[New player detected. Enter the King's Game?]
The moment Chen Qi grabbed the playing card, a message projected itself into his mind.
"Th-this is..."
Chen Qi stood frozen for a full ten seconds, starting to question his own existence.
'What in the world is wrong with this place?'
First, a die that could grant human wishes for free appears, and now there's a "King's Game."
Anyone who wasn't a complete idiot could see how bizarre this game was.
'My previous twenty-three years of life were so incredibly ordinary. How could I have been such a failure as to not even know the true face of the world?'
...
[Yes] [No]
The message pulsed, waiting for Chen Qi to make a choice.
"Heh!"
'Even if it's a massive trap, I have no choice but to jump in!'
The name "Jomoya" on the back of the card sealed Chen Qi's decision.
"Yes."
The instant he made his choice, the playing card transformed into a streak of purple light and sank into Chen Qi's left hand.
On the back of Chen Qi's left hand, the image of a Red Heart 7 appeared.
[Create new game character] or [Inherit existing game character]
A new choice appeared, and Chen Qi instantly understood how the bronze die had helped him fulfill his wish.
The moment Chen Qi chose [Inherit existing game character], the Red Heart 7 erupted in a brilliant purple light, enveloping his entire body.
Chen Qi felt as if he had been thrown into a furnace, undergoing a process of Reforging and Re-shaping.
In the next instant, the purple light dissipated. Chen Qi was gone, and Jomoya Chris appeared once more.
...
"Hahaha, so this is what a new life feels like!"
Feeling this completely foreign yet familiar body, Chen Qi was filled with mixed emotions. He had actually become Jomoya Chris.
If this was the price for changing his fate, it seemed he had no reason to refuse.
[Player] Jomoya Chris (Chen Qi)
[Life Level] 4 (Note: Average for a normal human is 2)
[Equipment] Red Heart 7
[Skills] Body Control, String Slash (Note: Effective range 10 meters)
[Spiritual Energy Points] 30
These were Chen Qi's game stats. After checking the effective range of the skills, he broke out in a cold sweat from delayed fear.
The location the bronze die had given him was exactly ten meters away from Jomoya.
If Jomoya hadn't been critically injured, or if Chen Qi had taken just one more step, what would have awaited him was Body Control.
Jomoya's obsession with "Chen Qi's heart" before he died was clearly not just the ramblings of a dying man.
'Damn, that was a close call!'
Chen Qi glared hatefully at the "corpse," wishing he could tear it limb from limb.
But reason quickly calmed him down. He needed to dispose of this body properly.
He absolutely couldn't let anyone connect this "corpse" with Jomoya Chris.
Chen Qi first removed its communicator and watch, then carefully searched the body.
Probably because a "battle" was expected tonight, the "corpse" wasn't carrying much. Chen Qi quickly looted everything.
Now, apart from its expensive clothes, the "corpse" was no different from a homeless person on the street.
But as for how to handle the body itself, Chen Qi was at a loss. He had absolutely no experience with this.
If he just abandoned it, the gunshot wound on its chest was far too conspicuous.
His own secrets were at stake; of course Chen Qi wouldn't allow any loose ends.
...
"Whimper, whimper~"
A low whimper drifted by on the autumn wind.
The hairs on Chen Qi's arms stood on end instantly. He was on high alert.
He felt a faint sense of threat. A very unusual Life Form was lurking in the darkness.
This perception, which was different from his five senses, was something the old Chen Qi never possessed.
It was an instinct born from reaching Life Level [4].
...
"What the hell is that thing?"
A huge black dog, as large as a calf and with a single Spiral Horn on its head, slowly emerged from the darkness.
Its eyes glowed with a dark green fluorescence, like a pair of dancing, burning flames.
Foul, decaying... Chen Qi sensed the aura of death from this dog.
'Urban legends are real too?'
'The Dog of Death actually exists!'
In the slums, the legend of the Dog of Death had always been passed around.
Whether someone died of illness, starvation, or in a gang fight, as long as the body was left unattended, it would be eaten by a giant, horned black dog.
Chen Qi had always thought it was just a story made up by some slum residents to scare off outsiders. He never imagined it was real.
'But doesn't this dog only eat corpses?'
'Why is it baring its teeth and drooling at me?'
...
ROAR! A low snarl, nothing like a normal dog's bark, escaped the creature's mouth.
But when Chen Qi raised his left hand, preparing to test out a skill, the dog surprisingly backed down, seeming to know its place.
However, it still stood protectively in front of the corpse, as if afraid Chen Qi would snatch it away.
"You'd better eat every last bit. Otherwise, the next time we meet, I'll break your legs."
Chen Qi spat out the vicious threat before disappearing into the night.
This was probably the best way to dispose of the body.
...
Under the cover of night, Jomoya Chris moved lightly and swiftly through the alleys.
Perhaps because of the purple light's transformation, this body was far stronger than before.
The gang members who had been aggressively searching the area were long gone. Chen Qi left the district with ease.
'So strange. The body seems to have retained some of Jomoya Chris's instincts, but this is clearly my own body now.'
After skillfully activating the watch and subconsciously entering the password to open the communicator, Chen Qi already felt that something was off.
Even more incredibly, relying on some sense of familiarity, he found a luxury car parked two kilometers away.
The car started, and Chen Qi instinctively drove in the direction of "home."
'Am I getting into character?'
Outside the car window, the buildings grew increasingly opulent. Clearly, this home was not his rented room in the slums.
Of course, from the moment he left, Chen Qi had no intention of ever going back.
He had already cleaned up everything there anyway, and no one would care about his disappearance.
Soon, a luxurious villa appeared ahead. Chen Qi subconsciously prepared to stop, but he forcefully fought off the instinct and kept driving.
According to the gossip news Chen Qi had read, that villa was where Jomoya Chris kept his mistresses.
He was only acting on instinct and didn't have the original owner's memories, so he certainly had no intention of dealing with those women.
The car continued on, and a few minutes later, it stopped in front of another villa.
Chen Qi casually tapped a few controls on his communicator. The main gate slowly opened, and the smart robot in charge of security retracted its taser.
A wily rabbit has three burrows. This was another one of Jomoya Chris's secret residences.
The villa was empty. Chen Qi moved about with practiced ease, as if he had lived here for a long time, feeling no sense of unfamiliarity.
After enjoying a late-night snack prepared by the robot chef, Chen Qi soaked contentedly in the bathtub and began to read the diary he had just taken from the safe.
"I am Jomoya Chris. By the time you read this diary, I will certainly be dead!"
The first entry of the diary was dated July 7, 17643—five years ago.