The work of the Go master

Xingcai sighed, "The atmosphere is all set for you. Now it's up to you, Senior Qingdao."

"Woof," Kata seconded.

......

......

Today is a rare sunny day, and it's also the weekend. The streets are bustling with pedestrians, and layers of light shine through the buildings, reflecting the clouds in the windows.

Ke Zhiguang waited for a long time in front of the subway before Qingdao Lu finally arrived.

"Is it really just me?" Harushima Kashima cautiously observed her surroundings, especially looking behind the telephone poles for any familiar figures.

"Well, it's just the two of us. Let's figure out where to have lunch today. I've already decided on the place for dinner."

"Then... let's just go somewhere less crowded."

"I actually know a place that's less crowded. Let's go."

The two walked along the sidewalk with a relaxed and carefree pace, as if they were strolling home after school on a Friday.

This is the kind of carefree feeling unique to student days. After five days of accumulating high pressure, you release that pressure the moment you leave school, and then use the journey home to let your mind settle down.

"After lunch, why don't we come here and have some fun?" Ke Zhiguang said, pointing to an arcade by the roadside.

"Rejected. What's so fun about a place like this? We might as well find a movie theater to sit in." Harujima Shika looked at the place that Keiji Hikaru was pointing at with a face full of black lines.

"Okay, then what movie should we watch?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Then I suggest watching some tokusatsu dramas... By the way, what are the chances that a 15-year-old is so scared by Godzilla that they run downstairs and buy a puppy to keep them company?"

"Wait! How do you know about this?!"

"Huh? What do you mean? Did this really happen? A 15-year-old was really scared after watching Godzilla?"

And so began the pleasant post-war period.

For most chess players, winning a prestigious tournament like the Masters Tournament would leave them ecstatic that afternoon, enjoying the excitement from daytime until the next day.

But for some reason, Ke Zhiguang was unusually calm today. Although he was very happy to win the championship, he did not have a strong desire to indulge himself.

I just felt that my time passed quite fully.

Gradually, the city's neon lights came on.

Chapter 53 Bad news: I was scammed; good news: It sounds really good.

At 7 p.m., Tokyo was once again immersed in a bubble of extravagance and debauchery.

After a whole day of wandering around, Koji arrived at the location indicated by the meal ticket, a high-rise restaurant located near the port in the port area.

Since it was a sunny day, the open-air area was open, and the night sky and buildings provided the perfect backdrop. At each table, there was a woman in formal attire and a man in a suit.

Guided by a waiter, Ke Zhiguang and Qingdaolu arrived at the table closest to the outermost edge.

Although it's currently the transition from spring to winter and the nighttime temperature isn't high, the heating underfoot creates a comfortable feeling, like having a kotatsu (heated floor).

"So... I really did spend the whole afternoon at the arcade," said Harushima Shika, resting her face on the table and raising her eyebrows.

"Yes, it was a very pleasant afternoon."

"Well... okay, it was quite enjoyable, but something felt off." Harushima Shika muttered under her breath.

We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Although Chinese food in Japan is often adapted to local tastes, if you ask the staff, they will adjust the flavor for you.

Then in the afternoon, I went into the nearest arcade.

Originally, Shizuka Harushima only intended to stay here with him for a while and then go to explore other places, but she got a little carried away as she kept fiddling with the joystick.

Just as I was getting into it, my character died, and a coin-operated interface with a 10-second countdown popped up.

"Alright, the game's over, you can go now." She was just about to get up and leave her seat when—

As the ten-second countdown began, a villain with an annoying broom-shaped hairstyle popped up on the screen and started making provocative gestures towards the players outside the screen.

"Wait! What's wrong with this guy? He's so annoying! Let's get him!"

Enraged, she inserted a new game coin.

The moment the game coins were inserted, it was as if a cheat code had been added to the account. A fist immediately flew out of the screen and slammed into the face of the broom-haired villain, giving the viewer a sense of satisfaction, and thus the game was extended.

Well, it's a common tactic in the industry to use reverse psychology to entice players to spend money and add coins.

Surprisingly, some people actually fall for this trick.

So, Shizuka started a crazy coin-spraying... oops, coin-operated life-extending mode, forcibly finishing a two-player side-scrolling action game.

And so the afternoon passed by.

Among the vast crowd of players, no one could tell that these two were celebrating a championship worth a staggering 3200 million yuan, a championship they had won just this morning.

At the moment the game ends, a cutscene begins, showing that the characters in the game have finished their battles and are living peaceful and happy lives. Some go home to get married, some reunite with their families, and some debut as singers.

Harushima Shika sat in her chair, staring blankly at the cutscene. The characters who had fought side by side not long ago were suddenly waving goodbye.

My entire nose felt sore.

This was the first time she had ever played a serious video game to the end, and you can imagine how impactful it was. She might just get hooked, and in any field, the moment you get hooked is often the most unforgettable.

"Don't be too sad..." Ke Zhiguang suddenly said.

"Yeah, I understand. It's just a game anyway, just treat it like watching a good movie... In life, there's always a time to say goodbye." Harushima Shika cheered up a bit, and the tears welling up in her eyes stopped.

Just as she was about to launch into a long-winded discussion about life, separation, and other macro-level themes, Ke Zhiguang said, "No, what I mean is that this game will have a sequel."

"what?"

And just like that, Harushima Deer was tricked again.

Give me back the emotion I felt just now!

After completing the game, you should normally take the game coins home, but unfortunately, I got carried away with my previous purchase of game coins by Qingdaolu.

So they simply gave it to the other players.

This is truly a case of throwing money around.

Inside the restaurant, after reminiscing about the day, Harushima Kashima nodded and said, "It's alright, it's not like we can't come out and play arcade games next time."

You've fallen for it too?

"How can this be considered getting hooked? At most, it's just that I'm willing to spend time on it... Is this a bit of a noob?"

"I've ordered, here's the kids' meal for you, is that alright?"

"Hmph, such childish stuff, you should eat it." Harujima Kashima retorted, her face flushed and her heart pounding.

"Okay, then the toy gift pack that comes with the package, as well as the handshake voucher with the doll, will all be mine."

"Well... okay, actually a kids' meal isn't out of the question, but... but you have to order a kids' meal for yourself first." She took the opportunity to back down.

"No problem, two portions, right?"

Child meal ×1 (√)

Just as he was about to hook the second portion, Ke Zhiguang suddenly slipped and hooked the lamb chop set meal next to him.

There was no way around it; the two packages were too close together, and I'd been playing with the joystick all afternoon, so my hands were sore and aching, making slips inevitable.

In short, just understand it.

After selecting some other desserts and milk teas, the menu was complete. Now, all that was left was to wait for the dishes to be served while listening to soothing music.

Each table has its own small radio, allowing you to switch channels and listen to music. To avoid disturbing other guests, each radio also comes with headphones, from which the music emanates.

This radio-style song request format is quite innovative, giving people a sense of anticipation, like winning a lottery.

Harujima Shika's attention was naturally drawn to the small radio. She put on the headphones and, as if she were bored, started examining the various buttons on the radio.

Ke Zhiguang turned his head to the side, looking at the view of the streets and buildings.

This was, in fact, the first time he had ever seen such a bustling street scene from such a high vantage point.

Although he has lived here for nearly a year, rising from an unknown nobody to a multi-time champion, he has not had much experience of reaching great heights; he has mostly been struggling on the ground.

The highest I've ever climbed was the Seaview Hotel in New Star Wars, but back then I was looking out at the edge of the sea; this time it's the city center.

"Hey, what are you thinking about? You suddenly started staring blankly at the scenery outside," Harushima Shika asked.

She seemed to have found a great song, and she started nodding and tapping her foot as she listened.

"I was just thinking about Tom and Jerry."

"How can you bring up anything in this cartoon?!"

"After all, Tom is an all-powerful cat and mouse. Except for not being able to catch mice, he can do everything, especially music."

Actually, what he was thinking of was the famous episode of "Tom and Jerry" called "City Country Rat".

To be more specific, in this episode, Jerry also arrives at an open-air restaurant on a high floor, hanging from a candle string, watching the endless stream of cars below.

It is full of simple childlike fun as well as thrilling danger. Revisiting this episode as an adult will bring many different feelings.

"Since you're talking about music, why don't you listen to this? It's really nice, and it's playing again right now." Harushima Shika handed over another pair of earphones; the radio came with two earphones.

But Shireshima Kashi's action looks like he's plugged his phone into headphones and is sharing one with a friend.

Ke Zhiguang took the headphones, put them on, and as soon as he heard the intro, he immediately sensed something was wrong and froze.

A song with a meme that makes people feel completely cheated.

"never gonna give you up".

The song itself is undoubtedly of high quality, but the music video is quite captivating. A young Rick Aisley bounces around in front of the camera, making it unforgettable.

Later, someone used this music video as a fake link. People clicked on the link without any suspicion, intending to watch a normal video, but instead, they were greeted with a young man swaying his body seductively on the screen.

It's like the Skywalkers setting traps everywhere to trick people into clicking on Granblue Fantasy.

After you open this music video, you'll hear bad news and good news.

The bad news is: I've been scammed.

The good news is: it sounds really good.