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Before Ning Tianchen lay two paths, one of which was surely a dead end.
After some thought, Ning Tianchen decided to take the path on the right.
After advancing seven squares on the chessboard, he reached a corner. Upon turning, the chessboard beneath his feet suddenly rose, ejecting him with a white piece.
"How was it? Which square did you step on?" the others immediately asked.
"Three-eleven. Besides avoiding traps, we also need to find our way out of the maze. The path I took on the right was a dead end. After entering, you should take the left path."
Chen Huayu nodded seriously.
Ning Tianchen retrieved an ink pen from his soul-guidance device, drew a chessboard on the ground, and marked the areas he had explored.
Chen Huayu stepped onto the chessboard, but after taking just one step, he was immediately ejected without even having the chance to enter the left path.
"Two-two! Boss, aren't you setting me up?"
He landed in a dusty spot, getting a face full of dirt.
"That's strange. I passed through the two-two position myself," Ning Tianchen frowned. "Principal Ke didn't mention the order in which the traps would appear."
As he spoke, Ning Tianchen marked an "X" at the entrance of the chessboard he had drawn.
The positions of the traps wouldn't change, so subsequent entrants only needed to avoid them.
Next to enter the chessboard was Zhu Zhuqing.
---
A few minutes later, as Cai Die was ejected, five people had been consecutively eliminated, leaving only Ning Rongrong and Oscar.
"The three-eleven position is a trap," Cai Die whispered softly.
Just as Ning Tianchen was about to mark that position on the chessboard, he suddenly remembered, "Didn't I already check the three-eleven position?"
Cai Die lowered her head and quietly explained, "The maze's layout changed. Since I'm unfamiliar with Go, after walking a few steps, I forgot my position on the chessboard, and that's how…"
Ning Tianchen waved his hand dismissively. "It's not your fault. Principal Ke is being too ruthless."
This clearly wasn't just one test; it was two.
Identifying the trap locations was only part of it. The key was accurately determining one's position while inside the chessboard. Otherwise, after the maze shifted, one might accidentally step on a previously triggered trap.
After some thought, Ning Tianchen proposed a solution. "Little Ao, Rongrong, don't move one square at a time—jump multiple squares instead. The more squares you can skip, the higher your chances of passing."
At the beginning, navigating the chessboard was manageable, but as they ventured deeper, those unfamiliar with the board found it extremely difficult to locate themselves amidst the black walls.
"Could Cai Die have reported the wrong position? Maybe she didn't step on three-eleven?" Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but ask.
Since Cai Die wasn't familiar with Go, it was entirely possible she misreported the position.
Without knowing the full details, such suspicions were understandable.
Ning Tianchen interrupted, "We can't afford to doubt our teammates right now. Little Ao, Rongrong, quickly memorize the trap positions."
As expected, something unexpected happened soon after.
Oscar was eliminated at position five-seven, adjacent to where Cai Die had been eliminated at five-six.
"Did someone really miscount the squares?"
Even Ning Tianchen couldn't help but wonder.
When eliminated, one was ejected into the air for about three seconds to identify the trap location. In such a short time, miscounting squares wasn't surprising.
Of course, it was also possible that Ke Jie had deliberately set a trap.
Ning Rongrong finally realized how wrong it was to be the last one to go.
If the first six people doubted each other, she wouldn't know whom to trust.
In the end, as expected, no one successfully navigated the maze.
---
"Principal Ke, isn't this too twisted? Once we're deep in the chessboard, we can't figure out where we are. Even knowing the trap coordinates doesn't help," Chen Huayu couldn't help but complain.
Ke Jie smiled faintly at everyone. "Deception is a common tactic in war. Determining your position on the battlefield is critical—it's part of the training."
He was right. Battlefields weren't always familiar environments. Quickly locating oneself in unfamiliar terrain made it easier to call for teammates' support.
"So, do you want to try again?"
After some thought, Ning Tianchen gathered everyone in a circle.
"Since the trap positions don't change, let's figure out a way to leave marks on the trap squares. That way, no one needs to count the trap positions."
Yu Die nodded. "I think it's feasible. But if we step on a trap, we'll be ejected immediately. How can we leave a mark in time?"
Ning Tianchen chuckled. "Simple. Test the waters with stones."
"We'll always place a stone one square ahead of us. If the stone gets ejected, we'll know the trap's location. If only people get ejected, those behind can avoid the traps based on the markers left by those ahead."
Everyone agreed with Ning Tianchen's idea.
Yu Die smiled lightly. "Ladies first. Ning Rongrong goes first, Zhu Zhuqing second, and Cai Die and I will go third and fourth."
If the "test the waters with stones" method failed, those at the back would likely struggle with incorrect coordinates.
As expected, Ning Tianchen was placed in the last position.
This time, the four girls easily completed their exploration of the coordinates. When it was Oscar's turn as the fifth person, problems arose again.
For some unknown reason, despite intentionally avoiding the stone's position, Oscar was still ejected from the chessboard.
---
As expected, with Ning Tianchen's elimination, the second attempt ended in failure once again.
Ke Jie retracted the chessboard and said with a faint smile, "Your ideas were good, but there was no unified standard. Some tested the waters with stones, while others felt their way across the river by groping for stones."
Zhu Zhuqing and Yu Die threw their stones forward, then stepped onto the square and picked up the stone to throw it further, repeating the process.
The remaining five kept the stones directly in front of them.
Neither side knew if they were doing it wrong, which led to someone being eliminated.
"This afternoon, reflect carefully on what happened here. Later, Teacher Sun will take you to the Grand Spirit Arena."
Ning Tianchen finally understood Ke Jie's intention.
Trusting teammates was only one aspect. Misinterpreting a teammate's intentions could backfire.
For example, some people called corn, "maize." Without a unified term, misunderstandings were inevitable.
Everyone sat in a circle, discussing the problems they had encountered.
Ning Tianchen analyzed, "During the first attempt, our level of trust in each other was insufficient, and combined with the shifting chessboard, we ultimately failed. During the second attempt, though we had established basic trust, differing execution standards led to incorrect judgments."
"Now, we need a unified set of tactical terminology to avoid misunderstandings when reporting to each other."
Ning Tianchen suddenly understood why Emperor Qin standardized weights and measures.
Without a unified system, everyone operated independently. In urgent situations, spending time deciphering teammates' meanings would only lead to trouble.
After some thought, Ning Tianchen taught everyone the tactical hand signals he had learned from military TV dramas in his previous life.
These gestures were clear, unintelligible to outsiders, and provided a certain level of confidentiality.
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