Chapter 6

Translator: Lordbluefire

Before the middle-aged man lifted his head, Qing Chen had thought that the man might be deaf because the tremendous commotion in his surroundings did not affect him even once.

However, after the middle-aged man lifted his head, Qing Chen nearly thought he might be the one to have gone deaf instead. The original raucous noises in the plaza went silent in an instant, and there was not a single squeak of an unnecessary sound.

Everyone around them had a look of shock and others with indescribable expressions, as though the middle-aged man’s identity had set it off.

This was because the middle-aged man had never cared about other people’s pleas for help in the past.

Suddenly, Qing Chen let out a breath of relief; it was confirmed that he had made the right bet.

The middle-aged man didn’t say a word to Qing Chen but calmly advanced the red pawn on his chessboard by 1 rank.

For the black chess pieces that the middle-aged man was managing, he retreated his premier piece to rank 5, file 7, killing off the pawn that crossed the river earlier.

At a distance, Qing Chen watched the chessboard quietly. This endgame was called “Four Bandits Capture the King”, and it was rather famous on Earth. There were two ways to set it up and the one in front of him was the more treacherous variation.

An endgame usually referred to the black piece’s guaranteed victory, while the red opponent could not play for even a draw. If it was a draw, then it meant they had resolved the endgame.

That said, it did not satisfy Qing Chen to settle with just a draw.

Four Bandits Capture the King was an endgame with a few peculiarities. Four of the red pawns had crossed Chu River to the bottom line, and both chariots were still in.

Both sides seemed evenly matched based on the current situation, but every move in this endgame was actually dangerous and surrounded by traps. The black pieces would only need a single move to win this game, while the red pieces would have to fight for their survival. If the player wasn’t careful and became complacent in thinking that victory was in the bag, then they’d lose instead.

This was an endgame that seemed hopeful but would make someone sink gradually into despair.

“Continue,” the middle-aged man said flatly.

Qing Chen replied, “Red soldier to rank 2, file 3.”

There was a glimmer in the middle-aged man’s eyes. It seemed like he was genuinely interested this time around. However, he was too lazy to bother with fiddling with the chessboard. Instead, he closed his eyes and played a game of blind chess with Qing Chen. “Black general advance to rank 6, file 1.”

Qing Chen closed his eyes too. “The red chariot at the back to file 4.”

“Black premier retreat to rank 7, file 9.”

In the sixth round, Qing Chen spoke up abruptly, “Red chariot to rank 1, file 7!”

The middle-aged man opened his eyes once more, feeling startled as he looked at Qing Chen. “Black premier retreat to rank 5, file 7.”

Their exchange for the first five moves was ordinary, but at the sixth move, both of them began trading blows!

Black captured red! Red captured black! It was a bloodbath with mourning soldiers littered across the board!

Both parties on the board were determined and were extremely cruel.

The two of them were like the calmest generals leading on the battlefield, willing to sacrifice anything for the ultimate victory.

In Four Bandits Capture the King, it forced both parties to fight with a sense of valor, and behind this valor was a careful calculation on both sides.

When the match started, Qing Chen’s four red pawns that had crossed the river looked fiercer in comparison. However, he had given them up one by one for his other scheme, save for one!

Red chariot to rank 1, file 4.

Black general to rank 4, file 5.

Red cannon to rank 4, file 5.

Black chariot to rank 3, file 5.

On the 15th move, Qing Chen finally let out a long breath. “Red soldier to rank 5, file 1!”

The last scheme was revealed!

Capture the King!

It was also this moment that revealed the indescribable charm behind the resolution to the endgame, Four Bandits Capture the King. They had each killed at the Chu River and Han Border, and it made the middle-aged man feel as though they were strategists pitted against each other on a real battlefield.

This game of chess was ruthless at every move.

What surprised the middle-aged man was that the man in front of him looked young yet did not possess an ounce of hesitation when he sacrificed his pieces to change the game.

It was important to not abandon or give up, but war was war. How could any war be without sacrifice?

The middle-aged man watched the young man in front of him quietly as the other party met his eyes, looking dignified and stubborn.

It was as if he would fight his way out of this desperate situation and open up a new phase of life.

The middle-aged man understood now. He might have been playing chess, but the other person was fighting for survival in an environment filled with ferocious steel beasts. Their attitude was already different.

No one noticed, but at this moment, 81 out of the 210 security cameras within the prison fort had turned toward Qing Chen.

The lens of the security cameras swirled and shrunk, as though they were trying to focus on Qing Chen’s face.

Nobody knew who was focusing behind the cameras.

The middle-aged man laughed and turned the black general upside down on the board. “Pretty interesting. Only a few people know how to play chess in this day and age. Let’s continue tomorrow.”

After saying that, he clasped his hands behind his back and headed to the library zone, leaving the chessboard that no one dared to touch on the dining table.

The cat looked like a ball of fur when it was lying down and it didn’t look big.

It was only when it stretched that Qing Chen realized that it was so big. It was almost a meter long and abnormally strong.

Normally, a cat’s movement was as light as a feather and was nicknamed a catwalk. This cat, however, walked with a tiger’s stance.

Everyone who was paying attention in the plaza was stunned. Did the young man just win the endgame?

To be honest, they didn’t understand chess. When both players began a round of blind chess, they sank into confusion.

It was because there were too many activities in this era, and each of them was more exciting and entertaining than chess.

They could get pleasure from a microchip and could even log their consciousness into a virtual network. This was a happy and extremely cheap era. Hence, only a few played chess, and even if they were good at it, could they win against artificial intelligence?

However, in their eyes, how could the middle-aged man lose? It was this part about Qing Chen’s win that surprised them.

No matter chess or battle, how could the middle-aged man ever lose?

In all honesty, Qing Chen found it rather strange as well. The middle-aged man didn’t have any mechanical limbs, and neither did the two followers. But why did these ferocious steel beasts in the prison hold him in such high regard?

The young man who had stopped Qing Chen earlier blinked at him. “How amazing. I’m Lin Xiaoxiao and he’s Ye Wan. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Thereafter, he followed the middle-aged man with the other young man named Ye Wan.

Qing Chen still didn’t know the middle-aged man’s name, only that of his two followers, but it was undoubtedly a good start.

The frozen atmosphere in the plaza gradually came alive following the departure of the middle-aged man, Ye Wan, and Lin Xiaoxiao to the reading zone.

Before this, the prisoners who were welcoming the newcomers had been dragging them into the prison cell continuously. Including Qing Chen, there were 12 newcomers in total, and the prisoners had dragged nine into it already.

When Qing Chen looked at those prisoners, however, no one was planning anything against him anymore.

Suddenly, a youth with mechanical legs ran to Qing Chen and said in a panic, “We’re all new here. Help me, and I’ll do as you say from now on.”

The surrounding prisoners watched on coldly. Unable to grasp the situation at the moment, they definitely couldn’t lay a finger on Qing Chen. But if he wanted to protect the other newcomers, then they were unwilling to budge either.

Instead, Qing Chen ignored the youth and acted as though he didn’t hear a word.

The prisoners laughed and forcefully dragged the youth away.

The youth bellowed, “My uncle is the director of City No. 17’s Chang Ming Corporation, you people…”

Before he could finish, the other prisoners guffawed. “If it’s not in the top five corporations, then it’s not worth a mention. Even your uncle would have to behave if he was the one in this prison, much less you.”

Qing Chen listened to all of it without a word and gained some useful information. He was screening the identities of these newcomers, wanting to see if other Earthlings were hiding among them.

He had transmigrated and did not have a shred of memory from this world. Even now, he didn’t know how many years they had sentenced him to.

Qing Chen believed that the other transmigrators did not have this kind of memory either. Hence, looking at this youth who could name a relationship outside of this prison, Qing Chen was afraid they were not from the “same village”.

Out of the 12 new prison mates, it seemed that the only Earthlings were him and the young man who broke down earlier.

It was unclear why, but Qing Chen didn’t feel the least bit dispirited. On the contrary, there was a part of him that was looking forward to this entirely different… life.

A different life.

That phrase was truly enticing.

It was like your life was already a mess and someone presented you with a button saying, press this and you will have an unusual life.

But there were two possibilities after pressing the button.

It might be for the better, or it might be for the worst.

Would you press it?

Qing Chen thought he might.

It seemed like he was always an extra on Earth. His father thought he was a nuisance and his mother had a new family. Even his relatives only had brief contact with him.

Qing Chen had already spent two Spring Festivals* alone.

So, if your past life was always gray, then no matter how dangerous, unknown, or scary the new world was, it would still be something to look forward to.

This world was different. For Qing Chen, who arrived here from Earth, it was like taking a risk in rebelling and also like an escape from his isolated past.

If this unforeseen event related to the countdown didn’t happen, he probably would have studied diligently and strived hard to support himself. Then, with the help of his unique recollection ability, he would gain admission into an excellent and far-away university and never return.

However, it didn’t seem like there was any meaning to that life either.

He believed that not many had transmigrated from Earth with him. Even if there were thousands, even tens of thousands, it was still a small ratio compared to the total population.

This fact made him feel like he was special.

Countdown 39:31:29.

Right now, Qing Chen silently sized up everything in his surroundings. He wanted to record the information of everything he could see and take his time to analyze it when he was back in his cell.

A holographic projection displaying the time hung above the alloy door to the side of the plaza: 8.29 a.m.

The three-dimensional hologram projection was novel and eye-catching. It was 29 minutes past eight in the morning.

At this moment, while everyone else had shifted their attention, a youth suddenly approached Qing Chen and spoke in a quiet voice, “You* have finally arrived. As expected, you are as good-looking as the legends say. I’m Lu Guangyi, Qing Yan arranged for me to be sent here three months ago. You can just call me Little Lu.”

Qing Chen: “???”

He was stunned as he regarded the other.

The youth named Lu Guangyi seemed to be about 24 or 25 years old. He donned an inch-long black hair and had mechanical limbs on both his right arm and left leg. He even had a mechanical eye. Qing Chen could see the spiral patterns in his eye as it shifted its focus.

The mechanical parts on him looked different from most prisoners. Be it its streamlined design or the material, it all looked utterly exquisite.

Qing Chen searched his memory, tracing back the other person’s activity record.

This was when Qing Chen realized that Lu Guangyi had looked at him 21 times within more than an hour, and this was only based on the number of times Lu Guangyi was in his field of vision.

Qing Chen didn’t recognize this guy, but it was clear from this guy’s tone and the way he used honorifics that he knew who Qing Chen was.

After listening to the meaning behind Lu Guangyi’s words, it seemed that there was also a reason they sent Qing Chen to this prison.

However, out of fear that he might expose his identity, Qing Chen didn’t want to engage in too many interactions with Lu Guangyi for now. “I don’t need your help yet. I’ll be fine settling things on my own.”

Lu Guangyi shook his head vigorously, like a rattle drum. “No can do, no can do. I must serve you well.”

Qing Chen shook his head as well and replied, “No one’s dignity is more precious than the other. You don’t have to address me with such a term.”

At that moment, Lu Guangyi flattered, “Don’t. You can instruct me freely in the future. You can treat me as your* lap dog, the type that licks your feet!”

Qing Chen was speechless. What kind of person would spout such baseless words? “Then what if I have athlete’s foot?”

Lu Guangyi replied with no shame, “Then, I’ll lick them for you till they get better!*”

Qing Chen was silent for a beat. “… Bullshit.”

Despite restraining himself from speaking any nonsense, he still couldn’t help lamenting.

Even Qing Chen felt a little stupid now. This was his body and his consciousness transmigrated with him, so how did he have such a pre-existing and unusual relationship with the people here?

That was to say, in the eyes of the people from this world, had he truly been alive here for that many years?

Seeing as Qing Chen wasn’t talking, Lu Guangyi whispered, “I was still wondering why you didn’t seek me out first thing in the morning. In the end, it seemed like you were planning to make use of your* identity as a newcomer to get close to Li Shutong. That’s brilliant. Our plans will run smoother if we have Li Shutong’s help in No.18 Prison Fort.”

Qing Chen: “…”

What plan?

What are you talking about?

Can you make yourself clearer?!

Like a soliloquy, Lu Guangyi continued, “I’ve been here for three months and have assembled a bunch of people you can use. Don’t worry, they won’t let you down.”

The youth chattered continuously.

Qing Chen thought Lu Guangyi was a bit of a chatterbox, so he merely listened on without speaking. Not that he knew how to reply either.

Just like a game of “Who is the Undercover”*, when you drew the blank card, you had to wait for others to speak before you did. Otherwise, if the word they got was “urine” for example, and you spoke first with “drinkable”, then it would become a huge issue.

Qing Chen searched in his brain and realized that when breakfast was served, almost a hundred people were revolving around Lu Guangyi obscurely. Every one of them had mechanical limbs.

It seemed those were the “underlings” Lu Guangyi incorporated after his arrival.

Lu Guangyi noticed that Qing Chen still didn’t speak and spoke up quietly again, “But you have to be careful of Li Shutong too. Hanging around such a person is like scheming with tigers. Who knows, we might get caught up in a passive… Sorry, I talked too much.”

It was only then that Qing Chen realized that the Li Shutong this youth spoke of might refer to the middle-aged man.

Lu Guangyi had witnessed Qing Chen approaching Li Shutong for a game of chess right after his arrival and mistook that as part of an instruction.

However, Qing Chen didn’t get close to Li Shutong for any bullshit schemes; he did it for survival.

“What are your instructions for coming here this time around?” Lu Guangyi asked abruptly.

Qing Chen slowly turned his head toward the youth. “A lama came to the south.”*

Youth: “???”

Ignoring him, Qing Chen turned and walked away. As for Lu Guangyi, he remained rooted to his spot, being startled. “A lama came to the south? What lama?”