Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 502: Chapter 498: Ingenious Mechanism

Standing alongside Huo Sining, Yan Feng also noticed the problem with this chess problem.

All his attention was focused on the chessboard, as he carefully conjectured the game’s direction, seeking that deeply hidden breakthrough point.

His eyes were bright, and Huo Sining knew he was calculating the black pieces’ moves and gains and losses.

It’s a gentleman who watches the games without speaking, at a time like this, one must absolutely not interrupt; Huo Sining simply stepped back a few paces to give Yan Feng more space to ponder the issue.

Who knew how much time had passed when Yan Feng suddenly stretched out a finger and decisively moved one of the black pieces, ”It’s right here!”

Huo Sining was startled by Yan Feng’s move and couldn’t help but lift her head to look at the chessboard.

At this glance, she was shocked. With just one move, Yan Feng had not only managed to completely break the situation where the black pieces were annihilated, but he had also penetrated the white pieces’ encirclement. Although it wasn’t enough to turn around a certain defeat, the tides had changed to the point where both sides were equally matched, destined to continue the standoff.

After such extensive calculation and deduction, even Yan Feng’s face showed deep exhaustion, but his thoroughly worn body still kept its attention on the chessboard, still digesting this exquisitely intricate game.

A good while later, he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, ”This configuration... is brilliant!”

His expression was strange as if mixed with unexpected joy and hesitation, and perhaps a hint of regret, but these seemed insufficient to encompass all he felt; in short, his expression was extremely complex.

”Is the endgame resolved?”

Hearing the voice, Huo Sining was startled, and turning around, she realized that at some point, Su Qingqing had come to the basement, and her gaze was fixed on the chess game, showing great interest.

But if Huo Sining only had a slight understanding of Go, then Su Qingqing was utterly clueless. Although she knew what an endgame meant, she couldn’t make heads or tails of the game, even with the board right in front of her.

Yan Feng had just made a move not only causing Yan Feng himself, but even Huo Sining to show a hint of relief, yet Su Qingqing couldn’t understand and couldn’t contain her curiosity, interrupting the two to ask.

”We can’t just say it’s resolved, but the danger has turned to safety,” Huo Sining sighed, ”The white pieces strategized behind the scenes, setting such an elaborate trap for the black pieces. The strength of this person is truly terrifying.”

By now, Huo Sining also understood some of Yan Feng’s thoughts. To set up such a trap without the opponent noticing until they were trapped to death, the mind and strategy of this person was definitely not something an ordinary person could compare with.

Unfortunately, the person who set up this trap has likely passed on, with no chance to meet him.

”Boring! Ningning, didn’t you say there was jade inside this Chessboard Stone? Where is it?”

Su Qingqing found the huge stone familiar and only after a closer look did she realize, isn’t this the one she and Huo Sining bought back when they were in Hetian? She remembered clearly that Huo Sining had told her there was jade inside this Chessboard Stone.

Huo Sining suddenly showed an embarrassed expression: ”There’s no jade, I was just interested in this chessboard. I thought it was a bit strange, that’s why I bought it back to study.”

With no interest in playing chess, Su Qingqing immediately began to grumble upon hearing Huo Sining’s words, her face showing disinterest as she said:

”You’ve got to be kidding me, spending two hundred thousand to haul back this piece of crap rock all because of a broken endgame? Boring! I thought there would be some treasure or something. The owner of this set up must really be out of their mind, making such a big fuss over a large rock just to create an endgame puzzle, talk about having nothing better to do after being well-fed!”

Huo Sining was jolted out of the chess game by this remark and cursed herself for being obsessed. She hadn’t asked Yan Feng to come down to play chess; although the game was fascinating, her real goal was the object hidden inside the Chessboard Stone!

However, what made Huo Sining feel somewhat defeated was that her original thought—that solving the chess puzzle would open the mechanism—appeared to be wrong.

Her doubts deepened as she wondered what purpose the owner had for creating this chess setup if it couldn’t be opened.

Yan Feng, of course, knew what Huo Sining was thinking. He looked up at her and suddenly said, ”Let’s play out this game, finish this chess match!”

As he spoke, his eyes gleamed with a cunning light, ”You will play the white pieces, I’ll take black.”

Upon hearing this, Huo Sining also had a realization. They each took their positions and began to play swiftly.

But Huo Sining’s chess skills were no match for a player of Yan Feng’s high caliber. In just over ten minutes, Huo Sining’s white pieces were in complete disarray. Despite having the foundation laid by the previous white moves, her forces were entirely wiped out, resulting in a very frustrating defeat.

”Haha, Ningning, you really are terrible at this. I remember you lasting several more rounds against Manager Lu. How come you lost so miserably to Master Yan?” Seeing Huo Sining lose miserably, Su Qingqing laughed without restraint.

This outcome left Huo Sining feeling extremely frustrated and unable to voice her grievance. It wasn’t her fault; she was just terrible at chess.

A rare smile flickered in Yan Feng’s eyes as he picked up the twenty-four captured white pieces one by one.

Just as he picked up the last white piece, the Chessboard Stone suddenly moved a bit, and the sound of stone scraping filled the quiet basement, conspicuously resonating.

”What’s that noise?”

Not only the two players but even Su Qingqing, a few steps away, heard it. She abruptly paused, a look of suspicion in her eyes as she couldn’t help but look around.

Huo Sining was overjoyed inside. She raised her head to meet Yan Feng’s eyes, then reached out her right hand to the side of the Chessboard Stone.

Seeing the movement within the stone of the Chessboard Stone, Huo Sining couldn’t help but open her mouth wide in astonishment.

Granite is formed from layers upon layers of stone compression, but at this moment, Huo Sining clearly saw six or seven stones inside the granite Chessboard Stone moving layer by layer, just like a scene from the movie ”Transformers” where the Autobots transform, the stone layers were slowly shifting their order.

”The stone is moving!” Having searched around, Su Qingqing finally found the source of the noise and pointed at the Chessboard Stone in amazement, ”What’s up with this stone?”

Huo Sining wasn’t clear about the principle behind the stone mechanism’s operation, but it was evident that her recent match with Yan Feng had accidentally triggered the mechanism, causing the object hidden within the stone to slowly emerge.

For minutes, ten pieces were in motion, and the three people stared unblinkingly at the Chessboard Stone.

When the stones stopped moving, at that moment, they suddenly heard a ”click” sound. The exquisite chessboard cracked right down the middle like the Tai Chi symbol, dividing into Yin and Yang halves and swiftly moving to either side to reveal a curved gap that wasn’t very large.