Chapter 79: Yue Yiyue: Refusing Disciples

As the chess game progressed, Yue Yiyue’s red side shifted from an initial advantage to a disadvantage, and her expression grew increasingly hesitant.

The greatest difficulty of this chess game was that she had to find a way to save more people.

The more Yue Yiyue thought, the more concerns she had—and the less daring she became in making a move.

The nearby computer’s countdown showed Yue Yiyue taking longer and longer to move.

Greed… so it had been waiting for her here.

Fine beads of sweat emerged on Yue Yiyue’s forehead as her mind rapidly calculated.

In contrast, Zhou Qingyi across from her was far more decisive and ruthless.

The pieces behind the side she controlled were merely monsters that had triggered rule distortions.

For these wastes, dying in the chess game on her behalf was their honor.

Greed watched Yue Yiyue’s greed as she tried to grasp everything, and at that moment, it realized this Yue Yiyue wasn’t as single-minded as it had imagined.

Hmm, if it transformed her, the chess game could end more quickly, allowing them to proceed to the next round and harvest more lives.

There were plenty of such consumables anyway.

Only someone as soft-hearted as her would think about how to save one more.

However, this version of Yue Yiyue was not bad either; it could somewhat see her ambition, though what it needed was not this kind of weak incompetence.

Greed’s gaze met Gu Nanqiu’s behind Yue Yiyue. It subconsciously shrank back but then remembered this was its territory.

It puffed out its chest and shouted toward Zhou Qingyi: “If you win, I’ll give you Gu Nanqiu then.”

“She will surpass Mu Hongcai and belong directly to you, becoming your trophy.”

Upon hearing these words, Zhou Qingyi became even more excited than before, and her playing style grew even stranger.

Having lost two pieces in a row while suppressed, Yue Yiyue’s expression had turned unsightly.

After hearing Greed’s words, her face darkened instantly.

“Greed, you swore an oath before.” Yue Yiyue scolded sharply.

“Yes, I can guarantee she’ll leave here intact,” Greed said indifferently. “But I didn’t say I wouldn’t act against her afterward.”

Gu Nanqiu was currently just an ordinary person, and before the others arrived, it still had room to maneuver.

As long as they didn’t completely devour each other among themselves, the Main God wouldn’t interfere much.

Moreover, if it didn’t create some trouble for Gu Nanqiu later, it would inevitably be dragged back by her sooner or later.

Thinking of that prison-like Lower Realm, tsk, Greed decided to add some spice for them.

Those lunatics could go there again and again for love.

It was just a little baby that had freshly escaped; it had no desire to go back.

With that thought, Greed moved its fingers. In a corner unnoticed by everyone, shiny gold coins began to roll.

Soon, tentacles emerged from the room’s corners, silently following the gold coins, coiling them up, and dragging them away.

————

Once both sides had fully set up their positions, Zhou Qingyi used an advisor maneuver—three forward, five across in a square pattern—to capture Yue Yiyue’s red soldier. A few moves later, her black horse devoured Yue Yiyue’s red horse.

Rumbling collapse sounds filled the room, each one striking at Yue Yiyue’s heartstrings.

She had originally planned to expand the board first, then close the net, minimizing losses and saving as many people as possible.

But because of her hesitation, she was beaten down by the black side.

More and more red pieces were captured on the board, and the collapsing sounds behind her grew louder.

If this continued, she would lose soon…

Yue Yiyue subconsciously raised her hand and bit her finger.

She now faced even more pressure.

What to do…

What to do?

She had promised too hastily; Greed had hidden several tricks.

Gu Nanqiu and the trust these unfamiliar sisters behind her placed in her—while she…

Standing there, Yue Yiyue could hear the suppressed wails beneath the crashing pieces, as they feared affecting her performance.

The intangible pressure was like a tangible mountain, pressing down on Yue Yiyue so heavily that she could barely breathe.

Zhou Qingyi noticed Yue Yiyue’s abnormality. She had anticipated it; Yue Yiyue was just someone who couldn’t rise to the occasion.

The greedier the wants, the more inadequate the ability—leaving them to watch helplessly as everything slipped away.

What a perfect negative example.

She herself would not be like this fool. Her goal was singular: obtain Gu Nanqiu and become the head of A City.

Yue Yiyue had delivered this stepping stone right to her.

————

“Yiyue, calm down a bit. You can do it, right?” Gu Nanqiu’s voice rang out in the quiet room like a stabilizer.

Her gentle inquiry held no doubt, only complete trust in Yue Yiyue.

Yue Yiyue turned back in a daze to look at Gu Nanqiu.

Her mouth moved, but in the end, she swallowed her words.

“Yiyue, just go ahead and do it, okay?” Gu Nanqiu’s warm voice continued: “No one needs you to bear this responsibility. You just need to finish this chess game.”

“I know the rules of this game, and I know what consequences I’ll face if you lose, but I still accepted your summons.”

“Because I guessed you would put a lot of extra pressure on yourself.”

“Forget about it all. You don’t need to worry about any of that; just play this game well.”

Gu Nanqiu’s words were like a thunderbolt that cleaved through Yue Yiyue’s chaotic thoughts. Yes, she just needed to play this chess game well.

Just play this chess game well.

If she was bound by the people behind her and lost, it would drag down the more than a hundred people outside as well.

The trolley problem never had a standard answer, but she had to make choices.

Standing before the chessboard, Yue Yiyue forced herself to calm down and stared intently at the board. The initial setup had been good, and she wasn’t far behind now.

Before the countdown fully ended, Yue Yiyue used her remaining red horse to capture the opponent’s black horse.

This brought the board to a delicate balance once more.

The more one tried to grasp, the easier it was to make mistakes.

She stared at the board, took a deep breath, and ignored the sounds around her.

Chinese chess—the old ladies had taught her to think ten steps ahead with every move.

She subconsciously bit her hand as she analyzed the position.

After a few more exchanges, Zhou Qingyi’s black horse captured a key central cannon in Yue Yiyue’s setup.

She glanced up at Yue Yiyue with some contempt, as if reminding her not to struggle too much.

Such amateur tricks were useless against her.

Yue Yiyue ignored it. In chess, one’s mentality had to remain steady.

She cast aside all extraneous matters as much as possible, focusing purely on the board. Her mind rapidly calculated, spotting a gap in Zhou Qingyi’s position.

That one trick she had been tricked into learning from the old ladies as a child surfaced in Yue Yiyue’s mind.

She calmly began resetting the board, preparing for a further offensive.

Zhou Qingyi sensed Yue Yiyue’s intent and immediately fell back into defense.

The momentum reversed in an instant.

Zhou Qingyi, in her haste and misplaced confidence, misread one move.

The overlooked red chariot on the left flank flew straight beside the black general.

Zhou Qingyi glanced at the board and froze for a moment.

Her advisor returned to position for defense.

But the red soldier, which had crossed the Chu River Han Boundary into an excellent spot, immediately advanced and captured Zhou Qingyi’s black advisor.

This left Zhou Qingyi in a bind, shattering her earlier advantage.

Before the countdown ended, as Zhou Qingyi made a desperate last struggle, Yue Yiyue captured five of her pieces in a row, leaving her forces in total disarray.

At this point, the outcome of the game was decided.

Yue Yiyue looked at the board, where fifteen pieces had originally stood, now reduced to ten.

She turned back apologetically to those souls. Tears flickered in their eyes, but they nodded to Yue Yiyue and flew off into the distance, to who knows where.

“That final seven-move killing spree was well done. I didn’t know you could play Chinese chess.” Gu Nanqiu walked over and patted Yue Yiyue’s shoulder as she asked: “How do you feel now?”

“Not bad?” Yue Yiyue hadn’t expected Gu Nanqiu to know about this. She scratched her head; because of her own… um… little selfish motive, she had nearly dragged Nanqiu into danger…

The other had helped her even in the midst of the game.

Yue Yiyue felt her conscience ache terribly and didn’t even dare look at Gu Nanqiu now.

Her gaze swept randomly around the room before landing on Zhou Qingyi, who stared at the board in disbelief.

How could that last part have happened?

How had she overlooked that red chariot?

Greed also hadn’t reacted; how had this game ended so suddenly?

Yue Yiyue had clearly been suppressed by Zhou Qingyi just moments ago.

In just three minutes?

Forcing Zhou Qingyi with no way to respond?

Wasn’t it just playing chess with a few old ladies?

That was exactly what Zhou Qingyi thought. A trace of confusion appeared in her eyes: “Impossible. Did you tamper with something?”

“This? Well, everyone studies it a bit. You played very well too; you just missed one move, and I happened to calculate one step further than you.” Yue Yiyue brushed it off while her mind frantically thought about how to apologize.

“If you had reacted sooner, I probably couldn’t have created that final position.”

While Yue Yiyue explained, Gu Nanqiu thoughtfully took out a wet wipe.

The cool wipe gently cleaned the sweat from Yue Yiyue’s tense forehead, effectively cooling her down.

Yue Yiyue’s conscience hurt even more. After her gaze flitted about, she dryly squeezed out: “Nanqiu, thank you for your words. Without them, I couldn’t have calmed down.”

This was also her true feeling.

Once she cast aside those burdens and focused purely on the chess, it was a pretty good experience for Yue Yiyue.

Those old ladies would casually claim decades of experience, with countless chess manuals memorized.

Yue Yiyue was often slaughtered by them without mercy.

But if Yue Yiyue solved their endgames, they would give her a few bucks as a reward.

Over time, she became somewhat familiar with it.

But as time passed, some old ladies went home, while others lay covered in thin yellow soil, reduced to cold tombstones.

Chinese chess was thus cast aside by Yue Yiyue.

Greed had suddenly brought it up, and Yue Yiyue had been stunned for a moment.

Fortunately, with Gu Nanqiu’s help, she regained her composure and finished this chess game she had once solved.

She could apologize later after they left. Yue Yiyue raised her hand to check the time—thirty-five minutes left.

“A bet’s a bet. Greed, you should tell me where those Sculptures are.” Yue Yiyue did not directly capture the black general or harvest Zhou Qingyi’s soul.

This was her wager with Greed, and Zhou Qingyi was merely a bystander helping with the game; there was no need.

“You haven’t captured her soul yet; that doesn’t count.” Greed grinned slyly and crushed the gold coin in its hand, intending to bury Yue Yiyue right there.

After waiting ten seconds, it found no response from the surrounding gold coins.

Its eyelids twitched, and a sense of unease rose in its heart.

“Give it up. I didn’t bet on that with you.” Yue Yiyue rejected it outright. As she pondered whether to just fight Greed directly, a pale-faced person rushed in from outside and whispered something in Greed’s ear.

“My treasures!” With a miserable scream, Greed glared resentfully at Yue Yiyue: “What you want is under the platform where Mu Hongcai stands.”

“If you can lure people away, just go down from the Red Carpet on the side.”