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

"...A cat?"

Before she even spared a glance at the tall, dashing, elegant, and ostensibly refined Yevenko, Silver Wolf's eyes lit up with interest—directed, unexpectedly, at the utterly ordinary Tom.

After all, the Stellaron Hunters already had a "cat" in their ranks.

And this one? This cat was walking on two legs. That alone was suspicious.

Silver Wolf tilted her head slightly, lips pursed as she spoke softly to Kafka.

"Kafka, he's not with the space station. And not part of the Astral Express either. Something's off."

Kafka shook her head lightly.

"This scenario wasn't in Elio's script. It's irrelevant."

Not appearing in Elio's script meant one thing: the other party was insignificant. Encountering them was a fluke—not worth considering.

Of course, there was always another possibility. One that shouldn't be possible.

Still, the fact remained: that person had witnessed their conversation with the Stellaron. Would that spell trouble for it down the line?

Hearing Kafka and Silver Wolf talk so casually in front of him, Yevenko was well aware he was being looked down upon. But that was nothing new—there were only a handful of people in the whole universe the Stellaron Hunters even deigned to acknowledge.

Getting Kafka and Silver Wolf to take you seriously was actually pretty simple.

All he had to do was shout:

—My prophecies outrank Elio's!.JPG

But that would basically be asking to die.

If Kafka decided to just tie him up and haul him off to the Stellaron Hunters' base... well, that'd be absurd.

Especially considering that her word-manipulating powers were nothing short of a weapon.

If Yevenko had any power to speak of, it might've been fine—but as it stood, he wasn't much different from an ordinary person.

Still, the moment he laid eyes on Silver Wolf and Kafka, his exploration value shot up like crazy, and two [Star Rail Passes] instantly landed in his pocket.

That confirmed it—his theory was right. Only encounters with key characters would yield [Star Rail Passes].

Though, perhaps it wasn't an absolute rule.

Along the way, he'd poked around every nook and cranny of the space station—he'd even opened trash cans. That alone had netted him nine passes. Quite the haul.

With those in hand, he'd be able to upgrade his abilities a little later on.

As for now…

Time to GTFO!

Sure, if he fought the Stellaron Hunters, he'd likely earn even more passes. But he knew full well what he was capable of—and what he wasn't.

Getting two [Star Rail Passes] out of this was already a lucky break.

"Tom! Get me out of here!"

Tom scratched his little head, unsure why his master had come all this way only to immediately flee, but hey—orders were orders.

Without a moment's hesitation, Tom grabbed Yevenko by the butt and bolted.

Kafka raised her gun in an instant.

She aimed at Tom's right leg—and fired.

Bang——!

The bullet flew clean from the barrel and struck Tom's right knee with precision.

A second later, Tom's leg split clean at the joint.

Kafka wasn't about to let Yevenko and Tom slip away that easily.

Even if he was just a minor character outside of Elio's script—he had seen their interaction with the Stellaron. That alone made him a liability.

If he was somehow connected to the Astral Express and reported this to them, the fallout could cause the Stellaron significant trouble.

Elio's script as a whole wouldn't be affected, true—but Kafka didn't mind resolving a potential headache early, just for the Stellaron's sake.

And... she did have a bit of a personal reason too.

The guy had interrupted her. There was still so much she hadn't gotten to say.

Of course, Kafka wasn't planning to kill him.

If he was affiliated with the Express or the space station, his death could complicate things for the Stellaron.

No—better to keep him alive, teach him a little lesson, then wipe this whole memory clean.

But...

Why hadn't there been any blood, even after Tom's leg was severed?

Kafka furrowed her brow, faintly puzzled.

The next moment, her confusion shifted into outright surprise.

Tom, now missing a leg, stumbled briefly—but didn't stop. He kept hopping forward.

Even stranger—the severed leg also kept running, leapt high into the air, and cleanly reattached itself to Tom's upper thigh.

As if nothing had happened.

Tom resumed fleeing at full speed.

Kafka's eyes widened ever so slightly, her red lips parting.

"…What a strange cat."

Then she gave the order.

"Silver Wolf. Don't let them get away."

Silver Wolf popped her gum, speaking lazily.

"Don't rush me. I'm already on it."

Her fingers moved like butterflies over an invisible keyboard, holographic panels flaring with bursts of light.

The next second, a portal opened right in front of the fleeing Tom and Yevenko.

Tom slammed both heels into the ground in a desperate skid, carving a trench into the floor. He barely managed to stop—but because of the inertia, the Yevenko he was carrying was flung high into the portal.

Leaving behind only one desperate cry:

"TOM—SAVE MEEEEEE—"

Tom immediately dashed forward, arms outstretched, and dove through the portal after him.

This master of his really knew how to make a cat worry.

Moments later, a portal rippled open in front of Kafka and Silver Wolf.

Yevenko was flung out from above—hurtling down like a falling star.

Just before impact, Tom shot out of the portal in a graceful leap, positioning himself beneath his master.

Thud——!

Yevenko landed squarely on Tom's back.

Tom was instantly flattened.

Yevenko scrambled to his feet in a panic—only to see poor Tom completely pancaked.

Well—except for the slight bulge at his butt, where Tom's body had perfectly molded to the shape of his rear…

Then Tom stuck a thumb in his mouth, puffed up his cheeks—

Pop!

Just like that, he reinflated, good as new.

Silver Wolf, usually expressionless, stared with wide eyes. Her silvery-gray irises sparkled with something like fascination. The gum in her mouth popped, sticking to her lips.

She murmured softly, "It's like a character straight out of a game…"

Even Kafka couldn't help but smile, lips curving in amusement.

"…Interesting."

Only Yevenko felt the creeping chill of doom, his face drained of color.

It's over. I'm not getting out of this.

...Is it too late to join the Stellaron Hunters now?

We all have cats, right? We're practically family!

…

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