Chapter 1: 001

Chapter 1: 001

Jiang Xingzhuo looked at the others in the blank space, her mind racing with thoughts. The others' gazes flickered from face to face, filled with tension, fear, and hostility. No one spoke.

After a while, within the space, a demon with horns and a grotesque appearance emerged, looking incredibly evil.

Its murky yellow eyes had black vertical pupils, and it had dirty-looking black wings. It scanned the souls present with a wicked and greedy gaze, saying, "The game of dominion is about to begin. The winner among you will possess this wondrous, powerful creation of the Creator. Not only resurrection but even becoming a god is possible."

In an instant, everyone's breathing grew heavier, and their gazes toward each other became increasingly wary. There could only be one winner.

They were all already dead, yet they had encountered this strange situation, summoned into this space by this ugly demon. Regardless of whether it was a lie or not, they had no choice but to follow its instructions.

A ball of light emerged from the demon's long, dirty fingernails. "Remember, this creation can only absorb negative human emotions as energy. You can create anything with this negative energy."

"Negative emotions? Fear, jealousy, hatred... To generate these energies, we'll have to become villains," said a middle-aged man, his voice trembling with excitement as he looked at the demon. "I'm a programmer. I can create terrifying games to scare players. Give me the dominion game!"

"A horror game?" The middle-aged man's words sparked a response. A girl in high school uniform immediately sneered, "How many horror game players are there? How much terror can that generate? Why don't you give it to me? I can seduce all the popular male stars in the entertainment industry and instantly stir up jealousy and malice from all their female fans!"

The high school girl spoke proudly, for she had a strikingly beautiful face. She died because of the romantic entanglements she caused. Among those present, none of the women were as beautiful as she was, except... Her gaze paused on Jiang Xingzhuo's face. Jiang Xingzhuo had a beautiful but non-threatening appearance, gentle like water, with clear black eyes and naturally flowing hair—a face that appealed to all ages and genders.

She was the only rival here. However, hmph, she was younger than Jiang Xingzhuo. Even if her face didn't show it, Jiang Xingzhuo's figure, which didn't match her looks, was definitely not something a high school student would have.

"Oh?" The demon seemed intrigued.

The demon's reaction prompted others to speak up.

"Just doing evil deeds, who can't do that? I can form a terrorist organization and spread terror throughout the world."

"I can..."

"..."

To gain malice was far easier than gaining goodwill. In an instant, they vied for ideas.

The demon listened, its grin widening. Its vertical pupils could see the color of everyone's soul. As each evil idea emerged, the originally white or gray souls gradually turned black.

Suddenly, its gaze paused. Amidst these gray-black souls, there was a pure white one.

It was Jiang Xingzhuo. While everyone else scrambled to vie for the opportunity, she remained silent, listening without a word.

A pure white soul... how resolute her spirit must be. How much energy could it generate?

The demon extended its long, crimson tongue and licked its black lips, its gaze turning more sinister.

"Now, let's make a pact. The survivor will possess this creation of the gods. If you die in the game, your soul will be devoured by me."

The clamoring voices suddenly fell silent, replaced by nervous gulps.

"What if more than one survives?" the high school girl asked immediately.

The demon let out a strange laugh. "Then we play until there is only one winner left."

It seemed their earlier ideas hadn't made any difference. Would the methods they proposed be taken away?

"Fine!" Refusing the pact meant immediate disappearance; agreeing gave them a chance to survive.

"Then... who goes first?"

"Me!" the middle-aged man immediately volunteered. His plan was the simplest, but it didn't matter. He had heard the others' plans and could preempt them!

The middle-aged man, with his potbelly, thinning hair, and black-rimmed glasses, was a programmer who had died from overwork.

The others glared at him, regretting being beaten to the punch.

"Very well." The demon tossed the ball of light towards the middle-aged man.

A hole opened beneath his feet, and he fell through. At the same time, a screen appeared in the space, showing everyone the scene and the middle-aged man's data panel.

Dominion: Xiang Qiang

Level: Lv0

Energy Points: 0

Creativity Level: Lv0

Followers: 0

The middle-aged man appeared in a room out of nowhere.

The room looked opulent but dimly lit, giving it a somber atmosphere. Inside, six stern-faced people sat around a round table. They immediately stood up in alarm when someone dropped down from above.

"Who are you?"

The middle-aged man fell to the ground and quickly got up, ready to enter the game. This must be the starting village.

Jiang Xingzhuo looked at the middle-aged man's data panel and noticed the changes.

Player: Xiang Qiang

Level: Lv0

Energy Points: 45 ... 132 ... 190 ... (Energy points are scarce; please generate more nightmares quickly!)

Creativity Level: Lv0 (Create things to increase the possibility of becoming a god!)

Followers: 6 (Low quality)

"Who are you?"

Xiang Qiang: "I..."

"Cut the crap and kill him!"

The middle-aged man was just about to speak in panic when he saw the person closest to him suddenly extend their hand. It stretched like a monster and transformed into a scythe.

A flash of the blade, and the middle-aged man's head flew up, smashing into the wall, his eyes still open as he watched his own blood spray onto the ceiling from the severed neck.

"Ahh!" The high school girl screamed in the blank space.

Everyone else immediately became agitated. No one had expected such an outcome right from the start.

In the scene, the man's body and blood vanished, as if what had just happened was merely an illusion. Time in the room rewound to before the man appeared. The middle-aged man reappeared in the blank space, letting out a terrified scream upon realizing he was back, then sighing in relief. But in the next second, the demon's head elongated like a snake, its mouth splitting open exaggeratedly, swallowing the middle-aged man whole.

Silence fell over everyone, too frightened to make a sound.

Jiang Xingzhuo noticed that the demon's dirty wings seemed a bit fuller after devouring the soul.

The demon licked its lips and looked at the next person.

It was the high school girl, who stepped back in fear, shaking her head. "No, I don't want this!" This game was not what she had imagined!

In the next second, the demon swallowed the high school girl.

"Refusal is also a breach of the contract," the demon said with a smile, its withered muscles seeming to become more plump.

None of them knew that the demon had never intended to let any so-called winner emerge. As the lowest-ranking demon, it couldn't devour souls on its own, but with a contract, it could. These people were all about to become its food! It couldn't wait!

Everyone remaining had realized that making deals with devils would never end well. The demon's bait was only to lure them in.

But now, they had no choice but to find a way out in this desperate situation.

The next person called was the man who proposed forming a terrorist organization, dressed in luxury brands, likely a wealthy individual in life.

He was on high alert, but his eyes flickered, suggesting he was thinking of a way to break through the predicament.

An opening appeared beneath him, and he fell into the same lavish yet dark room, facing the same six people.

"Who?!"

The wealthy man immediately stood steady and raised his hands in surrender. "Hold your horses!"

They did not move rashly, watching the sudden arrival with caution.

Jiang Xingzhuo glanced at the wealthy man's data panel.

Player: Xu Jin

Level: Lv0

Energy Points: 45 ... 132 ... 190 ... (Energy points are scarce; please create more nightmares quickly!)

Creativity Level: Lv0 (Create things to increase the chances of becoming a god!)

Followers: 6 (Low quality)

Jiang Xingzhuo blinked, noticing the data matched Xiang Qiang's. That meant the followers were these six people, and the energy points were the terror they generated in that instant. Low quality likely referred to their low negative emotion values, as they were all strong.

Facing the six people, Xu Jin, remembering the recent killing of the middle-aged man, was extremely nervous but tried to stay calm. "I'm here to join you!"

"What?"

"Our plan has been exposed!"

The largest man among the six stood up abruptly. "Kill him!"

What?

In the next second, a figure flashed past with a blade. The man had only one hand, wielding a sharp long knife, standing behind Xu Jin. Xu Jin stood there stunned, and in the next moment, blood spurted from his body. He was split in half by the one-armed man.

Then, another of the six stepped forward, picking up Xu Jin's head to dig out his brain. But in the next second, Xu Jin's soul returned to the blank space.

Before he could even scream, the demon swallowed him whole.

The third person learned from the previous two. Upon entering the room, without a word, he rushed straight for the window.

However, just as he broke through the window, a tentacle shot out from behind, pulling him back and tearing his body apart without hesitation.

The demon devoured this soul.

The fourth person was the scientist who proposed creating a super virus to infect the world.

"Hold your horses, I'm here to deliver a message," he said with a smile, appearing composed.

He briefly calmed them down, but clearly, these people were plotting something sinister and remained highly vigilant. They would not let a suspicious newcomer leave the room. However, the player knew nothing about their plans and had no idea how to negotiate. Soon, they lost patience.

As they moved to attack, the scientist acted, quickly using the energy he had gathered from them to create a shield and rushed toward the window.

He broke through the window, the shield blocking the pursuing tentacle behind him. Looking at the sunlight outside, he smiled triumphantly. He had grasped the essence of mastering the game.

But in the next second, his smile froze.

He hung in mid-air, a tentacle piercing through the fragile shield and through his body, dragging him back into the room.

The demon devoured this soul.

The fifth person...

"I know nothing! I'm here because I participated in the demon's game! Please spare me..."

"Crunch!" Her brain was crushed.

The sixth one...

"W-weep... Don't kill me..."

"Crunch!"

The seventh one...

...

No matter what methods were used—whether kneeling to beg for mercy or fighting desperately—no one could escape from that conspiratorial room.

In the end, in the blank space, only Jiang Xingzhuo remained.

At this moment, the demon standing before her was no longer the emaciated and filthy creature it had been at first. It was still grotesque and ugly, but its form now appeared twice as tall and solid, with fully feathered wings of deep black. Its yellow eyes were less murky, yet still malevolent.

At this point, if there had been even a trace of blackness in Jiang Xingzhuo's soul, without a contract, the demon could have devoured her. Alas, her soul remained pure white, and the contract became her armor.

But, it didn’t matter; it would soon be able to swallow her whole.

The demon let out a series of eerie cackles and threw the Sovereign System at Jiang Xingzhuo, "It’s your turn."

The light entered Jiang Xingzhuo's body, and an opening appeared beneath her feet. She fell into that room.