Ren's Schemes

His consciousness was pulled, his soul torn apart. An indescribable agony threatened to shatter his mind.

Cracked lips, gritted teeth, a grinding sound escaping his clenched jaw. Then, in an instant, the unbearable pain vanished, replaced by a deluge of sweat pouring from every pore, splattering on the floor.

He wasn't constipated, of course.

This was the process of a new puppet in the Theater of Domination feeding its power back to him, healing his incurable illness.

"A bit painful, but my lifespan increased by three months. Not bad."

Drenched in sweat, Ren let out a long sigh, his body feeling lighter. He beckoned, and Taxue, the black cat, leaped onto him, enjoying a petting session.

However, since Taxue was a puppet under his control, Ren was simultaneously experiencing the sensation of petting and being petted. This was undoubtedly the most effective way to alleviate the soul-tearing symptoms. Theoretically, he could also create a female puppet and experience…

Thankfully, Ren wasn't overly interested in such things. His primary goal in becoming the Thousand-Person Herrscher was simply to survive.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but recall Kiana, who had burst from the bathroom two days ago and given him a thorough beating. For some reason, he felt a flicker of… something.

Judging by the fact he'd woken up unharmed on the sofa the next day, Kiana must have regained control.

If it had been Sirin, he'd probably be Benares's fertilizer by now.

He wondered where she was now. Having tricked her out of her only 100 yuan, she must be having a hard time.

Being a hero in this world wasn't easy.

Ren knew that during her time in ARC City, Kiana had been constantly saving people from Honkai beasts. However, no matter how resilient she was, she would still get hungry and tired. Moreover, the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness within her was constantly draining her power.

Plus, with her righteous personality, she wouldn't resort to stealing or robbing. Perhaps one day, he'd stumble upon a completely defenseless Herrscher of the Void?

The thought brought a slightly creepy smile to even the usually composed Ren's face.

But he quickly composed himself. Even if the Herrscher of the Void collapsed from exhaustion, Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and World Serpent would be swarming her. He, with a measly cat-power level of 5, wouldn't stand a chance.

Ren had actually secretly established his own organization, naming it "Qian Jue (Thousand Absolutes)," a combination of "Thousand-Person Herrscher" and his name.

For now, it was just an ordinary ACG culture studio, relying on selling anime merchandise to make ends meet.

With the Herrscher of Dominance's power, as long as there was an existing product, he could replicate it with almost zero cost.

Although his powers weren't fully unlocked yet, preventing him from creating more complex and precise equipment, it was enough to sustain a small otaku culture company.

He had grand plans. Once he had enough puppets, he would infiltrate Schicksal and Anti-Entropy to steal their blueprints and mass-produce high-tech products.

The key was to avoid being discovered, unlike the original Herrscher of Dominance.

With the acquisition of the artistic girl puppet, Qian Jue could now venture into animation production. This was the advantage of the Hive Mind. As long as one puppet possessed a particular talent, he could acquire it. Even if the talent was weak, with enough puppets, it could be amplified.

Xiaolei (Lily) was undoubtedly the first step towards his organization's financial success.

Thinking of this, Ren raised a hand, and a girl-shaped puppet appeared.

This was his fifth puppet, following the middle-aged man and woman, the cat, and the teenage boy. This was the puppet born from the girl choosing the white lamb.

While not as effective as a puppet directly converted from a person, its advantage was that Xiaolei didn't have to die and could live a normal human life. Ren could control this puppet, achieving the effect of two individuals existing simultaneously.

In a detective novel, this was the perfect alibi.

[Griseo]

This was the name Ren gave the girl puppet. It wasn't random; it was chosen with a purpose.

Back when he played the game, during the release of Elysian Realm, he'd seen Elysia slumped in the hall, weeping inconsolably. That image was forever etched in his memory.

At that moment, he'd thought, if he could become a hero, he would win everything.

Now, although things had taken a slight detour and he'd become a Herrscher, he still had to consider if this might be his only chance.

Reviving the glory of the thirteen Flame-Chasers of the Previous Era was his duty!

But if he really did this…

When Kevin returned from the Quantum Sea and saw his deceased friend standing before him, he'd probably want to scatter Ren's ashes to the wind.

Of course, these were just fleeting thoughts. Ren would be an idiot to directly use these identities. He would operate from the shadows, perhaps even pinning the blame on World Serpent. How delightful.

Ren's laughter echoed through the empty living room.

Cough, cough.

He'd laughed too hard, forgetting his frail body.

Gasping for breath, Ren accidentally coughed up blood, splattering it on the newly summoned girl puppet.

The blood trickled down the nascent puppet's body, but before it reached the floor, it was completely absorbed.

Click.

Unexpectedly, the puppet moved on its own. While Ren's blood could amplify his control over puppets, this situation was clearly unusual.

He could still control the body, but something felt different.

It… seemed to be alive?