The campfire crackled, casting our three shadows onto the walls of the abandoned relay station, elongating and distorting them like writhing specters.

"Are you... afraid of Us?"


Chongzhen's question hit me like a bucket of ice water, jolting me from my chaotic thoughts.

I raised my head, looking directly into his eye sockets—dark as abysses with dancing flames reflected within. I knew this wasn't a casual question. This was his evolved "Turing test," complete with logical traps.

If I answered "yes," I'd expose my weakness, confirming I was merely an emotional human tool he could discard at will.


If I answered "no," I'd be telling an obvious lie. Any rational being would fear him after witnessing his true power.

I needed a third option.


"I'm not afraid of you," I began calmly, my voice quiet but clear. "What I fear is the 'uncertainty' of 'you'."

I pointed at him, then at my own head.

"I am your navigation system, responsible for providing optimal solutions. But navigation requires a clear destination. What's yours? Revenge? Destruction? Or simply... feeding?" I stared at him. "An unstable weapon is far more dangerous than a powerful enemy. It might explode before firing, destroying the one who wields it."

[Negotiation Check: Success]

[Your "metaphor" and "logical framework" have been successfully understood by the target's "AI"]

[Analysis: Target is attempting to understand the concept of "cooperation" rather than "exploitation"]

Emperor Chongzhen fell silent. The black mist surrounding him ceased churning. In those pitch-black eye sockets, for the first time, appeared prolonged fluctuations representing "high-speed calculation."

"We... want to take back everything that belongs to Us," he finally spoke after a long pause, the multiple overlapping voices in his speech weakening, becoming closer to "Chongzhen" himself. "Bandits, barbarians, treacherous ministers... all who stole Our empire must die."

"Not enough." I shook my head, interrupting him directly. "This goal is too small."

Chongzhen's eyes turned sharply toward me, the surrounding air instantly dropping several degrees. Wang Chengen froze in terror, abandoning his horse-grooming.

Under this pressure, I continued: "Your enemy isn't Li Zicheng, nor the Manchu beyond the border, or even that general with the bronze mirror. Your enemy is the 'gods' behind them."

"The 'new god' Li Zicheng worships wants to turn this land into His pasture. The northern barbarians serve the 'blood god' from the ice plains. Even those decadent officials in Jiangnan secretly sacrifice to ancient entities representing 'wealth' and 'corruption'."

"What you call revenge is merely fighting at the mortal level. Even if you kill them all, their 'gods' will establish new proxies. When Li Zicheng dies, there will be Wang Zicheng, Liu Zicheng. This is a game played at the divine level, and you, Zhu Youjian..."

I emphasized each word:

"...are the only one qualified to overturn the entire board... as a player."

I subtly reframed the concept from "game" to "chess match."

"Your target shouldn't be revenge against mortals." I stood up, walked before him, and lowered my voice to a seductive whisper. "Your target should be 'cleansing.' Cleansing all the false gods who have stolen the 'Mandate of Heaven' from this land. You don't need to reclaim the throne... you need to become the only god of this land."

[Bewitchment Check: Critical Success]

[Your "Dimensional Theory Elevation" has created a massive impact on the target]

[The internal logic of the "Black Dragon's Curse" is being rewritten...]

[Warning: The target's "autonomy" is rapidly increasing, which may lead to unpredictable consequences]

At this moment, the black mist surrounding Chongzhen began to boil violently!

He suddenly stood up, a terrifying wave of energy exploding outward with him at its center, scattering the campfire in all directions. Wang Chengen screamed as he was blown several meters away.

"The only... god..."

He whispered, his voice filled with unprecedented bewilderment and longing, like a child seeing the starry sky for the first time.

The "Black Dragon's Curse" within him originated from the Elder Gods' power, its essence being chaos and destruction. I was using an "order"-based, imperial logic-filled "ultimate goal" to place a rein called "Mandate of Heaven" on this chaotic power.

This was the only method... I could conceive to control him.

"That's right." Facing his overwhelming, all-devouring aura, I continued, "But to achieve this, you need support. You need armies, capable ministers, a stable power base. You need to govern and strategize like a true emperor. Not just destroy like a beast."

"You need... me."

I looked directly into his eyes and spoke these final, crucial words.

The imposing aura around the Chongzhen Emperor gradually subsided.

He gave me a penetrating look—no longer viewing a "tool," but seeing... an equal, someone worthy of dialogue... an "anomaly."

"I... understand," he nodded, his voice returning to that cold, emotionless tone. "From now on, you are my 'Chief Minister.' My actions will prioritize your 'strategies.' However..."

His tone shifted.

"...if your strategies prove wrong, I will personally 'reclaim' all your value."

A chill ran through my heart—I knew exactly what he meant by "reclaim."

"It's a deal," I answered.

This conversation with the abyss, held in an abandoned relay station, had no witnesses, no ceremony.

But we both knew that a new, devil-like "sovereign-subject contract" based on mad logic had been formally established.

I was no longer simply a navigator, and he was no longer purely destruction.

We had become... monster sovereign and subject, with the entire world as our chessboard.