HBWMA -Chapter 335 Confrontation, Game of Strategy

A night of deep, uninterrupted sleep.

Shen Lanxi was woken up by a phone call.

“Young master, n-no… something’s wrong! Last night someone broke into the hotel… and… and killed someone!” Gao Zhi’s voice was still sluggish, his words broken from lingering drunkenness.

Shen Lanxi paused slightly. A dark glint flashed in his eyes. Holding his forehead, he said calmly and indifferently, “Yesterday, besides me, who else did you contact?”

Gao Zhi panicked. “Young master, you can’t be suspecting me, right? I was drunk with Lei Xing last night… Lei Xing?”

The man on the other end of the line paused.

“Yesterday afternoon, Lei Xing did call me, but I didn’t say anything.”

Shen Lanxi said coolly, “This is Nanwan. You think they can’t find anything just because you said nothing?”

Gao Zhi immediately understood, grinding his teeth in anger. “That bastard Lei Xing! He put on that honest face and set me up. No wonder he kept urging me to drink yesterday—this was clearly premeditated!”

Shen Lanxi got out of bed. “What’s the situation at the hotel?”

“Our people discovered it in time. They only silenced the target, but the body is still in our hands.”

Ten minutes later, Shen Lanxi walked out of the bedroom fully dressed. As he passed the living room, he suddenly paused.

Shen Guiling was sitting on the sofa in a black shirt, playing chess. Sensing Shen Lanxi’s gaze, he looked up without any hesitation and smiled faintly.

“Brother Lanxi, leaving so early?”

Shen Lanxi thought for a moment, then stepped into the living room. He first glanced at Shen Guiling, then at the chessboard.

It was the same mid-game position from the match they had played yesterday.

At a glance, Shen Lanxi could tell Shen Guiling was recreating yesterday’s game move by move.

According to the previous sequence, a red piece should move the knight. Just as Shen Guiling’s fingers pressed toward the red knight, Shen Lanxi leaned forward and moved his cannon first—check.

Shen Guiling looked up and met his eyes. “Good move, Brother Lanxi.”

Shen Lanxi replied flatly, “The wine last night was good.” Then he turned and left.

Soon, the sound of the door locking echoed.

Shen Guiling was completely unaffected. Staring at the chessboard, he said lightly, “Showy tricks.”

At that moment, the phone on the table vibrated.

He glanced at it, then stood and walked to the balcony.

“Dad.”

Shen Qian’s voice was cold and heavy. “Where is Lanxi?”

“He just left. He should have already received the news,” Shen Guiling replied.

Shen Qian said, “I didn’t expect Lanxi to actually dig this far. We really can’t underestimate him. Luckily, you were alert, otherwise it would’ve been troublesome if anything was exposed.”

Shen Guiling looked at the busy ships at the dock, his eyes cold. “Brother Lanxi just came to test me. I’m worried he’s already suspicious of me.”

“So what if he is?” Shen Qian said coldly. “The old master only cares about evidence. Don’t worry. I’ve cleaned everything up. Even if he keeps investigating, there’s nothing but dead ends.”

“……”

Tai Zi Hotel.

The atmosphere in the room was heavy and oppressive.

Shen Lanxi sat in a black leather chair, eyes closed, resting.

After a while, Gao Zhi walked in with Gray Hawk.

“Sir, we’ve found something.”

Gao Zhi handed a stack of documents to Shen Lanxi.

Shen Lanxi opened his eyes and took them.

Gao Zhi explained from the side, “These are fragments extracted from the corpse. We had them analyzed. They’re confirmed to be military-grade.”

Shen Lanxi showed no reaction. With Shen Qian’s current status, it wasn’t surprising at all that he had his hands in the military sector. The only question was whether the old master would remain as calm when he found out.

“Follow this lead and continue the investigation.”

“Yes.”

Gao Zhi had originally been frustrated at falling into Lei Xing’s trap, but now the situation had turned.

Shen Lanxi had known all along that Shen Qian was the mastermind. However, lacking evidence, he had entered Nanwan setting up a trap from the start.

He knew Shen Guiling was calculating and suspicious, so he deliberately appeared in front of him to provoke vigilance.

Shen Guiling would never believe Shen Lanxi came to Nanwan with nothing to do. He would definitely investigate his movements in secret.

But if Shen Lanxi deliberately revealed his intent, Shen Guiling would become suspicious. So he let Gao Zhi become the “gap,” making Shen Guiling believe he had discovered the trail himself.

In reality, Shen Lanxi never intended to extract anything from the mercenaries. His plan from the beginning was to lure the snake out of its hole.

Originally, there was no evidence—but now, Shen Qian’s urgency in killing to silence witnesses had instead left him a clue.

Gao Zhi turned to leave, then suddenly remembered something and gave Shen Lanxi a thumbs-up.

“Sir… amazing!”

As expected, their “useless” young master might be hopeless at romance, but in everything else—he was terrifyingly capable.

Shen Lanxi remained indifferent. But for some reason, the chess game from earlier suddenly flashed through his mind.

“A-Ling, you did well. I was worried about leaving you alone in Nanwan to deal with those old ministers, but it seems I was overthinking.”

Shen Guiling smiled faintly. “Grandfather taught me well.”

After a moment of silence, Shen Qian spoke again.

“Once Ma Wen stabilizes his position, come back to Whale Harbor and prepare for the entrance exams. The military academy’s top student each year gets additional military credits. Nanwan is too small—it’s not enough to temper you.”

“Understood.”

Shen Guiling ended the call and looked at the chessboard on the table, pieces scattered in chaos.

When he first entered the Shen household, Shen Qian warned him: he was just a chess piece. He should not try to compete with anyone. Even if he possessed exceptional intelligence, he must always bow before Shen Lanxi—because the Shen family would never hope for an illegitimate grandson to outshine the legitimate heir.

But now, Shen Qian seemed to have gradually forgotten his original intention.

Shen Guiling lowered his eyes and swept his hand across the board, scattering the entire game.

They all seemed to have misunderstood something.

Who exactly was the chess piece?