Ark Chess Player

Even with a black veil covering her entire face, her exposed eyes were enough to captivate anyone. A faint blush lingered at the corners of her eyes, and her elegantly styled hair, adorned with a gold hairpin embellished with jade, adorned her headdress, giving her the refined air of a noblewoman from the Yan Kingdom. Standing there, leaning against Lin Lu, she appeared like a young girl in the throes of first love, yet exuded an aura of regal authority.

The mercenaries immediately understood.

No wonder this person looks like a scavenger; he's actually a pimp.

It's obvious this beauty is here to curry favor with President Edward; I wonder which family's heiress she is. Hopefully, this time we can at least have a taste of the good life. Seeing so much meat on the table every day, only able to look on with envy, is just too painful.

"Boss, may I make a move?"

Chaoshan glanced at the two mercenaries. With her life experience, how could she not see what their eyes meant and what they were thinking?

Lin Lu nodded and said slowly, "There's no need to leave any survivors."

The two mercenaries immediately dropped their mocking expressions, wondering if they had misheard. How dare this seemingly frail man utter such arrogant words?

This directly touches on their death line; mercenaries are extremely wary of the phrase "leave no survivors."

"Stop right now! Hands up! If you dare to move an inch, we'll—" Before the mercenary could finish his shout, his head suddenly turned 180 degrees, and he swallowed the rest of his words.

The other man took several steps back in terror, trying to raise his weapon, only to find his hands bent in the opposite direction. Before he could utter a sound, his head followed his companion's, turning to face the face he had longed for.

Chaoshan clapped her hands. She appeared behind the mercenaries without anyone noticing, moving so fast that even the data-driven spiritual domain could barely detect her.

"That felt great! I haven't punched anyone in ages. I've been working in logistics all this time and I'm about to go crazy!" Asayama stretched happily, her every move exuding charm and making her seem like a vibrant young girl.

Clayton silently lowered the short axe he had raised; thankfully, he was slow to react and did not immediately attack.

If he ruins the boss's mood, he'll definitely be in big trouble when they get back from this mission. Boss Chaoshan is known for her excellent memory; she can remember even the most trivial thing from four years ago and will settle scores with her later.

“…Not bad, really not bad.”

Lin Lu mentally recreated Chao Shan's attack methods; her martial arts were quite unique, capable of shielding others from perception.

In Lin Lu's eyes, Chao Shan had simply walked up to the mercenary, raised her hand to hold his neck, and twisted it. However, her speed and precision were so great that it gave the illusion that she hadn't even made a move.

"Alright, let's go inside. All the mercenaries in this house—"

Lin Lu slightly raised his eyes, his digitized spiritual domain covering the entire Starlight Mansion Courtyard No. 6, marking all enemies. He saw many things, many filthy things. Especially the basement, no less than the secret room on the sixteenth floor of the Silverwing Building, filled with torture instruments for pleasure.

Through the spirit realm, Lin Lu also saw the beauties that Edward Wenger had tried to use as bargaining chips to get Lin Lu to spare his life before he died. These beauties were wrapped in thin clothes and were imprisoned separately in cages, their freedom restricted like livestock.

Lin Lu's gaze was icy as he coldly declared, "Leave no one alive!"

Upon reaching the mountain, Klayton responded simultaneously, "As you wish, Great Chief."

Chapter 275 Your Horse is Gone (5K)

Group 4⑧87④97⑨9

Lungmen Guard Bureau Building, Witness Room.

Escorted by two Guards officers, Edward Ugg arrived at the location as he had hoped.

"Go inside. I'm warning you, don't try anything funny, or you'll be in for a world of hurt. Don't blame me for not warning you, you'd better behave yourself."

A police officer used a temporary authorization card to open the door to the witness room, confiscated all of Ug's belongings, pushed Ug, who was handcuffed, inside, and closed the door behind him.

"Okay, big brother, no problem, big brother!"

Ug raised his hands and waved, finally getting a brief respite from his tense nerves.

If there is any place in Lungmen that is absolutely safe, it must be the witness room of the Lungmen Guard Bureau.

Not only is the security here extremely tight, with police officers constantly on duty in shifts outside, but even the walls and windows are made of the highest quality materials, capable of withstanding a surprise attack for a considerable period. Even the ventilation system is independent to prevent anyone from using it to infiltrate and release poison gas. Furthermore, besides the guards who possess temporary authorization cards that expire periodically, only officers of senior superintendent rank or higher are allowed entry. It's practically foolproof, with a security level of 100%.

If this place is breached, then there will probably be no other safe place in Lungmen.

Ug squatted by the doorway, trying to calm himself. He had been on tenterhooks the whole way, fearing that he might be robbed by bandits while riding in the police car and singing. For some reason, a subconscious thought kept telling him to go to the witness stand, or he would surely die.

This is probably what they call the will to survive, right?

"I wonder if Wenger will bail me out of here later... Ugh, never mind, I just sold him out not long ago, he probably wants to kill me right now."

Ugg hadn't forgotten how he'd traded the intelligence about the assassins coming from Silverwing Security Contractors for his own life. He frowned, thinking, "Wait, what if that tigress Superintendent brings Wenger here? If Wenger also chooses to reveal Alexander's commission like I have, it's not impossible for him to be put in the witness section... No, I still need to find a powerful backer to cling to; saving my life is the priority!"

Ug was quite aware of his own combat abilities; he was purely a logistics personnel, specializing in electronic warfare. As a keyboard warrior, give him a keyboard, and he could transform into a technical expert that hundreds of brutes combined couldn't match. But if you sent him to the front lines to charge into battle, he was certain he'd trip and fall after running fifty meters with a sword, stabbing himself to death.

"Hopefully I'll run into a kind older brother... I heard that if you want to curry favor in prison, you have to learn how to pick up the soap first. I wonder if that's true. If I resist, will I get beaten up and then forced to pick it up?" Ug suddenly felt a little scared. After all, the people who can come to the witness hall are not nobody, otherwise there wouldn't be such high-priority security measures here. Isn't it just to prevent someone from coming to kill him and cover it up? If Ug hadn't known some deadly things, he wouldn't have had the chance to come here.

"Hey, are you there?"

Ug walked into the room. The environment of the witness room was not like an ordinary prison or solitary confinement cell, but rather the environment of a high-end hotel.

Upon entering the main hall, one finds that the kitchen refrigerator contains not only beverages, juices, and vodka, but also desserts with an expiration date of less than three days, and even daily-changing fruits to ensure adequate nutritional intake.

As Ug walked further, he discovered that there was also a gym and a library, and even the dormitories were single rooms with double beds.

Wait, why is there a double bed in the witness box?

Ug looked down at his handcuffs, then looked up at his surroundings.

He always felt like he was on vacation, not imprisoned.

"Newbie?"

A middle-aged man, nearly two meters tall, with bulging muscles, wearing an old Ursus military uniform on his upper body, and exuding a philosophical air, walked over.

Unlike Ug, this man seemed to have considerable autonomy. Forget handcuffs, he just casually walked out wearing only boxer shorts. The combination of a military uniform and polka-dot boxer shorts was bizarre, like something out of a social media blogger's post.

“Hello, brother. My name is Edward Ug. From today onwards, we are neighbors,” Ug said sincerely.

“What neighbor? This is called cohabitation.” The middle-aged man smiled, patted Ug’s thin shoulder, and pushed him into the room. “My name is Makarov. Not long ago, I was an administrator in the Ursus Empire. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you here.”

"Thank you, brother. You're so kind."

Ug smiled gratefully; he had finally met his family!

Not long ago, he collapsed in a truck. When he woke up, he saw the female tigress of the Guard Bureau staring at him with a cold expression, one hand holding his collar and the other hand raised in the air.

Ug felt a burning pain on his face, as if he had been slapped twice.

While being questioned by the police officers, Ug kept thinking back to why he had fainted.

He felt as if he had witnessed something terrible before he lost consciousness. It was so terrifying that his brain subconsciously erased that memory, leaving only endless fear within him. He didn't even dare to think about it, and for a while, he couldn't even look at the display screen. All he could think about was finding a safe place to hide, and the safest place in Lungmen was naturally the Witness Hall of the Royal Guard Bureau.

Looking back now, surrendering was the right thing to do, and coming to the witness stand was the right thing to do.

Yay! The next Nobel Prize in Literature is mine!

"Brother Makarov, where are we going?"

"Let's go to the room. I'll show you some good stuff."

"What great deal? Is it a new computer?"

“It’s even more fun than a computer! Come on!” Makarov laughed loudly, patting Ug’s thin back hard, causing Ug to stumble and almost fall to the ground. It was because of this that he turned his head and saw another half-closed room. On the floor of the room, several people seemed to be lying haphazardly. Moreover, faint groans and moans could be heard coming from inside; men wept upon hearing them, while women fell silent.

"Brother Ma, who are these people...?"

Ug shuddered; he had a vague sense of foreboding.

"Them?" Makarov grinned, as pleased as if he'd just eaten Mapo Tofu. "They're your roommates, and we'll be spending a very, very long time together. Don't worry, you'll soon be just like them, feeling the allure of muscles. You'll understand what it means to be a master thief, a tongue whip, a quick draw, wild growth, deadly rhythm, a dragon's ram, a phase surge, the rhythm of war, an energy outpouring, and finally, a final curtain call and composure."

Makarov ushered Ug into the room, laughing loudly, "Welcome to my Pony House! From today onwards, this is your home. These machines will be your best companions. Come and feel the power of muscles with me!"

"..."

Did I come to the wrong place?

Is it too late to go back and find Wenger now?

"Brother Ma, can I not go?" Ug asked timidly.

Makarov looked down at him, pointed to the handcuffs on his hands, and flashed his white teeth.

"No."

It is said that on that day, Ug climbed the adult's steps.

He learned a lot, a lot.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Your horse is gone."

The reception room of the Imperial Guard Building.

Governor Wei Yanwu of Longmen raised the "chariot" in his hand and swallowed the opponent's "horse".

Sitting in front of Wei Yanwu was an elderly man in his late sixties dressed in traditional Chinese clothing. He was not from Yan State, but he had a deep affection for Yan State culture.

The two are playing Chinese chess, a traditional board game of the Yan Kingdom. Chinese chess has a long history in the Yan Kingdom and is a two-player competitive game, considered a cultural treasure of the Yan Kingdom.

"I didn't expect that your chess skills are as good as ever, Mr. Wei."

The old man smiled and said that even though he was always at a disadvantage, he showed no sign of discouragement or anxiety, which showed his high level of chess skills and profound state of mind.

"Sodan, you haven't changed at all, still the same dishes as before."

Wei Yanwu smiled, but there was no trace of a smile in his eyes.

"Is that so? I do feel that I have learned quite a bit in the past few years, but unfortunately, I am still not as good as you." The old man named Sodan did not fall for Wei Yanwu's provocation. He simply moved a pawn forward and made a move, using the principle of "remaining unchanged to respond to all changes" to seal off half of the opponent's chessboard.

Wei Yanwu stared at his opponent, not placing a piece for a long time.

This game of chess has actually been going on for almost three hours, ever since the attack on the outer ring of Longmen.

Everything, inside and outside the game, is a game.

Despite having more pieces than his opponent, Wei Yanwu made a crucial mistake in his first move, underestimating the importance of this piece. This led to a series of errors in his thinking, and the game never progressed as he had anticipated.

Even after taking remedial measures, they were still somewhat hesitant and unable to fully commit to absorbing the opponent's power, and could only proceed step by step.

In contrast, Sodan consistently and generously sacrificed his pieces. These sacrifices were all necessary tools for his ultimate victory. Indeed, they were all necessary, no matter the cost.

The game is over; once a move is made, there's no going back.

You must not lose your composure, or you will surely fail.

"well!"

Sodan took a sip of the hot tea offered by the beautiful woman beside him and couldn't help but sigh. This top-grade Longjing tea was tender and glossy green, with a delicate aroma and mellow taste. Only Wei Yanwu could import such fine goods from Yan Kingdom.

This privilege, which belonged solely to Wei Yanwu, even if it was just a small right, still made people feel uneasy.