Lin Yi sincerely extended an invitation to Polka Kakamu.
"Perhaps we still have a chance to turn hostility into friendship."
"I now formally represent Herta, and the Simulated Universe Project Team, in inviting you to join us."
"If you join us, we won't be enemies anymore."
"We'll be friends."
"What do you think?"
Polka Kakamu: "I—"
Lin Yi immediately cut her off and spoke rapidly.
"You disagree? I see~"
"Alright then."
"I understand and respect the pride of a genius."
The next instant—
Countless attacks surged forward simultaneously.
Polka Kakamu: ???
Polka Kakamu: Are you kidding me?! Can you at least let me finish speaking?!
Lin Yi had already fulfilled the promise he made to Herta.
He had symbolically asked.
That was enough.
Besides—
At this point, how could Lin Yi possibly not attack?
Once launched, the attacks couldn't be recalled.
Letting them fire into empty space would be such a waste.
And besides—
Holding them back would feel terrible.
Absolutely unbearable.
Just like how the 1130 naval close-in defense cannon is great at shooting down aircraft—
It's also extremely effective at mowing down people.
Similarly—
Planet-destroying weapons designed for celestial targets work very well against a single human.
The overwhelming torrent of weapons engulfed Polka Kakamu.
But the moment the attacks were about to touch the laboratory—
They were redirected back to their starting points.
The bombardment repeated again and again.
Continuously washing over the target.
Without causing unnecessary overflow or collateral damage.
Nominally there were 3,792 planet-destroying cannons.
But the actual effect was clearly far greater.
…Five Minutes Earlier…
Zhuxing and Dongfang Qiqing had already finished eating quickly and left Catcake House.
Zhuxing wanted to hurry back to find her teacher.
She was worried.
Dongfang Qiqing also wanted to arrive at her new home sooner.
Then take a long, luxurious bath.
After all—
That bath meant longevity.
So the two of them silently reached an understanding.
They both sped up their meal instead of savoring it slowly.
Dongfang Qiqing followed closely behind Zhuxing.
Under normal circumstances—
A place like this would trigger her shopping instincts.
But since her residence hadn't been arranged yet—
Buying too much stuff now would be inconvenient.
Dongfang Qiqing held a Catcake in her arms.
It was the one that had enthusiastically attached itself to her earlier.
Zhuxing stored the three packed dessert boxes into the bracelet on her right wrist.
As Lin Yi's student—
And practically raised like his daughter—
Zhuxing naturally had plenty of spatial storage equipment.
The two walked quickly through Meteor Shopping Street.
Not extremely fast—
But much faster than before.
After getting a rough overview of the district—
They teleported back to the Leap Nexus.
From there they headed toward the only passage leading to the residences:
Yao Terrace.
Zhuxing explained:
"This is the only passage leading to the Seventh Heaven."
"Yao Terrace, also called Floating Cloud Terrace."
After passing through the spatial gate—
They appeared in a world filled with pure white clouds and rising mist.
Below them stretched an endless sea of clouds.
It felt solid enough to step on—
But also strangely hollow.
As if they were standing directly in the sky.
Looking upward—
They could see even higher skies above.
Countless clouds of different shapes floated at various altitudes.
Zhuxing looked apologetic.
"I didn't think this through."
"I shouldn't have dragged you around sightseeing like that."
"We should have found your residence first."
"There will be plenty of time later to explore Shenxiao Space City."
While speaking, Zhuxing noticed the faint fatigue on Qiqing's face.
After all—
Qiqing's physical condition was still that of an ordinary human.
Even short travel could exhaust her.
But Dongfang Qiqing comforted her instead.
"It's fine."
"We didn't actually visit that many places."
"And I'm not really tired."
"Besides, after using some energy during the day, you sleep better at night."
"Right?"
Looking at the magnificent sea of clouds, she couldn't help marveling.
"Why does every place in this space city feel like a spectacular scenic wonder?"
"Every single place we've visited so far…"
"If you separated it out, it could become a major tourist attraction on its own."
"Since Shenxiao Space City already has so many breathtaking sights…"
"Why does Mr. Lin Yi still love traveling so much?"
Zhuxing answered calmly.
"All of this was built gradually over time."
"The original Shenxiao Space City didn't look like this at all."
"When you build something yourself from scratch…"
"It's hard to find it exciting anymore."
"And besides—"
"If you never personally witness countless wonders of the universe…"
"Where would the inspiration come from to build something like Shenxiao Space City?"
Zhuxing smiled.
"As teacher likes to say—"
'What's so interesting about looking at your own front yard?'
Dongfang Qiqing nodded thoughtfully.
"That makes sense."
"It's like Pierpoint."
"That place is completely repetitive and boring to me."
"But people still travel from far away just to take a photo from a distance."
"And praise the grandeur of the Interastral Peace Corporation headquarters."
"Maybe the reason it feels repetitive to me…"
"Is simply because I've seen it too often."
"But for people who've never seen it before…"
"It's a beautiful sight."
Zhuxing looked at her curiously.
"When did you become so philosophical?"
Dongfang Qiqing laughed softly.
"Just a random thought."
"Nothing special."
Zhuxing took her hand and led her onto a golden cloud platform floating slightly above the cloud surface.
"Come on, Sister Qiqing."
"These clouds get boring if you stare too long."
"Once we climb the Floating Cloud Steps…"
"We'll officially enter the Seven Heavens."
Before Qiqing could ask—
Zhuxing explained on her own.
"Actually, Shenxiao Space City exists across eight overlapping phase layers."
"Together with the real Shenxiao Space City in the base universe…"
"They form the Nine Heavens."
Dongfang Qiqing froze for a moment.
"Wait—what?!"
"I thought today we had at least finished seeing the main entrance of the space city."
"Turns out we've only seen one-ninth of the entrance?"
Zhuxing grinned.
"Hehe."
"If you want to fully explore Shenxiao Space City…"
"It might take several years."
The golden cloud platform continued rising.
Spiral cloud stairs extended upward on both sides.
The ascent was rapid—
But there was no wind at all.
Only when they were about to leave Yao Terrace did Zhuxing start formally explaining the place.
"The clouds here come from Artificial Paradise: Utopia."
"They're a special kind of heavy cloud."
"A solidified form of water vapor."
"Artificial Paradise Utopia is a distant frontier planet."
"Teacher discovered a group of intelligent human subspecies there."
"They had just emerged from primitive ignorance and developed early civilization."
"But they were about to be wiped out by a natural disaster."
"So he made a deal with them."
"And conducted a large-scale social experiment there."
"These heavy clouds can support weight."
"But their structural stability is actually quite poor."
"They collapse easily."
"The reason they can form this massive cloud sea…"
"Is entirely due to the Differential Gravity Balance Gyroscope."
"It's compensating for the gravitational load."
(Author's note)
Slow updates might make the story feel a bit dragged out. Unfortunately, some setup is unavoidable.
For a Honkai Star Rail fanfic, it's probably rare for a story to reach this many words without even starting the main storyline or introducing the Trailblazer yet. Haha.
I also cut some originally planned plot points.
The first volume, "The Genius of Intelligence," basically concludes after the battle with Kakamu—marking the end of the protagonist's first growth phase.
For Early Access of Chapters please visit patreon.com/UchihaAce