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

After Yevenko's prank, March 7th fully woke up in an instant.

She scratched her head, looking around in confusion.

"Where are we?"

"Why's it so dark here? It even feels hotter than back in Belobog city."

Peering out the window, even under the dim glow of lamplight, she found the darkness suffocating—far heavier than ordinary nightfall, filled with an oppressive gloom.

Hearing March 7th's confusion, Yevenko suddenly laughed sinisterly. Flashing a wide grin, he sprouted two small, devilish red horns atop his head.

"Hehehe!"

"That's right, March 7th—this is hell!"

"You're here because you haven't been nice enough to Yevenko! Prepare for your eternal punishment!"

March 7th immediately squinted at Yevenko, clearly unimpressed. She pursed her lips slightly, replying flatly:

"Come on, Yevenko. Do you really think I'm that dumb? A smart and sharp girl like March 7th won't fall for the same trick twice!"

She suddenly paused, noticing the elegant purple-haired girl standing quietly behind Yevenko and Tom. Blinking curiously, she softly asked:

"Wait, who's this?"

At March 7th's question, Raiden Ei gently inclined her head, lips parting slightly.

"Raiden Ei."

Seeing Ei say nothing more, Yevenko realized this was just how she was. She wasn't cold—just accustomed to solitude in her Plane of Euthymia, making her naturally quiet around strangers.

Honestly, this reserved behavior was exactly how Yevenko had always imagined Ei would be. He still found it a bit odd how warmly she'd acted toward him earlier.

Seeing March's confusion, Yevenko explained further:

"She's a passenger on my Astral Express now, so she'll be traveling with us from now on."

Hearing that, March 7th didn't press further on why Ei had suddenly joined. From the look of her clothes alone, it was obvious she wasn't even from this planet.

Instead, March simply nodded, offering a bright, friendly smile.

"In that case, I'll be counting on you from now on, Ei-neesan!"

Raiden Ei's lips curved faintly in reply.

"I'll do my best."

Ei already found herself feeling warmly toward this lively, cheerful girl. Over the centuries, pure souls like March's had become exceedingly rare.

At that moment, Natasha walked into the room, her long blue-gray hair swaying softly. The clinic's lamplight gleamed faintly against the supple black leather armor tightly fitting her curves.

She'd just finished treating the injured Wildfire members and now had a brief moment of respite. Natasha nodded slightly toward Yevenko, recognizing him from earlier.

He—or rather, this cat—had saved many of her people. Naturally, she held a favorable impression of him and, by extension, of March 7th and the others.

Initially, she'd viewed these newcomers as potential trouble after Sampo had brought them down from the Overworld. Now, that impression had clearly changed.

Noticing March 7th had just regained consciousness and was still somewhat disoriented, Natasha reassured her gently.

"You're fine now. Your friend, Dan Heng, already woke up and stepped out a while ago."

"As for your other companion, she's still asleep for unknown reasons, but according to my examination, she's completely unharmed. She should wake up shortly."

"Oh? Actually, she's awake now."

Everyone turned toward the other bed, seeing Stelle sitting up slowly, rubbing her head lightly. Her clear, somewhat vacant eyes looked around at them in confusion.

"Why are you all staring at me…"

"Yevenko?"

"You came to the Underworld too?"

Yevenko nodded decisively.

"Since everyone's awake, let's continue our thrilling grand adventure!"

With dramatic flair, he raised his right paw, clenched into a fist toward the ceiling light above.

March 7th immediately followed his lead, enthusiastically playing along.

"Ohhh!!"

She shouted loudly, raising her fist high as the lamplight dramatically illuminated her hand. Tom quickly lifted his paw up as well.

Raiden Ei smiled faintly, slowly raising her clenched fists as well.

No longer the deity of a nation, now she was simply… on a grand adventure.

Seeing Stelle still sitting blankly on her bed, Yevenko immediately called out to her.

"Stelle, why are you just sitting there? Hurry up!"

Stelle quickly scrambled over, looking at her own hand before hesitantly raising her fist. Her voice came out softly:

"Oh…"

"That weak little shout couldn't launch a battleship! Louder!"

Though Stelle had no idea what "battleship" even meant, she gathered her courage, shouting energetically:

"OH!!!"

Now that's better!

The next second, everyone around her calmly lowered their hands and started heading toward the clinic's exit, leaving Stelle standing alone, awkwardly retracting her fist with confusion.

She hurried to follow Yevenko outside.

Just as they reached the clinic entrance, hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from outside. A group of people burst urgently through the doors, all wearing recognizable corporate military uniforms.

Although Yevenko had no clue why they were here, it was clear—they were employees of the IPC (Interastral Peace Corporation).

They carried several critically injured employees, shouting anxiously:

"Doctor! Doctor! Please save them!"

"We're completely out of medicine!"

Yevenko glanced at the injured soldiers, quickly noticing clear signs of explosions. Spotting part of a bug carcass still stuck to one IPC employee's uniform, he immediately understood.

Meanwhile, March 7th widened her eyes in astonishment:

"Wait, those uniforms… aren't those from the IPC? Why would they be on Belobog, let alone in this condition?"

Yevenko replied softly:

"It's the True Stings. They must've run into a large number."

Truthfully, these severely wounded soldiers might be considered lucky. Thanks to their advanced IPC armor, they had managed to survive the explosions.

The Wildfire members earlier had fared far worse. Direct hits had mangled their bodies beyond recognition. Those treated in Natasha's clinic had mostly only suffered from the explosions' aftershocks.

Very few seriously injured Wildfire members had made it here—most had already died instantly.

Natasha hesitated slightly, seeing these outsiders from the Overworld. Medicine was extremely precious in the Underworld. After a moment, she gently sighed and nodded:

"Set them down. I'll take a look."

At that moment, another set of footsteps entered the clinic, and the person stepping inside made everyone pause in surprise.

"Bronya?"