Chapter 1007: Crossing the River
"Old Qi, bad news, bad news, bad news! I fucked up royally!"
Chen Junnan burst through the door, shouting at the top of his lungs.
At that moment, Tiantian, Han Yimo, and Qiao Jiajin were all waiting in the "Preparation Zone," watching as Qi Che stared at the screen, seemingly lost in thought.
Hearing Chen Junnan's shouts, Qi Che slowly turned around and said softly, "Talk slowly. What's wrong?"
"Just now...!" Chen Junnan pointed behind him. "Wen Qiaoyun and I each pulled out a chain to bet against each other. She lost one chain to me, but I didn't lose mine. And she guessed that I don't have a 'Cannon' on me. She also said that you, Lawyer Zhang, and Old Qiao—one of you is the 'Cannon.' Then I gave Dr. Zhao a look, but Dr. Zhao is actually nothing special..."
Chen Junnan spewed out a jumble of words, instantly plunging the room into an awkward silence.
"Old Qi, do you get it...?" Chen Junnan blinked and asked.
Qi Che was silent for a few seconds before replying, "I understand. You won a chain."
"What the hell do you mean I won a chain?!" Chen Junnan said, his face full of grievance. "Wen Qiaoyun bluffed me! And she actually got me to reveal it!"
"I know." Qi Che nodded. "And after she figured it out?"
"After she figured it out... I didn't say anything. I just left directly," Chen Junnan said. "What else could I say? Compliment her a bit more?"
"Perfect." Qi Che said. "'Psychological Warfare' is fully complete. Time to start picking them off one by one."
"Wait... Old Qi, do you really understand?" Chen Junnan said. "Wen Qiaoyun is no different from before! She's terrifyingly sharp!"
"You're not bad either." Qi Che thought for a moment and said, "Did your 'character' get exposed?"
"My 'character'..." Chen Junnan paused. "It shouldn't have."
With that, he reached into his pockets and pulled out two rolled-up socks from each pocket. A few chains were stuffed inside each sock.
Chen Junnan slowly unrolled the two socks, revealing the 'characters' inside.
One 'Horse,' one 'Advisor,' and finally a 'General' from Chen Junnan's pocket.
It seemed he had come well prepared, but before he could even lay out his chaotic scheme, Wen Qiaoyun had already thrown him off balance.
"Isn't this good?" Qi Che said. "You charged in with three 'characters' on you, and not only did they not try to snatch them from you, they actually think you only have one 'character' and that it's not the 'Cannon.' In some respects, we've won."
"Really...?" Chen Junnan was a bit skeptical. "You're saying even that counts as a win for me?"
"For the time being, you can be any character except the 'Cannon.'" Qi Che nodded. "'Psychological Warfare' has already succeeded."
"But Old Qi..." Chen Junnan said hesitantly. "There are a lot of smart people on the other side..."
"Don't worry." Qi Che said. "The opponent's strength is that they 'have too many strategists,' but their weakness is also that they 'have too many strategists.'"
"Huh...?"
"Everyone on the other side, except for Zhang Shan and Jin Yuanxun, overthinks everything." Qi Che said. "Even if you just walk in front of them, they'll keep guessing your intentions."
"But I don't have any intentions..." Chen Junnan shook his head and said, "When I go crazy, even I don't know what I'm doing."
Qiao Jiajin suddenly thought of something and said happily to Chen Junnan, "Oh right! I heard that 'fools beat masters.' Looks like that saying applies to you, Junnan Zai!"
"Old Qiao, I really appreciate the compliment." Chen Junnan said flatly. "From now on, if there's nothing special to say, maybe hold back on the praise."
"Why aren't you happy?" Qiao Jiajin came over and put his arm around Chen Junnan's shoulder. "Junnan Zai, don't be upset. I'm pretty dumb too."
"That 'too' really doesn't make me feel any better." Chen Junnan said. "Old Qiao, how about you stop trying to comfort me and go see if there are any dumbbells around? Go lift them for a while."
Qi Che took a 'Advisor' from Chen Junnan's hand, walked over to Tiantian, and handed the 'character' to her.
"Returning it to its rightful owner." Qi Che said.
Tiantian took her 'Advisor' with some confusion and asked, "Qi Che, didn't the rules just say we 'cannot exchange characters at will'? How come Chen Junnan could take our 'characters' and charge ahead on his own? And now you're giving his 'character' back to me... Doesn't that count as an 'exchange'?"
"Of course not." Qi Che said. "This 'character' wasn't 'exchanged' to you by Chen Junnan. I just snatched it from him."
"Snatched...?"
"And you didn't give your 'character' to Chen Junnan either. He snatched it from you."
Tiantian was stunned. She recalled that earlier, Chen Junnan had indeed snatched the 'Advisor' from her hand, and now Qi Che had taken it from him using the same method, and finally exercised his authority as the 'Commander-in-Chief' to distribute it to her.
No wonder such a drastic move hadn't drawn any intervention from the 'Referee.' It turned out everything was within the rules.
"Di Long said..." Qi Che continued. "We can use any means to seize 'characters' from anyone, including our own people. The only catch is that the person who loses the 'character' has to wait in the Preparation Zone."
"I see..." Tiantian muttered as she looked down at the 'Advisor' in her hand.
Qi Che had told her that in a standard game of chess, the 'Advisor' is the last line of defense protecting the 'General.'
Unfortunately, in this game, only the weak ended up with the 'Advisor.'
"Oh, right, Old Qi!" Chen Junnan said. "I had that kid pass a message to you. Did you get it?"
"I did." Qi Che said. "It seems our opponents are thinking the same as us. They've also discovered the hidden rule of this game—'Crossing the River.'"
"Crossing the River...?" Tiantian and Qiao Jiajin were puzzled.
"In chess, some pieces cannot 'cross the river.'" Qi Che explained. "But in this game, Di Long never mentioned the concept of 'crossing the river.' That's very likely a trap. And someone has to step into that trap sooner or later. We should try to let them 'cross the river' first, and only act after we've confirmed the consequences."
Qiao Jiajin turned to look at the wall. "Deceiver Zai, which 'pieces' can't 'cross the river'?"
Qi Che also turned to look at the wall, pointing at the characters displayed there. "Normally, 'Advisor,' 'Elephant,' and 'General'—these three types of pieces can't cross the river. They can only move within their own territory. That means if we see someone appear in our zone, their identity can only be 'Horse,' 'Chariot,' 'Soldier,' or 'Cannon.'"
"So..." Chen Junnan also thought for a moment. "Old Qi, what do you think will happen if someone 'crosses the river'?"
"Hard to say." Qi Che shook his head. "There are too many possibilities. I don't know what rule Di Long and Qing Long ultimately decided to use."