Herrscher of Dominance in Honkai, starting with the abduction of Kiana

The sniper rifle ejected its shell, the hot brass spinning as it flashed golden in the light.

The puppet, meticulously controlled by Ren, was precise like a machine, accurately using the single-shot rifle. Pulling the bolt, loading, and pulling the trigger.

Using his own location as a reference point, the puppet's sniping was almost always a one-shot kill. Blood splattered against the walls, the crimson staining the Ouroboros marks on the transport vehicles a deep red.

The combat team was well-trained. They quickly deduced the trajectory from the direction of the blood splatters and located the puppet's position.

"Seven o'clock, about 200 meters." The reconnaissance team member immediately called out, before a bullet entered his mouth, exploding from the back of his head.

The location of the enemy made before his death provided a slight relief to the situation. They ignored the survivors nearby and hid behind the combat vehicles.

The moment the puppet reappeared, the sniper from the team smirked.

"A sniper who doesn't know to change positions after firing, truly unworthy."

Bang—!

The combat team's guns were much better than what Ren had managed to scrounge. The moment they located the puppet's position, both sides fired almost simultaneously. The combat team's sniper bullet went directly into the puppet's brain. While the puppet's bullet took out one of the sniper's teammates.

"Got him!" With a sigh of relief, the sniper was about to report his success to his teammates. But the next second, a sniper bullet pierced his brain, sending the sniper and his expertise to hell.

On the rooftop, the puppet with only half a brain remained unaware. Scattered pieces of wood fell to the ground.

Pulling the bolt, loading, and pulling the trigger.

The exquisitely crafted puppet was manipulated by the controlling strings, killing the Heliopolis Life Sciences personnel with an identical rhythm.

"Monster! An unkillable monster!"

Like a precise reaper, the puppet continued to harvest the remaining personnel's lives. Even hiding behind cover, they couldn't escape death's pursuit.

In just a few minutes, the aggressive combat team had been reduced to just one survivor.

Bang—!

The sound of a life-taking shot rang out. The last survivor on the combat team widened his eyes in fear before death, with only one thought in his mind.

Why did the bullet turn?

And then came absolute darkness.

The bullets controlled by the Herrscher of Dominance didn't care if you hid behind cover, especially if you were targeted by those golden eyes.

In a very short period of time, the checkpoint was covered in corpses. Kiana, who was still accumulating her Herrscher of the Void powers, was in a daze. But the next second, a strong sense of danger crept up her spine. She was locked on, the enemy's gun aimed at her.

The reflection of the scope fell into the girl's vision. She understood in that instant that she was the next prey.

She couldn't dodge.

At the moment she was targeted, that was the thought that rose in her mind. Ren was right next to her, and now he seemed to be unconscious due to the shock. If she dodged, given the angle, he would surely die.

Bang—!

The puppet wouldn't give her any time to react, the bullet was already on its way.

Clenching her teeth, Kiana prepared to take the sniper bullet with her own body.

"With a Valkyrie's physique, I should be able to withstand it." She whispered a prayer.

Just as the bullet arrived, Kiana suddenly felt herself being shoved hard, and she rolled across the ground a few times.

The bullet, under Ren's precise control, forcefully hit his arm, blood spraying out, splashing onto Kiana's face.

"Ren!!"

Seeing Ren get hit by the bullet, Kiana was struck by lightning, her mind going blank.

Clang.

In front of the puppet, a copper shell casing hit the ground. The next bullet was already loaded.

Bang—!

The sound of the shot rang out. In the silent checkpoint, there was no other sound.

At the location of the two, in the concrete ground, a small bullet hole was left.

The moment the second bullet arrived, Kiana finally unlocked her potential, forcefully using the Herrscher core's power, and teleported away with Ren.

In the distance, the puppet's eyes, having lost Ren's control, gradually lost their light. The sniper rifle limply slipped from the puppet's hand, falling from the rooftop onto the concrete ground below.

A pale hand reached out from the void, grabbed the puppet's body, and dragged it into the Theater of Dominance.

A few minutes later, another transport vehicle with the Ouroboros mark stopped at the checkpoint area.

Tap, tap, tap. The sound of heavy footsteps rang out as a more well-equipped team quickly sealed off the area.

A man completely enveloped in a black trench coat came down from the vehicle. A pale mask covered his face, replacing any expression. Two dagger-like markings intersected in the middle of the mask, like a hunter waiting for his prey. His left eye was hidden by the mask, while his scarlet right eye seemed particularly eerie.

Even though it was a sunny day, the man was holding a black umbrella. The heavy robe covered his whole body, making his tall and thin frame seem like a venomous creature—a snake.

"In less than ten minutes, not even a single survivor is left." The man's voice was hoarse, and the indistinct electronic sounds made his voice difficult to recognize.

First he took a glance at the completely destroyed surveillance devices, confirming that he wouldn't find any information. He then constantly scanned the chaotic battlefield with his blinking red prosthetic eye, recording all the data, which would ultimately be analyzed by Heliopolis Life Sciences's computing terminals.

When the red light dimmed, he slowly raised his head. All the bullet trajectories were now clear to him. Following the direction from which the bullets flew, he looked towards where the puppet sniper had been.

But naturally, there was nothing there now. There were no traces of any human activity.

"Clean up the battlefield, take all the test subjects back. Clean up the blood, make it look like a Honkai beast attack." After quietly giving his orders, the Gray Serpent stepped forward, walking towards where the sniper attacks had occurred.

In the scarlet snake eye, the first thing to be captured was naturally heat.

He bent down, put on gloves, and gently picked up the sniper rifle. The fall from the high place had made this outdated bolt-action rifle somewhat loose. But the warmth of the barrel honestly told him that this was the weapon that had slaughtered his team.

There were no special markings on the sniper rifle. This old model of gun, which was about to be scrapped, was an obsolete item for Schicksal, the military, or even Heliopolis Life Sciences. It wouldn't be hard to obtain.

More importantly, not only were there no fingerprints on the rifle's trigger, there wasn't even the residual body heat from someone holding it.

Raising his head, his gaze fell on the rooftop. The small scuff marks were captured by his snake eyes.

But when he arrived on the rooftop, he could only see scattered pieces of wood. There wasn't even the smell of someone having been there, using it as a sniper position.