Honkai Star Rail: Summoning the Chrysos Heirs — Chapter 39

Chapter 39: There’s Actually an Observer ModeYou're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

The sharp, sterile sting of hospital disinfectant drilled into her nostrils, dragging her dormant senses back to reality.

Her vision swam for a moment before slowly pulling into focus, greeted by the blinding expanse of a flawless white plaster ceiling. Staring up at that dazzling, featureless whiteness, Cyrene’s brain stalled for a brief second before a classic anime trope drifted across her mind like a scrolling video comment.

‘An unfamiliar ceiling.’

Before she could fully pull herself out of the groggy haze, a slightly hoarse but undeniably gentle female voice broke the silence.

“Little Cyrene? Are you awake?”

Cyrene turned her head heavily toward the sound. What came into view was An Ning’s weary face. The older woman was sitting on a stiff wooden chair drawn close to the hospital bed, still dressed in her tactical combat uniform. A few dark, dried stains were faintly visible on her cuffs—a quiet proof of the chaos of the night. Looking past An Ning, Cyrene noticed the rhythmic pulse of an ECG monitor and the slow, steady drip of an IV bag hanging from a metal stand.

She really was in a hospital.

“Sister An Ning… why am I here?”

Cyrene pressed her palms against the mattress, trying to prop herself up. The moment she exerted force, a deep wave of soreness and hollow weakness washed through her limbs, forcing her to collapse softly back against the pillows with a quiet gasp.

“Your mental power was severely overdrawn. You passed out immediately at the scene,” An Ning explained softly, her hands moving with practiced ease as she peeled a golden orange.

As the thick rind broke open with a crisp snap, a mist of fresh, sweet-and-sour citrus oil sprayed into the air, instantly cutting through the unpleasant, clinical smell of the ward. An Ning carefully separated a plump segment of the fruit and gently brought it to Cyrene’s lips.

“Later, Liu Ming brought you to the hospital. After we finished handling the perimeter and heard the news, we rushed straight over.”

“Thank you, Sister An Ning.”

Cyrene opened her mouth, obediently taking the orange segment. As she bit down, cool juice burst across her tongue. The vibrant, sweet-and-sour flavor slid down her throat, breathing a tiny spark of vitality back into her parched, exhausted body. She chewed slowly, her brows knitting together as the thrilling, terrifying sequence of events prior to her blackout resurfaced in her mind.

“But… what exactly happened?” Cyrene asked, her tone laced with lingering grievance. “I was sleeping perfectly fine when suddenly a massive monster charged straight into my home and relentlessly chased me down the street. Even if I am an Ability User, it shouldn’t have targeted only me, right?”

Hearing the girl’s soft complaint, An Ning’s hands paused. A deep hint of apology flashed across her brow.

“The specific reason you were hunted is currently under strict investigation.” An Ning placed the remaining half of the orange on the bedside table, her expression shifting into something far more serious. “However, the origin of that Abomination has been identified. It was the result of an accident during a wilderness mission conducted by the Five Elements Hunting Squad. They failed to intercept it in time, allowing that monster to break through the perimeter and charge straight into Xinhai City.”

‘The Five Elements Hunting Squad?’

The name—sounding a bit chuunibyou yet carrying the obvious weight of official authority—drilled into her ears. Cyrene paused for a moment. Immediately, the image of that lazy, half-asleep young man who had descended from the sky to obliterate the Abomination in a single strike surfaced in her mind.

“Did they save me?”

An Ning nodded, a trace of genuine respect softening her eyes. “The one who saved you was none other than the captain of the Five Elements Hunting Squad himself. Captain Shen Rui.”

Hearing the name, Cyrene lowered her eyelashes, masking the thoughtful gleam in her diamond-shaped eyes. That seemingly lethargic young man turned out to be a powerhouse at the captain level.

Suddenly, as if remembering something critically important, Cyrene lifted her head abruptly. Her eyes widened with urgent concern. “By the way, Sister An Ning! What happened to the Apostle of Condemnation, the Shadow of Darkness?”

“…Huh?”

An Ning, who had just been wiping her sticky fingers with a tissue, froze completely. A look of deep bewilderment washed over her face. She blinked rapidly, her mind visibly working overtime to search the bureau’s database for those two incredibly edgy, dark-fantasy codenames.

A few agonizing seconds later, realization dawned on An Ning, and her expression turned incredibly subtle.

“You mean… Lin Xiaoya, right?” She rubbed her temples helplessly, clearly nursing a headache over the girl’s eccentric titles. “Xiaoya is fine. She just overused her Ability, leading to severe physical exhaustion. She’s currently hooked up to a glucose drip in the room right next door. She’ll be back to her usual self after resting for a day.”

“So her name is Lin Xiaoya… I’m so glad she’s okay. That’s truly fortunate.”

Confirming that the chuunibyou girl was safe and sound, Cyrene let out a long, heartfelt sigh of relief, allowing her tense body to melt completely into the soft hospital bedding.

“Since you’re awake, just rest at ease for now,” An Ning said, her tone gentle but firm. “We’ll take your official follow-up statement once you’ve fully recovered. There’s still a massive pile of messes waiting to be dealt with back at the bureau, so I need to head out first.”

An Ning stood up, smoothed out the wrinkled hem of her uniform, and offered Cyrene a reassuring wave. She turned, pushed the heavy door open, and stepped out into the corridor.

As the door clicked shut, absolute silence reclaimed the ward.

Confirming that she was completely alone, Cyrene immediately recited a silent command in her heart.

A pale blue holographic screen instantly unfolded across her retinas. Cyrene bypassed the standard menus, casting her gaze directly toward the value column she cared about most.

[Memory Trace: 344]

The moment she registered the number, Cyrene nearly bounced straight off the mattress, her eyes widening to the size of saucers. She remembered with absolute clarity that before she lost consciousness, this value had been hovering pitifully around 50.

How in the world did it skyrocket by nearly 290 points after a single nap?

Did the System encounter a fatal bug? Or had she actually been in a coma for half a year without realizing it?

Suppressing the wild hammering of her heart against her ribs, Cyrene hurriedly opened the acquisition history log, her eyes scanning rapidly down the glowing text.and support the real translator.Read at elysianreads.com This is a stolen translation. You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

[Left some ordinary impressions in the hearts of some people]

[Memory Trace +40]

[Left an indelible impression in the heart of one person]

[Memory Trace +50]

She could roughly guess the source of those two entries; they were almost certainly contributed by Captain Shen Rui and Lin Xiaoya. But the subsequent flood of information left her completely utterly bewildered.

[Killed Low-Level Abomination (Fragment)]

[Memory Trace +20]

[Killed Low-Level Abomination (Fragment)]

[Memory Trace +20]

[Killed Low-Level Abomination (Fragment)]

[Memory Trace +20]

Dense, repetitive kill records cascaded down the entire panel like a digital waterfall, with every single entry displaying a uniform “+20”.

‘How can there be so many kill notifications?’

Cyrene stared at the list, which was still occasionally refreshing with new lines. Her brain struggled to process the sheer volume of it. Before she passed out, she had encountered a maximum of three Abominations. One of them she hadn’t even laid eyes on before it died.

This wasn’t a coma. This looked exactly like she had left a macro running to AFK-grind a dungeon all night long.

Soon, a repeatedly appearing keyword caught her sharp attention.

‘System, what exactly does this “Fragment” mean?’ Cyrene asked inwardly, her mental tone laced with sharp inquiry.

[Fragments are sub-entities split from some more powerful Low-Level Abominations.]

The cold, mechanical voice responded instantly in her mind.

‘More powerful… Low-Level Abominations?’Hearing this absurd, Russian-nesting-doll of an explanation, the corners of Cyrene’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.’Can you be a bit more specific? Why do I get the feeling that in this world, even if a literal world-destroying demon king descended from the heavens, it would still be slapped with a “Low-Level” label?’

Faced with its host’s deadpan complaint, the System remained silent for a long moment, seemingly running a background process to reorganize its vocabulary.

[You can subdivide Low-Level Abominations into: Low-Tier, Mid-Tier, and High-Tier.]

[These fragments were split and derived from a Mid-Tier Low-Level Abomination.]

‘I see. That clears it up perfectly,’ Cyrene nodded, sarcastically accepting this convoluted, game-like classification setting.

It seemed that the main body—the monster that hadn’t actually shown its face yet—was this so-called “Mid-Tier Low-Level Abomination.” She looked back at the kill notifications that were still cheerfully popping up on her screen, and a very specific hypothesis formed in her mind.

‘So… Phainon raided that Abomination’s nest?’

Aside from Phainon, she couldn’t think of a single other entity under her command capable of providing her with such a massive, continuous stream of kill rewards while she slept.

[You can access Phainon’s perspective through the Physical Data Space to conduct real-time observation.]

The System’s voice remained flat, mechanical, and entirely devoid of inflection.

‘Access Phainon’s perspective… through the Physical Data Space?’

Cyrene froze. She blinked at the blue screen, wondering if her sleep-addled brain had hallucinated the audio.

There was actually a function for that? Wasn’t this just the legendary “Observer Mode” from competitive gaming?

After a brief moment of stunned silence, a massive wave of annoyance at being utterly scammed surged in her chest.

‘Why didn’t you say so earlier?!’ Cyrene shouted in her mind, her cool facade cracking into frantic frustration.

If she had known from the very beginning that she could just pop open a screen and directly monitor Phainon’s situation, she wouldn’t have spent her last conscious moments drowning in anxiety over her summon’s safety!

However, facing Cyrene’s righteous indignation, the System once again deployed its most practiced, flawless tactical maneuver—playing dead.

No matter how loudly Cyrene yelled in her mind, that cold, mechanical voice never sounded again.You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.