Paul Stryker, the World Chess Champion who defeated the super-AI "Abyss" and reached the pinnacle of humanity, is poisoned at the award ceremony in front of a roaring crowd. In his dying moment, all he sees is a gloved hand calmly picking up the black king chess piece that crowned his reign, accompanied by the words: "A mind that beat AI... too bad it belongs to a dead man." When he opens his eyes again, he is reborn as Alex—a despised "worthless adopted son" in the wealthy Carey family, constantly choked and sneered at by everyone. Facing scheming relatives trying to seize the estate, bullies tormenting his sister, a "child prodigy with millions of fans" who cheats using AI, and a corporate raider hiring hitmen—he plays the fool and conquers them all, one move at a time. From an unsolvable "endgame in three moves," to a "blood sacrifice" with a queen sacrifice, to a "blindfold telepathic match" played without even seeing the board, he crushes every opponent in overwhelming fashion—and all who once stood above him kneel and beg for mercy. But just as he traces the clues back to the mastermind, at his coronation as the new chess king, he comes face to face with a mirror image of himself—holding that same black king, smiling: "We've been playing this game for a long time." A shocking reversal. A twisted mystery. Full-throttle genius revenge and face-slapping satisfaction at its peak.
