26. Theresa: Do I really look like an elementary school student? / 27. Xia Ling: I'm not going to get stolen away by a puppet!

Also, Group VII? "Two Umbrellas ⊙ Death (Nine") Abandoned and deleted, does that mean that compared to Herrscher like me who has ascended to immortality, the Herrscher before ascension to immortality are their primary targets?

"Despair?"

Mei followed its lead and continued trying to extract information.

However, to her disappointment, the doll seemed unable to bring her any more surprises. It continued to induce Mei to use Herrscher Authority, and Mei gradually lost patience as the doll repeatedly tried to entice her.

"Alright, that's enough."

Mei's long sword was instantly drawn, and at the same time, the giant fox demon Yoru appeared beside her.

"Since you can't reveal any more information, you can shut up permanently."

"I've spent so much time acting alongside you, it's really a waste of my time."

"Huh? You know? You actually know?"

The doll stopped giggling and its voice became shrill.

"Who is it? Yes, it must be Xia Ling again. Did she give you the information?"

"Damn it, this is cheating! Cheating!"

Mei didn't give her a chance to continue her nagging. With a swift stroke, the sharp blade sliced the doll in two.

The remaining upper body of the doll did not shut up; instead, it continued to chuckle.

Hehe, hehe~

"It's no use, it's no use. It doesn't matter if you can't be our comrade~"

"We still have many options; we have three more candidates."

"Whee--"

As the long knife plunged into the puppet's mouth, the puppet finally fell silent.

Using Imaginary Interferometer, Mei successfully captured the core that was preparing to escape.

"Three people? Besides Kiana and me, do the Thousand-Man Herrscher have two other targets...?"

"But who else meets the criteria?"

Mei held the core and murmured to herself.

Chapter Twenty-Six Theresa: Do I really look like a primary school student?

As Mei entered the Theater of Domination, Xia Ling had already rushed back to the Salt Lake Base.

Because there may be puppets lurking inside Anti-Entropy, the open combat meetings are now at risk of being overheard.

After some discussion, Ain decided to hold the meeting in a place where it would be almost impossible to be discovered.

That is the spiritual connection built by Sirin.

"Hmph, Doctor, you're too cautious. If you ask me, just call all the members of the Salt Lake Base over and let me search their memories one by one. It would be easy to pinpoint who the mole is."

As the "host" of the meeting, Sirin immediately started shouting as soon as everyone was gathered.

"Uh..." Ain said with a headache regarding this "Fu Hua" whose personality was so different from Fu Hua's. "This plan..."

... It's still a bit too radical.

"Putting aside the fact that the existence of a mole will cause panic among the members, if we really find out who the mole is, the Thousand-Man Herrscher will inevitably take over a new member."

"At that point, it will turn into a war of attrition, and a war of attrition that will be extremely disadvantageous to us."

"Ain is right. This plan can be used as a surprise attack in the event of war, but it cannot be used as a routine precaution," Xia Ling agreed.

After all, Ain and the others didn't know Sirin's situation, but she knew it all too well.

Because Sirin here has not experienced the transition to the dust and is still deceiving himself, believing himself to be "Fu Hua", Sirin is actually the one with the second biggest psychological flaw among these people, after Kiana.

In addition, strictly speaking, Sirin can also be considered an un-incarnated Herrscher, and she can also have her powers taken away by a thousand people. Xia Ling can't guarantee that when she uses her powers on the puppets, the puppets won't take away her powers in return.

"Alright, alright, then you can do as you say. Anyway, searching memories is a piece of cake for me, and I can do it anytime."

Seeing that everyone disagreed, Sirin didn't insist.

"By analyzing what you gained in your last battle, namely the core you took from the puppet, we have roughly grasped some information about the Herrscher. However, this information is too disorganized, like some random jigsaw puzzle pieces."

Ain began to share their research findings.

"By tracing the core backwards, we successfully located the suspected location of the first core, which was found at a university in New Jersey. The host was a medical professor."

"Let's use the term 'host' to refer to the human being corresponding to the puppet."

"We need to find him, if he's still alive."

"However... the survival rate of the puppet's host is probably a bit worrying."

Xia Ling raised a question, "At least, based on the information we have recorded so far, the probability of death of the puppet host is terrifyingly high. Even if the rest don't die, they are basically useless."

"Besides, Ain said this is the number one doll... I guess it's already past its expiration date."

"After all, in the eyes of the Thousand-Man Herrscher, their original bodies are just worthless consumables."

"That's right, so getting its doll body is also acceptable, but it would be best to get the original Herrscher Core."

Ain explained, "For the Thousand-Man Herrscher, their existence is like a pyramid, and the first puppet that existed is often the most crucial one."

"Xia Ling, you mentioned before that they might have a collective consciousness, but that doesn't actually contradict that... Even if this No. 1 puppet isn't their original form, we can still obtain a lot of valuable information from it."

"Shall we set off tomorrow?"

Theresa asked.

"No, you will have to wait a few more days, because, based on the core captured this time, Dr. Tesla and I have already begun to research a device that can prevent the Herrscher of Domination from transferring the core away."

"Once the core capture device is completed, you can investigate the matter of this first individual... We will synchronize this discovery with Schicksal and World Serpent, and start eliminating the number of puppets from the outside as much as possible."

A few days later.

With the support of brand-new equipment, Anti-Entropy's capture operation for Doll Number One finally began.

Unsurprisingly, the task of carrying out this mission fell to Theresa and Xia Ling.

Having arrived near the school, Xia Ling turned her gaze to the side. Theresa was standing beside her, looking down at her terminal and muttering something.

"Hmm? Theresa, what are you looking at?"

"I'm memorizing the basic information about this school."

Theresa replied without looking up, "We'll be going in disguised as students... so at least we'll have something to say if the security guards ask."

"?"

Xia Ling glanced at Theresa's outfit. She was wearing the "Green Field Azure Sky" skin from the game. To be fair, the skin was indeed very beautiful, and it had at least achieved Theresa's goal to some extent.

Only...

"Hey, hey, hey, wrong way, wrong way."

Before the two arrived at the school gate and even entered, the security guard waved them away, signaling them to leave quickly.

"Huh? This door is not passable?"

Theresa thought back to the map, but it didn't seem to have such a marking.

"No, no, you two have gone to the wrong place. This is a university, the primary school is across the street."

"Small...!?"

Theresa's eyes widened instantly.

"Um, security guard, it's like this."

Xia Ling's face showed an expression of "I knew it." She vaguely remembered that in the original work, Theresa was stopped outside as if she were a primary school student.

Considering that I'm not much taller than Theresa, I guess... I'll be categorized as a primary school student too.

Fortunately, she was prepared.

"She and I came to visit our older sister. One of our older sisters is studying at this university."

"My sister and I have always wanted to go to this school since we were little, so during the holidays, our older sister invited us to visit the school."

Then, Xia Ling skillfully recited a string of student IDs and information that she had looked up beforehand.

"Oh, I see..."

The security guard's eyes softened instantly, and without checking the name Xia Ling gave, he said...

"Sigh, my friend's daughter is about the same age as you, and she also wants to apply here."

"Little sister, what do you want to study in the future? Will it be the same as my major?"

"I, I..."

"Yes... yes! My sister has always said that the school is very beautiful. Uncle, can we go in and have a look?"

Theresa blinked, forced to put on an innocent and adorable smile.

However, Xia Ling felt that although some people were still smiling, their hearts were already dead.

"Oh, of course you can! But you should study hard and strive to achieve your dreams!"

The security guard laughed and let Theresa and Xia Ling in.

"Ugh... Damn it..."

Not long after entering the campus, Theresa immediately covered her flushed cheeks.

It's not scary to lose face; what's scary is losing face in front of someone you like.

What's even more terrifying is that the person she likes is a fun-loving person.

Theresa had noticed that Xia Ling's terminal seemed to have just ended the recording mode.

"Xia! Ling! You did this on purpose, didn't you!"

Theresa's expression was unfriendly.

"Hey, Xia Ling doesn't know~"

"You clearly guessed it, and you even researched the information needed for the excuse!"

Theresa suddenly grabbed Xia Ling's face.

"Delete this recording!"

"I won't delete it, absolutely not! I want to keep it as a family heirloom!"

"If you don't delete it, you can forget about leaving your room tomorrow during your holiday!"

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Xia Ling: I Won't Be Taken Away by a Doll!

However, to Theresa's surprise, even after she resorted to such threats, Xia Ling still firmly refused to hand over the recording.

After all, dehydration is only temporary, but recordings can be preserved for a lifetime. Even a fool knows which to choose.

After some playful fighting, Theresa finally stopped because their adorable appearances attracted a lot of attention.

"Anyway, let's start the investigation with that professor's office. Let's sneak in."

"No, it seems that professor's office requires a card... and given how conspicuous we are, it's fine for us to wander around the campus, but getting into the office building would probably be a bit difficult."

"So..."

A large cloak appeared in Xia Ling's hand.

"It's easier to go in stealthily."

"You're going in alone?" Theresa quickly shook her head. "That won't do. What if you get suddenly pulled into the theater again?"

"Well... there's nothing we can do about that then."

Xia Ling looked around, and then, to Theresa's surprise, picked her up by the waist.

"What are you doing! We're still outside!"

"Idiot, if you say one person can't do it, then it can only be two people together."

Looking at Theresa, who was curled up in her arms, Xia Ling chuckled, "Let's go!"