Honkai: Star Rail – From the Moment Tom The Cat Became My Passenger

Dan Heng used his spear to prod at the creature, studying it closely before finally sighing.

"Just as I thought—a True Sting."

Hearing this, March 7th immediately scooted closer, her pink lips parting as she asked quietly,

"What's a True Sting?"

"It doesn't look that tough to me. Hmph! Even if it's a bug, I'm not afraid. I'll just shoot them down, one arrow each!"

Dan Heng caught the confidence in her voice, a thoughtful glint in his eyes. He shook his head gently.

"It's not so simple."

"Let me give you a quick explanation."

"True Sting aren't just ordinary insects. They walk the Path of Propagation. In the age of ancient amber, the Aeon of Propagation unleashed a disaster across the galaxy—a universal locust plague that destroyed countless worlds and wiped out entire species. In the end, the Aeon of Propagation was hunted down and destroyed by the other Aeons."

"An individual Swarm bug might not be strong, but what makes them terrifying is how fast they multiply."

Dan Heng silently watched the dying bug in the snow. Even as it clung to life, dark green slime seeped from its body—and within that slime, a smaller larva began to poke its head out.

"Division."

Dan Heng raised his spear and pierced the larva cleanly.

"In just a short time, True Stings can rapidly reproduce—splitting off new individuals. That's normal for Swarm bugs. If there's a queen around here, the consequences could be unimaginable."

"March, maybe you could shoot down a Swarm bug with every arrow—but what if you had to face tens of thousands at once?"

March 7th's mind immediately conjured the image Dan Heng described—a vast, seething swarm surging toward her. She doubted she'd even get many arrows off before being swallowed up.

"Eugh—!"

She shivered, hugging herself tight, goosebumps prickling her arms. Even with protection against the icy weather, it did nothing against the chill running down her spine.

"So what do we do? Does this mean we have to call off the Trailblaze mission?"

Dan Heng shook his head at once.

"The Trailblaze is always full of unknowns."

"Even if we did want to turn back, we'd still need to investigate what's really happening on this planet."

"Besides, we've got Tom and Yevenko."

"With their… peculiar talents, it might not be impossible to resolve this kind of crisis."

Dan Heng glanced over at Yevenko and Tom. Even for someone as stoic as him, the sight made the corner of his mouth twitch. It was getting hard to keep a straight face.

The snow here was no longer knee-deep, just enough to cover their ankles.

But what was he looking at?

He saw Yevenko and Tom swimming through the snow!

In places where the ground had been exposed by the earlier explosion, Yevenko and Tom's bodies were still half-submerged, gliding along as if swimming—utterly unfazed. When they finished, the snow and earth looked untouched, completely at odds with common sense.

March 7th watched their antics with wide, shining eyes, a hint of longing creeping in. She muttered, "That looks so fun… I wish I could swim too, but I forgot my swimsuit."

Stelle, standing nearby, nearly did a spit-take. She wondered if March 7th's brain hadn't been warped by Yevenko and Tom.

She said seriously, "That's not about the swimsuit! Even if we wanted to swim here, we'd just flop around and get stuck in place."

March 7th scratched her head, then grinned.

"Haha, you're right."

Dan Heng shook his head.

If this keeps up, will my sense of normalcy get warped too? He thought about it for a second. Probably… not.

He snapped himself out of it and said,

"All right, Yevenko and Tom are getting too far ahead. Let's catch up."

Everyone hurried after them.

On the way, with the threat of the Swarm, no one felt quite as relaxed—they moved forward with extra caution.

March 7th especially was on edge, half expecting more bugs to suddenly burst out and pounce on her.

Just then, a snowdrift not far ahead shifted.

"Yaaah!!"

March 7th nearly had PTSD—her ice bow materialized in her hands, arrow ready to fly.

But Dan Heng stopped her.

"Wait, March."

"From what I know of the Swarm, they wouldn't hide in a snowdrift. Based on what I'm seeing, there's probably a person under there."

Meanwhile, Yevenko and Tom had already circled the mound.

Yevenko pointed at the snowdrift, Tom nodded, and then pulled a small needle out from behind his back.

Yevenko shook his head.

After a bit of adjustment, he'd found it much easier to speak—even if his throat still itched, it wasn't a big deal.

He spoke up,

"Tom, that's way too short. Watch this, mine's much bigger."

With that, Yevenko reached behind himself and pulled out a syringe as long as a cat, its tip glinting menacingly in the light.

Tom shoved his paw into his mouth in terror.

Yevenko didn't hesitate—he leapt forward and jabbed the syringe straight into the snowdrift.

"Ah—OW↑ Oww↓ oww↑!"

A wail of agony rang out as a blue-haired, red-coated figure burst out of the snow, landing facedown with his butt in the air.

"Ahhh, my poor rear end, Sampo can't take it!"

Sampo clutched his butt, feeling the new puncture hole in his pants.

Yevenko looked at the syringe in his hand—he'd managed to inject Sampo and even got a perfect comedic scream out of him. Truly unbeatable.

He almost wanted to clap Sampo on the shoulder and tell him, You've got a real talent for comedy dubs. Don't hang around with the god of mischief—join the Church of Tom!

March 7th, seeing that it really wasn't a bug, patted her chest (which rippled like jelly), finally relaxing.

"So it wasn't a Swarm bug—we finally found someone living on this planet."

Hearing this, Sampo—still lying on the ground in his sad pose—turned around to get a good look at the group. Hearing words like "Swarm bug" and "planet," his eyes flickered strangely.

Then, his face broke into a big grin.

"So you're not Silvermane Guards, huh? Still, even if we're both in the business, that was way too ruthless! All right, all right, I'll split my stuff with you fifty-fifty, happy now?"