“What… what do we do? If the Herrscher of Corruption comes here…”
“Don’t… don’t panic. This is a different dimension. Even the Herrscher of the Void would need some effort to get in. Since Sirin is using Bella as a coordinate… right, get out! Right now, immediately, make her leave this place!”
This might have been the most united the thousand puppets had ever been since their creation. Before Bella could even do anything, a hollow opening appeared beneath her feet, and with a sudden feeling of weightlessness, she was back in Sydney.
You could say the Thousand Puppets had simply thrown her out of the Domination Theater.
In the distance, the towering flames had not disappeared, though the various chaotic noises had diminished considerably. The loudest sounds now were the sirens of fire trucks and ambulances.
In that small alley, a lifeless puppet appeared before Bella’s eyes. She picked it up and examined it carefully, but couldn’t identify who it was.
At that moment, her communication with Enoxia was also restored.
“Bella, thank you for your hard work. Just leave the puppet there. World Serpent personnel will come to collect it.”
“Ah… but I didn’t really do anything. I just said what Her Majesty wanted me to say. I didn’t even fight.”
“By the way, should I stay in Sydney, or…”
Just as Bella finished speaking, a portal appeared beside her.
“Sirin knows you don’t like flying. Anyway, the hotel you were staying at has already been sealed off by Sydney police. Just come home.”
Bella stepped through the portal and returned home. The moment she saw Sirin, she immediately switched modes and instinctively began serving tea and water.
“How about it? It’s more comfortable having Bella around, isn’t it?”
Sirin didn’t refute Enoxia’s words. Although she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, who could refuse having a cute and absolutely loyal dragon maid by their side?
Sirin downed the drink Bella handed her in one gulp, then stretched and patted the sofa beside her.
Bella immediately understood. She set down the cup and sat down next to Sirin. Sirin, as usual, treated Bella like a body pillow, completely relaxing and flopping onto her.
After hearing Bella recount her experience in the Domination Theater, Sirin nodded with a serious expression.
“The puppet was right about one thing, though. From the moment you and Eno lost contact until now, I haven’t been able to pinpoint the exact location of the Domination Theater.”
“All I know is that the space it occupies is similar to the Sea of Quanta. Its spatial structure doesn’t follow the laws of the real world.”
Enoxia stood up from her chair:
“Don’t worry, Sirin. World Serpent has already made breakthrough progress in their research on the puppets. Once the device that can reverse-enter the Domination Theater is complete, their days will be numbered…”
Some time later, inside the Domination Theater, the sounds of hard objects colliding, mechanisms opening and closing, joints twisting, and wooden blocks knocking against each other filled the space. A thousand puppets gathered together, chattering among themselves, making a ruckus louder than a vegetable market.
The puppet standing on the central platform picked up a hammer and banged it violently against the table.
“Quiet! Quiet! First, as usual, let me clarify—today is the 108th… or was it the 109th time… whatever, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, it’s time to sync up on recent developments and decide our next course of action.”
“Who’s that up there?”
“Never seen them.”
“I’ve got things to do, I’m leaving. Fill me in next time we meet.”
…
Every single “person” here was immersed in the role they played, on this Domination Theater stage, on this stage of a thousand. Perhaps this was indeed far more interesting than their former identities.
“Last month, we destroyed 32 power plants, causing power chaos in 20 cities. At the same time, 11 corporations filed for bankruptcy, and the global economy continued its downward trend…”
“It must be specially noted that, thanks to our efforts, two countries have already broken out into armed conflict…”
At this point, quite a few puppets below muttered:
“Weren’t those two countries always tense? War was bound to happen sooner or later. Are we really taking credit for that…”
“Ugh, whatever. Since they said it, let’s just go along with it.”
“Since entering July, we have stood united, worked as one, and successfully set the Sydney Opera House ablaze. Currently…”
“What? It’s all just petty mischief. We’re Herrschers, you know.”
“You still have the nerve to say that? The one who set the concert hall on fire got arrested by the police…”
“Ahem, quiet… The following is the important part! Right now, although we have already dominated the Authority of the Herrscher of Reason, that’s not enough! The Herrscher of Ice, Kiana, is currently at the Salt Lake City base. If we make a move for her, the Herrscher of Thunder, Raiden Mei, will likely take the bait as well. If we possess the Authorities of all three Herrschers at once, even if the Herrscher of Corruption comes, we can trample her underfoot!”
The puppet on stage spoke with great passion and fervor, but the puppets below were chatting, fighting, looking around, and fidgeting. Fewer than 100 had their eyes fixed on the speaker.
At that moment, a timid puppet raised a hand:
“Um… according to the latest intelligence, Anti-Entropy is planning to move Kiana to a containment facility in the Arctic. That place has no human presence for hundreds of miles around. If we want to make a move then…”
“What! When does Anti-Entropy plan to depart?”
“July 4th, which is… the day after tomorrow…”
“Why didn’t you say this earlier if it’s such important intelligence!”
“Well… didn’t Barid’s false intelligence last time almost get us all wiped out? So we strengthened the review and verification process. This intel… should still be with Mira for review right now. After Mira finishes, it goes to Jessica, then Jessica sends it to Turgens… After three rounds of review, once confirmed true, we act. Wasn’t this process just established half an hour ago?”
“…Fine. But this intelligence is too important. Mira just needs to confirm it’s real. So, the question now is: do we act immediately, or take our time and continue disrupting social order? Let’s vote now!”
“Those in favor of acting immediately, raise your hands… Hey, I said raise your hands, not your feet! And you, don’t raise both hands!”
“Good… Next, those in favor of taking our time, raise your hands…”
The votes were quickly counted.
“Wait, it seems like someone didn’t raise their hand even once, and someone raised theirs twice… Gordon, it’s you. I saw you raise your hand twice.”
The called-out puppet looked confused:
“Huh… I saw other people raising their hands, so I raised mine too. What… were we doing again?”
The puppet on stage let out a long sigh and shook its head:
“Never mind, you’re excused. Although there are issues with the voting results, let’s just… leave it at that. Everyone, get ready. When the time comes, we’ll all move together. As long as 【we】 act as one, we can definitely defeat any opponent!”
The puppet on stage slowly stepped down, and scattered applause rose from below. The question most discussed among the puppets as they left was: Act? What act?
