NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24 - The Stellaron Hunters’ Interest
Chapter 24: The Stellaron Hunters’ Interest
A Sudden Jolt
“BZZT!”
Silver Wolf shuddered violently, her arm twitching.
Her consciousness snapped back from the Herta Space Station to the skyscraper where she and Kafka were.
Kafka, noticing her sudden reaction, found it amusing and teased—
“Why so shaken this time? Did they finally catch onto you?”
But Silver Wolf’s expression was ice-cold—far from being in the mood for jokes.
She immediately pulled out her phone and began checking something.
A few moments later—
Her face twisted in despair.
“Gone. Everything’s gone. Not even a trace left…”
“This is too much! Way too much!”
Kafka’s Amusement
“Alright, alright, no tantrums. You’re not a kid anymore.”
“I’m not throwing a tantrum!”
Silver Wolf took a deep breath—as if she had just needed that brief moment to vent.
Then, her usual sharp focus returned.
“Kafka, I have something to show you.”
Kafka’s Skepticism
“What is it? That ‘Punk-Lorde Spirit’ thing you keep talking about?”
“You know I’m not interested in that.”
“No, not that.”
“Oh?”
“It’s a different game.”
“…?”
A Game Worth Noticing
“Listen, Silver Wolf,” Kafka sighed, “I know you love your games. Even if all your accounts got banned, you could just hack into a nearby IPC branch and retrieve them.”
“Let’s not spiral into self-destruction here.”
“You don’t get it. This game is different.”
With that, Silver Wolf cast the game’s display into a holographic projection in front of Kafka.
Kafka, still skeptical, decided to humor her, since she had been so devastated earlier.
Game Start—Honkai: Star Rail
“BZZT!”
Honkai: Star Rail launched!
On the screen, a vintage-style steam locomotive traversed the cosmos.
“The Astral Express?”
“This game uses a train theme? That’s actually pretty unique.”
Silver Wolf shook her head.
“Don’t ask me. I’m playing it for the first time too.”
“But I can tell you—this game’s story follows real-world events.”
“Who knows? You and I might even make an appearance.”
Kafka’s Interest is Piqued
“Oh? Now I’m intrigued.”
“I wonder how the developers portrayed me.”
But the moment she finished speaking—
Her smile froze.
Silver Wolf also stiffened.
She had just speculated that they might be in the game’s storyline.
And yet—
The very first scene…
Was Kafka, playing her void violin.
The Realization
They had expected some kind of build-up, maybe an introduction to the story’s world.
Instead—
The game immediately threw them into the scene of their infiltration of the space station.
Kafka’s smile disappeared.
Her expression turned serious as she watched.
As the story progressed, her gaze became sharper and sharper.
Unsettling Accuracy
“Silver Wolf…”
“Was our space station infiltration recorded by someone?”
“Impossible.”
“I disabled all remote links at the time. Forget security cameras—even detection signals couldn’t get through.”
“Besides, if we had really been caught on camera, don’t you think someone would have tried to stop us?”
“Not to mention—we left without any trouble.”
Kafka didn’t doubt her.
She knew for a fact that their presence at the Herta Space Station had been completely erased.
So how was this game recreating everything so perfectly?
Every detail was spot-on.
Even tiny movements, things neither of them had paid much attention to at the time, were perfectly mirrored.
Kafka’s Ultimate Move
The next moment—
Kafka’s battle animation played.
Her ultimate move—
[Trembling Sonata at the End of Tragedy].
She watched in silent admiration.
“Forget the story for a second—this finishing move is quite something.”
Even she had to admit—
The animation was flawless.
It matched her combat style perfectly—
A blend of elegance and artistry within destruction.
Silver Wolf’s Turn
Silver Wolf whistled.
“Well? Told you this game was good.”
“Mm…”
“Look, look! It’s my turn!”
Silver Wolf’s eyes gleamed with excitement as her in-game character joined the party.
She immediately tested out her skills.
Her ultimate move activated—
[Account Banned!]
“WHAT KIND OF NAME IS THAT?!”
Silver Wolf almost laughed out of frustration.
But then—
She saw her character playing a rhythm game mid-battle, dealing rapid attacks to the enemy.
“…Well, at least the fighting style is accurate.”
“They even incorporated Ether editing into my animations!”
She was satisfied with the animation—
But her sharp gamer instincts quickly spotted an issue.
A Balance Problem?
“Why is my ultimate a single-target attack, but yours is an AoE?”
“Not only that—my single-target damage is lower than yours.”
Kafka chuckled.
“How should I know? I didn’t design the game.”
Silver Wolf narrowed her eyes.
“Wait… I think I get it.”
“My skill must have a hidden effect—there’s no way it’s just raw damage.”
“Just watch—there’s definitely some powerful secondary effect attached to it!”
Kafka smirked.
“Fine, fine, I’ll believe you.”
A Chilling Realization
As they continued playing—
The story led them to the Stellaron chamber.
On-screen, Kafka carefully placed the Stellaron into the vessel.
For a moment—
It felt like reliving the past.
Kafka murmured—
“I never thought I’d see this moment again.”
Then, Silver Wolf slammed the table.
“Enough! This game has already revealed far too much!”
“This developer knows us.”
“Not just us—they even know Elio.”
A Theory Forms
Kafka gazed at the screen, her eyes flickering in thought.
“This level of detail… it reminds me of Elio’s ability.”
“But Elio writes scripts of possible futures. This developer… has turned the past into a game.”
Silver Wolf nodded.
“I’m posting this in the group chat. We need to hear what the others think.”
The Stellaron Hunters’ Response
Silver Wolf quickly summarized the situation and sent it to their private network.
A reply came immediately from Sam—
“What’s this ‘Honkai: Star Rail’? Never heard of it.”
“Anyway, Kafka—Elio’s next script involves you. Shouldn’t you start preparing?”
Kafka typed back—
“Thanks, I’ll be ready.”
Sam didn’t reply again.
Silver Wolf wasn’t sure if he was secretly downloading the game, or if he truly didn’t care.
A Certain Someone…
“Wait, aren’t we missing someone?”
Silver Wolf started spamming Blade’s name.
After a long pause—
A single reply came.
“Not interested.”
Silver Wolf expected that.
So—
She sent Blade a video of Dan Heng’s ultimate move.
A few seconds later—
Blade immediately responded.
“It’s him. Ying Yuejun!”
“Where did you get this battle footage?!”
“No… this isn’t real combat. Where is he?!”
Silver Wolf smirked.
“Relax. It’s just a game.”
Blade went silent.
Silver Wolf leaned back, grinning at Kafka.
“You think he’ll play the game himself?”
Kafka chuckled.
“Who knows? But Blade always pays attention when it comes to him.“