The Smartest Person in the Universe Sea

Abigail is a powerful woman in the Freedom Alliance. She possesses the cultivation of a three-star High-rank God, yet the Combat Strength of One-Star Peak-rank God. This allows her to control vast territories spanning thousands of universes in the shallow seas, a territory comparable in size to a four-star Universe Country.

As a member of the Freedom Alliance, the area under her jurisdiction is a free zone, open to all except anti-human forces and Alien Race. She doesn't discriminate against Interstellar Pirate either, because Abigail possesses the Combat Strength of Peak-rank God, and two of her colleagues also possess near- Peak-rank God Combat Strength; no one dares to plunder her territory.

This is also the main reason why the Sea Emperor chose Abigail's base as a replenishment point; even if someone were to make a move here, they wouldn't dare to launch a large-scale attack. And the Gu Ding Team, compared to many other forces, is indeed outnumbered. Another reason is that this planet is the trading center of Abigail's territory, and the area under Abigail's jurisdiction ranks among the top twenty in the entire Shallow Sea Zone; over 70% of the materials available in the Shallow Sea Zone can be purchased here.

The spaceship quickly landed at the port of Norman Star. Gu Ding and his group disembarked. After being cooped up on the spaceship for nearly ten days, Gu Ding and his group were eager to get out and breathe some fresh air.

After disembarking from the spaceship, Gu Ding found the atmosphere of this planet to be quite pleasant. Even the port was relatively quiet, except for the roar of the spaceships. Although there were quite a few people around the port, it didn't feel noisy.

"Let's find a tavern to sit for a while, make a list tonight, do the shopping tomorrow, and leave the day after," Gu Ding quickly made the arrangements.

The Gu Ding Team always makes sure to eat delicious food wherever they go, and they also always make sure to visit a pub.

"About 800 meters ahead, there's a tavern that's the most famous on this planet, called the Thorn Bird Tavern. The owner is a beautiful woman who was supposedly Interstellar Hunter in the past." Sea Emperor's words piqued the interest of Gu Ding and his group.

In reality, whether it's Interstellar Pirate, Interstellar Hunter, or space mercenaries, all professions have high mortality rates. Therefore, many people, after experiencing the heights of their lives, choose to settle into a simpler existence. Opening a shipyard repair shop, a restaurant, or a tavern are all possibilities. After all, few people can afford to be constantly on the go; that would be too exhausting.

Gu Ding looked up and saw the sign for the tavern, which was a 3D projection of a small golden bird standing on a thorny vine.

"What is the symbolism of the Thorn Bird?" Gu Ding asked curiously.

"The Thorn Bird is a bird that flies its entire life, never stopping, flapping its wings until it dies of exhaustion. Only then will it find a thorn to rest on, letting the sharp thorns pierce its body, but it will also utter the most beautiful cry of its life. This symbolizes that the end of life may not be as beautiful as we expect, but even so, we must learn to face it with equanimity and be the best version of ourselves in adversity." The Sea Emperor's explanation made Gu Ding and the others fall into deep thought.

The group quickly reached the tavern entrance. Beside the door, a young boy, about ten years old, was squatting, his bangs neatly trimmed. However, his large blue eyes were unfocused, clearly indicating he was blind.

There was a projection of text in front of him. Next to him was a small bowl containing more than a dozen Universe Coin.

Gu Ding didn't even look at the text. He took out a handful of Universe Crystal, didn't throw them into the bowl, but handed them to the little boy, then Way of Sound, "Keep this money safe, don't let anyone see it."

Although the little boy had never handled Universe Crystal before, he had heard people describe what Universe Crystal looked like. The moment he touched it, and considering Gu Ding's words, he knew what the other person was offering him. He quickly declined, saying, "So much money, I can't accept it."

One Universe Crystal is equivalent to ten thousand Universe Coin, enough to feed this little guy for a year. That's why Gu Ding told him to hide the money; if it was left in that bowl, it would definitely be stolen. The little guy might even attract unwanted attention, making his future even more difficult.

"Take this, go buy something nice to eat." Liliath also felt sorry for the little boy.

"I don't want to," the little boy shook his head firmly. "You can only get paid if I win at chess, one Universe Coin per game. If I lose, I don't want any money. If you don't want to play chess, I definitely don't want to."

Just then, someone inside the tavern seemed to have heard the commotion. A tall woman pushed open the door and came out. At first, she frowned slightly when she saw Gu Ding and his group surrounding the little boy. But then she saw the handful of Universe Crystal in Gu Ding's hand and knew what was going on.

"You don't need to worry about it. That's just how Miko is. He only accepts money if he wins the game, and he won't accept more than that." The woman smiled apologetically.

"Then you guys go in first, I'll play a few rounds with him," Gu Ding said, turning to Liliath and the others.

"I'll bring out Mirka for you later, and you can lose a few more rounds," Liliath said with a mischievous grin.

"I'm pretty good at most board games, except for really advanced ones like Space-Time Chess. But I haven't played for more than half a year, so I've definitely gotten worse," Gu Ding grinned. He used to play board games with Reed all the time, and he usually got crushed, but in reality, he was quite good at many board games.

Liliath and her group filed into the tavern, while Gu Ding sat down cross-legged facing the little boy. "My name is Gu Ding, and your name is Miko, right?"

"Mmm." The little boy nodded. Not many people usually struck up a conversation with him like this, so he seemed quite shy.

"What games do you play?" Gu Ding then asked.

"I'm fine with anything," Miko said confidently.

"You even know how to play Space-Time Chess?" Gu Ding, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, I will." Miko nodded vigorously.

"Wow, that's amazing. I don't even know how to play Space-Time Chess." Gu Ding wasn't being modest; he genuinely didn't know how to play the game because it involved too much calculation. He didn't have the patience for such games and had never learned how to play them.

"It's actually very simple. Compared to other board games, you only need to take time and space as variables into account," Miko explained earnestly.

"Let's play something simpler," Gu Ding said. He didn't think the child was particularly good at chess; he just wanted to play a few rounds with him and then leave some money. But to protect the boy's pride, he couldn't choose a game he himself didn't know how to play, like Space-Time Chess. "How about we play Ancient Chess? Do you know how?"

"Yes!" Miko nodded confidently.

Ancient Chess, actually the game known as International Chess in Near Ancient Era, was once popular on Deep Sea Star. It has thirty-two pieces, sixteen for each side, and the goal is to capture the opponent's king.

"Ancient Chess!" Miko issued a voice command to the civilian Smart Watch on her wrist.

His wristwatch immediately projected a chessboard, on which thirty-two chess pieces stood, divided into black and white sides.

"You go first!" Miko confidently, extending her hand.

"Alright then." Gu Ding smiled and moved a Small Soldier.

A female voice immediately sounded, indicating Gu Ding's movement.

Miko reached out and firmly grabbed one of his Small Soldier, then moved forward one piece as well. Gu Ding had previously thought he would control the pieces' movements with voice, but he hadn't expected him to control them with just his hands. Although he couldn't see the board, he seemed to know exactly where the board was and where each piece was.

Gu Ding took a few steps rather casually, still thinking about how to lose so that his opponent wouldn't notice. But when it was his turn for the eighth time, he realized that his opponent only had one move left to checkmate him.

"Huh?" Gu Ding couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Miko flashed her pearly white teeth. "You lost, big brother. I still have one more move to go."

"That's amazing?!" Gu Ding was actually quite surprised. "Again!"

In the second game, Gu Ding finally didn't get distracted this time, but he was still checkmated on the tenth move.

The Sea Emperor finally realized something was amiss. "This kid is no ordinary person... You played quite well just now, yet you were still completely outmaneuvered by him."

"Again!" Gu Ding rarely lost so badly to Reed before. He usually lasted about fifteen steps before losing, with his best time being nineteen.

In the third round, Gu Ding gave it his all, but still lost on the tenth move.

"I'll test him and see what level he's at." Sea Emperor Miko.

"Let's try one more time." This time, Gu Ding's weapon was just a tool; how to use it was entirely up to the Sea Emperor.

Before the chessboard, the two players moved their pieces with lightning speed until the game ended in a draw after ten minutes.

"Let him play a game of Space-Time Chess with me." The Sea Emperor hadn't expected that someone could actually match him in a board game. Of course, this was also because Ancient Chess had very few variations, still within the range that the human brain could handle. But Space-Time Chess was different. With the addition of calculations involving time and space variables, the movement patterns of the pieces were completely beyond the level that the human brain could calculate mentally.

Gu Ding agreed to the Sea Emperor's request and allowed Miko to replace the chess pieces with Space-Time Chess. Under the Sea Emperor's control, Gu Ding played with Miko.

This game of chess lasted for more than three hours, with Miko and Sea Emperor each making more than three hundred moves before Miko finally collapsed.

"Big brother, you're so amazing, I lost." Despite losing this round, Miko didn't seem unhappy; on the contrary, she seemed quite happy.

Meanwhile, the Sea Emperor kept nagging in Gu Ding's ear, "Gu Ding, you absolutely must get this kid into our team. He's terrifying. He doesn't even have the abilities of Gambiter, yet he can play against me for over three hundred moves using only the intellect of First Order Gene Body. Do you know what that means? He could very well become the most intelligent human being in the entire Universe Sea!!!"