 8th], and [Prisoner Dan Pie].

It was one thing for Stelle and August 8th to be obvious alternate timeline counterparts, but what in the world was an if-line Dan Pie supposed to be?

Walking slightly behind him, Dan Shu could not observe Kazuki’s facial expressions and had no way of knowing the absurd thoughts running through his head. However, her internal evaluation of the young man was incredibly high.

He appeared to be an ordinary person who had only recently arrived on the Luofu. Yet, shortly after entering a highly secured stronghold of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus in Exalting Sanctum, he had used some entirely unknown method to completely wipe the place off the map. It was glaringly obvious that this person held a deeply hostile attitude toward her organization.

She just didn’t understand why Jing Yuan had brought him to such a highly classified military meeting. Did this boy possess some extraordinary, hidden means?

As the secret leader of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, Dan Shu decided it was necessary to test the waters.

Qingzu escorted the two of them out to the main courtyard of the Seat of Divine Foresight before bowing and taking her leave.

Hearing Kazuki’s footsteps shift as he prepared to walk away, Dan Shu quickly called out to him. “Your Excellency, please stay a moment.”

Kazuki stopped, turning his head with a look of mild confusion. “What is it?” he asked, his voice entirely devoid of panic or suspicion.

Dan Shu let out a long, measured breath. “I have something of great importance I would like to discuss with you. I wonder if you would do me the honor of accompanying me?”

Kazuki blinked twice. “Not going!” he stated flatly, not giving her a single ounce of face.

He wasn’t some generic errand boy. Did she really think he would just blindly follow along because a suspicious NPC called his name? He didn’t care what Dan Shu’s ultimate purpose was—whether she was planning to play the tragic victim or complain about her lot in life, it had absolutely nothing to do with him.

Dan Shu stood frozen in the courtyard, instantly rendered speechless by the sheer bluntness of the rejection.

This person was unbelievably rude.