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

Around them, the IPC employees continued to grumble intermittently.

"Ouch—this was supposed to be a simple survey job! Why are we suddenly fighting alien bugs?! We need a pay raise—a huge raise!"

"Sure, you go tell Director Topaz yourself later."

"Uhh… Anyway, we thought it'd be easy, so we didn't bring many medical supplies. And the medicine she's using seems kinda…"

"Shut up. As long as it works, keeping them alive is all that matters!"

Listening quietly, Yevenko pondered their words.

It seemed the IPC had moved up their debt collection for some reason and stumbled directly into conflict with the Swarm.

In that case…

Topaz had likely already met with Cocolia. The IPC probably came down here shortly after Cocolia gave them permission.

Yevenko could vaguely guess Cocolia's intentions.

The main Swarm hadn't fully reached this planet yet, otherwise Jarilo-VI would've already been overrun. However, Cocolia—who had been influenced by the Stellaron since childhood and could communicate with it—likely sensed the arrival of the Swarm bugs.

She probably used the IPC negotiations as a convenient excuse, directing their employees down here deliberately. The iron ore in the Underworld would certainly attract the bugs.

Thus, it was natural that the IPC team tasked with surveying this planet's value would encounter the Swarm.

This was a classic case of "using wolves to deal with tigers."

However, he wondered—once IPC realized Jarilo-VI was facing both Stellaron and Swarm invasions, would they immediately abandon the planet?

Yet, hidden deep underground was also an incredibly valuable military factory, powerful enough to easily crush an entire legion's advance team.

Moreover, the Stellaron itself could technically be considered an asset, if handled correctly.

He was curious about how Topaz would react.

He'd let Cocolia and Topaz handle it between themselves for now. One had the Stellaron's corruptive power, and the other held power granted by an Aeon's envoy—so they could likely balance each other out temporarily.

Of course, that balance assumed IPC's main fleet wouldn't intervene immediately.

As Yevenko pondered, Bronya finally noticed their group. Her pupils shrank slightly in surprise.

"You two?!"

"So that pipe led down here..."

Yevenko wanted to correct her—the pipe had led straight to Cocolia's council hall, letting him farm a huge amount of [Exploration Value] from her. But discussing how he "farmed" Cocolia in front of her nominal daughter probably wasn't appropriate.

Bronya glanced cautiously at March 7th and Stelle, who had tensed slightly at her sudden appearance. Shaking her head softly, she spoke quietly:

"Relax. I'm not here to capture you this time."

"The truth is, I have doubts about many of my mother's—no, the Supreme Guardian's—decisions. She's changed so drastically that she's become unfamiliar, almost unrecognizable."

"After arguing with her over the negotiations with IPC, she sent me here to keep an eye on their employees."

"Can anyone explain what exactly those insects are? I've never seen anything like them before. They don't seem like ordinary Fragmentum creatures."

Perhaps because she'd built up too many frustrations lately without anyone to confide in, encountering Yevenko and his group—familiar strangers as they were—made Bronya instinctively share everything openly.

Realizing she'd lost her composure, Bronya took a deep breath.

"I apologize. That was inappropriate."

"But no matter what, I'm determined to find out the truth for myself. I can sense that you all possess...something special."

Bronya's gaze fell back on Yevenko and Tom.

"So, could I join you?"

"To earn your trust, you can ask me anything. I'll answer honestly."

Hearing Bronya's earnest request, Stelle and March 7th exchanged thoughtful glances, eventually nodding. They asked Bronya several pointed questions regarding the Stellaron, Belobog, and Cocolia herself.

Bronya answered thoroughly and honestly, her explanations aligning with the information they already knew, convincing them of her sincerity.

With their approval, Bronya quietly joined their group.

On their way out, they found Dan Heng participating in a local boxing match and promptly dragged him away, setting out together as one large group.

Their immediate concern was the True Stings. It seemed the creatures had discovered that the iron ore was delicious and were now steadily pouring deeper underground.

If the ore ran low, their next logical food source would be obvious—human flesh.

Or perhaps, the bugs were already pursuing both simultaneously.

Oddly, the Upper District should've already experienced similar attacks from the Swarm—likely even more intensely, since the bugs came from space and would have encountered the upper levels first.

Yet before Yevenko and the others arrived, they'd seen barely any bugs there at all.

Perhaps something else was already holding them back, keeping the Swarm out of public view.

BOOM—!!

Suddenly, a tremendous noise erupted, shaking the ground violently enough to knock loose debris from the ceiling above.

"What was that?!"

March 7th reflexively looked up—only to see solid rock.

Dan Heng responded calmly:

"Clearly something significant is happening nearby, though it's hard to pinpoint exactly where."

At that moment, Tom urgently tugged at Yevenko's arm, pointing toward a spot in the distance.

Yevenko's eyes followed Tom's gesture, spotting a small white piggy bank outlined in golden lines, with distinctive deep-purple ears.

Everyone quickly noticed it as well.

Bronya furrowed her brows slightly, whispering quietly:

"I recognize that piggy bank. It belongs to Topaz, the IPC director. I believe it's called Numby. Why is it here?"

Numby clearly noticed their group, taking a few steps forward, then glancing back at them again.

"Is it trying to tell us to follow it?" March 7th wondered aloud.

Tom's eyes instantly lit up. He whipped out a white cowboy hat from behind his back, placed it stylishly on his head, and elegantly tied a red bandana around his neck, letting out an enthusiastic cowboy yell:

"YEE-HAW!"

In the blink of an eye, he vanished, instantly reappearing atop Numby's back like a knight. He casually peeled back Numby's fur as though opening a jacket, revealing flesh-colored skin—but instead drew a revolver hidden within.

Firing twice enthusiastically into the air—

Bang! Bang!

Numby charged forward dramatically.

Seeing this, Yevenko's eyes widened in excitement.

"Holy cow—Tom, take me with you!"

But Tom had already bolted off. Yevenko glanced desperately around before leaping onto Raiden Ei's shoulders, copying Tom's act by swiftly pulling out his own cowboy hat and revolver.

"Well, it's not as stylish as a piggy-bank mount, but Ei will have to do!"

"Let's go, Ei!"

Gently tugging Ei's braid and squeezing his legs lightly around her neck, Yevenko issued his playful command.

Raiden Ei gave a soft, resigned nod, gracefully stepping forward to chase after Tom and Numby.