Honkai: Star Rail, My Journey with Tom - Chapter 9

Li Ye, March 7th, and Dan Heng moved together as a team.

Himeko had to check in with Asta to go over the situation in detail, so she split off from the group.

On their way through the station, March 7th and Dan Heng fought through waves of Antimatter Legion forces, cutting them down one after another. The constant battles were starting to wear them out.

Meanwhile, Li Ye and Tom followed behind like tourists on a guided tour. Li Ye felt a little guilty about it.

But there was something else bugging him—his exploration progress barely increased whenever he spotted a Voidranger from a distance. That got him thinking.

Did he actually have to engage in combat to significantly boost his progress?

Well, there was an easy way to find out. The space station was practically crawling with Voidrangers.

As they opened the next airlock, a single Voidranger stood in the center of the room. Li Ye decided this was his moment.

He spoke up.

“March 7th, Dan Heng, take a breather. Tom and I will handle this one.”

March 7th and Dan Heng exchanged glances.

They were definitely feeling the fatigue. Li Ye and Tom didn’t seem like they had much combat ability, but as members of The Nameless, they had to have some hidden talents.

Besides, the two of them were still here. If things went south, they could always jump in.

After a brief moment of consideration, Dan Heng nodded.

“Alright, since we’re all Nameless, we won’t hold back.”

Li Ye smirked.

Finally, it was his time to shine!

“A wild Voidranger has appeared!”

“Go, Tom!”

With a flick of his wrist, Li Ye grabbed Tom by the scruff of its neck and tossed it forward.

Tom landed smoothly on all fours, completely unbothered—at least at first. But then it looked up and saw the Voidranger: Reaver standing in the distance, its eerie figure looming in the dim light. The creature’s razor-sharp blades gleamed ominously.

Tom gulped.

It slowly turned its head back toward Li Ye and pointed at itself.

As if to say, “Me?”

Li Ye nodded enthusiastically.

“That’s right, Tom! Show them what a comedic relief character can do! Toy with the Antimatter Legion like they’re nothing!”

Tom hesitated, but seeing Li Ye’s unwavering confidence, it forced itself to step forward.

The Voidranger: Reaver immediately took notice and began approaching.

As one of the lowest-ranking soldiers of the Antimatter Legion, the Reaver had no real intelligence. It acted purely on instinct, driven by its primal urge to destroy.

Even in weaker worlds, Voidranger: Reavers were still considered formidable enemies.

But if Tom couldn’t even take down one of these things, Li Ye figured he might as well quit playing real-life Honkai: Star Rail, throw himself onto the Astral Express, and wrap himself in a white sheet, ready to respawn into a new life.

The Voidranger: Reaver got closer and closer.

Then, its destructive instincts kicked into high gear. It slammed its foot against the ground and lunged at Tom with terrifying speed.

“AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Tom let out an ear-piercing scream. Its body briefly froze in midair, eyes popping out like springs.

Frantically, it started rummaging behind its back, pulling out random objects—a can, a roll of toilet paper, a bowtie, a stethoscope… Junk went flying everywhere.

With no time left, Tom finally grabbed—

A sewing needle.

Covering its eyes with one hand, it thrust the needle forward with the other.

The Voidranger: Reaver, lacking both intelligence and the ability to care about a measly sewing needle, didn’t even flinch. It continued its deadly charge, swinging its blade straight for Tom’s torso.

The next moment…

Tom split clean in half.

Just like that.

A perfect vertical slice.

Yet, no bl00d splattered. No guts spilled.

At the same time, the Reaver’s knee accidentally bumped into the tip of Tom’s sewing needle.

Its body, normally as tough as solid rock, was punctured.

A burst of hot air erupted from the tiny hole. The Reaver suddenly inflated like a balloon, rocketing skyward with a loud swoosh!

A few seconds later, it crashed to the ground—completely deflated. Nothing left but a shriveled, empty husk.

March 7th and Dan Heng had been seconds away from jumping in to help Tom.

But after witnessing the Reaver shoot into the air like a popped tire, their brains momentarily short-circuited.

Their movements slowed.

By the time they finally reacted, Tom had already been cut in two.

They rushed over—

Only to be met with an even more unbelievable sight.

“Wait… What???”

March 7th stood there, dumbfounded. Her iridescent eyes widened in shock.

Dan Heng stared in silence for a long moment before finally speaking.

“No, that’s definitely not normal. I’ve studied countless entries in the databanks, but I’ve never seen anything like this. Tom… what are you?”

Li Ye planted his hands on his hips.

“Oh, you guys don’t get it? Let me explain. It’s really simple!”

He raised a finger dramatically.

“Tom is…”

“A magic cat!”

March 7th and Dan Heng rolled their eyes in unison.

Meanwhile, in front of them, Tom’s severed upper half had begun crawling across the floor with its paws. It made its way toward its lower half, which was still lying motionless on the ground.

Then—click!

The two halves reattached perfectly.

Tom was whole again.

It patted its round belly, grinning from ear to ear. Then, with a smug look, it jabbed a thumb toward the deflated Voidranger husk in the distance.

“That’s it? That was supposed to be a challenge?”

“Jerry could’ve done better.”

Tom thought to itself.

March 7th was always one to embrace the absurd but stopped trying to make sense of it. She crouched down next to Tom, smoothing out her skirt before reaching out to touch the spot where it had been sliced in two.

Running her hands over its body, March 7th found nothing—no scars, no marks. Not even the faintest sign of injury.

Enjoying the attention, Tom curled its arms close to its chest like a hamster and purred contentedly.

March 7th murmured in disbelief.

“Completely fine… Not even a scratch.”

Sure, taking down a single Voidranger wasn’t a big deal. She could’ve done it in three shots.

But Tom’s body structure—that was what truly challenged her understanding of reality.

Dan Heng, the more logical of the two, was even more perplexed.

He examined Tom carefully, scanning for any signs of biological inconsistencies. There was no bl00d. No organs. Nothing a living creature should have.

Yet—

Its fur felt real. Its body radiated warmth. Underneath its fluffy coat, there was soft flesh. Everything about it screamed “living being.”

Maybe it had some kind of unique ability?

Dan Heng let out a deep sigh as he walked over to the flattened Voidranger husk. He stared at it, searching for answers.

And then—

“Screw it.”

His brain officially clocked out.

Sometimes, the best solution to an unsolvable mystery was to just… stop thinking.

After all, avoiding the problem might be shameful—

But it sure was effective.