Chess Player

Main Quest 1: Reach the meeting point and successfully pass the White Crow Troupe's entrance assessment.

In the wrecked office, Ji Minghuan raised an eyebrow and stared motionlessly at the black lake condensed from shadows.

He was rather curious about what kind of demon would jump out of it.

The next moment, a massive shadow emerged from the black lake. It stood four meters tall, its skin mottled purple and blue-green, its bloated body like that of a giant. Yet it wore a perfectly fitting work uniform, held an oversized coffee mug in its left hand, and had a gigantic keyboard tucked under its right arm.

Most bizarre of all, two enormous heads were attached to its neck.

The head on the left foamed at the mouth and looked sickly, while the one on the right wore a red headband, its expression feverishly excited. Written on the headband were the words: "Long live work!"

The two heads whispered hoarsely. One muttered, "Performance... performance," while the other said, "Vacation... vacation."

No way, it really was a corporate slave demon? Ji Minghuan froze for a moment. He had not expected to actually foresee this.

"This is your opponent, the Working Demon," Anluns said in a low voice. "At the same time... it is an aberration formed from the resentment of those two dead employees."

"You're pretty good at making things up." Ayase Origami remained expressionless. "No one has ever seen this kind of demon."

"I just gave it that name. Doesn't 'Working Demon' sound good?"

"So tacky."

Come on, this demon didn't look scary at all. It was just pure sorrow, okay? What had office workers ever done to you people? They had to stay up late working overtime when alive, and after death they still had to carry oversized coffee mugs and keyboards around so people could grind them for experience. It was utterly inhumane.

Ji Minghuan mocked inwardly, though nothing showed on his face.

Under the gazes of the three behind him, he stepped forward and, following the reflex circuit from his memories, summoned this body's Heavenly Drive.

In an instant, a Black and White Halo surged from his body, arranged chaotically in the air like the squares of a chessboard. In the end, it twisted into a black-and-white Mobius Ring that circled his body.

Then, four differently shaped chess pieces appeared along the track of the Mobius Ring.

Like satellites, they slowly revolved around him.

The Working Demon threw back its heads and roared as it charged at Ji Minghuan. Every step made the old building rumble. Flaking paint peeled from the walls, while chunks of ceiling fell amid clouds of dust.

It was like a filthy rainstorm.

"If I remember right, this is how these pieces are supposed to be used."

Ji Minghuan, this makeshift operation of a man, calmly extended his right hand and pinched the spinning King Piece between his fingers.

With a crack, the King Piece shattered in his hand, transforming into a massive figure that landed not far to his right.

He glanced at it. The body of the King Colossus was forged from black iron, every inch of it lifelike in detail.

Prompt: Basic chess piece "King" has been materialized.

Chess Piece—"King": Possesses no combat power, but as long as the King remains on the board, you will be protected by a mysterious force and immune to all physical and mental attacks. (To harm you, an enemy must first destroy the "King Piece.")

The King stood three meters tall, draped in robes and wearing a jewel-encrusted crown. Its eyes were wise, and it held a scepter in its right hand.

Anluns was standing in a corner of the office with his arms folded. Seeing this, he could not help whistling in amazement. "Oh... what an interesting Heavenly Drive."

"Never seen anything like it," Ayase Origami said as well.

"Very unusual. No wonder the troupe leader is interested in him," Robert said.

Amid the deafening Footsteps, the Working Demon arrived as expected.

Roaring, "Overtime! Overtime!" it raised the huge keyboard with both hands and smashed it down. Its arms rose and fell together, wildly battering Ji Minghuan. Black keycaps fell like a torrential downpour, scattering across the floor, yet they could not touch his body no matter what.

After a while, seeing that its battering had accomplished nothing, the Working Demon narrowed its eyes and slowly retreated a step or two. Ji Minghuan's body was covered by a thin wall of black-and-white light.

The source of that wall of light was the King Colossus's scepter.

The Working Demon panted heavily, seemingly understanding something. It turned and rushed toward the King Colossus standing quietly nearby.

I have to protect the King... If the King dies, my body won't have any defenses left.

With that thought, Ji Minghuan raised his right hand and pinched another chess piece on the Black and White Ring Road.

Prompt: Basic chess piece "Soldier" has been materialized.

Chess Piece—"Soldier": A chess piece with very ordinary qualities and abilities. A soldier wielding a longsword, relatively clumsy in movement, but strong in numbers.

In an instant, a fully armed Black Iron Soldier three meters tall blocked the Working Demon's path. It raised its cold, solemn longsword, the tip aimed at the Working Demon.

The demon roared and hurled its massive coffee mug at it like a bowling ball.

The Black Iron Soldier bent low, gripped its sword hilt, twisted its body, and borrowed the momentum to strike. A frigid flash of sword light streaked past, dividing the oncoming giant mug in two. Shards of glass sprayed down from overhead like rain, accompanied by the strong scent of black coffee.

The Working Demon's eyes turned bloodshot as it roared furiously, "Work! Promotion! Work! Promotion!"

It surged forward like a raging tide, swinging the keyboard at the Black Iron Soldier like a blunt weapon. The soldier gripped its sword hilt with both hands and held the blade horizontally before itself in a blocking stance.

The keyboard came down with a deafening bang! The entire office shook. The black iron sword trembled, and amid a piercing hum, the Black Iron Soldier instantly dropped to its knees beneath the mountain-like force pressing down from above.

It knelt on one knee, its combat boots crushing a massive crater into the floor as fine cracks spread outward.

A single pawn can already hold off a demon of this level. Once developed, its tactical value will definitely be high.

Watching this, Ji Minghuan thought silently before grabbing another chess piece from the Black and White Ring Road.

Prompt: Basic chess piece "Cannon Chariot" has been materialized.

Chess Piece—"Cannon Chariot": Capable of firing fairly powerful shells, but requires a certain amount of time to reload after each shot.

Wisps of gunpowder smoke rose as a massive black iron Cannon Chariot appeared in one corner of the office. It moved its barrel, aiming it at the Working Demon locked in a stalemate with the soldier.

The next second, the Cannon Chariot trembled with a thunderous roar, and a pitch-black shell burst from its barrel.

With a loud boom!, the shell exploded in midair. Violent flames then converged into a crimson beam of light that swept across the Working Demon's back.

The firelight was like a ravenous beast, devouring every inch of the Working Demon's flesh. In the extreme heat, the Working Demon roared in fury while wildly flailing its keyboard, staggering backward several steps. Each step left behind a deep pit scorched by heat, making the office shake with heavy thuds.

Its fur and skin were consumed by the flames, turning into black-and-purple fragments that scattered all over the ground.

"That should be enough."

Seizing the chance, Ji Minghuan raised his hand and pinched the final chess piece on the Black and White Ring Road.

Prompt: Basic chess piece "Queen" has been materialized.

The chess piece shattered, and immediately afterward, a slender, regal figure descended from above. She stood two and a half meters tall, also forged entirely from black iron. She held a short dagger in her left hand and a long dagger in her right. Her upper body was clad in armor, while a long skirt wrapped around her lower half.

The fire from the shell's explosion had yet to fade, and the Working Demon's entire body was still burning. It hunched over, clutching its heads and shrieking in agony. "Performance... my performance!"

Just then, a clear, elegant figure shot toward it like a bird. With a tap of her toes against the ground, she leaped into the air, her twin daggers tracing a graceful arc as she spun.

Like a ballerina performing Swan Lake, she descended in a turning motion.

The next instant, enormous gashes opened across the necks of both the Working Demon's heads. Blood burst from the wounds like spring water, and then its two heads separated from its body.

The two heads and the headless body slowly fell into the pool of blood beneath them at the same time.

At that very moment, a Prompt Panel with a black-and-white chessboard background appeared before Ji Minghuan.

Prompt: A C-rank "Demon" has been killed. The progress mission for No. 2 Game Character's Exclusive Cultivation System—"Wild Hunt Winter"—has been updated.

Please open the interface to claim the reward as soon as possible.

The regal colossus gave a slight nod, sheathed her twin daggers, and walked back toward Ji Minghuan step by step with her back to the burning monster.

Queen: Among the four basic chess pieces, she is the swiftest. Her weapons are a short dagger and a long dagger. (Only the King knows why the Queen possesses such skills.)

Watching the Queen Colossus approach, Ji Minghuan could not help thinking, So why exactly does the Queen have an assassin build? Did this Heavenly Drive get something wrong?

There would be another chapter later.