It was late at night.
For any ordinary person not working a night shift, this would be the ideal time for rest and sleep.
But within the base of the West Asia branch of the Schicksal organization, many areas still had their lights on.
At that moment, deep in the underground prison level of the base, a Dominion Puppet: Ambi had replaced Ling Ke's main body, hidden behind the scenes… or rather, hidden deep within the Theater of Dominion, acting alone in the real world.
"Bzzzz~"
Accompanied by a surge of energy, she used the power of the Spatial Gate held by the Herrscher of Dominion to effortlessly pass through the electronically locked iron bars installed beside the cell.
Today, Ling Ke's form of life —an alien time traveler— had completely changed with the successful activation and binding of the Ready Player One System.
To him now, "a thousand" means "one", and "one" means "a thousand".
All his consciousness was synchronized in real time, and in the strictest sense, belonged to a collective lifeform.
The only weakness, his original body, had no intention of ever leaving the impregnable Theater of Dominion.
And as long as he lived, the remaining 999 Dominion Puppets could revive endlessly in the Rebirth Room of the Theater of Dominion, no matter how many times they were destroyed, and return to the world.
That was his current state.
—For someone like me, who used to be just a normal person, this cage would have been as impassable as a natural chasm... but now escaping is effortless —Ling Ke said, like a player behind the screen, synchronizing his consciousness remotely with the Dominion Puppet Ambi, while observing the dark cell—. Truly, in this world... power is everything... huh?
He suddenly paused and looked up toward the upper corner.
There was a surveillance camera there.
And it was pointed directly at the Puppet Ambi.
"Beep-beep!"
The alarm sounded.
—Oh... I was really careless —Ling Ke's eyes narrowed slightly—. I got spotted pretty fast.
If one paid close attention to the expression on the Puppet synced with him, they would notice an extremely cold... and crazed smile.
Extremely dangerous.
So...
Was this situation really an accident?
Obviously not.
Ling Ke, at this moment, whether arrogant or without a solid plan...
He simply wanted to let it all out.
To release all the negative emotions that had accumulated over the past four years.
So, once he confirmed that his main body was absolutely safe, hidden in the Theater of Dominion, he didn't even bother to sneak around.
Stealth kills?
Silent revenge against those people?
No, no, no!
He was going to break out of the entire West Asia branch with a spectacular escape.
And then kill without stopping.
Kill! Kill! Kill!
Until he was bored.
And with that thought...
Step~ step~ step~
Ling Ke, synchronizing his consciousness, controlled the Puppet Ambi as she advanced step by step down the path to the laboratory —a route he had memorized beforehand.
At a certain point, he arrived at a reinforced security door.
And waited silently.
He didn't have to wait long.
"Chii~"
The reinforced electronic gate was opened from the outside by a group of arrogant fools.
—If they were just a little smarter, this might've taken me a bit more effort —Ling Ke commented.
Right then...
"Tack-tack-tack!"
The door opened fully, and a squad of special forces armed with live ammunition raised their weapons, aiming at the Dominion Puppet Ambi standing there.
A dozen laser sights locked onto her forehead and chest.
—Don't move! Hands in the air!
The leader—or perhaps commander—of the team wore a tactical helmet that covered his face, as did the rest of the squad.
That was an important detail.
So much so, that even without Ling Ke making a move, the commander had already begun reporting:
—Reporting to command: the intruder has been located. Proceeding with immediate suppression.
"卍!"
The sound of a knife being drawn interrupted the commander's report.
Instantly, all eyes locked onto the Puppet Ambi.
They saw that, despite being aimed at by more than a dozen weapons, she showed not the slightest sign of panic.
Instead, she raised her right hand, placing it on the hilt of the knife at her waist...
And slowly unsheathed it.
—Final warning. Don't move!
—Or we'll open fire! —the commander growled.
But it was useless.
The short-haired girl in their sights had already drawn her black blade, holding it in reverse grip and raising it before her.
She bent her knees.
Clearly preparing to strike.
—Fire!
"Tat-tat-tat!"
The commander gave the order without hesitation.
His men responded instantly.
For a brief moment, muzzle flashes lit the dark corridor again and again.
However...
"Ting-ting-ting-ting~!"
An unbelievable scene unfolded before their eyes.
The short-haired girl who had just crouched to charge suddenly lunged head-on into the special forces' firing line under a hail of bullets.
She didn't fear the projectiles.
Because all close-range threats were effortlessly deflected by the black blade in her hand.
She was slicing bullets.
Like a refined version of Deadpool, she spun her black sword in a blinding dance, leaving trails of afterimages behind her. The bullets couldn't touch her.
Sparks flew as bullets struck steel.
And, unfazed, she kept moving forward.
—S-she's a Valkyrie!
—Retreat! Retreat!
—Quick, report to Yinlian Squad!
...
As she closed in, the squad began to retreat while continuing to fire, hoping their firepower would buy time.
But for this girl, slicing bullets didn't slow her down.
That was the innate effect of the Ambi character template from the game.
In Absolute Zone Zero, several characters could do things like this.
Some could even slice missiles.
And at that moment...
!!!
The concentrated gunfire of over a dozen operatives couldn't stop the advance of the mysterious short-haired girl.
She had arrived.
Then…
"Swish~ swish~ swish~"
Bang!
The black blade, sharp as lightning, pierced through bulletproof vests like tofu, slicing the flesh beneath.
There was no doubt: this method of killing was utterly cruel.
Because those cut in half didn't die instantly.
Even back in Ling Ke's hometown, there had been cases of people surviving such wounds.
But that was a fantasy for the squad members now lying on the floor, groaning in pain.
—Y-you… who are you? —the commander, still conscious, asked with difficulty.
He was a man who had followed the rules... that much was clear.
But unfortunately...
—I…
The short-haired girl, her expression perfectly synced with Ling Ke's, tilted her head and answered, word by word:
—...am just a wicked spirit that hell refused to accept.
—Ah, right!
Suddenly she laughed and added:
—By the way…
—Now I'm… your masterpiece!
Having said that, as if relaxing, she dragged the tip of her black blade along the floor, walking amid a shower of sparks.
And softly murmured:
—Now then... I've come to "return the favor."