I'm in Honkai: Star Rail, and the Players are Going Feral Over Me!

Chapter 405 66 - The Fleeting Beauty

Her figure vanished as quickly as it had appeared, like a night-blooming cereus. Yet, in that single instant, Wende was certain of Her identity: Idrila, [The Beauty].

The reason Wende could recognize Her in a flash was precisely because of Her beauty, a glimpse of which was as breathtaking as a fleeting swan...

Though the moment was brief, Her charm was undoubtedly the most sublime in the entire cosmos. She was the most beautiful one in the hearts of all life, not because Her beauty was universally acclaimed, but because Her very existence embodied the specific "beauty" that each individual cherished most in their own consciousness. Therefore, [The Beauty] was not a singular ideal, which was the primary reason She was able to become an Aeon.

However, Wende couldn't understand why She would suddenly appear. Was it because he had succeeded Akivili? But... wasn't the time gap a bit too long for that? It hadn't been just a day or two since he inherited the Path of [Trailblaze]. Wasn't it a little late for Her to notice him now?

Moreover... just like Long of [The Permanence] and Akivili of [The Trailblaze], Idrila of [The Beauty] had also vanished from public view in some unknown manner. Perhaps... their disappearances were related. Perhaps... Wende should have a proper talk with the Mr. [Permanence] residing within him.

"Mm, I know what you want to ask, but don't be hasty. I have something more urgent."

Long seemed to know what Wende was about to ask. But before Wende could voice his question, he cut him off, his tone sounding extremely urgent.

"Fine, you go first."

Seeing Long's uncharacteristically flustered tone, Wende felt a flicker of curiosity. Besides teasing him, was there anything else that could make him this agitated?

"Don't be scared by what I'm about to tell you!"

"Cut the tired old memes. Just spit it out."

"Alright... I can feel it. Tayzzyronth the [Propagation] has been resurrected... Hmm, although this junior who usurped a part of my authority and I don't have much of a connection, for your current situation, His revival should be like adding frost to snow, right?"

"How did He revive? Didn't the Amber Lord smash Him into something rarer than DNA?"

Wende's brow furrowed. Although his understanding of [Propagation] was limited, he had idly played the Swarm Disaster mode in Honkai: Star Rail many times back in the Honkai world. He had a basic grasp of this universe's lore and naturally knew what a great menace Tayzzyronth had once been to the cosmos.

Compared to Emperor Rupert's Anti-Organic Equation, this one's [Propagation] was clearly a much greater threat to life.

After all, the continuation of a species is inseparable from [Propagation], and His existence could transform this natural instinct into an endless source of military might for Him.

Imagine this: your beloved is pregnant for ten months, only for the influence of [Propagation] to turn your adorable baby into a hideous insect. Your cherished wife becomes a broodmother for the Swarm, and you are very likely to become food for the "insects"...

This kind of fear was often far greater than death, or even [Destruction] itself!

"His birth was related to that ghost who lived against the timeline. You should know who I'm talking about. Because of his mad ramblings, a little insect was transformed into the most terrifying existence in the cosmos."

"Ah, and of course, we can't forget the prophecy from the venerable Nous, nor the foresight of his little brother. Otherwise, He might never have been born at all."

"As for why He was resurrected? It's because He glimpsed a corner of [The Permanence], of course! Although it was just a corner, it was enough for him to survive under that big idiot's hammer. I'm afraid that for the past tens of thousands of years, He's had those few remaining insects collecting His DNA scattered across the universe. As expected of an insect... its life force is truly tenacious."

Long's words were tinged with something close to admiration. It was hard to tell if he was marveling at the insect's tenacious life force, or just indirectly praising how amazing his own [Permanence] was!

Long was right. The threat Tayzzyronth posed to the cosmos was far more severe than Rupert III's. If not dealt with promptly, it could lead to major problems.

But... if they wanted to kill Him, only an Aeon could do the job. And if an Aeon personally intervened in this cosmic war... Wende couldn't be sure if that certain traumatized god wouldn't also get a sudden whim to step in himself. Although it felt like in Nanook's eyes, the [Destruction] he brought about was nothing special, for the life in the cosmos, his every move symbolized the death of a planet, the "withering" of a star, the "disappearance" of a galaxy.

If He truly entered the fray... and if no other Aeons stepped in to halt his path of destruction, should Wende intervene or not?

Such a difficult choice... Wende was sure he wasn't the only one with a headache over this.

The news of [Propagation]'s return would surely be known to all the major Aeons. Excluding the one who was slacking off and the one who loved to stir up trouble, and then excluding the one who didn't like to get involved...

It seemed the task of saving the cosmos would once again fall into the hands of the great Amber Lord... While he's at it, could he give Nanook a good whack with his hammer too? Since he's already there, one extra swing probably wouldn't hurt, right?

Or perhaps he could have his big brother Lan shoot a few arrows at those two menaces. Although Lan himself probably didn't even know he had a "hidden little brother" like Wende, the relationship between the Astral Express and the Xianzhou was solid. If you rounded up a bit, Lan could be considered Wende's "big brother"!

In that case, if he were to meet Yaoshi of [The Abundance], should he call her "sister-in-law" or just grab a weapon and fight alongside Lan? That was a question.

Alright, now was clearly not the time for Wende's divergent thinking. Besides watching how things unfolded, there didn't seem to be much else he could do.

If he tried to proactively deal with [Propagation], Long himself would probably throw a fit right in front of him... A god who had lived for who knows how long getting angry like a tsundere old man... the thought alone was terrifying!

"I don't know what you're thinking, but I have a feeling it's something very offensive."

Long's light screen silently commented in front of Wende.

"Is it? Just pretend you didn't see it."

Wende shrugged, looking unconcerned.

"Forget it, I'm not going to bicker with you. You can personally get involved in this matter concerning Tayzzyronth, but don't let anyone see you."

"?"

Wende looked at Long's dialogue box in astonishment. Had... the sun risen from the west today? The old dragon whose life philosophy was to lay low was suddenly feeling adventurous? What, was he tired of hiding and his legs had gone numb, so he wanted to stand up and stretch a bit?

"Don't look at me like that. This is an opportunity for you, don't be useless. You know what Propagation represents. Rather than letting it be occupied by some unknown insect, it's better to merge it directly into your Path. That would also count as averting a future disaster for the cosmos."

"But speaking of which, that Lan fellow already shot an arrow of light. You new-generation Aeons have tempers more explosive than the last. You either want to destroy this or destroy that, or you just raise your hand and shoot an arrow. Can't you be a little gentler?"

"But don't worry, that HooH fellow knows about these things. With a little nudge of Its scales, that arrow of light didn't hit the planet directly. You can still go and merge Tayzzyronth's Path into your own. As long as you don't find it disgusting."

"..."

Upon seeing Long's last sentence, Wende's expression, which had been somewhat intrigued, instantly became a little strange. If Long hadn't mentioned it, he might not have associated the Path of Propagation with... well, that. Now that he said it... he really did find it a bit disgusting.

"Tsk. It's not like you're going to give birth to insects. Or do you want your two little wives to give birth to insects? Young man, your tastes are quite..."

"Alright, alright, that's enough! Shut your mouth! If you say another word, I really won't deal with Him. We can just let some other Aeon handle it, it's all the same. Destruction himself might even want to strangle Him with his bare hands!"

Wende hastily cut Long off. They were just talking, why did he have to bring Jingliu and Tingyun into it? Had he been infected by a certain "eloquent" sovereign next door?

Seeing Wende's flustered anger, Long tactfully shut up. It's all the same, isn't it... I was just making an analogy. Where do you think those Vidyadhara from the Xianzhou came from, anyway?

In terms of seniority, Dan Heng from your crew should be calling me Great-Grandfather!

After ending the rather unpleasant conversation with Long, Wende walked into his bedroom with a contemplative look on his face. He was currently on Astral Express Line Two. Jingliu and the others were out on a trailblazing mission, while he had chosen to provide support from the train.

In reality, he was slacking off. After all, what problem couldn't these three solve? With Tingyun for strategy and wit, and Jingliu who was a one-woman army, plus Wendy with her science background...

Nowadays, after completing a trailblazing mission, Line Two could usually even bring back a few business deals for miHoYo Planet. This level of super-strong business capability was something the other two lines couldn't match.

And so, Wende could slack off at the rear with a clear conscience, and cook a hot, delicious meal for the three of them when they returned...

Hiss... Something felt a little off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Looked at this way, hadn't he transformed from a dignified adoptive father into a good housewife??

Whatever. As long as he could maintain his dignity as an adoptive father in front of Stelle and March, it was fine! After all, in front of those two, Wende generally couldn't slack off. There was always more to do than there was idle time!

Checking the time, the three of them should be back soon. Wende started cooking as usual, preparing their favorite dishes according to their tastes and preferences, and then waited for them to return to the train.

Sitting at the dining table, Wende's mind was filled with a thousand thoughts. Long was right about some things. And to achieve a certain goal, he did indeed need to absorb other Paths for his own use.

As for the current Swarm Disaster... he felt it was a secondary problem. For no other reason than the conflict between [Destruction] and [Propagation]. The Antimatter Legion would definitely slow its invasion and turn to attack the insects instead.

Looked at this way, the possibility of Nanook personally stepping in to strangle Tayzzyronth was not zero.

It seemed that if he wanted to obtain the Path of [Propagation], he had to deal with Tayzzyronth sooner rather than later. And not just soon, but fast. He had to eliminate Him without being discovered.

Judging from the fact that he hadn't received any news, the major powers in the cosmos probably hadn't received information about [Propagation]'s resurrection yet. Once the news of Propagation's return was known to mortals, it would surely cause an even greater panic.

Therefore, nipping the newly revived Propagation in the bud was a favorable outcome for everyone.

Just as Wende was considering whether to tell the others about this beforehand or handle it alone without their knowledge, the three who had gone trailblazing returned. And... it looked like they had brought back some local specialties?

"Welcome back. The food is ready. Wash your hands and let's eat."

Wende stood up with a smile, took the local products from Wendy's hands, and gently ruffled her soft hair. Then he smiled at Jingliu and Tingyun.

"Mm, thank you for cooking this whole table of food, Benefactor. We could smell the aroma the moment we stepped into the return capsule."

Gently tapping the tip of Tingyun's nose, Wende nodded at Jingliu with eyes full of tenderness.

If the relationship between Tingyun and Wende was like that of a newlywed husband and his sweet young wife, then Jingliu and Wende were more like an old married couple. No words were needed between them; a single glance was enough to convey everything.

Of course, Wende never wanted to be the "old husband" in this "old married couple"! The culprit was this white-haired woman right in front of him!

What? You mean Wendy? Sorry, I really only see her as a little sister (serious face).

After dinner, as was customary, the three trains held a brief daily meeting during the system's evening hours. However, because Kiana and the others had exams coming up, and the situation here wasn't as critical, there were only two trains active on the star rails for now.

Wende greeted Stelle and March, then exchanged today's trailblazing logs with Himeko and Welt. Another simple and unadorned day on the Express passed by.

---o---

In the dead of night, the lights inside the train had been adjusted to the optimal level for deep sleep. Through Wende's perception, everyone except Jingliu had long since fallen asleep. As for Jingliu herself... after getting her to sleep, Wende had also tucked her in. Although catching a cold was impossible for her, the small details still had to be handled properly.

With a flash, Wende's figure appeared inside the miHoYo Building. He already had the specific coordinates for [Propagation]. Now, he just had to go over and take care of Him.

Although he was facing the newly resurrected Tayzzyronth, whose strength was not even a tenth of his peak, this was still Wende's first direct confrontation with an Aeon. He couldn't be careless. He had to prepare everything in advance.

Most importantly, he needed to figure out the movements of the Legion and Nanook. He didn't want a giant Destruction brute to suddenly pop out while he was in the middle of soloing Tayzzyronth. That would be fun. The kind of "fun" where you get caught in real life by the person you've been trash-talking online.