Forge a path to success

"I want a straw man," the woman said.

(Due to the author's back injury, there will be a one-day break tomorrow.)

Oh, my waist, my waist... How could this happen, how could this happen...)

Chapter 197 Single-mindedly devoted to the enemy

The rented room was quiet for almost half a minute, while the sounds of a drunken couple arguing on the street were particularly jarring.

Chu Hengkong sat down on the stool, rubbing his temples vigorously. He asked again to confirm, "What did you say?"

"I want a straw man," the redhead said clearly. "If you want something more elegant, I want sex."

"Are you out of your mind?!"

The redhead laughed heartily. She wore a low-cut evening gown, the fabric so thin it was like a veil, with a slit that reached her thighs. Her outfit was so revealing that even the top hostess of the nightclub would be ashamed of herself.

She extinguished her cigarette, lay on her side on the bed, and pointed her finger at the ugly-looking assassin.

"To be honest, I'm quite satisfied with my life now," the redhead said. "There's a fight every day, huh? And they're all pretty exciting, so I'm never short of fun. I've killed quite a few people; in the past six months in the underworld, I've killed almost as many as I did in the previous ten years. As for material comforts, I don't skimp on myself; my food, clothing, housing, and transportation are all pretty good."

So I don't really have high requirements, just one. That's it for the straw doll.

Chu Hengkong's face was as stiff as a zombie's: "I'll fucking tear you apart alive."

"No thanks, I don't like that." The redhead rolled over and pulled a new pack of cigarettes from the valley floor. It was Marlboro, the red and white packaged brand, the "Red Marlboro" favored by gangsters. He used to smoke this kind, from delivering packages to becoming a hitman.

The redhead lit her cigarette by wiping it on the counter. She took a satisfying drag and handed over the pack: "Want one?"

Chu Hengkong subconsciously reached out, then slapped his own hand away with a sour face: "I've given it up!"

"I'll just have one in my heart, it won't break my vow." The redhead said dismissively, "Besides, I've already smoked one, it's no different from you smoking one."

"We can't talk about cigarettes."

“Okay, sure! You promised her, you definitely won’t change your mind.” The redhead waved her cigarette butt. “But we never promised to practice virginity training, right? Nor did we pledge our lives to anyone, right? Boss, let’s not be biased, let’s just tell this whole mess objectively.”

"The world's number one assassin, invincible, rich and powerful, with no vices, and surrounded by beautiful women both before and after his transmigration, and none of them are lesbians." The red-haired woman pointed at him excitedly, "Someone like that is still a virgin at 22, don't you think there's something wrong with you?!"

Chu Hengkong nearly choked on his breath. He snatched the cigarette and stomped it out forcefully: "I'm not interested!"

"What do you mean I'm not interested? I am!" the redhead argued. "My eyes were glued to Qingxia when she was taking a bath! When she saved Qingye, all I could think about was body painting! And a few days ago, she even launched a night raid on Ji Huaisu!"

If we weren't in the Despair Wilderness right now, you'd be charging in every day—waaaaah!

Chu Hengkong shoved his hand over her mouth, his expression ferocious: "Shut up."

The redhead raised her hands in surrender, looking aggrieved: "Fine, I won't go into the details, you know what I mean. Tell me, isn't this absurd? You're an assassin, you could be a charming detective even if you switched to being a detective, what's wrong with sleeping with someone?"

Chu Hengkong waved his hands repeatedly, organizing his thoughts for a long time: "I don't intend to..."

"General Chu, there's really no room for negotiation with you doing this~" the red-haired woman said in a coquettish voice.

"Let's not talk about this until I find a partner," Chu Hengkong said frankly. "That's it. Once I've solved this problem and achieved my goal, I'll have the time to look for a partner. That's the bare minimum."

"No, no, no, darling, you've completely misunderstood me." The redhead coiled around him like a snake. "I don't care at all about your romances, your true love, or any of your other messy personal relationships. I don't care what you do. I just want to sleep with people, and I'd wholeheartedly support you even if you periodically find a pretty one to solve your problems! I'd cooperate 100%! I'd be completely devoted to you!"

Chu Hengkong's face was ashen. He realized that this freak probably didn't care about social relationships at all. There was no point in reasoning with someone like her, because all she cared about was pleasure, nothing else.

The red-haired woman leaned close to his ear and urged him on, "How about it? Compared to those demonic fallen machines, I'm the most cooperative one, right? Such a cheap deal won't come again, so don't hesitate, take action!"

“Okay,” the assassin said. “I think that’s a good idea too.”

The redhead lay down on the bed, excitedly hugging herself, her face flushed: "It's settled! That's how it is! As long as we're having a good time, we'll always be of one mind!"

Chu Hengkong tossed his coat onto the stool and began unbuttoning his shirt.

"...What are you doing?"

"As you said, find someone pretty to solve the problem," the assassin said calmly. "You're quite pretty, so I'll fuck you then."

“No, calm down.” The redhead’s face paled. “That’s not what I meant. You’ve probably misunderstood me. There’s no point in you doing this. I mean…”

Chu Hengkong grabbed her shoulders and pushed her down onto the bed.

"No, no, no! Please!" The redhead struggled frantically. "I want to have sex with someone, I don't want to be raped!"

"It's too late," Chu Hengkong said coldly. "The deal has been reached, so let's leave it at that."

"We can talk! We can talk!" the redhead screamed desperately. "I can accept pure love too!"

"It's too much trouble to talk about something that can be solved with a little activity." Chu Hengkong reached for his evening gown. "Let's leave it at that."

The redhead broke out in goosebumps and broke out in a cold sweat. She raised her hands in immediate surrender: "Stop! I promise to cooperate and won't cause trouble again. You name your conditions, you set the timeframe, whatever you say goes! Please stop!"

Chu Hengkong stopped what he was doing and patted her face: "That's right, there can only be talk if there is sincerity. I also feel that it is not a good thing to continue to be alone. Let's do it within three years after the goal is achieved."

"It's been so long... and the boss isn't your girlfriend..." the redhead said with a gloomy face. "Damn it, can we not drive ourselves crazy? If this keeps up, next time she really rapes me... I might not even object..."

"Focus on your career first, then think about family." Chu Hengkong picked up his cigarette case and tossed it out the window. "That's it for today."

The redhead rolled weakly twice, leaned into his arms, and turned into blood that seeped into his heart. The heartbeat in his chest suddenly became much stronger, and a multitude of thoughts arose in his mind.

Chu Hengkong sat on the edge of the bed and breathed a sigh of relief.

I always manage to shrink back at the crucial moment; it really comes down to me.

This negotiation was truly perilous. If the red-haired woman indicated she didn't care and would come at him, then he would have to draw his sword and fight a proper battle. Considering his previous 48 failed attempts, this duel would most likely end in mutual destruction. The red-haired woman was negotiating out of desperation, and he was also forced to negotiate out of necessity.

He didn't leave immediately, pondering the female demon's earlier behavior. This embodiment of power seemed to be extremely driven by desires, belligerent, bloodthirsty, greedy, and lustful—just like Qingxia's repressed nature. If the nature of a race could be so wicked…

We need to find out the details afterward.

He crushed the bottle and threw it in the trash can. He opened the window to let the smoke dissipate. This was the apartment he rented when he worked as a deliveryman, and he continued to live here for a long time after meeting his boss. He lived a very shabby life back then, and those messy habits haven't changed much to this day.

"That's outrageous," Chu Hengkong sighed.

He left the rented room, pondering what the next room would look like. Chronologically, it should be the villa the owner had provided for him, or perhaps the Verus family's training ground. The atmosphere of the location could roughly indicate the nature of the power; the silver-haired tentacle girl—whatever she was—wouldn't choose an overly aggressive environment, while the True Machine would inevitably choose a place suitable for combat.

Whoever comes next, he has made corresponding plans. The first two heretical incarnations have proven that letting the other party offer opinions is useless. This is about reconciling with oneself, so the initiative must be in one's own hands.

The door opened, revealing a jade-paved floor, walls covered with weapons, and the eyes of a dragon god statue reflecting candlelight. Chu Hengkong immediately knew who his next opponent was. He drew his right hand like a knife and tapped it against his neck, just in time to block the incoming white sword light.

The alloy android discarded its sword, its outer armor automatically transforming into a scabbard. A new longsword slashed out at close range, a relentless, unstoppable strike. Chu Hengkong pointed two fingers together at the middle of the longsword, intercepting the attack precisely. The alloy android raised its left hand, and Chu Hengkong's right palm lifted its wrist. The fully charged beam of light deflected, creating a perfectly circular hole in the training room.

The alloy humanoid glided backward as if ice skating, golden light shimmering beneath its mask. Chu Hengkong didn't even glance at it, sitting cross-legged on the ground.

"Stop with that nonsense, it won't work on me," he said calmly. "You can only talk to me."

A broadcast came from beneath the alloy mask: "Now beginning the 49th self-purification experiment—"

"You can't beat me in real life, and you're even less likely to beat me in your heart."

Chu Hengkong tapped the ground, and the jade bricks flipped over, transforming into a wooden floor made of interlocking strips. A tea table rose from the ground, and teacups appeared out of thin air, their fragrant aroma wafting through the air.

"..." The alloy humanoid sheathed its long sword and sat down opposite him. It removed its helmet, revealing its pure white long hair neatly combed. Its face, as pale as an albino, had blood-red eyes that radiated murderous intent, like two ominous stars.

“Truth will not be compromised,” the mechanical woman said.

“But you will, otherwise you wouldn’t have sat down.” Chu Heng blew on an imaginary tea stalk. “Face reality, you can beat me 48 times with a few other bastards, but you will definitely lose to me in a one-on-one fight.”

"The win rate when fighting alongside demonic forces is 84.3%."

“For the first 48 times, you bombed everyone else along with them,” Chu Hengkong pointed out. “You cannot choose to join forces with outsiders. That’s why I said you can only talk to me.”

The mechanical woman's eyes moved mechanically, like a camera, and Chu Hengkong guessed she was thinking. He immediately interrupted her thoughts, using a little trick his boss had taught him: when you're bluffing, never give your enemy time to think.

"There is no life-or-death conflict between us. The outcome was already decided after the battle in Yingshi Town; you can only live on with me."

The mechanical woman stood her ground: "I will destroy your ghostly body and use your form to become an Imperial soldier again."

“You are already my backbone, and when the time comes, you will inevitably die with me.” Chu Hengkong said with certainty, “So let’s talk, okay? I sincerely believe that you have no need to harbor murderous intent towards all living beings around you. Apart from your Truth Empire, I have never seen any other heretics so mentally ill.”

"The truth has already been established, and I must annihilate all life," said the mechanical woman.

"reason."

"The world has long since succumbed to the abyss, and all life is but a nascent form of heresy." The True Machine Woman's eyes were as red as blood. "You believe that fighting against heresy is your own justice. But in the eyes of the Empire, you are all world threats that must be eradicated. The enemy of my enemy is still my enemy, and the Empire of Truth will not compromise!"

Chu Hengkong tapped the table, not feeling particularly shocked.

So far, he's encountered heretics everywhere he goes, never finding a safe place. The dire situation of the Submerged Realm is a fact before everyone's eyes. The Empire believes the world is beyond saving, all life has been polluted, and therefore it wants to be the purifier of civilization. This is a common theme in science fiction novels—those rampaging AIs and self-willed robots have been written about thousands of times by science fiction writers of the Golden Age, so much so that these concepts immediately come to mind when he sees Ultimate Mechs.

But he still said, "You're going a bit too far."

"You are all enemies of the Empire—"

“I’m not talking about your concept. Your loyalty to your country is commendable; you’re a good soldier, and as your opponent, I respect you.” Chu Hengkong deliberately beat around the bush. “But your actions, if I may be frank, have a fatal flaw.” He drawled, knowing what the other party cared about most, “A very, very fatal flaw…”

"Your communication efficiency is extremely low," the mechanical woman said coldly.

"That's what I wanted to say." Chu Hengkong nodded in a pretentious manner. "Your kill efficiency is too low, I can't stand it."

The next second, the teacup flew into the air.

The mechanical woman slammed her hands on the tea table, leaned half her body forward, and said with utmost focus, "Tell me your optimization strategy."

Chapter 198 Single-mindedly devoted to the enemy (3)

"First, let's establish the premise. To improve the efficiency of killing enemies, we can't just look at the quantity and ignore the quality. Killing a hundred non-material beings won't earn as much merit as killing a single demon. Do you agree?"

The mechanical woman nodded: "Agreed. The energy recovered from destroying a single Demon Slayer is approximately 641.97 times the mass of an average life unit."

"The second premise," Chu Hengkong held up two fingers, "is that because the strength gap between adjacent particles on the path of ascension is extremely large, the combat merits of low-particle units cannot be converted into the combat merits of high-particle units by simply stacking up the numbers."

"Even if you kill a hundred Demon Slayers, you'll still only have a Level 2 Legendary... oh no, I mean, Battle Merit. But if you kill one Three-Demon, you'll only have a Level 3 Battle Merit, far surpassing that True Mech who collected a hundred Level 2 Battle Merits. Do you agree?"

“Partially agree.” The mechanical woman said meticulously, “Before the Empire, there are no legends.”

You actually remembered Van der Rohe's words... You're not still proud of them, are you...?

Chu Heng cleared his throat, his expression benevolent, like an old man selling crutches on TV: "So, based on the premise of shared resources, we can conclude that, with equal resource consumption, killing high-quality heretics is the most efficient way to achieve merit."

“Completely agree.” The mechanical woman nodded repeatedly. “When there are no special missions, killing high-quality outsiders should be the top priority.”

“But your choice is completely irrational and inefficient,” Chu Hengkong sighed. “You have brought shame upon the empire.”

The cyborg woman froze at the table, utterly shocked: "I didn't! I will take over your body and recycle your resources as quickly as possible—"

"How many can you recover?" Chu Hengkong sneered. "Even in the best-case scenario where you wipe us out, you take down two point-3s and two point-2s. That's a mediocre achievement, but it's still passable."

But in the desolate wilderness, there is still a resurrected particle 7, and its horde of mixed 56 minions!

Chu Hengkong spread his hands wide: "Can you kill them all by yourself? Use your computational circuits to think about it! Can you do it alone?!"

“I can’t do it,” the mechanical woman said. This was the border of the Heavenly Prison, and she couldn’t apply for an upgrade.

"That's a fact, you can't do it! But we can!" Chu Hengkong looked sincerely into the mechanical eyes, "Think about the battle not long ago. You, me, plus Huaisu, Qingye, and Qingxia. Together we took down a resurrected particle 6."

But if you're the only one left, you'll have no chance. The Demon King's army still has several Fearbringers, and so many high-quality heretics! You won't be able to do anything then. After you kill those few quality 2 and quality 3 enemies, you'll only be able to hide in the desert, pitifully eating sand, watching helplessly as the Fearbringers swagger around. You so desperately want to serve the Empire, yet you can't even slay a real enemy!

"I..." the mechanical woman panicked, "I will fight them to the very end!"

“You can’t beat him,” Chu Hengkong said coldly. “You’re wasting the empire’s resources to satisfy yourself.”

The mechanical woman leaned against the coffee table, her gaze vacant. The calculation circuit's results perfectly matched her words: even if it completely consumed Chu Hengkong and the surrounding resources, it couldn't upgrade to level 3 without approval. No matter how much material was added within the existing framework, no qualitative change could occur.

It cannot defeat the Demon King's army on its own.

"Are you going to let these heretics escape?" Chu Hengkong pressed aggressively, like a military drill instructor. "Are you going to just stand by and watch them pollute the Chen Dong Realm and turn the world into a pile of shit?"

"I don't want to!" the mechanical woman said anxiously.

"So what should you do?" Chu Hengkong shook her shoulders forcefully. "Think! The most efficient way! What should you do!"

"I, I should..." The mechanical woman drove the simulation verification program, and all calculations pointed to one answer: the most efficient and optimal solution.

It was incredulous: "I should...work with you!"

"You finally understand," Chu Hengkong said approvingly. "You've figured it out!"

"Don't try to deceive me!" the mechanical woman roared in fury. "The Empire will never compromise with heretics!"

"What do you mean by compromise?" Chu Hengkong coaxed. "You made the decision to cooperate temporarily. What did you give up? Did you give up killing me?"

"No." The mechanical woman shook her head.

"Have you given up on killing the heretics?"

"No." The mechanical woman continued to shake her head.

Chu Hengkong patted its shoulder hard: "You didn't give up anything, you just changed the order of eliminating the enemy and gained more merits - that's wisdom! And it's your unique advantage! If you calculate it, you might even be able to kill Vansalar, and you can rid the empire of a great scourge."

Do other true mechs have this condition? Can other true mechs do it?!