My Amazing WeChat is Connected to the Three Realms - Chapter 81
Before stepping out, Lin Hai had already noticed his phone was still in his pocket—thankfully, this ridiculous dress had pockets.
“Please have signal, please have signal!” he prayed silently.
He pulled out his phone and nearly cursed aloud. Zero bars.
His heart sank.
Wait a second…
No calls, but—4G?!
“Hell yeah! There’s internet here, and it’s freaking 4G!” Seeing the data icon, Lin Hai almost jumped for joy.
“I love you, China Mobile!”
“I love you, 10086 customer service ladies!”
He was so giddy he could barely speak.
Quickly opening his browser, he typed “Xiangqi endgame puzzles” into the search bar.
A flood of websites popped up.
He clicked the first one.
Immediately, a racy GIF of a scantily clad woman filled the screen.
“Alert: Your device does not have the required adult player installed. Click to download and enjoy private films!”
Private my ass! Where’s the damn chess puzzle?!
He closed the tab and tried another.
“Ding-ding! Your QQ friend sent you a message—click to view!” A massive pop-up blocked the entire page.
Son of a—
He hit close, only for the page to redirect to a sketchy dating site.
Are you kidding me?!
Lin Hai was losing his mind. The more desperate he was, the worse the internet behaved.
He closed everything and tried again. This time, the page just kept loading… and loading…
“AAAAH! Screw you, Baidu!”
After nearly half an hour of frustration, he finally found a decent xiangqi forum.
Scrolling through user-submitted endgame puzzles, he scrutinized each one carefully.
Can’t afford to mess this up—my life’s on the line.
Lin Hai wasn’t a great player, but he could at least follow the logic. Soon, he’d narrowed it down to three or four puzzles.
“This one. It’s all or nothing.” He settled on the most commented-on puzzle—the one hailed as “the most impossible endgame ever.”
“Alright, buddy. My life’s in your hands. Better live up to the hype.”
Steeling himself, Lin Hai marched toward the Chess Sage.
Fairy Xian’er gasped. “Master, what are you—?”
Before she could finish, Lin Hai swept his arm across the board, sending every piece clattering to the ground.
The Chess Sage, still holding a single piece, didn’t react.
Holy hell, even this doesn’t snap him out of it?!
Two full minutes passed before the old man finally looked up.
Jesus, that’s some next-level zoning out.
The Chess Sage blinked at Lin Hai, then at the scattered pieces—before his face twisted in fury.
“You insolent brat! Daring to ruin my game—do you have a death wish?!”
An overwhelming pressure erupted from him, locking Lin Hai in place.
Damn, he’s strong!
“Elder, wait!” Lin Hai choked out.
“You interrupted my game. What excuse could you possibly have? Die!”
“I had a reason!” Lin Hai wheezed, struggling to breathe.
“Hah! Here for the trial, aren’t you? Ruin my game, then expect to pass? Dream on!”
The Chess Sage raised a massive hand, aiming straight for Lin Hai’s skull.
“Chess Sage, spare him!” Fairy Xian’er cried—but the old man ignored her.
At the last second, Lin Hai squeezed his eyes shut and shouted:
“I came to challenge you to a game!”
Live or die—this is it.
He was gambling.
Earlier, seeing the Chess Sage play against himself told Lin Hai two things:
-
The man was obsessed with xiangqi. No sane person plays solo chess for fun.
-
He was bored out of his mind. Even a terrible opponent would be better than himself.
With that in mind, Lin Hai bet that a challenge might just save his life.
“Oh? You challenge me?”
The Chess Sage’s hand froze—a centimeter from Lin Hai’s head.
Lin Hai exhaled in shaky relief.
Got him. For now.
But survival wasn’t guaranteed yet.
“That’s right. Unless you’re afraid to play me?” Lin Hai pressed.
“Hah! The audacity!” The Chess Sage laughed, the crushing aura around him dissipating.
“Well? Do you dare?” Lin Hai met his gaze.
The old man studied him in silence for an uncomfortably long time before finally speaking.
“Fine. I’ll humor you.”
“Perfect.”
Now, the real test began.
“You set the rules,” the Chess Sage said dismissively. “Wouldn’t want anyone saying I bullied a child.”
“I’ve designed an endgame puzzle in my spare time. Do you dare try solving it?”
“An endgame? HA! There isn’t a puzzle in existence I can’t crack.”
Lin Hai’s stomach dropped.
Shit. If that’s true, I’m dead.
He needed to tilt the odds.
“With all due respect, Elder, no puzzle is truly unsolvable. Give me eighty or a hundred years, and I’d crack any of them too. Right?” He emphasized the time frame.
“Hmph. Spare me the taunts. I won’t quibble over time limits—you set the duration.”
“Then how about… ten minutes?” Lin Hai smirked, feigning arrogance.
“Ten minutes?!”
The Chess Sage hesitated. Even the trickiest puzzles could be solved—but if his initial approach was wrong, he’d waste precious time recalibrating.
But seeing Lin Hai’s cocky expression, his pride flared.
Since when has anyone dared look down on my skills?
“Fine! Ten minutes it is!”
Lin Hai grinned inwardly.
“Since I’m here for the trial, why not combine the two? If you lose, I pass. Agreed?”
“Tch. If I lose—which I won’t—you pass.”
“Deal!”
Lin Hai scooped up the scattered pieces and arranged them on the board from memory.
“Your move, Elder.”
“Watch me dismantle your little puzzle.”
The Chess Sage’s entire demeanor shifted, his focus laser-locked on the board.
Lin Hai studied his every twitch, his stomach in knots.
Don’t solve it, don’t solve it, don’t solve it—
Then—
“HAH! Ingenious setup… but I’ve cracked it!”
The Chess Sage’s hands flew across the board, rearranging pieces with decisive clicks.
The puzzle collapsed under his moves.
“Well? What do you say to that?”
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
