The sunset is beautiful, warm and serene.
Sunset is a late-blooming flower, sunset is aged wine.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
Dreaming back to the park on Gongyuan Road in the "Real World," at the senior activity center, two old men sat on a stone bench playing chess, surrounded by a crowd. Spectators who remain silent are true gentlemen.
This world has so many overlaps with things in the "Real World." Looking at the chess board in front of me, combined with the Chinese characters "One Kill Per Day" on Jeno's clothes, I thought so.
I didn't pay much attention to it when reading the original novel, but now that he's sitting opposite me, I can't help but wonder why Jeno has these words on his clothes. It feels very chuunibyo. This is probably similar to foreigners who find Chinese characters interesting and use them as tattoo designs, with a similar psychology.
After explaining the rules of chess, Jeno said I was a beginner and told me to make the first three moves. These three moves couldn't involve the same piece, couldn't capture any pieces, and couldn't move the general.
After some thought, I first moved a cannon between a pawn and the general. Then, I moved another cannon behind a pawn to prevent Jeno's cannon from directly capturing my knight through my cannon. At the same time, I aimed at his two pawns. Finally, I moved the chariot, preparing for its subsequent advance.
Jeno moved a knight, bringing the pawn, which was targeted by my cannon, under its protection.
As expected, I used another cannon to capture a pawn that the knight couldn't protect.
Jeno moved another knight. The next move would be to capture my cannon. The response to this situation was simple: I moved the chariot behind the cannon, bringing the cannon under the chariot's protection.
"Very good, you understood the rules just now," Jeno calmly moved a chess piece. "Even though I gave you three moves, you still don't think you can win, do you?"
"..." Isn't that stating the obvious? Even a genius couldn't defeat a seasoned chess player in their very first game!
In the "Real World," I'm just a novice who only knows the basic rules of chess, unable to beat even my classmates. Playing chess against a high-IQ character like Jeno, my win rate is zero, even more hopeless than the tea-splashing game last time.
"Don't give up too easily; it's not wisdom, it's weakness," Jeno said.
"..." Are you trying to lecture me with an extreme situation where the odds are clearly zero? Do you find that convincing?
Jeno's pace of placing each piece remained unchanged, while my thinking time grew longer. Calculating the movement of each piece required considerable brainpower. This is terrible. I have five more pieces than Jeno, yet he can steadily control me. Having more pieces becomes my hindrance, trapping me in a predicament of excessive calculation.
Thinking is not my forte. Break and then establish!
I couldn't win this game anyway, and losing wouldn't matter. I chose to take a gamble, abandoning unimportant and unsuitable pieces, and focusing on the remaining ones. Jeno isn't foolish; he knows some pieces are bait I deliberately sacrificed. He ignored those sacrificed pieces and relentlessly pursued the pieces I wanted to keep.
The game, which was expected to end quickly in defeat, turned out to be extremely tense and evenly matched. It lasted until the tea got cold, and it ended with my victory.
With no emotion, I looked at the last piece I obtained, a black "将" (General) carved on it. Haha (emotionless), I won (emotionless).
"You're not happy even after winning?" Jeno sighed with a hint of annoyance. "Ah, I'm getting old, I just don't understand young people's thoughts at all."
Nonsense! In the original novel, wasn't all of Kuroro's thinking seen through by you? The readers were all exclaiming, "Grandpa Killua is amazing."
Besides, winning this game feels too fake. Jeno was obviously going easy on me, letting go of an entire Pacific Ocean's worth of water.
"The chess piece you like to use the most while playing can reveal a person's style," Jeno pointed with his index finger at a piece with the character "车" (Chariot) on it. "Moll, this is your favorite piece. Unrestricted distance, straight forward, very straightforward."
"This is your second favorite piece," Jeno's finger moved to a piece with the character "炮" (Cannon) on it. "It can cooperate with any piece, attacking from a distance, very threatening."
"You like to attack and don't focus on defense. You believe that as long as you can achieve the objective (checkmate), any other sacrifices can be ignored." Jeno moved the remaining pieces off the board, leaving only the "将" (General) and "帅" (Marshal). "But reality is not a chess game. A chess game can be restarted infinitely, but reality constantly moves forward, and the past remains, continuously influencing the present, whether you like it or not. There's an old saying, 'Haste makes waste.' You are too impatient, only focused on rushing forward; such you will fall before reaching your goal."
"..." What else can I do? If I'm not smart, I can only rely on hard work.
"We have enough experience to guide you. Doing things step by step is the most suitable approach for you. In my opinion, you are no longer training but seeking... solace through self-harm." Jeno moved the last two pieces off the board. "Considering your current injuries, we have to reduce some training. Overall, your progress has actually slowed down – too much of a good thing is bad."
"..." I know, but I'm just anxious. Otherwise, why would I go for electrotherapy?
"Don't compare yourself to others; everyone's situation is different. You need to focus more on yourself. It's okay to be slow. Our family is not so desperate that we have to rely on children to go on missions to earn money. Living is more important than working. We don't want to see you lose your life for no reason. Until you adjust your mindset, we won't let you go out. We hope you understand this." Seeing that I hadn't taken a sip of tea, Jeno motioned for me to drink. "If you insist on going out to die, we don't mind keeping you home; we can afford to support one more person."
Considering how the Zoldyck family handled Alluka in the original novel, what Jeno said is not impossible, especially since they value the family's centuries-old reputation and wouldn't allow me to tarnish it. They are capable of depriving a mute person of their freedom.
"..." I swallowed the cooled tea with difficulty.
"This is just a 'what if,' not something that will definitely happen," Jeno motioned for me to continue drinking tea. "What you lack is a mindset, which can be adjusted. Relax, Moll."
Take a sip of tea to calm down.jpg
"Besides, it's not bad for someone to stay at home," Jeno said, propping his head with one hand. "In the worst-case scenario, if all of us die outside, the entire family will have to rely on you to continue the bloodline."
"?!" I'm about to choke on this second sip of tea.
The Zoldyck family has long been involved with the world's most dangerous Dark Continent. No matter how strong they are, they are still within the human realm. There's a possibility of them being wiped out in one go if they're not careful. Then, I'll have to become a breeding tool for the rest of my life. No! Let the Zoldyck family be destroyed! This world will function perfectly fine without you!
Personally, I absolutely don't want to go down the path of "blooming descendants for the family," but this world has Nen abilities, which are very unreasonable. As long as they are willing, they could alter my memories and thoughts, turning me into a loyal slave of the family. The minority obeys the majority; sacrificing one of me for the glory of the family, is anything impossible?! They are capable of doing it!!!
"So no matter what, whether for the family or for yourself, you must strive to live, Moll," Jeno said. "All training is prohibited until your injuries heal. Subsequent training will focus on defense and evasion. If your injuries affect your movements, stop your training immediately."
"!!!"
This won't do!
Without sufficient strength in the Zoldyck family, one would have no status, like Milluki, and be bullied by their younger siblings.
If Illumi decides he dislikes me one day and tries to insert needles into my head to alter my thoughts, would I still be myself?
"Being slow doesn't mean inefficient. Just like in the chess game just now, even with a three-move head start, you couldn't control the situation," Jeno switched the chess box, moving the black pieces that were moved second in front of me. "What you need is to calm down. A one-hit kill is a brief matter, while waiting is what we do best and for the longest time."
"..." I followed Jeno's actions and placed the black pieces on the board.
"Do you know why Silva hasn't let you challenge him yet?" Jeno moved a piece.
"..." I moved the corresponding piece.
"Actually, he is waiting for you, not the other way around. You are the one who has never been ready," Jeno said. "Silva said you would understand. Today, it's just me being overly talkative. As I said, I really don't understand young people's thoughts at all."
"..." I held my hands together with mixed feelings.
"Take your time; there is plenty of time. You must first learn to observe and wait."
"..."
"It's your turn to move."