Ark Chess Player

Lungmen, this dazzling jewel of Terra, you've had it all to yourself for so long, isn't it time to hand it over?

"report!"

A strong, resonant voice came from outside the door.

Wei Yanwu didn't turn his head; his gaze remained fixed on the chessboard. He replied, "Come in."

"Yes!"

A guard officer entered the room, nodded to Mr. Wei and Mr. Sodan, and then gave his usual report.

He's been in and out of the meeting room countless times today, basically just stating the information he's received and then running away.

Yes, no need for extra formalities, just run. Because after each mission report, these two big shots' aura becomes quite terrifying, so it's best for a nobody like him to stay out of it.

"Report: Our personnel have thoroughly investigated Silverwing Security Contractors."

"A total of 444 mercenaries from Silverwing Security Contractors were killed in action, including the group's general manager, Edward Wenger."

"Dragon Squad leader Alexander Charlotte is killed in action. Team members Hawkeye, Observer, Assault Team member, and Artilleryman are also killed in action, with four others seriously wounded. Most of the Guard Bureau officers are unconscious! Superintendent Beatrice Swire is injured, but she refuses to go to the hospital for examination and treatment, insisting on staying at the Silverwing Tower to complete the investigation!"

After the police officer finished reporting, he immediately bowed, turned around and left, closing the door and running away in one swift motion.

He had only run fifty meters when he heard a series of loud bangs behind him, and he secretly rejoiced that he had run fast.

Inside the reception room, Sodan held a warm teacup in both hands, his knuckles protruding, yet his control was remarkably precise. He still wore a smile, but everything around him had been destroyed by his aura, except for the maid beside him and the chessboard on the table, which remained unscathed.

“Charlotte, I remember that young man, he was very talented.”

Wei Yanwu found Suo Dan's forced restraint quite amusing and couldn't help but add insult to injury: "He became the captain of the Hidden Dragon Squad at the young age of twenty, and he even overpowered everyone else with his own strength! Even if his methods were quite dirty, he was indeed capable. It's a pity, a real pity, that he's gone just like that. If you hadn't suggested that the Hidden Dragon Squad replace the Vermilion Bird Squad in this special mission, he might have lived a couple more days."

"Don't get too cocky, Wei Yanwu!"

Sodan's previously impenetrable composure finally crumbled; the teacup he held in his hand trembled, and tea splashed onto his hand. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Wei Yanwu suddenly move to the chessboard, a stark contrast to his previous indecisiveness.

The cannon flew over another cannon and captured one of his horses.

"Your horses are all gone! What happened?"

"You traded your cannon for my horse, was it worth it?!"

Sodan moved his chariot sideways and directly destroyed the enemy's cannon that had been sent all the way from afar.

"As long as you don't have a horse, that's enough for me."

Wei Yanwu didn't mind at all, but his smile quickly faded.

To be honest, this move was beyond his expectations.

Wei Yanwu had no idea that Rhodes Island's strength was far greater than when they fought the Reunion Movement the night before last!

They stormed the building and slaughtered hundreds of mercenaries within half an hour, like a war machine going into full swing, reaping lives.

Even if Lungmen sends out special forces for a raid, it would require a lot of time and sophisticated equipment; it wouldn't be so easy to uproot Silverwing Security Contractors.

In Wei Yanwu's double insurance plan, if Rhodes Island's leader Kal'tsit were to perish at the hands of Silverwing Security Contractors, although it would be quite regrettable to lose a partner company with unique expertise in Oripathy infected individuals, it would also mean that Rhodes Island's strength was limited to this.

Even though the information they provided about Upper Chernobog was quite rich and interesting, it was still beyond reality. Even among the anomalies that Wei Yanwu knew, there was no such monster that parasitized an entire city and devoured flesh and blood.

If the Reunion Movement truly possesses such power, then the most important thing Lungmen should do is go all out and simply run away.

Of course, Wei Yanwu believed that Rhodes Island had the strength to resist Silverwing Security Contractors, but his greater hope was to use someone else to do the dirty work.

However, the knife was so sharp that Wei Yanwu almost cut his hand while holding it.

Has Rhodes Island revealed all its cards?

However, during the previous report, the police mentioned that several exceptionally skilled operators had appeared at the Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals Building. It was precisely because of them that even though the entire pharmaceuticals building was reduced to ruins, not a single Rhodes Island employee was injured.

Wei Yanwu was well aware that there were assassins among the Silverwing Security contractors, and he also knew that among these assassins... there was one who had once been the Minister of Justice of Yan Kingdom, but had offended someone whose name could not be revealed a few years ago, and ended up in this predicament.

"Report! Report!"

The knocking sounded again, but this time it sounded more urgent.

Did the intelligence come so quickly this time?

Wei Yanwu, puzzled, beckoned and said, "Come in."

It was the same police officer, but this time his face was serious, and he was much more nervous than before.

"Report! The lower city of Lungmen Outer Ring has fallen! A large number of Reunion Movement infected have attacked the slum area, and citizens of the Lungmen New Generation Organization... have been surrounded and slaughtered by numerous infected!"

This time, the officer did not leave immediately, but stood still and waited for instructions.

The Infected from the Reunion Movement besieging the city is one thing, but massacring Lungmen citizens is another!

The myth of Lungmen Guard Bureau's security will never exist again.

"Hey, Lao Wei, look here."

Sodan called out, turning Wei Yanwu, whose brows were furrowed and whose face showed anger, to look at him.

Sodan raised his cannon and crossed the Chu River and Han border, reaching deep into the heart of Wei Yanwu's chessboard, pressing down on his horse and hindering its movement.

Through his constant concessions and sacrifices, Sodan successfully forced Wei Yanwu to bury all his pieces in his territory, leaving his defenses vulnerable. Even if Wei Yanwu were to defend afterward, he would be a beat too late, unless he also gave up most of his pieces.

But would Wei Yanwu dare?

Sodan was willing to take over a war-torn and dilapidated Longmen, attracted by the power and far-reaching benefits behind it. Wei Yanwu, however, could not allow Longmen to burn in the flames, because it involved far too many secrets of the Yan Kingdom.

"It's your turn."

Sodan raised his teacup and gave Wei Yanwu a mocking smile, returning the sarcasm he had received earlier.

Wei Yanwu's face was gloomy, and the temperature in the entire reception room suddenly dropped, even the tea became ice-cold.

If this game of chess has reached a stalemate between the general and the king, then the outcome seems irreversible.

However, neither Wei Yanwu (Black) nor Alexander Sodan (Red) expected that—

A white-robed player appears on both sides' nine palaces.

Chapter 276 The Reporter (4K)

The outer ring of Longmen is a slum.

A grayish-white shadow loomed over the slums, and wherever it reached, the earth was covered with blood-red puddles.

Uniformly colored military boots trod on the scarlet earth, leaving distinct footprints as they marched toward the enemy.

"I'm a reporter from Longmen New Talk Monthly, don't come any closer! I have a press card! I have the right to personal protection in Longmen!" A reporter in a yellow shirt held up his camera and press card, hysterically wailing.

Just ten minutes earlier, his face was filled with disdain and smugness as he recorded the scene of an old woman being brutally beaten to death by the surrounding college students.

The reporter in yellow did not forget his employer's request and clearly photographed the part of the old woman's body where the Originium was growing, to prove that she was indeed infected with Oripathy.

Unlike those foolish college students who only know how to use brute force to earn a mere three thousand Lungmen coins, as a member of society, his skills allow him to have better ways to acquire benefits.

After negotiating with Boss Huang, the leader of the Longmen New Generation organization, the press pass he had once paid for to easily infiltrate mid-to-high-end venues has now become a money-making tool.

Unexpectedly, besides secretly following some socialites in Lungmen as a paparazzi, or lending money to female college students in Lungmen and then forcing them to take nude photos to pay off the debt, and then selling these photos at high prices... he had a new use for it.

The reporter in yellow doesn't need to personally hunt down Oripathy patients; he can make a fortune simply by filming these scenes. Moreover, he cleverly learns how to provoke resistance and then film the illusion of infected individuals attacking citizens.

For example, this old woman in front of us. After learning that a college student from Longmen had captured her precious grandson, the reporter in yellow had a sudden idea. Instead of killing the little infected person immediately, he used him as bait to force the old woman to run out of the complex slum.

After the reporter in yellow saw that the old woman had taken the bait, he called over the college freshmen from Longmen and slowly used a metal cue to hit the kid's head in front of her, like the most blasphemous thugs in the world, doing all sorts of inhuman things.

The old woman was heartbroken to see her grandson die, and she wanted nothing more than to tear the college students to pieces. She attacked like a wild horse, completely forgetting the pain caused by her Oripathy.

The reporter in yellow immediately photographed the old woman's vengeful expression in grief over the loss of her grandson, and even gave her several close-up shots, capturing her distorted face filled with unbearable sorrow.

Of course, the reporter in yellow was clever enough not to photograph the young infected person's body, nor to leave any record whatsoever. He deleted all information unfavorable to himself, leaving behind only data that would incite hatred towards those infected.

Once everything is over, he only needs to return to the studio to edit the recorded video and slightly rearrange the order. It will then depict the old infected person seeing Lungmen citizens and immediately rushing at them like a madman, attempting to spread Oripathy.

For the safety of Lungmen, the newly born citizens of Lungmen are fearless and vow to protect Lungmen to the death! They are willing to fight the infected on the front lines, because the new generation of Lungmen represents the future of Lungmen.

In this way, no matter how brutal these college students are, no normal person will feel indignant on behalf of the infected.

This is similar to public opinion advocating for animal welfare, but you can't demand equality between dogs and humans, much less equality from rabid dogs that only bite. Moreover, those infected with Oripathy are even less privileged than dogs. Some cute dogs can at least be kept as pets, but these infected individuals are a source of deadly infectious diseases simply by breathing in this world.

In this way, the new students of Longmen are not just any small-time gang, but a high-level club that is voluntarily joined by Longmen's social figures, social elites, and college students.

The new recruits of Longmen are all heroes, and he is the most arduous war correspondent, defending the most tragic and difficult places and bringing back first-hand reports of the heroes defending Longmen.

The reporter in the yellow shirt thought he was a genius!

He not only resolved the question of whether hunting Oripathy-infected individuals by the Longmen Newcomer Organization was inhumane, but also determined the direction of public opinion afterward. Furthermore, he was able to obtain more than ten times the profit without getting his own hands dirty!

No matter how many videos and photos he takes, he only needs to write a report praising the actions of the Lungmen Newcomer Organization afterward to earn 30,000 Lungmen coins. This is equivalent to more than half a year's salary, enough for him to squander for a month. Even spending a night at the third floor of the Drunken Moon Pavilion is not out of the question.

Does the reporter in yellow feel uneasy about committing such a heinous crime?

The answer is no.

He didn't care and had no scruples, since no one would stand up for these infected people in the Lungmen slums anyway.

nobody.

That's what he used to think.

until……

"Who exactly are you people?! I've recorded your every move, and I'm warning you, don't come any closer! Otherwise, I'll immediately upload the video to the Longmen Forum, and then you won't have a chance to escape! I said it!"

The reporter in yellow shouted hoarsely, unaware that he had cornered himself. There was no way out in any direction, and behind him was a high wall. With his physique, which had never been exercised in years, climbing out was simply a pipe dream.

He wasn't familiar with the layout of the Lungmen slums. After all, how could someone from a relatively well-off family like him possibly come to such a stinking place on a normal day? If it weren't for the fact that he wanted to earn some extra money today, he probably would never have come to the slums in his entire life.

"Don't come any closer...don't come near me!!"

The reporter in yellow looked in horror at the crowd that was closing in on him. These people were all wearing uniform gray-white protective gear, including lightweight shields. Just standing in front of them gave him a suffocating sense of pressure.

These were the same people who, just minutes before, silently emerged from the shadows of the slums and, without hesitation, decapitated the college freshmen of Lungmen. One second they were taking a selfie with their phones over the old woman's corpse, the next their phones captured the instant their heads were severed. Gushing blood soaked the mobile devices in pools of blood, the screen's light gradually dimming until all color vanished.

"I know, I know who you are!!"

Perhaps because his death was imminent, the yellow-clad reporter's will to live was so strong that he recalled the many recent uproar in Lungmen.

Since there are brain-dead new Lungmen organizations like theirs, it's natural that there will also be brain-dead Lungmen citizens who impersonate the rumored Reunion Movement. In any case, it's all about satisfying the ugliest, most bestial desires of humanity. These brain-dead individuals, tired of their mundane lives, are countless and trying to find excitement in real life.

Since we're after excitement, let's pretend to be infected members of the Reunion Movement and see it through to the end.

"Have you all gone stupid from studying?! Nobody's going to pay you for doing this!"