The work of the Go master

Don't be fooled by the fancy name; it's just regular strawberry-flavored milk.

Recovery speed increased by 50%

[A perfect state for the rest of the day]

Although it was an extremely rare item, Ke Zhiguang gasped upon seeing it.

Before a major battle, there must be supplies.

After you defeat the mini-boss and venture further into the underground maze, you suddenly see a pile of treasures neatly arranged on the ground. Your first reaction is not that you've cleared the game, but that the final battle is about to begin.

The more treasures dropped, the harder the final boss battle tends to be.

I simply inserted the straw into the milk and opened it. The taste was surprisingly good, far surpassing all other strawberry-flavored milk on the market.

Have you ever experienced a scene like this, where milk explodes, before?

Never mind the details.

Item 3: [Border Collie Feeding Ticket]

Go to the pet store and get a free Border Collie!

That's good, but it's a pity that Peach Blossom Abode doesn't allow pets.

I'll raise them later when I have more independent space.

Item 4: [Event Trigger Scroll]

The fifth prop was actually a small card.

Tomorrow will be a day of torrential rain.

Just that one sentence.

It's like a warning, or perhaps a suggestion.

Ke Zhiguang glanced at the misty rain outside the window. It was just a light drizzle now, but it would turn into a downpour by tomorrow.

Suddenly, the crucial information about the tsunami came to mind, and a sense of unease welled up within me.

Could it be that a tsunami will strike if they lose the game?

This was the only connection he could make.

In short, there is still no treasure map.

When the deer appeared before him, Ke Zhiguang immediately concluded that the treasure map must be on her, feeling that it was all fate's arrangement.

If Harujima Kashiwa hadn't sent this wave of gifts, he probably would have gone to Inoue tonight to pry out her last two hidden items.

But it's too late now, so we have to just go ahead with it for now.

After finishing all his research, Ke Zhiguang turned off the lights and lay down on the bed. A simple, honest breathing sound came from beside him, which he found extremely strange.

In the darkness, once his vision had adjusted, Ke Zhiguang stealthily turned his head in that direction.

Instead of seeing her cute sleeping face, we saw the back of her head.

Ugh... I'm a little disappointed.

But when he saw the two ponytails hanging down behind her, an inexplicable urge to reach out and grab them arose within him.

Well, it's like in high school, when boys would see a girl in front of them with a knot tied around the back of her neck and would always have the urge to go up and untie it. Of course, those who actually did it were brave souls.

Then Ke Zhiguang closed his eyes and fell peacefully asleep.

Let the night before the great battle pass peacefully.

Chapter 87 Imitation Chess

As the night deepened and fermented, the entire hotel was enveloped in silence, with spotlights aimlessly cutting through the night sky.

It's already 12:30. The good guys are asleep, but the bad guys are still awake.

Yasunaga carefully knocked on Yabu's door, and only dared to go in after confirming that no one was around.

"Good evening, Brother Yabu," An Yongxin said, bowing her head as she tiptoed into the room.

The moment he stepped into the room, he felt inexplicably colder, as if he had entered a dragon's lair.

This is a top-of-the-line deluxe room, quite spacious, with a stunning ocean view. Yabu is reclining on the sofa facing the sea, his back giving off an unapproachable and imposing aura.

The rain outside the window was growing heavier, and it all drifted into the room with the evening breeze, filling every corner of the spacious room with the scent of the sea.

The room was brightly lit, but the brightness was surprisingly low, as if something had swallowed the light source, making it dim and dark.

"So far, you've done a good job. The final payment for the collaboration will be deposited into your account soon." Yabu said as he placed a piece on the chessboard in front of him. He was currently reviewing the game between Koji Mitsuaki and Harushima Kashiwagi.

The day before yesterday, when he randomly switched channels and switched to the Women's Cup live stream, he felt that something was wrong.

When Shireshima Kashima proposed to advance to the final round, the tide turned, and many people inexplicably felt that Ke Zhiguang's path to advancement would be met with a strong sniper the next day.

This is similar to someone who foresees a plane crash the next day and chooses to cancel their ticket, ultimately escaping the disaster. This is also a manifestation of luck, except that this kind of luck is particularly closely tied to the way of chess.

When Yabu learned that Harujima Shika had suddenly become Koji Mitsuhiro's opponent, he was initially surprised, but after calming down, he felt that there was nothing wrong with it.

In any case, none of them will pose a threat to his path to winning the championship.

There aren't many people who can beat him now.

At least that's what he thinks.

For the entire collaboration, An Yongxin's compensation totaled 500 million yen, which was a tempting sum for her, although 500 million yen wasn't hard to come by these days.

But adding the champion's 900 million, the total is 1400 million, which is quite substantial. This windfall just happened to hit him on the head.

But so far, the final payment has only arrived "soon," and there's no guarantee that the 900 million will be received tomorrow; there's still a final variable.

"How exactly do you plan to take my place tomorrow?" An Yong wondered to himself. He didn't show much excitement, but rather felt uncertain about this part of the process.

Anything unknown inspires fear and dread.

“I called you today to tell you this. Let’s… play a game of chess,” Yabu said.

"Playing chess?"

"But just pay attention to imitation chess."

Imitation chess is also a type of move in Go.

Except for the center point (Tengen), all other Go stones are symmetrical, making it possible to move in a mirror image of each other. This kind of play is very disgusting to the player being imitated.

In ancient times, playing like this would likely have resulted in criticism and even physical attacks, but in modern times, people have developed a new understanding of imitation chess and are therefore more accepting of this method of play.

After all, there is still the center point (Tengen). There is no mirror image of the center point on the board. With this point, the imitation chess can be broken.

Moreover, White has a komi (komi is a point in the game), so even if you ignore the center point and play the same moves, White will basically win by one komi point in the end.

"Just place the bet, regardless of winning or losing?" An Yongxin confirmed this, thinking to himself that this must be some kind of superstitious ritual!

Sure enough, the Japanese are very particular about this.

"Yes, but the chessboard and pieces we use are these..."

As he spoke, Yabu took out a set of chess pieces that had been prepared beforehand from under the coffee table and placed them on the table.

This set of chess pieces left Ernst & Young speechless.

This is a chessboard that looks very old. The color is not the usual yellow, but a striking dark red. The lines on it are also crooked and are white. Who knows which antique shop it was picked up from?

No, the chessboard gives off an ominous feeling; it should have been dug out of a coffin.

The chess pieces prepared were not of good quality either; each piece was crudely made and the colors were applied crookedly.

Intuition told An Yongxin that he should not use this thing to play chess in the end.

But there was no turning back now, so An Yongxin still mustered her courage and sat down in front of the chessboard.

Yabu then placed an old-fashioned candle on the board, lit it with a lighter, and put it on the edge of the board.

It's not just a religious ceremony, it's practically a cult ceremony!

"Come on, let's begin."

The game of imitation began, and Yabu made his first move on the center point. Black, as the imitator, often makes this move, and that's how Jiang Liuer defeated Li Muqing.

The four star positions are occupied, followed by the corner opening. With the center of the chessboard as the coordinate system, the chessboard seems to be folded like a mirror.

The pieces were falling very quickly, and An Yongxin didn't need to think or calculate anything; she just had to keep playing.

A mirror-like symmetrical shape, you are me, and I... am also you.

But as the number of moves on the chessboard increased, he suddenly felt inexplicably sleepy.

I'm getting sleepier and sleepier.

Finally, my eyes closed—

"Okay."

The flame flickered, turning green for a fleeting moment, but then vanished just as quickly, leaving An Yongxin unsure whether it had ever truly turned green.

But when An Yongxin opened her eyes, she found... that he himself was sitting opposite her.

“This…” An Yongxin’s eyes widened suddenly, and she leaned back abruptly.

Just as the literal meaning of "I'll switch with you" suggests, he did indeed switch bodies with Yabu at this moment.

This kind of thing should only happen in movies and TV shows, but it suddenly became a reality!

This imitation game is truly like a ritual.

Yabu... or rather, Yabu who had taken control of Anaga's body, stood up from his seat and gently moved his limbs, as if sensing the body's harmony.

"You stay here tomorrow and don't go out. After 24 hours, we will be back to normal," Yabu said.

"Hey, this kind of exchange can't be permanent, right?" An Yongxin asked hurriedly.

"If that's the case, wouldn't that be even better for you? You could be an arrogant young master for the rest of your life."

These words left An Yongxin speechless, forcing him to accept the truth.

"By the way, besides our cooperation, you'd better not tell anyone about what you saw today."

"Understood. If I dare say it, I would have charged in and killed myself the first time!" An Yongxin knew, of course, that such miraculous and metaphysical matters should not be spread.