12. Xia Ling: Uh-oh, they're coming for me / 13. Xia Ling: Hey! Have a taste of my realm

Harmony is so great that it occasionally leads to a great harmony between lives, and also unexpectedly feeds her a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection).

As for the enemy... well, they're even more formidable.

Since she arrived at Coral Island and directly exposed two hidden Thousand-Man Herrscher, the enemy has changed its tactics.

They began to wage guerrilla warfare, visiting Anna's dreams every day as if checking in, and then pulling her into the Theater of Domination.

Just like Zhang Huaimin, our Miss Rabbit got up in the middle of the night to search for the location of the Theater of Domination, and then went in to rescue Anna.

While rational types may not have much need for sleep itself, disturbing someone's peace and quiet is an act that greatly increases anger.

Especially the Thousand-Man Herrscher... who are also quite foul-mouthed.

"Here we go again..."

Anna sighed helplessly. If she remembered correctly, she should be lying next to Flame Willow right now, using her... well, never mind, that can't be discussed in detail.

In short, she had just drifted off to sleep.

As soon as she closed her eyes, she was teleported to this familiar place.

Why do I say "familiar"?... Because this is her fourth time coming in.

"Let me guess, what trick will they have this time? Are they trying to trick me into thinking the Reed don't want me anymore? Or are they going to transform into a dead body on Coral Island? Or..."

Anna's voice suddenly stopped because she realized that this time, there seemed to be no puppets accompanying the theater.

"Interesting. Is this some kind of setup? Making me find the exit myself?"

"Unfortunately, if you don't make good use of this time, I'll have to leave when Miss Rabbit comes looking for me later."

The surroundings remained quiet, indicating that Anna's provocation had no effect.

"Strangeness..."

Based on Anna's recent experience, once these puppets pull her into the theater, it must be with some strong purpose, or at least with a certain target, such as targeting a certain vulnerability in her heart.

This seems to be related to their mechanism of pulling people in; at least Anna is only pulled into the theater in dreams. In the last four days, she has entered the Theater of Domination three times, each time just after closing her eyes.

Don't ask why she didn't sleep one day in the middle. She was just experimenting with the mechanism of recruiting people for the Thousand-Man Herrscher, and definitely not taking the opportunity to enjoy some delicious food for herself.

In short, in this respect, Miss Rabbit, who came with the support of the World Serpent, is quite reliable. Every time she enters the theater, Rabbit can easily find her and take her away within an hour.

"No one bothered me this time, and Miss Rabbit didn't arrive in time... Did something happen? Or... is the doll's purpose to stall me?"

Anna was startled. It was indeed a possibility. After all, if Rabbit didn't come, she might have gone to rescue someone in a more dangerous situation than herself.

In fact, Anna wasn't wrong; the dolls were indeed all gathered with Flame Willow, but...

"I'm saying, did you observe that I've been bedridden for so long, and that's why you think I'm easy to bully?"

Raging flames filled a theater not far from Anna, and dozens of puppets burning with inextinguishable crimson flames were constantly being thrown off the platform.

"Do you really think I want to 'recover' every day? I'm perfectly healed, it's just that Anna and Raven are taking advantage of me all the time..."

"Never mind, anyway, I should thank you. At least you gave me a chance to vent my anger."

"Don't you get tired?"

A doll engulfed in flames screamed, "We've all expended so much Honkai Energy here, why are you still acting like nothing happened!"

"I'm saying, you surround a fire with a pile of wood, and then you ask why the flames keep burning brighter?"

Flame Willow almost laughed out of anger, "No wonder you're called a bunch of rabble. You attacked me without even investigating my abilities? What genius came up with this plan?"

"Alright, Miss Reed, if you've vented enough, you can leave now."

A clear, ethereal voice came from the air. Rabbit sat on the edge of a rift, reminding Flame Willow to keep track of the time.

"Although you can hold out against these guys for a long time, the numerical disadvantage is still too great on their home turf."

"And Anna seems to have realized something and is constantly attacking the theater itself."

"To prevent anyone from taking advantage of her current condition, let's let these guys go for now."

"Okay... why is Anna suddenly so impatient at a time like this? I've never seen her this alert before..."

Flame Willow muttered something to herself, then lightly leaped into the crevice opened by the Rabbit.

"Yes, so please, Miss Yu Tu, stop showering this lonely man with your Rabbit will have trouble sleeping again."

Rabbit sighed and quickly left with Flame Willow.

Chapter Twelve Xia Ling: Oh no, it's coming for me!

"Silence! Silence!"

After some time, the puppets gathered again in the Theater of Domination.

This time, before the puppet standing on the stage could even speak, it was kicked off the stage by another puppet.

"Our operation failed again, and it's all your fault! You had to provoke those two fully-fledged Herrscher!"

"How can you blame me? Who knew that Ice Herrscher had a group of powerful people around her, and they just so happened to be the kind we couldn't beat? It's clearly your own fault for not trying hard enough. Can't you reflect on yourself?"

The puppet that had been kicked out immediately crawled back, and the two puppets started fighting while cursing each other, surrounded by a group of puppets watching the spectacle.

"Let's fight! Let's fight! Oh wait, it seems like we've already started fighting... Then let's go even harder!"

"Forget about the Herrscher for now, isn't anyone going to do something about that woman with cat ears?!"

One of the puppets slammed its fist on the table, drawing the attention of the other puppets around it. "That guy is still killing! We've already lost about two hundred puppet hosts, and they're all hosts who have been completely transformed into puppets!"

"Do you know how long those puppets will take? No, you don't know, you only care about yourselves!"

"Get out of here. Practice your cooking more. You were found because you're not good enough, yet you want to organize us to go and die with you."

The puppet who advocated for besieging Kal'tsit was immediately surrounded and attacked by other puppets, while many other puppets cheered him on.

After all, everyone knows that the white-haired puppet is like a monster without any emotions. Last time, it took a lot of effort to get rid of this great deity after they dragged her into the theater.

Moreover, the other party has an extremely good understanding of how the Thousand-Man Herrscher operates, and basically only kills those hosts who have been completely assimilated into human puppet bodies and are beyond saving.

Threatening her with other dolls that have low conversion rates is basically useless; she will directly attack the threads that control the dolls. Moreover, given the heavy losses they have suffered, they are unwilling to actually commit suicide to threaten Kal'tsit.

"I think we should focus on Anti-Entropy instead. Although there's someone there who can counter us, there are also a lot of noobs there."

"That's right. We can obviously seize the powers of those weaker Herrscher. There's no need to fight to the death with these two. We should be more opportunistic and bully the weak."

"What do you mean by bullying the weak and fearing the strong? This is a strategic retreat!"

"Yes, yes, a strategic shift, especially that Herrscher of Reason, who looks easy to deal with."

"That Xia Ling, how about we specially select a group of puppets to find a way to deal with her? I remember humans call them something like... Wallbreakers?"

With a target they could attack together, the group of puppets quickly "united" and began offering their own ideas.

Soon, a preliminary plan was discussed.

"Doctor. Ain, Action Team One has arrived at the designated location."

"Group Two is also in position."

"Alright, then proceed to the target workshop as planned."

"The workshop's owner is named Mira Rimer, a leading female sculptor who disappeared a month ago. This workshop is also the sole source of all Honkai Beast sculptures on the market."

"We cannot rule out the possibility of armed retaliation. In short, we must proceed with caution."

"Yes, Doctor."

After hanging up the communication, Seele and Bronya both looked towards the warehouse gate in the distance.

Meanwhile, on a nearby rooftop, Theresa and Xia Ling were also on high alert.

"To be honest, Theresa, I have a feeling."

Xia Ling pressed her eyes against the sniper scope, keeping a close eye on Seele and Bronya's every move.

"I think that when they open the door this time, they will be teleported directly into the Theater of Domination, just like last time."

"Huh? Then why didn't you notify them immediately...?"

Theresa was about to take out her communicator when Xia Ling stopped her.

"Because it's not very useful... we can't just ignore this clue and not investigate it. These dolls have left behind a conspiracy."

"We cannot predict their next move; the only source of intelligence is the performance announcements they leave at the crime scene."

"To get the show trailer, you have to go deep into the crime scene to search... while also being wary of the trailer itself."

"It's a pity I can't actively enter the opponent's Theater of Domination... It's too easy to hide something in the Imaginary Space, otherwise, we would at least have the option of going straight to the heart of the enemy."

"However... every move the opponent makes is also an opportunity for us. Weaknesses are relative, and the roles of hunter and prey can be reversed."

"After saying all that, my job is simply to protect you closely, right?"

Theresa laughed and said, "You really have left me with an easy task."

"This mission is not easy... Something like the Theater of Domination could potentially separate us when we are teleported in."

"Hmph, so what if we're separated? No matter where you go, I, the headmistress, will definitely find you." Theresa snorted lightly, while simultaneously reciting the Judas' Vow.

Seele and Bronya have arrived at the warehouse entrance. If what Xia Ling said is true, then the Thousand-Man Herrscher should make their move.

Sure enough, as Seele and Bronya placed their hands on the warehouse door, they vanished.

Unlike last time, this time the Thousand-Man Herrscher directly teleported Seele and Bronya into the Theater of Domination, instead of opening the theater and attempting to attack from the inside out as before.

"This kind of teleportation... while it's well-concealed and can prevent me from sniping it directly, once triggered, the traces it leaves in space are still traceable..."

Xia Ling paused for a moment, then immediately put down her sniper rifle.

"Theresa, I need to find out where they were teleported to. Keep an eye out for any dolls that might appear in the vicinity."

With that, Xia Ling closed her eyes and began to focus all her attention on sensing the traces left by the Thousand-Man Herrscher.

"This mark... is so shallow, and why is it so unstable?"

Xia Ling frowned. She easily pinpointed the destinations of Seele and Bronya after they were teleported away, but this teleportation was very unstable, and they might even return on their own soon.

"What's going on here...?"

Xia Ling continued to expand her senses, and then she discovered something even more significant.

The connection between this warehouse and the Theater of Domination is only this small, meaning that the opponent's attack could only be described as scaring Seele.

Wait, so that means the enemy's main force isn't even with Seele? Then their target would be...

Xia Ling suddenly opened her eyes, and sure enough, she found that the surrounding environment had completely changed.

At the same time, a voice rang in her ears.

Welcome to—

"Theater of Domination!"

Chapter Thirteen Xia Ling: Hey! I'll treat you to a meal from the Kingdom

"So that's how it is. I'm your real target?"

Xia Ling remained calm. She casually transformed the Seven Thunders of Retribution back into a bracelet and began to communicate with the doll.

After all, the puppets shouldn't be that powerful at this stage, so she doesn't need to worry too much. Besides, puppets probably prefer not to solve problems using physical methods.

"You guessed right! After all, you are the most important node in the current process of Anti-Entropy."

"Once we can take you down, the Anti-Entropy will fall into chaos on its own! Then we can confidently take them down one by one!"

Okay, it seems they're not targeting me... Xia Ling had a guess in her mind.

Putting aside how foolish it would be to explain the plan face-to-face, based on Xia Ling's current understanding, the Thousand-Man Herrscher should not have the strength to deal with her unless they reveal their true forms now, namely the super-sized version of the Herrscher of Domination from the end of the game's storyline.

Even so, Xia Ling has a way to defeat it. However, rather than defeating the thousand people through her own deus ex machina, she prefers to let the main characters grow along the original path and take over the thousand people's powers.

"You seem quite confident, so... what methods do you plan to use to defeat me?"

Xia Ling secretly tried it and found that she could not contact the Stigmata Space from the Theater of Domination.

Okay, looks like my Servant is banned...