Super Soldier in the City-Chapter 2086 - 2149: Eerie Chess Game

Li Yifei shook his head and said, "No, I don’t dare to make a random move. You haven’t submerged yourself in it, so you don’t know. This chessboard contains a deadly trap. No matter if I choose the black or white piece, it would be targeted by the other piece for attack. And with my ability... I can’t make a choice. Any choice would lead to a catastrophe!"

"Can’t you make a random move?" Xu Shanshan blinked, feeling a bit troubled. She couldn’t provide any advice on this, but she tried to say, "Have you watched ’Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils’? I remember that in the story, Duan Yu and Xu Zhu encountered an incredibly challenging chess game that stumped many true chess experts. Yet, Xu Zhu inadvertently made a move and broke the game. Can’t we learn from Xu Zhu?"

Xu Zhu? Li Yifei’s eyes lit up. Being a Huaxia person, he had naturally read Mr. Jin’s great work, "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils." He read the original book, not the later adaptations. It was something he secretly read during his school days.

He couldn’t remember the exact words, only that Xu Zhu was forced into playing chess and, in a moment of helplessness, made a seemingly foolish, suicidal move. But immediately, the situation became clear. Although Su Xinghe’s black pieces held a significant advantage, the white pieces found a way to maneuver, no longer trapped and struggling. This new situation was something Su Xinghe had never expected, and with further guidance, Xu Zhu made successive brilliant moves. Su Xinghe, who had set up his endgame for so many years, had never thought of such a solution and was briefly confused, giving Xu Zhu the opportunity to turn the situation around.

When Li Yifei read this back then, he felt a rush of excitement. Unfortunately, it wasn’t suitable for his current game.

"Making a random move is not feasible. I can feel it. If we lose, the consequences could be dire. The game contains endless traps. If we lose, we don’t know what dangers await us," Li Yifei shook his head and said.

Nevertheless, even saying that, he couldn’t completely give up inwardly.

Xu Shanshan nodded, her expression becoming serious. Although the previous three formation methods relied on cleverness to win, they still required some degree of skill. Otherwise, it was all for nothing. But now... how should this game be played?

It’s not necessarily an advantage to play first, nor a disadvantage to play second. Yet neither the first move nor the second showed any prospect of victory to Li Yifei. No, he couldn’t even see a slight advantage. After analyzing a few steps, he felt the sound of clashing swords, as if in a battlefield skirmish. Li Yifei could almost sense the bloodthirsty aura within.

What should he do? Was he going to be trapped here? Outside, Shen Tianfang and others, with their inexplicable behavior, must have a purpose. Since Li Yifei had followed them to this point, he wanted to understand what was going on. But now, stuck here... Li Yifei closed his eyes, visualizing the chessboard in his mind. Every piece leapt to life, resembling soldiers, assassins, and unparalleled experts. Some stood proudly, others met swords in greeting, maintaining vigilance all around. The next move felt like an issued command, a sounded horn, signaling an immediate battle upon its arrival.

This piece simply couldn’t be placed. Even imagining it made Li Yifei feel endless danger—danger beyond what Shen Tianfang and his group could muster. It made Li Yifei’s heart race... Hmm? A thought suddenly pricked Li Yifei’s heart. Why did this unease feel just like that sensation when he saw those eyes...?

Was he overthinking? Li Yifei opened his eyes, and the unease disappeared. Xu Shanshan, seeing this, took his hand and said, "Hubby, whatever you choose is fine. If we encounter danger, we’ll just fight our way out with our swords!"

"I know, but I’m not confident. Besides, according to the nature of this formation method, it seems we should think of another way. Simply playing chess might not work," Li Yifei said with a smile.

Xu Shanshan, somewhat proud, said, "I think, if we really can’t figure it out, why don’t we just slash the chessboard with a sword?"

"Hmm... that’s also a method." Li Yifei’s eyes brightened, patting Xu Shanshan’s hand. "Why not give it a try?"

Xu Shanshan nodded enthusiastically and said, "Alright, this time I’ll do the cutting."

"Alright." True to his word, Li Yifei stood up with Xu Shanshan, stepping back. Xu Shanshan drew the Blue Glow, infused it with True Qi, and sword energy swirled around her. She glanced back at Li Yifei, who encouraged, "No pressure." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Time couldn’t be wasted, so it was better to try now. After all, Li Yifei lacked confidence in breaking any chess game, and there was nothing around the pavilion. Xu Shanshan’s suggestion was worthy of a try.

Encouraged, Xu Shanshan bit down, raising the Blue Glow slowly. Taking a breath, the next second, a flash of blue streaked through the air. With a whoosh, the blue sword energy slashed down onto the chessboard.

As Xu Shanshan’s sword struck, Li Yifei’s True Qi also surged rapidly. Both he and Xu Shanshan felt uncertain, so it was best to be prepared. Li Yifei was even ready for countless monsters to emerge once the sword energy descended.

With a whoosh, the scene before them changed, and they found themselves back in the corridor.

"Yay!" Xu Shanshan cheered and hugged Li Yifei. They had gambled right once again.

Li Yifei wanted to say a word of praise but didn’t get it out, for suddenly, his back tensed, and his hairs stood on end. He didn’t have time to push Xu Shanshan away and abruptly turned around, his heart thumping loudly.

Behind them, about dozens of meters away at the hall entrance, stood... perhaps a person, cloaked completely in black, face hidden, but displaying a pair of eerie green eyes.

Xu Shanshan felt it too and let out a cry. Those green eyes were exactly what Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan had sensed several times. Now it seemed these eyes belonged to one person.

Even though they couldn’t see the rest of the figure, the face was a dark blur, cloaked entirely in darkness. Yet both could feel that this person was laughing—sneering, or perhaps mocking them.

"Who are you?" Li Yifei called out loudly.

The dark figure didn’t speak, but in Li Yifei’s mind, an image of a cold, indifferent face emerged. It was so ruthless and powerful, it wouldn’t waste words with anyone—it would just act...

This thought flashed by quickly, but the shadow didn’t move. Li Yifei stared at the shadow when suddenly it vanished, right before their eyes.

"Let’s go!" Li Yifei pulled on Xu Shanshan, retreating step by step, while remaining alert for the shadow. This hallway was eerily peculiar, and Li Yifei was worried the shadow could suddenly reappear in front of him, or maybe... the shadow had moved forward earlier and was thus sucked into the formation?

Xu Shanshan’s expression also grew serious as she and Li Yifei stepped back together, taking more than ten steps until they were nearly at the end of the hallway. A voice came from behind them: "Why are you still here? Get out!"

The voice was Shen Tianfang’s, and it made Li Yifei and Xu Shanshan jump in shock. They quickly turned around to see that the five people from before were now only four, as if another person had disappeared.

The four remaining people had terrible expressions, seemingly unscathed, appearing as if they had just emerged from the formation. Recognizing them relieved Li Yifei, though he didn’t answer Shen Tianfang’s question; instead, he repeatedly looked back warily, fearing the shadow might suddenly appear behind them and attack.

"Didn’t you hear me tell you to get out?" Zheng Feihu pointed at Li Yifei angrily.

"We just encountered that shadow again, those ghostly green eyes. Even I feel it’s insurmountable. I hope you’ll be careful too." Li Yifei turned his head, pulling Xu Shanshan forward, ignoring Shen Tianfang and Zheng Feihu, and entered the next formation.

Shen Tianfang, Zheng Feihu, and the others also vanished before the two, entering the formation. Xu Shanshan couldn’t help but snort and said, "Those people are really rude!"

"Let’s not bother with them; we need to break through quickly. They were already almost at the end. We can’t be slow." Li Yifei said, his expression somewhat complicated.

"Okay!" Xu Shanshan nodded, and they began to observe their surroundings.

This seems to be... inside a room!

Li Yifei looked up for a moment. This was a secret room; walls enclosed all around, and there was a door, but it was tightly sealed. He walked over to push it; there was a lock, but no key.

Xu Shanshan laughed, glancing around, and said, "Could the person who set up this formation want us to play an escape room game?"

"Haha, it’s possible. You’re good at this, give it a try," Li Yifei chuckled.

Xu Shanshan sheathed her sword and slung it on her back, eagerly ready to dive in, saying, "Alright, I’ll try first."

There weren’t many furnishings in the room but not too few either. Before Xu Shanshan started moving, she muttered, "If this is an escape room, shouldn’t there be some kind of hint?"

"Hint?" Li Yifei nodded and immediately joined Xu Shanshan in searching for clues. They scoured the room but found most things were immovable, primarily fixed in place, and importantly, there were no notes...

"Hints don’t have to be notes; they can be anything, like..." Xu Shanshan was like a little detective. For a moment, she found no clues, but she wasn’t in a hurry. She strolled around the room, observing closely, and a few minutes later, snapped her fingers, pointing at a small decoration, and said to Li Yifei, "Honey, come see what this looks like."

Following the direction Xu Shanshan pointed, Li Yifei saw a small decoration. From her angle... Li Yifei narrowed his eyes, and after a few seconds, shook his head, "I don’t see anything."