The Crossing General

Before the middle-aged man looked up, Qing Chen thought the other person was deaf. The commotion around him hadn't affected him at all.

However, after the middle-aged man looked up, Qing Chen almost thought he himself was deaf. The previously noisy square had fallen silent in an instant, not a single extra sound.

The astonished expressions in the eyes of the surrounding crowd, along with some inexplicable emotions, seemed to highlight the middle-aged man's identity.

This was because the middle-aged man had never responded to anyone's pleas for help before.

Suddenly, Qing Chen breathed a sigh of relief, because all of this proved he had bet correctly.

The middle-aged man didn't say anything to him. Instead, he calmly pushed the red pawn on the chessboard forward one square.

And the black side, held by the middle-aged man himself, chose to move the elephant five back to seven, capturing the pawn that had just advanced.

Qing Chen watched the chessboard quietly from a distance. This "Four Bandits Capturing the King" endgame was quite famous on Earth. It had two opening setups, and the one in front of him was the more dangerous of the two.

An endgame generally meant that black was guaranteed to win, and red couldn't even achieve a draw. If it was a draw, the endgame would be considered solved.

However, Qing Chen was not satisfied with a draw.

The "Four Bandits Capturing the King" endgame was peculiar. The four red pawns had already crossed the Chu River to the back line, and both chariots were present.

The situation seemed evenly matched, but in reality, this endgame was full of killing opportunities and traps. Black only needed one move to win, while red could only desperately defend, and a moment's carelessness could lead one to believe victory was in hand, only to be counter-killed.

This was a dead end that appeared full of hope but could plunge someone into despair bit by bit.

"Continue," the middle-aged man said calmly.

Qing Chen said, "Soldier two advances to three."

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up. He seemed genuinely interested at this point and didn't bother to move the pieces on the board. He closed his eyes and played the blind chess with Qing Chen: "General six advances to one."

Qing Chen also closed his eyes: "Chariot, advance four."

"Elephant seven retreats to nine."

By the sixth move, Qing Chen suddenly said, "Chariot one advances to seven!"

The middle-aged man's closed eyes opened again. He looked at Qing Chen in surprise: "Elephant five retreats to seven."

The first five moves were back and forth, unremarkable, but by this sixth move, both sides began exchanging pieces with every move!

You kill me! I kill you! Blood flowed like a river, and the battlefield was littered with defeated soldiers!

The decisiveness and determination of both sides on the chessboard were extremely brutal.

The two were like the calmest generals on the battlefield, willing to sacrifice everything for the final victory.

In the "Four Bandits Capturing the King" game, the two men managed to unleash a spirit of martial valor, but behind this valor lay deep calculations on both sides.

At the start, the four red pawns crossing the river appeared more formidable, but Qing Chen sacrificed them one by one for other strategies, leaving only the last one!

Chariot one moves to four.

General four moves to five.

Cannon four moves to five.

Chariot three moves to five.

On the fifteenth move, Qing Chen finally let out a long breath: "Soldier five advances to one!"

The truth revealed itself.

Capturing the King!

It was only at this moment that the "Four Bandits Capturing the King" endgame finally revealed its indescribable charm. The back-and-forth exchanges across the Chu River and the Han boundary made the middle-aged man feel as if he were truly facing a strategist on the battlefield.

Every move in this game was extremely dangerous.

What surprised the middle-aged man the most was that despite the young man's age, he showed no hesitation in sacrificing pieces to exchange for strategic advantage.

While not abandoning or giving up was important, war was war, and how could war be without sacrifice?

He quietly looked at the young man in front of him, who was also meeting his gaze, his expression solemn and stubborn.

It was as if he were fighting his way out of this desperate situation, forging a new path in life.

He understood that he was playing a game, while the other person was surviving in an environment surrounded by steel beasts, and their attitudes were inherently different.

No one noticed that at this very moment, out of the 210 surveillance cameras in this prison fortress, 81 had directly turned towards Qing Chen.

The black lenses of the surveillance cameras seemed to be contracting into a vortex, focusing on Qing Chen's face.

No one knew who was behind these surveillance cameras, focusing their attention.

The middle-aged man smiled and flipped his black king upside down on the chessboard: "Interesting. Not many people know how to play chess these days. We'll continue tomorrow."

With that, he walked towards the library area with his hands behind his back, leaving the chessboard on the dining table for no one to dare touch.

The gray cat on the table stood up and quietly followed the middle-aged man.

When curled up, the cat looked like a furball, not very large.

However, as it stretched out, Qing Chen realized the cat was huge, over a meter long, and exceptionally agile.

Ordinary cats walked lightly, earning them the name "catwalk," but this cat walked with the posture of a tiger.

Everyone in the square who was watching this was stunned. Had the young man actually won this endgame?

Honestly, they didn't understand chess either. When both sides started playing blind chess later, they understood even less.

There were too many entertainment activities in this era, and each one was more exciting and fun than chess.

They could directly obtain pleasure through chips and log their consciousness into virtual networks. It was an era where happiness was very cheap. Very few people played chess. Even if you played well, could you play better than artificial intelligence?

However, what surprised them about Qing Chen winning against the middle-aged man was that, in their eyes, how could that middle-aged man lose?

Whether it was playing chess or fighting, how could the opponent lose?

To be honest, Qing Chen was also a bit strange. This middle-aged man didn't even have mechanical limbs, nor did his two followers beside him. Why did he have such high prestige in this prison filled with steel beasts?

The young man who had blocked Qing Chen earlier winked at him: "Impressive! My name is Lin Xiaoxiao, and his name is Ye Wan. See you tomorrow."

After speaking, he left with another young man named Ye Wan, following the middle-aged man's footsteps.

At this moment, Qing Chen didn't even know the middle-aged man's name, only the names of his two followers. But this was undoubtedly a good start.

The tense atmosphere in the plaza only slowly livened up after the middle-aged man, along with Ye Wan and Lin Xiaoxiao, all went to the reading area.

The prisoners who had been welcoming newcomers were still pulling them into the cells. Including him, there were 12 newcomers, and 9 had already been pulled in.

At this moment, Qing Chen looked at the prisoners again, and no one was trying to mess with him anymore.

Suddenly, a youth with mechanical legs ran up to Qing Chen and said in a panic, "We're all just arriving. Help me out. I'll listen to you from now on."

The surrounding prisoners watched coldly. They were still a bit unclear about the situation. Qing Chen was definitely off-limits, but if this young man wanted to protect other newcomers, they wouldn't be willing.

However, Qing Chen completely ignored what the youth said, his expression as calm as if he hadn't heard anything.

The prisoners laughed and forcibly dragged the youth away.

The youth roared, "My uncle is a director at City Changming Company No. 17. You guys..."

Before he could finish speaking, the other prisoners burst into laughter: "Except for the Five Great Companies, other companies are not worth mentioning. Forget about you, even your uncle would have to behave himself if he came to this prison fortress."

Qing Chen listened to all of this silently, absorbing all the useful information. He had just been identifying the identities of these newcomers, wanting to see if there were any other Earthlings hidden among them.

He had transmigrated himself and had no memories of this world. He didn't even know how many years he had been sentenced to.

Qing Chen believed that others had no memories either, so those like this youth who could mention their connections outside the prison were probably not his "compatriots."

Among the 12 new cellmates, the Earthlings should only be that breakdown boy and himself.

For some reason, Qing Chen didn't feel the slightest bit of dejection. Instead, he was somewhat looking forward to his already completely different... life.

A completely different life.

That sentence sounded very tempting.

When your own life is already a mess, and someone places a button in front of you saying: Press this, and you'll have an extraordinary life.

But there are two possibilities after pressing it.

It could be better.

It could also be worse.

Would you press it?

Qing Chen felt he probably would.

On Earth, he always seemed like an extra person. His father found him a burden, his mother had a new family, and his relatives rarely contacted him.

Qing Chen had spent two Spring Festivals alone.

So, if your past life was all gray, then no matter how dangerous, unknown, or terrifying the new world was, it would still evoke some anticipation.

This world was different. For Qing Chen, coming here from Earth was like an adventure in rebellion, or like a release from the past.

If it weren't for this countdown incident, he probably would have studied well, worked hard to support himself, and then used his unique memory to get into a very good university far away, never to return.

But that kind of life still seemed meaningless.

He believed that not many people had transmigrated with him from Earth. Even if there were thousands or tens of thousands, it was a very small proportion of the total number.

This made him feel special.

Countdown 39:31:29.

Qing Chen silently observed everything around him. He wanted to record all the information he could see, so he could analyze it slowly after returning to his cell alone.

Above a metal gate next to the plaza, a blue holographic projection displayed the ticking time, AM 8:29.

The stereoscopically projected holographic image looked so novel and striking, 8:29 AM.

Just then, a youth took advantage of others' distraction and suddenly walked up to Qing Chen, whispering, "You've finally arrived. You're as handsome as the legends say. I'm Lu Guangyi. Qing Yan arranged for me to come in three months ago. You can call me Xiao Lu."

Qing Chen: "???"

He froze and looked at the other person.

This youth named Lu Guangyi looked about 24 or 25 years old, with short black hair. He had mechanical limbs on his right arm and left leg, and mechanical eyes. Qing Chen could even see spiral patterns changing focus in his eyes.

Unlike most inmates, his mechanical limbs were very well-made, both in their streamlined design and material.

Qing Chen searched his memory, tracing the other person's actions.

It was then that Qing Chen realized Lu Guangyi had looked at him 21 times in just over an hour, and that was only the number of times he had been within Qing Chen's line of sight.

Qing Chen didn't know who this person was, but the way they spoke clearly indicated they knew him, and they were even using polite language.

According to Lu Guangyi, Qing Chen's entry into this prison fortress also seemed to have a hidden purpose.

However, Qing Chen feared exposing his transmigration, so he didn't want too much interaction with Lu Guangyi for the time being: "I don't need your help for now. I can handle some things myself."

Lu Guangyi shook his head like a rattle drum: "No, no, I must serve you well."

Qing Chen also shook his head and said, "No one's personality is nobler than another's. You don't need to use words like 'serve'."

At this, Lu Guangyi said obsequiously, "Don't say that. Feel free to order me around from now on. Just think of me as your sycophant, the kind that..."

Qing Chen was speechless. What kind of person would say something so utterly without principles? "What if I have athlete's foot?"

Lu Guangyi said without a hint of shame, "Then I can lick it clean for you!"

Qing Chen was silent for a long time: "...Impressive."

Even though he was trying very hard to restrain himself from speaking carelessly, he couldn't help but exclaim.

Qing Chen was a bit confused now. His body and consciousness had transmigrated together, so why did he have such bizarre past interpersonal relationships?

In other words, in the eyes of the people in this world, had he truly lived in this world for so many years?

Seeing Qing Chen's silence, Lu Guangyi said in a low voice, "I was wondering this morning why you didn't come to me immediately. So you planned to approach Li Shutong as a newcomer. That's brilliant. In Prison Fortress No. 18, if we can get Li Shutong's help, our plan will go much smoother."

Qing Chen: "..."

What plan.

What are you talking about.

Can you make it clearer?!

Lu Guangyi continued as if talking to himself, "I've been here for over three months, and I've gathered a group of useful people for you. Don't worry, they won't let you down."

The young man spoke chattering incessantly.

Qing Chen felt that Lu Guangyi seemed a bit of a chatterbox, and he just listened silently, not knowing how to respond.

It was like playing "Who's the Spy" when you drew a blank card; you had to wait for everyone else to speak before you could say anything. If everyone else's word was "drink," and you said "drink" first, it would cause big problems.

He searched his mind and found that at breakfast, Lu Guangyi had been surrounded by hundreds of people, each equipped with mechanical limbs.

It seemed these were the "subordinates" Lu Guangyi had recruited after entering.

Seeing that Qing Chen was still silent, Lu Guangyi lowered his voice again and asked, "However, you should also be careful of Li Shutong. Dealing with someone like him is like seeking a tiger's skin; it might put us in a passive position... Sorry, I'm being nosy."

At this moment, Qing Chen realized that the Li Shutong the other person was referring to was probably that middle-aged man.

Lu Guangyi saw that as soon as he entered, he immediately went to play chess with Li Shutong, and mistakenly thought he had come with a mission.

However, his approach to Li Shutong wasn't for some damn plan, but for survival.

"What instructions did you bring this time?" Lu Guangyi suddenly asked.

Qing Chen slowly turned to look at the young man: "A lama came from the south."

The young man: "???"

Qing Chen ignored him and turned to leave, leaving Lu Guangyi standing there stunned: "A lama came from the south? What lama?"

Six chapters have been released, please recommend and vote for the monthly ticket!

Thanks to Nan Gengchen, Yang Tuo Xiao Xiong Xu, Shen Yin, Bai Li Tong Yun, and Gu Gu Gu Gua Gua Gua for becoming the Alliance Leaders of this book!