To this day, Ling Ke still remembered exactly what he experienced in the last moment before transmigrating.
That day, he had only wanted to go to the fruit shop downstairs to buy a watermelon to beat the heat — when, sensing something, he instinctively looked up and saw a blue streak of light falling from the sky, continuously enlarging in his field of vision.
To this day he still hadn't figured out what that thing was — the one that smashed dead center into his forehead.
However...
"By logic, something that can directly send a person transmigrating should be a portable golden finger, right?"
"System? Inheritance? Old man? Inner core of a demon god? Or the body core of a star-space giant beast?"
These possibilities above — the most classic of classics — the former Ling Ke had fantasized about them countless times in his head.
Because this was his hope of escaping.
Unfortunately, in the nearly four years of past torment, no matter how desperately he called out, there was never any response whatsoever.
But the same, until today...
[Detected a special region meeting 「Respawn Room」 binding conditions. 「Player One System」 fully activated.]
[Please, Host, select future development route: 「World-Saving Player」 or 「World-Destroying Player」.]
Looking at that rectangular, semi-transparent virtual interface before him — the most classic of classics — after a brief daze, Ling Ke slightly narrowed his eyes.
Without question, if this had been him a few years ago, he would have chosen 「World-Saving Player」 without a second thought.
But now, the fire in his heart had long since died out.
So, just as naturally...
[Host has selected: 「World-Destroying Player」.]
[From this day forward, whenever an intelligent lifeform dies as a result of the Host's deliberate actions — whether directly caused or indirectly influenced — the Host will receive 1 point.]
[Points can be used for random draws of 「Game Character Templates」 within the system. The Host may load a template onto themselves and acquire the corresponding 「Character Traits」, 「Game Skills」, and 「Background Talents」.]
[Initial process complete. Reward: one 「Starter Pack」.]
Ling Ke finished skimming the details quickly.
It didn't take long to sort out his thoughts.
First...
"Setting aside every humanitarian consideration — the difference between 「World-Saving Player」 and 「World-Destroying Player」 comes down to where the advantage sits."
"The 「World-Destroying Player」 path for earning points is obviously much simpler."
"Just kill. That's it."
"But on the 「World-Saving Player」 side, if the same person gets into danger multiple times and keeps getting rescued, you can farm points off them repeatedly."
"One path is rapid short-term growth. The other leans toward steady long-term accumulation."
At this point, Ling Ke himself hadn't even noticed——
The way he thought about problems had already become abnormally cold-blooded.
Or to put it another way: pure rational self-interest... rational to a terrifying degree.
And building on that foundation...
"I'm the Host of the 「Player One System」, and at the same time, this era's Herrscher of Dominance."
"Which means the Game Character Template loading function — originally limited to 「one person」 — has now expanded directly to 「a thousand」."
"And this Theater of Domination..."
Ling Ke looked around. "After the system bound it as my 「Respawn Room」, it's become a space completely under my control... an absolute domain."
He remembered that in plenty of games he'd played before transmigrating, the thing called a 「Respawn Room」 was usually a safe zone — a protective circle where outside enemies couldn't get in.
For example: Left 4 Dead.
Or: Overwatch.
So...
"Now that the Theater of Domination has 「Respawn Room」 properties — unless I personally approve it, nobody can force their way inside."
"And working from that premise, something like the original HI3 plot where Kiana used the Herrscher of the Void's power to teleport a battleship in... that can't work on me."
"Meaning as long as I stay inside the Theater of Domination, I'm innately invincible."
Then...
[「Starter Pack」 opened.]
[Congratulations, Host. New Game Character Template obtained — Anby.]
Seeing the result, the corners of Ling Ke's mouth curved slightly upward.
He pulled up the system's detailed breakdown:
[Game Character Template: Anby]
[Origin: Zenless Zone Zero]
[Character Traits: Level Mechanism, HP Mechanism, Infinite Stamina, Equipment Indestructible, Electric Attribute, Stun Attribute, Character Switching...]
[Game Skills: Normal Attack — Volt Rush, Normal Attack — Thunderbolt, Dodge — Slide Step, Dash Attack — Arc Slash...]
[Background Talent: High Ether Aptitude Constitution...]
[Related Info: Age unknown. Real name unknown. Current name: Anby Demara. Suspected former Obolus Squad 「No. 0」 soldier...]
"No. 0, huh..."
Ling Ke let out a quiet sigh, for reasons he couldn't quite name. "That number fits me pretty well right now."
"Then, next..."
An extremely dangerous, ice-cold smile spread across Ling Ke's face. "First — my first act of revenge."
"This West Asia Branch has no reason to exist anymore."
When it came to the Authority of the Herrscher of Dominance, Ling Ke identified several key points.
First — he didn't know whether it was because he was a transmigrator from outside this world, but as the main body of the Herrscher of Legion, he no longer needed to hijack the consciousness of other intelligent lifeforms to expand the swarm.
All one thousand of the Herrscher of Legion were him.
For the current Ling Ke, that suited him perfectly.
Because right now, besides himself, he trusted no one.
And building on that——
"I can open Space Gates for free round trips to the Theater of Domination at any time. But when there's nobody outside, the Gate can only open at locations I've physically been to since becoming a Herrscher."
In that respect, it was obviously far inferior to the Herrscher of the Void's ability to freely manipulate space.
Case in point: Ling Ke, freshly awakened, could only open a Space Gate inside the prison cell he was currently in.
Of course, the flimsy electronic-lock iron bars couldn't hold him anymore.
All he had to do was reach a hand through the bars, and he could open a Space Gate on the other side — right at his fingertips.
Or stick a mark on some small object and toss it out...
The mechanic was similar to the Flying Thunder God Technique from Naruto — except as a portal instead of a teleport.
On top of that...
"The baseline Herrscher of Dominance, beyond the 「Theater of Domination」 and 「Space Gate」, can also seize the Authorities of other Herrschers, and... use that special kind of 「thread」 for combat."
"And every ability I've already obtained — all of the above included — every single 「Domination Puppet」 can use them too."
"Given that trait, even though I've only got one Game Character Template right now..."
The thought crystallized, and Ling Ke loaded the 「Anby」 template.
The next instant, inside the massive Theater of Domination, all 999 Domination Puppets changed completely.
Every one of them transformed — girls in black-and-green attire, headphones on, silver-gray hair cut short.
Looking closely, each of the 999 「Domination Puppet · Anby」 units carried a battery-pack backpack module on her back, and each module had a number.
The original Anby's was: 123.
The 999 puppets ran from 001 all the way to 999.
As for Ling Ke's own number: 000.
Yes. The true meaning of 「No. 0」.