The work of the Go master

"No, no, everyone's here!" Bai Meng finally noticed that there was a large group of people standing outside.

"Stop lying, don't try to distract me—"

With a turn of her head, Harujima Deer also got stuck, staring wide-eyed at the elevator doors.

In an instant, the four pairs of eyes inside the elevator made eye contact with the dozen or so pairs of eyes outside.

"Ahhh! This is so embarrassing, so embarrassing, this is so embarrassing!" Harushima Shika quickly covered her face, crawled into the corner of the elevator, and turned her back as if she were in a crack in the ground.

Bai Meng then scurried into another corner, squatted down, and decided to ignore it, muttering to herself, "I didn't do it, I didn't."

Shuicheng also stood aside, covering his face, which was completely red.

"Sigh..." Shao Gong sighed, silently pressed the first floor button, and then pressed the close button.

"Goodbye." Before the door closed, she waved to Ke Zhiguang, her face full of worry like a nanny.

So the elevator, carrying the four girls, slunk away, and the floor numbers decreased one by one.

Everyone then felt as if they had been woken up by a blow.

What did they just see?

Ke Zhiguang also sighed into the air, while Inoue chuckled twice.

Anyway, everyone's here.

The exciting championship night can begin.

Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Meteor Shower Arrives as Scheduled

After nine o'clock, the crew members formed small groups and strolled into an izakaya (Japanese pub) as a wrap party, with light and cheerful background music filling the air.

As the champion, Ke Zhiguang was naturally invited to attend, but he declined, saying he had other banquets to attend.

In the hotel lobby, Bai Meng and Qingdao Lu lay sprawled on the sofa as if they had lost their dreams, seemingly having already called a truce.

Both sides' sense of shame had already dropped to a negative value the moment the elevator doors opened, leaving them completely powerless to cause any more trouble.

"Good evening, everyone. By the way, were you guys performing some kind of performance art just now?" Ke Zhiguang, carrying his trophy, came over and, unusually, appeared normally for once.

"Guang-kun, congratulations on winning the Rising Star Cup! Our club watched your entire tournament." Bai Meng leaned back on the sofa, a tired smile on her face.

"Well done, as expected of the one who defeated me." Harujima Shika gave a weak thumbs up.

"Enough with the nonsense, hurry up and hand over the trophy so we can see it," Shao Gong urged from the side.

"Here, this is the trophy. Feel free to rub it all over it." Ke Zhiguang placed the trophy on the coffee table. The gleaming golden bow-shaped object drew gasps of admiration from the four people in front of him.

It's more like a harp than a bowstring, as if plucking it a couple of times could produce magnificent music.

"You really do need to be impressed after just three days. I haven't seen you for two weeks, and you've gained another layer of champion aura. Should we upgrade your title from 'Science 3rd Dan' to 'Science Rising Star' now?" Shao Gong said humorously.

Although Ke Zhiguang has already stepped into the professional world and even achieved remarkable success, surprisingly, he doesn't give people much of a sense of distance.

Even if he were to become a billionaire someday, he might still appear out of nowhere and join the conversation as usual, perhaps with a takoyaki he just bought from a roadside stall in his mouth, instead of ostentatiously stepping out of a limousine and exuding an aura that makes him unapproachable.

“We should be having a big banquet next, right?” Shuicheng looked at Ke Zhiguang. “But I have to emphasize that if you get carried away again and call on all of us to go to the arcade to play until midnight, I won’t agree.”

"Don't worry, there's really no arcade on my schedule today, just a simple karaoke session," Ke Zhiguang said solemnly.

Nonsense, what's the point of going to an arcade with a bunch of girls?

“By the way, tonight we’re not just celebrating my championship, we also need to celebrate Harushima’s women’s cup championship.” Koji Hikaru turned his gaze to Harushima Kaoru. “You haven’t had a proper celebration since you won the championship the night before last, have you?”

Harushima Kashiwa was taken aback, clearly reminded of something. She then puffed out her chest, clenched her fists, and said, "Well, cough cough, that's true. I also won a very valuable championship... No! My championship is much more valuable than your Rising Star Championship. My Women's Cup is unique, while your Rising Star Championship is held every year. In other words, mine is rarer and more prestigious!"

She said it with complete confidence, not feeling that there was anything wrong with what she said.

I see. It's like how The International (TI) happens every year, but SL9 only happens once. Therefore, the rarer SL9 is called the number one league in the universe. Whoever wins this competition is the number one in the universe.

"Got it. When I have money, I'll immediately help you organize the second and subsequent editions, so you can find partners to exchange winning experiences with." Ke Zhiguang slapped his palm, and the little light bulb lit up.

"Get out! Get out! Get out!"

Just then, Inoue finished his group activity with his colleagues and came over: "The venue for the banquet has been decided. It's a very high-end and expensive Western restaurant. The newly crowned champion shouldn't refuse the expense of such a place, right?"

After Inoue finished speaking, the corner of his mouth twitched mischievously, revealing his unpredictable and cunning nature.

Money is certainly not a problem for Ke Zhiguang at the moment. According to the competition schedule, there are several more competitions to come, such as the Newspaper Cup and the Securities Cup, with one after another. He is even thinking of following Saito's example and spending money in advance, and then slowly catching up later.

It's already mid-September, and as the year draws to a close, there are naturally more competitions. Many event organizers are hoping for a thrilling final at the end of the year to bring good luck for the whole year ahead.

When Bai Meng saw Inoue approaching so familiarly, she sat up straight as if struck by lightning, stammering, "You...you're here too?"

Her phrase "You're here too" certainly didn't mean that you also came to the banquet. Of course, only Shao Gong among those present could fully grasp the meaning of her words.

"Yes, I'm here too. Please take care of me, senior. I'll need your help with my studies from now on." Inoue bowed politely.

"Study career? You... could it be that you've already transferred in?" Bai Meng retreated even more as if facing a formidable enemy.

“Yes, I will visit our school’s clubs tomorrow. As for the team battle, let’s just consider it as a friendly competition between us,” Inoue said.

Bai Meng and Shao Gong exchanged a glance.

Shao Gong nodded, the gist of which was... Accept reality, child.

White Dream's strong enemy +1.

The five-person team was finalized, but before setting off for their destination, Ke Zhiguang went back to his room alone to check the loot that had just been dropped; the treasure chest after the boss battle would definitely be incredibly rich.

I'll send it to you tomorrow, enjoy yourself tonight!

This card or slip of paper lies on the chessboard.

Logically, after defeating the boss, a treasure chest guarded by an evil dragon should drop, filled with useful items. However, this time it's being cheeky and keeping the loot a secret, refusing to deliver the loot yet.

It seems that even the god of quantum mechanics is exceptionally human-like, knowing that on this relaxed and pleasant night, it's not appropriate to release too much information related to the main mission, such as mission recaps.

In the game just now, Ke Zhiguang had his first close conversation with it and truly felt its presence for the first time, as if he were catching up with an old friend.

Ke Zhiguang couldn't explain why he could talk to it so easily. Perhaps it was the right time, or perhaps the emotions had been brewing. In any case, it appeared naturally, and Ke Zhiguang wasn't even surprised by its sudden appearance.

As for the content of their conversation, Ke Zhiguang had almost forgotten it. He only remembered that their words and phrases were full of elegance and had a touch of the unique flavor of riddles, yet they could understand each other's true thoughts.

The only thing Ke Zhiguang could still clearly remember was the other person's clear, futuristic female voice, like an artificial intelligence, which was like a warm iceberg, keeping people at a distance while radiating its own warmth.

It's very close now; we'll see its true form soon—Ke Zhiguang was certain of this in his heart.

The only thing on the chessboard was a nova-shaped ornament, seemingly made of some kind of light metal, that shimmered.

[Sacrifice: Wishing Meteor Shower]

Let it return to the sea.

Ke Zhiguang hadn't seen the category of sacrificial objects for a long time, and he didn't expect it to reappear this time.

Does that mean... just throwing it into the sea is enough?

Will the meteor shower arrive as scheduled if I throw it into the sea?

As if asking for a question, Ke Zhiguang turned his head to look at the chessboard, but the chessboard did not give any response.

Then let's assume it's the default.

Together with the other four, we walked out of the hotel. At the edge of the beach, the night sea breeze was blowing in with an extremely refreshing comfort, making us feel that all the beauty of the world had gathered here.

Taking advantage of the moment the wind stopped, Ke Zhiguang rushed forward and threw the star in a parabolic arc into the sea, creating a splash. The tide also tacitly lapped in, sucking the star into the depths of the ocean.

Is that alright?

"Xiaoguang, what are you doing? Isn't it a bit inappropriate to just throw things into the sea like that?"

"I found a starfish lying alone on the beach, so I returned it to it," Ke Zhiguang lied without batting an eye.

The sound of seawater bubbles came from beside his ears, as if Ke Zhiguang had established a sensory connection with it the moment he threw it out.

He could sense the starfish's trajectory in the seawater.

It tumbled backward through the dark mud and sand, rolling towards the depths of the sea, heading towards a point of light.

Indeed, a faint point of light was shimmering in the depths of the ocean, and this new star was slowly approaching it.

Closer, closer.

Finally, it made contact with that point of light.

Then it was sucked in, and the light spot disappeared.

This scene is reminiscent of the quantum mechanics offering box at Youxuan Temple. Ke Zhiguang puts things into that magical offering box, and the things fall in without making a sound, as if they have fallen into another unknown space.

Perhaps, there is also such a point of light in that offering box, which absorbs all mystical items and thus produces special effects.

[Note: The meteor shower will arrive in ten minutes. Please take advantage of favorable positions in time.]

The higher the better.

Such a notification came suddenly.

A countdown to 10:00 suddenly appeared... This...

Wow, meteor showers really do come out of nowhere?

Ke Zhiguang suddenly stopped and turned his head: "I suddenly remembered, there will be a meteor shower later, let's grab a high spot to make a wish first."

"What? Meteor shower?" Shao Gong's first reaction was that this person was talking nonsense again.

If there really were a meteor shower, everyone from TV stations to roadside magazines would be scrambling to report it. Who gave you the right to shout about it here?

"That's it, there's no time, come with me!" Ke Zhiguang didn't explain much, turned around and ran, his destination was the game room on the top floor of the hotel, there was no more perfect place.

The idea of ​​using meteor showers to make wishes is a trend that seems to have started somewhere, but it's all about following the trend!

Furthermore, quantum mechanics specifically emphasizes standing at a high place, which basically implies that the higher you stand, the better the view and the greater the chance of your wishes coming true. Ke Zhiguang understands these idealistic settings full of ritual all too well!

Led by Ke Zhiguang, the other four girls also started running. Although his words sounded absurd, his attitude gave people the feeling that this was going to happen.

I rushed back to the hotel, squeezed into the elevator, pressed the button for the top floor, and after traversing more than thirty floors, I arrived at the top floor.

The lights in the main hall were off, but fortunately the door wasn't locked. The five people filed in and came to the floor-to-ceiling windows that resembled a giant screen, gazing at the sea and sky, waiting for the heavens to light up.

"Will there really be a meteor shower?" Bai Meng asked.

"It really will happen, there are 2 minutes and 13 seconds left."

"That's incredibly precise!"