Honkai: Star Rail: I Can Fix This Gender-Bent World — Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Joining the Astral Express

Chen’s thoughts were a tangled mess of frayed wires, sparking in every direction. The plot had gone so far off the rails it was practically in another dimension. What was he supposed to do now?

His gaze drifted subconsciously toward the Trailblazer—the Stelle version—standing beside him. The gray-haired girl still clutched that deceptively ordinary baseball bat, her golden eyes fixed on the wreckage of the Doomsday Beast as it drifted apart outside the window. Her small face was a mask of placid indifference, but beneath it, Chen thought he saw a flicker of… disappointment? As if she’d been robbed of a good fight?

Oh no, he thought with a jolt of alarm. Don’t tell me she’s actually upset she didn’t get to swing that bat. And there’s still no sign of her Path awakening! This is a disaster!

“There is no need for thanks. It was simply my duty,” Ms. Welt Yang said, her tone gentle. But the moment the words left her lips, the gaze behind her glasses sharpened, locking onto Chen with renewed focus. Clearly, the interrupted conversation about her long-lost home was a far higher priority for her than some demolished monster.

“Mr. Chen, if you are feeling up to it, I believe we can continue our chat.”

Chen looked into those eyes, where the embers of longing had been fanned back into a low flame. He thought back to the black hole that had materialized from nothing just moments ago, chewing up the Doomsday Beast like a casual snack. The memory sent a prickle of cold sweat down his spine.

He made his decision in an instant.

Spinning a web of lies in front of this fellow countrywoman who could conjure singularities at will? He had a terrifyingly vivid premonition that if his fabrication wasn’t absolutely flawless, he’d be experiencing firsthand what it felt like to receive a ‘gentle caress’ from the Star of Eden.

“O-okay, Ms. Welt,” Chen managed, forcing his voice to remain steady. “Please, ask whatever you wish. I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Ms. Welt seemed moderately satisfied with his cooperative attitude. She paused, gathering her thoughts, before asking the first, and most crucial, question.

“Mr. Chen, you said you come from Earth. Before you left—or rather, in your understanding of the world—did any… special organizations or powers exist on Earth that transcended the knowledge of ordinary human society? For example… Schicksal? Or… Anti-Entropy?”

Chen shook his head, his expression one of genuine honesty. “I’m sorry, Ms. Welt. I’ve never heard of either of those names. At least, in the place and time where I lived, no such organizations existed.”

As he spoke, he watched the tiny flame of hope in Ms. Welt Yang’s eyes flicker and die, snuffed out by his answer.

“…Is that so,” she murmured, her voice barely a whisper. She stared into the middle distance for a long moment, seemingly processing the weight of his words. “Then… Honkai? Does that word mean anything to you? Or an existence known as a Herrscher?”

Chen shook his head again, this time with even more certainty. “No. Ms. Welt, the Earth in my memory… it was just a very ordinary planet. There were countries, cities, and technological development, of course. But organizations or individuals with the kind of extraordinary powers you’re describing… there really weren’t any. At least, not that the general public was aware of.”

He was, in fact, telling the absolute truth. He’d played the Honkai series, he knew the lore inside and out, but he couldn’t—and wouldn’t dare—claim that knowledge as a ‘reality’he had’personally experienced’. Not in front of a Welt Yang who had almost certainly lived through the horrors of the Honkai and carried its scars. The risk of presenting game settings as personal history was simply too great.

Ms. Welt fell silent. She turned her body slightly, her gaze drifting out the window toward the boundless, star-dusted void. Her silhouette, framed against the cosmos, seemed achingly lonely.

After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, she turned back, her eyes having regained their usual calm composure.

“It seems that although we both call our home ‘Earth,’ there are clearly significant differences between them.”

Chen, not forgetting the role he was playing, allowed a look of dawning confusion to cross his face. His voice dropped, laced with a carefully crafted tremor. “Then… then does that mean I… I can’t go back?”

Ms. Welt Yang looked at him, a trace of apology flickering in her gaze. She gave a small, gentle nod.

“Based on the clues we currently have… yes, Mr. Chen. The probability of you returning to the Earth you know is very slim. It appears the home we are searching for does not lie along the same Path.”

Just as Chen was mentally preparing to dial up the sorrowful act, a bright, energetic figure leaned into their somber circle.

“Oh, Ms. Welt, don’t be so absolute! You’re scaring him!”

It was March 7th. He had, at some point, finished his quiet conversation with Dan Heng and wandered over. That face, every bit as exquisitely cute as the female March 7th from Chen’s memories, was alight with a reassuring and brilliant smile.

He reached out a hand, a natural, habitual gesture as if to pat Chen’s shoulder in comfort. But his hand froze mid-air. He seemed to reconsider, instead tapping the back of his own hand with his fingertips—a movement that was somehow both awkward and charmingly cute.

“Chen, right? Don’t lose heart!”

March 7th’s voice was clear and bright, ringing with a unique youthful vitality. Paired with that face, his approachability was off the charts.

“Look, the universe is so big, there’s more than one Earth! You know what that means? It means the possibilities are infinite!”

He tilted his head, a lock of pinkish-blue hair sliding across his cheek, and continued in that infectious tone, “It’s definitely a bummer not being able to go back to your original home, but who says you can’t have a new home and a new journey? Like me! Even though I don’t remember my past,” he said, “following the Express and seeing all kinds of stars and stories makes me super happy, too!”

He threw his arms wide in an exaggerated gesture, as if to embrace the entire sea of stars outside. Then, he looked back at Chen, his smile beaming, and issued a formal invitation.

“So, Chen, do you want to come with us? Board the Astral Express and Trailblaze! Let’s go see just how many incredible things there are in this universe! Maybe…”

He blinked, his expression a perfect picture of wide-eyed innocence.

“Maybe on some distant star, you’ll find a way to get home. Or… maybe you’ll find a new home that makes you feel like, ‘this is it’?”

The invitation was so full of genuine enthusiasm, delivered by that beautiful, sunny face, that it was almost impossible to refuse.

Even the cool and distant Dan Heng, standing nearby, glanced over. He seemed accustomed to March s recruitment speeches—or perhaps, he simply didn’t object to this one.

Chen stared at the brightly smiling March 7th, who was watching him with wide, expectant eyes, and his mind short-circuited all over again.

Holy crap. That face, that voice, that personality… he’s a carbon copy of the game’s little sister, March 7th! But… he says he’s a guy! A bona fide pretty boy!

The violent clash between what his eyes were seeing and what his brain knew to be true left him dazed for a moment. But the sincerity in the boy’s words, that pure, unadulterated passion for Trailblazing, was undeniably real. At this moment, having just been told his chances of returning home were next to none, this invitation was a piece of driftwood tossed to a drowning man.

Ms. Welt Yang didn’t interrupt, merely watching the exchange with quiet approval. From across the bridge, Uncle Himeko also offered a gentle, distant gaze—a clear sign of his tacit consent.

Chen took a deep breath, forcing down the chaotic swirl of emotions in his chest.

He knew, with absolute clarity, that he didn’t really have a choice.

Staying on this space station, which had just been savaged by a Doomsday Beast and paid a visit by the Stellaron Hunters, was a death sentence. Following this… strangely configured, yet seemingly reliable Astral Express Crew was the only logical path forward.

Besides, his golden finger thrived on checking in at new places and collecting new transformations. He was going to have to travel around anyway.

He looked at March 7th, trying his best to ignore the cognitive dissonance that pretty face was causing him. He nodded and managed a smile, a bit shaky but genuine.

“Thank you, March 7th. And Ms. Welt, Uncle Himeko… if the Express is willing to take in a homeless person like me… then I’m willing to join.”

He paused, adding, “At least, until I find a way home, or… find a new Path. I hope I can be of some help and not just be dead weight.”

March 7th’s face immediately broke into a joyous grin, his eyes curving into happy crescents.

“That’s great! Welcome to the Astral Express, new passenger Chen!”