164: Chapter 164 The hammer may not fall, but the piece remains in my heart.

The warning sound for the fourth round pierced Chen Fan's eardrums like a fine needle.

He stared at the ruin spot in the lower right corner of the board, which the tactical map had labeled a 'dead zone.' His throat moved—there was no defense or profit to be gained there; it wasn't even represented in the hundreds of placement options recommended by the system.

"Black · Ruin." His fingertip pressed onto the board, the stone clicking sharply.

On the white jade platform, Yi Xuan's pupil-less eyes rippled for the first time.

He frowned slightly, and a white stone flew out from his mind, landing precisely next to the ruin spot, sealing off all possibility of expansion.

Chen Fan, however, heard the buzzing of the critical hit system in his Sea of Consciousness. The premonition surged through his spine like an electric current: "In 0.8 seconds, the connection of the white stone will break."

"Black · Heart Fire." The second black stone fell, landing exactly on the weak point connecting the white stone.

The chessboard suddenly trembled, as if slapped by an invisible hand.

Chen Fan glimpsed Su Shuang's remnant soul out of the corner of his eye—that thread of blue light, as fine as a silk filament, was visibly thicker than before.

Her fragments of consciousness flickered within the chains, her voice as light as the wind: "...Pain..."

"Why make this move?" Yi Xuan's voice cracked. He raised a hand to touch his forehead, and gray mist churned more violently in his pupil-less eyes.

Chen Fan did not answer.

He stared at the 'Heart Fire' spot, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his hand.

The third black stone was already clenched in his palm. It was 'Sorrowful City,' marked in the tactical map as an 'Emotional Dead Spot'—the coordinate where he remembered crouching in the corner of a construction site and crying all night after the foreman withheld his wages at age twelve; the fourth was 'Abyss of Rage,' corresponding to the clenched fist he made last year when he witnessed a homeless man's meal box being kicked over by security; the fifth, 'Gate of Memory,' was the spot where his heartbeat skipped every time he passed the old Teahouse at the alley entrance and smelled the jasmine tea Su Shuang brewed.

"Meaningless layout," Yi Xuan snorted coldly, yet the white stone flying from his mind was delayed by 0.3 seconds.

The critical hit system exploded in his Sea of Consciousness. The notification, "Cognitive Critical Hit × 2 — Opponent trapped in a logic verification loop," nearly scorched his spirit.

Chen Fan 'saw' it: Yi Xuan's deduction engine was frantically calculating 'Why would a human choose an irrational placement?' His thought resources were draining away like trickling sand.

"The eye... is the lock... and also the door..." Su Shuang's remnant soul suddenly trembled, her whisper striking Chen Fan's ear.

He looked up sharply—the Eye of the Board!

That blue light, most tightly bound by the chains, was both Su Shuang's vital point and the anchor for the rules of the Void Realm!

"Atlantis, borrow the power!" Chen Fan bit his tongue until blood splattered onto the board.

The whispers of the ancient people suddenly exploded in the void. The remnant will of the bronze-masked general emerged from the light mist, his spear pointing toward the Eye of the Board.

Consciousness resonance surged like a tide. The tactical map reorganized in his mind, seven silver lines intertwining into the 'Seven Kill Chain Formation.'

Yi Xuan's white stone fell again, 'White · Severance of Emotion,' aiming directly for the Black General's vital point.

But Chen Fan smiled, pressing his fingertip toward 'Black · Keeping Promise'—the coordinate representing his vow to take Su Shuang out of the Void Realm.

"Emotional redundancy, clearing."

The voice of the Thought Breaker sounded like rusted gears.

Chen Fan looked up and saw the phantom enforcer standing beside him at some unknown point. Ink from the River of Oblivion Pen was dripping down the tip, spreading a death imprint of inky green at his feet.

But just as the ink drop was about to touch his brow, the Critical Hit Foresight cleaved through the chaos like lightning: [Cognitive Critical Hit × 3 — Opponent's thought nodes exposed]!

Chen Fan flipped his wrist, and the black stone slammed heavily onto the 'Heart Burning' spot—the core of Yi Xuan's layout, where the logic chains of all the white stones converged.

The chessboard was struck as if by lightning.

The faint blue light of the Light Erosion squares suddenly extinguished. The slave pawns gathered around collectively looked up, their eyes hollow.

"Don't trust the rules... Don't trust... Win." The echo of Su Shuang's remnant soul suddenly moved, her hoarse voice like sandpaper scraping across slate.

Chen Fan grinned, blood trickling from his bitten lip: "I don't trust the rules, I only trust that she's still alive." He poured the last trace of his spiritual power into the Star Pattern on his chest, which was connected to Su Shuang's remnant soul, and the resonant waves spread like ripples.

The Critical Strike Spiritual Body vibrated in reverse, and three clusters of light and shadow appeared in the void—the golden patterns of the Mayan Star Map, the crimson flames of the Loulan Fire Array, and the profound light of the Kunlun Tablets. The triple information streams superimposed into a vortex, creating a 'Cognitive Critical Hit Storm' in his Sea of Consciousness.

Yi Xuan stood up for the first time.

His white robes billowed. The chess pieces flying from his mind were no longer regular silver-white, but chaotic points of starlight.

Chen Fan saw unprecedented emotions churning in his pupil-less eyes—confusion, anger, and even fear.

"Black · No Return."

The final black stone fell.

The entire game instantly turned.

The White General was trapped within the Seven Kill Formation. Twelve silver lines, like chains, sealed off all retreat paths.

"This... is not the optimal solution... But why... did I win?" Yi Xuan's voice trembled. He raised his hand as if to destroy the board, but suddenly clutched his head and staggered.

Chen Fan saw his divine sense shaking, and the rule membrane of the Void Realm showed spiderweb-like cracks.

Outside the Void Realm, ten thousand conscripted players suddenly opened their eyes.

The system announcement before them froze. Blood-red text flashed wildly between 'Victory/Defeat Undetermined' and 'Rule Disorder.'

Chen Fan slumped to the ground, watching as Su Shuang's remnant soul finally broke free from half a chain.

Her blue light gently enveloped his fingertips, like the casual touch when she used to hand him tea back in the Teahouse.

"Fifth round..." Yi Xuan's voice suddenly became hoarse. He sat back down on the white jade platform, and twelve golden-glowing chess pieces flew out from his mind, orbiting him like a star track.

"I will take White personally."

Chen Fan wiped the blood from his face and looked up at him.

The light from those Origin Chess Pieces was too bright, making him squint.

But he knew this was only the true beginning.

On the board, the light of the black stones and the white stones were still vying for dominance.

And outside the Void Realm, the system's alarm sound was piercing through layers of rules, exploding in the Sea of Consciousness of every player—

[Final Round, Commencing.]