The work of the Go master

Try not to laugh—

Okay, actually I just wanted to mock him for being fooled.

"What is the value of Black in this situation?" Yoshida continued to press, like a small restaurant owner asking with concern how much they had lost.

“How can we estimate the value of such a thick wall? But the analysis says that even if this thick wall does nothing but stand there, it is worth twenty-nine points,” Harushima Shika replied.

"Twenty-nine eyes?" Yoshida's sunglasses almost fell off.

It's quite terrifying that a thick-walled beam of light can achieve this number of pixels without doing anything.

Strength and imposing presence are for offensive purposes.

When a muscular, seamless man with twenty-nine points on his body appears in one corner of the chessboard, his influence is enough to encompass the entire chessboard.

This is what makes this scam so terrifying, and it's also why it's become a classic.

"And you should also be careful, Black has the first move now," Harushima Shika added.

The basket rat's body was covered with a thick layer of ice, making matters worse.

Now, after such a great achievement, it is still Ke Zhiguang's turn to make the move.

The position is overwhelmingly advantageous, and it is only natural to place the piece wherever it is next.

Since that's the case, then—

Like drawing a knife, forcefully pull the chess piece out of the chess box and then raise it high above your head.

"Heaven! Earth! Great Harmony!"

Snapped!

A slap landed on the center point of the board, and the airflow escaped along the board.

That feels great, this is exactly the feeling I've been looking for.

How many complete novices in Go, while proclaiming the unity of heaven and earth, confidently and aggressively place their first move on the center point (tengen)?

They were met with merciless ridicule from the system.

"What are you yelling about?!" Shiori Shika couldn't help but complain.

Oh dear, I thought I was only shouting it in my heart, but I accidentally shouted it in reality too.

Chapter Eighteen Plague Rats

At 9:30 a.m., more and more customers started to arrive, and the place began to resemble a teahouse.

Ke Zhiguang's game has finally come to an end.

Yoshida finally lost his temper and slammed his fist on the table, shouting, "I admit I lost, but he's definitely not at the level of someone who's only studied Go for five days! Ms. Harushima, you actually lied to me!"

Yoshida was very dissatisfied and made a loud fuss, pointing his finger at Harushima Shika. All the guests in the Go room frowned at him.

Ke Zhiguang breathed a sigh of relief and, as if it were his right, took the 1000 yuan from the other person's table and put it together with his own 1000 yuan.

I really want to activate a Fusion Spell Card and turn it into a 2000 coin.

The current situation is that Black has connected its stones from the center to the corners, while White has managed to survive by playing the 3-3 point to secure a small corner. All of Black's stones are pinned down on the lower side, and White is trailing by more than 30 points.

The thick wall created by that eighteen-and-a-half-point deceptive move still stood below, inspiring awe and affecting Yoshida's mindset throughout the entire game.

A group of customers gathered around and pressed Yoshida back into his chair. "What nonsense are you talking about? This boy only came to learn Go on Wednesday night! He's learning the most basic Go knowledge! I saw it with my own eyes that day."

"You didn't see it yourself, so why blame it on Miss Qingdao?"

"Yes, speaking of which, you lost ten thousand to me that day!"

"I hear you barking here all day long, but I've never seen you win!"

"Did you see this detail? Even the classic 18.5-point trick can fall for it, right?"

A barrage of insults silenced him, and Yoshida seemed to shrink in size.

Ke Zhiguang silently opened "Jump" across from him, giving him the impression that he would only call him after everyone had finished criticizing it.

Just as Yoshida was being scolded to the point of questioning his existence, a pair of strong hands landed on his shoulders. When he turned around, he saw it was the old fox, "White-tailed Fox," who had won ten thousand from him.

The seasoned veteran said kindly, "Although you lost this game, don't be discouraged. I watched this game for a long time, and he actually made quite a few mistakes. You just let your guard down."

Yoshida was taken aback: "Is that really true?"

He felt something was off. These people had been cold to him all along, so why were they suddenly becoming so enthusiastic?

And you said you looked for a long time, but I remember you just walked in.

"Yes, come on, let me go over the game with you. His move was bad, and this is how you should have responded..."

After a two-minute post-game review, Yoshida seemed to realize something and nodded repeatedly.

"So let's play another round and win back what you just lost!" The old fox slapped him on the shoulder.

"We believe in you, you have the ability!"

"He was just lucky in the last game!"

Just as Yoshida was still hesitating, suddenly most of the guests stood up and began to encourage him to play another game, showering him with praise, a stark contrast to the previous accusations from everyone.

Yoshida was moved. He realized that everyone supported him and was on his side!

"Hey kid, one more round, 2000 yuan doubled, wanna try?" Encouraged, Yoshida sat back down at the table, his face flushed. [Inspired by his "partner," he became very confident. Even if he were asked to do a handstand and bark like a dog in the street, he should be able to do it, right?]

An explanation brimming with insidious intent.

The word "partner" is still in quotation marks.

Ke Zhiguang flipped through "Jump" without making a sound, raising one eye to make eye contact with the many guests behind Yoshida.

The guests behind Yoshida nodded, gave Ke Zhiguang a thumbs up, and winked, sending a coded message.

Everyone raised their index fingers and poked Yoshida from behind.

The general idea is—

"Hurry up, the place's all warmed up for you, take this guy down!"

Ke Zhiguang adjusted the non-existent glasses, which reflected non-existent light, and roughly understood.

This person seems to have been regarded as the public enemy of the entire room. Not only does Harushima Shika want to target him, but everyone in the Go room wants to target him as well.

“Okay, no problem, I accept the challenge.” Ke Zhiguang calmly agreed and put down the half-flipped Jump.

He didn't really care about this person's popularity, but since he insisted on taking on the challenge, he had to accept it.

The second game has begun.

After a while, the second game ended.

At the urging of many chess friends, a third game was started.

And then—

At night.

As dusk fell on the streets, the Go room was filled with a joyful atmosphere, much like the Xianfeng Inn, where the air was thick with happiness.

This is the fifth round, and the bet has reached the maximum limit of ten thousand.

Yoshida remained seated with his head down, not making a move for a long time, his face obscured as he faced the game.

There was no sound around, only some faint rustling.

"Have we gone too far?"

"To be fair, this was Yoshida's own decision; we didn't force his men to do it..."

"Wait a minute, he won't hit someone, will he?"

Koji Hikaru, who was opposite Yoshida, also sensed something was amiss.

The current situation is that two dragons are fighting each other on the board, and the total score may exceed 100 points. The outcome of the whole game depends on which dragon dies.

Visually, it is indeed a black and white dragon dancing together, intertwined with each other.

But the outcome of the killing is very clear: it will be a robbery and murder.

Ko fights are often the most exciting and interesting thing in Go, often accompanied by a comeback or a collapse, although in most cases it is just a transformation between the two.

However, the current ko fight will be a ko fight where Ke Zhiguang's white stones take the initiative, then finish the ko without responding, and with a light touch, capture the opponent's entire dragon.

Yoshida must have seen this as well, which is why he remained silent.

With the help of special effects, he could see even more clearly.

The [Basket Mouse] hasn't moved in a long time, and there's no background music, only unsettling white noise, like an unprocessed video.

It was eerily quiet.

Suddenly, Ke Zhiguang heard a heartbeat-like sound, two thumps.

An ominous premonition, like a harbinger of some kind of creature's gigantification.

Thump—thump—

The drumbeat suddenly got stronger!

Ke Zhiguang remained calm and composed on the chessboard.

Based on my experience watching anime, is this... a sign of impending transformation?

Who knows, the next moment this "basket rat" might suddenly shake off the tattered basket on its back, stand up with its muscles bulging, put on a little green hat, wear a yellow and black striped outfit, and its fur will turn yellowish-brown, instantly transforming into Jerry's older cousin.

The problem is... the game is already like this, and no matter how good my older cousin is, he can't turn it around.

Wait a minute? Could it be that it's actually trying to transform into my second cousin? The one who's a magician, and then forcibly reverse time?

A whole host of strange ideas popped into Ke Zhiguang's mind in an instant.

Under the intense drumbeats, the [Basket Rat] truly underwent a transformation.

Its fur turned black.

Its docile face turned ugly and ferocious, and its whole body was covered by something like a plague!

Ke Zhiguang's pupils widened slightly, and for a moment he didn't understand what had happened.