Ark Chess Player

"Hey, your hand..." Swire exclaimed as she watched Chen tremble as he pulled the lever, his cracked fingernails bleeding.

Chen shook her head, ignoring the pain, and pulled off the tab, taking a sip of her black coffee. Her mind was a mess; the cold coffee helped to get her thinking going and provided some energy. The caffeine wouldn't take effect for three hours, so she could keep going for at least nine hours.

"Tell me in detail what exactly happened."

About half an hour later, Swire shared all the information she knew, and the files also provided supplementary explanations for anything she didn't understand. During this time, the number of empty coffee cans in the trash can kept increasing. Although Swire had reminded Chen not to drink anymore, her stubborn nature wouldn't allow her to obediently agree, and she continued to drink the bitter liquid.

"I see."

Chen Huijie's expression was somewhat strange.

She combined the information provided by Swire with the intelligence she already knew, sorted and filtered it in her mind, eliminated useless junk information and retained important intelligence, and successfully summarized and planned out the various events that happened today.

“I see… Rhodes Island, so that’s how it is… Rhodes Island…” Chen murmured, thoughtfully bringing the coffee can to her lips, but no liquid seemed to enter her mouth for a long time.

She then realized that she had already finished drinking it, but she had just been holding it in her hands the whole time.

...It wasn't just this coffee can; she was also holding onto many other useless things, refusing to let go.

Chen Huijie gave a self-deprecating smile, then crushed the coffee can again and threw it into the trash can. This time, however, the can hit the wall, rolled a few times on the floor, and made a soft sound as it hit the newcomer's black sneakers.

Chapter 350 Hoshiguma's Mother (4K)

"Ugh."

The tall, green-haired beauty sighed, clearly feeling both helpless and annoyed by her friend's unhealthy eating habits.

"Can't you drink less? You don't feel anything now, but once the caffeine takes effect later, you won't be able to sleep even if you want to rest. Do you still think you're eighteen?" Hoshiguma picked up the shrunken can and threw it into the trash can for Chen.

Why are you here?

Chen countered with a question, but her gaze lingered on the large bag Hoshiguma was carrying, and she wisely refrained from asking further.

"I was thinking that if it were you, you probably wouldn't even have had lunch, let alone a midnight snack, right? Don't you even look at the time? You went to the convenience store to buy coffee but didn't you also buy something to eat to fill your stomach? How can you do any work on an empty stomach? By the way, you drank coffee on an empty stomach, aren't you afraid of getting high blood pressure—"

"Stop! Stop! Don't say anymore, do you want to be my mother?"

"If it's you, I wouldn't mind calling you Hoshiguma Mom, okay?" Hoshiguma smiled serenely. It was hard to imagine that the invincible woman on the battlefield was as gentle and virtuous as the older sister next door in her daily life.

"Alright, stop, let's leave this topic at that!"

Chen called for a halt, somewhat helplessly. She was afraid that if she continued talking, Hoshiguma would disrupt her rhythm and she might accidentally blurt out such an embarrassing term. Given her personality, there was absolutely no way she would engage in this kind of mother-daughter play with Hoshiguma—absolutely not—although she had indeed done it a few times before, but that was in the past! Times have changed!

"Hey, come on, it's all warm."

Hoshiguma carefully placed both bags on the desk, making it suddenly crowded. Even Chen had to obediently get off the desk, pretending to casually touch the bags to see what was inside.

Hoshiguma didn't directly expose Chen's little trick. Instead, she smiled warmly, like a gentle breeze, and said, "There's been so much going on in Lungmen today that many shops are closed. It's hard to find a restaurant that's still open this late, but that's no problem for me. This is a late-night diner's signature dish, why don't you try it? Miss, why don't you come and have some too?"

"I, I'm not hungry..."

Swire said reservedly, but Hoshiguma keenly observed her secretly covering her abdomen.

Swire barely ate anything that day. As she walked out of the Silverwing Security Contractors building, she was preoccupied with recording what she'd read in the indictment, her mind completely focused on work. She even forgot to bandage her wounds until her subordinates forcibly took her to the hospital. After a quick treatment, she refused the hospital's offer of observation and went straight back to the Guard Bureau building. No one dared stop her; after all, the hospital was owned by Swire's family.

This is probably what they call the power of money.

"Miss, I accidentally bought too much. These vegetables won't taste good the next day. If it's alright, could you please help me get rid of some?" Hoshiguma asked in a pleading tone, while showing a slightly embarrassed and shy expression.

"Oh, I see. Well, then there's nothing I can do. Honestly, you should make sure you can finish the food before ordering. Wasting food is the most shameful thing in the world. There's a saying in Yan that goes, 'Every grain is hard-earned.'"

Swire then scooted closer, hiding her embarrassment. Despite her family's good financial situation, she was actually quite frugal.

Swire never wastes money unnecessarily. She personally audits the public accounts to ensure that no one in her team is ever accused of bribery or extortion. But she's not a miser either. Whenever she successfully solves a difficult case or the entire Guard Bureau works overtime, she treats her subordinates to a late-night snack, with Swire footing the bill for the night.

Swire wasn't the pampered rich girl type; she walked steadily across the land, enjoying the simple pleasures of life.

She's truly the kind of good girl who will walk alongside you and work hard together.

"If you don't want to eat, then don't eat. Don't act like someone is begging you to eat." Chen Huijie originally wanted to say something to Shi Huaiya, but Xingxiong gently poked her waist, smiled and shook his head, making her swallow her words that were meant to startle her.

To take good care of these two, Hoshiguma put a lot of effort into understanding their personalities. She even secretly mastered the art of guiding Swire's conversations, and she could predict Old Chen's reactions so she could stop him in time.

"Miss is so easy to fool..."

As Hoshiguma thought to herself, a smile grew wider on her face.

The three of them enjoyed their dinner quietly in the still of the night. Only this office, brightly lit, remained on the spacious floor. This was the only time they could truly relax, free from worries.

"So you eat green peppers?"

Do I look like the kind of picky rich girl?

Seeing Chen Huijie's incredulous expression, Shi Huaiya frowned, but still ate her vegetables in small, elegant bites, chewing slowly and deliberately. Even ordinary Longmen home-cooked food made her feel like she was in a luxury restaurant. In contrast, Old Chen was rather boyish, picking at his chicken rice, oblivious to the rice grains stuck to the corners of his mouth.

Hoshiguma silently removed a grain of rice from the corner of Chen's mouth and put it into Chen's mouth with her other hand.

"Women who like to eat green peppers are no pushovers."

Chen recalled where he had heard this before and subconsciously said it.

"Oh? Is that so?" Swire picked up a piece of stir-fried green pepper, cut into small pieces and thoroughly cooked, with her chopsticks, and said provocatively, "Then, can the dignified Senior Superintendent Chen of the Lungmen Guard Bureau get used to this kind of bitter commoner food?"

Old Chen rolled her eyes as she picked out some of the side dishes she didn't like from the disposable lunchbox and gave them to Hoshiguma, while stubbornly saying, "I'm not a picky eater."

"You're not even embarrassed to say that," Swire said, turning to look at Hoshiguma, her eyebrows raised. "Just keep spoiling her."

"I have a big appetite, so I don't mind."

Hoshiguma chuckled gently, saying that she basically ate everything. Rather, it was because she had endured so much hardship in the past that her requirements for food were quite low. Apart from food that had expired, she could even accept fried insects.

Although the food at the Midnight Diner wasn't exactly gourmet, the three of them were starving after a long day, and being able to enjoy a hot meal so late at night was a real treat. Even Chen thanked Hoshiguma politely, while Swire took the initiative to clean up the mess, putting all the food scraps into garbage bags and tying them up.

Aren't you planning to go back yet?

Chen looked at Swire, who had sat back down in her chair, with some confusion.

"What do you mean 'go back'? Are you treating me like a tool? What happened to exchanging information?!" Swire wanted to cross her legs, but her leg was still injured, so she had to give up the idea. She asked unhappily, "Then, isn't it time to tell me what happened in the outer ring of Lungmen?"

Chen said calmly, "Nothing happened on the outer ring of Longmen. Commander Wei will stay healthy forever."

"You surnamed Chen, are you trying to fool me?!"

"It's the fault of the person who was deceived."

"How could you, a senior superintendent, say such a thing?!"

When Hoshiguma returned from the lounge, Swire and Chen were almost fighting. She sighed helplessly; it was just a matter of washing her hands, how did these two end up arguing?

Dragons and tigers clash, even ghosts tremble in fear.

Hoshiguma finally managed to separate the two, but surprisingly, both were very careful and didn't really fight. Besides the fact that they had just eaten, they were also concerned about each other's injuries and, as always, were not being honest with each other.

After being advised by Hoshiguma, Chen Huijie hesitated for a while and then sighed helplessly.

She silently picked up a can of black coffee and tossed it directly to Swire.

Although Swire was injured, her athletic ability was excellent, and she easily took over.

“Drinking coffee late at night will keep you awake,” Swire said unhappily, but her hand still honestly pulled the tab.

Although Swire isn't a picky eater, she's quite particular about the taste of coffee. Every time she brews coffee, she checks the quality of the beans, whether the water temperature is right, and adds a packet of brown sugar and extra milk foam. She probably wouldn't drink canned coffee from other brands, but this is, after all, a beverage produced by her family's Swire Group, and in her opinion, the taste is passable.

"It's okay. After you hear what I'm about to say, you won't be able to sleep whether you drink coffee or not."

Superintendent Chen's expression was slightly solemn, which made the other two take it seriously and sit up straight.

For the next hour, Chen picked up a whiteboard marker and began outlining the intelligence network she had sketched in her mind on the whiteboard against the office wall. Combining Swire's information with her own experiences, she meticulously refined their understanding of Lungmen's darker side. Hoshiguma listened attentively throughout, occasionally offering a few pointers that went straight to the point.

Hoshiguma used to be a figure in the gray areas of Lungmen, and was personally recruited by Wei Yanwu to join the Guard Bureau. In a sense, her perspective and way of thinking are different from Chen and Swire, and she can give unique advice.

Swire remained silent throughout. She finished her unsweetened black coffee without realizing it, but kept holding the can without throwing it away.

"In short, Lungmen's current troubles are more complicated than we imagined. First, we have completely lost contact with Senior Superintendent Alexander Swell. Of course, I don't mean that this colleague is that important, but we have obtained no intelligence on the area he is in charge of." Chen skillfully picked up a pointer and slapped it on the whiteboard with the words "Lungmen Slums" written in large characters, with a small name on it. It was clear that she had a very bad impression of this rich young superintendent.

"The slums are one of the places in Lungmen where the conflict is most severe today."

"The infiltration attack from the Reunion Movement, the opportunistic actions of a new Lungmen group secretly manipulated by foreign forces, the infected girl Misha who is guilty of possessing a treasure... and the Rhodes Island squad that gets caught up in this incident."

When Rhodes Island was mentioned, Chen Huijie's tone changed slightly, but she swallowed the bitterness and continued, "The communication network that the Guard Bureau set up in the slums was blocked, which shows that this was a premeditated riot. As a result, my communication with Rhodes Island could not be maintained normally, and I failed to anticipate the danger. I have to admit that the reason why the slums were able to remain unaffected during the day is all thanks to the Rhodes Island team."

“After all, Amiya is here, and that little leader is a very hardworking person.” Hoshiguma subconsciously praised Rhodes Island. She looked at Chen, and she remembered that Chen would always look unhappy when she praised Rhodes Island before.

Unexpectedly, Superintendent Chan nodded silently.

A cycad blooming?

Hoshiguma was stunned; she even forgot to say what she was going to say.

Chen continued, "At the same time, the Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals building was attacked by mercenaries from Silverwing Security Contractors, but the only casualties were the Guard Bureau's security squad and Silverwing's mercenaries. Rhodes Island demonstrated its strength here, and as for why Rhodes Island was targeted by other forces, we don't know for now. However, it is definitely related to him."

Superintendent Chen slightly raised the hand holding the pointer and struck it heavily on the badge symbolizing the Guard Bureau, which also bore a name.

—Wei Yanwu.

"Now comes the main event."

"Silverwing Security Contractor, the most well-known private armed security service company in Lungmen."

"In a single day, no, not even half a day... Silverwing Security Contractors' entire company was physically wiped out. The death toll is still being tallied, and the logistics department is still working hard to piece together the remains and count the number of people. There were no lightly injured people at the scene, but there were nearly forty seriously injured people on the verge of death, and the number of missing mercenaries is incalculable. The entire building was a river of blood, and the drainage system was stained red."

While analyzing the intelligence, Superintendent Chen glanced at Swire, who was usually a carefree girl but now looked rather pale. After all, she had been there; Swire had trudged through a pool of blood, enduring boundless fear, as she climbed the stairs to the top floor.

"Edward Wenger, the owner of Silverwing Security Contractors, died in his office. Even the Lungmen Special Forces' Submarine Team was wiped out, and the entire Swire Team was wounded. The Guard Bureau thoroughly investigated the surveillance footage of the Silverwing Building, but all the surveillance equipment failed, and the entire building's system was hacked, leaving no trace. I have a bold guess that this may have been a massacre carried out by an elite team, or even an operation by a single person."

At this point, Chen gazed intently at Swire, feeling that there were things the other woman hadn't told her.

Swire felt a little uneasy under her gaze, and she replied somewhat hesitantly, "What?"

"……nothing."

Chen raised his pointer and struck the whiteboard again, stopping at the chess castle icon symbolizing Rhodes Island.

"This was a retaliatory attack, and Rhodes Island is one of the organizations most likely to carry it out. The Silverwing mercenaries raided the Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals building, and then Rhodes Island retaliated. If this was indeed Rhodes Island's doing, then they are sending a signal to the outside world: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—no, a thousandfold."

Chapter 351 Doctor, No Stealing Food (3K)

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a thousandfold retribution."

Chen recalled Amiya's unwavering gaze; without a doubt, she was serious.

Hoshiguma, however, was reminded of something else. She muttered to herself, "A squad, or even just one person, wiping out the entire Silverwing Security Contractors..."

Hoshiguma knew a lot about the scandals surrounding this legitimate mercenary organization, so she had never liked them. However, she had to admit that she also understood how powerful they were. The Silverwing Security contractors were secretly connected to capitalists in Lungmen's wealthy district, to the point that the Guard Bureau couldn't arrest them without evidence.