The work of the Go master

After mentally venting his frustration, Ke Zhiguang asked Xingcai, "Where is your sister?"

"Senior Harujima was sitting in the first row. According to the procedure, the two of them were to go up and cut the ribbon as the opening signal. Usually, this procedure is handled by the other 9-dan... Wait, thinking about it carefully, it seems that the two of them are already 9-dan now."

Hearing this, Ke Zhiguang looked ahead and happened to make eye contact with the two people in the front row.

Xingjia waved with a smile, while Qingdaolu stuck out her tongue.

Hmm... that's really something, their personalities are crystal clear.

The fact that a 9-dan player is required to cut the ribbon suggests that they are needed to bring good fortune to the competition, which is why the 9-dan player is so important.

The fact that the 9-dan players started a group trip at this sensitive time is thought-provoking.

The only option was for Yagami Kunikyo to pack them up and send them away. Although these 9-dan players didn't usually do much work and their only job was traveling, given their importance, it was bound to affect Yagami Kunikyo's future plans.

The stage area has been cleared, and anyone who could interfere with the performance has been asked to move to the audience seats. Now it's up to the actors to decide what to do... Is that what you mean?

Just as I was pondering this, the old man finished his speech, and the ceremony immediately moved on to the ribbon-cutting.

Amidst applause, Harushima Kaoru and Hoshino stepped onto the stage. For this brief moment of exposure, they even changed into high heels, which they rarely wear.

"Ahem! Anyway, the Dream Paradise title match and the Rising Star match, together..."

"hold!"

"start!"

The two sang their lines into the microphone as if in a duet, while a hostess handed them a tray with delicate scissors, allowing them to be sniped simultaneously.

Xingjia grasped the top half of the scissors: "Come, Long'er, I'll be on top, you'll be on the bottom."

"Oh, okay... Hey! Something you said sounds really weird!"

"Oh dear, I was just casually mentioning where to hold it. Did you perhaps think of some strange position, Long'er?"

Seeing the conversation taking a strange turn in front of everyone, the emcee sighed and whispered a reminder: "Um... according to the procedure, the two of you should hold the scissors together with your right hands from left to right, so there is no top or bottom relationship."

So the two did as instructed, facing each other chest to chest, and together extended their right hands through the top and bottom of the scissors, their ten fingers interlacing.

There's a mysterious sense of déjà vu; the classic interlaced fingers are a gesture that yuri fans are quite familiar with.

Hmm... I feel like I've hit the jackpot.

With a snap, the ribbon was cut open, and the floating fireworks fell from the sky above the auditorium, marking the official start of the competition.

......

......

The chessboard is set up in two different places, and the pieces are dropped from a height!

"Okay, we're going to talk about Go again today!" Naosaka appeared on camera as scheduled.

"Oh, then let's start setting up the game." Xingcai, as if ignoring his enthusiasm, tucked a strand of hair from her forehead and coldly affixed the magnetic chess pieces to the large chessboard.

"Ah... okay..." Naosaka nodded blankly, his eyes turning into beady eyes of embarrassment.

Since the Dragon Throne Battle, her status has suddenly risen a lot, her witty remarks have become more and more sharp, her sharp tongue has become more and more obvious and popular, and her persona has begun to become queen-like.

If things continue like this, this TV station will end up being owned by Inoue...

This game is about Ke Zhiguang's match. His opponent is an ordinary 5-dan player surnamed Qiaokou, so the pressure is not high.

During the group draw, the organizers will naturally assign the seeded players who have a chance to win to different groups to ensure that the competition becomes more and more exciting with strong matches as it progresses.

“If nothing unexpected happens, Kojiro should be a shoo-in for the championship in this competition, right?” Naosaka said.

"Yes, it's only been a little over three months since the Dragon Throne Tournament ended. He's undoubtedly at his peak, far ahead of the other players. Right now, none of the players who could threaten him have come... It's somewhat understandable that the others haven't come, but the fact that the bamboo sword can't be forged is a bit..."

That's a bit too outrageous.

To use a joke from the Black and White editorial department, it's like "Bamboo Swords Forged in South America".

Well, the content goes without saying; those who know, know.

"From this perspective, it's quite a pity that no one could threaten Ke Zhiguang's position. I suppose the quality of the games in the competition was also lacking."

This is not good news for the organizers.

The quality of the game directly affects the organizer's fortune and profits. If the profits are not up to par, they may be so angry that they will not hold the next event.

"But the good news is that the chess world may soon have a player who holds all four major titles, which would be an unprecedented feat," Xingcai added.

“If things continue like this, we can look forward to him collecting all seven titles,” Naosaka laughed.

"Yes, he will, he definitely will." Xing Caidu nodded, her tone more serious than before.

While it may not be appropriate for a neutral commentator to make such biased statements on camera, let's not forget that professional commentators must be willing to make judgments.

"Come on, let's see how this game progresses..."

The competition was held in the chess academy, and the advertising wall used as the background displayed the logo of Dream Paradise, as well as the image of Mario, which looked particularly out of place and incompatible with the theme of Go.

There were rumors that the Dream Paradise Cup might feature a Go game on the Famicom, but it now appears that was just hype.

Without playing a game on a real chessboard, it might be impossible to enter the game world, let alone generate any fortune.

Koji Ko and his opponent for today, 5-dan player Hashiguchi, are already seated, and both are patiently waiting for the signal to make their moves.

While waiting, Ke Zhiguang also observed the other party out of the corner of his eye.

The man's legs were twitching nervously under the table, clearly indicating that he was feeling immense pressure about his upcoming match against Ke Zhiguang.

"Bridge entrance section five".

"Yes! What is it!" Qiaokou straightened up immediately, as if his tail had been stepped on.

Ke Zhiguang was already used to this kind of reaction, and asked calmly, "Have you been playing chess at night lately?"

"Of course there is. It's so quiet at night, it's the perfect time to practice chess."

"When you were playing chess, did you feel anything was wrong?" Ke Zhiguang continued to ask.

"This... I don't quite understand what you mean." Hashiguchi Godan awkwardly chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

Ke Zhiguang nodded thoughtfully.

It seems that asking around like a detective is useless; I can only obtain information by typing it all out by hand.

"Alright, let's begin." Ke Zhiguang frowned and started the game of guessing who would go first.

On the other side, the venue for the New Star Wars was still the same seaside hotel as last year, which is the fixed location for the annual New Star Wars.

Looking at this place, Harushima Kaoru felt a pang of emotion. She felt that time had passed so quickly, and tons of things had happened in the past year, making her unsure of which event to recall.

Her opponent in this round yawned loudly while sitting at the table: "How boring, I have to play against you right away, Lulu, it's so annoying."

"Hey, Xiong Ying, have you been playing chess at night lately?" Qing Shima Shika also tried to play the detective.

"Huh? Play chess at night? How could I possibly do something like that? My precious evenings are definitely for video games." Xiong Ying said matter-of-factly.

"That's true, it's pointless to ask you. I bet Takami is doing the same thing as you, right?" Harushima Shika sighed.

"Of course!"

Faced with Xiong Ying's proud declaration of slacking off, Qing Shidao suddenly thought of a Japanese proverb - "Idiots don't get sick."

In this kind of situation, we should probably call them "idiots."

Looking around from here, the lobby is mostly filled with familiar faces, no different from any other day, and there's no sense of danger whatsoever.

Her situation in the New Star Tournament is similar to that of Ke Zhiguang, where she is basically in a position of overwhelming dominance over other players.

However, Hoshino has also joined this new star cup, and is the only threat to Harushima Deer. It is expected that this new star battle will be a classic replica of the women's cup, and the outside world is generally optimistic about this.

At this moment, the referee walked over and said to Xiong Ying with some difficulty, "Miss Otto, you're sitting in the wrong seat. Your opponent today isn't Harushima 9-dan..."

"Huh? Is that so?" Xiong Ying glanced at the player name tags on the table and realized... she really had sat in the wrong seat.

As if she had just remembered something, she suddenly slapped her palms together: "Oh, I remember now. I just saw you sitting here, Lulu, and wanted to chat with you, so I sat down opposite you. But I accidentally thought you were my opponent in this round."

"How could they get this wrong? That's outrageous!"

Xiong Ying happily left her spot, no longer worried about encountering Qingdao Deer and being eliminated in the first round.

Watching the other person happily leave, Harushima Shika stiffened in her seat.

—Just as I thought! I shouldn't have assumed that an idiot would be in danger from the very beginning!

It is common knowledge that idiots never encounter danger.

"Hello, Harushima 9-dan, I'm your opponent for this match." A newcomer in the 2-dan group sat down opposite Harushima Shika; she was a woman.

Harujima Kashima vaguely remembered her; her name was Furuya Ikumi, a forest-girl with long black hair.

Of course, we only met once and didn't exchange more than a few words.

"Hello, shall we have a good game this round... let's do our best... let's do our best... shall we?"

The deer's voice was almost gone.

Because she sensed the disharmony in the other person—mechanical, stiff, and with dulled eyes.

this.....

Could it be...

Harushima Shika swallowed hard, feeling a slight pressure.

Well, it seems only smart people encounter danger.

Chapter Twelve fast forward to the final battle where loyalty to oneself is achieved.

Danger.

Mystery.

A strange and unfamiliar feeling washed over me, and a lot of negative emotions crept up my head, giving me a tingling, electric sensation like watching a horror movie.

"Hey, are you... alright?" Harushima Shika tried to strike up a conversation with the other person.

“I’m fine.” Furuya Ikumi nodded straight, avoiding eye contact with Harushima Shika.

Have you been playing chess in the evenings lately?

"It's been raining constantly, every night."