After letting out a sigh, Dan Heng finally stepped forward, interrupting the argument between the two gray-haired individuals.
The space station was under siege by the Antimatter Legion, with swarms of Voidrangers wreaking havoc throughout the compartments, creating a perilous situation.
Though they were merely scattered remnants, even the lowest-level Voidranger could easily claim the lives of ordinary researchers.
However, the two individuals before him weren't wearing the standard uniforms of the station's staff, and their behavior didn't align with that of typical researchers. It was highly likely they weren't affiliated with the space station.
Stelle appeared exactly as she presented herself—suffering from memory loss, like a newborn baby.
After a brief conversation with her, Dan Heng was able to confirm this.
Caelus also claimed to have lost his memories.
—Dan Heng remained skeptical of his words.
Dan Heng sensed no malice from either of them, though this self-proclaimed Caelus seemed a bit… eccentric.
His intuition told him that these two were probably not villains, but their sudden appearance at the space station during such a critical moment raised suspicions.
Perhaps they were connected to the Legion's attack on the station.
"Huh? You don't know about the Astral Express? The Express visits the space station from time to time."
While Dan Heng was lost in thought, March 7th was animatedly introducing the Astral Express to Stelle:
"It's a train that travels across the sea of stars! Right now, it's docked in the space station's hangar. We usually go on adventures to all sorts of planets… Let me tell you, adventures are so thrilling!"
The moment the topic of adventures came up, March 7th seemed to have an endless stream of stories, chattering away about her experiences, leaving Stelle wide-eyed with excitement.
As she spoke, March 7th suddenly realized something, snapped her fingers, and pointed excitedly at Stelle and Caelus:
"Now that I think about it, one of you is named Stelle, and the other is Caelus. Put together, that's 'Stelle Caelus'—what a coincidence with our Astral Express!"
(TL: It's something that doesn't make sense in translation)
"Later, I'll ask Station Head Asta. If you're not space station staff, would you like to join us?"
The kind-hearted March 7th wasn't one to hold grudges. Having already given Caelus a baseball bat earlier, she considered the previous teasing incident settled.
"And, let me tell you, I'm quite familiar with memory loss. To be honest, I've lost my memories too."
Perhaps feeling that Stelle and Caelus had a good chance of joining the Express, and sharing the common plight of amnesia, March 7th adopted a senior's attitude, sharing her experience with memory loss.
"If you can't remember, don't force yourself. Take things one step at a time. Don't worry, I'll take care of you!"
"Yes, yes!"
Tempted by March 7th's thrilling adventure stories, Stelle nodded repeatedly, then suddenly remembered she had a 'little brother' and couldn't leave him behind.
She tugged at Caelus's arm. "I accept on his behalf."
"???" Caelus stared at Stelle, baffled.
Though he had no intention of refusing, what was with her "Be good, son, come with Mom" attitude?
"What are you looking at?"
Stelle put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest, declaring loudly, "Don't you know that an elder sister is like a mother?"
Regarding her relationship with Caelus, Miss Stelle had already made up her mind.
Even if this brat spat out curses from his mouth, she was the elder sister today!
"Mm-hmm!" Satisfied with the response, March 7th nodded and turned to Dan Heng to seek praise.
"Dan Heng, look! I found two new companions!"
The source of all entanglements stood proudly with her hands on her hips, practically spelling out "Praise me!" on her face.
Dan Heng did not reply, remaining silent for a moment before letting out a sigh.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" March 7th puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
Dan Heng remained expressionless, nodding to Stelle and Caelus:
"This is no place to linger. You two should head back with March."
After speaking, he turned to March 7th:
"Station master Asta just sent coordinates. Arlan from the Defense Department has lost contact nearby. I'll rendezvous with you all in the Master Control Zone after I find him."
"No problem, leave it to me!"
March 7th confidently thumped her chest in assurance, adding a reminder to Dan Heng: "Be careful out there!"
Though she wasn't really worried that reliable Dan Heng would get into trouble.
"Mm."
With a nod, Dan Heng turned and left the Curio Room.
Before departing, he glanced at Caelus one more time, silently hoping this one wouldn't cause any more trouble.
Watching Dan Heng's figure until it disappeared from view, March 7th turned to face Stelle and Caelus standing shoulder-to-shoulder behind her, nodding with satisfaction:
"From now on, we're the Amnesiac Trio!"
"Woo~!" Stelle cheered, raising her arms and glancing at Caelus.
Caelus: "..."
March 7th also turned her gaze to Caelus.
Under the scrutiny of two pairs of eyes, Caelus half-heartedly raised his hand: "Woo~~"
His delivery was as perfunctory as marital duties after three years of marriage.
"No energy! That won't help you recover your memories." March 7th adopted the demeanor of a senior amnesiac to instruct him.
"Is this some kind of memory recovery treatment?"
"Of course it's what I've summarized myself!" March 7th placed one hand on her hip while making a peace sign with the other.
Caelus blinked. Through secondary creations that reflected the game's latest storyline, he knew March 7th hadn't recovered her memories in those adaptations.
Meaning, even in the latest story developments, she remained amnesiac.
Moreover, this character archetype was classic - typically only recovering fragments of memory near the story's grand finale.
"Let's go."
March 7th assumed her squad leader persona, waving them forward, though she stopped after just one step.
Resting a finger against her smooth chin, March 7th pondered:
"With the Antimatter Legion running around the space station like rabid dogs, the return trip isn't safe either. You two should probably bring some self-defense weapons."
March 7th scanned their surroundings, spotting the baseball bat she'd previously discarded on the floor.
Picking up the bat, she initially meant to hand it to the nearest person - Caelus - but then the words "maintenance fee" flashed through her mind.
Her bat-holding hand swerved mid-air as she passed the weapon to Stelle instead.
"Stelle, why don't you take this?"
"Okay!" Stelle accepted the bat.
Thus, the Trailblazer obtained her signature weapon.
Noticing Caelus' expression that clearly said "What about me? Where's mine?", March 7th snorted lightly but still lowered her head to look around, searching the floor.
Caelus actually had no intention of competing with Stelle for the bat - he was just teasing March 7th.
His mask was functional equipment with zero combat effectiveness.
If he could find a powerful Curio for self-defense, that would be nice.
The furnishings in the Curio Room had been overturned by the shockwave from the Stellaron's containment release, leaving the floor in disarray with Curios of various shapes and sizes scattered haphazardly.
Only a few Curios still had their descriptive labels intact.
"Item #3471: Refusal of Silence."
"A miniature orchestral instrument set for the ensemble's performance will play some tolerable alien melodies at 0 decibels. If the decibels exceed 0, it will remain silent."
"Item #3472: Shadow Match."
"An ordinary matchstick in dim light, but when placed under bright illumination, its tip reveals surging dark green gaseous particles—colorless, odorless, and harmless to touch. When lit, it can dispel light and confine darkness."
"What in the world is all this?"
"Should I say, as expected of oddities? They really have all sorts of bizarre functions!"
"Besides, this is the first time I've seen so many oddities."
It felt like being dazzled by a riot of flowers—overwhelmed by choices. After some picking and choosing, March 7th picked up one of the oddities from the pile of treasures and handed it to Caelus.
"How about you try this, Caelus?" Caelus stared blankly at the object March 7th shoved into his hand and couldn't help but complain
"What the heck is this thing even for?!"
Its main body was blue and gold, with a texture close to metal yet lacking the coldness and weight of steel.
The flat, disc-like structure was printed with simple yet artistic geometric patterns. Staring at them, one would notice the patterns shifting, connected by bearings.
An extremely sci-fi-looking yo-yo.
"You could use it to hit people, and then pull it back after," March 7th suggested tentatively, scratching her head awkwardly as she realized how far-fetched it sounded.
"Hitting people? Seriously?" Caelus muttered under his breath, slipping the string onto his middle finger and giving it a casual flick.
The yo-yo, as if enchanted, spun rapidly along the string, tracing elegant arcs in the air.
Guided by the string, it soared high and spun low, dancing gracefully with Caelus's movements as though it had a life of its own.
"Hey, you know how to use it?" March 7th looked surprised.
"Of course."
Caelus had watched plenty of yo-yo cartoons as a kid. He remembered how popular they were in elementary school—almost everyone had one.
Sliding up and down ♪
Pulling in and letting out ♪
"Not bad!"
She patted Caelus on the shoulder and said with a laugh, "It's just a precaution, really. Don't worry, I'll protect you guys."
"Right, right, big sister will protect you," Stelle chimed in, swinging the bat in her hand and finding it exceptionally well-suited.
Dashingly resting the bat on her shoulder, she puffed out her chest.
"I told you, the older one" Caelus corrected Stelle's address, retracting the yo-yo and following behind the two.
Well, it was free—no reason not to take it. Might as well keep it as a toy~!
Besides, it might not be entirely useless as a weapon.
Although Caelus hadn't paid much attention to Honkai Impact 3rd Part 2, he knew that the protagonist's wife in Part 2 used a yo-yo.
After picking up the initial gear from the starting point, March 7th led the two out of the oddity room.
Instead of heading back directly, she decided to check the two remaining rooms she and Dan Heng hadn't searched yet. Since they were on their way back, they might as well take a look—there could still be trapped staff inside.
The messy room showed no signs of anyone.
"It looks like any surviving staff have already been rescued!"
"In that case, let's head to the main control section!"
The metallic walls gleamed with a steely hue, flashing with glaring red lights as alarms echoed from afar. March 7th gave her instructions accordingly.
"Hurry, you two, keep up with me. The path ahead is going to be dangerous, so be extra careful..."
As she turned around, her words abruptly cut off. March 7th stared blankly at the empty space behind her, blinking in confusion.
Where are they?
Where are my two new companions?
Did they get lost?
A surge of panic welled up inside her, and March 7th immediately turned back to retrace her steps.
Fortunately, after passing through just one doorway, she spotted the two gray-haired figures.
"No injuries, good, good."
Patting her chest in relief, she hadn't even fully relaxed when she noticed something was off.
Both Caelus and Stelle stood rigid, their expressions serious, their eyes gleaming as they stared intently at a particular corner.
March 7th followed their gaze to the dim corner of the wall, but there was nothing there.
If she had to describe it, there was only a scattered pile of documents—nothing that should have drawn such attention.
So what were they looking at?
Could it be something... unclean?
The thought of "ghosts" and "spirits" made her gulp nervously. She cautiously asked, "You two... what's wrong?"
"Huh?" Stelle turned to March 7th with a puzzled expression. "March, can't you see it?"
"See... what?"
"The treasure chest! The sparkling treasure chest!" Stelle's eyes glittered with excitement.
Caelus, who had been about to step forward, paused, a look of surprise crossing his face.
He had just asked his system about it. As a Honkai game system, it had a progressive spirit!
All the good optimizations from Star Rail were being incorporated, and treasure chests were one of them.
They could randomly generate in various places.
What surprised Caelus was that Stelle, who didn't have a system, could also see the treasure chest?
But he could ponder that later. Right now, the priority was...
Opening the treasure chest!
Caelus took a step forward.
A dark-colored short boot appeared beside his foot.
Momentarily stunned, he turned his head and met Stelle's gaze as she also turned to look at him.
Both could see the intense desire for the treasure chest in each other's eyes. Soon, that desire transformed into something else.
Their gazes clashed like drawn swords, sparking with electricity and tension, filling the room with a charged atmosphere.
"The treasure chest is mine!"
"The treasure chest is mine!"
Shouting in unison, they both lunged forward.
March 7th stood there, utterly bewildered and confused.
Treasure chest?
What treasure chest?
Where is there a treasure chest?
That's clearly just a pile of discarded documents, isn't it?