Honkai Star Rail: I Created A Chat Group With The Aeons — Chapter 207

Chapter 207: March 7th: This Thing Has Gone Sour, Hasn’t It?

Welt adjusted his glasses, staring thoughtfully at the holographic screen of his phone. While the seasoned Trailblazer hadn’t personally dived deep into Leon’s newly released game, the sheer volume of clips and fan creations flooding the interastral network made it impossible to ignore. Ever since he followed Leon’s official account, the algorithm aggressively pushed every new update and viral edit straight to his timeline.

Naturally, he stumbled across the now-iconic edits of Stelle and Caelus. Seeing the deep philosophical question—Why do birds fly?—transformed into a flashy, over-the-top ultimate skill animation left the older man momentarily speechless. He could only sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose in quiet resignation.

Deep down, Welt knew this was just another manifestation of Leon’s notoriously mischievous sense of humor. The young man treated the universe like a massive, interactive playground. It reminded him of the situation with Luocha.

Speaking of the mysterious traveling merchant… Welt’s eyes narrowed slightly. He still harbored lingering doubts. That face—so strikingly, painfully identical to Otto Apocalypse—made it physically impossible for him to completely lower his guard.

During the grueling battle against Phantylia the Undying, Welt had split his focus, keeping a vigilant eye out for any subtle, treacherous moves from the blonde healer. Yet, Luocha had fought flawlessly alongside them, showing zero abnormalities. Welt leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly. Perhaps he was just overthinking it. The trauma of his past universe was bleeding into the present. Could this Luocha be more akin to the Void Archives, rather than the manipulative Otto?

Meanwhile, in a different chat group, Serval was having a revelation of her own.

Serval: Pfft, I really didn’t see that coming. The part where I asked Leon, ‘Can I get on the Astral Express?’ actually made it into the game as a companion mission…

Sitting in her workshop in Belobog, the blonde rocker shook her head with a wry smile. Despite her usual confident demeanor, a faint, unconscious flush crept up her cheeks.

True to form, Leon hadn’t let her heartfelt ‘companion mission’ slip by unexploited. In the newly updated version of the game, players controlling Stelle, March 7th, or Leon could receive her request to board the Express.

As the actual person involved, when Serval played through the questline, she naturally gravitated toward Leon’s dialogue options. What followed was a flawless, line-for-line digital replication of the exact moment Leon had relentlessly teased her. Staring at the glowing monitor, the usually bold Landau found herself squirming with a subtle, very un-rock-and-roll shyness. She bit her lower lip, a sudden terrifying thought crossing her mind. If Cocolia finds out about this… how in the Architects’ name am I supposed to explain it?

March 7th: How long was I asleep?! You guys already finished the game’s new main story?! (March 7th surprised sticker)

Stelle: Not yet, not yet! I just saw a ton of clips while scrolling through the video feeds.

Caelus: Yeah. The game is ridiculously popular right now. There are clips and meme pictures literally everywhere. That ‘I wasn’t crying and making a fuss’ meme from Silver Wolf has completely exploded across the network.

Stelle and Caelus were entirely correct. Honkai: Star Rail had achieved an unmatched level of galactic popularity. The interastral net was absolutely saturated with high-octane combat edits and an endless stream of ridiculous memes.

Silver Wolf’s defensive, pouting line—I wasn’t crying and making a fuss—had spawned countless fan creations, cementing its status as a viral sensation overnight.

Previously, thanks to the relentless propaganda machine of the Interstellar Peace Corporation, the Stellaron Hunters were strictly associated with chilling monikers like ‘dangerous criminals’and’slaves of destiny.’ They were the boogeymen of the cosmos.

But now? The narrative had violently derailed. When netizens mentioned the Stellaron Hunters, their immediate reaction was to type ‘Mommy’ in reference to Kafka, immediately followed by spamming Silver Wolf’s deadpan, teary-eyed sticker insisting she wasn’t throwing a tantrum.

Somewhere in the cosmos, Silver Wolf sat in a dimly lit room, her face completely dark. Her fingers hovered over her holographic keyboard, twitching with the overwhelming urge to hack into the IPC’s mainframes and permanently scrub every single one of those meme pictures from existence. This was her dark, embarrassing history being broadcasted to trillions!

That hateful Leon… She ground her teeth, snapping a piece of bubblegum with aggressive force. I will definitely get my revenge.

Back in the real world, the digital fame had tangible consequences. The characters hailing from Belobog had also skyrocketed in popularity. Consequently, the number of interstellar tourism applications to visit the thawing ice planet had surged to astronomical levels.

However, Belobog’s current administration was finding themselves completely overwhelmed by the sudden influx of attention. While becoming a famous galactic tourist destination was great for their recovering economy, there was a massive political catch. In the Honkai: Star Rail storyline, Cocolia had delivered several highly disrespectful, borderline heretical lines regarding The Preservation. This digital slight had handed certain aggressive factions within the IPC the perfect excuse to intervene.

Now, a new ‘representative’ was en route, fully prepared to forcefully take over Topaz’s jurisdiction.

“I’ll most likely remain stationed in Belobog, but the primary person in charge of this sector probably won’t be me anymore,” Topaz explained, gently shaking her head as she briefed Bronya and Seele in the Supreme Guardian’s office.

The news hung heavy in the air, making the two young leaders exchange troubled glances. They had spent months establishing a solid working relationship and a foundation of mutual trust with Topaz. Whoever this new corporate successor was, they clearly wouldn’t be anywhere near as accommodating as the debt collector they had grown accustomed to.

“But you can rest assured…” Topaz offered a reassuring smile, trying to ease the tension. “Belobog has the Herta Space Station and the Astral Express directly backing it. So, even if this new rep wants to use the IPC’s ‘standard procedure’ for exploiting recovering planets, it absolutely won’t work here.”

She was right. The executives in the Market Development Department fully understood that they couldn’t act recklessly against a world shielded by such formidable cosmic factions. But simply seizing this political opportunity to extract a few more benefits, while simultaneously squeezing out operatives from their bitter internal rivals—the Strategic Investment Department—was more than enough of a victory for them.

Meanwhile, lightyears away on the Xianzhou Luofu…

“Welcome to the Sleepless Earl! Feel free to order anything you wish~”

Leon casually led the Astral Express Crew into the bustling tea shop. Behind the wooden counter, the petite shop owner, Mengming, greeted them with a bright, clear voice, wiping down the surface with a clean cloth.

“Seven orders of Steamed Buns, and seven bottles of Immortal’s Delight,” Leon ordered with the smooth familiarity of a regular. He tapped his fingers against the counter, pausing for a dramatic second before adding, “And one bottle of Mung Bean Soda.”

“Alright! Coming right up!” Mengming quickly jotted the order onto her datapad, a knowing glint flashing in her eyes at the mention of the last item.

“Wow, Leon, where did you even find this place? It has such an authentic Xianzhou vibe!” March 7th spun around, her camera already in hand as she curiously took in the traditional wooden architecture and glowing paper lanterns.

As Mengming turned her back to prepare the drinks, Stelle leaned against the counter, crossing her arms. “That ‘Mung Bean Soda’… why did you only order one bottle?”

“Because it’s a… well, let’s just call it a rather special drink.” A hint of inscrutable, dangerous amusement flickered in Leon’s eyes. He looked like a predator laying out a very obvious trap. “I plan to try it myself. Stelle, do you want to give it a shot too? But fair warning—if you order it, you have to finish every last drop.”

“Finish it, then! Who’s afraid of a little soda?” Stelle raised an eyebrow, her trash-raccoon competitive spirit instantly flaring to life. “Could it possibly be worse than Himeko’s experimental coffee?” She turned around, scanning her companions with a challenging smirk. “What about the rest of you guys?”

“I’ll take one too!” Caelus immediately raised his hand, never one to back down from a stupid dare.

“A local specialty drink from the Xianzhou? Then I absolutely have to try it,” Serval chimed in, slinging her guitar case over her shoulder with a confident smile.

“I…” March 7th hesitated, her survival instincts faintly tingling as she looked at Leon’s entirely too-innocent smile.

“March, come on! It’s a cultural specialty! It would be a total crime not to experience it while we’re here!” Stelle urged enthusiastically, practically vibrating with excitement.

“…Alright, fine. I’ll have one too.” March finally relented, nodding her head.

“Dan Heng, Mr. Yang…” Stelle looked expectantly at the remaining two men of the Express.

“Ahem. I don’t need one.” Dan Heng coughed lightly into his fist, declining with absolute, unshakeable decisive speed. He took a very deliberate step backward. As a native of the Xianzhou, how could he possibly not know the devastating, soul-crushing ‘power’ of Mung Bean Soda?

“I will pass as well.” Welt pushed up his glasses. He didn’t know what the drink was, but Dan Heng’s reaction was all the warning the veteran Trailblazer needed to play it safe.

“Suit yourselves!” Stelle shrugged, excitedly running over to the counter to flag down Mengming and update their suicidal order.

Soon enough, bamboo baskets filled with steaming, fluffy Steamed Buns and tall glasses of refreshing, sweet Immortal’s Delight were served at their table. The Astral Express Crew didn’t hold back in the slightest, digging into the local cuisine and feasting heartily after a long day of walking.

“Oh wow, this tastes incredible!” Stelle took a massive bite of a pork-filled bun, her golden eyes lighting up with pure joy as the savory broth coated her tongue.

Before long, Mengming returned from the back room carrying a heavy tray. Resting atop it were five sealed, slightly cloudy glass bottles. “Mung Bean Soda, here you go. Your order is now complete. Enjoy~”

Leon smoothly took the tray from the owner. He picked up one of the chilled bottles and handed it directly to Stelle, a remarkably ‘kind’ and gentle smile plastered across his handsome face. “Here you go. You promised you’d finish it, remember?”

“So this is the famous Mung Bean Soda?” Stelle took the bottle, holding it up to the light and examining the murky, yellowish-green liquid from side to side. “It looks pretty… unremarkable. Kinda like swamp water.”

“Indeed,” Leon agreed smoothly, taking a sip of his own normal tea.

Sitting beside her, March 7th curiously glanced at her own bottle. Shrugging off her earlier apprehension, she gripped the lid and gave it a firm twist.

Pop!