The work of the Go master

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A few days later, on the afternoon of August 17th, the twilight was still mysterious, and the noise from cars on the street and construction sites created a sense of emptiness like white noise.

On either side of a chessboard, Nishi Chiaki is playing a game against Yagami Kunikyo's secretary, who is also his butler.

The dozen bottles of red wine that Yagami Kunikyo gave me have been finished, and they felt really good. I could clearly see that my face and skin looked younger in the mirror.

According to the verbal explanation, if Nishi Chiaki has any further needs, he can just contact this butler.

Instead of picking up the goods directly, I want to play a game with him and win.

As the butler of Yagami Kunikyo, his strength is naturally not bad, but it is not too difficult for Nishi Chiaki to beat him.

After the score was tallied, the butler smiled and nodded: "You've won, Nishichidosaku. What you wanted has already appeared on the chessboard in your home."

"On my chessboard?"

"You'll find out when you get home?"

Half an hour later, Nishi Chiaki drove home and found a dozen bottles of red wine on his chessboard, exactly twelve bottles.

"This is really..." After his initial surprise, Nishi Chiaki shook his head with a wry smile, then pried open a bottle of red wine and drank it down in one gulp.

The world of chess remains as mysterious and unpredictable as ever, rife with agnosticism.

After drinking heavily, he looked out at the city under the moonlight, at Tokyo, the stage where the story takes place.

Tokyo has been different lately, though he can't quite put his finger on what exactly is different. But as a top-level Go player, his intuition tells him not to play Go recently.

The reason this happened is probably related to his previous commission from Yagami Kunikyo to defeat a strange opponent.

Even now, he still doesn't know exactly what he defeated, but he vaguely remembers that at the moment he defeated his opponent, something like a door was opened...

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On August 20th, as the two title matches approached, the level of discussion in society increased, and almost every day, chess players appeared on variety channels to chat and laugh with the audience.

In the high-rise buildings of the Central District, at the residence of Yagami Kunikyo, a similar explanatory meeting was also being held.

All the ninth-dan members who could attend were present, excluding the younger members, of course.

Everyone noticed the recent changes in the Go world and was basically certain that Yagami Kunikyo was the mastermind behind it all, so they came here collectively to demand an explanation.

"Please rest assured, fellow 9-dan players, everything will return to normal after the year-end Imperial City Go Tournament. At that time, I will retire from Go and reveal all the secrets I have to you. My wealth will also become the public property of the Go world, and my fortune... will also be handed over." Yagami Kunikyo solemnly said to everyone, his expression completely calm.

These words silenced all the doubts raised by the ninth-dan player.

"So...you really don't want anything?" Nine people questioned.

"If I can maintain my position in the year-end Imperial Go title match, I will voluntarily give up everything."

"What if we fail?"

“Then I will lose everything.” Yagami Kunikyo’s gaze swept over the crowd.

He continued, "Furthermore, I hope that you can all get away from Tokyo during these last four months... I will cover all the travel expenses."

.......

.......

On August 27th, in a remote, impoverished town in South America, far away on the other side of the world, in Japan.

"What? You're telling me that the Dream Paradise title battle is starting on September 1st?" Bamboo Blade Forging was shocked when he received this news.

The voice of a chess academy employee came from the other end of the phone: "There's nothing we can do. This news was first announced on August 7th, and we were caught off guard."

"That doesn't mean they were twenty days late in notifying me!"

"We're really in a difficult position because you've gone traveling to such a place, so please come back soon."

"You know I travel in places like this! It's not like I can get back in three days!" Bamboo Blade Forging spat out a mouthful of blood, feeling like someone who was in a terrible predicament on a journey.

But he quickly had a flash of inspiration: "Wait! I've got an idea! I can play the game over a long-distance phone, reporting the coordinates on the board. That way, I can play even if I'm not physically present!"

"Well... cough cough, goodbye, Mr. Bamboo Knife, have a good time." The staff member felt that if they continued chatting, they would only end up talking about more strange topics.

"Wait--"

The beeping sound came from the other end of the phone.

"So, is there any hope for us?" asked his fellow bamboo knife forger.

"That's it, unless a helicopter suddenly appears and takes us to the nearest airport." Bamboo Blade hung up the phone and put his travel hat back on.

His companion, just as Ke Zhiguang had guessed, was Xuan Yuzhi.

The two hadn't planned to travel together; they just happened to meet on the plane and decided to team up.

It was quite an interesting coincidence.

"Let's move on to the next goal!" Bamboo Sword Forger pointed into the distance, deciding to continue the journey to the very end.

......

......

On the evening of August 31st, there were less than a dozen hours left before the dual title battle began.

Near the chess academy, the various chess halls were in particularly high spirits today, and many small betting odds opened for chess enthusiasts to spend money and have fun.

In a quiet private room, a low-ranking new-generation Go player and a mid-generation Go player met.

"Thank you so much, senior, for training with me so late at night," the new generation said in gratitude.

"Tomorrow is the start of the game, and I need to be fully prepared." The middle-aged player sat down, and the two began their game.

"Recently, there seems to be a saying circulating in the chess world that you shouldn't play chess at night, which sounds rather scary," said a new generation member.

"Don't worry too much about this. I've been playing chess every night recently, and nothing's happened. None of my friends have been infected either. Just think of it as someone deliberately spreading rumors to disrupt our training," the middle-aged chess player said with a smile.

But as the game progressed, the two men felt more and more uneasy.

There's something outside the door.

With a whoosh, the door was pulled open.

"Hey, who...are you people?"

Soon, the door closed, and the sound of new pieces being placed echoed inside the room, with two games of chess proceeding simultaneously.

The game ended not long after.

The new generation and middle-generation chess players walked out of the room, looking no different from usual, except that there was a layer of dark mist in their eyes, and their movements became stiff and mechanical.

And so, the opening day of the competition arrived on September 1st.

Chapter Eleven: Indeed, only the intelligent encounter danger.

Fireworks lit up the sky during the day as the opening ceremonies for the Dream Paradise Battle and the Nova Battle took place simultaneously.

In the grand hall of the chess academy, the chess players sat solemnly in their seats, the sound of camera shutters clicking all around them, each player's shoulder glowing with the light of the shutters.

"Today is a special day for the chess world, with two title matches being held simultaneously, which is unprecedented. But instead of distracting the public or dampening our enthusiasm, it has inspired even more people. This is a good thing, as it means that our chess world can continue to prosper and flourish..." said an elderly gentleman, whose age was unknown, as he spoke on stage.

In the past, Xia Fuying was the one who spoke on stage, but today it was a different person. Instead, it was an old chess player who was more inclined to be an administrator and whose position was vice president.

The opening ceremony was as solemn as ever, with celebrities and influential figures gathered in the front row, elevating the overall atmosphere of the venue.

For novice chess players, this scene was incredibly nerve-wracking. All around were newcomers sitting awkwardly, listening intently to what was supposed to be a long and tedious lecture.

Ke Zhiguang sat quietly in the front row, observing from the shadows, his gaze constantly sweeping across the back rows, like a student who was daydreaming wildly during class.

The newly acquired [Crane Shadow] is indeed very useful, comparable to Doraemon's little stone hat.

Given his current popularity, he would definitely be besieged by the media all day long in such a media-filled place. But after using this prop, the reporters seemed to ignore him. When they encountered Ke Zhiguang, they would only nod and say "Ke Zhiguang, 9th Dan, is good" instead of desperately shoving microphones into his hands.

This is a switchable prop; you can activate it anytime you want to attract attention and create a buzz.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" Yamaoka asked.

"Looking for anything unusual, have you encountered anything strange lately?"

Yamaoka shook his head: "No, I've been following the survival guide very well lately, and I haven't played chess at night. But everyone else at Peach Blossom Village who is supposed to practice chess at night is practicing."

"Did anything strange happen to them?"

“Everyone is the same as usual, nothing different,” Yamaoka replied.

"And how do you feel? In times like these, don't trust what you see with your eyes, trust your own feelings," Ke Zhiguang instructed.

"Who would understand this!"

The conversation died instantly.

Since Yamaoka said everything was fine, at least it wasn't noticeable to the naked eye.

Ke Zhiguang observed the back row for so long and came to the same conclusion.

The chess players sitting in the auditorium, whether young or middle-aged, were just as nervous as ever, some yawning as others yawned, just like at an opening ceremony.

This scene is quite moving. Although the age range of the participants is quite diverse, from 40 to 14, it feels like a regular school, with an age difference of no more than 3 years.

"Speaking of which, not a single ninth-dan member is present this time," Yamaoka asked, looking at the stage.

According to the rules, any title match must be supervised by a 9-dan member, but this time there was none.

At this moment, Xingcai sat down next to her and said, "I heard that they went on a group trip."

Yamaoka was taken aback: "Another trip? Didn't this group just come back from Hawaii?"

"This time it's Europe, which is a new place for them to try."

"This... such inside information, who did you hear it from?" Ke Zhiguang's first reaction was that he himself had no connections.

"The result of my sister's divination."

"This is ridiculous! Are shrine maidens really that omnipotent?!" Yamaoka felt an urge to flip the table. "And are these ninth-dan players really that free?!"

Indeed, it's outrageously idle.

No more words. Just before the bubble bursts, I'll immediately convert all my savings into US dollars. Then I'll stop playing chess and play mahjong like crazy. I'll do exactly what Togashi does, humph!