Chapter 32
Catching Up, Why Are You Bullying Me, Clara?!

”Bai Lu is so cute!”

“She's our own five-star character from Xianzhou!”

“I wonder what Dragon Lady would think if she saw herself made into a game character?”

“This character is super strong, after getting her, you don't have to worry about dying when pushing the story or farming materials!”

“This is the value of Bai Lu!”

【Third Tier: Ji Zi, Valter, Yanqing. These three characters can all be your main DPS during the early game. Ji Zi excels against groups, Yanqing against single targets, and Valter is incredibly versatile, able to handle both single and multiple enemies, plus he can slow and control, making him a very well-rounded character!】

Valter and Ji Zi were recognizable figures.

But when she saw Yanqing, Gui Nai Fen was completely taken aback.

The barrage in the live stream exploded.

“What? Am I seeing things?”

“Isn’t that Yanqing, the elite guard by the General’s side, known as the strongest swordsman of Xianzhou Luofu?”

“He’s in the pool?! Does that mean our God-Strategist General might also be…”

“Jing Yuan General in the pool? I wouldn't even dare to dream of that! Won't Luofu players just pull until they drop?”

Gui Nai Fen felt her throat go dry.

As more of the game's content was uncovered, it kept shattering player expectations.

If they ever actually made the Luofu General into a real-life character, Gui Nai Fen might be amazed, but not surprised.

These developers are really bold...

【Fourth Tier: Clara. A seemingly harmless and adorable girl. As a result, her fighting ability is slightly weaker. She relies on passive attacks to allow her robot to help her counterattack. Currently, she's not very suitable for new players starting out. For casual players, getting her is just going to be a tearful reset.】

“This should be a character from Belobog.”

“She’s even barefoot, so cute!”

Even though the video creator thought this character wasn't very strong, Gui Nai Fen felt that there were no weak five-star characters.

Clara’s skill mechanics were very unique. Maybe when players leveled up and improved their stats, she would become stronger.

After finishing the video.

Gui Nai Fen took a deep breath.

This video had opened a new world for all Star Rail players!

Right now, she only had one feeling.

—— I want them all!

She could feel her wallet trembling!

Suddenly.

A new message popped up at the top.

This one was even more impactful.

It came from Gui Nai Fen's followed account, the developer of Honkai: Star Rail, Yu Ling!

【Honkai: Star Rail - Himeko Character PV - [A Night of No Incident]】

As soon as Gui Nai Fen clicked it, there were 500 simultaneous viewers.

Then it was 2000.

6000!

10,000!

20,000!

50,000…

The live stream even quieted down a lot, probably everyone got the message and went to watch the character PV.

On screen, real-time bullet comments were rolling by.

“Look what I found!”

“Star Rail players are celebrating a new year today!”

“So cool!”

“This is too awesome!”

“This background music is perfect for Himeko!”

With the cool and rhythmic music, Bronya appeared.

The two cooperated with each other, each showing their pose as they unleashed their ultimate moves, executing a fiery combo against their enemies!

It was as if Yu Ling was teaching players —

Pairing Himeko with Bronya creates a synergistic effect that multiplies their power!

After watching the video, Gui Nai Fen immediately started throwing all her resources into getting Himeko!

“Character and exclusive Light Cone, I want them all!”

Meanwhile,

On the train.

Ji Zi and Lao Yang were pushing through the main story.

After handling the conflict between the miners and the homeless over the new ore vein, they encountered the [Svarog Boss] of the lower city’s mechanical settlement and his adopted daughter Clara.

Then, they helped Clara fix the settlement's power supply equipment.

And successfully persuaded Clara to lead everyone to negotiate with Svarog.

The two of them wanted to see how quickly they could reach this part of the story.

Because if they kept going, the game's progress would start to sync with March 7th's progress in real life!

“We’re about to reach Svarog’s base, this is what Little March went through yesterday.”

Ji Zi said, preparing to open the door to the base.

From the perspective of the Trailblazer, she had already immersed herself in the story.

Whether it was the family on the train, or the people on Yarilo-VI —

Like this girl named Clara, Himeko, Bronya, all of them.

Though they belonged to different factions, these young people all had radiant souls.

Even though they had never met, Ji Zi hoped they could all live happily on this planet.

Lao Yang said, “According to Dan Heng's log, they ultimately succeeded in negotiating with Svarog, and they even learned about the Star Nucleus from him.”

“I know,” Ji Zi smiled.

Other players would probably still be nervous and excited at this point.

But it was different for Ji Zi and Lao Yang, they already knew the outcome.

The negotiations began.

Our representative is Xing.

“I, we are [Variables]!”

“No…”

“We are here for the [Star Nucleus].”

If it were Ji Zi herself or Valter going to negotiate, perhaps they could have used a more mature and sophisticated approach, especially towards a robot.

But Xing and the others are still young, and this is their first time.

They brought up the [Star Nucleus] right away.

And this seemed to instantly trigger Svarog.

The red light on its head instantly intensified!

It warned with a deep mechanical voice, “In recorded history, humanity has attempted to contact the [Star Nucleus] several times. Without exception, driven by human greed, they sought to exploit this substance for their own ends.”

“The Builder’s directive: Any attempt to contact the [Star Nucleus] will result in severe consequences. Re-evaluating… target threat level is at maximum.”

“There is no evidence that you will be the [exception], maintaining existing calculation results.”

“Peacekeeping agreement temporarily suspended… applying to activate extermination protocol.”

Ji Zi was slightly stunned.

This wasn't right.

Wasn't the outcome supposed to be a successful negotiation in reality?

Had the story deviated from reality at this point?

As she pondered, the battle began.

Ji Zi’s character’s level was pretty decent.

She had also spent a little to make sure she could smoothly progress through the story.

She had stopped after getting her first guaranteed five-star character, Clara.

However, since she hadn't met Clara in the previous part of the story, she was still using the train crew members.

Xing, Dan Heng, March 7th, and Natasha, capable of both offense and defense, Ji Zi was quite satisfied.

The other characters…

Bronya, Himeko, and herself… she certainly wanted them too!

But for now, she was still a story-driven player.

Soon, Svarog's health bar was pushed down, and the story progressed.

Natasha and Sampo arrived to provide support.

The battle resumed.

The result was predictable.

Svarog was ultimately defeated by everyone.

Just as Natasha was about to fire a shot to completely take down Svarog, Clara suddenly charged forward, crying, and stood in front of Svarog.

“Wait… wait!”

“Please don’t hurt Mr. Svarog!”

Her little face flushed red, tears continuously dripping down.

This scene touched Ji Zi.

She found Clara adorable but also felt sorry for her.

This girl had a purity that hadn't been tainted by the world.

She seemed fragile, but her heart was strong.

Seeing her cry, Ji Zi had the urge to berate the train crew members.

—— “Why are you bullying Clara?!”

“You said you were going to negotiate, but you ganged up on the hundred-year-old robot and beat it into this state!”

“Do you even have a shred of humanity?”

“Don’t you feel any guilt?”

Then she would pat Clara’s head, wipe away her tears.

Tell her it's okay, Ji Zi Big Sister will help you fix Svarog and handle everything!