Chapter 480: Playing Chess

In the end, Li Chenming still went alone, taking his secretary ship Hipper with him when he left. Although Hipper was a bit tsundere, she still carried out orders without problem.

However, because Li Chenming was temporarily away, some of his work was delegated to his subordinates. Naturally, some of the tasks were assigned to Qin Ge, but since the others lacked experience, they could only do it this way.

Moreover, Qin Ge could not go out to sea for battle during this period, so he fully took on the duties of the port area commander.

Every morning after exercising and finishing breakfast, he came to his office to handle official duties. After finishing lunch with the secretary ship at noon, he began patrolling the port area.

Previously, after finishing patrolling the port area, there was a period of free time. Basically, this time was either spent dating the secretary ship, dating other shipgirls, or simply staying alone in the office or resting at home.

These two days, due to Li Chenming's departure, even after patrolling the port area he had to return to the office to stand guard, in case any sudden incident occurred.

Since the secretary ship during this period was Zhenhai, the two of them spent most of their time playing chess in the office.

"Tsk, I finally know what it means to be indecisive about a move." Qin Ge said, holding black pieces, looking at the intertwined chessboard before him, with a hint of self-mockery.

"Do you think there's still a chance to win this game, Commander?" Zhenhai said, smiling while watching Qin Ge's hesitation.

Qin Ge blinked, then looked at the board again: "If I play according to my skill level, no matter how I move, it's a dead position."

"Heh, since you already know it's a lost position, why not give it your all? Perhaps there's no way out, but then a turn of fortune? Such positions were common in ancient Donghuang." Zhenhai said with a laugh.

Qin Ge rolled his eyes: "I'm not Zhao He; don't think you can fool me with such a simple trick. 'Death ground then life' is a counterattack strategy that only works when our strengths are equal."

And now I haven't even formed a big dragon, while your formation has already pushed me into several corners and surrounded me with large forces. In such a predicament, 'death ground then life' would only make my death worse.

"Ah, it seems your chess skill has improved lately; such tricks won't fool you." Zhenhai smiled slightly.

"Why do I feel you're picking on me?" Qin Ge said glumly.

"No, I'm praising you." Zhenhai smiled. "Actually, if you want to win, Commander, there's another way."

"Oh? What way? I hope Zhenhai won't hesitate to instruct." Qin Ge asked curiously.

Zhenhai smiled and said, "The ancients said, 'The chessboard is like a battlefield,' so sometimes both inside and outside the board require close proximity. If you want to win, being a gentleman on the chessboard would entail great loss."

"War isn't a fair chess game, so if you take advantage of the opponent's inattention, first think and understand, then play two or three moves, victory comes like that. Of course, this is just one method."

"Um, this method seems a bit like cheating; although it can be applied as a battlefield tactic, putting it on the chessboard feels…… Are there any other methods?" Qin Ge asked.

"In a real chess battle, there are hardly any friends. It's not like now, where I and the commander understand each other and play calmly."

"In a real chess match, I sit opposite the commander, so the commander is my opponent. And if I want to win, I will use every means."

"For example, preventing the game from continuing, declaring victory outright, or directly making the commander unable to play—so the outcome of a chess match isn't determined relative to the board; the real decision actually begins at the moment both sides prepare for the match." Zhenhai said with a laugh.

After hearing these words, Qin Ge looked at Zhenhai with interest: "Zhenhai, I suddenly realize you're very much like a person."

"What person?" Zhenhai asked curiously.

"Legend has it that during the Three Kingdoms era, there was a celebrated scholar named Jia Xu, whom later scholars grouped with Xun Yu, Xun You, Cheng Yu, and Guo Jia as the Five Great Strategists of Cao Cao's faction. Moreover, in the later Romance of the Three Kingdoms, many believe Jia Xu rode as the top poison strategist of the Three Kingdoms, thinking he saw through human weaknesses and plotted schemes without scruples." Qin Ge said this, glancing at Zhenhai with a faint smile.

"Jia Xu? Heh, Commander actually compared me to Jia Xu—you're thinking too highly of me." Upon hearing this, Zhenhai showed no anger at all, but instead appeared very pleased.

"Then how does the Commander evaluate this figure, Jia Xu?"

"I think Jia Xu is a smart person, and also a selfish one. Understanding human nature is merely because he seeks self-preservation, so when touching the scrolls he can repeatedly discern the opponent's weaknesses."

"And being able to meet a good end in that chaotic Three Kingdoms era shows his prowess." Qin Ge smiled.

"I thought the Commander would look down on him." Zhenhai smiled.

"How could one look down on him? Warfare is deception; originally, two sides fighting is a life‑or‑death struggle. At such a time, talking about gentlemanly conduct and morality is irresponsible toward one's own side." Qin Ge said with a laugh.

"Seeing the Commander so open‑minded puts me at ease." Zhenhai smiled.

"How about we replay a game? I see no hope in this match, so further struggling would only add misery." Qin Ge continued.

"Sure." Zhenhai smiled. "But just playing ordinary chess for long gets boring; let's add some different rules to make the match more interesting."

"What rules?" Qin Ge asked doubtfully.

"For example…… if you can win a game from my hands, I'll agree to one of your requests, how about that?" Zhenhai said with a smile, though his tone was full of provocation.

Qin Ge gave Zhenhai a deep look, then nodded: "Good. It's a deal."

"It's a deal."

After they finished speaking, they began a new match. But not long after starting, Qin Ge felt something off, because this game seemed to go too smoothly for him, making him doubt himself a little.

"Whoops, I was careless—I, who'm usually good at strategy, actually made a mistake here…… Well, congratulations on your win. So, as the loser must tell the winner, what's your request? Anything goes, hehe~" Zhenhai set down his white piece, somewhat troubled, and said to Qin Ge.

"Really?" Qin Ge asked, feigning disbelief.

"Of course it's true, but this is the only chance, so Commander, tell me your request." Zhenhai smiled.

"Cough, cough, if that's the case, then I'll make a request." Qin Ge said seriously. "You're not from the Fengtian clique, are you? General Zhang Zuolin has a very famous catchphrase—can you say it?"

"......"