"Come, come, who do you all bet will win?"
As the chess match began, the person in charge of hosting the betting next to them started to call out.
"What's there to even say? Do you really think that little kid will win?"
"I'm not so sure, he won awards at school before, what if?"
"What if? Even if there's a 'what if,' can that child still win against an adult?"
They chatted back and forth, but almost all of them placed their bets on Zhan Jinzhi's opponent.
Qiu Shaoyi went over to take a look and saw that no one was supporting Zhan Jinzhi. He felt a little uncomfortable, so he placed his own pocket money on the line.
Although it was a small amount, he just wanted to show that he was always on Zhan Jinzhi's side.
"Is he kidding?"
The chess match had just begun, and the scene was already filled with commotion.
On the chessboard, although only two pieces had been placed by each player, it was somewhat perplexing.
The opening moves are particularly important in a chess game and reveal a player's style and habits.
However, they couldn't understand Zhan Jinzhi's moves.
His two pieces not only showed no apparent connection to each other, but they also seemed to have no connection to the opponent's pieces at all.
It was as if someone who didn't know how to play chess had simply placed two pieces randomly.
"Young man, are you playing a joke on me?"
The opponent looked at Qiu Shaoyi with some helplessness: "Is this the helper you invited?"
But Qiu Shaoyi was not swayed by the opponent's words: "Don't underestimate him, he's very skilled."
The opponent raised an eyebrow dismissively, feeling that there was no suspense in today's match.
In reality, Qiu Shaoyi was extremely nervous. For him, this chess match was of paramount importance, as it concerned his sister's safety.
However, now he could do nothing but trust Zhan Jinzhi.
And wasn't it his own fault that all of this had come about? It was his own cowardice that had pushed Zhan Jinzhi into this chess match.
"You are Qiu Shaoyi?"
Just as Qiu Shaoyi was about to go home, he encountered several ruffians who looked anything but approachable.
"I... I am."
"Let me tell you, I bet on you today against others, and you, a former champion, lost to someone else, causing me to lose a lot of money. So, I'm here to settle the score with you today."
"Settle the score?" Qiu Shaoyi's eyes widened.
Although he was a bit arrogant at school, he had never done anything bad, let alone dealt with these people.
"Let me think, how should you repay us?"
"Brother, I heard he has a sister, she's very cute. How about..."
"That's a good idea, let's do that."
Hearing this, how could Qiu Shaoyi let them have their way? He rushed forward directly: "No! You can't touch my sister!"
"Why should we listen to you? Or do you have any other way to compensate us?"
"That's right, I lost tens of thousands today!"
"How about this, there's an underground chess match on Friday. If you can help us win it back, we won't touch your sister. But before that, she needs to stay with us for a while."
For his sister, what choice did Qiu Shaoyi have? Of course, he agreed.
But it was precisely because this matter concerned his family that he began to doubt himself regarding chess.
He couldn't participate in the chess match himself, he was afraid of losing, so he found Zhan Jinzhi.
Qiu Shaoyi's nervous mood was transmitted to Zhan Jinzhi.
"Don't worry, it's all part of my plan," Zhan Jinzhi said.
In fact, he had other plans. Since there was a betting game, he didn't just want to win, he wanted to win beautifully.
In the private room, Yu Bei looked at the chessboard and laughed heartily.
"Mr. Zhan, your son really has a big appetite."
Zhan Mohan gave him a faint glance: "He's doing well, worthy of being my son."
Wei Yumeng, on the other hand, was a little confused. She hadn't seen any depth in these two moves at all.
But these two seemed to have understood something.
"Seeing that Mrs. Zhan doesn't understand yet, let me explain it to you," Yu Bei said cheerfully. "Although this is a chess game, the scope of the game is not limited to the chessboard; the betting also includes it. Your son has clearly set up a huge game. He deliberately appeared to be at a disadvantage in the opening. Look at the current betting situation."
Wei Yumeng thought for a moment: "Most people have probably bet on his opponent."
"Exactly, the more others bet, the more he will earn if he wins in the end."
Yu Bei even clapped his hands as he spoke: "I must say, this child is indeed a good material for business."
"However..." Yu Bei suddenly changed his tone: "Although he is brave to do this, he is also foolish, as whether he will win is still unknown."
"No, he will win," Zhan Mohan said. "From the moment he placed the first move, the game on his chessboard had already begun."
"Is that so?" Yu Bei smiled. "Then when will Mr. Zhan's game begin?"
Wei Yumeng felt that the atmosphere was too tense. Although the two of them were outwardly amicable, she knew clearly that a battle was already brewing behind the scenes.
Zhan Mohan looked at Yu Bei without any politeness: "Please wait and see."
Yu Bei just chuckled, but he looked at the time on his watch. Not only had the chess game here begun, but another one was about to start elsewhere.
Fang Xun sat nervously in the auction hall. This was the first time he had attended such an important auction alone.
Before, Zhan Mohan had always attended in person. In Zhan Mohan's words, although auctions might seem like a matter of having enough money to outsiders, for those involved, it was also a war.
Even with sufficient funds to buy an item, one had to bid at the lowest possible price according to the different circumstances on the spot.
And sometimes, one might encounter rivals at an auction and deliberately oppose them.
Of course, there was no denying that more serious situations might arise.
It was precisely because of this that Zhan Mohan always attended in person to deal with various situations.
"Ladies and gentlemen, our next auction item is a plot of land located in the city center. It is situated in the most prosperous and influential area of the city. According to our investigation data, nearly a billion local and foreign tourists spend money there annually. The starting bid is five million."
Upon the announcement, all the buyers participating in today's auction were eager. This was what they had been waiting for!