Honkai: Star Rail – Banner Character, Delivering Knives to the Player [44]

“You’ve seen right through me.”

Lingzhou smiled enigmatically.

“But we’re companions, part of a team. Naturally, I won’t make decisions alone.”

“Let's vote. If you think going around with Seele isn't a big deal, we don't need to engage with these road-blocking vagrants right now.”

Lingzhou gave the choice to his companions.

Or rather, specifically to Stelle.

To be more accurate—he gave the choice to the countless eyes watching from parallel worlds.

He never forgot his identity from the players’ viewpoint.

A companion on the Astral Express.

A gacha character from a two-dimensional game.

No matter the role, both shared a key principle:

Never overshadow the protagonist, reducing them to a clown.

Quite the opposite: Respect, support, and care for the protagonist.

A gacha character must act the part.

Someone must be the stepping stone—but never let it be the protagonist.

Games were meant to entertain, to give emotional satisfaction.

Though perhaps not everyone, most players immersed themselves as the main character, enjoying the feeling of being the center of a glittering universe.

Lingzhou had no intention of becoming a niche character type—

Indifferent, detached, independent to the point of ignoring or even mocking the protagonist.

These characters, praised as unique by some and scorned as pretentious by others, stepped too easily on hidden landmines.

One wrong move—boom. Instant death, potentially dragging down the whole game.

Why not honestly embrace the classic, beloved "Master-love" trope instead?

A double-standard at its finest was inherently selfish.

Having settled on this role, Lingzhou could freely embody such double standards.

As long as he showed the positive side only to his allies, that would suffice.

Plenty of people adored this type.

The logic was simple, reflected in many common sayings:

“Never hit a smiling face.”

Or perhaps more bluntly, “Accepting favors ties your hands; eating someone’s food seals your lips.”

As long as you treated the protagonist well, occasionally deferring to their judgment, most players would overlook any flaws.

A perfect example was his earlier intention to drug the vagrants.

Judging by his gathered Faith values, Lingzhou knew few players had disliked him for it.

Besides, his character voice was tagged with “playful” after all. Many players simply assumed he’d been joking.

This was precisely why—even without Aeon Aha’s influence—Lingzhou didn’t mind being labeled as playful or mischievous.

You could never fully trust the words of a joker, after all.

Otherwise, you’d easily be fooled.

---

March 7th hesitated, “I’m kind of like Stelle—I’m not that tired, actually... What do you think?”

She turned to Stelle.

① "Lingzhou, how confident are you?"

Lingzhou: “Hard to say. Based on their facial muscles, I'd say about seventy or eighty percent.”

March 7th: “What does that have to do with facial muscles?”

Lingzhou thoughtfully rubbed his chin, analyzing calmly.

“You can gauge personalities through expressions. Those men might have guns—”

“But in reality, most are just bluffing, putting on a fierce show.”

“They understand very well: robbing, blocking, and bullying is one thing—”

“But if someone actually dies, their futures are finished.”

“They’re playing a game of psychological brinksmanship. Manipulating them from that angle shouldn't be too hard.”

After finishing, Lingzhou realized everyone was staring at him silently.

“Did I say something wrong?”

① “No. We’re counting on you, Doctor Lingzhou.”
② “Give us a cool solution to handle those thugs.”
③ “Let's still take the detour. Better avoid trouble.”

At this point, viewers who had watched other streams flooded the chat with warnings prepared long in advance.

[Don’t pick option three! If you do, you’ll actually have to take a detour!]
[Careful choosing here—option three is the boring route!]

While ordinary comments might go unnoticed, Ah Xian was still a highly popular streamer.

Someone would definitely send a highlighted Super Chat to alert her.

Most streamers banned spoilers.

Not Ah Xian. She’d experienced the closed beta storyline already, so she hadn’t set that rule.

“Relax, everyone—I was never gonna choose the detour.”

“Lingzhou clearly cares about his companions. He's stepping in for Stelle and March’s sake.”

“My husband’s being so thoughtful! All I have to do is relax, be his pampered little wife, and watch him clear the obstacles.”

“Let’s go with the cool solution!”

Her choice was set.

In-game, Lingzhou smiled, gracefully bending forward into a gentlemanly bow.

“At your service, my lady.”

“Elegant, graceful, noble...” Ah Xian murmured dreamily at the screen.
“I adore this confident and reliable man. I love him so much I’d willingly spar with him every day...”

“Even if I lose every match, I’d still be happy...”

[I'm so confused. Almost as confused as Yuan Hua with a math problem.]
[Why don't we just rename Ah Xian to “Electricity-girl”?]
[Doesn't quite fit, since Lingzhou is currently the only one who can trigger her 'power generation' mode.]

Natasha: “Mr. Lingzhou, if possible, try not to provoke those vagrants.”

Lingzhou: “I'll play it by ear.”

With that, he approached the blocked road.

The vagrants immediately noticed Lingzhou’s approach.

“Halt! Road’s closed! Doesn’t matter who you are—turn around now, or don't blame our guns for being merciless!”

Several black muzzles aimed straight at Lingzhou.

No one liked having guns pointed at them.

Lingzhou didn’t particularly care.

After all, any bullets aimed at him would curve elsewhere, if he so desired.

“Relax, I won't force my way through.”

Vagrant: “Then why haven’t you left?”

Lingzhou: “How about a game? Don’t refuse too quickly. The rules are simple: You shoot at me.”

The vagrants stared blankly, convinced they'd misheard.

“What? Say that again?”

“I said, let's play a game. The one where you shoot at me,” Lingzhou repeated patiently.

A few vagrants' hands trembled, looking at Lingzhou as if he’d lost his mind.

“If you want to die, you don’t need such an elaborate excuse!”

No one wanted to become a murderer lightly.

“Don’t worry. I still value my life. If you shoot at me but can’t fire even one bullet—”

“Then you’ll follow the rules and let us pass through.”

“If anyone does shoot and injures or kills me, it’ll be entirely my responsibility. How about it?”

Many players stared wide-eyed.

Blankly looking at Lingzhou’s smiling face, momentarily at a loss for words.

They weren't exactly worried about him.

Just…surprised by the method he’d chosen. It was so unexpectedly daring…

But Lingzhou’s reliability was already established—he wouldn’t make such a claim lightly.

The vagrants exchanged hesitant glances, unable to decide.

Lingzhou wasn't rushed.

He had many ways to pass through here.

Negotiation was simply for smoothly progressing the storyline, nothing more.

Ultimately, all to pluck at players’ heartstrings and gather Faith.

“You won’t even dare fire when there’s no consequences? Or perhaps you’re just afraid to play with me?”

---

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!