“London subway incident, Belgrade vendetta killing, Frankfurt financial crisis, Kolkata disappearance case, Bloemfontein arson case…”
“Aren’t these just violent incidents that could happen even under normal circumstances in human society? Aino, are you sure these are related to Herrschers?”
“On the surface, that’s exactly how it looks. But based on surveillance across various networks and World Serpent’s immediate investigation, we found this.”
Enoxia clicked the mouse, and an image appeared on the computer screen.
“…What an ugly puppet. I feel like it’s not even as good-looking as a cabbage.”
“It’s one of the Herrscher of Domination’s many individual bodies. There are a thousand individuals like this in total. Despite the large number, each individual is weaker than any other Herrscher.”
Sirin scratched her head:
“But… I remember you explained that the Herrscher of Domination’s thousand individuals can communicate with each other at any time through quantum communication, right?”
“Ah, that’s right.”
“But… the death toll from those violent cases you mentioned adds up to only about three hundred people. The Herrscher of Domination… is that all? Forget measuring them by pseudo-Herrscher standards—if an Emperor-class Honkai Beast suddenly appeared in Bloemfontein or Belgrade, the death toll would be far higher than this.”
“That’s indeed all. What they’re actually doing is amplifying someone’s negative emotions, pouring fuel on already volatile situations, and driving more people into panic.”
“Huh…? But if it were any other Herrscher, wouldn’t killing a few million people in a slightly densely populated area trigger global panic?”
“No doubt about it—the Herrscher of Domination’s own destructive capability is just that pathetic. It’s unquestionably dead last among Herrschers. The damage you’d cause by throwing a meteor after going to the moon, or the damage I’d cause by launching a single meme attack across the globe through the internet—they definitely couldn’t reach that level before the Finality descends.”
“Rather than killing, they prefer to guide humans who already have problems, step by step, toward the abyss, until they completely control their minds.”
“Of course, the most terrifying thing about the Herrscher of Domination is that they can seize other Herrschers’ authorities… Hmm… It’s not quite the same as ordinary plundering. If using a Herrscher’s authority is like a water faucet, then the Herrscher of Domination’s ability is like connecting a hose to another Herrscher’s core. They use other Herrschers’ authorities, but the original Herrscher pays the price.”
“Oh… wait, but… but that’s not right. Based on what you just said, I should be their target. After all… I know it—I satisfy both conditions.”
“They’re not coming after me… Is it because of you…?”
Enoxia smiled and shook her head:
“Sirin, even though you’re rarely willing to use your brain, I have to dampen your enthusiasm. Me being by your side is, at most, a negligible factor.”
“Let me put it in a way that’s easier to understand. You know that the authority of Corruption can peek into others’ memories and even modify their cognition. If I planned to corrupt the Cocoon of Finality and save Earth by modifying the Cocoon’s cognition, what do you think would happen?”
“What would happen… Of course it wouldn’t work. The Cocoon’s level surpasses all other Herrschers. The method you’re describing definitely wouldn’t work.”
Enoxia spread both hands:
“Exactly. The Herrscher of Domination can only dominate Herrschers weaker than itself. Someone like you, who has completely mastered the Herrscher of the Void’s authority and also has the Gem of Serenity inside you—if they tried to make a move on you, not only would they fail to take your authority, they’d suffer a backlash.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t overthink it. Compared to other Herrschers at the same level, the Herrscher of Domination is just weak.”
“So… for the Herrscher of Domination, the best prey is undoubtedly Herrschers who can’t fully use their Herrscher cores—like Kiana, and Bronya.”
“However… within Anti-Entropy, there’s more than just those two that tempt them…”
June 28, 2017, Washington.
Tesla paced back and forth at the entrance of Congress, her angry expression written all over her face.
Just yesterday, during a live speech by several wealthy businessmen and politicians, a mech originally used for security suddenly rushed onto the stage and, in front of all Americans, loudly cursed out that congressman.
With something like this happening, Dr. Tesla—who had provided those mechs to Congress—naturally received a summons. However, when she arrived at Congress on time, she was told the meeting inside hadn’t finished yet. Just before her anger reached its breaking point, a staff member gestured for her to enter.
“Dr. Tesla, the Speaker says you can go in now, but you’ll probably still have to wait a moment.”
Tesla entered the Senate chamber under the staff member’s guidance. A congressman had pulled out a bag of screws from somewhere. Tesla remembered this congressman was named Mike Waltz, and the person he was arguing with seemed to be someone from the U.S. Air Force.
“Mr. Frank, to produce this bag of screws, the skilled workers don’t even need a high school diploma. But do you know how much the Air Force paid to buy this bag of screws? Ninety thousand dollars! If it were in Shenzhou, ninety thousand dollars’ worth of screws of the same specifications wouldn’t even fit in a car!”
Tesla’s eyes widened as she looked at the screws in Congressman Mike’s hand. She noticed the other congressmen’s expressions weren’t much better than hers.
She remembered that buying a bag of screws like this from a website in Shenzhou cost about… eight yuan with free shipping.
“What do you know?!”
Congressman Frank stood up from his seat and angrily tapped the table.
“A single defective horseshoe nail means losing a fine horse. Losing a fine horse means losing an outstanding cavalryman. Losing an outstanding cavalryman means losing a cavalry company. Losing a cavalry company means operational failure. And operational failure means the fall of a nation. Do you still think ninety thousand is expensive?”
“I just don’t understand—we’re all working for freedom, so why is it that the more you do, the more unfair treatment you get? Why do you keep harping on these extra dollars and refuse to let it go?!”
“I know what you’re going to say next… Let me tell you, the fifty states of America rest on my shoulders. The words ‘for the country, for the people’ aren’t yours to say!”
Congressman Mike was about to say something when the Speaker cut him off:
“In order to cooperate with the investigation into yesterday’s mech malfunction incident, Dr. Tesla arrived at Congress quite early. We can’t keep her waiting. Since this matter won’t be resolved anytime soon, let’s discuss it another day. Dr. Tesla, sorry to keep you waiting. We’ll begin right away.”
