Honkai: Star Rail, My Journey with Tom - Chapter 7

Asta hurried off, her figure disappearing down the corridor. As the lead researcher, she had a lot more to handle than just barking orders over the comms.

No matter how she looked at it, as the representative of another Astral Express, Li Ye’s words carried some weight.

Asta believed about seventy or eighty percent of what he said.

For now, she hadn’t mobilized the entire Astral Express crew—just kept them on standby. She had a firm grasp of everything going on in the space station, but when it came to the Astral Express itself, her knowledge ran even deeper.

She knew one thing for sure—their combat skills were no joke.

That was why she preferred to keep The Nameless as a wild card, deploying them wherever they were needed most.

As Asta walked away, Li Ye and Himeko exchanged glances.

Himeko’s lips curled into a smile as she spoke first.

“Mr. Li Ye, I have a few questions about you myself. How about we continue this conversation on our train?”

Li Ye nodded in agreement.

Honestly, he had a pretty good impression of Himeko and her crew. Having played the game in his past life, they felt almost familiar—except now they were real, not just pixels on a screen.

It was kind of surreal.

Not to mention, the Astral Express was full of hidden powerhouses, while he was just a small fry right now. Building a good relationship with them could only work in his favor.

And, of course, there was one other tiny little reason…

He might get his hands on some Star Rail Passes.

Seeing that he agreed, Himeko nodded.

“March, let’s head back to the train first. We need to prepare for the upcoming battle.”

March 7th, who had been squatting and ruffling the fur of Tom, reluctantly stood up. With boundless energy, she responded,

“Got it!”

Then she turned to Li Ye.

“Li Ye, your cat is hilarious! Its head keeps changing into different animals! Where can I buy one? I want one too.”

Li Ye glanced over and found Tom’s feline head had now transformed into that of a donkey.

Clearly, March 7th had been playing around with it.

But the idea of her getting another Tom was… unlikely. As he followed behind Himeko, Li Ye replied,

“I won’t say for certain that there isn’t another Tom out there somewhere in the universe, but as far as I know, there’s none.”

“I met Tom by pure chance.”

Hearing that, March 7th looked a little disappointed.

They chatted idly as they reached the Astral Express. Once inside, they settled near the seats.

Li Ye scanned the train’s interior. It really wasn’t that different from his own—except his had a more personalized touch. Thanks to the items he had pulled from gacha rolls, and Tom organizing and decorating everything, there were some unique differences.

After a brief wait, Himeko returned, carrying four freshly brewed cups of coffee. She placed them on the table.

Tom stealthily climbed onto a chair, its head just barely peeking above the table.

Li Ye stared at the coffee cup placed in front of him, watching the ripples form on the surface as the liquid swayed slightly.

He hesitated.

Everyone knew… Himeko’s coffee wasn’t just bad—it was legendary. Some even claimed it defied the laws of reality itself.

There were rumors that anyone who drank it would be sent straight into the embrace of the void.

His eyes flicked to March 7th. She sat stiffly, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Her thighs bounced slightly, making the soft flesh tremble just a bit.

She looked completely distracted, not even touching the coffee in front of her.

When March 7th noticed Li Ye looking at her, she scratched the back of her head and let out an awkward laugh.

She knew the coffee was bad and wanted to warn them, but Himeko had been so enthusiastic about making it that she didn’t have the heart to say anything.

So instead… March 7th decided to pretend nothing was wrong.

Li Ye took one look at her reaction and confirmed his suspicions—this coffee was a nightmare.

He needed to warn Tom before it took a sip.

With that in mind, he turned to Tom.

“Tom…uh.”

Li Ye froze at the sight before him.

Right in front of him, Tom had already assumed the posture of a seasoned drunkard, tilting its head back as it downed the coffee in one swift motion.

Gulp.

The sound of the liquid going down was the only thing in the room.

And then…

Tom’s eyes widened as it stood completely still.

Inside its mind, the universe exploded. Stars, galaxies, and black holes all collapsed in on themselves.

A strange, otherworldly tune hummed in the air.

Tom’s entire body convulsed like a glitching animation, twisting and writhing before finally collapsing like a lifeless vegetable.

Thud.

It hit the floor. Its once sleek and vibrant fur turned dull gray. Its gloved paws rested over its belly, an eerily peaceful expression on its face.

It was dead.

“Tom!”

Li Ye panicked, rushing to set down the coffee cup he had just picked up.

Or rather—he accidentally flung the entire cup away in his “desperation.”

Then, pretending not to notice, he hurried over to Tom, his face a mix of sorrow, regret, and one tiny part… relief.

But just as he reached Tom’s side, the creature sprang back to life, perfectly fine.

Li Ye’s expression instantly returned to neutral.

“Oh. You’re good now? Well… that’s great.”

He quickly turned to Himeko and said,

“Himeko, sorry about that. I was so worried about Tom that I accidentally spilled my coffee. I was really looking forward to trying it too. What a shame.”

Himeko smiled, her crimson lips parting as she replied softly,

“No worries. I’ll make you another cup.”

Li Ye’s expression stiffened.

“Uh… you know, we have more pressing matters to discuss. You wanted to ask me about the Astral Express, right? Let’s get to that first. I’ll tell you as much as I can within my limits.”

After the whole ordeal, the atmosphere between them had noticeably relaxed.

Himeko gave a small nod and spoke gently.

“The idea of a second Astral Express isn’t surprising. Back when Akivili was around, there wasn’t just one Astral Express—there was an entire fleet.”

“But… they were all destroyed. The only reason this one survived was because of Pom-Pom. It suffered minimal damage, so I was able to restore it.”

As she mentioned Pom-Pom, a small, rabbit-like creature with large, watery blue eyes hopped over. It was about three feet tall, swaying slightly as it moved. Dressed in a red outfit with a matching tall hat, it let out a soft murmur.

“Hi.”

It glanced curiously between Tom and Li Ye.

Behind Pom-Pom, Dan Heng and Welt walked over.

Himeko gestured toward them.

“I haven’t introduced you yet. This is Pom-Pom, the conductor of the Astral Express. And these two are Welt and Dan Heng.”

Li Ye nodded at them in greeting, and they nodded back.

Meanwhile, Tom was back to its usual self and bounded over to Pom-Pom. Its face lit up with excitement as it threw one gloved hand toward the camera, thumb up, and let out a goofy laugh.

“Hahaha!”