[Reality]
[Siberian Duck's Livestream]
The story has reached the big battle with the fight in front of the elevator.
"Aiya, the moment March said that line I knew monsters were definitely going to show up!" Siberian Duck immediately started complaining as she watched the monsters suddenly appear in the cutscene.
She quickly entered combat. At this moment, Nero was still a trial character.
The whole team consisted of Dan Heng, March, the Trailblazer, and Nero.
Even though the two Stampede monsters had thick health bars, Nero's presence made the fight much easier.
Then the cutscene continued, this was the group's first time working together.
"Wow! Nero opens with a jumping slash! He really seems to trust the Astral Express crew. As expected of someone from the same hometown, Dan Heng instantly cooperated with him! March and the Trailblazer didn't react slowly either! Their teamwork is amazing!"
The smooth coordination in the animation made Siberian Duck yell out in excitement, and the chat barrage quickly flooded in.
[I use Pantene: Aiyo, so handsome!]
[Wind-Type Fanboy Solo-Stanner: As expected of the Sword Immortal, starting with a jumping slash!]
[Aha's Messenger: Lol, Arlan's weapon got stolen.]
[Nero Is My Lifelong Husband: Their teamwork is way too good?!]
After that, the story reached the scene where the enemy army closes in and Nero unleashes his power.
"Holy crap! That's so cool?!" Siberian Duck gasped in shock.
[Give or Be Given: Could this be… Two Heavens, One Style?]
[Look At My Stats: No no, that's Tempest Final Slash!]
[Survivor: Wrong, it's sword in left hand, blade in right hand, two weapons, this move is called Dual-Blade Slide Tackle.]
[Nero Is My Lifelong Husband: It's fine, I'll step in! My husband is so handsome!]
[Kamisato Ayaka's Dog: If only they made this the wind MC's ultimate across the street…]
The cutscene soon moved on to Himeko's suitcase entrance, and March 7th's surprised shout.
When that two-character name sounded, it instantly triggered the Honkai players' memories in the audience.
[Sister Himeko: What? Who?]
[I Can Do Anything: No way??]
The animation continued until Himeko appeared.
The chat immediately exploded.
Aside from the barrage of people admiring Himeko, it was full of "Mom!!" messages.
And then March 7th's attempt to "divert disaster eastward" (throw the problem onto someone else) made everyone burst out laughing.
[Nero's Sword: March, I didn't think you were like this.]
[Wild Little Bunny: March, you pretty girl, your conscience is just completely gone!]
The story soon reached the part where Arlan leaves and Himeko introduces herself.
When March 7th asked the Trailblazer and Nero if they knew about the Astral Express, the Nero on-screen raised his hand and bounced while saying, "I know, I know!"
"I'm telling you, Nero is way too cute for someone who's supposed to be a Sword Immortal!" Siberian Duck stared at Nero with the eyes of someone looking at a small animal. "How can he be hopping up and down like that?!"
[My Pee Is Yellow: I'm done. Already done.]
[Hikikomori Genius: Looks exactly like me trying really hard to raise my hand to answer the teacher's question.]
[Neighbor: My god, you actually answered the teacher's questions??]
[sfdjoifei: And which teacher's questions might you be answering? I have tons of teachers' lectures here, join the group: 3350***...]
The story continued, Nero seized the chance to "counterattack" March 7th, and then March stubbornly talked back, while Dan Heng silently separated the two.
"Good, good, good! As a Sword Immortal, Nero refuses to suffer even the tiniest loss, he immediately 'returned the favor' to contestant March 7th as soon as he got the chance!"
Siberian Duck narrated the story like a commentator.
"Contestant March 7th chooses to seek help from Teacher Dan Heng. Oh my god! Teacher Dan Heng enters the field! He didn't choose to help March 7th, he separated Nero and March instead. He expressed his stance with actions!"
[Aha's Messenger: Lol, March 7th frozen on the spot.]
[Wind-Type Fanboy Solo-Stanner: Teacher Dan Heng looked exactly like 'Don't corrupt my child.' Absolutely adorable!]
[Slack-Off Slack-Off Ah: Dan Heng: 'March, stay back. Don't corrupt my kid.']
[Oui: Dan Heng quietly stood between them. He didn't say anything, yet somehow said everything.]
After the brief comedic scene, the story moved to the conversation with Asta, ending with Asta calling out to Nero.
"Oh no, Nero got called over by Asta. You don't even have to guess, Nero is definitely going to be saddled with a massive debt," Siberian Duck said.
[Oiled-Up Bro From Chong Country: I'm back after finishing, my poor Nero, starting down the path of debt at such a young age.]
[Nero Is My Lifelong Husband: Asta, come at me instead! I'm willing to suffer in Nero's place!]
[Happiness Vending Machine: Good good good, so you swing both ways, you're collecting both sides now? Your abacus beads are flying into my face.]
The story temporarily ended here, and Siberian Duck opened the team-building and gacha features, so she spent a while on the beginner tutorials.
Finally, after drawing some characters and leveling up, Siberian Duck continued doing missions.
Because Nero left the team after Asta called him over, she no longer had access to his trial version.
Now Siberian Duck's team consisted of Gepard, Welt Yang, Seele, and Himeko.
Nero's conversation with Aha did not appear in the story.
———
[In the Game]
Following their previous plan, the Astral Express crew wandered around the space station, calming the staff and helping out wherever they could.
They helped Hinkel debug the remote-sensing satellite, then comforted Abraham, who was extremely anxious and spoke with a theatrical flair.
After assisting the space station staff, the group returned to Asta to report the situation.
"Huh? Lead Researcher Asta, where's Nero?" March 7th didn't see him nearby and asked Asta.
"He seemed to have gone looking for you. Looks like you didn't run into him." Asta blinked and quickly understood what happened.
"Huh? Why is that kid running around randomly?!"
At that moment, the entire space station suddenly shook violently.
Countless virtual screens surged wildly before everyone's eyes, scarlet exclamation marks stabbing their retinas, and a continuous alarm rang out in their ears.
Looking up, a massive screen appeared, showing the culprit behind the chaos.
Outside the space station, a gigantic claw was pushing through the outer protective barrier! And the owner of that claw was a winged dragon made of piled-up bones and corpses.
Fragments of an ancient beast were driven by countless entangled resentful spirits and destructive killing intent. The dark-matter engine pulsed with surging waves of energy.
Seeing that terrifying cosmic monster, a single name surfaced in everyone's mind, the Doomsday Beast.
Asta immediately told the Express crew to take the train and leave, while she stayed behind.
Himeko reacted instantly, pulling the Trailblazer away from the area, while Dan Heng urged a hesitant March 7th to go with them.
The support sector's protective shield clearly couldn't withstand the Doomsday Beast's assault for long, the Express crew had to evacuate as fast as possible.