The work of the Go master

Dear late wife, rest assured, I will take care of the last two words of your life: bearing children!

"Don't worry, I won't eat these tomorrow." Xun's eyes suddenly darkened.

"Oh, why is this happening?"

"I went to the library to look up information about the common effects of the three foods mentioned above. I was wondering why you would suddenly be so kind as to want to buy me breakfast." Xun stared at Ke Zhiguang with a hollow and resentful look, wisps of black energy emanating from her body, and her voice had a slight fluctuation.

Ke Zhiguang clicked his tongue and made a "tsk" sound.

The plan to raise children has been declared bankrupt.

My attachment to this world: -1-1-1-1......

"Zhiguang, you've been working really hard this past week," Qiusheng said casually as he flipped through the newspaper.

“Yes, a prodigal son returns. If you’re interested, you can adopt the things under my bed, Uncle Qiu.” Ke Zhiguang also picked up a newspaper and began to read it carefully.

He wasn't reading the news in the newspaper; he was looking for business opportunities, trying to find emerging Japanese brands like Uniqlo from the mid-1980s and invest heavily in them in advance.

Unfortunately, based on my research of reading newspapers over the past week, I haven't found a similar name.

Perhaps this is the difference in timelines, preventing transmigrators like myself from making a quick fortune through a lottery.

"Hmph, such a complete book, Xun can read it when she's five years older, how dare you leave it to me?" Qiu Shengzheng shrugged disdainfully and let out a snort.

That's how men are when they take care of children; they don't shy away from things that should be avoided at all.

Xun ate her curry with a blank expression, her posture as dignified and obedient as her hairstyle.

"Speaking of which, it's already this late, the match should be in its later stages by now." Akio looked up at the time; it was 6 p.m., prime time for television.

After rummaging through the sofa and cushions, he finally managed to pry open the remote control in a corner and tuned it to NHK's sports channel. The match that Akio Shoichi had mentioned was in full swing—

It can't be described as being in full swing, because the competition was quite quiet, and it was difficult to tell at a glance how intense it was.

A Go (Weiqi) competition; this is what's being broadcast on television.

In the spacious and tranquil Japanese-style room, a chessboard sits in the center, with two players facing each other. A camera is projected into the air, capturing the entire chessboard and... the gestures of each player as they place their pieces.

The camera also occasionally switched perspectives, giving close-ups of the two players' faces.

The player playing white is named Naosaka Kuranosuke, an eighth-dan rank man. He is an elderly man with neatly styled, vigorous hair, wearing black-rimmed glasses and an expensive black and brown kimono. He holds a folded fan tightly in his hand, and his serious brows are furrowed.

The player playing black is named Zhudao Duan, a fourth-dan player. He is a young man in a suit with sharp eyes and wispy bangs that look like they've been cut with a knife... But with that hairstyle, can he really see the chessboard?

The biggest difference between this world and my previous one is that Go is extremely popular in this world.

such as--

Surprisingly, during prime time around 6 PM, a Japanese sports channel didn't broadcast baseball or soccer, but instead broadcast Go.

There was a standoff between the two gangs, but after a long standoff, the gangsters did not draw their knives. Instead, they brought out five chessboards, and each side sent five tough guys to play chess in the street. It was quite civilized, and the surrounding residents were used to it.

A group of wealthy people also like to set up a chessboard in their living room, collect fans signed by professional chess players, and even pay to play against professional chess players and suffer defeat.

Not only in East Asia, but almost every country in the world has a sizable group of Go enthusiasts.

It was like a great era of Go.

In addition, the current world Go landscape is similar to that of the early 1980s, with Japan dominating the game while the other two East Asian countries are learning and catching up.

"Uncle Qiu, do you really understand Go?" Ke Zhiguang also glanced at the TV screen; the densely packed Go stones gave him the feeling of reading a book written in heaven.

"Zhiguang, don't underestimate me. Back then, I was determined to become a professional Go player. I was just a little bit away from becoming a student at the Go Academy." Qiusheng shrugged his bronze shoulders. It was hard to believe that he could be so refined in art.

According to the original owner's memories, Akimori Masakazu, as the head of the family, did indeed understand Go. He would often spend a whole day studying the Go boards in the newspaper, but he was never seen taking the initiative to set up the Go board himself.

The chess game on TV seemed to be going very well, and Ke Zhiguang was also staring intently at the screen, watching the series of black and white pieces on the chessboard.

To be honest, Ke Zhiguang doesn't know how to play Go, but that's how art is. Even if you don't understand it, you have to pretend you do. When you visit an art exhibition, you have to pretend to look at it for a while, and when you watch an art film, you have to sit in the theater until the very last minute.

Suddenly, the crisp sound of chess pieces rubbing together came from the television; the white piece had been placed.

Snapped--

The moment the chess piece was placed, a cluster of dazzling cherry blossoms bloomed in mid-air, transforming into countless colorful petals that fell onto the chessboard.

Ke Zhiguang was stunned and almost choked on his water.

Did he just see something like special effects?

Blinking, I noticed that the cherry blossom fragments were still covering the chessboard, but no one paid any attention to them—neither the players, the commentators, nor the two people beside me.

"Um... Uncle Qiu, have you noticed any strange things on the chessboard? Like cherry blossoms?" Ke Zhiguang asked tentatively.

Akimori Masakazu was clearly engrossed in watching, and nodded slightly: "Indeed, Naosaka 8th Dan has been forced into a desperate situation. This desperate attack is indeed a desperate strike like cherry blossoms fighting against the current, with a kind of samurai's resolute beauty."

this......

Ke Zhiguang wasn't asking about the aesthetic beauty of this move; he really just wanted to know about the physical cherry blossoms.

In an instant, Black also made his move.

Snapped--

The chill arose from the black stone that had just fallen, causing the petals to freeze and then shatter.

"Bamboo 4-dan is very decisive and calm. His strategy is the same as the results of our previous research: a firm connection is fine, just make the stones thicker. Even if you want to kill, White may not be able to kill Black... It feels like ice, without any warmth and showing no mercy."

That's what the Go commentators on TV said.

After some thought, Ke Zhiguang roughly understood.

His special ability is to see these strange special effects on the chessboard. Whether it's Chinese online novels, Japanese anime series, or even American movies, this phenomenon is collectively called... a cheat code?

Since both sides have now entered the countdown phase, the pace of placing pieces is very fast, with black and white pieces alternating between the two players.

In Ke Zhiguang's eyes, the special effects came one after another, and his chopsticks had been suspended in mid-air for ten thousand years without being put down.

He thought of the so-called gourmet anime from his previous life. In gourmet anime, there is an important criterion: the moment the lid is lifted, there must be light. If a dish is served without even a flash of light, it is definitely a bad dish and will be kicked off by the judges within three seconds.

It now seems that this principle also applies to Go.

For example, the domestic blockbuster "Go Master" implements the concept of prioritizing special effects. Sometimes, when the male protagonist Jiang Liuer makes a move, he has to deliberately spin the piece twice in the air, spend five seconds spinning it into the shape of a Bagua (Eight Trigrams) before smashing it onto the board, accompanied by the shout of "Heaven and Earth in Harmony".

If a move in a game doesn't produce any brilliant moves, can it be considered a good move? Right?

Before long, the game on TV had reached its final stage. Black made the last move, and there were no special effects from the previous moves, as if the game was already decided.

Immediately, the white player pressed the timer next to them, signifying their resignation.

In the end, the young man named Zhudao Duan emerged victorious.

After Naosaka Kuranosuke, an 8-dan player playing as the white player, left the board, his gaze softened instantly, transforming him into a kind old man, as if a samurai had removed his armor and sword.

Bamboo swordsmith stood under the spotlight, smiling at the camera with a hint of youthful arrogance, and naturally posed for a photo with a five million yen check, which, at the current exchange rate, would be about three hundred thousand US dollars.

A strange surge of heat coursed through Ke Zhiguang's body, causing his knuckles to crack.

“Go…maybe it’s quite interesting?” Ke Zhiguang thoughtfully stroked his chin, his smile gradually widening.

Chapter Two: Coach, I Want to Play Go!

After dinner, at 8 o'clock.

Night fell over Tokyo, lights began to come on, neon signs and other signs flashed in the air, and the decadent atmosphere unique to the bubble economy could be smelled from afar.

A light, drizzling rain began to fall, typical of island weather.

The night was dark, the wind was high, and it was raining—perfect timing for the story to begin.

Ke Zhiguang crossed the zebra crossing in the rain, came to the other side of the street, and entered a six-story commercial building. It looked a bit dilapidated, and the air smelled damp and musty, giving it a punk vibe.

His destination was a Go room on the third floor. From Ke Zhiguang's room, he could see the Go room across the street. The bright signboard exuded vitality and even advertised summer jobs. It seemed that Go lessons were also offered.

Ke Zhiguang stood outside the chess and card room, breathing softly to calm himself.

When he saw the chess-playing special effects on TV, he roughly understood that this was a kind of cheat-like ability of his.

I don't know why I have this ability.

I don't know any other practical uses besides watching special effects.

But he at least knew one thing: he had a special ability in Go, so working towards that was the right thing to do, and Go was the right solution for him.

According to Masakazu Akimori, the match that was just shown on television was the annual rapid chess tournament organized by NHK. Among the many Go tournaments in Japan, it can only be considered a small to medium-sized event, and the prize money is naturally not high. However, even so, five million yen is still a considerable amount.

Moving up to the very top-tier competitions, the prize money is, as you can only imagine, enormous.

Fueled by the bubble economy, the yen was exceptionally valuable. Just before the bubble burst, it was all converted into US dollars – a perfect timing!

In short, Coach, I want to play Go!

Strangely enough, although he didn't remember many things from before he transmigrated, many interesting anecdotes about Go were preserved as if they were common knowledge.

For example, Yao invented Go.

From the three Go masters of medieval times to the three Go masters of ancient Japan.

The golden age of Go in the 1980s.

The two basic principles of Go are: observe the game without speaking, and never take back a move once it has been made.

The center of the chessboard is called Tengen.

For example... the hand gestures for playing Go.

Holding a chess piece requires only two fingers: the index finger below the piece and the middle finger above it. It's a very graceful gesture, worthy of the evocative verbs like "hold," "twist," and "pick."

In contrast, some TV dramas don't even use the word "take" to describe the gesture of holding a chess piece; they only use "peck," which is also called "pecking up a chess piece."

Finally, all he remembered was that he was quite talented at Go.

Yes, that's right, the fact that he has a talent for Go is etched into his mind in the form of a memory.

The exact extent of his Go talent remains unknown; we can only draw conclusions after testing.

Having composed himself, just as he was about to reach out and push open the glass door in front of him—

"Once you step into this black-and-white world of victory and defeat, there is no turning back."

A sentence echoed in Ke Zhiguang's mind, but when he turned around in shock, there was nothing there but the rustling sound of rain in the silence.

It was like a warning from an unknown force.

It could also be a built-in prompt from the cheat software, just like when logging into a game, a "healthy gaming announcement" often pops up, implying that you'd better not play games because they are harmful to your health.