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

"As long as you take that horrendous-looking syringe away, I'm good with anything."

Sampo glanced nervously at the oversized syringe in Yevenko's hand, feeling his barely-recovered backside start to ache again.

Yevenko nodded quickly at Sampo's words, hiding the syringe behind his back—though, honestly, it was so big that it was impossible to conceal.

Sampo's eye twitched at the sight, feeling the implied threat of that needle.

If I try anything funny, he thought, that thing is going straight for my butt. What kind of pet is this? It looks cute, but it's even scarier than Huohuo.

He straightened up and forced a smile.

"I'm Sampo Koski. Nice to meet you."

"Since we're all in the business, let's just stick to money, not violence. Everything I… borrowed is stashed in the underground mines—"

Dan Heng cut him off, his voice calm.

"We're not your business partners, and we don't care about your loot."

"All we need is for you to guide us to the largest human settlement here."

Dan Heng didn't bother to hide their identity as outsiders—nor did he see a reason to.

Sampo blinked in surprise.

"A human settlement? You mean Belobog, right?"

"No problem! When it comes to directions, Old Sampo's your guy. There's nowhere in Belobog I can't find."

"Come with me!"

After a brief exchange, Sampo led the way.

March 7th cupped her hand to her mouth, whispering,

"People on Jarilo-VI are really straightforward. The first person we run into is this helpful! Maybe this Trailblaze mission will go smoother than we thought."

Dan Heng shook his head.

He watched Sampo striding ahead—leaving no footprints in the snow. That alone told him this man wasn't as simple as he acted.

He quietly warned, "Don't get ahead of yourself, March. Sampo's not as simple as he looks."

"And in any case, we don't know enough about Jarilo-VI yet. Just stay alert."

With that, Dan Heng stepped forward, trailing Sampo. If anything happened, he'd be ready to act.

Everyone else—cat included—followed.

After a while, Sampo was still bragging.

"What do you think of my 'treading snow without a trace' technique? I could teach you for the right price—guaranteed results, with job placement after!"

"Just on my reputation alone, whether it's the Upper or Lower Districts, people always show me respect—"

BANG!

Suddenly, a sharp gunshot rang out across the snowy plain.

Up ahead, Old Sampo yelped in pain.

"My leg!!"

He dropped to the ground, clutching his right leg, 'blood' flowing from his knee.

"Get ready!"

Dan Heng's eyes narrowed, his spear out in a flash to guard the others.

At the same time, three figures stepped out from cover up ahead.

The first two were clearly soldiers—uniformed in blue, faceplates over their heads, each wielding an axe-spear. Their movements were crisp and coordinated, the mark of trained elites.

Then, as they moved aside, the person behind them came into full view.

Her long, silver-white hair fell in two great spirals to her hips, pure as snow, fluttering in the icy wind like a banner.

She wore a white robe accentuating a slim waist, a blue cravat blooming vivid as blood at her chest.

Her thighs, straight and slender, were sheathed in flawless black stockings that shone with a faint luster in the light, curves tight and striking. Her boots were polished black and knee-high, the contrast with her stockings carrying a strangely forbidden allure.

In her hands was a long rifle.

Clearly, she was the one who had fired the shot.

"I am Bronya Rand," she announced, "and I order you to surrender immediately. If you—"

"Hold it! If you run again, I'll shoot!"

Before she could finish, Sampo—wounded and all—had sprung back to his feet and was dashing away at full tilt.

Bronya calmly raised her rifle, again aiming for his knees.

BANG!

The shot missed as Sampo weaved in an S-shape and took off, leaving her shaking her head and lowering her gun.

He wasn't a capital criminal—she'd aimed for his legs on purpose, just to stop him from escaping, not to kill.

Now, she turned her attention to Yevenko and the rest—cats and all.

Rather than attack, she regarded them with a slight frown, her lips pressed in a thoughtful line.

"And you—who are you?"

March 7th immediately perked up.

"Oh good, she doesn't think we're Sampo's accomplices! For a second I thought we'd have to go through another 'classic' fight-before-talking script again."

Bronya didn't quite catch all the terms, but she shook her head lightly.

"Judging by your clothing and appearance, you're clearly not from the Underworld. You look more like nobles from the Overworld."

"But I know almost everyone up there—none of you are familiar faces."

"Which means…"

A thought flickered across her mind. With the Landau surname, Bronya had read countless records—she knew the deep history beneath her feet.

And within that history, there were certain… legends.

Her silver-gray eyes flashed with sudden insight, lips parting as she spoke quietly:

"You're outsiders."

Dan Heng's eyes showed a flicker of surprise.

"To deduce all that from a first encounter—you just saved us a lot of trouble."

March 7th nodded vigorously.

"Exactly! You must be a big shot around here!"

Bronya shook her head gently, her pink lips curving as she replied,

"I just received the best education. Anyone could do the same in my place. This land has suffered too much."

"There's so little we can give the children."

"Anyway, standing around in the snow isn't the way to treat guests."

"I don't know why you've come here—that's for the Supreme Guardian to decide. I'll take you to her."

With military efficiency, Bronya turned and led the way without another word.

The two Silvermane Guards stayed where they were until Yevenko's group followed, then moved to walk behind them.

After several hundred paces, Bronya stopped. Her silver gaze grew distant and proud as she spoke softly.

"We're here. Welcome to our 'City of Preservation'—Belobog."

She stepped aside. The group gazed down from the towering cliff.

Spread below was a vast city encircled by mountains, standing lonely and eternal amid the snow—a fortress seemingly carved into the ice itself.

Yevenko hurried forward, pointing excitedly at the city.

Tom nodded enthusiastically.

He pulled out two pieces of cloth from behind his back; Yevenko darted over, digging out two ropes, and tied the fabric to Tom's paws, making a pair of makeshift wings.

Tom gave them a few experimental flaps, actually lifting himself off the ground for a moment, then nodded at Yevenko.

Yevenko grabbed Tom's legs.

The next second, two cats sprinted off the cliff—and leapt straight into open air.

March 7th's eyes went wide. She dashed to the edge, shouting, "Yevenko! Tom!"

Bronya simply shook her head.

"Are those your pets? With just two pieces of cloth, they can't possibly fly like birds. Let's head down and check on them."

"If we're lucky and there's a snowdrift, maybe they'll…"

Before she could finish, Stelle interjected, lips pressed tight.

"Survive the fall?"

"Leave a whole corpse?"

At the same time, Bronya finished what she hadn't said.

But then, a dark shape suddenly shot up from behind the cliff where Bronya stood, a voice echoing across the silent snowfields.

"Wuhu, takeoff!"

Startled, Bronya turned just in time to see Tom flapping his makeshift wings, Yevenko still dangling from his paws.

This kind of lift-off—with just a pair of cloth wings—defied everything she'd learned, shattering her worldview. Her silver-gray eyes were wide with shock and confusion.

"Can all outsiders do things like this? I can't make sense of it."

Dan Heng watched as everyone but himself gawked at the spectacle, and a strange sense of pride welled up in his heart. He said quietly, "Only those two can do that. Not all outsiders are built the same."

Bronya nodded in a daze, still confused as to why the pink-haired girl had rushed to the cliff edge and shouted after her 'pets.'

But in the next instant, she understood.

March 7th was frantically waving and shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Yevenko! Tom! Take me with you!!"

Seriously? Snow swimming wasn't enough for them—they're not even bringing me along for high-altitude gliding?!