Chapter 003 : The Demon Above the Asura

It was late at night.

For ordinary people not working the night shift, this was the time to sleep and rest.

But in the base of the Schicksal West Asia Branch, many areas were still lit up.

At this moment, in the underground prison level of the base, a "Domination Puppet: Anby" had replaced Ling Ke's main body, hidden behind the scenes—deep within the Domination Theater—and was now acting alone in the main world.

Buzz~

With a wave of energy fluctuation, she easily passed through the electronically locked iron bars on one side of the cell using the "Spatial Gate" authority retained by the Herrscher of Domination.

Now, Ling Ke, an outsider who had crossed over, had his life form completely changed after becoming a Herrscher and successfully activating and binding the "Number One Player" system.

Now, he was "a thousand" as well as "one," and "one" as well as "a thousand."

All consciousnesses were synchronized in real-time, making him a true collective life form.

The only weakness, his main body, no longer intended to leave the impregnable Domination Theater.

And as long as he lived, the other 999 Domination Puppets could be resurrected in the Domination Theater, this "Rebirth Chamber", no matter how many times they were destroyed, and return to fight again.

It was also in this state...

"For someone who was once just an ordinary person, this prison, which seemed like an insurmountable chasm, could now be escaped so easily."

Ling Ke, like a player outside the screen, remotely synchronized with the "Domination Puppet: Anby" body, glanced back at the dark cell, "Indeed, in this world, power is everything... Hmm?"

He paused slightly, tilting his head to look at a corner diagonally above.

There, a surveillance camera was positioned.

As its lens turned toward the location of the "Domination Puppet: Anby"...

Beep beep beep!

An alarm sounded.

"Hah, I really am careless."

Ling Ke's gaze sharpened, "Discovered so quickly."

At this moment, if one carefully observed the facial expression of the "Domination Puppet: Anby" synchronized with his main body, they would notice...

It was an extremely cold, almost maniacal smile.

Extremely dangerous!

So...

Was the current situation really caused by his carelessness?

Obviously not!

The current Ling Ke, whether you call him arrogant or reckless...

He just wanted to vent recklessly.

To vent the negative emotions accumulated day and night over the past four years.

So, after confirming that his main body was absolutely safe as long as he stayed hidden in the Domination Theater, he didn't even think about sneaking out.

Stealthy assassinations? Quietly taking revenge on those researchers?

No, no, no!

After swaggeringly breaking out of prison, he wanted to slaughter his way through the entire West Asia Branch.

Then, keep killing.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

Until he grew bored.

It was with this determination...

Tap~ tap~ tap~

Ling Ke remotely synchronized his consciousness, controlling the "Domination Puppet: Anby," and walked step by step along the route he remembered being taken to the laboratory.

At a certain moment, he arrived in front of a massive reinforced gate.

Then, he waited quietly.

He didn't have to wait long...

"Whoosh~"

The thick electronic gate was activated from the outside by those self-righteous fools.

"If you were a bit smarter, it would have taken me more effort to escape."

Ling Ke silently mocked in his heart.

Just then...

Clank, clank, clank!

The gate opened, and a group of heavily armed special forces personnel aimed their guns at the "Domination Puppet: Anby," who stood motionless in place.

Dozens of laser sights locked onto her forehead and heart.

"Don't move, raise your hands."

The leader—perhaps the squad captain—spoke.

Like the other special forces members around him, he wore tactical gear that covered his face.

He was far too overconfident.

So much so that before Ling Ke had even made a move, he had already started reporting: "Reporting to the commander, the intruder has been located."

"Immediate suppression—"

Shing!

The sound of a blade scraping against its sheath interrupted the leader's report.

In an instant, everyone's attention was drawn to the "Domination Puppet: Anby."

They saw that even with dozens of gun barrels pointed at her, she showed not a hint of panic.

Instead, she casually raised her right hand, gripping the hilt of the blade at her waist.

Slowly, she drew it...

"Final warning, don't move."

"Otherwise, we will shoot to kill."

The leader barked sternly.

Unfortunately, it was useless...

In their line of sight, the short-haired girl had already drawn a straight black blade, holding it in a reverse grip as she positioned it in front of her.

Her legs bent slightly, clearly preparing to move...

"Open fire!"

Ratatatatat!

The leader immediately gave the order to fire.

His subordinates followed the command without hesitation.

For a moment, the muzzle flashes repeatedly illuminated the dim surroundings.

However...

Clink, clink, clink, clink, clink~

A bizarre scene unfolded.

The short-haired girl, who had just bent her legs and prepared to charge, was now rushing head-on toward the line of special forces personnel, braving the hail of bullets.

She showed no fear of the bullets coming her way.

Because every threat that came close was effortlessly deflected by the black blade in her hand.

She was cutting through bullets!

Like Deadpool in his prime, she swung the black blade so fast that it left afterimages, creating an impenetrable barrier.

Around her, sparks flew as the blade collided with the bullets.

Facing what was, to her, no more than a gentle breeze...

"She... she's a Valkyrie!"

"Fall back! Fall back!"

"Notify the Silver Lotus Squad!"

...

Seeing the short-haired girl closing in, the special forces personnel quickly retreated while continuing to fire, hoping to buy time with their suppressing fire.

Unfortunately, for the short-haired girl, deflecting bullets didn't slow her down at all.

This was one of the effects of the "Anby" game character template during a sprint.

In Zenless Zone Zero, there were several characters who could do this.

Some could even deflect missiles.

And now...

!!!

The barrage of fire from the dozen or so special forces personnel couldn't suppress the advance of the mysterious short-haired girl in their eyes.

Eventually, she closed the distance.

Then...

Swish~ swish~ swish~

Thud!

The sharp black blade sliced through their armor and bodies as if they were tofu, cutting them in half at the waist.

Without a doubt, this method of killing was extremely brutal.

Because those cut in half wouldn't die immediately.

In fact, in Ling Ke's homeland, there were even cases of people surviving such injuries.

But for the special forces personnel now writhing on the ground in agony, survival was a distant hope.

"You... who are you?"

The leader, still conscious, struggled to ask.

It was clear he was a dedicated professional.

Unfortunately...

"Me?"

The short-haired girl mirrored Ling Ke's expression, tilting her head as she spoke word by word, "Just a demon that even hell won't take."

"Oh, right!"

She suddenly smiled again, adding, "By the way..."

"The current me is your masterpiece!"

With those words, the short-haired girl dragged the tip of the black blade along the ground, creating tiny sparks and a grating sound as she moved.

She murmured softly...

"So, I'm here to 'repay the favor.'"