Hearing March 7th's comment, Tesla actually began to size up the two "Welts." She had to admit, although they looked identical… ah, no, they were supposed to be the same person. But the Welt from the future was clearly much more weathered than Joachim. He even had a streak of white hair and was leaning on a cane.
Looking at them like this, they really did look a bit like father and son.
At this thought, it was as if a switch had been flipped in Tesla's mind. She couldn't help but let out a snort, which turned into a full-blown laugh.
"Pfft… Hahahaha! You know, you're right, they really do look… wait, why are you all looking at me?"
Feeling everyone's eyes on her, Tesla quickly reined in her smile. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and turned her head away in a tsundere huff, though a faint blush still lingered on her cheeks.
"Wow… her voice is exactly the same as the one from Uncle Yang's phone! Could this lady be Mrs. Yang?"
Hearing Tesla's incredibly bold voice, March couldn't help but whisper to Stelle.
"Wait? What did you just say? What Mrs. Yang?"
Tesla's sharp ears caught the key point in March's words. She decisively strode over to March with a "menacing" aura.
"Uh…"
Dan Heng looked on, bewildered. He turned his head towards Wende, who was enjoying the show from the side. Should he intervene… or not?
"Eh, I don't think that's necessary…"
Watching the scene abruptly devolve into a game of twenty questions, with Tesla grilling March about every little thing, Wende couldn't help but wipe a cold sweat from his brow. He shifted his gaze to Welt and Joachim.
You two… Never mind. Recalling Welt's own ordeals, Wende suddenly realized he and Welt weren't so different…
It was a good thing Jingliu hadn't come along. If she had… would she and Tesla be exchanging notes right now?
"…"
Welt looked at that familiar face, and a wave of nostalgia and deep emotion washed over him. How long had it been since he had last seen her? He wondered if she was doing well in his own timeline. Was little Joey okay?
However, watching this timeline's Tesla getting all chummy with March, prying information about him from her lips…
He suddenly felt a little less nostalgic…
Seeing this, Einstein rubbed her forehead and shook her head helplessly. In the end, she simply stood silently beside Joachim, her gaze calmly fixed on Welt.
"Welt… did you come from the future, or from the Star Rail?"
Einstein cut straight to the point. She didn't call him "Joachim," because from the game's Light Cones and background lore, the "Welt" before her was the one who had truly inherited the name "Welt." It also served to better distinguish him from Joachim…
"Star Rail?"
Welt's brow furrowed noticeably.
"Dr. Einstein, where did you hear that name? I don't believe I've ever disclosed that I came from the Astral Express."
Although the name "Star Rail" sounded unfamiliar at first, it was clearly just an abbreviation of Astral Express and the star rails… He had never revealed any of this over the phone or anywhere else. So how did she know?
"Mm… this might be a bit complicated to explain, but do you all really not know?"
Joachim pushed up his glasses. He turned to look at Wende and Dan Heng, who were watching the spectacle, and Stelle, who had also been pulled into a chat with Tesla. He then addressed Welt.
"Know what?"
Welt's frown deepened.
"…"
Einstein remained silent for a moment, then looked up at Joachim, her arms crossed. Her eyes seemed to be asking him, Your turn or mine?
"I'll do it…"
Joachim shook his head with some resignation. As Tesla and Einstein's in-game friend, he was well aware of how absurdly powerful their game accounts were. If this future version of himself saw his own "character" in the game, fully maxed out with E6S5, he would probably have an existential crisis, right?
And so, Joachim took a step forward, pulled out his phone, opened the game called Honkai: Star Rail, and handed it to Welt.
"Hmm…"
Looking at the logo on the screen, then the train streaking across it… Welt's pupils quaked. His brows knitted together so tightly that he unconsciously held the phone further away from his face. His expression was a perfect replica of the "Pretty Girl on the Subway with Her Phone" meme.
"This is…"
Welt looked at his in-game self standing in the observation car. This seemed to be a game?
He tapped around the game's interface. The current UP banner was… Jingliu?
He then clicked on the character roster. Many familiar faces flashed by. The unlocked planets on the map panel were all the places they had been to…
Hooo…
Taking a deep breath, Welt returned the phone to Joachim with a complicated expression.
"This is how we know…" Joachim said slowly as he took the phone back. This was probably… a huge blow for the "him" standing here. To have one's life turned into a game…
"Is this… a game about us?"
March took Tesla's phone, looking curiously at the familiar observation car in the game.
"…"
Dan Heng was also looking at the phone in March's hands with a complex expression. Their lives… were just a game?
"Mm… you could say that, but that's not really what I'm focused on."
Stelle, pinching her chin, was for some reason not bothered by the fact that she was a game character. After all, they had recently played a game where Himeko was also a character. And the Astral Express's journey wasn't exactly a secret; the train was even open for tours when docked. What she was more curious about was…
"Mrs. Yang, your Uncle Yang in here looks so strong!" Stelle exclaimed in admiration.
Hearing this, Tesla's entire face instantly turned beet red. She snatched the phone back from Stelle, stammering "you-you-you" for a moment before turning her head away, seemingly not daring to look in Welt's direction.
"Sigh… I knew it."
Einstein rubbed her forehead again, looking as if she had expected this all along.
However…
Her gaze fell upon Welt, who had already composed himself. What had he experienced? Why had he calmed down so quickly? In anyone else's worldview, finding out you were a game character… would probably leave you speechless with shock. Did he know this game was just a reflection, a projection? Or had he simply experienced so much that he was now accustomed to such things?
Unconsciously, a look of deep gratification appeared in Einstein's eyes as she looked at Welt.
Welt: "Actually… I have a game here, too…"