Honkai: Star Rail: I Can Fix This Gender-Bent World — Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Deviant Herta

Chen hefted the high-tech hammer, its weight feeling absurdly satisfying in his small, borrowed hands. He was just contemplating hunting down a few more Voidrangers to test out its satisfying crunch when a new sound drifted down the corridor.

From the other end of the hall came the sound of leisurely footsteps, accompanied by casual conversation.

“Oh? This area has been cleaned up quite thoroughly, hasn’t it?” a male voice purred, tinged with a lazy sort of magnetism that was both inviting and dangerous.

“The data stream shows a high-intensity energy burst occurred here just moments ago,” a younger, seemingly perplexed boyish voice followed. “Strange. Are there any units with these characteristics in the Space Station’s defense sequence?”

A jolt went through Chen’s chest. That first voice… it sounded disturbingly familiar.

Subconsciously dragging the giant hammer behind him, he poked his small, purple-haired head out from behind the corner and peeked.

Standing not far away were two men, their styles worlds apart but their appearances equally striking.

One was tall and slender, draped in a masterfully tailored dark trench coat over a silk shirt. A tie was knotted loosely around his neck, giving him an air of nonchalant elegance. He had casually styled, ash-purple short hair framing a handsome face that held a hint of wickedness. A faint, lingering smile played on his lips as his deep purple eyes surveyed the surrounding frost-covered walls with keen interest.

The other appeared trendier, a teenager who couldn’t be very old. He wore a hood, a few strands of dyed gray hair peeking out from under the brim. Clad in a hoodie adorned with a pixelated pattern, he was staring down, fingers flying across a holographic light screen that hovered above his wrist. His face was a mask of focused impatience.

‘Kafka?! Silver Wolf?!’

Chen’s mind reeled. He instantly recognized them—or rather, the gender-swapped versions of them that existed in this bizarre world. That man in the trench coat was unmistakably a male Kafka, and the boy furiously gaming on his wrist screen had to be a male Silver Wolf.

The male Kafka tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling upon his companion. His tone remained as lazy as ever. “It seems someone beat us to it, hmm? Little Silver Wolf, didn’t you say this route was clear?”

The boy called Silver Wolf curled his lip, his fingers swiping across the light screen even faster. “The data doesn’t lie. There were no life-form signals here just now… unless the opponent is using extremely sophisticated information camouflage, or…”

He looked up, his gaze sweeping the area before locking directly onto the corner where Chen was hiding.

“Hey, you over there. Stop hiding.”

Chen’s heart hammered against his ribs—he’d been spotted!

He never expected to run into the Stellaron Hunters here, let alone their gender-swapped counterparts. He was currently in Herta’s form. If he was recognized… or worse, captured as some kind of anomaly… He took a deep, steadying breath, forcing the panic down.

‘There’s no cost to this,’he reminded himself.’Worst case, I just have to fight or run.’

Dragging the hammer—which was still taller than he was—he walked out from behind the corner with a boldness he didn’t feel. He lifted his small face, channeling every ounce of arrogance he could muster.

He did his best to mimic Herta’s signature condescending tone. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

The male Kafka looked down at the purple-haired loli who was brandishing an exaggeratedly large hammer and wearing a “don’t mess with me” expression. A flash of genuine surprise crossed his features before that playful smile on his lips deepened into something more amused.

Silver Wolf also froze for a second, his fingers pausing their dance on the light screen. He leaned toward Kafka and whispered, with a distinct lack of subtlety, “That fellow Herta is truly a deviant… actually making a loli puppet of himself…”

Chen was stunned for a moment, and then the implication hit him like a ton of bricks.

In this world, Herta was a man.

A male scientist creating a cute, loli-shaped version of himself to use as a remote-controlled puppet… yeah, that was definitely a bit deviant.

But he didn’t care. Mr. Herta was the one taking the fall for this, not him.

He immediately seized the opportunity, pointing a small, indignant finger at Silver Wolf and retorting loudly, “Insolent! How dare you slander Mr. Herta!”

Then, he cleared his throat, plastered a look of devout worship across his face, and launched into a torrential, impassioned speech.

“Mr. Herta is unmatched in the world! Mr. Herta is brilliant! Mr. Herta is brimming with talent! Mr. Herta is exceptionally wise! Mr. Herta possesses top-tier intelligence! Mr. Herta is magnificent beyond compare! Mr. Herta is elegant in speech! Mr. Herta is ingenious! Mr. Herta is perfect in both talent and looks! Mr. Herta is a stunning beauty! Mr. Herta is naturally exquisite! Mr. Herta is a peerless grace! Mr. Herta is as lovely as a flower!”

As if that wasn’t enough, he continued with the fervor of a zealot.

“Let us sing for Herta! Herta’s beauty is the greatest in the universe! Herta’s knowledge will be remembered across a thousand stars! Herta’s name echoes through the cosmos! Herta’s power reaches heaven and earth!”

This cascade of nauseatingly sweet flattery, delivered with a dead-serious expression by an exquisite and adorable loli, created a scene of deep and unsettling absurdity.

Kafka: “…”

Silver Wolf: “…”

Even Kafka, a man who seemed to perpetually wear a mask of elegant composure, found his smile stiffening at the edges.

Silver Wolf’s mouth twitched violently. He stared at Chen with the kind of expression one might reserve for discovering something unidentifiable and foul stuck to the bottom of their shoe.

“…It seems Herta isn’t just a deviant,” Silver Wolf finally concluded, his voice flat. “The personality he programmed into his puppet is completely twisted, too.”

With that, he looked back down, resuming his work on the light screen. He seemed to have lost all desire to interact with this clearly unhinged puppet.

Kafka let out a soft chuckle, his gaze lingering on Chen’s Herta form with an unreadable depth. “Indeed… quite the personality. However, we still have business to attend to, so we won’t disturb you. Please, continue singing Mr. Herta’s praises.”

He gave Silver Wolf a pointed look, and the two of them simply walked past Chen, heading straight for the other end of the corridor as if he were nothing more than a strange piece of station decor.

Watching their backs recede, Chen finally let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. He figuratively wiped a bead of non-existent cold sweat from his brow.

‘Damn, that was close! I almost slipped up!’he thought, a grin tugging at his lips.’But it looks like Mr. Herta’s reputation as a world-class deviant is now set in stone!’

He weighed the giant hammer in his hand again and decided it was high time he left this troublesome place.

However, just as he turned to make his escape, a flicker of movement at the far end of the corridor caught his eye.

A petite figure in a Security Department uniform stood frozen, her long, snow-white hair a stark contrast to her dark clothes. She was staring right at him, her mouth agape in dumbstruck horror.

Clearly, she had heard every last word of his glorious, sycophantic performance.

Chen: “…”

It was over. This was total social death.