The world is like a black box.People manipulate it according to the rules they construct through their own understanding, occasionally achieving remarkable results. They grow convinced that such methods will continue to yield even better outcomes, forgetting that they have never truly comprehended the full workings of the black box.
The progression of things moves through different stages. Some mistake the false for the true, some linger hesitantly on the sidelines, some rush impulsively into the fray, some seek free will, and some overturn the established board. In this vast world, all living beings find their own paths to survival. But who, then, are the monkeys?
Liu Yun picked up a hairpin and, with a playful laugh, placed it on Ge Tianci's head. The hairpin bore the image of a monkey clinging to a cloud, its expression charmingly naive.
Ge Tianci, immersed in his music, paid no attention. Yet all of this was observed by the Reptilian aliens.
That night, in his dreams, he encountered "Smiley Face" once more. The figure was shrouded in a haze of black mist, and Ge Tianci had grown increasingly accustomed to its cold, austere presence. There was a strange sense of reality in surrendering to it.
*"Why does Liu Yun's deity seem so kind to her, granting so many of her wishes?"* Ge Tianci asked. Before him lay a chessboard, as always.
*"Nothing has been granted,"* Smiley Face denied.
*"But—"* Just as Ge Tianci was about to press further, he stopped himself. Smiley Face was not speaking in riddles—it simply chose which questions to answer. This realization cooled his thoughts.
*"The chessboard is like you humans—a bunch of monkeys. These pieces can devour and collide with one another, but they will never communicate,"* Smiley Face replied.
Then what of the implant? This thing was not his alone—how many others possessed it remained unknown.
Smiley Face perceived his doubt and conjured a calligraphy brush. The chessboard transformed into a sheet of rice paper, upon which it wrote:
*"If you presume sainthood, you invite demons."*
Smiley Face had actually answered his question…
Liu Yun's wishes had been fulfilled. Through communion with the divine, she had obtained what she desired. That day, she pressed a bouquet of flowers into Ge Tianci's hands.
*"You speak to it so freely—is there a price to pay?"*
*"Well… for one, I can glimpse fate."* Liu Yun pressed her forehead against his, and where their brows met, a faint heat emanated.
He didn't understand her meaning. When he pressed further, she only smiled. In the dreams that followed, he continued to see her—but now, barriers stood between them, layers of enigmas that made him hesitate. Even when he pounded the walls until his fists bled, the barriers did not budge an inch.
Paintings floated around them—Liu Yun's practice works, many of which had sold for considerable sums.
Her art brimmed with creativity: starry skies, galaxies, a breathtaking interplay of brilliance and depth that always reminded Ge Tianci of the times she leaned against him, explaining nebulae and constellations.
*"Shi Luo Bei Men? What a strange name."* Most of the surrounding star systems bore names ending in three-letter abbreviations, or at most two characters. Only this one stood out as unusual.
Within three months, Liu Yun had produced dozens of paintings—from cosmic vistas to portraits and flowers. A single brush had granted her a universe of imagination. Holding up those paintings to his eyes, he could almost believe he was drifting through an ocean.
**The sixth dimension!** He had finally done it. A faint smile curled Ge Tianci's lips, just as it had when he first breached the second layer of dreams.
The world around him began to shift. No longer was there only Smiley Face, no longer just the chessboard before him. He let himself float in an expanse of ocean, countless parallel worlds unfolding before his eyes.
The method of entering this world had been revealed to him by Liu Yun. The explosive creativity she had displayed in those three months was not due to any innate talent—but to **divine power**.
Liu Yun had a habit of whispering "secrets" to him in moments of intimacy.
And secrets—he would never share them with anyone.
Whether as monkeys or humans, all feared and competed with one another. Not even Faust's poetry could soften the brutality of the cognitive black box.
Things called secrets were matters of survival. **He would tell no one.**
A stranger, a young man, removed his red-framed glasses. The muscles of his arms were sharply defined.
The world before Ge Tianci shattered into fragments. He chose another to step into—one where he saw a familiar chessboard and another figure, eerily similar to Smiley Face. This one wore a mask, almost comical, its elongated arms covered in scales. **A Reptilian, a Lizardman.**
Naturally, his interest lay more with the young man. When Ge Tianci caught sight of his silhouette, when he saw through those red lenses the traces of all implant-bearers, his solitary world had reached its end.
A greater order—a greater storm—awaited him.
Moving cautiously through the fractured barriers between worlds, he controlled his steps, approaching the young man from behind. In his hand, the youth clutched a black crystal. Ge Tianci could even see the redness in his fingers from gripping it so tightly. The sight triggered his instincts, and he strained to silence the noise in his mind, refusing to let it obstruct his approach to the truth.
He saw the name card on the young man's desk: **Luo Nanchuan.**
Before Luo Nanchuan lay a chessboard as well. The Lizardman's gaze, piercing through the mask, exuded a frigid cruelty. Unflinching, Luo Nanchuan raised a hand and **shattered the Black King.**
Ge Tianci's eyes widened.
*"Black or white, victory is the same. Even if we are all monkeys, humans must survive. That's all there is to it."* Luo Nanchuan's right arm struck the chessboard, the veins on his hand standing out, the muscles of his arm taut with restrained power.
Just as Ge Tianci, drawn to this victorious youth, prepared to step further into his world—
A flash of gold shot toward him. The Lizardman's eyes gleamed. Ge Tianci barely raised his arms in time to block it, but the shock of the attack shattered his focus, fully exposing his position.
*Not hitting my eyes was the only mercy…* Luo Nanchuan's sharp gaze locked onto him. Later, Ge Tianci would recall that in the aftermath of the game, there had been a quiet, lethal fire burning in those eyes—like the flame at the core of life itself.
A searing pain shot through his arms—
And Ge Tianci jolted awake.
He had not yet mastered the use of divine power. And the name **Luo Nanchuan** lingered in his mind, impossible to shake…
Was **he** the next bearer of the implant?
Ge Tianci's mind, like a compressed sponge, began to expand with thought.
Luo Nanchuan did not seem like someone to be trifled with. And yet—when facing the Lizardman, he had been gripping a crystal with desperate intensity.
What did it mean? Ge Tianci thought of his own experiences, and in the night sky of his mind, the spark of intuition flared to life. Outside, thunder rumbled in the distance.
**Using danger as bait—the storm was coming.**