The work of the Go master

"Also, don't play with Murphy's Law at times like this, lest it actually come true."

"Uh, sorry." Kiyotaki Ayumu stopped talking.

Inside the music store, the owner was lying on a rocking chair behind the counter, fanning himself with a folding fan, enjoying the quiet, peaceful rain.

Suddenly, his eyes stopped opening, and his entire movement ceased.

He sensed something approaching the store.

"Kosan is certainly full of energy, choosing this time to visit my humble abode. Let me... deduce his purpose in coming here."

The shopkeeper closed his folding fan and began to think, pressing it against his eyebrows.

“First, let’s rule out the possibility that he came here specifically to pick out something nice to look at before the competition.” The shop owner shook his head and made a “no” sound.

"Secondly, let's rule out the possibility that he came to catch up with me and ask for advice on how to deal with Yabu. To be honest, with Yabu's current strength, even I can't guarantee a win, let alone be on equal footing with him. I think only Lord Shixin in the world can subdue him. Kyoto of the Night God Kingdom is in a tough spot." The shopkeeper shook his head again.

"Then third, he came here... to ask for a powerful weapon?" the shopkeeper asked skeptically, his eyes gradually turning fervent as if he had seen through the truth.

“That’s right! That’s the only answer!” He clapped his hands vigorously, with the energy of a comedian performing alone on stage.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get started on preparing for him!"

The shop owner stood up excitedly, put the lucky cat under the counter as if it was closing time, and then took out a new cat plush toy from a closed box.

A black porcelain cat with lifeless eyes.

A black cat blocked the road.

May someone you hate get into an accident on the street.

In Japan, black cats are indeed considered an unlucky symbol. If a black cat brushes against your car's wheel, the owner will feel depressed for a long time, always feeling that a traffic accident is about to happen.

At this moment, its target for obstruction has been chosen as Ke Zhiguang.

"Please, little black cat, could you please let Ke Zhiguang stay on the road a little longer? I'll choose the best weapon for him."

The black porcelain cat's eyes glowed slightly and began to function.

The boss went to the drawer wall behind the noren and opened each drawer to check it.

He picked up a small toad doll and examined it closely: "Make the opponent sleepy? No way, how can we use such childish methods? Besides, this kind of thing can't be brought into the competition."

Then he took out a small porcelain bottle of medicine, shook it, and said, "To improve your condition to perfection, but then you'll lose your hair after the match? No way, that's too childish. How can simply improving your condition to perfection possibly defeat Yabu in his current state?"

And so, he pulled out all sorts of strange things from the drawer and carelessly threw them on the ground, each item tainted with a curse-like aura.

But when he opened one of the drawers and saw the items inside, he was stunned.

"What is this? Do I have this in my collection?"

It was just a small card with printed Chinese characters on it, complete with brackets 【】. No matter how you looked at it, it was a modern printed item and had nothing to do with curses.

Its presence here is like a harmless Samoyed blending into a pack of ferocious wolves; even if everyone's fur is white, the Samoyed will be recognized at a glance.

The boss certainly knows Chinese characters, but the problem is that the characters are written in simplified form, which is beyond his comprehension.

"Could it be that Ke Zhiguang came here for you?" The boss revealed a crazy smile when he saw the card.

"Let me prepare a more interesting gift for him."

.....

......

The white Toyota lurched along the street, its progress greatly hampered, as if under a spell. Kiyotaki cursed repeatedly and pounded on the steering wheel.

But Ke Zhiguang could see very clearly that the lucky charm hanging in front of the car was constantly moving without wind, as if it were being pushed and shaken by a stronger force.

It looks like someone is actually attacking this place from a distance.

It took an hour to finally reach the entrance of the music store.

The rain poured down, making the already dark place seem even more damp and gloomy.

They might actually dig your soul out of the ground.

"Mr. Qinglong, could you please drive a little further away and wait for me at that intersection ahead?" To prevent the possibility of a real spirit appearing and being witnessed, Ke Zhiguang decided to send him away in advance.

"What? Aren't I going with you? I even brought a baseball bat!" Kiyotaki felt it was only natural to accompany Koji Hikaru to rush into the high-risk area and capture the most exciting moment.

"What? You brought a baseball bat? Give it to me."

"this......"

Kiyotaki drove away looking disheveled, his gaze forcibly diverted, and his only weapon was taken away by Keiji.

That man is a bully!

After Kiyotaki Ayumi drove away, Koji Hikaru, carrying an umbrella and a stick, came to the dark street lamp.

Although it's not nighttime, the streetlight is still tripping.

The event-triggered volume has been set up.

One breath, one closed eye.

Then give it a strong rubbing motion!

Snapped!

The streetlights are now fully lit! Finally, the flickering and instability caused by unstable voltage is no longer an issue.

Hidden Quest Completed: The Streetlight with Excessive Yin Energy

[The task reward has been issued!]

It turned out to be a hidden mission, which was quite different from what Ke Zhiguang had expected.

The most outrageous outcome he envisioned was that after the roll was finished, the entire record store would collapse and die.

So, since this street lamp is labeled as having an ominous aura, then it must prove that Kitagawa Yu did indeed die under this street lamp back then, right?

It sounds like there's a lot of yin energy in it!

As for the task rewards it mentioned, they've probably already been added to the chessboard.

Regardless of all that, we went straight into the music store, our goal being to find what the treasure map indicated.

On rainy days, this music and video store, which already had a sinister atmosphere, seemed even more eerie.

Ke Zhiguang entered the store with ease, treating it as his second home, without any sense of unfamiliarity.

Sometimes he thought about taking all the videotapes from the place and seeing the boss's reaction, but he was afraid that the boss would actually call the police in a fit of anger. Anyone could do something like overturning the table.

The layout here is the same as always: neatly arranged shelves, tidy counters, and the lucky cat figurine placed underneath, indicating that the business is not yet open.

Stepping behind the scenes, I realized that I hadn't been here for a few days, and there were many more signs that the drawers and walls had been opened.

Many things have been used.

Following the precise coordinates indicated on the treasure map, Ke Zhiguang found the drawer—

Inside was a black wooden dragon head carving with a ferocious and angry face.

The flames were burning, and it even stung when you held it in your hand.

[Spiritual object: Dragon-shaped relief]

[The nourishment of burning souls is supplied to the great dragon spirit.]

The shocking sensation of light burning from the wood carving made Ke Zhiguang blink repeatedly.

Is this the final item that the treasure map was given to him?

We couldn't play in today's finals without this thing?

Ke Zhiguang suddenly became suspicious, scratching his head and rubbing his forehead.

Normally, he would probably just mutter "The god of quantum mechanics is up to his old tricks again," and then accept the item without worry, and go to the competition with peace of mind.

But at this moment, he is in the perfect state of having the Dragon Blood, and he is unusually concerned about anything that is out of place.

Is this really what the treasure map indicates?

Based on past experience, even the items on the chessboard wouldn't drop this kind of thing when they refresh, yet the treasure map is now using it as its final secret weapon.

No, no, there's definitely something wrong here.

Moreover, this prop is a dragon.

Although dragons sound cool, in most works they appear as the protagonist's spirit creature. For example, in some food anime, the badge of a master chef is always measured and is surrounded by dragons.

But in the world of Go, the "dragon" is a special concept. Once a piece moves too many pieces, it becomes a dragon, and slaying the dragon becomes the ultimate thrill in Go.

To put it bluntly, dragons can only appear as prey.

Based on my past life's impressions, chess players had a variety of titles, but none of them were related to dragons. The only nickname with the word "dragon" in it was "one dragon per game," or simply "dragon slayer." Even if someone was an expert at saving isolated pieces, they could only earn the title of "tough guy" and would not be respectfully called "dragon slayer."

In short, dragons can never be righteous!

Just as he was about to draw that conclusion, Ke Zhiguang suddenly remembered that there seemed to be a Harushima deer lying in his room, and it didn't seem appropriate to say that about her...

Forget it, except for Shireshima Deer, Dragon could never be a good guy!

After a period of internal struggle, Ke Zhiguang came to a decision and decided to take a gamble.

He tossed the dragon-shaped wooden carving into the air, then swung the baseball bat beside him—

A home run was swung up!

With a crisp cracking sound, the dragon-shaped wooden carving, emitting black flames, was smashed to pieces, a rather satisfying sensation.

So this is why Jun Maeda has such a good feel for baseball; no wonder he plays baseball every time.

"What a heartbreaking thing to do, Kosan. You actually destroyed my second most prized piece in the collection like this." The shopkeeper sighed and came out from behind the drawer, shaking his head.

So, people can hide here after all?

Does that mean that every time I came here before, the owner would just sneak inside?

"Your second most prized collection? Then your number one prized collection must be that one, right?" Ke Zhiguang kicked the empty box that had been there so many times that he remembered its location.

“Bats, snakes, and dragons,” Ke Zhiguang rattled off a string of keywords.

"Oh, okay, it seems you know everything. So you know your next opponent is Yabu?" the boss asked directly, his demeanor somewhat different from when Ke Zhiguang first met him.

He was initially portrayed as a very sunny, overseas-educated person, but now he has become somewhat dejected, as if he has become quite frustrated because of the blow from Ke Zhiguang.