Chapter 37: The Chessmaster
[Main Quest 1: Reach the meeting location and successfully pass the White Crow Brigade’s initiation test.]
In the wreck-strewn office, Ji Minghuan raised his eyebrows, unmoving as he stared at the black lake of shadows.
He was genuinely curious—what kind of demon would crawl out of there?
The next moment, a massive shadow rose from the lake. It stood four meters tall, with purplish-blue skin, a bloated frame like a giant’s, yet dressed in a perfectly fitting work uniform. In its left hand it held an oversized coffee mug, and under its right arm, it clutched an enormous keyboard.
The weirdest part: two large heads sat atop its neck.
The left head foamed at the mouth, looking weak and sickly; the right head wore a red headband, wild-eyed and manic, with the slogan written across it:
“仕事バンザイ！” (Long live hard work!)
The two heads whispered hoarsely—one muttering “performance... performance,” the other sighing “vacation... vacation.”
You’ve got to be kidding me—an actual corporate drone demon? Ji Minghuan blinked, stunned that he’d basically predicted this scene.
“That’s your opponent—Work Demon,” Arlens said in a low voice. “Also... it’s a manifestation born from the grudges of those two deceased employees.” “You really made that up well,” Origami Ayase said flatly. “None of us have seen a demon like this before.”
“I just named it. ‘Work Demon’ doesn’t sound cool?”
“It sounds lame.”
Seriously, this demon isn’t scary at all. All I feel is overwhelming sadness. What did office workers ever do to deserve this? Forced to work overtime when alive, and now in death still lugging around giant coffee mugs and keyboards as XP fodder. Absolutely brutal.
Ji Minghuan snarked in his head, though his face showed nothing.
With the three behind him watching, he stepped forward and activated the Tianqu of this body, following the reflex loop from the character’s memory.
In an instant, waves of black-and-white light burst from his body, patterned like a chessboard, swirling in the sky before twisting into a black-and-white Mobius ring that floated around him.
Then, four distinct chess pieces appeared on the ring’s track.
They orbited him like satellites.
The Work Demon roared and charged at Ji Minghuan. Each step thundered through the old building, stripping paint from the walls. Fragments fell from the ceiling in clouds of dust—
It was like a filthy rainstorm.
If I remember right, this is how the pieces work.
Unhurried, Ji Minghuan extended his right hand and pinched the rotating King piece between his fingers.
Crack—the King piece shattered in his hand and transformed into a massive figure that landed a short distance to his right.
He glanced over. The King Giant was forged from black iron, every detail vividly lifelike.
[Notice: Basic piece “King” has been materialized.]
[Piece – “King”: Has no combat ability. But as long as the King is on the field, a mysterious force will protect you, rendering you immune to all physical and mental attacks. (To harm you, the enemy must destroy the King piece first.)]
The King stood three meters tall, cloaked in robes, wearing a jewel-encrusted crown atop a wise face, and holding a scepter in his right hand.
Arlens, arms crossed, leaned in the office corner. Seeing this, he couldn’t help but whistle. “Oh... that’s an interesting Tianqu.”
“Never seen it,” Origami Ayase added.
“Very peculiar. No wonder the captain’s curious about him,” said Robert.
With thunderous steps, the Work Demon charged in as expected.
Roaring “Overtime! Overtime!” it raised the giant keyboard with both hands and smashed it down repeatedly at Ji Minghuan. Keycaps fell like rain, scattering everywhere—yet not a single hit landed.
After a while, seeing its attacks fail, the demon narrowed its eyes and took a couple of cautious steps back. Ji Minghuan’s body was wrapped in a thin black-and-white barrier, radiating from the King Giant’s scepter.
Panting heavily, the Work Demon seemed to understand—and turned its attention toward the King Giant standing still nearby.
Gotta protect the King... If the King dies, I lose all defenses.
With that thought, Ji Minghuan raised his hand and plucked another piece from the ring.
[Notice: Basic piece “Pawn” has been materialized.]
[Piece – “Pawn”: A standard, unremarkable unit. Clumsy in movement, wields a longsword. Not strong individually, but useful in numbers.]
A fully armored, three-meter-tall black iron Pawn materialized in front of the charging demon. It raised its cold blade, the tip aimed straight at the enemy.
The demon roared and hurled its coffee mug like a bowling ball.
The iron Pawn crouched, gripped its sword, twisted its torso, and swung. A flash of cold light sliced the mug clean in half. Shards of glass rained down, accompanied by the thick scent of black coffee.
The demon’s eyes went bloodshot. “Work! Promotion! Work! Promotion!”
It lunged forward, swinging the keyboard like a club. The Pawn held its sword horizontally in front to block.
BANG! The impact echoed through the building. The iron blade vibrated violently, emitting a shrill hum. Under the crushing force, the iron Pawn fell to one knee.
The floor cracked, a crater forming beneath its boot. Fractures spread outward.
If even a basic Pawn can stand against a demon like this, then the tactical value after development must be huge.
Watching this, Ji Minghuan thought silently, then grabbed another piece from the ring.
[Notice: Basic piece “Rook” has been materialized.]
[Piece – “Rook”: Capable of firing powerful cannon blasts. Requires time to reload after each shot.]
Amid rising smoke, a massive black iron Rook Cannon appeared in the office corner. Its barrel rotated to aim at the demon locked in combat with the Pawn.
In the next second, the cannon roared, firing a pitch-black shell.
BOOM! The projectile exploded mid-air, erupting into a column of searing red flames that scorched the demon’s back.
The blaze devoured the demon like a ravenous beast, burning every inch of flesh. Screaming and flailing its keyboard wildly, the demon staggered backward, each footstep leaving behind scorched craters. The whole office trembled.
Its hair and skin flaked away in black-and-purple ashes.
Almost there.
Seizing the moment, Ji Minghuan plucked the final piece from the ring.
[Notice: Basic piece “Queen” has been materialized.]
The Queen piece shattered—and from above descended a tall, elegant figure. She stood 2.5 meters tall, her entire form forged from black iron. In her left hand, she held a short dagger; in her right, a long dagger. Her upper body was clad in armor, the lower half wrapped in a flowing skirt.
Even before the flames from the Rook’s blast faded, the Work Demon was fully ablaze, hunched over, screaming in agony:
“Performance... my performance!”
Suddenly, a graceful figure lunged at it like a diving bird. Her toes tapped the ground as she leapt, daggers whirling into elegant arcs.
Like a ballerina dancing the Swan Lake, her body spun through the air.
In the next instant, deep slashes opened across both necks of the demon.
Blood gushed like a fountain, and both heads separated from the body, falling slowly into the crimson pool below.
Just then, a black-and-white chessboard-themed panel popped up in front of Ji Minghuan.
[Notice: You have slain a C-rank “Demon.” Game Character No. 2’s Exclusive Development System — “Winter of the Hunt” progress has been updated.]
[Please open the interface to claim your reward.]
The regal giantess gave a slight nod, sheathed her daggers, and turned her back on the burning corpse as she strode calmly back toward Ji Minghuan.
[Queen: The swiftest of the four basic pieces. Her weapons are one short dagger and one long dagger.
(Only the King knows why the Queen possesses such skills.)]
Watching the towering Queen approach, Ji Minghuan couldn’t help but think:
Seriously... why is the Queen using an assassin’s kit? Did this Tianqu system get something wrong?