The day after Sister Guoguo finished her connoisseurship of Wende's splash art, at eight o'clock in the evening, the official Star Rail account began its livestream as scheduled.
This time, aside from the usual antics and Stellar Jade giveaways, the stream naturally revealed the upcoming version's character banners.
However, to everyone's surprise, the anticipated Wende banner did not appear in the 1.1 version lineup. The banners for 1.1 remained Silver Wolf in the first half and Luocha in the second. Throughout the entire livestream, there was not a single mention of Wende.
[My fucking god! You knew I skipped dinner yesterday just for this, so you deliberately fed me this giant nothing-burger, didn't you!]
[No way, you're stringing us along with this too? Just release him already! I'm dying to start my own 'connoisseurship'!]
[To be fair, this makes sense. If they just dropped a Wende banner out of nowhere, wouldn't all the people who saved their tickets for Silver Wolf and Luocha feel like total suckers?]
[True, better to let the satellite keep orbiting for now. The Xianzhou plot is still so short. If they release the 5-star Wende now, what would happen to the story in the next version?]
[Indeed. Trailblazer, I'm glad you're maintaining the current banner schedule, but I do not appreciate you feeding us empty promises.]
[Whatever, a good meal is worth the wait. And good milk has to be freshly squeezed!]
[Wende!!! The pain! It hurts so much! Wende… Wende ahhhhhhh! Why! Why must you hide from me! My love! My beloved! That curve of his lips… I just, I just… (flicks a lighter, takes a drag)]
[Yo, isn't that Crazy Brother? Long time no see. How have you evolved? Last time, didn't you at least wait until after your freak-out to light a smoke?]
[Perhaps this is what they call growth.]
"Well, it seems Qingzu's side is now aware of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus's movements. That Cloud Knight delivered the message pretty quickly. He's got what it takes to be an undercover agent, after all."
Stelle remarked, shaking her head as she read the text message from Qingzu on her jade abacus.
"Um… was he really an undercover agent?"
March 7th, who had just returned to the hotel, recalled the sight of the Cloud Knight being carried over Stelle's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He hadn't looked anything like an undercover agent. Who goes undercover wearing their bright, official uniform? Unless… the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus also enjoy cosplay?
Recalling a scene from a novel she read today, March couldn't help but shiver. Yuck, the mental image is too vivid, so gross…
Seeing March's expression, which screamed a desire to go wash her eyes out, Wende began to reflect on his own choices. He was sure the titles of those books he'd bought looked perfectly normal. How did things turn out this way?
Welt silently put away the book in his hands. Danfeng and Jing Yuan… hmm, something about it felt strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"By the way, I heard that everyone in a villain faction gets their own codename. What's yours?"
March 7th nudged Stelle's arm with her shoulder, her face a mask of pure gossip.
"Hmm… my codename is Gray Peony…" Stelle tilted her head, looking completely puzzled.
What connection did she have to a peony? And are there even gray peonies?
"Gray Peony? It actually suits you quite well!"
March studied Stelle's appearance carefully. When she wasn't having one of her episodes and her mind was clear, this sort of dazed, aloof beauty would probably be very popular, right?
"Suits her… does it?"
Wende recalled the noble and magnificent image of a peony, finding it absolutely impossible to connect it with the husky-like Stelle.
"But if you're Gray Peony, what would I be?"
March actually propped her chin on her hand and began to ponder this with a serious expression.
"March… how about Little Peach Blossom? Peach blossoms bloom in March, and the color matches you very well."
Welt had actually, genuinely come up with a flower name for March.
"Uncle Yang…" Wende looked at Welt, a bit embarrassed.
"Hm? Do you want one too?" Welt pushed up his glasses and asked Wende with great sincerity.
"Uh… I'll pass." Wende shook his head in a hurry, declining the offer.
"Oh, right. Himeko just sent me a message," Welt said, picking up his jade abacus to read it aloud to Wende. "She said that box of… Xianzhou specialties… that Stelle bought has been delivered to the Express. She wasn't sure where to put it, so she just left it in the kitchen. Remember to deal with those things when you get back."
"Mm, I'll have Stelle return them then."
Wende nodded, then shot a resentful glare at Stelle. If it weren't for this troublemaking kid insisting on buying that stuff, he wouldn't have to worry about an item second only to Himeko's coffee being left on the train. Still, with Himeko and Pom-Pom there, nothing should go wrong… right?
So Wende thought. Thɪs chapter is updated by novelꞁire.net
"Conductor, I scanned a code on that box of Xianzhou specialties from Wende and found an online Xianzhou marketplace. Is there anything you want?"
In the Astral Express's parlor car, Himeko lounged with her long legs propped up, scrolling through her jade abacus as she spoke to Pom-Pom, who was busy cleaning the carriage.
"Mmm… let Pom-Pom think. The Express just restocked at the Herta Space Station, and we didn't use up too many supplies on Jarilo-VI…"
Pom-Pom set the cleaning tools aside, seriously contemplating if the train was lacking anything.
"Well, the train isn't really short on anything, but Pom-Pom would like to get some specialty Xianzhou drinks to improve the crew's meals. Passenger Himeko, could you order some Xianzhou specialty beverages, pa?"
"Specialty Xianzhou beverages?"
Himeko browsed through the myriad of products on her screen, finally finding a drink that fit Pom-Pom's description.
"Soda Douzhi'er? It seems to be a very popular drink on the Xianzhou. Look at the number of purchases, and most of the reviews are positive… Why don't we just buy this one!"
Himeko cheerfully placed the order, adding some Xianzhou specialty coffee for herself while she was at it.
Even though the various Grotto-Heavens of the Xianzhou are inaccessible due to the Stellaron's influence, the area where the Astral Express is docked doesn't seem to be too affected… she mused. After all, Wende's package could be delivered, so the things I ordered should be able to arrive too, right?
Himeko thought with some uncertainty, but placed the order anyway.
Whatever, she concluded. The IPC app offers a full refund if the goods can't be delivered. I won't lose anything by buying it.