Chapter 6 - 1#
Li Meng had no idea that his parents were frantically looking for him, nor did he know that Director Duan and Uncle Wei Hong had already set off with the dog in the car, let alone that half the city’s hooligans had started mobilizing to find him.
He sat in the chess club, full of ambition, staring at a killing game where a checkmate dragon connected twenty-three pieces.
The chess club owner felt as if he had been struck by lightning—he had been running games here for years, a well-known expert far and wide, someone who nearly made it into the national team back in the day, yet today he was defeated by a teenager!
And he believed he hadn’t underestimated his opponent; the kid revealed his blade in less than ten moves, instantly dispelling any contempt he might have had. What followed was truly a step-by-step thrill, and just when he managed to set up an extremely fierce white dragon, it was slaughtered in one stroke, instantly connecting twenty-three pieces!
And the kid even gave him a seven-and-a-half point handicap!
Li Meng displayed the typical characteristics of a young chess player: quick thinking, fast moves, playing by feel, very decisive and neat. What was even more rare was his sense of the big picture; he started calculating the kill more than ten moves ahead, and without any long deliberation, he naturally dominated the board.
“I… I lost.” The chess club owner resigned dejectedly, asking with unwillingness, “What rank are you, little brother?”
Li Meng smiled without answering, reaching out his hand: “Pay up, pay up.”
The staff looked to the owner for instructions, then took out fifty yuan and placed it by his hand.
Li Meng didn’t say much, took the money, and walked out. It was getting late, and his stomach was growling with hunger; buying something to eat and going home was the priority.
The chess club owner hurriedly asked, “Where are you going, little brother? Won’t you play a few more games?”
“Going to eat!”
“The chess club has takeout, eat before you go?”
Li Meng stopped and asked hopefully, “Do you have spicy grilled crayfish?”
The chess club owner smiled broadly, holding his hand and saying, “Why eat crayfish? Hurry up and eat some noodles, then come back and review the game with me… That move of yours was truly a stroke of genius, tell me how it happened…”
Li Meng turned expressionlessly to leave.
Just then, a hand reached out to block him. “Little brother, wait.”
Li Meng looked up and saw a young man of medium build and ordinary appearance, with small eyes and a flat nose, a crew cut, about twenty years old, speaking with a foreign accent, and a look of unfriendliness in his eyes.
“…Do you need something?”
The young man waved his hand and said, “Go buy a bag of grilled crayfish for this little brother.”
Behind him were two or three men, looking like companions or followers. One of them nodded immediately upon hearing this and walked out of the chess club.
“I’ll treat you to dinner. In return, please play a game with me.” The young man paused and said, “I won’t bully a child; you play black, and I’ll only give a four-and-a-half point handicap.”
Li Meng narrowed his eyes. Seeing the crew-cut man’s condescending demeanor and inadvertent arrogance, he knew this person might have some background.
He was Jin Yan’s biological son. How Jin Yan interacted with his subordinates and how he ordered people to do things—he had been influenced by what he saw and heard, and it was ingrained in his bones. He knew what it meant to run a territory, and he also knew that when he was alone, it was best not to conflict with local “local tyrants.”
Li Meng smiled and said, “Okay.”
The crew-cut man didn’t expect him to agree so easily and was somewhat surprised.
“I’m young and inexperienced. If I offend you, big brother, please don’t hold it against me.” Li Meng reached out to the chessboard and said cheerfully, “—Please!”
Sensing something was wrong, the people around them had already cleared the chessboard and watched the two take their seats. The chess club owner had been in the neighborhood for years and had never seen the young man with the crew cut. Hearing his strange accent, he was afraid of trouble, so he stopped nearby and didn’t leave.
Li Meng took a deep breath and played a star point with black.
The crew-cut man played a small knight’s move.
The opening was ordinary; neither of them was a beginner, and they played steadily. Li Meng played a two-star opening, while the crew-cut man played two small knight’s moves. Li Meng then approached the corner, white jumped, black flew, all without hesitation.
In less than ten moves, black started an avalanche joseki, white pressed and cut, and for a moment, the upper corner was unpredictable, leaving the onlookers struggling to keep up. On the eleventh move, Li Meng took a territory. The crew-cut man took a sip of tea and smiled, “Little brother reacts very quickly.”
Li Meng asked expressionlessly, “I’m hungry, why hasn’t the crayfish arrived yet?”
The crew-cut man didn’t answer, then played a few moves to fill the corner, being cut repeatedly by black, and finally had to extend.
However, Li Meng was young and ruthless, repeatedly atari-ing. The crew-cut man carelessly played a point, and as a result, after two moves, he was severely cut off by Li Meng, and the situation instantly reached a stalemate.
Some onlookers secretly asked the chess club owner, “Can white still live?”
The owner pondered for a long time and whispered, “A hard life.”
Sure enough, the crew-cut man had some skills; at this moment, he played a simple extension.
Li Meng held a piece and thought for a long time, frowning slightly.
“What’s there to think about? Just press directly!” someone muttered nearby. However, before the voice faded, black did not press but moved to another corner!
The crew-cut man was shocked, and the expression on his face was no longer dismissive.
If Li Meng pressed now, white could fly, and Li Meng would have to block. However, with this block, white would go back and move, and black would instantly be at a disadvantage.
So black didn’t press; black moved directly back.
This move not only defended the lower corner but also looked after the center, and even blocked white’s path to seal black on the side. It was a brilliant move!
The onlookers immediately made clicking sounds, and someone said, “Truly brilliant!”
The crew-cut man knew that this move was not just brilliant in terms of chess strategy—with the corner eaten and white taking the initiative, black clearly could have attacked but held back and moved back. It showed that the teenager in front of him could not only kill but also endure!
The crew-cut man had seen many young professional experts. Most of the post-90s generation were overflowing with killing intent, often revealing their blades to kill fiercely. Playing chess with them, one either set a trap to beat them badly or was beaten badly by them. This was also the reason why many famous experts today were defeated by teenagers.
However, this teenager was different. his thoughts and calculations were very deep, giving a feeling completely inconsistent with his age.
The crew-cut man put away his contempt and entangled for two moves in the corner. Li Meng remained calm. On the twenty-third move, a sudden change occurred, and he played a knight’s move to the 3-3 point.
The crew-cut man thought to himself, “Sure enough, he’s young,” so he played a contact move.
For the next few moves, Li Meng didn’t know if he was really hungry or just young and didn’t like entanglement, but he played very agilely. This was actually very consistent with the current trend of young Chinese chess players, while the crew-cut man seemed to specifically counter him, playing several brilliant moves in a row and gaining a clear advantage in territory.
The chess club owner took a breath, thinking that this outsider was an expert.
He had dealt with Korean chess players before. The crew-cut man’s style was very similar to the Korean style, good at fighting, able to entangle, grabbing territory, with a particularly tenacious flavor. Especially when he moved to the center, the trend was very fierce. Li Meng thought for a few seconds and played a fly.
The crew-cut man smiled.
This kid was indeed steady, but too steady.
“Little brother, it won’t do if you don’t kill.” As he said this, he gently placed a piece on the center path.
The chess club owner lost his voice, “Good move!”
—With this move, white vaguely formed a dragon trend, and directly connected with the small knight’s move at the top from the opening, instantly occupying eighty percent of the advantage!
“Black is disadvantaged, black is disadvantaged…” several onlookers murmured at the same time.
The crew-cut man leaned back gently in his chair, looking down at Li Meng and asked, “—How about it?”
Li Meng ignored him completely and casually threw out a piece.
The crew-cut man glanced at it and felt that the move vaguely looked like making a ko, and couldn’t help but say “Huh” in his heart—why did he want to make a ko?
Looking closer, this move echoed the fly played earlier, and it turned out to be making a dragon as well.
If this dragon was made, the black and white dragons fighting on the board would be a spectacular big ko. The smile on the crew-cut man’s face deepened. He had just guessed in his heart that this teenager was at the level of 5th or 6th dan, but now it seemed he was only 3rd or 4th dan. He could still fight a bit against someone like the chess club owner, but against his own pressing game, he was clearly weaker.