The Gamer who traveled to Honkai: Star Rail

Inside the space station, Herta had gone off to the Interastral Peace Corporation to pull in another round of sponsorship for the Simulated Universe. 

The IPC had countless flaws, but in the current galactic environment, it was the only one that could afford to bankroll Herta's extravagance.

After Herta left, Ruan Mei also departed. This time, she was heading for an uninhabited planet. 

On one hand, she had a previously scheduled project to work on. On the other, her time spent with Pei Guang and her observations in the Simulated Universe had sparked a number of new ideas.

Some players had tried implementing the cultivation model Pei Guang proposed in the Simulated Universe. 

The results were astonishing: ordinary people, based on all the data, were able to exceed the limits of their own life through ample emotional nurturing, achieving several stages of advancement.

With this data as support, and the fact that Pei Guang had actually managed to create an Emanator, Ruan Mei was ready to try this method herself. However...

She looked at her phone: on it was a message from one of the creations she had made at the space station. 

These were the creations that had been taken away by Below One Bucket. They had now arrived on another planet. 

During their self-directed learning process, they had learned to use electronic devices like smartphones. As they followed Bucket on its trials and training to grow into creations that Ruan Mei could approve of, they also sent her updates about what they saw and experienced.

At that moment, Ruan Mei received messages describing what they had encountered on a primitive planet. Afraid of annoying her and getting blocked, the creations had only sent a few photos.

Looking at those pictures, Ruan Mei was silent for a moment before a faint smile appeared on her face. 

Perhaps it was the thought of experimentation—she still couldn't quite understand the idea of "love" involved—but even if it was just for the sake of experimentation, she was ready to give it a try.

She replied with two words: "Very beautiful."

After sending that brief response, she received even more photos, including a large group photo of Bucket and all the little ones.

It felt strange. 

Clearly, she had only made a comment within her understanding, purely from an experimental mindset. 

But upon seeing these things, her brain's neurotransmitters began producing the chemicals typically associated with happiness between living beings.

At the same time, Ruan Mei began to wonder: should she give her previous creations… a little more love?

She left, heading to the uninhabited planet to begin her new experiment. Based on the Simulated Universe and Pei Guang's words, she devised a new hypothesis. 

She was curious: if she truly created the kind of life Pei Guang spoke of, and then offered herself as a sacrifice, could she create a true Emanator? Become a ■■?

While Ruan Mei now had a new goal, Pei Guang had just stepped out of Herta's office when he noticed a strange expression on Asta's face on the bridge.

"Asta? What's wrong? You look pale."

Hearing Pei Guang's question, Asta reflexively turned around. The moment she saw him, she opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it again.

"Hmm? Something's up?"

Pei Guang sensed a quest incoming and moved closer to her. At her feet, Peppy barked excitedly when he saw Pei Guang approaching.

Seeing him come closer, Asta seemed unsure how to start. 

Pei Guang then said, "Do you need my help with something? Just say it! If it's something caused by me or my companions, then you really need to tell me. Don't hold back! My fondness for you is already at a level where nothing could shake it. My trust in you is absolute."

Asta had initially intended to speak, but hearing Pei Guang say this made her swallow her words again. She didn't want to betray his trust, and the current issue in the space station did have something to do with him...

Pei Guang noticed her expression shift again. "So it is related to me? Wait… Don't tell me you found some other player and gave them all the quests and rewards? Come on! Station Manager! Asta! My adorable, beloved, most respected—"

Before he could finish, Asta interrupted, "Stop, stop! Don't say another word. All those adjectives are too embarrassing."

Looking at Pei Guang's smug expression, Asta took a deep breath and hesitantly said, "I'll tell you, but promise you won't get mad…"

Pei Guang: "Why would I be mad? Even if you took a mission from some shady figure to kill me, as long as you told me your reasons, I'd believe you."

When a player develops affection for an important character, as long as that character doesn't utterly betray them, players will always empathize with their motives.

Hearing that, Asta looked even more uncomfortable. "After spending all this time with you, I knew you'd say that… and that's exactly why… Sigh, fine. I'll tell you. But seriously, don't get mad…"

Pei Guang: "Mad?"

He figured it'd be pretty hard to make him mad. 

Those who had been personally killed or captured by him would readily agree with that sentiment!

Asta: "Here's what happened…"

Rewind to the day before: due to the sudden appearance of a Propagation Emanator, the entire space station personnel had to evacuate in a short time. 

Before evacuation, Asta had done a headcount. After returning, she checked again and confirmed: not one person was missing, and no one extra had appeared either.

However, the event had left many staff members disgruntled. When they returned and found out that nothing had actually happened, the dissatisfaction only worsened.

Some staff even believed that the whole thing was a loyalty test from management, that there was no danger at all. That it was all fake. 

Just illusions. Staged. Photoshopped.

As word spread overnight, even Pei Guang got dragged into the drama.

Some people believed everything Pei Guang had done back then had been a performance, a calculated act to mislead everyone.

In the end, the private group chat exploded. Pei Guang's fans argued, "Blame the management if you must: what's Pei Guang got to do with it?"

Spectators who just came to watch the chaos said the space station's danger was all caused by Pei Guang. Maybe he'd even caused the Antimatter Legion incident too. 

How could someone be considered a savior when all they did was clean up their own mess?

So the group chat descended into a full-blown flame war. 

In reality, people still acted polite and friendly face-to-face, but the anonymous brawling in the group chat even alarmed the security department.

If it had just been a war of words, that would've been the end of it, but this morning, someone had gone missing. 

At first, it seemed like an ordinary disappearance, but when Asta investigated their profile and circumstances, she discovered that the person missing… was the one who had cursed the most in the group chat the previous day.

How to put it… the anonymous group chat was just a place for everyone to vent: if no one had gone missing, it would've just been two groups arguing, but once someone disappears, it's a different story.

What's worse, today things got even messier. 

On top of that, the space station's danger alarm had just gone off, making the situation feel increasingly unstable.