Honkai Star Rail: I Played the Villain, Now the Heroines Want Revenge — Chapter 239

Chapter 239: Yanqing, and Blade

After parting ways with “Tingyun,” Orion headed to the agreed-upon location with Welt to rendezvous with the rest of the Astral Express Crew.

The meeting point was a well-known, multi-storied restaurant in the Exalting Sanctum.

[Inorin’s Note: The Exalting Sanctum (长乐天/Chánglè Tiān) is one of the major hub areas of the Luofu, known for its shops and restaurants.]

This building was approximately four stories high, a magnificent structure of classical Xianzhou design, with carved beams, painted rafters, and glazed, upturned eaves.

Welt’s idea was simple: with the Luofu currently under a soft lockdown and communication cut off, restaurants that attract all sorts of people are often a hub for various rumors and unofficial news.

Trying their luck here was better than blindly stumbling around like headless flies.

As Orion stepped into the restaurant, a wave of heat, mixed with the rich aromas of wine and food and the clamor of countless voices, washed over him.

The place was packed.

With the Luofu now fraught with danger and its shipping lanes blocked, no one could enter or leave.

Many locals and stranded interstellar travelers with nowhere else to go had gathered in this restaurant, seemingly trying to temporarily forget the shadow of the Stellaron Sickness with a moment of noise and intoxication.

Orion’s gaze swept across the room, and he quickly spotted his rather conspicuous companions in the liveliest corner on the second floor.

However… the scene before him seemed a bit chaotic.

He saw Stelle, the Trailblazer, standing proudly on a large banquet table, one hand on her hip, the other raising a… half-eaten chicken leg, seemingly acquired from somewhere, as she loudly addressed the diners.

“I am the Trailblazer who traverses the galaxy, known as the ‘Galactic Baseball Bat Hero’!” she declared. “You evil spirits, quickly state your names and face my bat! For truth, justice, and… this delicious chicken!”

Below the table, March 7th was anxiously pulling on the Trailblazer’s leg, her face bright red with embarrassment.

“Get down, Stelle! You were clearly drinking soy milk just now, why are you acting drunk! People are staring!”

Orion watched this scene and smiled helplessly.

Welt has probably gone to other floors to gather information, he thought. Otherwise, he would never have allowed these two troublemakers to carry on like this.

However, just as the Trailblazer was in the full swing of her drunken antics, preparing to deliver a rousing speech on the virtues of trash cans…

Suddenly!

A terrible, profound silence.

The previously boisterous chatter throughout the entire restaurant abruptly ceased.

Cut.

It was as if someone had hit a mute button.

Diners who had been playing drinking games a second ago were now frozen in place, their hands raised in a toast.

Waiters who had been busy serving drinks and dishes a moment before remained motionless, holding their trays, a perfect, practiced smile frozen on their faces.

Their once lively expressions vanished simultaneously, replaced by blank, doll-like masks.

The only sound was the faint, automated hum of the restaurant’s air purifiers.

“Eh?”

Seeing this strange phenomenon, March 7th frantically patted the Trailblazer’s leg.

“Stelle! Stop messing around, look! These people… what happened to them?”

The Trailblazer also snapped out of it, no longer absorbed in her performance art.

She leaped down from the table, steadied herself, and looked around, her eyes sharpening.

“This… could it be…?”

Upon seeing this, Orion’s heart first tightened, but he quickly understood.

They were experiencing a Stellaron Sickness outbreak. The “game” was beginning.

Sure enough, after a few seconds of absolute stillness, the people began to slowly turn around with an eerie, perfect synchronicity.

Their heads, as one, turned to direct their gazes towards the center of the restaurant.

Their movements were perfectly uniform, like a dance choreographed by a madman.

Then, many of them opened their mouths at the same time and said, their voices a flat, monotone chorus:

“Come!”

“Come play!”

“Let’s… play together!”

March 7th looked at their expressionless faces and listened to their strange, echoing words, feeling a chill run up her spine.

She whispered, “Play… play what?”

The Trailblazer frowned, her bat materializing in her hand.

“Just like Yukong said. They… got sick, and now they’re going to start playing a game?”

“Hey, Orion?”

Just then, March 7th noticed Orion, who had walked over to them at some point during the chaos.

“You finally came back?”

The Trailblazer also immediately turned to look at Orion. First, her face lit up with joy, then it was replaced with a hint of resentment. She pouted, complaining:

“You… finished with Miss Tingyun so quickly? I thought you two would take a long, long time ‘gathering intelligence’.”

“How could I not come back?”

Orion looked at her, unable to resist reaching out and ruffling her messy gray hair.

“After all, my companions are still here.”

The warmth of Orion’s hand and his gentle words instantly defused the Trailblazer’s temper. She lowered her head, her cheeks flushing slightly as she mumbled softly:

“W-What do you mean, I’m not a child anymore… don’t mess up my hair…”

“Shh.”

Suddenly, Orion gestured to them, his hand still on her head.

“They’re making a new move.”

The people who had been chanting “Come play” began to scatter on their own after a brief pause.

Some hid behind decorative screens.

Some ducked under tables.

And some… crawled. They climbed onto the rafters like geckos, using both hands and feet, their joints seeming to bend in unnatural ways.

Within half a minute, the restaurant’s main hall, which had been full of people, became completely, eerily empty.

All that remained was the half-eaten food on the tables.

“What are they… playing?”

“Hide-and-seek?”

March 7th said uncertainly, her voice a small whisper.

“Looks like it,” Orion nodded.

“Then… should we play along?”

March 7th hesitated, gripping her bow.

Playing hide-and-seek with these creepy, spider-crawling individuals didn’t seem like a good idea, no matter how she thought about it.

“Where’s Uncle Yang?”

Orion looked around and asked.

The Trailblazer shook her head. “I don’t know, he said he was going to another place to gather some information.”

March 7th thought for a moment and said, “I remember… Uncle Yang told us he was going to a place we could go to ask for some information, and for us to wait for him here.”

“So where exactly did he go?” Orion asked.

“Probably… upstairs?” March 7th pointed to the upper floors of the restaurant. “I think I saw him heading upstairs before… before Stelle started her performance.”

The interior of this restaurant had a hollow, atrium design, allowing a clear view of the corridors on the upper floors.

But at this moment, when the Trailblazer looked up, she found the corridors empty, with no sign of Welt.

“So what do we do now?” the Trailblazer asked. “Should we go look for Uncle Yang?”

“…Orion, what do you say?”

March 7th naturally handed the decision to him.

Orion didn’t think much and immediately said:

“Stay in this restaurant for now. Finding Uncle Yang is the priority.”

“Stay here?” March 7th looked at the dark corners and rafters where people had disappeared, her voice fearful. “But they’re…”

“Before we find our companion, we can’t act rashly, much less alert them.”

Orion calmly said, “Yukong said that as long as we ‘play the game,’ we should be safe. So, we have to cooperate with them first and play this game.”

“Really? We’re going to play that… hide-and-seek?”

“Yay!” The Trailblazer, instead, became excited. “I’m really good at hide-and-seek!”

“Be careful.”

Orion cautioned them, then closed his eyes.

His Emanator of Finality power spread out, not as a blast, but as a fine net, feeling the “lines” of the future.

He sensed Welt’s presence, stable and calm, on the top floor. And… another presence. A chaotic, sharp one.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and pointed upstairs:

“I feel like Uncle Yang is on the top floor. Let’s go up first.”

“Okay!”

“No problem!”

March 7th and the Trailblazer immediately nodded.

Since Orion joined the Astral Express Crew and arrived at the Luofu, whenever Welt wasn’t around, he was the backbone of the team. Both of them were used to following his commands.

Thus, the three of them joined this bizarre game of hide-and-seek.

“What should we do? Where should we hide?” March 7th whispered nervously. “Should we split up?”

“Try not to split up. We’ll stick together, find a place to hide, and go upstairs at the same time.”

The three of them hugged the wall, moving from shadow to shadow, and began to move towards the stairwell.

“I feel so strange…”

The Trailblazer muttered as she followed behind Orion.

“What’s wrong?” March 7th said, “Are you still recovering from that soy milk?”

“No,”

The Trailblazer pondered: “I’m thinking… if it’s hide-and-seek, there must be a ‘ghost’ to catch people, right?”

“But why do we only see people hiding, and not a single ghost catching anyone?”

Hearing this, March 7th also racked her brains but couldn’t come up with an answer:

“Hmm… maybe the ghost hasn’t entered the game yet?”

“Hmm, possibly…”

The three walked through the restaurant.

Everywhere they passed, there were people hiding: behind doors, under chairs, behind potted plants, behind huge decorative screens…

Those afflicted with Stellaron Sickness were hiding in various postures, motionless, seriously and silently playing this game of hide-and-seek.

Fortunately, before the “ghost” appeared, they didn’t have to worry about being discovered.

The three of them sped up, searching floor by floor.

Soon, they arrived at the stairwell of the top floor, the fourth floor.

Just then, suddenly!

“Bang–!”

A loud noise came from downstairs!

The large, ornate door on the first floor of the restaurant, which had just been closed, was violently kicked open from the outside!

“Wh-what happened?!”

March 7th was startled by the commotion, nearly dropping her bow.

The Trailblazer immediately ran to the railing and looked down:

“Could it be… the ‘ghost’ is here?”

Orion also immediately looked over.

He saw a figure quickly walk in from outside the kicked-open door.

It was a young man, barely a teenager, with bright, blond hair. He held a long, ornate sword, and had an arrogant expression on his face. His golden eyes sharply scanned the empty main hall of the restaurant.

“No way…” March 7th also leaned over. “Th-that little guy… could he be the ‘ghost’?”

“Possibly,” the Trailblazer analyzed, “Though he’s a child, his eyes are fierce, and from his demeanor, he’s definitely not an ordinary person.”

“That’s…”

Orion’s eyes narrowed.

Yanqing?

The General’s protégé? Why is he here?

Is he also… Orion’s eyes flared with his Finality power. No. He’s not sick. He’s… hunting.

“What’s wrong? Orion, do you know him?” March 7th asked.

“No,” Orion shook his head, lying smoothly. “I just feel like he looks familiar, like a child from my relatives’ family.”

Just then, the young man downstairs seemed to sense the gazes from above.

He suddenly looked up, his sharp gaze instantly locking onto the three of them!

“Who’s there?!”

Yanqing shouted sternly.

“Oh my!”

“The ghost found us! Quick, hide!”

The Trailblazer reacted fastest. She grabbed Orion’s and March 7th’s hands, turned, and ran towards one end of the fourth-floor corridor.

March 7th: “Hey! Wait!”

Orion didn’t resist, letting the Trailblazer pull him and March 7th into an unlocked, luxurious private room nearby.

With a “bang,” the door was closed.

Only a few seconds later, they heard urgent, rapid footsteps coming from the stairs.

“It’s the ghost, he’s catching up!” the Trailblazer said nervously.

“That fast?!” March 7th also panicked a little.

“Quick! Find a place to hide!”

The Trailblazer looked around the opulent room, her gaze settling on the large, free-standing decorative screen next to the big bed.

She immediately pulled March 7th and Orion, and the three of them dove behind it together.

However, as soon as they went in…

They found that it was… a bit crowded behind this screen.

“Uncle Yang?” The Trailblazer recognized the person in front of her. “Why are you here?”

“Ah? Uncle Yang?!”

March 7th and Orion also looked over.

Indeed, next to them was their familiar and reliable companion, Welt Yang.

“Hmm… you’ve arrived.”

Welt didn’t seem surprised to see them.

“I found a suspicious person here… and then the situation changed, so I hid here first.”

“Suspicious person? Who?” the Trailblazer asked curiously.

“Uncle Yang…”

At this moment, March 7th pointed to Welt’s side in surprise, her voice trembling:

“Wh-who is that… next to you?!”

The Trailblazer and Orion only then noticed that they had been so focused on Welt.

It turned out that in the corner next to him, there was another person standing.

A tall man, cloaked in shadow, exuding an aura of cold, dead steel.

Now, there were a full five people hidden behind this screen.

Luckily, the screen was wide enough to fit them all… if there were one more, they probably couldn’t have hidden.

The man next to Welt, however, didn’t speak. He only turned his head, his one visible red eye seeming a little… helpless.

March 7th scrutinized the man.

He had messy black hair, with a long fringe covering his left eye, revealing only a single, glowing red right eye.

March 7th shivered all over.

This person, at first glance, didn’t seem like a good person at all!

And Orion, upon seeing the man, his pupils also contracted slightly.

That was… Blade.

The Stellaron Hunter.

Earlier, he had sensed a powerful but deliberately suppressed aura right next to Uncle Yang.

Although he concealed his aura, I could still vaguely feel that this person was very strong, and somewhat familiar… it really is Blade.

“Um…”

March 7th whispered to the Trailblazer and Orion next to her:

“Should we… maybe stay a bit further away from that guy…?”

Blade, nearby, clearly heard this and let out a soft, tired sigh.

March 7th immediately panicked and quickly said, “Um, uh, I just feel it’s a bit hot with so many people here… maybe we should find another place…”

She said this as if seeking Blade’s agreement, but he didn’t respond.

The atmosphere became incredibly awkward for a moment.

Just then, the footsteps outside had already reached the door of the room!

Then, with a “bang,” the door was violently kicked open from the outside!

The young man, Yanqing, hand on his sword hilt, walked in.

March 7th and the Trailblazer behind the screen instantly held their breath, not daring to even breathe deeply.

Yanqing scanned the entire room.

The bed, tables and chairs, windowsill… everything was in plain sight, and he didn’t seem to find anything unusual.

March 7th’s heart was in her throat, and she kept praying:

Don’t see me, don’t see me…

However, the next second, Yanqing’s gaze fixed on the large screen where they were hiding.

More precisely, it fixed on the bottom of the screen.

He paused for a moment.

Then, a strange expression, a mix of pure speechlessness and utter disdain, appeared on his face, which was usually full of arrogance and confidence.

Because, beneath that screen…

A row of feet was neatly lined up.

One, two, three, four, five pairs.

He didn’t even bother to count; there were at least ten feet there!

How little did they think of me? To hide so blatantly?

Only a blind person wouldn’t see that there were people there!

“Heh.”

Yanqing let out a scornful, short laugh.

He didn’t rush over immediately, but like a leopard cornering its prey, he slowly walked towards the screen, step by step, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

“Tap, tap, tap…”

The sound of his boots on the wooden floor was the only sound in the dead-silent room.