Chapter 1825
by 林方方Chapter 1825 Chess Match, Wager
Pantheon Mental Hospital.
The shadows of the trees swayed in the wind, and by the black and white stone chessboard table, a figure sat motionless like a stone statue.
Those gray eyes reflected the position of each chess piece, with tiny flashes of light deep within them, sometimes puzzled, sometimes understanding, lost in thought about something unknown.
“What do you see?”
A voice came from behind him as Lin Qiye, wearing a white coat, walked slowly to his side with his hands in his pockets.
An Qingyu didn’t look up, but asked with confusion:
“This chess game, who were you playing against?”
“[Chaos].”
“No wonder…”
Lin Qiye’s gaze fell on the dust-covered chessboard. This board was left from four years ago when he competed with [Chaos] for control of the hospital. There was no special meaning to it. Later, [Chaos] seemed too lazy to play chess, so it was just left there untouched.
“What did you notice?”
“It’s chaotic, I can’t see anything in it.”
Lin Qiye sat down on the other side of the chessboard. “When was the last time we played chess?”
“Four years ago, I guess.” A hint of reminiscence appeared in An Qingyu’s eyes. “Back when we were at Beijing University, while I was still trying to recover from my soul trauma.”
“Only four years? It feels like it’s been a decade.”
Lin Qiye scanned the chessboard, gently waved his hand, and all the chess pieces automatically floated back into the two baskets. The dust on the chessboard’s surface instantly disappeared.
“Another game?” he asked.
“Sure.”
“Just playing chess might be a bit boring… how about we add a wager?”
An Qingyu glanced at him. “So, you came to extract information from me.”
Lin Qiye smiled without speaking.
“Fine.” An Qingyu didn’t hesitate much. “If you win, I’ll answer one question for you… but not just any question.”
“That standard is too vague. Whether you answer or not is still up to you.”
“Then let’s not play.”
“…Alright, and if you win?”
“If I win, I want to go somewhere.”
“Go somewhere?” Lin Qiye paused for a moment. “Fine, but not just anywhere… and I’ll have to go with you. If you make any unnecessary moves, I’ll bring you right back.”
“Deal.”
Whether intentionally or not, this time the basket in front of Lin Qiye contained black pieces… He picked up a black piece between his fingers and placed it first on a certain spot on the board. An Qingyu followed by placing a white piece next to the black one.
Seeing this, Lin Qiye’s eyebrows slightly raised. He placed another black piece in a different corner of the board, and the second white piece promptly followed, again landing right beside it.
“Your playing style… seems different from four years ago,” Lin Qiye narrowed his eyes.
“People always change.”
A breeze rustled through the tree shadows, making a crisp sound, as the two continued their silent game in the courtyard. Li Yifei, carrying tea, was about to approach but seeing how focused they both were, hesitated and quietly sat down by the stairs instead.
Before long, the black and white pieces on the board had become intricately positioned, creating a dizzying pattern.
When Li Yifei suddenly woke from his nap, the two players had already withdrawn their hands, seemingly having finished the game.
Li Yifei immediately stood up and walked over, asking curiously:
“How did it go? What’s the result?”
“A draw.”
Li Yifei shrugged and said helplessly, “You played for so long, and it ended in a draw? How boring…”
Lin Qiye and An Qingyu exchanged glances, both falling into silence…
Their previous bet was based on “winning” as the criterion, but since it was a draw, neither of them would get what they wanted.
“…Actually, a draw could be considered as both sides winning,” Lin Qiye hesitantly suggested.
“Agreed,” An Qingyu nodded immediately.
“In that case, answer my question first.” Lin Qiye stared into his eyes.
“Why did you betray Great Xia?”
An Qingyu seemed to have anticipated this question and replied without hesitation, “I refuse to answer.”
“What does the Cthulhu Mythos plan to do against Great Xia?”
“I refuse to answer.”
“What are your trump cards?”
“I refuse to answer.”
“How do you break the time labyrinth?”
Hearing the last question, An Qingyu’s eyes tensed.
He stared intently at Lin Qiye, and after a long silence, finally spoke in a deep voice:
“You… found the Gate of Truth?”
“I’m the one asking questions.”
Under Lin Qiye’s intense gaze, An Qingyu eventually said:
“The time labyrinth is essentially a time field left around the remains after the [Key of Doors] fell into eternal slumber… There, the boundaries between time and space are broken, so any form of spatial movement becomes a dual-state change of both time and space.
To break the time labyrinth, you either need a power stronger than the [Key of Doors] to directly shatter the time field, or you must find the pattern of the labyrinth through continuous trial and error to escape.”
Hearing this, Lin Qiye’s brows furrowed tightly.
Using a power stronger than the [Key of Doors] to break the time field was almost impossible for anyone in this world… [Chaos], as the strongest combat force among the Three Pillar Gods, might succeed. Besides that, the only hope would be Zhou Ping from the Sword Cottage.
The Three Pillar Gods’ combat power far exceeded that of Earth’s supreme god realm. Years ago, the three Heavenly Venerable and Michael together barely managed to almost kill [Black Goat]. Zhou Ping’s sword strike that shattered the sea domain earlier indicated his combat power was likely higher than Michael’s, but comparing it to the Three Pillar Gods was uncertain…
Even if Zhou Ping could break the time labyrinth with his sword, Lin Qiye wouldn’t let him do so, as it would cost him his life. Using his sword on a mere labyrinth would be wasteful.
“How is your answer any different from saying nothing?” Lin Qiye frowned.
“…” An Qingyu thought for a moment. “In general terms, these two methods are correct, but there is actually a simpler way for the second method…”
“How is it simpler?”
“Let me put it this way: the time labyrinth itself isn’t a three-dimensional existence. It’s formed by countless labyrinths from different times stacked on top of each other. You can imagine it as a skyscraper where the initial floor you enter is ‘the present,’ all floors below are ‘the past,’ and those above are ‘the future.’
Every step you take in this labyrinth sends you to a corresponding position on any random floor above or below. Generally, people who enter can’t control which floor they’ll end up on after taking a step – it’s completely random.
But since it’s structured like floors, there must be something like an ’emergency exit.’ If you find this ’emergency exit,’ you can freely choose which floor to go to…”