163: Anticipate your prediction! The Queen is completely convinced!

Scarlett's hand, which was about to move her "Queen," froze mid-air.

The lazy, playful, and slightly condescending expression on her face completely solidified.

In this moment, time seemed to stretch infinitely.

Her azure sapphire-like eyes stared fixedly at the tiny pawn that Lin Feng had gently pushed.

Then, her gaze began to scan the starkly black-and-white chessboard wildly and uncontrollably!

Her brain was working at an unprecedented speed!

She tried to find a way out!

Trying to find any tiny flaw in this damn, magnificent cage!

But there was none!

Absolutely none!

Her Queen was caught in a perfect angle formed by Lin Feng's inconspicuous pawn and one of her own pawns, completely locking down all her movement!

Her Rook was caught in an inescapable death trap formed by Lin Feng's last remaining Knight and her own Bishop!

Her Bishop, her Knight... all her powerful attacking pieces on the board seemed to be tightly bound in place by an invisible chain at this moment!

Not only could they no longer pose any threat to Lin Feng's solitary King.

Even self-preservation had become a luxury!

How is this possible?!

Scarlett felt her breathing become difficult!

She couldn't understand!

She completely failed to understand how the situation had undergone such a world-shaking reversal in this single instant!

She began to frantically replay every move in her mind!

She remembered!

A dozen moves ago.

Lin Feng had voluntarily sacrificed his "Rook" just to take one of her insignificant pawns.

At the time, she thought it was a low-level mistake Lin Feng made out of impatience!

Looking at it now!

That wasn't a mistake at all!

It was a bait!

A fatal bait that made her let down her guard and believe victory was in her grasp!

She remembered again!

Seven moves ago.

To avoid one of her checks, Lin Feng made a move that seemed extremely clumsy, exposing his "Queen" in a very dangerous position.

At that time, she was filled with contempt and unhesitatingly captured Lin Feng's strongest piece!

She clearly remembered the pleasure of being in total control when she uttered the word "Check!"

But now!

As she re-examined that move, a bone-chilling cold suddenly surged from her spine straight to the top of her head!

She discovered in horror!

Lin Feng's move wasn't to protect his King at all!

He did it on purpose!

He intentionally delivered his "Queen" to her doorstep!

He was using his strongest piece as the price!

To exchange for a flaw in her formation that even she hadn't noticed—one so tiny it was negligible... until now!

Scene after scene flashed back frantically in Scarlett's mind like a fast-forwarded movie!

Every piece of Lin Feng's she captured!

Every fierce attack she launched!

Every move she made to drive Lin Feng into a corner!

At the time, they all seemed like perfect manifestations of her wisdom and chess skills!

They were all medals of victory for having this man in the palm of her hand!

But until this moment.

Until Lin Feng moved that tiny pawn that had remained silent since the beginning of the game.

Only then did she suddenly wake up, as if struck by lightning!

So.

From beginning to end.

Every move she made had actually been within this man's calculations!

He wasn't playing chess with her!

He was using these sixty-four black and white squares, these ivory and obsidian carved pieces, to compose a script whose ending had already been written!

And herself!

This self-righteous Queen who thought she controlled the whole board!

From start to finish, she was just a pathetic clown in his script, following his will step by step to send herself to the guillotine with her own hands!

He predicted her moves.

He predicted the proud heart, full of aggression and the desire to conquer, behind every move she made!

He exploited her greed!

He exploited her confidence!

He exploited her undisguised thirst for victory!

He was like a master psychologist, calculating all her emotions and desires with absolute clarity!

This was no longer a victory on the level of chess skills!

This was a dimensional strike!

This was a complete and utter crushing on a psychological level!

Scarlett slowly raised her head.

Her hand, which had been frozen in mid-air, also dropped weakly.

She looked across the table.

At the Eastern man whose face had shown no emotional fluctuation from beginning to end.

He still looked as calm as ever.

It was as if the thrilling psychological battle that just took place—one enough to make any top chess player turn pale—was nothing more than a simple post-dinner pastime to him.

At this moment.

Scarlett saw something in Lin Feng's eyes that she had never seen before.

It wasn't the joy of a victor.

Nor was it the excitement of defeating a strong enemy.

It was a kind of absolute control, like a god looking down upon mortals!

This man!

Was ten thousand times more dangerous than she had imagined!

And ten thousand times more charming than she had imagined!

Lin Feng didn't speak.

He just calmly met Scarlett's complex gaze, which was filled with shock, horror, and a hint of fanaticism.

He reached out his hand.

And gently moved his only remaining, weak Knight.

"Clack."

The piece landed on the board with a crisp sound.

"Checkmate."

Lin Feng's voice was very soft.

But those words were like two heavy hammers smashing ruthlessly against Scarlett's heart!

Checkmate!

An unsolvable, perfect checkmate laid out for her using her own pieces!

He won.

And he did it in the most brutal way possible, leaving his opponent completely convinced of their defeat and even feeling a hint of fear!

The entire room fell into a brief silence.

Only the sound of their light breathing remained in the air.

After a long time.

The shock and horror on Scarlett's face slowly faded away.

In its place.

A stunning smile, unprecedentedly brilliant and filled with endless admiration, bloomed on her fiery red lips.

She looked at the man before her who had calculated her every move until she was utterly defeated.

Instead of having even a shred of anger.

She felt a massive sense of excitement, as if she had found one of her own kind!

She slowly stood up.

The black silk dress outlined her perfect curves that drove men all over the world crazy.

She didn't return to her seat.

Instead, she took elegant steps around the Obsidian Chessboard and proactively walked toward Lin Feng, step by step.

She leaned down slightly.

A fatal, seductive scent, a mixture of mellow red wine and her unique body fragrance, instantly enveloped all of Lin Feng's senses.

Her voice carried a hint of raspiness, a touch of playfulness, and an undisguised admiration from the bottom of her heart.

"You predicted my prediction."

"And even made me think I had won."

Scarlett reached out a slender finger with bright red nail polish and gently tapped Lin Feng's chest.

Her eyes shimmered with a bright yet dangerous light, like the stars.

"You didn't just want to win a game of chess."

"You wanted to control the entire board."

"Very well."

"You passed."