Chapter 59: True Name
The second Spider Demon descended from the theater wall, rushing toward the King Colossus with a vicious face. All eight legs moved in unison, crawling with the speed of an afterimage, trailing a scarlet glow from the corners of its eyes in the dark.
As it crawled, the human face embedded in the spider’s head spun like a windmill.
A chilling wind surged forward. The King Colossus stood isolated and defenseless, silently rooted to its spot.
If the King Colossus were destroyed, the mysterious protection shielding Ji Minghuan would vanish with it—like losing a safety net. The risk of death would spike dramatically.
Twin demons… this situation was mentioned in the character's memory. With that in mind, Ji Minghuan reached out and touched the black-and-white loop beside him, and suddenly, a shadow surged out from within.
[Contracted demon “Shadow Demon” has been released.]
The “Shadow Demon” was the first demon Xia Pingzhou had contracted when he advanced to a first-tier Exorcist. This demon could, for a short time, drag any object around the Exorcist into the shadow beneath his feet.
The Shadow Demon darted out of the loop and slipped into the ground, arriving beneath the King in a blink.
“Tsk tsk tsk…”
The Shadow Demon chuckled low and dark, lifting its shadowy arms to pull the King down into the shadow pool beneath it. Both of them sank into a black puddle. The Spider Demon with the male face slashed out with all eight limbs—only to strike empty air.
The demon stared blankly downward, its blood-red eyes fixed on the shadow at its feet. Within the shadow, the King Colossus’s silhouette could be seen, along with the Shadow Demon’s glowing red grin.
Mocking it.
At that moment, the Queen Colossus sprang off a crimson theater seat, dashing toward the demon.
The Spider Demon narrowed its eyes. Six of its legs twisted together grotesquely, each claw fused into the next, forming a blooming flower—one shaped like a carnivorous plant. Each petal was a razor-sharp claw. With a deafening hum, the spinning blades whirled violently.
Using its remaining two legs to step forward, it charged straight at the Queen’s blades.
Seeing this from the board view, Ji Minghuan commanded, “Phase.”
As he spoke, he turned to the side and opened his phone’s camera.
He adjusted the selfie lens so the fearsome Spider Demon and the imposing side profile of the lunging Queen Colossus would be in the background.
He hit the shutter—click—a flash burst in the darkness.
In that instant, the Queen Colossus's body turned translucent.
As if not a real object, she passed through the center of the “carnivorous flower” with her daggers, overlapping with the Spider Demon’s form for a brief moment before landing behind it.
A flicker of confusion crossed the Spider Demon’s face. It hadn’t realized what had just happened.
Behind it, the Queen reversed her grip on her dagger, sidestepped, spun her arm in an arc, and stabbed the blade into the demon’s back, opening a gash.
Shunk—the dagger pierced through the demon’s heart from behind.
The Queen gripped the handle with both hands and twisted hard. The sharp blade spun inside the demon’s body.
Just like that, she mercilessly shredded the Spider Demon’s heart into a pulp of black blood.
Amid the sound of flowing liquid, black blood gushed from the hollow in its chest. The demon roared, then collapsed to its knees in the puddle, its eyes blank. Its twisted limbs slowly unfurled, falling beside it like withered branches.
The Queen confirmed its death, then turned her head.
Three Iron Pawns were hacking away at the cocoon on the ground, one slash at a time. Their blades pierced the thick silk, and the other Spider Demon inside clearly didn’t survive either. Its tortured screams faded, and filthy blood oozed from the ruined cocoon.
Thus, both Spider Demons in Roppongi EX Theater were eliminated.
Ji Minghuan didn’t even look up—he had already seen it all clearly through the board view.
He glanced at the photo he’d just taken and opened an app to edit it.
The Queen Colossus casually flicked her daggers, shaking off the filthy black blood, then walked back toward Ji Minghuan. Despite just finishing a brutal battle, her posture remained elegant and tall.
Ji Minghuan turned slightly—she was a full two heads taller than him—so he flipped the phone screen around and raised it a bit to show her the selfie.
“Did I make you look bad in this?” he asked, tilting his head curiously.
The Queen Colossus paused, seemingly surprised her master would ask such a question. Then she lowered her head, her cold-flamed eyes carefully scanning the selfie.
She touched her chin and thought for a moment, then shook her head, indicating she was pleased with the photo.
“If it’s not good, you can just say it. I’m still learning,” Ji Minghuan said casually.
Back at the orphanage, he never had a phone to play with, and had never taken a photo before—so it felt new and fun. If possible, he wanted to travel the world with Kong Youling someday and take lots of beautiful pictures along the way.
The Queen shook her head again, her expression sincere.
“Oh, well that’s good then,” Ji Minghuan replied.
At that moment, tap tap—the sound of footsteps echoed inside the theater. Accompanied by the clinking of armor, the three Iron Pawns approached, slowly laying down their bloodstained greatswords and kneeling at his feet, awaiting orders.
At the same time, a series of prompt panels floated before Ji Minghuan’s eyes, all set against a chessboard background.
[Detected: player has slain two C-class demons. Secondary character’s exclusive system “Winter of the Hunt” has been updated — Kill count: 1 → 3.]
[Current task progress: Slay “3/10” Extraordinary Species or Demons.]
[Current progress of Tianqu “International Chess” advancement: 45% / 100% (Upon reaching full progress, your Tianqu will evolve into Second Stage form and allow a new demon contract, greatly enhancing your Tianqu’s abilities.)]
[Card Event completed: “Spider Dancers of Roppongi EX Theater”.]
[You’ve received an Event Card as a reward: “Twin Stars on Stage”. Card has been added to your storage.]
Ji Minghuan opened the system panel, tapped “Event Card Library,” and clicked the first card in the list.
The card’s description popped up:
[Event Card Name: Twin Stars on Stage]
[Card Effect: If the player has a twin brother, this card can instantly teleport your twin brother to your side and grant him a temporary attribute boost.]
[Note: Selling this Event Card grants “1” Skill Point.]
Staring at the card’s effect, Ji Minghuan paused for half a second, then tapped.
[Event Card sold. You’ve gained “1” Skill Point.]
“Killing demons advances the development system and speeds up Tianqu evolution… looks like I can’t slack off. This character needs to farm a few mobs.”
Ji Minghuan shrugged, thinking as he touched the black-and-white loop.
The Soldier Colossi, Rook Colossus, and King Colossus all reverted to chess pieces and returned to the loop—only the Queen remained at his side.
He tucked his left hand into his pocket, toyed with his phone in his right hand, and started walking through the darkness toward the theater’s exit. The Queen followed silently behind.
Not long after, Ji Minghuan suddenly stopped and looked up—at the doorway stood a figure.
She wore a khaki trench coat and a Lusk-style hat, with a monocle over her left eye, its chain clipped to her collar.
Ke Qirui leaned against the wall, arms folded. One hand held a pipe as she quietly took a drag, the faint light from the entryway casting shadows across her profile.
After a while, she lowered her gaze and broke the silence. “If you’ve got time… I’d like to talk.”
She paused, then slowly lifted her head to meet Ji Minghuan’s eyes—and softly said a name:
“Xia Pingzhou.”