“I am immortal!
Spare me!”
“Holy shit!
You son of a—” Kazuki choked back a string of highly creative, space-station-limited profanity.
“Don’t stab me in the kidney!”
A sickening tear of flesh echoed through the corridor.
Kazuki watched helplessly as the towering Void Ranger drove a jagged blade straight through his waist.
His face instantly twisted into a grotesque mask of agony.
Blood bubbled from the corners of his mouth.
His entire body went limp, collapsing heavily against the cold metallic floor.
Through blurring vision, he watched the Void Ranger rip the blade free, turn on its heel, and march toward another chamber.
Using the absolute last ounce of strength in his dying body, Kazuki raised a trembling hand and flipped the monster off.
He did not lie in that pool of blood for long.
A strange distortion rippled across Kazuki’s form.
What had looked like a rough, unshaven, thirty-something uncle just a moment ago melted away.
In the blink of an eye, his body reconstructed itself, shifting back into his original appearance—a handsome, youthful young man.
The blaring, high-pitched emergency alarms of the Herta Space Station were still screeching in his ears.
Kazuki gritted his teeth, his muscles screaming in phantom pain as he pushed himself up from the sticky red puddle.
“Pah!
I already told you I’m immortal, can’t you understand human language?!”
He subconsciously wiped his face, only to smear a fresh layer of crimson across his cheek.
The heavy, suffocating stench of iron rushed into his nose, making his stomach churn and his eyes roll back in disgust.
Staggering over to the nearest wall, he slid down into a sitting position.
He let out a long, ragged breath and looked up at the translucent system panel floating quietly beside his head.
[Identity: Void Ranger]
[Drawn Card: Depressed Otaku]
[Wishes: 1.
A sense of being alive.
2.
Receive praise.]
[Card Status: Cannot shapeshift, fulfill wish, store in card slot]
“Cough, cough…
what the hell kind of garbage luck is this.”
Kazuki panted heavily, cursing under his breath as he dismissed the screen.
Come to think of it, he truly possessed the worst luck in eight lifetimes.
Just a few days ago, he had finally finished grinding through the 4.1 main story of Honkai: Star Rail.
He had been lying comfortably in bed, staring at his ceiling, wondering which alternate-universe original character scenario would be the most fun to play through.
The next thing he knew, a massive delivery truck had somehow launched itself off the street, flown straight up to the eighteenth floor of his apartment building, and smashed him into oblivion.
The very second he regained consciousness in this new world, he had seen a massive holographic screen displaying a small, jointed Herta puppet.
Taking in the sleek, futuristic architecture around him, he immediately realized the truth.
He had transmigrated directly onto the Herta Space Station.
Before he could even process the shock, his system had booted up.
In a single, agonizing second, a massive influx of chaotic settings and rules had been violently shoved into his brain.
Once the headache faded, he finally understood his ridiculous situation.
He had been gifted the ultimate cheat: an undying spirit and a completely immortal body.
Along with it came a pair of eyes capable of seeing countless ‘what-if’ Destiny Cards floating above people’s heads.
The rules were simple but strict.
He could draw one card a week, granting him completely random alternate identities.
Drawing from famous, named characters from the original storyline carried a massively higher probability of yielding top-tier cards compared to pulling from random background personnel.
The system allowed him to store a maximum of two cards per character.
If he wanted to bank a third, he had to permanently delete one of the existing ones.
If he ever regretted discarding a card, he would have to pull it all over again from the infinitely vast gacha pool, a task that was mathematically infuriating.
The most crucial rule dictated his transformations.
For any card whose wishes remained unfulfilled, Kazuki could directly shapeshift into that alternate character.
However, if he managed to actually fulfill the specific wishes listed on the card, he could trigger a temporary descent, summoning that alternate character directly into this universe to fight on his behalf.
“So unlucky.
I died before I could even draw anything good from that Void Ranger.”
Kazuki glared at the system interface.
The card he had just pulled from the Void Ranger had instantly gone into a hard cooldown because of his violent death.
His face fell in sheer disappointment.
Right now, the station’s emergency lights were flashing a frantic crimson.
The alarms were still blaring their warning sirens, and the Antimatter Legion was currently rampaging through the sectors, tearing researchers and security personnel apart.
He slapped his cheeks to wake himself up, struggled to his feet, and peered down the corridor.
Through the smoke, he finally spotted a large group of researchers in blue-and-white uniforms evacuating in a hurried but orderly fashion.
“Hey!
Brother, wait up!
Where are we running to?”
Kazuki quickly broke into a sprint to catch up, reaching out to poke the shoulder of a male staff member at the back of the pack.
The staff member flinched, turning around to see a young man completely drenched in fresh blood.
The researcher frowned, his eyes wide with alarm.
“Who…
who are you?
Forget it, you look like you’re half-dead.
Come with us.
We’ll find the medical staff to treat you once we cross the bulkhead.
The Antimatter Legion has broken through the outer defenses.
Lead Researcher Asta drilled us on these emergency evacuation protocols last month.
We are retreating to the safety passage right now.”
“Alright, alright!
Thanks, brother!”
Kazuki had not expected the panicked staff member to be so accommodating.
He quickly nodded in agreement and trotted along behind the group, keeping his head down.
The journey through the station was surprisingly uneventful.
By sticking close to the organized group of researchers, they moved methodically through several winding corridors, bypassing the main intersections where the sounds of plasma fire and monstrous roaring were the loudest.
As they walked, Kazuki observed the structural layout and finally realized their destination.
They were heading straight into the Support Zone, the exact sector where the platform for the Astral Express was located.
‘Well, it seems I won’t be able to catch the famous scene of Kafka and Silver Wolf waking Stelle up.’
He sighed internally, feeling a brief pang of disappointment, but quickly cheered up.
Surviving the tutorial phase was more important than sightseeing.
The group finally crossed the threshold into the designated safe zone.
The heavy blast doors sealed shut behind them, and Kazuki was immediately swarmed by anxious medical staff.
After a frantic, sweeping scan with their diagnostic tools, the medics stared at him in utter confusion.
Despite being painted in gore, his vitals were perfect, and he did not have a single scratch on him.
Realizing he was fine, the medics quickly abandoned him to treat the genuinely wounded researchers arriving behind him.
Left to his own devices, Kazuki walked over to the reinforced glass of the observation cabin and peered out.
On the left side of the massive hangar, the platform extended into the starry void, where the magnificent Astral Express was parked steadily on its ethereal rails.
Shifting his gaze to the right, his breath hitched.
‘Holy shit!
Is that a Herta puppet holding a giant hammer?’
‘It’s a Destiny Card!’
Kazuki shouted in his mind.
Even from this distance, his unique eyes instantly locked onto the glowing Destiny Cards floating gently above the Herta puppet’s head.
His blood immediately began to boil with anticipation.
He scanned the surrounding platform area.
The ground was littered with the mangled corpses of Void Rangers, and large sections of the metallic floor were inexplicably frozen solid in jagged spikes of ice.
Apart from the heavy traces of a recent, brutal battle, the area was entirely locked down.
Heavily armed security guards were stationed at every single passageway.
Without a doubt, this specific sector was absolutely secure now.
It was the perfect environment for a weak, weaponless noob like him to safely approach a VIP.
Kazuki glanced at the two stern-faced security guards stationed directly at the entrance to the platform.
He quickly formulated a plan, ruffling his hair to look even more disheveled, and approached them.
He deliberately lowered his voice, feigning a slight, traumatized tremble.
“You two brothers…
tell me the truth.
Do you think we can actually hold out against these monsters?”
The two security guards gripped their rifles and scanned him up and down through their tactical goggles.
Seeing his blood-soaked clothes and pale face, they naturally assumed he was a survivor who had just barely escaped a slaughter by the Void Rangers.
But as they looked closer, their stances stiffened.
This guy had no department work badge, no clearance insignia, and absolutely lacked the frail, academic temperament of a standard researcher.
Something about his presence felt entirely off.
The two guards immediately became vigilant, their fingers drifting closer to their triggers.
One of them spoke up, his voice hard and professional.
“Of course we can hold out.
The Antimatter Legion is nothing but mindless beasts.
Our Herta Space Station isn’t some weak pushover.”
Kazuki’s heart skipped a beat, thinking he had pushed too hard, but his expression instantly shifted into an exaggerated mask of awe.
Placing his hands on his hips, he turned to look through the glass at the Herta puppet outside.
“That’s for sure!
With our great Madam Herta here, how could anything possibly happen to this station!
And Head Arlan of the Security Department!
I saw him cutting down Void Rangers with my own eyes on the way here.
He was so heroic!
So incredibly cool!”
As he spoke, he made sure to give the guards an enthusiastic, blood-stained thumbs up.
Upon hearing their beloved Madam Herta and their respected boss praised so highly, the corners of the two guards’ mouths twitched upward beneath their masks.
They puffed out their chests, looking immensely proud, and the vast majority of their previous suspicion instantly evaporated.
Just at that moment, a heavy mechanical hiss echoed across the hangar.
The main passenger door of the Astral Express slid open.
A breathtakingly beautiful figure stepped down onto the platform, her elegant red hair flowing behind her like a dancing flame.
Kazuki’s eyes snapped toward the train.
He spotted the shimmering Destiny Cards floating above Himeko’s head at a single glance.
His muscles instantly tensed, his heartbeat accelerating as his brain immediately began spinning with entirely new, highly profitable schemes.