“Help—!”
My final cry snagged in my throat. The next moment, my back slammed onto something solid with a thunderous crack.
My organs nearly somersaulted inside me, golden sparks burst across my vision. Fortunately—whether the soil below was loose or I was simply blessed with the kind of pathetic luck that refuses to let me die—my bones did not all shatter on impact. My backside, however, felt as if it had split neatly into two. A scream tore out of my throat:
“Ah—! I’m done! If anyone dares use me as cannon fodder again, I’ll drag him down with me!”
The sound rumbled through the vast chamber around me, but no answer came back.
…Something was wrong.
I froze. Only then did I realize the darkness was absolute. I could not see my hand in front of my face. The torches had fallen somewhere above; down here, nothing—no glint, no glow, no hint of light. In this pitch-black void, even my own breathing sounded magnified, as if several unseen people were breathing right beside me.
I swallowed hard, fumbling inside my robes for my fire striker. My hands trembled uncontrollably.
A spark hissed to life—“tssst”—casting a faint half-foot halo around me.
And in that instant, a chill crawled down my spine.
Something was moving.
I whipped around, thrusting the flame forward.
A corpse lay not far away—had lain—because now it was slowly, silently sitting up.
Its head hung low. Its neck joint creaked—ka-ka-ka—like a rusted mechanism forced open after centuries. The next second, its hollow sockets lifted toward my flame, staring straight into me.
“Aaaaaaahhhh—!!”
I nearly hurled the fire striker, scrambling backwards in blind panic. My backside hit the ground and brushed against something ice-cold—a bone. It clattered against the floor.
“System—!!!” I screamed, voice cracking. “Come out! Explain what the hell this is! A corpse revival?!”
【Calm down, Host.】
Finally, the system spoke—in that maddeningly serene tone.
【Analyzing… This corpse is not reanimated. It was triggered by a mechanical device.】
“A… device?” I gasped, forcing myself to look again.
Sure enough, thin, nearly invisible threads stretched from the corpse’s chest, disappearing beneath the dirt and stone. A pressure plate must have triggered the mechanism, forcing the corpse to sit up like a ghastly puppet.
“Damn it! Scared me half to death!” I wiped the sweat off my forehead.
But before I could breathe properly, something shifted beneath my foot.
Click.
The stone slab dropped out from under me.
I only had time to shout half a syllable—“Shi—!”
And I was swallowed whole, tumbling with my tiny flame into an even deeper chamber.
The fire went out. Darkness crashed over me again.
…
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
I thought that was truly the end. Yet somehow, stubborn fate kept me alive.
I managed to sit up—shaking, bruised, but intact—and lit another small flame.
The sight that met me chilled my bones.
This space was more orderly—square, even, with walls smooth as polished stone. The joints between the slabs were clean, precise—clearly artificial. The air carried the stench of ancient blood, mixed with rot and old earth, as though no living soul had breathed here for centuries.
Realization hit me:
A burial chamber.
Yet in the center, there was no coffin, no funerary objects—only several rows of stone sculptures.
My mind churned rapidly, and a terrible suspicion settled over me.
“Fake…”
【Your assessment is correct.】
The system’s icy voice echoed.
【Ancient nobles often constructed decoy tombs to mislead grave robbers. This is a false chamber—not the primary burial site.】
“All right, all right—enough with the history lesson!” I was on the verge of tears. “Just tell me how to get out! Lian and Hua are still up there!”
A brief silence.
【Detecting traces of airflow nearby. A hidden passage may exist. Host must investigate independently.】
“Damn it!” I clutched my head. “Speak human! I’m useless at puzzles!”
But in this place, puzzles seemed to be the only way out.
…
Steeling myself, I surveyed the surroundings. Under the flickering flame, the stone sculptures cast grotesque shadows on the walls, like silent specters watching me.
I forced myself closer. The sculptures were all human-shaped, each with a different expression: twisted grins, closed eyes, arms folded across chests. Worse—each statue stood atop a slab engraved with cramped, barely legible inscriptions.
I squinted hard.
And suddenly—my heart lurched.
Their arrangement was familiar. Left, right, a clear path through the middle…
Wait. No. No way.
Was this—was this seriously—
“Is this the damn ‘Chu River–Han Border’ layout?” I muttered.
The front row of short statues looked like pawns.
Beside them, two figures with bent legs resembled knights.
The two hulking ones in the corners could only be rooks.
And squatting along the center line were two round-headed figures—advisors.
“No way…” I muttered. “Don’t tell me this tomb wants me to play Xiangqi (Chinese Chess)?”
I swept a thick layer of dust aside with my foot—swish, swish.
When the dust cleared, a stone grid emerged beneath: neat lines forming nine files and ten ranks. Even the faint, weathered characters of “Chu River – Han Border” were barely visible.
“Who builds a chessboard into a tomb?” I nearly tore my hair out. “What, the deceased wanted a few post-mortem rounds to pass the time?”
I was ready to turn and bolt when—
Ka—ka—ka—
The sharp clatter behind me made my blood freeze.
I spun around.
The statues were moving.
Not walking—no.
Their heads turned first.
Dozens of stone heads rotated toward me in unison, creaking like rusted hinges. Their hollow sockets locked onto me, lined up like rows of corpses judging the lone living intruder. Then the nearest “pawn” lifted its right arm—stone blade gleaming faintly—poised to chop down the moment I stepped out of line.
My breath stopped. My toes hovered over the grid and I froze mid-step.
【Do not step on the lines.】
The system chimed in with infuriating calm.
【You have triggered the ‘Chessboard Domain.’】
“I figured that out already!” I hissed. “So… which side am I playing? Do I look more like Red? Or am I radiating Black-side doom today?”
【Side color is irrelevant.】
The system’s voice was as cold as ever.
【Observe the discrepancy in numbers.】
Numbers?
I forced myself to breathe and scanned the pieces again—and suddenly saw it.
The setup was wrong.
A proper chess side should have two knights, two rooks, two advisors, two elephants, five pawns, one general, and two cannons.
But here?
Three “knights.”
Three “advisors.”
Pawns scattered everywhere—seven, maybe eight—slumped in random formation. Nothing matched the official lineup.
“This is unplayable!”
As I grumbled, my foot slipped half an inch.
The nearest pawn’s stone blade slashed down—swish—shaving a cold line of air over my instep. I jerked back so fast I nearly fell.
I inched forward again, painfully slow. Any wrong touch could trigger something. Which, naturally, meant fate decided to mess with me.
My shoulder twitched.
My elbow bumped into the nearest pawn—thunk.
The stone pawn slid forward along the grid with mechanical clicks—ka-da, ka-da—and collided squarely with two identical pawns ahead.
Thud.
I flinched, bracing for death.
Instead—those three stone pawn heads cracked.
Shattered.
Exploded into a mist of gravel right before my eyes—poof—dust drifting across my face.
“What the—!?” I nearly dropped my flame, heart lodged in my throat.
【Hint: Attempt to make three identical pieces come into contact.】
The system finally offered a lazy explanation—as if talking to a particularly slow child.
I stared for several seconds, stupefied, until the floating dust cleared and comprehension hit me.
“Three… identical pieces?” I murmured. Then a spark lit in my mind. “Isn’t that basically—a Three-Merge formation?!”
【That interpretation is acceptable. The modern term would be ‘match-three’ or ‘tile-matching.’】
My mouth twitched.
“So this ancient tomb… runs on Tile-matching game?”
