Chapter 129: The Death of Zhao Weiqing

Zeng Jia still shifted his Queen from e7 to c5. As the stalemate dragged on, ten minutes slipped by quickly. Zhong Zhiying, noting his growing anxiety, felt a surge of amusement and moved her white Knight back to e3. Now, the two Queens faced each other directly; it was a gamble of whether he dared to risk losing his Queen in a desperate clash.

Sure enough, beads of sweat formed on Zeng Jia’s palms. He chose to retreat; without his Queen, the situation would be even more dire, and he would have no hope of saving the other two. He moved his black Queen back to e7, while the white Rook on f1 shifted left to d1. The black side followed suit, moving its a8 Rook to the d-file to prepare for the onslaught.

Zhong Zhiying used her white Knight to capture his black Knight. He responded by using his e6 Pawn to recapture the Knight. With both Knights removed, she promptly moved her Queen to c6.

Zeng Jia used his a6 Bishop to capture the white Pawn on e2 diagonally. Zhong Zhiying used her Rook to capture the black Pawn on d5 in a straight line. The black Rook on the same file immediately captured the white Rook, and Zhong Zhiying used her Queen to move back and capture the black Rook at d5.

The board state suddenly cleared. There was only a one-Pawn difference, but in the endgame, that single Pawn was crucial. As long as a Pawn reached the opponent's back rank, it could be promoted to any piece except the King.

Zeng Jia knew he couldn't force a trade; even if he took her Queen, it would be useless, as her Pawn would capture his Rook and reach the back rank to promote to a Queen, leaving him at an even greater disadvantage. Feeling the tide turning against him, Zeng Jia moved his c7 Pawn forward two squares. She shifted her Rook to e1 to guard against his e2 black Bishop. Zeng Jia moved the Bishop diagonally back two squares to g4. After several rounds of maneuvering, Zeng Jia stopped stalling and moved his f8 Rook to c8.

Zhong Zhiying remained unhurried, pulling her Queen back one square to c4, attempting to capture the black Bishop on the same g4 rank. Zeng Jia was no fool; he didn't retreat, instead moving his h7 Pawn forward two squares to shield the Bishop. This finally gave his King room to maneuver, at least avoiding the awkward situation of being checkmated while hemmed in by his own three Pawns.

Zhong Zhiying shifted her g2 Bishop diagonally to d5, aiming directly at his King. He wasn't naive; he moved his black Queen one square to the right to confront her Bishop. She smiled, moved her Rook to e1 to protect her Pawn, and Zeng Jia moved his Rook behind his Queen, preparing for a final, desperate stand.

She moved her e5 Pawn forward one square, creating a formation where her Queen, Bishop, and Pawn were all on the same diagonal, directly facing his black Queen and Pawn. Zeng Jia knew he couldn't let her continue to dictate the board, so he launched an offensive with his Pawn to capture her piece.

Zhong Zhiying used her Bishop to capture the Pawn, and his black Bishop on the front line recaptured the white Bishop. Zhong Zhiying then used her Rook to capture the black Bishop. In a sudden, bloody exchange, both sides were left with only a Queen and a Rook.

Zeng Jia moved his Queen left two steps to defend his black King. She moved her h2 Pawn forward two squares to pressure his h5 black Pawn, blinking her large eyes: "Big brother is so mean! Won't you go easy on me?"

"You must be joking." Zeng Jia knew her true strength; she hadn't been serious from the very beginning. Was she even human? Her processing speed rivaled that of an AI.

He gripped his Rook and moved it next to his black King. Seeing her intent to checkmate, Zhong Zhiying moved her Queen back to e2. He moved his black Queen to f3 to face her Queen directly. Knowing he was desperate to trade Queens, Zhong Zhiying didn't mind. Finally, after the Rook captured the white Queen, both sides were left with only one King, one Rook, and five Pawns.

The endgame had finally arrived. Now, every piece was vital; the slightest carelessness could lead to total ruin.

The white Rook on e6 moved back one square. Black knew she was starting to pick off his Pawns, but he had to protect what he could. He moved the c5 Pawn forward, but the a5 Pawn beside it was immediately captured by her Rook. Zeng Jia moved his Rook to b3 to protect his Pawn, but the Pawn on the same line was quickly captured by the white Rook as well.

Losing two Pawns in such quick succession made the situation lopsided. Zeng Jia realized there was no turning back. Zhao Weiqing looked devastated; she knew Zeng Jia had tried his best. Her eyes welled with tears, and she said in a voice hoarse from crying, "Zeng Jia, I don't blame you. If it weren't for her, things wouldn't have ended up this way between us."

"Although I don't like you, I admit you are truly exceptional. Hiring someone to kill him was indeed my doing. I’ll take responsibility—just let Xiao Qing go." Huang Ye knew his fate, and he was moved by Zeng Jia’s efforts.

Though Zeng Jia found Huang Ye detestable, he had done him no great wrong, and as for Zhao Weiqing, she was a girl he had once felt fond of. He couldn't stand by and watch them die. He continued to struggle, hoping to turn the tide, but his hopes were dashed. Faced with the monstrous intellect of Zhong Zhiying, he suddenly felt insignificant; his previous confidence shattered the moment she had checkmated him.

Zhong Zhiying took the detonator. When Zeng Jia tried to stop her, she pressed the button. With a thunderous boom, the explosive device placed beside the transparent glass detonated. Zeng Jia lunged forward to save them, but it was too late. Zhao Weiqing and Huang Ye fell as the glass shattered, plummeting to the first floor of the Huafa Commercial Center. Shoppers fled in panic. Two dull thuds echoed through the center of the mall, followed by blood splattering everywhere. Screams erupted as people dialed emergency services. Kneeling at the edge of the shattered glass, Zeng Jia stared with wide, unblinking eyes at their limp bodies in the pool of blood. Tears fell—drop by drop. He was numb. What had happened during all this time?

Zhong Zhiying approached him, leaned down, cupped his face in her delicate hands, and kissed his lips deeply. Forehead against forehead, she whispered, "Big brother, I have to go now. I can't play this game with you anymore."

As she spoke, black mist swirled behind her, and a red spatial rift appeared. Zhong Zhiying turned and stepped into it, vanishing from sight. The loli leopard followed suit. Once the rift closed, both were gone. Zeng Jia couldn't find the words to express his shock.

By the time the police arrived, there was no one left but Zeng Jia, and only the checkmated chessboard remained. The police arrested the dazed Zeng Jia and took him to the station for questioning. No matter how they interrogated him, he remained blank-faced, occasionally breaking down into sobs. It wasn't until Chen Jingfeng arrived with a lawyer that he found any relief.

Yet, he only repeated a nonsensical phrase: "So it was all just a game... hehehe..."

Since Zeng Jia’s fingerprints were not on the explosive device, he was released due to lack of evidence. As he left the station, he saw many cars surrounding the entrance. The parents of Zhao Weiqing and Huang Ye were there with over a hundred protesters. The death of their children had turned them against Zeng Jia, labeling him the murderer. To protect him, Chen Jingfeng had to leverage Mr. Liang’s connections to temporarily calm the situation.