Honkai: Star Rail, My Journey with Tom - Chapter 4
Asta and Arlan exchanged glances as a sudden figure leaped out in front of them.
Asta furrowed her brows, pressing her lips together in thought as she murmured, “What… is this?”
“Is it the crew’s pet? But Miss Himeko never mentioned anything about this, and the number of people arriving at the station was supposed to be fixed.”
Entering Herta Space Station required approval. There was no way an unexpected guest could just waltz in. This place housed countless research projects and, more importantly, Herta’s personal collection. But this cat had just stepped off the Astral Express… so maybe…
To Himeko and the others, did pets not count as official passengers?
Then again, something felt off. The cat was standing on two legs…was it even a pet? Or was it some humanoid species from another planet? Asta had seen plenty of strange things but had never heard of a species like this.
Her mind spun, analyzing the situation faster than when she was handling administrative work for the station. Making a mistake while interfacing with the Astral Express was out of the question, but she was overcomplicating things.
Noticing Asta’s gaze fixed on the blue-gray feline without reacting, Arlan realized she was lost in thought. Ignoring a guest, especially one from the Astral Express, was borderline impolite. So, he cleared his throat and called out softly:
“Lead Researcher Asta.”
The sound of Arlan’s voice snapped Asta out of her thoughts. Realizing she had been spacing out, she offered an apologetic smile.
“My apologies, little guest. I got a bit distracted. Welcome to Herta Space Station. I am Asta, the acting station master.”
She gracefully accepted the flower Tom was holding out and continued, “Thank you for the gift. It may look simple, but I’ve never seen a flower like this before. Is it a rare species from your planet?”
Turning to Arlan, she added, “Arlan, take this to my quarters. And while you’re at it, pick out a Mark III Star Destroyer from my storage as a return gift.”
Arlan blinked. “Excuse me?”
With an exasperated sigh, he turned to Asta. “Miss Asta, no matter how rare this flower is, I don’t think a Star Destroyer is an appropriate gift in return. If you ask me, a fresh, well-preserved rainbowfin tuna from your stock would be a much better choice for our feline friend.”
He looked at Tom for confirmation.
The moment Tom heard “tuna,” its mind went blank except for thoughts of that delicious fish. Tuna—yes, tuna! It had seen it on television before and had even fought against one in the ocean back in the day. Tom knew exactly how incredible it tasted.
Drool pooled at its mouth before dripping onto the floor. With a quick gulp, it swallowed it back and nodded furiously, its tiny head bobbing up and down like a pecking chick.
As for whatever Asta had said about a Star Destroyer… well, that sounded like some kind of ship, and it could smash those apart in an instant.
Food was way more important.
Seeing Tom’s enthusiastic nod, Asta approved of the plan. But then she glanced toward the train doors and muttered, “That’s strange… is this cat the only one getting off the Astral Express?”
She had planned to ask Himeko about this peculiar feline. But just as she was pondering, someone else stepped off the train.
A tall, lean young man with black hair and deep, dark eyes emerged. His sharp yet easygoing features and casual attire made him look approachable, a stark contrast to someone like Dan Heng.
At first glance, Asta almost mistook him for Dan Heng, but on closer inspection, their similarities ended with hair and eye color. The details of their features were completely different, not to mention their auras.
Dan Heng carried cold, distant energy, whereas this man had a more friendly, easygoing presence—like someone she could actually talk to without getting shut down.
But that wasn’t the issue.
The real problem was that he wasn’t on the approved list of arrivals.
Himeko had made a glaring oversight… or was this not a mistake at all? Could something have happened to the Astral Express?
No, that possibility was too far-fetched. Himeko and the rest of the crew were incredibly powerful. Even if something had gone wrong, they wouldn’t have gone down easily.
Still, the moment Li Ye stepped onto the platform, both Asta and Arlan knew. This man hadn’t gone through any kind of clearance.
Asta remained still, but Arlan instinctively shifted his position. Where he had been half a step behind Asta before, he now moved a step ahead, subtly shielding her. His right hand inched toward his waist, fingers wrapping around the hilt of a concealed dagger.
Meanwhile, Li Ye paid them no mind. The first thing he did was scoop up Tom into his arms.
“Tom, I told you to wait before getting off the train!” he scolded, exasperated. “Why did you run out on your own?”
Li Ye had planned to survey Herta Space Station first, get a lay of the land, and make sure everything was safe before stepping off. But Tom had bolted the second the doors opened.
Of course, Tom had its own reasons. It knew it had messed up earlier and wanted to make up for it. Being an incredibly perceptive feline, it had sensed Li Ye’s unease about their arrival. So it had taken it upon himself to investigate first.
And, well, considering the first thing Tom found was someone willing to give it fresh fish, it figured this place was pretty safe.
Tom climbed onto Li Ye’s shoulders, sitting comfortably around his neck.
Ta-Da! Tom and Li Ye’s Mecha Fusion—Complete!
Li Ye was invincible now.
He felt much more at ease. This was his first stop since boarding the Astral Express, and despite his confident demeanor, he had been a little nervous. But with Tom perched on him, Li Ye’s nerves settled.
Asta, however, grew increasingly confused. Tom seemed like a fairly normal—if slightly oversized—bipedal cat. And this black-haired young man didn’t exude any particular threat, either.
In fact, compared to some of Herta’s researchers, he seemed even less capable in a fight. There was no way these two had taken over the Astral Express. But the universe was full of strange occurrences…
Asta took a step back and asked sternly, “Who are you?”
“Where’s Miss Himeko? What happened to the Astral Express?”
Li Ye was fully relaxed as he glanced around at the surrounding security personnel who had slowly gathered, weapons at the ready. He smiled, trying to keep the situation from escalating.
“Miss Asta, my name is Li Ye,” he said calmly. “I haven’t done anything to Miss Himeko. But if I told you… this Astral Express has been mine all along, would you believe me?”
Asta gave him a blank stare. “Are you trying to convince me I’m an idiot, or are you just an idiot yourself?”
“The Astral Express has always belonged to The Nameless. Ever since it started moving again, Miss Himeko has been the first among them. Your claim is a blatant lie.”
“Unless you’re suggesting there are two Astral Expresses?”
And then, as if the universe itself wanted to answer her question—
A deep hum resonated through the platform.
From the opposite side, a second Astral Express pulled in, stopping right behind Li Ye’s train.
Asta stood there, completely speechless.