Honkai Star Rail: Corruption System

Even March 7th, usually so carefree, felt a shift in the atmosphere. A subtle tension hung in the air that even she couldn't miss.

She instinctively shrank back, clutching Daziel's arm. "Suddenly… suddenly I feel this pressure," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Miss Topaz… she's kind of scary now…"

Daziel felt it too. Fear coiled in his gut, and he could feel his own legs starting to tremble. But he pushed it down. This wasn't the time to be consumed by fear. Something else nagged at him, a question he needed to answer: Why this sudden, unwavering resolve in Topaz to seize this planet?

He knew Topaz wasn't always the easiest to talk to, but deep down, he believed she was a good person. Her past actions – her genuine concern for the people of Belobog, her soft spot for cute animals – they all pointed to a kinder nature. So, what had triggered this stark change?

"Ahem!" Daziel cleared his throat, the sound a little louder than he intended. He needed to find his center, to project calm. "Miss Topaz," he began, his voice steadier now, "let's not be hasty. We have no desire to provoke the Corporation, and certainly not to see Belobog become a bankrupt wasteland unable to repay its debts. We simply want to explore if there's a more… reasonable path forward here. Some way to mediate this."

Topaz's gaze met Daziel's, and for a fleeting moment, he thought he saw a flicker of regret in her eyes. "If I had my way," she admitted, her voice softening slightly, "believe me, I'd gladly drop this whole thorny project. Who knew you Nameless would get involved? But now…" She sighed, the weight of the situation pressing down on her. "Now, I'm in too deep. If I fail to secure this agreement, I'm facing a demotion. Three whole ranks. I can't afford that price, not anymore."

A genuine question furrowed Daziel's brow. "Three ranks? That's what I don't understand. If… if you simply don't take over the star, wouldn't the penalty be, at most… a single rank?" In the original stories, he thought to himself, that's what it said – only one rank...

Topaz gave a short, humorless laugh. "One rank? Mr. Daziel, who told you that? Do you have any idea how much Belobog owes the Corporation? A debt so colossal, so completely unrecoverable – you think the punishment would be that light?"

Daziel was genuinely taken aback. Bewilderment colored his expression. "That just doesn't make sense! Your own organization must be well aware that Belobog is incapable of repaying this debt. Pressuring a debtor is one thing, but why are you, the debt collector sent here, being put in such an impossible position?"

Topaz spread her hands in a gesture of weary helplessness. "There's no getting around it. The Corporation prioritizes cold, hard profit. After their asset evaluation, yes, they know Belobog is bankrupt. That's why they also proposed the 'alternative solution' – the one you've been investigating so thoroughly. To squeeze out whatever residual value they can from Belobog." A sigh escaped her lips. "Sandrone, back then, she advised me to steer clear of this mess. But I didn't listen. Now, I'm paying for it. Debt uncollected is one thing. But if this solution doesn't even get signed… punishment is inevitable."

Daziel fell silent, words failing him. He racked his memory, trying to recall the original ending of the storyline. Vaguely, he remembered something about Topaz receiving favor from influential figures, which somehow lessened her punishment. But this time… those unseen powers were clearly not on her side. Going from a P45 rank down to P42 – the difference was immense. A chasm.

Sensing Daziel's silence, Topaz sighed again, the sound heavy with resignation. "Look, Mr. Daziel, Miss March 7th, I'm not unreasonable. I don't want to force Belobog's hand. But… I'm trapped. Just like the Supreme Guardian, I also represent an entire planet, an entire people, behind me."

"Tell you what," she continued, a shift in her tone. "Let me tell you both a story. Maybe… maybe if you hear it, you'll understand why I have to do this." And then, Topaz began to recount her past, her history, the story of her home world.

She spoke of a planet stripped bare of resources. Survival there hinged on selling their labor, vast quantities of it, to interstellar corporations. Contract work in chemical plants, heavy industries – the kinds of jobs no one else wanted. Slowly, inexorably, their world choked itself. The environment crumbled. Soon, breathing masks became a necessity just to walk outside. A symphony of coughing, raw and painful, echoed from dawn till dusk. They existed in a miasma of sewage, acid rain, and smog, waiting for the inevitable descent into utter despair.

Then, one day, figures from the Corporation arrived like saviors. They offered Topaz's home planet a comprehensive plan, a complete set of environmental 改造 (gǎizào - transformation/remediation) blueprints. The price? Every single resident – present and future – would become employees of the Corporation.

But in the hands of capitalists, she explained, the line between employee and slave blurred, vanished completely. The planet's air cleared, the water purified, but freedom was the hidden cost. Everyone on her world now lived shackled to the Corporation's will. One abyss traded for another.

Upon reaching adulthood, Topaz too was conscripted into the Corporation's ranks. But fate, or perhaps her own sharp mind and relentless drive, had been kind. She rose quickly through the ranks, reaching the Corporation's upper echelons. With that status, the lives of her people began, imperceptibly at first, to improve. Topaz's protection, fragile though it might be, offered a buffer against the Corporation's harshest demands.

Topaz understood the precariousness of it all. Everything rested on her position. If she lost her power, her people would plummet back down, joining the faceless masses of exploited and oppressed lower-level employees on countless other corporate worlds. Failure, demotion – these weren't abstract concepts. They were existential threats. Like Bronya, she carried the weight of millions on her shoulders. Millions who depended on her.

…

As the words flowed, Topaz's earlier forceful aura dissipated, replaced by a palpable weariness. A deep, aching despondency settled over her. Daziel and March 7th remained frozen, speechless.

Even though Daziel already knew this story, had read it in countless reports and background files, hearing it directly from Topaz, with the raw emotion woven into her voice, with the added details that painted a fuller, more heartbreaking picture, it struck him anew. A faint, melancholy hue colored the narrative.

He turned the story over in his mind, examining it from all angles. The original storyline, he realized, had been too neat, too perfect. It possessed a polished, fairytale-like beauty that felt…unreal. Topaz wasn't wrong. Belobog, alone, faced impossible odds in rebuilding. The Corporation's assistance, however exploitative, offered a tangible path forward. So why wouldn't they consider that plan? Was choosing to cooperate with the Corporation, betting Belobog's future on a devil's bargain, truly more unfair to future generations than the very real threat of Belobog freezing over in a few centuries? Without a future, what future generations were there to protect?

Bronya's stance, he now questioned, while noble, was it truly… rational? The Astral Express, risking a diplomatic rift with the Corporation to vouch for Belobog – was that genuinely a sound decision, seen through a cold, logical lens? Belobog was broken, financially crippled. Even with centuries to rebuild, the astronomical debt might remain insurmountable, the interest alone a snowballing avalanche that would eventually bury Belobog and, inevitably, drag down the Astral Express with it.

And the Strategic Investment Department, known for its ruthlessness – was it believable they would send someone like Topaz, someone with a hidden, softer heart, someone willing to risk demotion to allow Belobog breathing room? It felt… contrived. Too convenient.

Most ridiculously of all – even after Belobog definitively rejected the Corporation's takeover plan, the Corporation still offered aid for Belobog's reconstruction! Was the intergalactic Strategic Investment Department suddenly a charity organization in disguise?

All of it, taken together, hinged on these unlikely concessions, these almost unbelievable acts of… kindness? Remove any single point, and the beautiful ending would unravel, the whole tapestry collapsing. Upon closer inspection, the narrative frayed at the edges, revealing inconsistencies, moments of jarring disconnect.

Perhaps, Daziel mused, the original storyline was just a 12+ rated game, after all. Many questions weren't meant to be asked too deeply, weren't meant to withstand rigorous scrutiny. Couldn't withstand it.

But now, in this timeline, in his world, something had shifted. For reasons still unknown, Topaz had lost her protective aura of favor. Failure here meant a three-rank demotion, a devastating blow. And with Topaz compromised, the lives of her people, hanging in the balance, would become even more precarious.

Both Topaz and Bronya, he realized with a sudden clarity, were backed into corners, each fighting for the survival of their worlds in different, tragically opposed ways.

"Sigh…" Daziel exhaled, the sound heavy with the weight of understanding. Things just got a whole lot more complicated.

…

March 7th's eyes shimmered with unshed tears. She tightened her grip on Daziel's arm, her voice small and earnest. "Miss Topaz… she really can't afford to be demoted, can she, Daziel? Can't we… can't we help Miss Topaz somehow?"

Daziel managed a wry, rueful smile. "And what about Miss Bronya's side, March? Didn't you make a promise to her…?"

"Oh, right! Oh no, I almost forgot…" March 7th's brow furrowed in comical distress. She poked her tongue out, scratching her head with a little pinky finger, a picture of adorable confusion.

PS: Readers have raised the question in this chapter, "The Corporation clearly knows Belobog can't repay this money, why are they still demanding debt repayment from Belobog?". Some content has been added to the text to supplement this explanation.

Here, let me reiterate my understanding: the Corporation is a group that doesn't care about sentiment, only about profit. Oppressing and exploiting employees, proposing unreasonable solutions to debtors, and driving people to a dead end are all things they are capable of doing.

The original storyline text also clearly states that Topaz herself actively chose to take on this project, and if it weren't for leniency from above, the punishment would have been even more severe.

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