Chapter 179
The hundredth layer of the maze.
Thousand Illusions and Myriad Phases Endgame.
As Su Yuan's consciousness descended, he saw a huge chessboard stretching across the room.
The chessboard is not flat, but three-dimensional, filled with black and white pieces.
However, judging from the game, Black has an absolute advantage, forcing White into a desperate situation on almost every level.
This is the test of the hundredth maze in "The Ten Thousand Layer Labyrinth".
Empire Citizen players will assume the role of the white pieces and play against the black pieces.
How do you get through this maze?
The goal is to break through the black pieces' encirclement and capture, thus achieving victory at the game level.
However.
In a three-dimensional game of chess, the unexpected variables that can arise from each piece are almost endless.
Given Black's advantage, it's extremely difficult for White to win.
"Thousand Illusions and Myriad Phases Endgame"
Su Yuan looked around and found himself at one end of the chessboard, able to play with the black pieces.
"The essence of this labyrinthine test is the speed of a strategist's thinking and their ability to grasp the big picture," Su Yuan thought to himself as he surveyed the massive chessboard.
He had already obtained a great deal of information about the Thousand Illusions and Myriad Phases Endgame of the labyrinth from the Grey Mirror, and was very clear about the true purpose of this labyrinth.
The previous ninety-nine mazes were basically designed to test a strategist in various ways, and this maze is essentially the same.
In a game of chess, one must consider ten, a hundred, and even a thousand moves ahead. This places great emphasis on the strategist's vision and tactics; wisdom alone is not enough to win.
"The simplest way to get through this labyrinth is to gradually regain the advantage that the white pieces have lost. This is also the method used by the vast majority of Empire Citizen who have navigated this labyrinth."
Su Yuan thought to himself, "However, this method is extremely time-consuming. White's disadvantage is too great. How can we get out of this disadvantage, gain an advantage, or even win the game? One reset cycle might not even be enough."
And I
Su Yuan's gaze was calm, but his mood was extremely relaxed.
Through the Grey Mirror, he discovered the simplest way to navigate this labyrinth and break through the "Thousand Illusions and Myriad Phases Endgame"—without needing to gradually regain the advantage or repeatedly strategize the gains and losses of each move.
"Nine moves."
Su Yuan looked at the chessboard, and the image of the Grey Mirror in his mind gave him the simplest answer.
By making nine moves, the opponent reversed the disadvantage of white pieces on the board and broke through the Thousand Illusions and Myriad Phases Endgame.
"Let's begin."
Without hesitation, Su Yuan chose to begin.
With a whoosh, another figure appeared on the opposite side of Su Yuan's position.
The figure was an old man with a stern face, expressionless, his gaze as cold and mechanical as he looked at Su Yuan from afar.
"Please."
The Ancient-Faced Elder spoke, his tone completely calm.
Su Yuan didn't seem to care too much.
This Ancient-Faced Elder is Artificial Intelligence that has emerged from this labyrinth.
It is Artificial Intelligence, not intelligent life, much less Information Lifeform, so it does not possess any emotions.
The opponent's purpose is to control the black pieces and defeat the Empire Citizen player who controls the white pieces.
In the original "Thousand Illusions and Myriad Phases Endgame", the black pieces held an absolute advantage. Even if the white pieces moved dozens or hundreds of moves in a row, it would be difficult to reverse the disadvantage. Moreover, there was Artificial Intelligence like the old man assisting in the game against the Empire Citizen players.
Compared to normal life forms, Artificial Intelligence is virtually infallible. Given its overwhelming advantage, it is virtually impossible for Empire Citizen to win.
"Fall!"
Su Yuan looked down at the huge chessboard, and with a slight thought, a white piece was placed in a certain position.
Snap!
The white piece has been placed.
First son.
Without the slightest hesitation, the old man with the ancient face also chose to place a black piece.
As the Artificial Intelligence within this labyrinth, the Ancient-Faced Elder has played against countless intruders.
Each time a player plays against another challenger, the order and position of each move are recorded, thus forming a systematic strategy for dealing with them.
In a sense, as time goes by, the more strategists who pass the hundredth level, the greater the difficulty of the hundredth level of the maze becomes, because the Ancient-Faced Elder will learn from his failures.
"Fall!"
Su Yuan's gaze was deep as he placed another piece.
Snap!
Second son.
The Ancient-Faced Elder did not hesitate at all and continued to place black pieces.
In the vast sea of game records, Su Yuan's first and second moves had both appeared before. Therefore, the Ancient-Faced Elder didn't need to think at all; he could directly retrieve the optimal solution from the existing systematic response strategies.
"Fall!"
Su Yuan continued to place his pieces.
The white piece fell and appeared among a group of black pieces.
Third son.
And so the piece was placed.
The Ancient-Faced Elder opposite him hesitated briefly.
Su Yuan's first and second moves, in terms of both position and order, can be countered by the optimal solutions from previous games.
But what about the third move?
It's not that Su Yuan's third move was a position no one had ever made before, but rather that, given the first and second moves, the position and order of the third move were indeed unprecedented.
It should be noted that the Thousand Illusions and Myriad Phases Endgame is not only enormous, resembling a celestial canopy, but also three-dimensional, capable of holding tens of millions of pieces.
Even if the board is already filled with nearly ten million black and white pieces, forming an endgame, the remaining empty spaces can still hold more than twenty million black and white pieces.
Snap!
He paused for only a tenth of a breath.
The Ancient-Faced Elder then placed a black stone.
Although Su Yuan made his third move, it was not included in the previous game records.
However, judging from the current situation, the third move has not shown any effect in reversing the situation. In fact, this white piece, placed in the middle of a group of black pieces, seems meaningless and a waste of a move opportunity.
In this situation, the Ancient-Faced Elder did not hesitate and began to launch an attack on the white pieces, intending to turn his absolute advantage into a victory in the shortest possible time.
Snap!
Su Yuan laid his fourth child.
It was also surrounded by a group of black spots.
The Ancient-Faced Elder stared intently for a moment, mentally calculating the possibilities millions of times, but failed to notice the numerous changes that this move could bring.
Then the black pieces were placed again.
After four moves, the black stones, which had previously held an absolute advantage on the board, had formed a large dragon stretching across the board. With just a few more moves, they could completely wipe out all the white stones and secure victory.
Snap!
Su Yuan's expression remained unchanged.
He calmly placed the fifth piece.
If the first four moves seem meaningless, like utter nonsense.
But this fifth move subtly connects the previous four moves, and even connects all the white pieces on the board.
The white pieces, which were originally in dire straits, have surprisingly begun to reverse the situation.
This change was naturally noticed immediately by the Ancient-Faced Elder.
Starting with the third move, every move Su Yuan made was unprecedented in previous games. Unable to understand or find the optimal solution, he could only rely on his own mental speed and the enormous advantage that the black pieces possessed to force his way forward.
However, after Su Yuan placed his fifth piece, the Ancient-Faced Elder realized something was wrong.
Snap!
After several breaths of contemplation, having mentally rehearsed the move countless times, the Ancient-Faced Elder finally placed his fifth piece.
On this fifth move, the Ancient-Faced Elder did not stop Su Yuan's white pieces from forming a large dragon, but instead launched a full-scale attack in order to eliminate all the white pieces in the shortest possible time.
This is using power to intimidate others. The Ancient-Faced Elder had the confidence to do this because of the absolute advantage that the black pieces brought.
If neither side has an advantage, and both are playing on equal footing, the Ancient-Faced Elder will inevitably be considering how to stop Su Yuan, rather than attacking.
Snap!
Su Yuan laid his sixth son.
A white piece appears instantly at a certain position on the chessboard.
Splash!
The appearance of the sixth white piece was like Sea God, directly severing the large black group and rendering the five pieces placed in front of the Ancient-Faced Elder meaningless.
In other words, the Ancient-Faced Elder was equivalent to not having placed those five black stones.
The changes on the chessboard naturally caught the eye of the Ancient-Faced Elder.
Compared to the previous move placement time.
This time, the Ancient-Faced Elder hesitated for dozens of breaths.
Finally, the sixth black stone was slowly placed.
Although the five black stones I placed earlier were basically useless, the absolute advantage that originally belonged to black in the game still exists. As long as I play steadily, I still have a chance.
Under the intelligent calculations of the Ancient-Faced Elder, Su Yuan's six moves had already demonstrated an almost terrifying deductive ability. His chances of winning were slim.
The only hope is to delay.
Drag it out until the reset cycle of <The Ten Thousand Layer Labyrinth> ends.
At that time, if Su Yuan hasn't won yet, it's equivalent to losing.
Because after a reset cycle ends, all Empire Citizen players will be kicked out.
When Su Yuan re-enters this maze, the game will begin anew.
Having gone through this game, the author recorded Su Yuan's moves and their order. Through integration and calculation, the optimal solution was formed. If the game were to be played again, the Ancient-Faced Elder believed that he would not fall into such a passive situation as he was now.
This is also a basic calculation derived from Artificial Intelligence, clearly indicating which choice is currently most advantageous for oneself.
That's just procrastination.
That is precisely why.
The Ancient-Faced Elder made his sixth move, switching from offense to defense. He no longer attacked the white pieces, but began to lean towards defense, striving to maintain his advantage while seeking progress through stability.
Su Yuan, however, did not pay Ancient-Faced Elder's chess style.
Everything the Ancient-Faced Elder was now showing was exactly what Su Yuan had expected.
Snap!
The seventh piece falls.
The seventh white stone was placed in an extremely inconspicuous location. Although there were no black stones surrounding it, it still did not stand out on its own.
However, this is only possible if you combine it with the six white stones placed earlier, as well as the numerous white stones that were already on the board.
A fully formed dragon has taken shape, confronting the dragon that Kuroko already had, creating a situation where they are evenly matched.
Upon seeing this, the Ancient-Faced Elder hesitated once again.
With this move, Black's previous absolute advantage was completely reversed, and White leaped forward, reaching a point where they could rival Black.
In short, it took Su Yuan seven moves.
The original Thousand Illusions and Myriad Phases Endgame, had already seen the black and white pieces locked in a fierce battle, with each side having an advantage or disadvantage, but only that advantage or disadvantage.
Snap!
The Ancient-Faced Elder remained silent for several breaths before stiffly placing his seventh black stone.
As the Artificial Intelligence in the hundredth layer of the maze, even without relying on the optimal solutions formed from past games, the Ancient-Faced Elder terrifying chess skills.
After all, the game "Ten Thousand Layer Labyrinth" was released by the Canglan Galactic Human Empire to support talented strategists among the common people. It must have invested enough computing power and resources in the Artificial Intelligence guarding the hundredth layer, so that no one can easily pass through this layer of the maze.
Therefore, even though he noticed a dramatic shift in the situation on the chessboard, the Ancient-Faced Elder still made the choice that was most advantageous to himself based on his own circumstances.
The seventh black stone appeared on the board. Although it could not shake the newly formed situation, it greatly stabilized the black side. On the surface, this move effectively blocked the white's continued attack.
Snap!
Su Yuan remained calm as he surveyed the massive chessboard and placed his eighth piece.
Boom! The eighth white piece landed. On the surface, everything seemed calm, but for the situation on the board, it was like a category 12 tornado had struck.
The black and white pieces, which were originally evenly matched, suddenly began to fluctuate after the white piece was placed. Dozens of the black pieces' hidden lines were blocked, while the white pieces, through alliances and counter-alliances, turned around and formed an encirclement of the black pieces.
The Ancient-Faced Elder stared at the black and white pieces on the chessboard, his eyes constantly engaged in endless calculations.
At this moment, the situation on the chessboard has reversed. The black pieces, which originally held an absolute advantage, are now being suppressed by the white pieces and are constantly retreating.
Unfortunately, the white stones' large group had already taken shape, while the black stones' large group was cut off, their hidden plans were blocked, and they were at a complete disadvantage.
The Ancient-Faced Elder paused for more than two hundred breaths before finally placing his eighth black stone with a blank expression.
Although the situation has reversed, the Ancient-Faced Elder is Artificial Intelligence, devoid of concrete emotions. Winning or losing the game is merely data and has no effect on him.
Su Yuan glanced at the eighth move placed by the Ancient-Faced Elder.
Although it couldn't salvage the situation much, this eighth move was indeed the limit of what the opponent could achieve.
Snap!
Su Yuan looked down at the chessboard and placed his ninth piece.
The ninth white piece, like a spark, quickly spread across the board the moment it landed.
In an instant, all the white pieces on the huge chessboard were connected together, while all the black pieces were separated.
The Ancient-Faced Elder looked at the chessboard. Through intelligent calculation, he discovered that the black pieces had no chance of survival. No matter where they were placed, they would be swallowed up by the white pieces.
According to the pre-arranged procedure, when black and white pieces reach this situation, the Ancient-Faced Elder representing black should concede defeat, because the rest of the game is meaningless; no matter where he plays, he will lose.
"I admit defeat--"
The Ancient-Faced Elder looked up and spoke calmly.
However.
The moment the Ancient-Faced Elder uttered the word "lost".
An invisible wave of consciousness descended.
The old man, who had been expressionless, suddenly showed a hint of surprise in the depths of his eyes and began to look down at the huge chessboard again.