Chapter 337

Looking at the puppet remains, Fu Hua could easily deduce that the puppets must have discovered their intrusion and closed the theater doors. Fu Hua shook her head to clear her mind. In any case, they had already entered the Domination Theater, and the next step was to find Kiana.

"Hmm, Heavy-duty Rabbit is tracking Kiana's bracelet signal... Found it! Kiana is indeed in the Domination Theater, but the space here is chaotic, there's no map, it's even more complicated than Chongqing, it can only show a general direction. Shen Gonglin, you can use the Herrscher of the Void... Okay, never mind, try not to use the Herrscher of the Void's powers, otherwise we'll have to go find you."

The Heavy-duty Rabbit relayed Kiana's bracelet signal, but the situation was still far from optimistic. Bronya wanted to see if Shen Gonglin had any ideas, but then she thought of Shen Gonglin's terrible sense of direction. This guy would get lost even at a fork in the road, so she shouldn't let him use the Herrscher of the Void's abilities to run around aimlessly.

Bronya knows Shen Gonglin very well about her terrible sense of direction.

"It's okay, we'll just keep going in that general direction."

Fu Hua made her decision, and Bronya and Shen Gonglin followed in her footsteps. As long as they knew the general location, all they had to do now was get close to Kiana. It was really hard on her to stay in this Domination Theater alone.

So, following the approximate coordinates provided by Heavy-duty Rabbit, Shen Gonglin and the others began to head towards Kiana's location via the stairs. However, the stairs seemed endless. After an unknown amount of time, Fu Hua and Bronya could still hold on, but Shen Gonglin was already exhausted. In terms of physical strength, he could never compare to the Valkyrie. Although it was somewhat embarrassing, this was all he could do.

"Let's go, let's go, Class President, let's run!"

Clinging to Fu Hua's back, Shen Gonglin felt no shame at being carried by a girl. With Fu Hua's help, he felt much more relaxed, while Bronya, who was leading the way, had a somewhat gloomy look in her eyes.

As the girl controlled Heavy-duty Rabbit to bombard the puppet in front of her, she looked at her hands and thought, "How could I be so clumsy? If I had lost the rock-paper-scissors game, the Class President would be leading the way while I and Shen Gonglin would be leisurely following on Heavy-duty Rabbit. This damn competitive spirit... How did I win?"

Sigh, I need to think things through next time. Bronya shook her head, trying to shake off her disappointment. Looking at the puppet that had been reduced to wreckage by the Heavy-duty Rabbit's firepower, Bronya realized something was wrong.

"Class President, Shen Gonglin, these enemies are different from the ones we controlled before. They have a stranger aura about them and are stronger than the previous enemies. They are like... the powerful enemies that will appear in the final act."

Several shots from the cannon annihilated the enemy. If it were the previous puppet, a single missile would have blasted the enemy into dust. But now it takes this method. This made Bronya start to think. In the game, when you get close to the boss room, those small fry will turn into elite monsters.

"Hmm, I noticed that too... Is it just my imagination? This staircase... seems to extend infinitely?"

Fu Hua also noticed the enemy's anomaly, but the ever-increasing staircase attracted her attention more than the enemy. She had been climbing for an unknown amount of time, probably close to the fiftieth floor. The Valkyrie's physical strength prevented Fu Hua from feeling tired, while Bronya was unaffected by the Heavy-duty Rabbit. But if this was an infinitely extending staircase, was there any point in continuing?

"It's not an illusion, the space is indeed constantly expanding. The owner of this theater... probably wants to trap us here. But don't worry, just keep moving forward. Bronya doesn't think that such an expansion of space comes without a price. Just keep walking until you reach the limit of the space's expansion."

Bronya made a judgment based on the current situation. She did not believe that the dolls could do such a thing. If they had such abilities, they could have trapped her and Seele to death in the first place. Therefore, this seemingly infinitely extending space must have a limit.

Just as Bronya had predicted, the dolls appeared when they could climb about ten more floors.

"Climbing around and around and around and around, aren't you tired? Why don't you just stop? Is it fun doing something so pointless?!"

The voice of the puppet at the top of the stairs sounded irritable and angry. These guys, how could they choose to keep climbing up when faced with such an infinitely extending space? They must be tired even if they aren't. What a bunch of dim-witted guys!

"As expected, creating an endless, infinite tower must be a huge burden for you, right? Your target is Kiana, and you imprisoned us here to prevent us from interfering, so you can't spare much power to deal with us. That's why you used identical staircases to give us the illusion of endlessness, hoping we would give up on our own. Is Bronya right?"

Based on the puppet's actions, Bronya made this conjecture: the puppet's power indeed has its limits.

Chapter 168 The True Power of the Herrscher of Reason

Bronya's calm voice echoed throughout the Domination Theater. Fu Hua's puppet remained silent, while Fu Hua glanced at Bronya in surprise. This girl was truly intelligent; she hadn't even thought of this, yet Bronya had guessed it. It seemed that Bronya was indeed stronger in terms of intelligence. Although she herself possessed a vast amount of knowledge, it was mostly accumulated over thousands of years, while Bronya had deduced so much through her own abilities.

As expected, she is the most Herrscher of Reason Core. No wonder she became the Herrscher of Reason. Looking at myself... tsk, never mind.

"Aaaaaah! That's exactly why the Herrscher of Reason is even more annoying! Even if she can't use the power of the Herrscher of Reason, she'll still be just as annoying!"

Having her thoughts exposed, the doll started throwing a tantrum, fuming with embarrassment and anger. Why couldn't she just obediently fall for the trick? Her intelligence made them seem useless. So many people came up with this plan, yet Bronya managed to see through it all. It was infuriating. The Herrscher of Reason was just too infuriating.

"What the Herrscher of Reason has passed down has never been the core, but a belief. I'm afraid you'll never understand it in your entire lives. After all, Bronya feels that you have no brains."

It's hard to imagine that Bronya, such a quiet girl, could say such things. Fu Hua secretly glanced at Bronya. This girl was actually speaking with emotion. Although she said that she didn't care about losing her powers and that she didn't fight using the Herrscher of Reason's Authority, Bronya was actually quite angry inside. That's why she used such a slightly excessive word to describe the doll as brainless... I almost laughed.

"Ah, yes, yes, we are not as good as you, we are not as good as you, isn't that what you wanted to say?"

"Yes, that's very clever. That's exactly what Bronya meant."

"... You bastard, once we catch you, we'll tear you to pieces! Even those of us you look down on can achieve great things. No matter what means we use, we will win!"

Bronya's mocking attitude was really making her mental state collapse. This little girl seemed obedient and well-behaved, but that was all an act. She was wicked and dared to say such infuriating things. The dolls were furious. Did she think they had no other tricks up their sleeve?

The puppets have too many tricks up their sleeves when it comes to dealing with these self-righteous hypocrites!

To Bronya and Fu Hua's astonishment, a humanoid phantom suddenly appeared behind each puppet. Threads connected these phantoms to the puppets, and the puppets connected by the threads lost their ability to jump and leap. However, this development prevented Shen Gonglin and the others from continuing their battle because...

"According to Heavy-duty Rabbit, these phantoms are all human life forms. Based on the known information... these phantoms are all human hosts of the puppets."

Bronya's face darkened. Without a doubt, this was the puppets' plan. Don't expect them to have any morality or chivalry; all they wanted to do was make them hesitate and buy time.

"You guessed right, it's me, it's us! We've connected our lives with another version of ourselves! Although it will weaken our mobility, you shouldn't be able to bring yourself to do it, right? Or you can come and kill me, kill us. We're all very weak, so it's very simple. With just a light blow, snap, that other me will be finished too."

The dolls smiled provocatively, but such despicable tactics left Shen Gonglin and the others helpless. Their attacks were much weaker than before. It seemed that, as the dolls had said, their mobility was greatly reduced after connecting their hosts to themselves. However, such a weak attack made them somewhat hesitant, because behind each doll was a living, breathing life.

"Why? Why did you stop attacking? Just defending won't defeat us. Didn't you want to rescue your comrades? Why didn't you just kill me? Come on, come on... To follow the plan, we had to swallow our pride. Actually, I've wanted to do this for a long time. Look at your expressions now, it's great!"

The puppets mocked with unbridled glee. They wouldn't dare act rashly once lives were involved. See? This is the weakness, powerlessness, and utter worthlessness of hypocrites! As long as they have hostages on their side, they'll have to watch helplessly as their companions die! How amusing!

"Bronya, do you have any other plans?"

Ignoring the puppet's taunts, Fu Hua, who was on defense, asked Bronya in a low voice. She had complete trust in the girl's mind. Now she and Shen Gonglin were responsible for the frontal defense, while Bronya observed the battle from the rear. This girl was born to play the role of a commander.

"Endure this wave of attacks first, and we will definitely find an opportunity... The puppet's goal is still to delay our movement and prevent us from finding Kiana, while our goal is to get to Kiana's side. The current situation is not suitable for a direct breakthrough. Shen Gonglin, it's time for you to step in."

Bronya calmly analyzed the battle situation and gave Shen Gonglin a coordinate. Although she couldn't pinpoint the exact location before, she could still deduce the general direction. She and the Class President would handle the situation here, but Kiana's side couldn't be left unattended.

"I understand, but are you two alright?"

Having understood Bronya's meaning, Shen Gonglin was still somewhat worried about the two of them. Would anything happen to them if she wasn't there?

"Don't worry, endurance is my forte, and it's been a long time since I've fought back-to-back with someone like this, but it doesn't feel bad."

Fu Hua and Bronya left Shen Gonglin with a reassuring smile, back to back, protecting each other's blind spots. The two girls formed a defensive formation, trusting each other and only needing to take care of their own front.

"Go ahead, Kiana must be fighting hard right now. You go first, we'll break through here and then go rescue her together. Wait for us."

The two girls smiled reassuringly at Shen Gonglin, and Shen Gonglin, unlike those idiots in TV dramas, didn't hesitate. He decisively opened a spatial passage. The space in this theater was very unstable, barely allowing one person to pass through at a time. But just as they said, Shen Gonglin knew what he needed to do. As for them... he just needed to trust them.

Chapter 169 Bullying the Weak

Meanwhile, on Kiana's side, after taking out the pink gem, the dolls were eagerly awaiting Kiana's reaction. This was their trump card for Kiana. As long as she took it out, the girl's psychological defenses would definitely collapse instantly. Haha, that's it, that's it! Let them see how this self-righteous girl crumbles!

"How about it? How about it? It looks familiar, doesn't it? Do you remember who held it? Do you know why it's here? Tell me your answer... Murata Himeko is already dead!"

The dolls were gloating, anticipating Kiana's reaction, but the girl's appearance surprised them greatly. Apart from her initial surprise, she seemed to have no other emotional reaction. Her heterochromatic eyes remained resolute. This was not what they expected. Something was wrong. Kiana, this shouldn't be happening.

"Hey, are you deaf or can't understand human speech? Or are you so overwhelmed with grief that you refuse to think? Murata Himeko is dead, dead, dead! Did you hear me?!"

Not getting the response they wanted from Kiana, the dolls suddenly became agitated. This won't do! Kiana shouldn't be so calm. Crying would be the most appropriate reaction for her. How could she be like this!

However, in the dolls' eyes, Kiana remained unmoved upon hearing this news. The girl even closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Why didn't she react at all? Or had they guessed wrong? Did Kiana and Murata Himeko not have any deep feelings for each other? Was this reaction far too cold-blooded?

Even they can't be this cold-blooded.

"What should your reaction be? What do you imagine I should be like? Kneeling on the ground wailing, collapsing and crying out over and over that this isn't real? Or falling into madness, mentally deranged, desperately hurting myself to fill the void of self-blame? If that's the case, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."

The girl composed herself and looked directly at the dolls. They wanted to see her like that? They'd been mistaken. That might have happened before, but now she wasn't the Kiana she used to be. If she, so beautiful, got hurt, it wouldn't just be her who felt the pain.

"This... shouldn't be? Ah, I get it, you're still putting on a brave face, refusing to accept reality. You think we're lying? You think this gem is fake? Trying to act calm, like nothing happened. Fine, then let you experience its real power."

The dolls clenched the gems tightly, for this was the only way they could unleash their power. Under the crimson light, all the Honkai Beast around were affected and infected by the power of the flames. Kiana calmly responded and attacked, her attack now stronger than before.

"Hahaha, stop hiding! This is the power your beloved teacher used! You know, when we found it, this gem was drifting alone in the Imaginary Space. How strange! Shouldn't it be embedded in the Crimson Armor? Shouldn't it be worn by her? Where is the person with it...? Who knows! Hahahaha!"

The doll's laughter was sharp and piercing. She kept saying these things in an attempt to disturb Kiana's mind. This girl must be faking it. Her heart is actually full of holes. As long as I try, I can definitely defeat her.

"Actually, you've always known that she died long ago that day, killed by your own hands. But even without that battle, she was already terminally ill and didn't have much time left. She was just a mortal, and it was impossible for her to escape the Imaginary Space, or even maintain her own existence. But you refused to accept all of this."

The doll's therapeutic methods weren't over; it was still trying to figure out Kiana's thoughts. Yes, that's right, that's what she must be thinking, and what it had to do was to shatter her lies.

"You're still fantasizing that someone can save her, like Shen Gonglin. You're still fantasizing that he can fulfill your wish, fantasizing about an impossible miracle, fantasizing that someone can help you atone for that unforgivable sin. But think about it, this might be... ouch!"

Before she could finish speaking, the doll was hit by the fallen Honkai Beast and sent flying to the corner. How could this be? Did her words have no effect on Kiana at all? What kind of single-celled organism is this? Can't her brain process so many things?

"Why... This is so strange, it shouldn't be like this, it shouldn't be like this... This gem should have played a much greater role."

Struggling to its feet, the doll took out the gem, puzzled. This shouldn't be all there was to it. They were Herrscher of Domination, and although the lack of a host greatly reduced their domination abilities, the power of this Plague Gem shouldn't be so little. It should be able to exert a much stronger effect.

Now!

Finally seizing the opportunity, Kiana's eyes lit up as she saw the doll take out the gem. The girl quickly ran, then leaped high onto the theater's dome. The doll, caught off guard, lost track of Kiana. Where did she go? Where did she go? Where has our distinguished guest gone?

The performance wasn't over yet, so how did the main character just disappear?

With her eyes fixed on the puppet below, Kiana took advantage of its inattention and ran to its blind spot. The girl looked down at the puppet darting around below, and then Kiana seized the opportunity to descend from the sky. Immediately afterward, a gunshot rang out, and the sound of the bullet casing falling was very crisp in the theater.

Phew, finally took down this guy.

Kiana landed beside the doll and picked up the Plague Gem that had fallen to the ground. At the same time, the girl glanced at the doll lying motionless on the ground and sighed softly as Kiana looked at the dead doll.

"I don't know what kind of reaction you hope to see from me, but I know what Teacher Himeko wants me to do. Thank you for keeping it safe for me."

Kiana remained composed as she looked at the Plague Gem in her hand. The other dolls, however, immediately began to shout when they saw the gem fall into Kiana's hands. "How can you steal someone else's things? What's wrong with Kiana? Doesn't she call herself a hero? How can a hero steal other people's things? Thief, villain, robber, death penalty!"

The dolls were furious, but they quickly quieted down. It seemed that Kiana was absolutely unwilling to become their partner, so they would have to think of other candidates.

Chapter 170 Shen Gonglin Unwelcome One

Kiana's uncooperative behavior was unexpected. The girl's reaction was completely unexpected by the dolls. They originally thought they could easily defeat her consciousness and make her their puppet by taking advantage of the emptiness in her heart. However, it seemed that something had filled the emptiness in the girl's heart without them noticing. There was no darkness, no escape. What was going on? This girl was not quite what they had planned.

"Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve? If not, I'll take this gem. It wasn't originally yours."

Kiana weighed the Plague Gem in her hand. Holding the gem gave her a sense of warmth, as if the jeweler was still by her side.

"Stay tuned, stay tuned. Since you want it, take it. Besides, this was supposed to be the next act. Since you're unwilling to follow our arrangements, we'll have to ask another actress to come on stage. After all, she was originally intended to be the lead. Although we wanted to change the role midway, if she doesn't cooperate, we'll have to ask her to save the day."

The doll quickly recovered from its disappointment, revealing a wicked smile on its face hidden by the blindfold. This was also part of the plan. As a qualified director, it was natural to think about the development of various themes. The fact that Kiana had taken the gem was also part of their plan.

What?

Another character... Kiana instinctively sensed something was wrong, and at that moment, the Plague Gem in her hand also emitted a faint light. She had forgotten that her body simply couldn't withstand the influence of multiple gems. Mei had become the Herrscher of Thunder again to help her share the burden of the gems, separating the Conquest Gem from her own body. Only with Shen Gonglin's help could she barely balance the Serenity Gem and the core of the Herrscher of the Void. Now, suddenly, another one had been added...

It's going to be bad.

"You little mouse who stole the cheese, didn't expect that, did you? The cheese was smeared with deadly poison, remember? Otto did the same thing back then, giving you a gem and then awakening her consciousness. Just think of it as a replay of that incident... Alright, alright, it's time for you to leave the stage. Let's give a grand welcome to another character, the Herrscher of the Void, Sirin!"

He revealed his other plan, while Kiana, Honkai energy, knelt on the ground in agony. Golden lines had crept into her blue pupils. Kiana gritted her teeth and persevered, "No, absolutely not...!"

Despite Kiana's determination, how could the attack of the Herrscher of the Void be so easily resisted? Taking advantage of the fleeting emptiness in her heart, the Herrscher of the Void prepared to make her appearance once again!

"Although you talk a big game and act tough, you can't fool yourself. The moment we took out that gem, your heart and soul truly wept. Of course, she wouldn't give up this opportunity, would she?"

The dolls gathered together, laughing as they watched Kiana kneeling on the ground, struggling desperately. Her current state of struggle was truly amusing; she couldn't hold on any longer.

Just as the doll had predicted, Kiana, who was kneeling on the ground, was slowly changing. The golden patterns in her azure eyes were increasing, and her clothes were transforming into those of the Herrscher of the Void. She... couldn't hold on any longer. Was she going to lose again?

"Sweetheart, if you can't hold on anymore, then don't. I'm still here for you. Go and end it all."

The impact of the other consciousness grew stronger, while Kiana's consciousness became increasingly blurred. But just then, a golden halo unfolded in front of Kiana, Shen Gonglin appeared, placing her hand on Kiana's head and rubbing it. Upon seeing him, Kiana relaxed completely. He's here. Then, everything will be alright.

Kiana fell silent, completely transforming into the Herrscher of the Void. However, the girl remained kneeling motionless. Shen Gonglin understood that Kiana was currently making a resolution with another version of herself. Not every Herrscher is as perfectly integrated with Mei as the Herrscher of Thunder Mei. Kiana had this problem; their two souls had completely different ideologies, making compromise and persuasion impossible. Only she herself could make all the decisions.

"Shen Gonglin! What are you doing here again! Unwelcome guest, get out, get out!"

Upon seeing Shen Gonglin, the dolls' emotions suddenly turned volatile. He was like that, and so was Raiden Mei, who was separated from them. They hadn't been welcomed at all, so why were they even in the theater? This feeling was just too annoying!

"Hmm, how should I put it? I don't think I've ever been disliked by anyone this much before. It's a really strange feeling. But seeing how much you hate me but can't do anything about it, I have to say, it's actually quite satisfying. Come on, try hating me again? Give me a piece of your mind!"

Shen Gonglin's smile was even more wicked than the dolls'. He was pleased to see them hate him but were helpless. This only made the dolls more and more furious. Were those girls blind? Why would they like Shen Gonglin? He was a wicked villain who was rotten to the core!

"Hmph, all talk and no action. No matter what you do, we've already won. The Herrscher of the Void will take over this body; we've won!"

Unwilling to say much to Shen Gonglin, the dolls hoped to use this fact to defeat Shen Gonglin, but Shen Gonglin didn't care at all. Would she take over this body? Shen Gonglin didn't think so. After all, he was still there. Did she really think there were no adults in the house?

Ignoring the noisy doll, Shen Gonglin placed her hand on the Plague Gem that Kiana was holding. She was just worried about not having any coordinates to locate it in the Imaginary Space, and this had come to her. Kiana trusted her so much, and Shen Gonglin would certainly not let her down. With her here, she could make a decision with peace of mind.

[Little Herrscher of Consciousness, I'm leaving you in charge. Don't listen to these puppets' nonsense, just protect us.]

Her deep purple pupils turned red as she activated the power of the Herrscher of Consciousness. Shen Gonglin prepared to enter Kiana's consciousness space to witness the struggle between the two consciousnesses firsthand. Although she trusted Kiana, she was always uneasy if she didn't see it with her own eyes. The Herrscher of Consciousness, who controlled consciousness, allowed Shen Gonglin to do this, and external protection could only rely on her.

Leave it to me, I'm smart enough not to fall for it!

Shibao patted his chest and accepted the task, finally able to get some exercise!

Chapter 171 My Half

The person in the mirror... is Sirin.

In her consciousness space, Kiana looked around. After hearing Shen Gonglin's voice, she felt relieved and calmed down to face the existence she had always been unwilling to confront. Perhaps due to the interference of the Domination Theater, even her consciousness was filled with images of the Domination Theater. Walking continuously in the quiet environment, Kiana finally stopped in front of a mirror.

Long purple hair, golden eyes with star-like rings—although they had never actually met, Kiana was no stranger to the girl in the mirror: Sirin, the Herrscher of the Void, Sirin ... a very, very pitiful girl.

The girl in the mirror looked sadly at Kiana. Kiana couldn't help but reach out to touch her, but as soon as her fingers touched the mirror, a shattering sound reached Kiana's ears. The mirror in front of her shattered, and Sirin in the mirror disappeared. In a daze, Kiana saw two figures in the two broken pieces of the mirror.

That was myself, and also, the Queen of the Void.

"Sigh... I knew it was so. It's been a long time, Herrscher of the Void."