Chapter 4:  Game Theory

Power was a peculiar thing.

It originated from one place.

And would eventually go to another.

In truth, Major Alvin didn't care at all whether Ning Luo’s identity was genuine or not. That had nothing to do with him. What concerned him was only his own interests—his career.

Those who could become liaisons were all extremely shrewd.

Since Ning Luo had been sent by the higher-ups to investigate him, and Major Alvin couldn't answer Ning Luo’s questions, that didn’t necessarily spell a dead end for him.

He could just as well turn things around and use Ning Luo.

Power was born precisely in such processes.

They entered the interior of the field hospital.

The thick stench of blood and the sounds of agonized wailing were unbearable. The number of prepared beds was grossly over capacity. Soldiers with missing limbs lay everywhere in the hallways and corridors, revealing just a fraction of the brutality of this battle.

An ordinary person wouldn’t be able to tolerate a place like this. Even Ning Luo couldn’t help but furrow his brow.

Major Alvin, however, found it completely normal. He puffed out his chest with pride—this kind of young master surely couldn't handle the harshness of the battlefield.

He brought Ning Luo deeper into the hospital—

To see Director Dominique.

Nearly all doctors and nurses in the hospital were too busy to spare even a moment, yet Major Alvin was able to locate Director Dominique precisely in one of the wards.

The sounds of muffled groaning came from within the room—Director Dominique was performing an amputation on a soldier. His originally white coat had been thoroughly stained red with blood. The coagulated blood had turned it black, only to be dyed red again by fresh bleeding.

Field hospital directors like him were usually granted high military ranks. Director Dominique held the rank of Colonel.

That was considered relatively low.

Major Alvin didn’t seem surprised by this at all.

"Colonel, there’s a captain who would like a word with you."

"No time!"

"He’s Captain Ning Luo from the General Staff."

"I said I have no time—didn’t you hear me?"

Director Dominique roared.

Clearly—

As the head of a highly specialized medical institution, he had no patience for bureaucrats like Major Alvin. Never mind someone like Alvin—even the General Staff couldn’t escape his scolding.

Even if they were from the General Staff, there was nothing they could do. Were they going to dismiss a hospital director mid-war?

This was the difference between professional authority and administrative power.

Ning Luo spoke up.

"My apologies for disturbing you. I didn’t come to cause trouble. I came to solve it. If there’s anything you need, I’ll do everything I can to assist you."

Upon hearing this, Director Dominique's tone eased slightly.

"Give me half an hour."

"Alright."

Major Alvin and Ning Luo had no choice but to leave the ward and wait.

Though he’d said half an hour—

They ended up waiting over an hour.

Director Dominique finally emerged from the ward. He cast a deeply displeased glance at Major Alvin first. Although he disliked bureaucratic red tape, someone at his level was well-versed in how bureaucracy worked. With a single look, he could tell that Major Alvin had deliberately brought Ning Luo to confront him.

Only then did he turn his attention to Ning Luo.

"Is there something you need from me?"

"I have a few questions I’d like to ask you. I hope it won’t take too much of your time."

"Half an hour."

"Alright. May I ask—what triage systems are in place here at the Brittany hospital to manage incoming wounded soldiers? How adaptable is this system under volatile battlefield conditions? Are there any areas where optimization is possible?"

"Due to the disruptions in this battle, our hospital has already reached its limit. We’ve had to revise our triage system. Generally, it’s divided into three categories.

The first category is Immediate—for those who require urgent medical intervention. This includes soldiers suffering from severe trauma, hemorrhage, or other life-threatening conditions.

The second category is Delayed—for those seriously injured but not in immediate danger, and who can wait for surgery or medical intervention.

The third category is Minimal—typically, these are soldiers who can be treated and returned to duty, or transferred elsewhere for recovery.

In order to meet the rising demand for physicians, we've adopted several civilian medical techniques for rapid field surgery. These methods are simpler and faster, allowing us to treat more soldiers effectively. For instance, we’ve used a modified version of ligation at appropriate times to control bleeding, instead of performing complex surgical procedures. We've also had to rely heavily on herbal medicine and requisition churches and barns to serve as temporary rehabilitation centers."

...

At that moment, it was Major Alvin who found himself in the most awkward position.

He truly hadn’t expected that Director Dominique would be able to respond so fluently to highly technical questions.

But—

It didn’t matter.

Because this naturally led to another problem.

Ning Luo continued,

"Thank you for your professional answers—they’ve been very enlightening. If I may, I’d like to ask about your supply situation..."

He didn’t even need to finish his sentence before Director Dominique nearly burst out cursing.

"I have no idea what those people in logistics are doing. What I do know is that we’re facing a severe shortage of supplies. Basic surgical tools, bandages, antiseptics, and sutures—completely depleted. We’re operating at only 50% of the supply level we need just to stay functional.

Take bandages, for instance—our minimum monthly requirement is 10,000 units. In reality, we received less than 4,000.

I must be blunt—the root cause of these shortages lies entirely with the incompetence and suspicious corruption within our logistics department. The degree of mismanagement and lack of accountability is outrageous—it’s infiltrated every part of our supply chain. Reports of materials being rerouted, delayed, or ‘lost’ are disturbingly common. There appears to be a massive discrepancy between what's recorded as dispatched and what actually arrives at our hospital."

"I understand. I’ll handle this matter with the utmost seriousness and caution. In the meantime, could I trouble you to provide me with the hospital’s supply inventory records?"

"Sure."

"Then I won’t disturb you further. Thank you for your service."

......

..

After parting ways with Director Dominique, Major Alvin walked alongside Ning Luo.

“I’ve been tied up at the front, so I’m not very familiar with the situation in logistics,” Major Alvin said. “But I think Director Dominique may have some misunderstandings about the logistics department. I believe they’re just as loyal to the Empire as I am.”

“Didn’t you deliberately steer me toward making trouble for the logistics department, Major?”

“Hahahahaha… Captain, you must be joking…”

Major Alvin let out a dry laugh.

“Well then, this is the only room we’ve got left. I hope you two can be considerate and make do.”

Major Alvin had arranged only a small room for Ning Luo and Priscilla.

To be precise, it was a very cramped storage room. The fact that even this kind of room could be made available was already pushing the limits—there was virtually no spare space left in the entire hospital.

Of course—

It was also possible Major Alvin had done this on purpose.

After returning to the room—

Priscilla leaned back against the wall, her slender fingers playing with a dagger.

“Isn’t this going a little too smoothly?”

Things had indeed gone far more smoothly than Priscilla had anticipated.

After all, Ning Luo was a completely fake captain—he didn’t even know what the Chief of General Staff or the Quartermaster Director looked like. Yet Major Alvin had shown not a shred of doubt about his identity.

Ning Luo walked over to the table and poured himself a glass of water.

“It’s just basic game theory.”

“What do you mean?”

“The reason I approached him first was because a liaison officer must be clever enough. He didn’t disappoint me. When Major Alvin was confronted by someone who might be from the General Staff, he only had a few options.

First, he could investigate me—someone with an unknown background, possibly a noble’s son. That would cost a lot of time and might bring no benefit at all.

Second, he could do his best to cope with a possible investigation from the General Staff. But given the disastrous defeat at the Samat River, someone had to take responsibility, and he clearly lacked the professional knowledge to answer my questions properly.

Third, he could shift the conflict elsewhere and use me to weaken the power of the logistics department and Director Dominique.”

“Why would he want to undermine Director Dominique and the logistics department?”

“Liaison officers hold low military ranks, but they wield significant actual power. He has the authority to allocate soldiers and supplies in the field hospital. But the one who truly controls the hospital is Director Dominique. There’s bound to be a power struggle between them.

As for the logistics department—whether he has personal grudges or power disputes with them, I don’t know. As a liaison, he can’t afford to openly offend the logistics department. But he can shift the conflict onto them through Director Dominique.”

“What about Director Dominique?”

“Director Dominique is simpler. He’s a highly respected professional doctor. Since I was brought to him by Major Alvin, he had no reason to doubt my identity. His main concern is getting more medical supplies. He has no reason to question whether I’m real or fake—it wouldn’t benefit him at all. He only stands to gain if I am genuine.”

Then—

Ning Luo picked up the document that Director Dominique had given him.

“And our goal is even simpler. My identity is fake. My captain’s rank is fake. So I need someone to vouch for it. Now, this supply inventory from Director Dominique can serve as that proof. With this list, we have a legitimate reason to go trouble the logistics department.”

Nothing else was needed.

Power was thus born out of thin air.

Game Theory: Nash Equilibrium.

A theory proposed by Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor John Forbes Nash. It described a situation in which each person had made their own choices, taking into account the decisions of others. No one wished to change their mind, as they believed they had already made the best possible choice.

Of course—

This was based on the assumption that all three individuals were rational and intelligent.

Priscilla gave Ning Luo a curious look.

“I’ve looked into your records—your background, and... every other aspect. Yet you’ve shown knowledge and insight far beyond that of an ordinary person.”

“What if I told you I came from the future—would you believe me?”

Naturally, Priscilla didn’t believe him.

But Ning Luo was a genius, and power struggles and game theory weren’t even his strongest suits. According to Isabella, what Ning Luo truly excelled at were economics and finance. Priscilla was curious to see what kind of surprises this young man would bring her.

“Honourable Lord Ning Luo,” she said with a sly smile, “with your genius mind, how do you propose we divide our sleeping arrangements for the night?”

“Ahem…”

Ning Luo had to take another look at Priscilla.

Her silver hair was tied neatly at the back of her head. Her pale skin stood in stark contrast to the black military uniform.

If we’re talking about beauty, then Isabella was certainly more beautiful.

However, seeing how Priscilla’s uniform strained tightly over her chest and how her long legs were wrapped in black stockings… If Isabella had foreseen this, she surely would’ve chosen a male officer to serve as Ning Luo’s adjutant.

There was only a single small bed in the cramped room. The floor, littered with trash, was clearly no place to sleep.

Ning Luo gave a helpless smile.

“You take the bed tonight. I don’t have time to rest anyway.”

“What are you planning to do?”

Ning Luo pointed at the files on the desk.

They were Director Dominique’s documents—and more would be delivered later. There would be no time for rest.

His goal was to win this war—

a war that was almost impossible to win.

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