Looking at the juice on the coffee table, and no coffee, Meng Huaifeng breathed a sigh of relief.
Under the gaze of everyone on the Astral Express Crew, Meng Huaifeng sat up uncomfortably, cleared his throat, and said, "Well, first, let me tell you about my background."
"Alright, I'm also very curious how you appeared there without any high-tech equipment," Himeko said with a gentle smile.
Besides the Honkai: Star Rail world being a game world, Meng Huaifeng didn't hide anything, recounting his origins and the existence of his system one by one.
As the saying goes, sincerity begets sincerity. Seeing Meng Huaifeng's complete openness and trust in them, Welt, Himeko, and Dan Heng's gazes softened a few degrees, establishing a good foundation of trust between them.
"Hey, hey, is there really such a thing as a system? You're not some protagonist from a novel, are you?" March 7th exclaimed excitedly.
"Perhaps. Every world has its protagonist. At a certain point, the person who has the greatest impact on the world's destiny is the protagonist. And my Crossing to your vicinity means that you are also protagonists," Meng Huaifeng said.
"Hehe, I also think I'm the protagonist. So where's my system? System, come!" Star, in good spirits, stood up and shouted confidently.
However, there was no reaction, and no system responded to her. Star sat back down, completely unashamed.
"What system? Do you want a trash can?" March 7th said with a look of exasperation.
"Yes!" Star was not at all polite, her eyes shining as she replied decisively.
"Eww~" March 7th said with a look of disgust, "How can a protagonist be so abstract? I think Dan Heng is the protagonist. An unknown, seemingly heavy past, hidden mysterious powers... that's right, the protagonist must be Dan Heng! That's how it is in novels!"
Dan Heng said somewhat speechlessly, "I'm just a sinner, not some protagonist. As for you, March, why can't the protagonist be you?"
"Eh, me? Is that possible?" March 7th's eyes widened.
"Why not? A mysterious, unknown past, a girl wrapped in ice, floating in the universe, and with amnesia. This also fits the description of a novel's protagonist you mentioned," Himeko teased.
"I... I can't do it." March 7th waved her hands repeatedly. Although being a protagonist sounded cool, with her personality, she would definitely mess it up, right?
"Speaking of which, Welt also fits the protagonist's setting very well," Himeko said.
Welt was momentarily lost in thought. In his original world, perhaps he truly was the protagonist?
But that was in the past. In this world, the protagonist would not be him.
"Finding the stranded Astral Express when she was young and repairing it alone, making it set sail again—Sister Himeko, you are the protagonist, aren't you?" Welt countered.
"Oh, right! The protagonist must be Sister Himeko, who picked up Dan Heng, picked up me, and also picked up Star," March 7th suddenly realized and said with certainty.
"I don't want to be any protagonist. Being a protagonist, that's something for you young people," Himeko said, lightly covering her mouth with a chuckle.
"No need to guess. When I transmigrated, I gained a little information and future knowledge about the transmigrated world. In the future I obtained, there are two endings. If Star joins the Astral Express, then Star is the protagonist. At some point in the future, you will eventually confront the Destruction Aeon, Nanook, and join forces with many factions to prevent him from destroying the universe. If Star does not join the Astral Express, then Sister Himeko is the protagonist. Although the outcome will still shake the universe, countless companions will also fall in the battle of god-slaying," Meng Huaifeng interjected.
"We fight the Destruction Aeon? Is it real?" March 7th's eyes widened.
"So, it's a good thing Star got on the Astral Express, leading to a better future. Star, the position of protagonist is entrusted to you," Himeko said, feeling very fortunate that she had persuaded Star several times to get on the Astral Express.
Otherwise, familiar companions might never be seen again in the future.
"Hmph, I told you I was the protagonist. Leave it to me, little Nanook, I'll handle him." Star majestically swung her baseball bat.
"Don't talk big! You should defeat an Aeon first," March 7th snatched the baseball bat from Star's hand, which almost knocked over the coffee table.
"So, we've arrived at another world, a world outside the Imaginary Tree system, a world Akivili never set foot in. No wonder I feel like I've suddenly taken a big step forward on The Trailblaze path," Welt brought the conversation back to the main topic.
"Oh, really! My Trailblaze path has also advanced a lot!" March 7th exclaimed with belated surprise.
"The Astral Express's fuel has also increased a lot, it's almost full, Pom-Pom," Pom-Pom echoed.
"I just scanned this planet with the Astral Express's instruments. According to the comparison, it doesn't match any known planet in the database. Also, we currently cannot connect to the Starry Sky Network and can only use the local network on the Astral Express," Dan Heng said.
"Pom-Pom and I checked the Astral Express's star map. There are no Star Rails or Realm Anchors in this part of the universe. We can vaguely sense our world's Star Rail network, but the distance is extremely far, making warp impossible. If we want to connect, a conservative estimate might take tens of thousands of years, and that's assuming there are no barriers between the two universe boundaries," Himeko also said.
"If Akivili were here, it would be great. He might be able to forcibly connect the two universes," Pom-Pom said with some nostalgia.
"Have you forgotten about me? Although my system is dormant, it only needs two years to recover. Since you could transmigrate with me, I can also send you back. And the system said that when transmigrating back to the previous world, no matter how long you stay in this world, only one day will pass, including everyone's age and lifespan," Meng Huaifeng said.
"Of course we haven't forgotten. It's just that as Trailblazers, it's a rare opportunity to come to a completely unknown world. Of course, we want to explore it thoroughly and then see if we can connect the two worlds," Himeko said.
"It is said that many years ago, it was Akivili who connected worlds with Star Rails, forming our current universe," Welt said.
"Although we don't have the great power of an Aeon, with proper planning and enough time, we might not be unable to achieve this!" Himeko's eyes seemed to glow.
For thousands of years, no new worlds had been trailblazed. Instead, worlds would occasionally lose contact, routes would be blocked, and Star Rails would dim.
If they could truly accomplish this, it would usher in a new chapter of The Trailblaze Era and write a new page.
Perhaps it wouldn't be long before a new Trailblaze Aeon would be born!
"We can discuss how to do this later. Since we'll be staying in this world for at least two years, Huaifeng, would you like to join the Astral Express?" Himeko smiled as she extended the invitation to Meng Huaifeng.
"That's right! Being able to randomly transmigrate between worlds is practically a born Trailblaze Saint! It would be a shame not to join our Astral Express Crew," March 7th persuaded.
Although the process of their meeting was somewhat unfortunate, it was also Meng Huaifeng's luck to meet the Astral Express Crew in his first world.
"Of course, please take care of me from now on." Meng Huaifeng stood up and bowed to everyone.