My cousin-in-law helped me achieve my ambitions.

"Let me try." A man in a floral shirt squeezed forward.

As a result, he was checkmated in less than twenty moves.

Another hundred yuan went into the middle-aged man's pocket.

Watching from the side, Su Ming gradually figured out the trick—this middle-aged man was not weak in chess, but more importantly, he was extremely familiar with this endgame. Every move seemed rehearsed, luring his opponent into a trap.

"Who else?" The middle-aged man won another round, his tone becoming increasingly smug. "I keep my word. I'll make sure you're dead within thirty paces. Here's your money."

The onlookers whispered among themselves, but no one stepped forward. Three people had already lost a hundred yuan each; nobody was a fool.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man began to incite: "What's wrong? Nobody dares to come anymore? Wasn't it quite lively just now?"

His gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Su Ming. He glanced at him again; the young man looked to be eighteen or nineteen years old, dressed plainly, but his eyes were fixed on the chessboard, watching with unusual seriousness.

"Young man, want a plate?" the middle-aged man asked with a smile. "I've been watching you for a while, have you figured out something about it?"

All eyes turned to Su Ming.

Su Ming hesitated for a moment. One hundred yuan was a lot of money for him, but this mess... he was indeed confident.

"Would twenty be alright?" he asked in a low voice.

The middle-aged man laughed heartily: "Twenty? I've got a hundred dollars right here!" He pointed to the banknotes under the stone beside the chessboard. "If you win, you can take the hundred. If you lose, give me the hundred. Fair trade, no cheating."

He paused, then deliberately provoked, "What, you're scared? Afraid of losing?"

Hearing this, Su Ming's youthful spirit flared up, and he raised his face, saying, "Alright! Let's go!"

He squeezed into the crowd, squatted down opposite the middle-aged man, and took out a hundred-yuan bill from his pocket—his last whole bill.

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up. He stacked Su Ming's hundred yuan with his own hundred yuan together and weighed them down with a stone.

"Everyone, watch closely!" he shouted. "This young man is challenging the 'Seven Stars Gathering.' If I defeat him within thirty steps, the two hundred dollars are mine. If no winner is decided within thirty steps, the money is his!"

More and more people gathered to watch, forming layers upon layers.

Su Ming took a deep breath and took the red one first.

His first move was a seemingly ordinary "rook from rank 2 to rank 3".

The middle-aged man's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile as he chuckled inwardly: this move was exactly what he had anticipated. He responded calmly, with Black advancing his pawn from position 5 to position 1.

The two players exchanged moves, the chess pieces landing on the wooden board with a crisp sound. Su Ming moved cautiously with each step, his mind racing to recall the variations from the game records.

As he reached the fifteenth step, the middle-aged man's expression gradually changed.

He initially thought the young man was a naive fool, but he turned out to be a seasoned and shrewd player who proceeded cautiously and was completely unsuspecting.

By the twentieth move, most of the pieces on the board had already been exchanged.

In the twenty-fifth move, both the red and black sides have one rook, one king, and two advisors remaining.

Sweat began to bead on the middle-aged man's forehead.

Those watching could also see that this game might end in a draw.

"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine..." someone whispered beside him.

In his thirtieth move, Su Ming played a "rook to the fifth rank," completely blocking all of Black's attack routes.

On the chessboard, the red and black rooks are facing each other, neither able to capture the other nor win.

A draw!

"Thirty steps are up." Su Ming looked up at the middle-aged man. "Uncle, you lost."

The middle-aged man's face turned grim. He stared at the chessboard, his eyes darting around.

"This...this doesn't count," he suddenly said.

"Why doesn't it count?" Su Ming frowned.

"You made a mistake with that 'Rook retreats one square' move!" the middle-aged man pointed at the chessboard. "You should have moved the Rook to the fourth square! You made the mistake, but I let you win without pointing it out!"

Su Ming was stunned: "When did I ever play 'Rook retreating one square from the third position'? I played 'Rook moving to the fourth square from the third position'! I didn't take back a single move throughout the entire game, okay?"

"You've clearly gone the wrong way!" the middle-aged man raised his voice. "Everyone's watching!"

Before he finished speaking, several onlookers suddenly chimed in.

"Yes, yes, I saw it too, he went the wrong way!"

"Exactly, they took back their move but wouldn't admit it!"

"Young people are dishonest!"

Su Ming then realized that these people were in cahoots with the middle-aged man! Those three who had "lost" a hundred yuan were probably shills too. Good heavens, they were a bunch of con artists.

He suddenly stood up: "You..."

Before he could finish speaking, an unexpected event occurred.

A skinny guy who had been squatting nearby suddenly jumped out, grabbed the two hundred yuan under the stone, and ran away.

"Stop right there! You son of a bitch, you dare to steal my money, you're asking for it!" Su Ming shouted and took off chasing after him.

The skinny guy ran incredibly fast, weaving through the crowd like a monkey. But Su Ming had done farm work since childhood, was physically strong, and had also practiced martial arts with his grandfather back in his hometown, so his footwork was solid and his speed was not slow either.

The two of them rushed off the overpass one after the other and disappeared into a dimly lit alley next to it.

Just as they were about to catch up, the skinny man suddenly stopped, turned around, and revealed a ferocious smile.

He clapped his hands.

From the depths of the alley, three figures emerged—the middle-aged man who had set up the chess stall earlier, and two burly young men. One of them carried a steel pipe and tapped it against the wall, producing a dull clang.

The four men formed a semi-circle and surrounded Su Ming, trapping him in the middle of the alley.

"Kid, you're pretty fast!" The skinny guy toyed with the two hundred yuan note, laughing smugly. "But what's the use of running fast? You still have to hand over the money obediently, right?"

The middle-aged man stepped forward, a forced smile on his face: "Be smart and hand over the rest of your money. Otherwise, you'll suffer."

He swung the steel pipe, making a whooshing sound as it cut through the air.

Su Ming leaned against the cold brick wall, his heart pounding. He quickly scanned his surroundings. The alley was narrow, with high walls on both sides, no side streets, no lights, and the hustle and bustle of the distant street seemed like another world.

Four people and one steel pipe.

There's no escaping it now.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. His grandfather had taught him: in a fight, the most important thing isn't strength, but courage and brains. No matter how many people there are, as long as you find their weakness, you can still break through.

"I can give you the money," Su Ming said, trying to keep his voice steady, "but you have to let me go."

"Oh, you're trying to haggle?" the skinny guy chuckled. "Do you even have the right to haggle now?"

He winked at the two burly men. The two men then closed in from the left and right.

Just as they were two steps away from Su Ming, Su Ming made his move!

Instead of retreating, he charged forward, his goal clear—to take down the skinny guy with the money first!

"You're asking for it!" The skinny guy didn't expect him to dare to attack first, and hurriedly retreated.

But it was too late.

Su Ming rushed to the other party in one stride, feinted with his left hand, grabbed the other party's wrist holding the money with his right hand, and twisted it hard.

"Ouch!" The skinny man winced in pain, his fingers loosened, and the banknotes scattered.

At the same time, Su Ming bent his right knee and slammed it hard into the other person's lower abdomen.

"Ugh!" The skinny guy cried out in pain, clutching his stomach and bending over.

Su Ming grabbed his shoulder and slammed him to the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. By the time the middle-aged man and the two burly men reacted, the skinny guy was already lying on the ground groaning, with two hundred yuan scattered around him.

"Damn it! Hit him!" the middle-aged man roared, swinging a steel pipe at the man.

Su Ming dodged to the side, the steel pipe grazed his shoulder and slammed into the wall, sending up a few sparks.

He seized the opportunity and kicked the middle-aged man in the outside of his thigh.

"Ouch!" The middle-aged man screamed, his legs went weak, and he staggered backward, crashing into the wall.

Two other burly men had already pounced on him. Instead of retreating, Su Ming advanced, facing the man on the left, and punched him squarely in the nose!

With a soft "snap," the man's nose bled profusely, and he crouched down, covering his face.