Chapter 33: Top-Tier Mind Games

Chapter 33: Top-Tier Battle of Wits

Was all that studying last night for nothing?

Yan Wanqiu paused, speechless, then snapped at the person in the doorway, "Get in here, now."

Xie Chi stood at the door, thinking for a few seconds, then actually crouched down as if he was really going to roll in.

Yan Wanqiu's temples throbbed with irritation.

"Who told you to actually roll! I don't care which foot you lead with, just walk in like a normal person!"

So his earlier agreeableness had been short-lived—Yan Wanqiu was as unreasonable as ever.

Xie Chi didn't dare get angry, and he didn't dare talk back either. He silently stood up and walked into the hall.

As usual, he stopped before the steps, knelt on one knee, and bowed: "Your Highness."

Yan Wanqiu frowned slightly. "Didn't I say you don't need to kneel until your injuries heal? Come stand before me."

"Yes."

Xie Chi rose as instructed, kept his head lowered, and walked up the steps carefully to stand before Yan Wanqiu.

His entire body was tense, eyes fixed on the floor tiles below, completely lacking the energy he'd had with Ji Chou earlier—exuding nothing but wariness and caution.

Seeing him like this, Yan Wanqiu felt irritated for no reason he could name.

Hadn't he been good enough to Xie Chi these past few days? Why did this guy still not dare to look up at him?

Did Xie Chi really find him that terrifying?

With that thought, Yan Wanqiu said irritably, "Lift your head. I wasn't even planning to bring up Ji Chou today."

Xie Chi finally raised his head.

But his gaze still didn't land on Yan Wanqiu's face—it was unfocused on Yan Wanqiu's collar, maintaining a polite but distant demeanor.

This time, before Yan Wanqiu could press him, Xie Chi spoke up first: "Your Highness summoned me about last night's blackout, right?"

Yan Wanqiu then remembered why he had called Xie Chi. He nodded. "Correct. Last night, Ice Cold City struck suddenly, cutting power to most of Blizzard City. If you hadn't acted quickly—setting up heating shelters across the city to take in refugees, and mobilizing workers for the thermal stations and pipelines—Blizzard City would've been in chaos."

"The reason I called you here is that I believe your 'work for relief' plan can be effectively implemented. I want to discuss more details with you, and I also have a task for you."

"What is it?" Xie Chi asked, puzzled.

Yan Wanqiu had already spread out last night's draft plan, sharing the digital screen with Xie Chi: "One thing at a time. First, let's resolve Blizzard City's heating crisis."

Xie Chi looked at the wall of text and felt overwhelmed.

Ji Chou had gone over everything last night, even listing questions Yan Wanqiu might ask and how to answer them. But this wasn't his own work. If Yan Wanqiu asked him to write a similar plan on the spot, he'd be caught.

Moreover, for some reason, Xie Chi felt that the current Yan Wanqiu reminded him of Ji Chou from last night.

Xie Chi really wanted to admit that this wasn't his idea, that Yan Wanqiu wouldn't get much out of questioning him.

But clearly, judging by Yan Wanqiu's expression, the plan still had many flaws. Before Yan Wanqiu decided whether to reward or punish, Xie Chi didn't dare risk bringing up Ji Chou, so he braced himself and looked at the screen.

Yan Wanqiu watched Xie Chi, who looked like he was walking to his execution, and slowly spoke: "Yesterday was sudden, and I wasn't there to oversee things personally. So while your proposed group supervision system has some deterrent value, with such large flows of funds and energy, embezzlement is still inevitable. Got any good solutions?"

Xie Chi, who had been frowning, his face lit up.

His wife had gone over this one last night!

After a long night of cramming, Xie Chi answered fluently: "Set up a special inspection team, with you and me conducting surprise spot checks personally. Once corruption is found, execute the offenders on the spot to make an example of them. I already have some candidates in mind. If Your Highness needs it, I'll go back and work with Uncle Nie to put together a suitable list for you."

Yan Wanqiu raised an eyebrow and immediately pulled up the entire camp's personnel files: "No need to wait until you go back. Tell me your thoughts right now."

Xie Chi steadied himself and went through candidates one by one according to the logic Ji Chou had laid out last night: "The inspection team needs to be split into two parts: field inspections and internal audits. For field inspections, I think these people are suitable. My main uncertainty is the internal audit portion—that means pulling people from the logistics department. I used to run the Shadow Guard, so I'm not too familiar with that area, but I do have a few candidates. First is Andre..."

Yan Wanqiu watched Xie Chi go on and on, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

His expression turned serious again, and he continued: "Most of our available manpower has been pulled for disaster relief. What about the weakened defenses within the camp?"

His wife had drilled him on this one too. Xie Chi answered without hesitation: "Lock down the towns around the camp. Those are already our territory. During the freezing period, they have no need to go out anyway. Use the surrounding locals to form a natural defense line—this also expands the camp's scale. Specifically, these towns..."

...

Half an hour later, Xie Chi couldn't help but think Ji Chou was a genius.

Yan Wanqiu had quizzed him on everything Ji Chou had taught him last night.

Thank God his wife had given him the answers beforehand; otherwise, facing Yan Wanqiu's questioning today, he'd probably only be able to blurt out another "I'll go kill You Fuzhu."

Yan Wanqiu was clearly in a good mood too, his tone much gentler: "Alright, one last question. Ice Cold City won't take this failure lying down. Our conflict with them will only intensify, and eventually war is inevitable. What do you think?"

His wife hadn't gone over this one.

Xie Chi frowned, thinking hard.

The war with Ice Cold City was documented in the history books. He could answer based on them without error.

But recalling what the records said, Xie Chi hesitated and spoke: "Does it have to be war?"

Yan Wanqiu looked at him with surprise. "I thought you'd say you'd just go kill You Fuzhu."

Xie Chi said earnestly: "You said yesterday that You Fuzhu can't be killed—I remember that. But if possible, I also don't want Blizzard City to go to war with Ice Cold City right now. We're developing quickly, but we started too late. Our current strength isn't that formidable. If war breaks out now, the gap between us and Ice Cold City can only be paid for with lives."

"Deaths in battle are inevitable, but I think these are unnecessary sacrifices. We can take Ice Cold City at a much smaller cost—or even make Ice Cold City come to us willingly."

A flicker of interest appeared in Yan Wanqiu's eyes.

If the earlier questions showed that Xie Chi had a good memory, then this answer genuinely surprised him.

He hadn't been wrong about him—Xie Chi truly had the potential to take on big responsibilities.

"Go on. How exactly do we get them to surrender willingly?"

Xie Chi answered immediately: "Just like Ice Cold City controlled Blizzard City—once the situation inside the city stabilizes, we can lay pipelines along the existing power grid and sell thermal energy to Ice Cold City's border regions, improving the lives of the local people. With the support of thermal ore and Shi Peijue, our thermal pipelines are unmatched. When people in other parts of Ice Cold City see this, they'll naturally be drawn to us. That's how we win them over."

"And You Fuzhu won't just sit by and watch the people of Ice Cold City turn against him. He'll definitely cause trouble at the border to obstruct our construction. We don't need to win a big battle—just bring out the quantum guns and win this small fight decisively. Then all the factions across Ice Cold City will be intimidated, and You Fuzhu will be forced to think twice."

"At that point, I'll go kill You Fuzhu. With Ice Cold City leaderless, and us having local prestige and geographical advantage, our troops moving in to take over the city won't just be justified—it'll even be welcomed by the people."

Yan Wanqiu had been listening intently, but as Xie Chi went on, his brow furrowed slightly.

Xie Chi's ideas matched his own, but there were some differences in the details.

Xie Chi, already lacking confidence because he had come up with it on his own, saw Yan Wanqiu's expression and immediately grew nervous: "...I'm just throwing ideas out there. Don't read too much into it, Your Highness."

"No, you're right, and it's already turned out better than I expected." Yan Wanqiu, only then realizing how serious his expression had gotten, first affirmed Xie Chi's answer before adding, "But there's one thing you got wrong. What you call 'submission' is really about seizing power, not killing. Killing is just one of the ways to make a city submit. You made killing the end goal, which threw the whole process off track."

"What you said at the start was all correct—stirring up trouble to get You Fuzhu to make the first move; having a righteous cause so the locals believe we're fighting for them. Striking second, waiting for the right opening—but even so, You Fuzhu can't die yet."

"Not to mention Hanbing City's defenses are dozens of times tighter than the Night Owl Syndicate's. Going in alone to kill You Fuzhu is way too risky. If he dies, we'd have to waste effort bringing all the factions in Hanbing City back under control. The city's cut off from us by high mountains, and with so few people in camp, we can't reach that far. We don't even have the manpower to build the thermal pipelines to Hanbing City. If we get dragged into a drawn-out fight with Hanbing City, things could go sideways."

Yan Wanqiu made his call: "So for now, the thermal pipeline thing is just for show—the only point is to provoke You Fuzhu. You Fuzhu isn't an idiot. Keep him alive as a puppet lord and let him bankroll the infrastructure with Hanbing City's own money and resources. As for him, we can deal with him later once we've got full control of Hanbing City."

Xie Chi frowned: "But he's Yan Huishi's man. Even if we beat him, he won't switch sides."

Yan Wanqiu gave a faint smirk: "That's exactly what I need you to handle. Since he's using Yan Huishi to come at us, I'll make sure he never earns Yan Huishi's trust again."

Seeing Xie Chi look confused, Yan Wanqiu crooked a finger at him: "Come here."

Xie Chi, not sure what was going on, stepped forward until his toes almost touched Yan Wanqiu's.

Yan Wanqiu motioned for him to lean down and murmured a few words in his ear.

Xie Chi's eyes lit up on the spot, and he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"No problem. I'll get it done tonight."

Yan Wanqiu nodded: "You handled the blackout well this time. What do you want as a reward?"

Xie Chi stepped back to a proper distance and, figuring the matter was settled on a good note, stopped holding back: "Your Highness, honestly, these ideas weren't mine. Last night, I happened to be with Ji Chou. It all happened so fast, and I really had no clue what to do, so I went ahead and told Ji Chou. He came up with all of it..."

Xie Chi walked through everything from last night, including the fact that Ji Chou had fed him those earlier answers.

Yan Wanqiu was a little taken aback.

Even though Xie Chi had said he'd ask "Yan Wanqiu" for a reward on his behalf, he hadn't really taken it to heart.

After all, even without Xie Chi, he'd have had to deal with all this himself, and it's not like he could reward himself.

But he hadn't expected Xie Chi to actually take zero credit and give it all to Ji Chou.

"So what do you want for him?" Yan Wanqiu stared at Xie Chi and asked.

Xie Chi didn't answer right away, instead stressing again: "Your Highness, you just said yourself it was well done. My wife is seriously talented. Having him stuck in the kitchen is a total waste. Your Highness appreciates talent, so I figured maybe we could put Ji Chou somewhere he fits better, somewhere his skills can actually shine."

"Oh, and ideally better pay and benefits, more room to move up, and safer too. The coworkers in the department should be easygoing and get along. He should get a single room in the dorms. The work shouldn't be too demanding, and preferably indoors—it gets pretty cold outside during the ice-sealed season..."

Yan Wanqiu: "..."

Yan Wanqiu watched Xie Chi's requests get more and more ridiculous and sneered: "How about I just hand him the throne?"

Xie Chi shook his head over and over: "No way, that's way too dangerous."

Yan Wanqiu was completely stumped.

He rubbed his forehead, deciding it wasn't worth arguing with this idiot, and said: "Fine, got it. I'll ask him what he wants and set him up with something else. That work for you?"

Xie Chi broke into a grin: "Thanks, Your Highness."

With that, he pulled out the thermostatic combat suit and the nutrient solution formula he'd brought and handed them over.

"This is for you."

Yan Wanqiu took them, surprised by what he saw: "What's this for?"

The value of these two things during the ice-sealed period went without saying. Before, he'd had to threaten and bribe Xie Chi just to get him to reluctantly cough up the repair solution formula. So why was he suddenly offering up the nutrient solution formula?

Xie Chi said with a straight face: "This is a thermostatic combat suit. It's been getting colder lately, so you should look after yourself, Your Highness. And the nutrient solution formula—that's because I want to help lighten your load."

Yan Wanqiu: "...Get to the point. Keep up this nonsense and I'll toss you out."

Yeah, Yan Wanqiu definitely wasn't falling for that.

Xie Chi sighed and switched tactics: "Nothing serious, really. Just wanted to thank you for agreeing to move Ji Chou to a new post. From now on, my wife and I are gonna see each other a lot and text a lot, so I hope you can cut my wife some slack, Your Highness."

Hearing that, Yan Wanqiu finally remembered he'd promised Xie Chi a weekly meeting and a higher chat limit.

He'd been busy all day yesterday, hadn't had time to verify the authenticity of the quantum gun, and this morning was delayed by matters in Baoxue City, so he'd completely forgotten.

So Xie Chi had circled around all this just to remind him of that.

Yan Wanqiu was momentarily speechless.

He'd thought Xie Chi had forgotten everything he'd taught last night, but in Xie Chi's view, securing a job opportunity for "Ji Chou" and gaining more chances to meet and chat with "Ji Chou" were the true goals he couldn't easily reveal.

This fool—how had he learned things in such a messy way?

Yet, despite thinking this, the corners of Yan Wanqiu's mouth involuntarily curled up.

He said: "Got it. I'll have someone lift your chat restrictions later. Although you meet once a week, you should still restrain yourselves a bit. You'll be busy soon—don't neglect your work."

Xie Chi was puzzled for a moment, about to ask what other work he had besides tonight's mission, when it suddenly hit him.

His back-and-forth with Yan Wanqiu earlier had all been answered according to his wife's plans, and the solutions his wife had taught him were all to be executed and managed by himself personally.

The corruption issue—he and Nie Huaiyi had selected people together, forming a special team he directly managed, reporting up to Yan Wanqiu; the inspections were done by him; the camp's defense was also his responsibility...

In just thirty minutes, he'd taken on no fewer than ten tasks.

All of them were things other than killing.

Xie Chi felt dizzy: "Your Highness, I think Uncle Nie could handle these things too. How about I go kill someone for you instead? Even if I can't kill You Fuzhu, I can go on field missions to kill other city lords..."

Yan Wanqiu, seeing his pathetic demeanor, was irritated: "This is your wife's plan. You won't let me have him handle the follow-up, and you won't do it yourself. Do you want me to take back the reward I just gave?"

Xie Chi immediately perked up, standing straight: "No need, no need. I can handle this small matter myself."

He then looked at Yan Wanqiu expectantly and asked: "Is there a commission this time?"

Yan Wanqiu gave him a meaningful look: "There is, but not money."

Xie Chi asked eagerly: "What is it then?"

Yan Wanqiu said calmly: "Once these matters are settled and Baoxue City is fully consolidated, as the greatest contributor, I'll make you the acting city lord of Baoxue City."

This was the reward Yan Wanqiu had planned all along.

Xie Chi, who dared to say he wanted "actual power over half the United Kingdom," clearly had ambition to climb. Last night's conversation had proven that.

This was normal—which alpha didn't want to build achievements?

But power over the United Kingdom was too distant. Still, since his subordinate had such ideas and talent, Yan Wanqiu naturally had to seize and use it.

He had guided Xie Chi step by step into the trap last night, precisely so that today Xie Chi would see a clear path for promotion.

Xie Chi, now with a clear goal and direction, worked diligently to handle matters properly, and upon being promoted, tasted the sweetness of success and became more deeply tied to Blizzard City, naturally growing more loyal to Yan Wanqiu.

But to Yan Wanqiu's surprise, he waited several seconds and still didn't see the delighted expression he expected from Xie Chi.

Instead, Xie Chi wore a strange expression, looking like he wanted to say something but held back: "Your Highness, could we change the title? Like, say, Deputy City Lord of Blizzard City?"

Yan Wanqiu: "?"

Yan Wanqiu looked at Xie Chi in confusion: "What's the difference?"

Xie Chi said, dead serious: "Acting City Lord of Blizzard City sounds like a death sentence."

He hadn't forgotten how Nie Huaiyi, the Acting City Lord back in the day, ended up blowing himself up along with the whole city.

Yan Wanqiu had no idea what Xie Chi was rambling about, but since it was just a title, he let it slide: "Suit yourself."

Xie Chi finally agreed, all smiles: "Thank you, Your Highness! I'll give it everything I've got!"

Given how far the other party had gone, it was obvious he was using this disaster relief mission to help Xie Chi build his own inner circle and gain real power, paving the way for him to become Deputy City Lord. Xie Chi's head was spinning, but he could still tell what was good for him.

Getting promoted to Deputy City Lord was a win—better pay, more power, and way more convenient for skipping town with his wife later.

Yan Wanqiu was a decent boss to work under. Sure, he was short-lived and had a temper, but he actually rewarded people for their work.

And Ji Chou—man, his wife was sharp.

With just a few strategic words, she'd backed Yan Wanqiu into a corner where he had to promote him, paving the way for him to move up to Deputy City Lord.

Xie Chi had no clue he'd been conned by his wife and the Tyrant into a one-way street to doom. He just felt luckier and luckier to have a wife as sweet, sharp, and clever as Ji Chou.

Xie Chi made a silent vow to treat Ji Chou even better and make more money for her to blow.

But—besides throwing money at her, how else was he supposed to treat Ji Chou right?

The second that question popped into his head, Xie Chi's head started throbbing again.

He'd already pissed Ji Chou off last night. What if he screwed up again next time and set her off? Then he'd really be a failure as a husband.

Just as Xie Chi was thinking about hunting down some married folks in camp to ask for advice that afternoon, Yan Wanqiu spoke up.

"This afternoon, you're coming with me to the black market to grab the stuff you'll need to take tonight. Also, Mr. Ai heard you got hurt in that mine collapse and feels pretty bad about it. He wants to apologize face to face."

Xie Chi nodded, then frowned: "Why's he apologizing to me? Didn't we bring the mine down ourselves when we fought?"

Yan Wanqiu glanced up: "You fired blanks at first, so there shouldn't have been any issue. The first collapse happened because the outer safety measures weren't set up right. And the second, worse collapse was just fallout from the first one. Bottom line, it's on Mr. Ai—he was in too big a hurry to mine and skipped the safety precautions. He agreed to the partnership, and the terms were laid out in black and white, so he's the one who has to take most of the blame for this mess."

"Back when I was out of it with Pheromone Dysregulation Syndrome, none of you even thought to go after him for it. Remember this going forward—we're not running a charity here. If someone partners with us, they take on the risks too—we sink or swim together."

It clicked for Xie Chi, and he nodded eagerly: "Got it."

Yan Wanqiu stood up: "Alright, it's getting late. Go pack up and wait for me at the camp entrance. I'll take you straight to the black market. Once we grab the stuff, you head out right away."

Xie Chi had no objections.

He trailed after Yan Wanqiu out of the audience hall.

The moment he stepped out, he saw a bunch of people in the palace hauling boxes of all sizes out.

Xie Chi eyed them, puzzled. What was going on? Moving day?

Just then, a servant spotted Yan Wanqiu and rushed over with a small box: "Your Highness, these are all the rings the Third Prince brought. We've gone through every one, but none match the style you asked for. Want to take another look yourself, or should we just load them onto the airship?"

Xie Chi was even more confused. Going through Yan Baiyue's stuff made sense, but why was Yan Wanqiu being so specific about ring styles?

Had Yan Baiyue swiped one of his rings back in the day?

Yan Wanqiu hadn't expected Xie Chi to witness this. He pressed his lips together, uncomfortable, and rattled off: "If it's not there, forget it. Load it all up."

After saying that, he added somewhat defensively to Xie Chi: "Yan Baiyue brought quite a lot of jewelry. Coincidentally, Mr. Ai also does jewelry business, so I decided to pack up his things and bring them along this time—half gift, half sale. We need some social niceties with our partners."

Xie Chi nodded without thinking much of it, only feeling a bit regretful.

If only he'd known Yan Baiyue had so much jewelry, when he came to the palace that day to find Yan Wanqiu in the throes of Pheromone Dysregulation Syndrome, he would have at least scoured the halls for loot before leaving.

That would have fetched a good price.

He didn't linger any longer and bid farewell to Yan Wanqiu: "Then I'll head back to pack my things."

Yan Wanqiu nodded.

Only after watching Xie Chi's figure disappear through the doorway did Yan Wanqiu let out a sigh of relief.

He waved over the servant who had been holding the rings: "Bring me that box. I want to check again."

While clearing out Yan Baiyue's belongings today and seeing the pile of jewelry left behind, Yan Wanqiu naturally thought of the jarringly conspicuous ring on Xie Chi's hand last night.

Xie Chi wore no accessories at all and dressed simply on ordinary days. For such an ornament to appear in such an ambiguous place—even though he knew full well that someone as dense as that guy couldn't possibly be playing both sides—it still felt like a thorn lodged in Yan Wanqiu's heart.

Not important enough to obsess over, yet too irritating to leave unresolved.

If he asked Xie Chi directly, it would seem like he cared too much.

The servant who had just loaded the rings onto the airship: "..."

His Highness was truly capricious today.