Poseidon in Arknights

“I have no reason to lie to you~” Yuzuki shook the Go piece in her hand and put it down. “My knowledge of Go is limited to the most basic rules.”

“I see…” Wang nodded. He could tell from the details of Miss Yuzuki’s movements when placing and picking up stones that Yuzuki indeed rarely played Go.

"It seems Miss Yuzuki has a real talent for Go." Nozomi put down the Go stones.

"You flatter me, Wang." Xi Yue smiled, picked up a piece and placed it on the chessboard. "Let's continue, the game isn't over yet."

"Whether it's here or outside, we have plenty of time."

"Is there a lot of time?" Wang picked up a chess piece. "Not necessarily. The situation outside will be over soon."

“In that case, we’ll have to speed things up.” Yuzuki smiled. “But it will indeed be over very soon.”

——————Shang Shu·Zhunjiang Peak——————

Xi opened the scroll, intending to trap Sui Xiang with the objects within it, but unexpectedly, Sui Xiang grabbed the scroll first and took out what Xi had originally intended to take out.

Xi gritted her teeth: "Tsk, fiddling with my paintings, are you mocking me?!"

"Ah..." Nian sighed helplessly. "I suggest you don't let your mind wander right now. This guy just forged the seventh weapon, one that even I hadn't figured out..."

"So you'd better take a deep breath too. I don't want to be locked up in your..." As she finished speaking, she suddenly realized something and stopped, only the words escaping her lips, "In the painting..."

"Hmm!" As soon as Nian said that, Xi seemed to realize something and froze on the spot.

Ling stood behind the two, smiling as he looked at them who were standing still: "You've noticed?"

"The Tao follows nature, and the Great Tao is simple." Ling took another swig of wine, completely ignoring the roaring year in the sky. "The year doesn't have so many variations. In the end, the huge year before us is nothing more than a mirage in our hearts."

"Yes... Time has passed, and it has changed a lot. It's going crazy."

Nian curled his lip and retorted, "It's gone mad."

"Right now, at this moment, we are like a dream of its." When it wakes up, we will all perish together. Not only will we perish, but the Great Yan will also suffer.

"Is that so?" Ling looked at Nian: "Little Nian, so you want to rebel against it?"

Nian nodded firmly: "Yes."

Ling looked at you and suddenly a smile appeared on his lips: "Then you must have a rather elegant plan."

"And is this also why you want to involve Miss Yuzuki?"

"I can't say for sure, but I can say it's much better than sitting and waiting to die." Nian pursed her lips, her free left hand constantly stroking a blue gemstone held in her hand.

I don't want to use it here. It's a promise, a promise that can solve most of the world's problems, and it certainly includes them.

"Is that so?" Ling nodded. "Then why?"

"Because I'm not convinced." Nian put away the gemstone. "I'm very not convinced. The old man shouldn't let anyone else help him remarry. He should be buried as soon as possible!"

Ling nodded, then looked at Xi beside him: "And Xi, what about you?"

“At first, I was just being held back by Nian.” Xi looked away. “Now… I’m starting to have some expectations.”

Having grasped the true nature of the year's phases in the sky, Nian felt like teasing Nian again: "Really? You didn't say that back then~"

Xi glanced at Nian: "Stop talking nonsense, you talk too much all day long."

"This sentence structure sounds so familiar," Nian retorted without getting annoyed. "Are you sure you're not copying someone else?"

Seeing the two of them playfully bickering, he smiled and said, "Look, you're still you. You have your own thoughts, your own joys and sorrows, your own things you love, the people you cherish, and the scenery you long for..."

"Isn't it good to live in this world?" Ling began as if showing off the mountains and rivers behind her. "After all, we can't let go of this world."

Ling looked up at the year markers above and said, "If that's the case, why should we care about it?"

"Why bother with it?" Xi pointed to the year sign above her head: "Aren't we completely unrelated to it? It's precisely because we can't let go that we have to..."

"I am who I am, what does it have to do with me?" Ling took a sip of wine and calmly looked at the motionless figure above. "The human world has been drunk for ten thousand years, can't I even have a grand dream?"

Nian looked at Ling as if she had just realized something: "Then, Sister Ling, what's your answer?"

"Haha..." Ling replied calmly after laughing, "It doesn't matter, I am who I am."

——————The Chess Room in the Painting——————

"That's it." Xi Yue looked at Wang, who was still undecided. "How was it? Did you enjoy the game?"

"A rare situation." Wang shook his head, observing the situation on the field, and resigned. "Miss Yuzuki, even now, do you still want to say you don't know how to play Go?"

“No, I’ll still tell you, I don’t know.” Yu Yue shook her head. “If I had to say, I only know the most basic rules of Go, and beyond that, I know almost nothing.”

Even though Xiyue learned a few AlphaGo moves in her previous life, that was all she did. She was just putting on an act, and it was a short-lived enthusiasm.

"But this game..." Looking at the situation on the field, the almost annihilating moves were definitely not something a novice who only knew the rules of Go could make.

“I only understand the basic rules.” Xi Yue looked at Wang, raised her hand and gently tapped her temple, “because that’s enough for me.”

"I only did one thing in the entire game: count the pieces."

"Calculator?" Wang was somewhat stunned, then seemed to suddenly understand something. "Miss Xiyue is calculating the entire situation?"

“That’s right.” Xi Yue nodded. “All I knew was what to do. What would you do? Where would you go next, and where would you go next after that?”

"And what I'm going to do, that's all I'm going to do." Yuzuki looked at Wang calmly. "So, the basic rules are enough for me."

“Because you don’t need to…” Wang showed an expression of enlightenment, “No moves are better than moves. On this chessboard, the outcome was already clear from the very beginning. I see…”

"Thank you for your guidance, Miss Yuyue." Looking at Yuyue, he remained silent for a moment before asking, "Then, Miss Yuyue, don't you find this game of chess rather boring?"

“At least not now.” Yuzuki shook her head. “Seeing how things develop and where they end up is just as fun.”

"And I really don't like playing chess..."

“Many people dislike playing chess, yet they inevitably end up playing games they’re not good at, or being used as pawns by others.” Wang picked up his tea and took a sip. “But Miss Xiyue certainly has the ability to be an observer outside the game.”

Chapter 197: Kal'tsit's Headache

"That's hard to say~" Yuuki smiled at Nozomi, "For example, aren't we playing chess right now?"

“That’s only because Miss Yuzuki wanted to come down.” Nozomi said, holding her teacup. “I’m glad Miss Yuzuki came down; at least you’re not some high and mighty spectator.”

"Is that so? Doctors aren't spectators anyway." Xi Yue shook her head. "Now that things have come to this, do you still want to continue? You've made your money today, but what about next time?"

"I might not necessarily stand idly by like I do today."

“…” After a moment of silence, Wang tilted his head back and drank the tea in his cup. “I will continue. A game of chess always requires two sides to fight, and Yan Kingdom will not be my ally. Someone has to give an explanation for that matter.”

"...That matter?" Yu Yue raised an eyebrow. "Is there some unspeakable reason behind it?"

"Someone has to give an explanation." Wang shook his head, but didn't continue. In this game, he lost, but in a way, he also won.

They did receive some extra help, but for Wang, there were other things he needed to do, and his plans had to continue.

"Is it because of her?" Ling's figure suddenly appeared in the chess room, looking at Wang in the shadows. "You've caused quite a stir today. It's been so long since I've seen you, and you give me such a big surprise as soon as you arrive?"

"Are you done fighting?" Xi Yue turned around and looked at Ling who came in, then stood up. "In that case, I'll go and comfort Xi. That child must have been quite frightened."

"Oh, Miss Yuuki seems to really like Yuuki~" Ling nudged Yuuki's shoulder with his elbow, a teasing smile on his face.

“If you feel you need comforting, I can comfort you first~” Yu Yue smiled, “Besides, I don’t think Nian needs comforting either.”

"Okay, okay~" Ling smiled. "But Xiaoxi shouldn't be scared now, um, probably."

"You two can chat for a while. I'll stay a little longer; this space isn't good enough anymore." Xi Yue pointed to the stone bricks under her feet, which were almost crumbling. "Oh, and by the way, remember to replace that stool too."

"Oh." Ling nodded. "Miss Yuzuki has quite a bit of destructive power."

“I didn’t want to either.” Xi Yue shrugged. “This is the best I’ve ever been in, and that’s only because I switched to physical form. If I were in my original form, I wouldn’t even be able to finish this game.”

"Alright, you two can chat anytime. Oh, and by the way, remember not to fight!"

Then, Xiyue waved to the two of them and left the painting.

"..." After Yuuki left, Ling stopped smiling and looked at Nozomi in the shadows.

"..." Wang just drank his tea without saying a word, and the entire chess room fell into silence.

"Is that all you want to say?" Ling asked, looking at Wang. "Or do you want me to start a conversation?"

"Let me think about it, um, for example..."

"Second Brother, don't you think Miss Xiyue looked a lot like Shumei just now?" Ling pulled up a stool and sat down, glancing at the chessboard on the table.

“Shu wouldn’t be that worried…” Huang shook his head. “Shu gradually became like that because she was worried about us, while Miss Xiyue seems to be driven by a natural maternal instinct.”

"He feels that everyone needs to be taken care of, but he doesn't worry about everything. He just told us not to fight, but he was just joking with us."

"But explaining the joke is also a very tasteless thing to do~" He held up another finger and shook it, "But looking at this game, did you go easy on me, Second Brother, or is there some other reason?"

"The loss seems rather embarrassing?"

“Just say it.” Wang took a sip of tea. “A bad loss is a bad loss. There’s no need to add ‘it seems.’ My character isn’t so bad that I can’t admit it.”

"What could be the reason?" He picked up the teapot next to him, shook it to make sure there was still tea inside, then poured himself a cup. "Did you add water? Or is Miss Yuzuki exceptionally strong?"

"It's about even, I suppose." Nozomi put away the chess pieces on the table. "At first, I did underestimate my opponent, which is why I made such a bad impression. Also, it's impossible for Miss Yuzuki to lose with her style of play."

"Such a high evaluation?" Ling was somewhat surprised. She believed that Wang had gone easy on her, but she did not expect Wang's evaluation to be so high. "You said that there is no way to win in Go."

"Originally, there wasn't one because it was played by a human." Wang put away the chessboard. "When a human plays chess, there will be patterns, no matter how strange they may be."

“But Miss Yuzuki is different. She has no set strategy, so she won’t lose.”

"Isn't that just reckless betting?" Ling looked at Wang. "If it's reckless betting, how can they not lose?"

“Miss Yuzuki’s seemingly random moves are not haphazard.” Wang shook his head. “She is calculating. She is calculating every move I make, every response, every defense, and every attack.”

"If a chess player knows every possibility on the board from the beginning, then she cannot possibly lose from the start."

"And certainly not a normal chess player?" Ling Bangwang added the last sentence, "Then who could possibly know everything that would happen on this chessboard from the very beginning?"

“Only the chessboard itself.” Wang took a sip of tea and stood up. “They’re right next door.”

As soon as Wang finished speaking, his figure disappeared into the painting.

"Sigh, really, one by one." Ling shook his head helplessly. "They all left without saying a word, and I didn't even get to share the surprise with you."

——————Shang Shu·Zhunjiang Peak——————

"Yo, I'm back~" Yuuki appeared behind Yu. "I heard from Rei that you guys did a great job~"

"Miss Yuuki looks just like a police officer from a movie right now~" Nian sat down on the stone steps of the mountain path without any hesitation, turning around to look at Yuuki who had suddenly appeared behind him. "Hmm, speaking of which, I suddenly have a great idea, let's make a movie about this~"

“You mean when things happened, I didn’t… um.” Xi Yue was about to reply to Nian’s question when Xi bumped into her. “Okay, okay, sweetie, Xi, your horns are pretty sharp, don’t prick me.”

"Ahem." Xi blushed as she left Xi Yue's embrace. "Where did you go? Why didn't you come over just now?"