A Thousand-Person Ruler's Personal Opinion

"As you can see, this is something a normal Titan Father can't do, but I can—after all, I'm the Ruler of Domination. Plus, with the Titan's own computing power and smart network, Dominion Authority can extend to other Titans on the same LAN with minimal consumption... By my estimate, one Titan Father can command a hundred other Titans as easily as moving an arm, and no black tech can wrest control from me!"

"Unstoppable!"

"Don't get cocky. It's decent power, but only beneath the Herrschers. Even a full hundred at best can turn Rita Rossweisse into Valkyrie fragments—anything stronger, and it's iffy."

"No way? I think we could at least take Wendy by now!"

The Titan Father flipped upright, raised its mechanical arm, and pointed a finger at the ceiling, brimming with confidence and pride.

Cocolia's face darkened, but she said nothing—this was indeed a formidable force not to be ignored, and utterly loyal to her, all on her side.

"I'll have the R&D department keep upgrading, build a hundred Titans with peak performance. Once the formation's ready... in all of Anti-Entropy, unless Welt can't hold back and blows my head off, it'll be god-blocking-god from now on!"

"Damn right! Me, the Titan Father, unstoppable! Ha!"

The massive Titan Father mecha let out a girl's electronic laugh for a moment, then entered quantum stealth mode and vanished from the empty underground chamber.

Cocolia turned, brushed the hair from her forehead with one hand, and the sudden surge of firepower filled her with a deep sense of security. She threw her head back and let out a long-suppressed cackle.

"Hahaha!"

But the swelling was only temporary. Anqi, knowing the plot, understood exactly how deep this world ran. A maxed-out Titan force was strong, but far from a true guarantee.

"Well then, time for the next place. Hope there's a similar surprise."

Leaving the underground chamber sealed from all external radio monitoring, Cocolia strode deeper into the subterranean base.

"Facial recognition: accepted."

"Fingerprint recognition: accepted."

"Iris recognition: accepted."

"Epidermal gene recognition: accepted."

"Respected Executor Cocolia, please input character password and voice password."

"...Accepted! Welcome to the Highest Security Lab. May your work go smoothly."

Following the sequence in her memory, Cocolia passed the AI recognition programs one by one and entered the lab sealed by high-strength airtight doors.

Clearly, this was where biological experiments were conducted.

Dozens of silver-gray pods stood neatly in the dim light, pale blue fluorescence seeping through their glass viewports, exuding a cold, intense sense of technology.

Cocolia approached one pod and, through the glass, saw a handsome, sleeping face.

"A clone of Welt Joyce. Perfect, absolutely perfect flesh material... This haul is huge!"

The Anqis' emotions surged, so much so that Cocolia's lips unconsciously curled into a charming, sly smile.

"Bang!"

Since all the eyes placed here had already been removed in advance, Cocolia stopped holding back her anticipation, casually punched through the glass cover, and reached in to grab the clone's face.

Then, amid the flowing nutrient fluid, she dragged the body out.

Cocolia's violet eyes shifted to a golden cross shape.

Immediately, the body she held up with one hand was enveloped in a mysterious purple glow.

One minute, two minutes—a full thirty minutes passed.

A naked little girl stood before Cocolia, with smooth golden hair, gem-like, flawless violet eyes, and a delicate, cherubic face. She looked like a child just over ten, staring at Cocolia with an innocent, adorable expression.

"Mommy~~"

"Mommy my ass! Do you all have to gross me out every single time?!"

Cocolia gave the little girl a sharp knock on the head, her face dark.

Sure, this body was indeed over thirty, but Anqi was forever a sixteen-year-old girl, damn it!

The little girl giggled, stuck out her pink tongue, then crossed her legs and floated unsteadily in front of Cocolia. She spread her arms, her golden hair drifting weightlessly in the air, and said:

"A body rebuilt from the Joyce Clone base? Strong!"

"I can feel this body's Honkai Energy adaptability is terrifyingly high—probably the strongest individual right now!"

"The power to manipulate gravity, infinite Honkai Energy from the Imaginary Gateway—even if the output ceiling is still the shame of the Herrschers... it's still strong, strong enough that I don't even know my own limits."

"But sadly, the power left in the clone really isn't the same as the Herrscher of Reason's Authority. Didn't get even a tiny fraction of it."

Cocolia nodded as expected, without excessive surprise or disappointment, and said with anticipation:

"Hurry and try replicating a body using this as a template! If it works, all our future clones can be built on this template, and our overall combat power will jump to another level."

The little girl nodded, reached out her hand, and purple light coalesced into a human shape in her palm.

A moment later, the light faded, and her hand was empty.

Cocolia frowned and shook her head:

"As expected, bodies created from nothing have limits, and the Joyce Clone's quality exceeds that limit."

"It was predictable. If bodies created from nothing had no ceiling, the original Thousand-Person Ruler wouldn't have been a thousand puppets—it could have been a thousand S-Rank Valkyries."

"Or perhaps we're still too weak. If we could obtain other Herrscher Cores or Authorities, or develop our Authority more deeply, we might raise the upper limit of what we can shape."

"That's a matter for later. Fortunately, we have over twenty successful Joyce replicas—enough for everyone in the Theater to use... No, maybe we should preserve them. Once used, the form can't be changed. What if we need other powerful forms in the future?"

"Agreed. What we need isn't this bit of combat power, but the tactical flexibility to swap identities at will. Don't sacrifice the greater good for a small gain."

"By the way, call me Ninti from now on. I feel like that name suits me."

Cocolia and Ninti discussed this, then sent the liquid tanks in the lab one by one into the Theater of Domination.

With that, all the combat power boosts directly obtainable through Cocolia's identity were secured. Everything else would have to be planned slowly later.

Once everything that could be done was done, Cocolia wrapped Ninti's small body in her cloak and carried her out of the lab like a child.

But just as the lab door was slowly closing, Ninti's little golden head popped out from under the cloak, and she reached out a chubby little hand.

"Star of Eden... No, this move should be called—Chibaku Tensei!"

A black point of intense gravity appeared in the center of the lab, devouring everything around it like a true black hole. In the blink of an eye, it obliterated the lab from the inside out, leaving nothing but a slowly collapsing underground cavity.

Cocolia was now a clone of Anqi. Any stains that could be washed away should be washed away—she couldn't afford to be hated by everyone like in the original timeline.

Chapter 30: Anqi Gradually Becoming a Daughter-Con

"Phew~~"

"Sip~~"

"Ah, good tea."

In a mountain base buried in flying snow, Cocolia sat before a floor-to-ceiling glass observation window, legs crossed, facing several floating projection windows with a lazy, languid air.

"Cocolia, why are you suddenly pouring massive resources into the Titan modification and production line? You know full well that the core R&D strength actually lies with Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla. Researching Titans is putting the cart before the horse—we should focus our main resources on the biological and quantum technology fields where the Conservative Faction is weak!"

"And then what? While the Conservative Faction refuses to share core technology, we keep compensating for our outdated Titan models and low production numbers with the blood of countless soldiers?"

"Those sacrifices are necessary! We don't have the basic data or core technology for Titans. Trying to improve them is a losing game—better to keep trading resources and quantum tech with the Conservative Faction! Besides, we're still one organization. If a crisis arises that requires a massive mecha army, the Supreme Commander and the Conservative Faction won't just stand by!"

"Each side has its point. In the past, because a lot of resources were in your hands and our general direction was aligned, I kept convincing myself to compromise with you... But enough! Fellow Executors, I've made up my mind. I hope you'll understand—let's keep the peace, shall we?"

Cocolia blew on her tea and said this casually.

Just then, a little head poked out from the restroom doorway.

It was a somewhat peculiar little girl, with heterochromatic eyes—one blue, one gold—and a fluffy short hairstyle half pink and half purple. Her delicate, doll-like face wore a carefree grin as she exclaimed in surprise:

"Mom, so you're here... Ah, you're in a meeting?"

"Oh, it's An Mals! Nothing major—come here, come to Mommy."

Cocolia's eyes lit up as she waved at An Mals, her expression clearly showing she cared more about her daughter than chatting with a bunch of old men.

An Mals blinked. A flicker of hesitation passed through her strangely captivating heterochromatic eyes, but in the end, she grinned and walked over to Cocolia.

"Oh my, my adorable baby girl—still the cutest in the world today! Come, lie down on Mommy's lap, there's a good girl~~"

Cocolia let An Mals lie down, her head resting on Cocolia's thighs, and stroked the little girl's silky-soft hair, her face full of affection and doting.

An Mals blinked, instinctively shrinking her neck a little, and soon her cheeks flushed red.

Ever since returning from the front-line base a few days ago, An Mals had noticed that her Cocolia-mom seemed to have changed a lot. At first, she was suspicious, but after observing various details and conversations without finding anything off, she figured her mom might have just come to some realization.

"Mom, don't be like this—you're still in a meeting..."

An Mals puffed out her cheeks, putting on a disapproving expression.

Yet she didn't get up. In fact, she even nuzzled her head obediently under Cocolia's hand.

'Cocolia-mom... has gotten a little strange, but... it's actually pretty nice.'

An Mals narrowed her eyes, the corners of her mouth curling up in comfort and happiness. The old Cocolia had been good to them too, but never this affectionate. Now, Cocolia was closer to what An Mals had always dreamed a mother should be.

Not that she disliked the old Cocolia-mom, of course...

Anyway...

Whatever. Why think so much? As long as it felt good now, that was enough.

An Mals rubbed against Cocolia's thigh, feeling drowsy in the cozy atmosphere.

Cocolia couldn't stop playing with her "daughter's" face and hair. Then she looked up at the grim-faced old men on the screens and sighed:

"Ah! You know, after years of competition—especially after the Changkong City incident—I've come to a deep realization."

"That is, setting aside our missing, fate-unknown Supreme Commander, the high-end combat power on my side actually far surpasses the Conservative Faction. So why are we still being held back by them? It all comes down to the lack of autonomy in Titan Legion production and expansion!"

"Biological and quantum technology can both bring power, but at least for now, the real core strength is still the Titans. Without the initiative on Titans, we'll never truly crush those stubborn conservatives!"

Of course, the minor detail that all the high-cost, powerful Titans developed would eventually become Anqi's puppets—there was no need to drag that out with the "good comrades."

The Executors were silent for a moment, because they knew the logic Cocolia was speaking. The Reformist Faction had indeed surpassed the Conservative Faction in funding, resources, and even manpower. But when it came down to a real confrontation, the ones with the loudest voice were still the Conservative Faction, who controlled the Titan Legion.

"What you're saying is an old tune. But with such a big move this time, can we take it to mean... that research in quantum and biology isn't going well?"

"Please, use your brains, esteemed sirs. If there were a way to gain power surpassing the Titans on another track, do you think Schicksal would just sit around? Wouldn't they have crushed Anti-Entropy long ago? It's precisely because the Titan Legion's power is unstoppable that Anti-Entropy has the luxury of splitting into two factions and bickering!"

Cocolia thought of Ninti's Shinra Tensei leveling a mountain range, and recalled that even more broken Golden Saint Cygnet, yet she still bragged about the Titans' power without changing her expression—for the core interests of the Anqis, a little boasting and lying wasn't shameful.

The Executors' expressions shifted slightly at Cocolia's overly blunt words, but they maintained their composure with restraint. Still, they agreed with her lies—after all, from their perspective, Anti-Entropy stood against Schicksal precisely because of the Titan Legion. So they chose to keep addressing the current issues.

"Are you sure we should redirect the track back to the mech technology the Conservative Faction has been running for years? Can it succeed?"

"At least it's more promising than the castles-in-the-air quantum and bio tech—we've got ready samples, plenty of technical staff, and we can even poach people from the Conservative Faction outright. Sure, we don't have Dr. Einstein or Dr. Tesla, but we have money and resources, and research is largely a matter of money and resources."

"Too idealistic. Besides, all that massive investment we dumped into quantum and bio fields—are we just writing it off?"

"First, I'm not saying we abandon research in other areas. I'm just adjusting the overall resource allocation based on the harsh reality that input and output are severely mismatched. Second, I'm not saying we'll surpass the Conservative Faction in Titan Mech research—that's just not realistic. All I want is basic independent production and modification capability!"

Cocolia patiently humored them.

And finally, the attitudes of the Reformist Faction executives began to soften. They clearly accepted Cocolia's reasoning—not some whimsical plan, but a sensible shift of resources into fields more likely to yield results. The goal was also reasonable: not to surpass, but to close the gap. That wasn't a pipe dream.

"Everyone, as long as we can secure a certain scale of Titan power, and leverage our advantages in other areas, overwhelming the Conservative Faction will be a done deal. I believe my decision is sound. Do you have anything else to say?"

"We understand your decision, but it's too sudden and aggressive. Unless we see concrete results... we won't give you much support."

"When have you ever been any different? I'm used to it! But since you won't support me, then please turn a blind eye to some of the actions I'll take to sustain the research. Don't come grilling me at every turn—I've got real work to do, and I'm busy!"

"Hmph! That goes without saying, Cocolia."

The video conference ended there.

Then Cocolia set down her now-cold tea, and with a weary heart, scooped up An, who had been drifting off in a daze.

She rubbed her, nuzzled her, kissed her.

"Mom!"

"What's the matter? I raised you all this way, and I'm exhausted today—can't I even use you a little?"

"You... I... Ah!!"

An fussed in Cocolia's arms, but didn't resist her closeness.

'It's not that I like Mom kissing me... it's just that Mom's an ordinary person, too frail—I don't want to hurt her! Yeah, that's it!'

An pouted, finding a reason that made her feel less awkward.