The work of the Go master

Okay, actually it's fake; Ke Zhiguang certainly didn't make such a wish.

But I imagine that some of you here have made a wish that "everyone's wishes will come true."

Suddenly, Ke Zhiguang's gaze met Shui Cheng's for a moment, and then she gave a gentle smile.

Hmm...it must have been her who made that wish.

To what extent these wishes can be fulfilled is unknown; it is very likely that this is just a little gimmick given by the god of quantum mechanics.

Ke Zhiguang also symbolically made a wish that he could win everything next year, first cutting down the Dragon Throne, then the Imperial City Chess, and achieving the ultimate financial freedom in life within a year—the wish of a dragon-like hero.

But as he kept making promises, he felt like it wasn't really happening. After all, if things had gone according to plan, he should have been able to beat those two within a year, right?

Surely so?

Right?

He wasn't quite sure if things would go that smoothly.

The following wishes started to become nonsense, such as the motherland achieving modernization as soon as possible, the US disintegrating sooner, and Gambia being immortalized, etc.

After much back and forth, in the last two minutes, Ke Zhiguang simply released his hands clasped together as if making a wish, cleared his mind of unrealistic thoughts, and leisurely and relievedly looked up at the stars, looking up at the place that humanity was about to reach.

After much thought, the current miraculous scene is still more important.

After the meteor shower, everything returned to calm, and the next activities proceeded according to schedule. First, we went to the revolving restaurant on the artificial floating island for a hearty meal. Fortunately, Ke Zhiguang was still wearing his suit, which perfectly complemented the place.

Then came the karaoke session, where the frivolous, whimsical music echoed throughout the room, and colorful spheres spun high in the air, never stopping, just like this era.

This is like a dream.

The championship gala ended at 5 a.m.

The hotel's accommodations were still available, and Qingdao Lu, as one of the new champions, also contributed some funds to book a double room for Bai Meng, Shao Gong, and Shui Cheng.

They had originally planned to have a pajama party, but they were too tired, so they had to postpone it to another day.

When they made this decision, they all turned their attention to Ke Zhiguang.

It basically means, "When will you win another championship? Then we'll have an excuse to hang out together!"

Actually, the girls can get together and have a pajama party anytime. For example, they can arrange a Saturday night, gather at the Harushima Deer House, prepare pajamas, snacks, drinks, pillows, and a horror movie. It's very easy to organize.

But as we all know, a sense of ritual is essential. Without a good excuse to gather everyone together, it would be very boring. So they all hoped that Ke Zhiguang would win another championship, and then they would have an excuse. There is no better excuse than celebration.

Perhaps some of them did indeed make this wish.

And so, the day's activities came to an end, and Ke Zhiguang lay back down on the small bed he had been sleeping on for several nights. However, what awaited him tomorrow was not a competition, but a leisurely vacation.

"Good night," Ke Zhiguang said unconsciously to the chessboard.

"Goodnight," it replied, this time clearly audible.

Then I slept until dawn.

Chapter Ninety-Nine: Post-Match Summary

When I woke up again, it was noon the next day. The sky was clear and cloudless, and tourists were back on the beach.

Yesterday's events were like a delightful little interlude in life; after the interlude, everything returned to its proper course.

Today is the weekend, which is a comfortable time to relax, even on a weekday. The plan for today is probably to go out and have fun with the girls.

But before that, there's the highly anticipated unboxing segment.

The things that were delayed yesterday have already appeared on the chessboard today, creating a small tent-like effect on the screen, like a normal phenomenon after waking up in the morning.

After calming down, Ke Zhiguang lifted the curtain, revealing a box wrapped in brown cloth that served as the backdrop.

If nothing unexpected happens, it should contain a replica of the [Dragon Gift].

Ke Zhiguang pressed his hand on the box for a while, as if testing the danger within.

It's still a very dangerous thing, even if it's just a useless replica.

The chessboard was more abundant than ever before, with items ranging from large wooden crates to small cards and runes. It seemed that the treasure chests dropped in this boss battle were quite plentiful.

After mentally preparing himself, Ke Zhiguang untied the brown cloth covering the box, revealing the true form of [Dragon Gift].

It really was a bat and a snake.

The bats, entirely white, and the slender black snakes, like the colors of a game of Go, live together in a transparent glass box. These two ferocious animals live together harmoniously, showing no aggression towards each other.

Stimulated by the sunlight, they opened their eyes in disgust, then tucked themselves in and burrowed into the shadows.

While the scene was harmonious, it also highlighted the disharmony between the two creatures' colors.

This was the first time Ke Zhiguang had ever seen a white bat, and also the first time he had ever seen a completely black snake. For a morbid fascination with the unusual, this was naturally an exciting and unsettling sight, but for a normal person, it was simply unsettling.

To be honest, Ke Zhiguang has always been quite interested in these strange and unusual things.

This thing devoured everyone around Kitagawa Yu, and also gave Yabu the strength of a King.

[Spiritual Object: Dragon Gift]

Just look at the notebook.

They've actually started slacking off, not even bothering to explain properly.

Ke Zhiguang picked up the [Task Notebook] next to him and began to look through it carefully.

Turning to the first page, time begins to move backward, still tracing back to ancient times, just like the incident with the demon dragon.

This story takes place during the Dao Ce era, several decades later than the Warring States period of the Demon Dragon. It seems that these dangerous items are not as powerful as the old ones.

Dosaku's six disciples were exceptionally skilled in Go and were known as the Six Heavenly Kings. However, those familiar with the history of Go know that four of these six Heavenly Kings died of tuberculosis. The fifth was lucky; he was adopted into another school as a successor before this happened. The last one, realizing he was the only one left, decisively ran away. Dosaku's school was suddenly empty, as if cursed.

The scientific explanation given by later generations is that one of them contracted an infectious disease, which was then transmitted to the other kings. In addition to the limited medical resources available at the time, Japan also had a strong superstitious belief that even if someone contracted an illness, they would recover as long as they kept it quiet.

Dao Ce also believed this theory at the time and ordered that the matter of his disciples coughing one after another not be revealed. As a result, in the eyes of outsiders, these people appeared to have died suddenly.

The mission notes reveal that this is indeed true; these people did die scientifically, without any mystical factors.

But what follows is all metaphysics.

When four of his most prized disciples suddenly died, Dao Ce was extremely grieved, and it was under such negative emotions that [Dragon Gift] was born.

To be precise, the [Dragon Gift] is a piece that Dao Ce often used. The pieces absorbed the negative emotions of this ancient Go master and became sentient, and their colors are one black and one white.

【Dragon Gift】cannot be killed by physical means. No matter how many times you hammer it to death or how hard you burn it, as long as it leaves your field of vision for even a moment, it will revive in the next moment. If you throw it away, it will suddenly appear under your bed.

This aligns with quantum mechanics, which strictly emphasizes the observation state and the field of view.

Ke Zhiguang himself did indeed have the whimsical idea of ​​using a camera to monitor the chessboard's refresh status, but as a result, nothing happened to the chessboard overnight within the camera's observation range.

The only way to kill it is through a contest, and both players must go all out.

However, as the chess master of that time, Dao Ce was already unparalleled. It was impossible for Long Li to be killed unless he was willing to travel across the ocean to the Qing Dynasty to challenge Huang Longshi, who was also an ancient chess master.

However, given the limited information flow at the time, he most likely didn't know that there was a chess master named Huang Longshi in the world, and Huang Longshi was even less likely to know that there was a strong person in such a small place as Japan.

If these two knew of each other's existence, they would definitely swim towards each other without hesitation, just as the saying goes, "A life-or-death game unfolds across the vast land, a meeting between black and white."

Even after Dao Ce's death, the spirit of [Long Li] lingered and could only be permanently sealed within the chess hall.

The predecessor of the chess game, Jiguang Temple, was housed in the same place as the Demon Dragon Hanging Painting.

The subsequent plot is much simpler: the Black Ships incident, the collapse of the shogunate, Jikkoji Temple busy selling off its ancestral property, and the items with an aura of the underworld escape one by one.

Beihe You obtained it by chance. While browsing the antique market, he happened to find a small box containing a snake and a bat. He then discovered that the creature was indestructible, as if it had recognized him as its master, and then misfortune followed.

His ultimate fate was to be defeated by Tatsumi Koshikawa, thus freeing him from the destiny of "Dragon Respect".

However, Tatsumi Koshikawa did not destroy the [Dragon Gift], but instead kept it in his collection room.

Kitagawa Yu's compatibility with [Ryurei] was not perfect, at most only 80%, which is why Koshikawa Tatsumi could easily defeat him. By the time of Yabu's generation, the compatibility had reached 120%, with the extra 20% being the incredible hearing effect.

As for the 100%, it refers to the perfect state of Dao Ce at his peak.

It looks like he's got all the buffs stacked up: an ancient Go master, peak performance, and perfect form. Plus, Yabu's advanced Go theory knowledge as a modern player, resulting in a triple transformation. This level of Go skill is definitely a super monster.

So, what the hell did I kill yesterday?

Turn the page again; the next section explains how the [Dragon Gift] works.

【Dragon Gift】 will prompt the user to play chess with people who have a master-disciple relationship with them, including teachers, classmates, and disciples. Each time a user is defeated, the user can absorb a certain percentage of the opponent's chess strength.

After all the members of the sect relationship have been absorbed, it will begin to directly absorb the lives of people who are related to the user by blood, and gradually become bound to the user's life.

"None of the above effects will affect chess players holding professional certificates," the task notebook stated.

So that's how it is. This is the explanation that comes with the professional certificate: "Blessing and protection, warding off evil spirits." It seems to really work.

Finally, the [Dragon Gift] will make the user fanatical, allowing them to derive an addictive thrill from the game, binding them to the chessboard for life until they are defeated by others.

Koshikawa Tatsumi tricked Yabu into using the "Dragon Gift," thus embarking on a path of reckless acceleration without any brakes. Only after Yabu could no longer stop did Koshikawa Tatsumi reveal the secret of the "Dragon Gift."

Ke Zhiguang also learned about what happened next through the previous streetlight footage. The conspiracy was intricately linked, and everything was aimed at making it to the finals without being detected as abnormal, and ensuring that after winning the championship, the connection with [Long Li] could be severed, and the inherent misfortune could be transferred away.

Besides the dragon gift, several other underworld items also appeared during this mission.

The "Luck-Changing Talisman" is something that is stuck under the trophy. When the teacher sticks it out, it can achieve the same "cutting off" effect.

【Bipolar Chessboard】: Playing a mimic game on this chessboard allows both players to exchange souls for a period of time. The "polar" is even typed in traditional Chinese characters, clearly another playful touch from quantum mechanics.

The [Luck-Storing Doll] is a small wooden doll used to store bad luck. It can temporarily suppress the bad luck brought by Long Li, but the storage period is limited. Under its effect, no one has been sacrificed in this incident.

There are also items that Ke Zhiguang has already seen, such as the "Black Cat Blocking the Way" and "Wealth Abundant x7," all of which were provided by Yuechuan Longji, including the cost of bribing An Yongxin with that high-tech headset.

Beyond the incident itself, Tatsumi Koshikawa has also been using additional items on Yabu.

【Disguise】This involves changing one's appearance to create an image that makes the other person more likely to trust you.

This also explains why Koji Hikaru couldn't recognize that Tatsumi Koshikawa was the Dragon King, nor could he see any warning in him; it turns out that this man had already put on a protective layer of skin.

[Memory Chess Records] By giving a chess record to someone and having them play it once, you can apply a psychological suggestion to their memory.

It's very likely that Yabu wasn't familiar with Koshikawa Tatsumi from the beginning, but Koshikawa Tatsumi managed to secretly slip this chess manual into Yabu's daily practice book. After the game, he would then implant a psychological suggestion in Yabu that "you trust me."

To be honest, looking at these props with their diverse effects, Ke Zhiguang felt like he was watching Doraemon, with one magical gadget after another being pulled out of his dimensional pocket.

However, this is a dark version of Doraemon. His goal is not to elevate the good-for-nothing Nobita to the pinnacle of life, but to send talented individuals like Dekisugi to hell.

Ke Zhiguang suddenly recalled that when he went to the video store to get the last treasure map, Yuechuan Longji secretly slipped a dragon-shaped relief there. Now it seemed that he was tricking him into using it, and then leading this fat tiger... ugh, this upright Doraemon down a path of no return.

No one can explain his purpose in doing so. All that is known is that he is doing everything he can to destroy and ruin, regardless of the target or the benefit. According to the nine-square grid of factions, he is definitely the evil and chaotic one in the bottom right corner, adhering to the principle of "just do what makes me happy".