The work of the Go master

With a sizzle, the heat suddenly increased, and the smell of burning filled the air.

"Tch, didn't you control yourself well again?" Zero frowned and looked remorseful.

“Perhaps this is the bloodline of the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland,” Ke Zhiguang said, slumping onto the table beside him.

Zero puffed out his cheeks and snorted, his deer-like scent very strong.

"Here, take this." She casually tossed Ke Zhiguang a bag of Meiji milk and a few slices of toasted bread.

She said, "Don't worry, I didn't make this. I bought it from the convenience store downstairs... Do you believe me?"

"This... to be honest, I can't think of a rebuttal line right now."

Ke Zhiguang took the bread and milk, took a bite and a sip, and it really did taste like the convenience store bread.

But he was more curious about where Zero had taken that thing out.

This feeling is similar to the domestically produced Hongmeng cartoon animation, where characters constantly pull out a bundle of firewood or a hammer from behind their backs, as if everyone is practicing quantum mechanics.

"Well, after yesterday's ordeal, you should know how difficult it is to clear this whole set of levels, right?" Zero held her coffee, winking provocatively... Look, she's pulled out another cup of coffee from somewhere.

Upon hearing this, Ke Zhiguang gasped in shock.

Yesterday he spent the entire day on this game console, eating all three meals on the coffee table where the console is located. Under the matchmaking system of blitz chess, he played 21 games in a day, proving that hard work pays off.

(2/10), that's his record yesterday.

So... this game is really difficult.

"To win a game against the most advanced Go system in my previous life is already a remarkable achievement, even if it took twenty-one games," Zero said, flicking his fingers with a rather light gesture.

"Playing twenty-one games in a whole day and winning one, at this rate, should I just keep working overtime for a few more days and finish the whole game?" Ke Zhiguang asked tentatively.

A 1/21 win rate sounds low, but it's really just a matter of time.

But... is it really that simple?

"Of course it's not that simple. Rounds 1-3 are one level of difficulty, rounds 2-6 are another, rounds 6-9 are yet another, and finally there's the ultimate boss guarding the tenth round. Based on this level of difficulty... well, good luck." Zero clapped his hands enthusiastically.

Sure enough.

The most urgent task to break the deadlock is probably to start with the three-three formation.

It's like a bug stuck in the most important gear; if this bug isn't removed, the whole machine will be difficult to operate.

"Well then... I'll begin my training, just like every protagonist in a classic shonen manga goes through. Goodbye." After breakfast, Ke Zhiguang got up and left.

"Have a safe trip." Zero waved his arm from behind.

As I stepped out of the foyer, the front door closed behind me.

Ke Zhiguang hadn't walked far when he stood on tiptoe and pressed his ear against his own entryway.

I'm very curious about what she does alone at home... or perhaps she enters a quantum mechanical state and becomes a silent being.

After listening for a while, I could indeed hear sounds coming from inside the door.

That's the sound of the TV being turned on. Could it be that she, like many other middle-aged women, enjoys watching midday dramas?

Ke Zhiguang guessed wrong.

The program that Zero tuned into was a cooking channel that specifically teaches housewives how to cook.

Hmm... she might be determined to break her British heritage persona.

This feeling was quite strange. In his view, the omnipotent gods were just like ordinary people, with ordinary troubles.

Is it possible that the other person is actually just an ordinary person?

With this guess in mind, Ke Zhiguang slowly left.

Inside the house, Zero knew perfectly well that Ke Zhiguang was eavesdropping by lying on the door.

She pursed her lips and smiled naturally and innocently, talking to herself in the air: "I'm pretty much just an ordinary person. If this mission is over, maybe you'll see an ordinary me."

"Besides, what's really causing the problem isn't that three-three trick. I've already told you, there's only one way to solve it, and that's to gather everyone's strength...everyone."

......

......

At 2 PM, Ke Zhiguang arrived at the chess academy as dusk approached.

"Hey guys, how was your first day of the training camp?"

Xingjia said, "The atmosphere is great, and everyone is working harder than expected."

Upon entering the training hall, one is greeted by a sea of ​​thoughtful faces, and the sound of chess pieces falling is exceptionally solemn and quiet.

People from all age groups and skill levels gathered together, creating a positive competitive effect.

The middle-aged group doesn't want to be overshadowed by the younger generation, while the younger generation naturally looks down on the middle-aged group who are always idle. In ordinary fields, this is called involutionary competition, but in competitive fields, this is called a healthy competitive atmosphere.

Koko turned his head and found that Shizuka was lying on the chessboard in a gray and white style, with the soul constantly escaping from its mouth.

"Um... Lu, did you break the ladle again?" Ke Zhiguang asked cautiously as he sidled up.

“Last night… my mother and father met…” Harushima Shika’s voice was very weak.

"Huh?" Ke Zhiguang's worldview trembled.

"My mother called me this morning and told me about it. She also said she wants to find an opportunity for the three of us to get together..."

This... sounds like a heartwarming family comedy, but it's packed with information.

These two met last night, and only texted their daughter this morning... cough cough! cough cough!

"Come on! Forget all that! Let's start our match today." Harujima Shika slammed her hand on the table and stood up, her face flushed, interrupting Koji Hikaru's daydreaming with a loud voice.

Unfortunately, Ke Zhiguang had already filled in the blanks in his mind.

Dusk continued to hang over Tokyo, like the ribbons of the gods.

The chess world is divided in two, two fortresses, the sound of pieces being placed never stops every day, and the calculated data spirals upward into the sky, like two dragons fighting and entangled in mid-air.

And so, time flew by, and the accelerator of the gears was pressed down.

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Vanguard

On September 20th, the training camp and accommodation were still in full swing. The area within a one-kilometer radius of the chess academy was as lively as the Olympic Village, with a large number of athletes coming out to shop and stroll around every day.

The daytime is a safe period, and the players can freely decide their schedules, whether it's going home to visit relatives or going out for barbecue. The curfew is 8 p.m. Once that time is exceeded, everything outside will be sealed off by darkness, snakes will swarm onto the streets, and Tokyo will enter its dark phase.

“The ancients were in a drowsy state during the day, so this is your only chance to be active,” Zero casually mentioned at breakfast.

"They sound like a bunch of night owls..." Ke Zhiguang said.

"I think it's more appropriate to understand the current situation as zombies... Although they are in a low state during the day, their spirits will gradually recover from 2 pm, reaching their peak at 8 pm. When the sun comes out, they will retreat back to continue hibernating."

Zero continued, "You don't need to worry about the lives of the original owners of the ancient bodies. They automatically enter a managed state, just like before their large-scale awakening. In addition, the ancient people directly inherit the original owners' memories and will even play the original owners' life roles when necessary... Doesn't that sound like enough to write several more books?"

"Hmm...it does have that flavor." Ke Zhiguang nodded thoughtfully, then finished his breakfast bread and milk in one go and began his game console challenge for the day.

“Game, start,” Zero said in a narrator’s voice.

......

......

On the night of September 27th, Ichishin finally ended her more than one-week-long family visit and returned to Tokyo with the help of Seo Sung-woo.

There was no way around it, my legs went weak, I had to admit defeat.

“He’s here.” Shusaku sensed something.

The elevator floor display ticked up and down, eventually stopping at the current floor.

"Come on, Huang Longshi, let's settle this once and for all!" He took a step forward, watching the elevator doors open.

He was dumbfounded.

Although the game hasn't started yet, it seems the winner has already been decided...

"Pervert, get lost—" Xiu Ce was about to launch a righteous attack.

Who the hell do you think you are?

This time, it was Isshin's turn to fly up angrily, his movements exactly the same as Harushima Shika and Harushima Mayu's, forcibly interrupting Mei Kai Sidu's spellcasting.

Being scolded by one's daughter is one thing, being verbally attacked by the future son-in-law who may become one's successor is another, and being scolded and beaten by one's wife is entirely reasonable.

But what the hell are you, an absolute outsider, doing here? So what if you're a chess master? You talk like nobody's a chess master!

"And another thing, did you all plan this beforehand? You even have the exact same lines?"

In the spacious office, the two became inseparable, and the usually serious and oppressive office was suddenly filled with a silly and cheerful atmosphere.

The butler gave a wry smile, while Yagami Kunikyo maintained a dignified air, as if he were resting with his eyes closed.

It's also possible that he closed his eyes because he felt a headache.

"This situation is quite nice, isn't it?" the butler said with a forced smile.

"Yes, that's good too. If it can continue like this, it might not be such a bad thing." Yagami Kunikyo said, looking up at the ceiling. No one knew what he was thinking.

.....

.....

On the evening of October 2nd, the season officially entered autumn, and the wheel of fate continued to turn forward.

On the other side of the strait, Saito also received news from Japan.

"A thousand-person training camp, the Go world splits apart, a collective melee?" Saito said on the phone.

"Isn't it interesting? Are you interested in getting back to work right now and participating in this grand event?" Hanno Ken's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Have the other nine-dan players all agreed to this?" Saito asked.

"Of course not. Guojing is very shrewd. Before the operation, he had already packed up all the ninth-dan players and sent them to Europe for a free trip. Now, even if they rush back, they can't change the course of events, so they might as well stay in Europe obediently," Hanno Ken said with a smile.

“In that case, my return won’t cause much of a stir, after all… I’ve already experienced the side effects of the Castle Chess ability.” Saito said, looking at the back of his trembling hand.

In the Dragon Throne Battle, the entire 9-dan group received the blessing of the Oshiro Go ability, allowing them to regain their youthful form.

However, this also has side effects. For example, recently his hands have been shaking non-stop, sometimes he can't even hold a water glass steadily, and he has no desire to play chess at all. His condition is extremely poor, as if he has been hit by a thousand debuffs.