The next morning arrived too quickly.
Lin Xia had barely slept.
Neither had Yue Ning.
Mei Chen had apparently slept for four hours and claimed that was "more than enough."
Nobody believed her.
The school looked normal again.
Students walked to class.
Teachers gave lessons.
The cafeteria served breakfast.
The bell rang on schedule.
But everyone knew something was happening tonight.
The four accepted candidates had twenty-four hours to choose their game.
And the entire school knew it.
THE FOURTH PLAYER
The girls met Bai Shuying in the library during lunch.
She had already prepared a list.
Dozens of games were written across several pages.
Chess.
Chinese chess.
Go.
Checkers.
Mahjong.
Scrabble.
Chinese jump rope.
Five stones.
Pick-up sticks.
Dominoes.
Tangram.
Playing cards.
And several traditional children's games the girls hadn't played since childhood.
Mei Chen stared at the list.
"You prepared all this?"
"I woke up at five."
"...Why?"
"I couldn't sleep."
Mei Chen nodded.
"Okay. That makes four of us."
Yue Ning pointed toward the list.
"The system says we choose the game."
"Correct."
"Then why does it still say the opponent is unknown?"
Bai Shuying looked at her.
"Because the game isn't the only thing we are choosing."
Lin Xia understood immediately.
"We're choosing the battlefield."
Bai Shuying nodded.
THE WRONG CHOICE
They began eliminating games.
Chess was too predictable.
Go required too much time.
Mahjong involved too many variables.
Scrabble depended heavily on language.
Tangram had already been used during the Exhibition Match.
One by one...
The possibilities disappeared.
Mei Chen suddenly tapped the table.
"What about checkers?"
Everyone looked at her.
Bai Shuying shook her head.
"Too simple."
"That's exactly why."
Lin Xia looked interested.
"Explain."
Mei Chen leaned forward.
"Everyone expects us to choose something complicated."
She pointed at the list.
"But if the opponent is expecting advanced strategy..."
She smiled.
"...give them something they think they already understand."
Yue Ning's eyes brightened.
"Simple rules don't mean simple strategy."
"Exactly."
Lin Xia looked at the checkers board.
Then at Bai Shuying.
"What do you think?"
Bai Shuying was quiet for several seconds.
Finally—
"Checkers."
The decision was made.
THE SYSTEM RESPONDS
Yue Ning entered the selection.
GAME PROPOSED: CHECKERS
For several seconds...
Nothing happened.
Then—
DING.
GAME ACCEPTED.
Mei Chen smiled.
"That was easy."
Another notification appeared.
Her smile disappeared.
ADDITIONAL CONDITION
THE FOURTH PLAYER MAY NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE MATCH.
Everyone froze.
Bai Shuying's expression didn't change.
Lin Xia looked at her.
"What?"
The system continued.
MATCH FORMAT: TWO PLAYERS
OBSERVERS: UNLIMITED
TEAM ASSISTANCE: PROHIBITED
Mei Chen immediately shook her head.
"No."
She looked at Bai Shuying.
"They're separating us."
Bai Shuying nodded.
"They want to see whether the three of you can operate without me."
Then another message appeared.
PLAYER SELECTION WILL OCCUR AT 19:00.
Yue Ning frowned.
"Player selection?"
Lin Xia read the next line.
ONLY TWO PLAYERS WILL BE CHOSEN FROM THE FOUR ACCEPTED CANDIDATES.
Silence.
THE FIRST PROBLEM
Mei Chen looked at the other three.
"So..."
She swallowed.
"Two of us play."
"Yes."
"And the other two watch."
"Yes."
"And whoever loses gets punished."
Bai Shuying corrected her.
"We don't know that."
Mei Chen looked at the screen.
"Then what happens to the two who aren't selected?"
Nobody knew.
THE SCHOOL KNOWS
By afternoon, the news had spread.
Students filled the corridors discussing the upcoming match.
Some had already started placing bets.
Others argued about who would be selected.
Some believed Lin Xia would play.
Others wanted to see Bai Shuying return to the board.
A few were convinced Mei Chen would be chosen because of her unpredictability.
Yue Ning received three anonymous messages.
LIN XIA WILL WIN.
NO. BAI SHUYING WILL WIN.
YOU'RE ALL MAKING THE WRONG CHOICE.
She deleted them.
7:00 PM
The four players stood inside the auditorium.
Thousands of students filled the seats.
The same giant screen from the Exhibition Match illuminated the stage.
The system activated.
SPECIAL MATCH
GAME: CHECKERS
CANDIDATES: FOUR
PLAYERS: TWO
A digital selector appeared.
Four names rotated rapidly.
LIN XIA
YUE NING
MEI CHEN
BAI SHUYING
The wheel slowed.
LIN XIA
It stopped.
A second selection began.
Everyone held their breath.
BAI SHUYING
The auditorium erupted.
Mei Chen stared at the screen.
"...Of course."
Yue Ning looked at Lin Xia.
"You okay?"
Lin Xia nodded.
Then looked at Bai Shuying.
Bai Shuying simply walked toward the board.
THE BOARD
A real wooden checkers board was placed between them.
No hologram.
No digital interface.
Just sixty-four squares.
Twenty-four pieces.
Twelve red.
Twelve black.
Lin Xia sat down.
Bai Shuying sat opposite her.
The system displayed the rules.
STANDARD CHECKERS RULES
Players alternate turns.
Pieces move diagonally.
Jumps capture opposing pieces.
Multiple jumps are permitted.
A piece reaching the opposite end becomes a KING.
The player unable to make a legal move loses.
Mei Chen whispered from the audience:
"At least it's actually checkers."
Yue Ning smiled faintly.
"That's what we wanted."
Then the system displayed one final rule.
NO CHEATING DETECTION WILL BE PROVIDED.
The audience went silent.
Lin Xia's expression hardened.
That wasn't normal.
Bai Shuying looked at the board.
Then smiled.
Very slightly.
"Interesting."
Lin Xia looked at her.
"What?"
Bai Shuying placed her hands beside the board.
"They aren't going to tell us when someone cheats."
The timer appeared.
30:00
MATCH BEGIN.
Lin Xia moved first.
She pushed one of her front pieces diagonally forward.
A completely ordinary opening.
Bai Shuying responded immediately.
Another piece moved.
Then another.
The first few turns were quiet.
Simple.
Safe.
Almost boring.
But Yue Ning was watching their hands.
Not their pieces.
Their hands.
Then their eyes.
Then the spaces between moves.
Something wasn't right.
She leaned toward Mei Chen.
"Look at Bai Shuying."
"What?"
"She's not watching the board."
Mei Chen looked carefully.
Bai Shuying's eyes were fixed on Lin Xia.
Not the pieces.
Not the timer.
Lin Xia noticed too.
She slowly smiled.
The match had barely begun.
And already...
someone was playing a game that wasn't written in the rules.