Deep into the night.
For ordinary people not working the night shift, this was the time to sleep.
But in Schicksal's West Asia Branch headquarters, many areas were still lit.
At this moment, in the underground prison level, one "Domination Puppet · Amby" had already taken the place of the hidden true body — Ling Ke himself, safely concealed within the Theater of Domination — and was moving alone in the real world.
Bzzzt~
With a ripple of energy, she effortlessly passed through the electronically locked iron bars using the Herrscher of Domination's portal authority.
Now, Ling Ke's very lifeform as a transmigrator had completely transformed — first through becoming a Herrscher, then by successfully activating and binding the "Top Player System."
Now, "one thousand" was "one," and "one" was "one thousand."
All consciousness synchronized in real time — a true hive-mind organism.
His only weakness — his core self — had no intention of ever leaving the impregnable Theater of Domination again.
As long as he lived, the other 999 Domination Puppets could be destroyed endlessly and simply respawn inside the "Respawn Room," ready to return stronger.
And in this state...
"For the me who was once just an ordinary person, a cage that once felt like an uncrossable chasm... I escaped it this easily."
Controlling "Domination Puppet · Amby" remotely like a player behind a screen, Ling Ke glanced back at the dark cell. "As expected, in this world, strength is everything... Hm?"
He paused, tilting his head toward a corner diagonally above.
There, a surveillance camera.
As its lens swiveled toward the puppet's position...
Beep beep beep!
Alarms blared.
"Heh. How careless of me."
Ling Ke's gaze sharpened. "Found already, huh."
If one looked closely at the expression mirrored on "Domination Puppet · Amby" — the same as his true body's...
It was an utterly frozen, utterly deranged smile.
Extremely dangerous.
So...
Was this situation truly caused by carelessness?
Obviously not.
Whether you call the current Ling Ke arrogant or reckless —
He just wanted to vent.
To unleash every ounce of the negativity that had built up over nearly four years of endless torment.
So, after confirming his core was absolutely safe inside the Theater of Domination, he had zero intention of sneaking out quietly.
Stealth kills? Silent revenge against those researchers?
No, no, no.
He was going to break out in the most ostentatious way possible — then slaughter his way through the entire West Asia Branch.
Kill. Kill. Kill.
Until he got bored.
And with that decision made up his mind...
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Controlling the puppet via synchronized consciousness, Ling Ke walked step by step along the route he remembered from being dragged to the labs.
At one point, he arrived before a massive reinforced blast door.
Then, he waited quietly.
He didn't wait long...
Hiss~
The thick electronic gate was opened — from the outside — by those arrogant fools.
"If only you lot were a little smarter, escaping would've cost me a bit more effort."
Ling Ke sneered inwardly.
Just then...
Clang-clang-clang!
The blast door slid open. A squad of heavily armed special forces operatives stormed in, every muzzle trained on the "Domination Puppet · Anby" standing motionless in place.
More than a dozen laser sights danced across her forehead and heart.
"Don't move! Hands in the air!"
The squad leader—probably the one in charge.
Like the rest of his team, his face was concealed behind tactical gear.
He was far too cocky.
Before Ling Ke could even twitch, the man was already reporting: "Command, intruder located."
"Engaging immedi—"
Shiiing!
The rasp of a blade leaving its sheath cut him off mid-sentence.
Every eye snapped to the Domination Puppet · Anby.
Even with over a dozen guns pointed at her, the silver-haired girl showed not a trace of fear.
Instead, she casually reached back with her right hand, fingers closing around the hilt at her waist.
Slowly, deliberately, she drew it forth...
"Final warning! Do not move!"
"Or we will open fire and neutralize you!"
The squad leader bellowed.
Useless.
In their sights, the short-haired girl had already pulled free a sleek black sword, reversing her grip and raising it defensively in front of her.
Her knees bent—she was clearly about to charge.
"FIRE!"
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
The order was instant, and his team obeyed without hesitation.
For a moment, muzzle flashes lit the dim corridor like strobe lights.
Yet...
Ting-ting-ting-ting-ting~
Something utterly bizarre unfolded.
The girl who had just crouched low in preparation now sprinted straight into the hail of bullets—head-on toward the defensive line of over a dozen elite operatives.
She didn't fear the incoming fire at all.
Because every round that came close was effortlessly sliced out of the air by the black blade in her hand.
She was parrying bullets!
Like an early-edition, still-handsome Deadpool, she spun that sword into a blur of afterimages—impervious, untouchable.
Sparks exploded around her as steel met lead.
Against this pressure that, to her, felt no different than a gentle breeze...
"She—she's a Valkyrie!"
"Fall back! Fall back!"
"Get the Snow Lotus Squad here NOW!"
...
Seeing the silver-haired girl closing in relentlessly, the special forces began retreating while maintaining suppressive fire, desperately buying time.
Too bad—for the girl, parrying bullets didn't slow her sprint one bit.
That was one of the built-in effects of the "Anby" game template while dashing.
In Zenless Zone Zero, several characters could pull off the same stunt.
Some could even parry missiles.
And right now...
"!!!"
The dozen-plus operatives' wall of fire utterly failed to pin her down.
One by one, she closed the distance.
Then...
Shwick—shwick—shwick!
Thud!
The razor-sharp black blade carved through armor and flesh like tofu, bisecting them at the waist.
Undoubtedly, this was an act of extreme cruelty.
A waist-severed human doesn't die instantly.
Back in Ling Ke's homeland, there had even been cases of survivors.
But for these screaming, collapsing operatives, survival was a pipe dream.
"You... just who... the hell are you?"
The squad leader, still clinging to consciousness, forced the question out through bloodied lips.
You could tell he was a dutiful man.
Too bad...
"Me?"
The silver-haired girl mirrored Ling Ke's exact expression, tilting her head as she answered word by word: "Just a demon that even Hell itself refuses to take."
"Oh, right!"
Her smile widened as she added, "And by the way..."
"The me standing before you right now—is entirely your own masterpiece!"
With those words, she relaxed her grip, letting the tip of the black sword scrape along the floor. Sparks trailed behind her footsteps with a teeth-grinding screech.
She murmured softly...
"So consider this... my way of repaying the favor!"