The work of the Go master

"But judging from that guy's current skill level, I think it might be quite difficult for me..." Harushima Shika lowered her head and suddenly started to seriously think about these seemingly serious questions.

But then she cautiously raised her eyes: "Does that mean I can only accept confessions of love?"

"Of course not. We're chess players. In any situation, a chess player's goal is to win, even when confessing your feelings... Except when playing chess with your superiors. The key is to cleverly lose by a point or two, making them think you won with real skill. That's the way to go. It's a way to make a living, so it's not shameful." At this point, Yixin's lips suddenly curled into a sly smile. "To tell you the truth, I've done this to the Emperor before. I gave him a four-piece handicap, and he won by half a point. I gave him a three-piece handicap, and he still only won by half a point. Five pieces did the same. Later, he realized something was wrong, but he was too embarrassed to say it."

"Hey! This twist is even more ruthless than before!" Harushima Kashi continued to complain. Having spent so much time with Keiji Hikaru, her complaining skills had skyrocketed.

"Excuse me, excuse me, let's get back to the point..." After chuckling a few times, Yixin's expression returned to its dignified state:

"In short, Shika, you and Kojiro will inevitably have a match full of ritual, but before that, I am your greatest opponent." Isshin's words made Shika also become serious.

"The second Women's Cup begins on December 12th. This is the stage for you and me."

It's a bit strange to say that, as if it confirms her identity as a female Go player...

"The final will be on December 25th, which happens to be Christmas Day, a very romantic day. The final will be a single-elimination match, but it will be a medieval Go tournament," she continued.

"An ancient chess tournament format?" Shizuka Harushima was taken aback.

“I specifically asked for it to be added because medieval Go is my pride… but it’s also yours. When you were little, I often taught you the rules of medieval Go, and you loved it,” Yixin said.

She continued, "I haven't played this kind of game in a long time; this area is unfamiliar to both of us."

"Only under this competition format can the gap between you and me, Dad, possibly narrow..."

“That’s right, exactly... When the time comes, please do your best to defeat me. Only in this way will everything have the best ending.” Isshin’s fingers covered Harushima Shika’s cheek, as if he were making a solemn vow.

The conversation under the night sky lasted for a long time. The number of tourists in the amusement park gradually decreased, the hustle and bustle subsided, and the chilly autumn wind tugged at the hems of the boys' clothes and the strands of the girls' hair.

A meteor streaked across the sky, barely noticeable; only a very few profound, artistic youths who could only gaze at the stars could spot it.

Ke Zhiguang did indeed notice it.

However, he wasn't being artistic; he simply looked up and yawned.

"Hey, I'm done talking over here." Harujima Kashima walked over with her head down, looking preoccupied, her cheeks puffing out.

"So where should we go next? For a late-night snack?" Ke Zhiguang asked.

"No, Dad said that's all for today. He told us to go back quickly so we don't catch a cold."

Ke Zhiguang looked in that direction, Yixin was swinging her arm in farewell as she left, her back view both dashing and relaxed... yet also somewhat heavy and sad.

Ke Zhiguang looked at Qingdaolu, his voice filled with a gentle smile: "What a surprise. I thought you would cry a little after talking with Senior Yixin."

"Tch, what do you take me for?" After saying that, Harushima Kaoru sighed again, "It's too early to cry now. If I cry now, and then I really send him on his way, it won't be good for me to cry then."

"What's wrong with this...?" Ke Zhiguang didn't understand the logic for a moment.

"Nonsense! If I cry now, and then cry again later, that'll be crying twice! How embarrassing would that be!" Harujima Kashima resumed her usual demeanor, getting angry, her two ponytails bobbing up and down behind her head.

this.....

This is truly impeccable logic. Although I don't understand it, it surprisingly makes sense.

For example, "Don't build Berserker's Greaves as your first item. It's better to build Yasha first. When you get Berserker's Greaves, you'll have an extra Yasha on you."

"Forget about all that! Go home! Intensify the training!" she concluded with a confident air, hands on her hips.

At 11:30 p.m., the two returned home and said goodbye to each other in front of their house.

Although it was called saying goodbye, the two were actually within ten meters of each other, and could hear each other walking on the floor.

"Welcome back. How was your visit with your father-in-law?" Zero's smile was as always.

"You know all this so clearly?" Ke Zhiguang's small hand trembled when he heard the word "father-in-law".

"My dear Shida, do you think I wouldn't see through this?" Zero casually sipped his red tea and hummed at Ke Zhiguang.

"Okay, you win as usual." Ke Zhiguang was unmoved.

When do you plan to confess your feelings?

“There’s no better stage for the next Moon Sky title match than this, and I firmly believe that the two of us will meet in the finals… I have a feeling that when Senior Yixin was talking to Lu, he also emphasized this title match.” Ke Zhiguang nodded firmly.

Ling sighed with a worried look: "As expected, it happened on the field. Should I say you're extremely romantic, or extremely chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur)? Or is it just chuunibyou-style romance?"

"So, did Senior Yixin discuss this matter with Lu?" Ke Zhiguang asked to confirm.

"Of course they talked. Would you like me to tell you about some of their other conversations?"

Ke Zhiguang paused for a moment before saying, "I think I've already guessed what this means."

"That's good. Good luck." Zero blinked her eyelashes playfully.

Although he didn't get a definite answer, Koji Hikaru probably guessed that, through Isshin-senpai as an intermediary, he and Harushima Shika had already made an informal confession. Both of them knew that as long as they took the initiative, the other would not refuse.

It has to be said that this is the wonder of feelings. On the way home, the two of them were no different from usual. They complained about what they wanted to complain about and talked about games as if nothing had happened.

This can be considered a tacit understanding, where both sides pretend not to know what's going on.

What a strange day! Nothing seemed to happen, yet I took a big step forward in my love life.

Perhaps that's the allure of meeting the parents.

"Alright, I need to get back to work now." Ke Zhiguang cleared his mind, sat on the sofa, and picked up the controller.

This work declaration makes it sound like they're a professional esports player...

The obsession with coming into this world.

A place to settle down emotionally.

Future prospects, etc.

All the branching paths began to converge, eventually becoming a straight track. At the end of the track was a treasure chest, like the grand finale, and guarding the treasure chest was, naturally, the strongest boss dragon, Nidhogg.

Get over this hurdle!

Upon entering the game console's main interface and clicking on the "weiqi" section, just as Ke Zhiguang was about to press the match button, his finger stopped.

His attention fell on the left side of the screen, in the "Game Records" section, which contained his past game records.

Three more chess scores have been added to the chess score library.

The first one is the game record of his game against Zhang He the night before last.

The second and third sheets are yesterday's game records.

The opponent, Shi Xin.

this.....

Ke Zhiguang opened the game record of the match between Ke Zhiguang and Shi Xin, and the result was—

I actually clicked on it, and a dense array of chess pieces spread out on the screen.

Originally, I would have immediately forgotten the game I played against Shi Xin.

But now, it has been restored to its original state and included in his own notation archive.

Ke Zhiguang was completely stunned, while Ling, standing to the side, let out a snicker, as if he had been holding back all along.

"Congratulations, you've discovered the secret."

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Winter Has Arrived

The cold winter of December descended upon the earth, and the sky over Tokyo was shrouded in a bluish-gray hue.

As dawn broke, a light rain began to fall, and the sound of the raindrops hitting the street was like the drumbeats of a war song.

The moment is finally here; no one can escape it. Tens of thousands of hearts are pounding with excitement.

Inside and outside the chess academy, many chess players woke up on time, staring blankly at the gray sky, as if contemplating their fate and future.

Outside the window, a television station's helicopter hovered above the chess academy, surveying the battlefield like a hawk.

"Today is December 3rd, the start of the Oshiro Go Series Tournament. This grand battle will last for almost a whole month. Not only Tokyo, but the whole of Japan will be ignited by the flames of the Go world. It's like stepping back into the Warring States period, a time of fierce competition among warlords. Let's wait and see!" the reporter said with great enthusiasm.

Winter came early this year; not only did the temperature drop quickly, but the daylight hours also shortened considerably. The only constant was the never-ending extravagance and the steam-like bubbles.

Unbeknownst to people, the red maple leaves quietly spread across the valley, only to wither away in the blink of an eye.

The mannequins in the shop windows were dressed in winter clothes, young students wrapped scarves around their necks and discussed Christmas and the holidays, while experts were more concerned about the abnormal climate.

Ke Zhiguang also woke up groggily, but not in bed, but on his own sofa.

On the coffee table in front of me were a chessboard and various snack wrappers, while the television screen was frozen on the initial interface of "weiqi".

(5/10), this is his current progress.

After two weeks of research, thoroughly understanding the four game records of the match against Shi Xin, the result was a gift comparable to the theory of relativity. It is said that when Einstein first came up with this, very few people in the world could understand it.

Small eye and double jump, various fixed patterns after point three three, and the pull back after small fly corner, many strange things appeared on his tactics panel.

It must be said that this was a massive undertaking. Fortunately, Zero provided assistance by telling Ke Zhiguang which past game records had shown similar variations, which enabled him to complete these latest theoretical diagrams in such a short time.

Although these are still just the tip of the iceberg of genius, they are enough. For current chess players, this is a genius-level, epoch-making theory.

The effects of relativity were immediately apparent. Just a few days later, he broke through the initial difficulty of (1-3) and entered the intermediate level of (4-6).

The moment I woke up, the curtains were suddenly pulled open, and the bluish-gray light of the daylight poured into the living room. The dim light made it hard to tell whether it was morning or evening.

It's another rainy day.

It really looks like the color of the end of the world.

In Ke Zhiguang's memory, it seems that it always rains on the opening day of every major competition. The intense fighting spirit rises in the rain, creating a rising mist, which is quite evocative.

"Good morning, Einstein Cole, author of the theory of relativity in Go. This is your reward." Zero placed a cup of morning coffee on the table.

"This... I seem to have acquired another strange title?"

"It's alright. The Tsar's title slots can hold 74 titles. Your current titles are far from the limit." Ling Daping, sitting on the lower left opposite the sofa, gazed at the dark, oppressive sky with Ke Zhiguang.

"Speaking of which, it always rains during major competitions," Ke Zhiguang muttered under his breath.

“Rainy days are the weather that most easily affects one’s fortune, so whenever a major chess game begins, the dark clouds arrive early, and the rain falls before the first chess piece.” Zero pushed open the French windows, letting the cold wind in.

Stimulated by the cold wind, Ke Zhiguang became more alert.

At this rate, we can already envision Tokyo covered in a heavy snowfall, a scene sure to be filled with a disillusioning beauty.

He went out onto the balcony and took a deep breath, inhaling not only the moisture of the rain, but also the smell of gunpowder and blood.

Today is December 3rd, the start of the first round of the Imperial City Chess Series. New matches will begin every day thereafter, with a total prize pool of over 4 billion yen supporting the operation of this series of matches.