"Well..."
Kiana thought for a moment, "Today's the day of the main story update~~"
"Hmm...?"
"Elysia, Kiana just wanted to try out a different streaming style today, that's all."
Before Elysia could ask more, Himeko interjected to change the topic.
"Is that so."
Elysia didn't doubt it. Instead, she looked thoughtful.
"True, sometimes I also think Miss Fairy's pink image is super cute, but changing things up once in a while could be refreshing too."
"For example, I've thought about changing Miss Fairy's color scheme and suddenly showing up on stream to scare the viewers~♪"
"..."
"That's so typically you, Elysia."
Himeko paused briefly before replying matter-of-factly.
Although Elysia got along with everyone, when it came to someone being on the exact same wavelength as her—only Hokuto at miHoYo could manage that.
"Sigh~~ alright, I won't go off-topic too much."
"Let's get back to the main story."
Elysia didn't forget the stream's purpose and didn't dwell on the subject.
Back to the story.
After a candid exchange between Raven and Mei, the two continued on their way, arriving at a seaside warehouse at night.
They planned to infiltrate and investigate, but the warehouse was patrolled by mechas. Mei had to sneak past them carefully to avoid alerting the enemy.
That was the plan—but players could also just defeat all the mechas.
As everyone knows, if you eliminate all the enemies, there's no such thing as a failed infiltration.
Still, Elysia played it seriously, controlling Mei to dodge every mecha along the way.
Eventually, they spotted a suspicious man in front of a suspicious box in the warehouse.
Mei spotted the target and, without any fuss, stunned him with electricity, tied him up, and tossed him aside.
The current Mei acted very differently from before—she was growing more and more queenly.
From the intel Mei and Raven had gathered, they knew they were about to be transported to the Theatre of Domination.
Mentally prepared, the two opened the box.
In a flash of white light, Mei reopened her eyes and found herself inside the Theatre of Domination.
Elysia moved the character forward. Upon entering combat, a prompt appeared on the left side of the screen:
Observe quietly. Do not use Herrscher powers.
Seeing this, Elysia began spiral-dodging puppet attacks in a dazed way for quite a while before realizing the plot wasn't progressing.
Turned out "don't use Herrscher powers" meant the Ultimate key was disabled.
"I thought it meant no attacking at all."
Elysia commented:
"Even Mei's basic attacks carry electricity—how is that not using Herrscher power? So it just means no Ult?"
She said this while continuing the battle.
[Same thought as Miss Fairy. That special branch scene was in Herrscher mode—her skills literally say so.]
[Previously, when Bronya activated her Ultimate, the puppet said, "This is the moment I've been waiting for" (raises finger).]
[So by Herrscher powers, they actually meant Cursed Blade: Murasame? (dog emoji)]
...
While viewers discussed, Elysia controlled Mei to easily smash the puppet and advanced through the corridor.
Soon, she encountered a puppet standing on the stairs.
The puppet invited Mei to explore the Theatre of Domination together. Mei, choosing to observe, didn't refuse. But enemies kept appearing to ambush her along the way.
The Dominance Puppet also tried to lure Mei into using her Herrscher powers, but Mei, being smart, quickly sensed something was off and refrained.
Besides, these basic monsters were no match for her swordsmanship alone.
When those failed to provoke her Herrscher powers—
The puppet tried verbal manipulation again.
"I have a way to help you! We can turn you and Kiana back into normal humans!"
Hearing that, Mei narrowed her eyes, arms crossed, and asked with full aura:
"That line sounds familiar. What are you planning to do?"
Whether to provoke Mei or due to sheer idiocy,
the puppet used the Herrscher of Sentience's powers in front of her.
"This is the Herrscher of Sentience's power! Taken from your friend!"
Her tone was drenched in mockery.
Mei frowned slightly, but the current her wasn't easily agitated.
The puppet continued:
"Just take my hand, apply a little pressure, zap zap zap—and your powers become mine! See? So simple!"
"You give me the Herrscher of Thunder's power, and I'll help you snatch the Herrscher of the Void's power. Then you and her can return to normal life—never again troubled by the Honkai."
Mei: "..."
[Logic genius.]
[This puppet is such a 'genius' it made me laugh.]
[Mei: You think I'm stupid?]
[This one puppet is tanking the entire average IQ of the Dominance puppets. Was she intentionally sent out to get KO'd?]
...
Mei stayed silent. As if she'd hand over Herrscher of Thunder powers that easily.
After all she'd been through, she was no longer the "I can't do anything" Mei of the past.
She countered directly:
"In that case, how about you turn Kiana back into a normal person first, then I'll give you the Herrscher of Thunder's power. Sound fair?"
The puppet thought for a moment.
"Hmm... sounds reasonable? But with just the Herrscher of Sentience's power... I might not win?"
"Heh. I also believe Kiana would never lose to you. So your offer is worthless."
Failing to persuade Mei, the puppet tried brute force instead, attempting to force out Mei's Herrscher powers.
She summoned two unique puppets, claiming Mei couldn't hold out without her powers.
But before she could gloat—
Bang! Bang!
Two gunshots echoed, lightning exploded, and the puppets were instantly obliterated.
"What?! Who's there!"
The puppet was dumbfounded. That counterattack came too fast.
Bang!
Another shot—she blew up on the spot.
Raven had arrived and blasted her to bits.
Moments later, the surroundings shifted, and they returned to reality.
"Just like Mobius said—those puppets can't convince anyone."
At this point, Elysia remembered Mobius mocking the Dominance Puppets during the last stream.
Mobius had bluntly said those puppets only ever spewed twisted logic.
And indeed, that's how the story played out.
Mocked Bronya? Bronya didn't flinch and even tricked them into giving up the Herrscher of Sentience's powers.
Mocked Veliona? Got pummeled by Veliona in return.
Mocked Mei? Got outwitted and fed false intel, then wrecked when trying to get rough.
It's all about:
I can't persuade you, but I'm still going to ramble in your face until you're disgusted and annoyed.
"I wonder what the scriptwriter was thinking when designing the Herrscher of Domination."
Faced with Elysia's curiosity, Kiana thought for a bit. It didn't seem like a secret, so she answered softly:
"I heard... the inspiration came from places like Weibo, Tieba... that kind of thing."
"Huh?"
Elysia blinked—then blinked again—and finally started to connect the dots.
The Herrscher of Domination was just like...
"I see."
Not just Elysia—viewers got it too.
[Now I get it. No wonder that Herrscher of Domination felt so familiar.]
[Suddenly remembering those three-day forum battles I used to have.]
[Same, thinking back to doomscrolling on Weibo and spiking my blood pressure till I couldn't sleep.]
[Must've been exhausting to use that for inspiration. #CheckOnTheScriptwriter'sSanity#]
[Right? I'd like the scriptwriter's address so I can mail them some health supplements.]
...
"You guys clearly have bad intentions asking for the scriptwriter's address."
Elysia consoled, "Let's not be too hard on 'Mr. Otto'~~ At least he's genuinely trying to make a good game."
"Mhm."
Kiana nodded beside her, speaking up for Hokuto.
"His obsession with detail in the game... is beyond imagination."
A thousand different puppets, after all!