Playing Chess

Po On Road Public Library.

Yang Chu stood before the rows of bookshelves and began looking for books he wanted to read, just as he had the day before.

There were a few books he hadn't had time to read carefully yesterday. He also broadened his selection beyond topics like sleep and self-awareness to include the body's various internal systems and some books related to the brain.

After choosing seven or eight books, Yang Chu carried them to a quiet corner of the reading room and began to read attentively.

After yesterday's reading, Yang Chu had already realized that he read very quickly. Aside from the mental energy he needed to keep his body's systems running, he could remain fully absorbed in reading for a long time.

He had more or less figured out why.

Ordinary people could also enter a state of intense concentration like his, losing themselves in a task and forgetting to eat or sleep.

As Yang Chu saw it, the "self" one forgot in that state was, in a sense, the body's subconscious instincts.

When someone became completely absorbed in a task, the mind could ignore subconscious signals such as the muscle aches caused by sitting too long, mental fatigue, the need to relieve oneself, and hunger.

Naturally, Yang Chu could reach such a state of intense concentration more easily than most people, even though he had to devote a small portion of his mental energy to maintaining his body's circulation, breathing, and other systems.

Yang Chu had also noticed something else. He had eaten a great deal of food, but less than half of the energy it contained seemed to go toward maintaining his body's functions, healing his injuries, and improving his physique after last night's intense workout.

Nearly half of it was consumed by his brain.

For an ordinary person, the brain accounted for only 2 percent of body weight but consumed around 20 percent of the body's energy.

Yang Chu's brain was consuming far more than that.

Judging by the calories he had taken in, he had eaten enough food in just a day or two to sustain another healthy adult man for seven to ten days. The amount of energy from all that food being consumed by his brain was truly staggering.

Yang Chu guessed this was why his brain had become increasingly adept at keeping all his bodily systems running.

He also suspected that his ability to stay awake for a long time after a brief sleep underwater, in a state like being in the womb, and clear away the waste produced by his brain's activity was related to its high energy consumption.

Standing among the library's bookshelves, Yang Chu made another discovery: he remembered almost everything he had read the day before, even if he had only glanced at it.

It seemed that after his subconscious instincts stopped managing the distribution of energy throughout his body, his brain had gained more and more energy and nutrients by performing multiple tasks at once. His memory, calculating ability, comprehension, and logical thinking all seemed to have improved dramatically.

After his brief workout last night had improved his physical fitness, he was now noticing changes in his brain as well. Yang Chu's interest in exploring the mysteries of the human body had grown stronger by the day.

He turned the pages of the book before him. He wasn't sure how much time had passed when a familiar voice sounded beside him again. "You're really absorbed in your reading."

Yang Chu looked up and saw Xu Xi, dressed in an outfit that seemed a little plain and old-fashioned to people in Hong Kong Island at the time. He smiled. "There are a lot of answers in books that I don't know yet."

"You look a lot better today than you did yesterday." Xu Xi stood nearby, watching Yang Chu. A hint of surprise showed in his shy smile.

"I slept well last night." Yang Chu closed the book in his hands and patted its cover lightly. "I've managed to solve my sleep problem for now, but I'm still looking for a better way."

"Then congratulations."

Xu Xi smiled and noticed the books beside Yang Chu. He pointed at one. "I've read this one, too. I think it really can help people understand themselves better."

"Really? I hadn't noticed that. I just thought it had some useful things to say about the brain, the body, and self-regulation."

The book in Yang Chu's hands was called The Body Keeps the Score. It was about treating psychological trauma.

Most of it wasn't useful to Yang Chu, but some sections on the brain, the mind, and the nervous system were worth reading.

"Xu Xi, we're going to grab lunch. Want to come?" A middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses called out to Xu Xi from the library entrance, where several people were preparing to leave.

Yang Chu recognized them as employees of Po On Road Public Library.

Only then did he notice that the clock on the reading room wall showed it was already noon.

The library closed for two hours at midday and reopened at two in the afternoon. The staff usually went out to eat.

"No, thanks, Chief. You go ahead!" Xu Xi smiled and waved off the middle-aged librarian's invitation.

After the group left, Yang Chu smiled and asked, "You're not eating with your coworkers? Your boss is there, too, isn't he?"

"No." Xu Xi smiled and shook his head. "They eat at expensive places. I'll just have a boxed lunch."

"Then let's eat together." Yang Chu stood up. "I ate one of your boxed lunches yesterday. Today's on me."

"Boxed lunch?" Xu Xi tilted his head slightly, amusement seeming to flicker in his eyes.

"Then boxed lunches it is." Yang Chu nodded.

"I'll call and order."

Xu Xi didn't refuse this time. Instead, he smiled and went over to the office area to call in their order.

Before long, the delivery boy brought them their lunches—three boxes in all, with char siu and roast goose leg, a common Hong Kong-style fast-food meal.

Yang Chu paid, and they sat in the same place as the day before. Xu Xi ate one portion, while Yang Chu ate two.

After lunch, Xu Xi cleared away the containers, then retrieved a chess set from his workstation. "There's nothing to do right now. How about a game?"

"Sure."

Yang Chu didn't refuse. The library wasn't due to reopen yet, and it was technically closed to the public. He wasn't about to ask Xu Xi, a staff member, to make an exception over something so trivial.

They laid out the pieces.

Yang Chu opened with a central cannon, and Xu Xi responded by developing his horse. They traded moves, and the game quickly took shape.

Xu Xi's play was more unpredictable than Yang Chu had expected. He seemed to be playing defensively, but his strategy was far-reaching, and he would suddenly unleash a deadly move from an otherwise unremarkable position.

Yang Chu wasn't much of a chess player, and he hadn't spent much mental effort calculating the whole board. Before long, he was at a disadvantage.

"Hey, you shouldn't have made that move. Move your horse, or you'll lose your chariot."

Just as Yang Chu's position was on the brink of collapse, a voice suddenly came from beside them.