Honkai: Star Rail – Banner Character, Delivering Knives to the Player [51]

"Lingzhou, you alright?!"

Hearing the commotion, Stelle and March 7th instantly realized something had happened.

Lingzhou shook his head casually.

"I’m fine. Just a swarm of robots surrounded us, no fewer than thirty."

More than half could launch ranged attacks. Looks like preemptive action might be necessary…

Clara quickly jumped down from her chair, spreading both arms protectively in front of the Express crew.

"Stop! Don't attack them! They aren't hostile toward Clara!"

Guard Robot: "Order from Clara received. Threat neutralized. Primary defensive mode disengaged."

March 7th stared, astonished.

"Clara… these robots…?"

"I'm so sorry, big sisters, big brother. They’re… They’re just trying to protect Clara, but their AI isn't very smart..."

Clara’s face brimmed with apology, looking as if she might burst into tears at any second.

"You’re unfamiliar faces, not identified by the security system."

"They saw you having close physical contact with me, that's why they attacked..."

"It's all Clara's fault… I'm sorry…!"

Lingzhou, sensing no sign of hostility from the robots anymore, softened his expression.

"Don’t take it to heart. None of us got hurt. There's no need to get angry with low-intelligence robots."

Just then, a series of loud explosions rang out from deep within the mines.

Lingzhou turned toward the source of the noise, quickly making an assessment.

The ground started trembling faintly.

Something heavy was moving fast, powerful enough to cause tremors. Certainly not human from Belobog.

An unknown robot…

Based on intel from the Underworld, Lingzhou figured out the likely identity.

Svarog.

Usually, Lingzhou preferred not to peek at the script.

Just like fortune-tellers rarely divine their own futures casually.

He had walked through too much time, lived through too many lifetimes.

He could be an actor in the play of life, but never a puppet on strings.

Otherwise, how different would it be from those numb, zombie-like days, mindlessly harvesting faith?

Actors were alive.

Marionettes had neither emotions nor souls.

And the Nameless aboard the Astral Express certainly weren’t marionettes.

They were real companions, existing genuinely in this life.

Even ignoring emotions and all else, simply remembering Akivili’s millennia-old kindness…

Lingzhou couldn’t treat them as mere passersby, as tools solely to harvest faith.

Joining the Nameless meant adopting the Nameless style.

The script provided by the system didn’t necessarily have to be followed—he could make decisions based on his own judgment.

Considering everything, Lingzhou glanced at the script involving Svarog for the first time.

From the moment they chased away the thugs at the mine entrance, a butterfly effect had begun.

Originally, Svarog wouldn't have appeared here.

[Father dearest, your child humbly reminds you: Now is not yet the time to confront Svarog openly.]

The system, usually silent, appeared at this crucial moment.

[Initiating combat here would cause significant portions of the Underworld plotline to be skipped.]

[According to calculations, you would permanently lose 40% of the available faith in this lifetime.]

[Of course, your child is merely advising. The final choice remains yours.]

I know.

Lingzhou had already decided; he didn't need the system’s reminder.

Shortcutting the mine entrance plot had indeed netted considerable faith.

However, it also advanced events scheduled for later.

Now was not yet the ideal time.

Certain characters were still missing from the scene. How long it would take for them to arrive was unknown.

Let the bullet fly a little longer.

Besides that, there was another reason he couldn't ignore:

The original storyline.

Initially, Dan Heng was meant to accompany this Trailblazing journey.

This storyline still existed as an option from the player's perspective.

No matter how many players chose either route, once completed, comparisons would inevitably arise within the community.

If it ended prematurely here, the comparison with Dan Heng's route would certainly appear rushed—

Turning an otherwise smooth, enjoyable Trailblazing adventure into something abrupt.

Only if his route provided a better experience would he harvest more faith from parallel-world players.

Thinking this through, Lingzhou abandoned the idea of directly questioning Svarog about Stellaron information.

While Lingzhou pondered, Svarog appeared within the player's field of vision.

"Analyzing targets..."

"Conclusion: Not affiliated with Wildfire. Background unknown. Classification unknown. Species: Presumed human."

"Analyzing threat level of targets... Conclusion: Unknown."

"Searching database for similar information… Search complete. Targets not classified as lifeforms from Belobog. Reassessing threat level..."

Hearing this, Clara became visibly anxious.

"Mr. Svarog, they aren't malicious! Clara was injured earlier, and it was this big brother who healed me!"

Svarog: "Clara’s guarantee received. Search terminated. Outsiders, what is your purpose here?"

Lingzhou remained tactfully silent.

Now wasn't his moment yet.

Stelle: "We’re here to resolve the mine conflicts. Are these robots your subordinates?"

Svarog: "Yes. At Clara's request, I dispatched them to quell the mining dispute."

"The mining area is now under preliminary control. No significant variables are expected within the next 30 days. No large-scale mechanical conflict will occur."

"Outsiders, your objective has been acknowledged. The conflict has subsided. You may leave now."

March 7th: "But our friends went deeper into the mines—where are they?"

Svarog: "All vagrants, miners, and Wildfire members deep inside the mine have evacuated through routes D and F."

Lingzhou asked a critical question at that moment: "No casualties?"

Svarog: "According to mediation records, no deaths reported. Injury statistics incomplete; estimated around a hundred."

"We’re leaving. Clara, the Furnace Core requires our defense."

Seeing Svarog bend down, Clara bit her lower lip hesitantly, but eventually climbed onto his mechanical arm.

"Big brother, thank you again for helping Clara… and thank you all for mediating the conflict. Clara has to go now…"

March 7th almost thought she'd misheard.

Clara was leaving with this giant robot?

What exactly was their relationship?

Stelle subconsciously wanted to stop her, but Lingzhou quickly held Stelle back.

"Don’t worry about Clara. Her relationship with Svarog isn't ordinary. Let them go—we have other matters to attend to."

Under escort by numerous robots, Svarog and Clara quickly vanished from sight.

"Let’s head deeper into the mine. Find Bronya and Seele."

Regarding Clara and Svarog, Lingzhou didn't elaborate.

March 7th: "They haven't evacuated yet?"

Stelle: "Even if they did, we should catch up. You want to head back the way we came?"

March 7th: "Oh, true."

The crew moved quickly.

As soon as they entered the deeper area of the mine, both girls were momentarily stunned by the sheer devastation.

Robot debris littered everywhere.

After such intense fighting, there were no casualties?

March 7th: "Where do we go from here? We don’t even know which transport route Bronya and Seele took."

Lingzhou revealed a slight smile.

"We don’t have to chase them. They're already coming back."

---

T/N: welcome back father dearest

This is a fan translation of 崩铁：卡池角色，给玩家发刀 by 三十度幻. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!