“Yo!” March 7th huffed, resting her hands on her hips and speaking with full confidence.
“Who told you to make such a dirty joke?
You get beaten up by me and you still think you’re in the right?” “…” Ye Cang was silent for a moment.
Wisely changing the subject, he turned first to the most “venerable” member of the group, Welt Yang, and smiled.
“Uncle Welt, what do you think?” “Clearly, something unexpected has happened at Herta Space Station,” Uncle Welt said, resting his chin on one hand, lost in thought.
“In my view, rather than a distress signal, this transmission is more of a warning—warning all incoming ships to stay away from the space station.
And that includes the Astral Express.” Dan Heng’s expression remained calm, living up to his nickname as the Cold Dragon Young.
“I agree with Uncle Welt.
The situation at Herta Space Station is likely beyond what the Astral Express can handle.
That unknown meme is something even an Emanator of Erudition—Madam Herta, Member #83 of the Genius Society—couldn’t deal with.
Rashly barging in will only make matters worse.” “Huh?
Neither Uncle Welt nor Dan Heng wants to go?
Then I…” March 7th was clearly spooked by the distress message as well.
Hearing their analysis, she immediately felt cold feet.
Ye Cang looked at the cautious Uncle Welt, then at the calm Dan Heng, and let out a sigh with a shake of his head.
If they didn’t go to the space station, what would happen to the playable character, the Trailblazer, from the original story?
That was the true protagonist of *Honkai: Star Rail*!
And what about Herta, Asta, Kafka, Silver Wolf, Arlan…?
If they skipped the space station, who was going to make up for the destiny that brought the Express Crew and these people together?
Most importantly, based on Ye Cang’s current knowledge of the Sinister Calamity, it was an entity that even Aeons were helpless against.
If left unchecked, everyone on Herta Space Station would suffer a fate worse than death!
Therefore, no matter what, Ye Cang had to guide the plot toward its proper path instead of blindly running away.
Otherwise, what would be the point of his transmigration, or his karma in coming to this world?
Having made up his mind, Ye Cang stopped hesitating and spoke straight out: “Sorry to interrupt, but while I agree with what both Nameless have said, I believe this trip to the space station is a waystation the Astral Express cannot bypass.” “Why?
Are you really that bold?” March 7th asked, somewhat surprised.
She had to admit her impression of this handsome youth was beginning to change.
“It’s simple: turning back goes against your Path of Trailblaze,” Ye Cang shrugged, holding out his hands.
“I’m not a Nameless myself, but I’ve long admired the Aeon Akivili and His followers.” “If the Nameless feared danger and death, there would have been no point in starting the journey of the Astral Express in the first place.” Hearing this, Himeko smiled gently, a starlight glow shimmering in her autumn-water amber eyes.
“Young friend Ye Cang is right.
If we Nameless feared danger and death, we wouldn’t have gathered to walk this Path of Trailblaze, which is destined to be fraught with hardship and danger…
Since everyone is standing here, I believe you’ve all prepared yourselves in your hearts.” As the Navigator of the Astral Express, Himeko truly lived up to the responsibility and meaning behind the title.
She offered her own view with a soft smile: “I agree with young friend Ye Cang.
If a major crisis has truly occurred on Herta Space Station, as Nameless, we must lend a helping hand to those in danger…
Besides, don’t forget another very important reason.” “The Express is running low on fuel.
If we can’t resupply at Herta Space Station, we’ll have to head toward the even more distant Jarilo-VI.
Supposedly, it’s a frozen planet that was once destroyed by the Antimatter Legion…
We might not be able to find any fuel in that ice-cold world.” Uncle Welt instantly understood what Himeko meant and murmured, “In other words, the safest option is to resupply at Herta Space Station, or the Astral Express will stall out.” “So we really…
have no choice but to go,” Dan Heng said, still holding his spear and leaning against the bar counter, his eyes solemn.
“What about Miss Asta’s warning?
Are we just going to casually ignore it?” March 7th stared wide-eyed at everyone before subconsciously turning her eyes to Ye Cang.
“Hey, you think those warnings are suspicious too, right?” Ye Cang shook his head and held up a finger.
“First off, my name isn’t ‘Hey’, my name is Chu Yu—sorry, wrong universe.” “Second, we aren’t ignoring Asta’s warning.
On the contrary, precisely because we’ve decided to go to the space station, those three warnings of hers are all the more important!” He fiddled with the communications console panel and replayed the end of the video.
It was still the blood-drenched girl, and still her desperate, tragic cry: “Do not approach!” “Do not answer!” “Stay away from here!
Stay away from this star system!” Ye Cang quickly hit the pause button and stared at the girl’s tragically beautiful face in the hologram, his breathing growing slightly heavier.
He was silent for a moment before speaking slowly: “‘Do not approach’ means getting close is dangerous.
‘Do not answer’ means answering is dangerous too.
Telling us to stay away means the danger is still spreading, and might even affect the entire star system where Herta Space Station is located!” “Combining that with what she said earlier—Madam Herta meeting Nous, the space station being contaminated by an unknown meme, and the Antimatter Legion’s invasion…
let’s make a bold deduction!” Although Ye Cang had never used such advanced high-tech terminals before, he could still read basic icons.
He pulled up the star chart and circled the small star system where Herta Space Station was located with his finger, saying solemnly, “Madam Herta met with Nous and brought back an unknown memetic contamination.
At first, it wasn’t severe—not even enough to draw much attention.
But when the Antimatter Legion invaded, the neglected memetic hazard suddenly exploded across the station!” “The outbreak contaminated everyone, naturally including the Antimatter Legion…
And so, Herta Space Station fell.” “What was originally a distress call turned into a warning.”