The work of the Go master

I vaguely remember chatting and bragging with a group of colleagues not long ago, saying that if the Dragon Throne Battle was going to be about naval warfare, then the Imperial City Chess Battle would probably be about air warfare.

Tokyo Tower, in every sense, is indeed a battleground of air combat.

"Continue, solo queue." Ke Zhiguang suppressed his restless thoughts, calmed down, and continued to grip the controller firmly.

The data that appeared on his screen was... (7/10).

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Tokyo, it's snowing.

On December 17th, the sky turned a bluish-gray, the dim light fell down, and the streets seemed to fade.

Christmas is just a week away, and the jingling music echoes through the streets. Occasionally, female students lean against the windows of clothing stores, gazing at the glass and blowing white streaks of mist.

The winter fog blanketed the streets, making the whole city seem to be asleep in a fairytale dream.

An indescribable tranquility.

Inside the Go academy, the pale world was reflected in Harujima Shika's eyes, giving it an unreal quality.

After more than two weeks of chess matches, the number of chess academy warriors gradually decreased, and now there are less than twenty people left stationed here. The usual hustle and bustle has suddenly become quiet.

This morning, a warning was suddenly issued on television, predicting that a frost fog would descend on Tokyo, resulting in very low visibility on the streets, and urging residents to reduce non-essential travel.

It's quite absurd that a major city like Tokyo, located near the ocean, would be hit by frost and fog; it's almost surreal.

But recently, more and more bizarre things have happened, and people have gotten used to it.

"It's today, the first day of the Imperial Castle Chess Tournament." Taketsukasa spoke unconsciously, and the entire group leaned on the railing, looking at the desolate courtyard and the distant view shrouded in frost and mist.

It's as if they're waiting for a decisive battle, patiently watching the sun set on the horizon.

Today is the first day of the Imperial Chess Tournament, and also a day off for the rest of the tournaments, so a group of people have the leisure to lean out the window, gaze at the distant view, and contemplate life.

According to the event organizers, it seems that the remaining series of events are required to be completed in a roughly synchronized manner with the final battle of the Imperial City Chess Tournament, meaning that the remaining matches will begin in the third round of the Imperial City Chess Tournament.

Sure, a blizzard is better to stock up and unleash a powerful attack.

“We’ve done most of what we needed to do. Now it’s up to Ke Zhiguang… How is he doing? He seems to have been in seclusion for a long time,” Nikkaze asked.

“I called him this morning, and he said everything was normal.” Harushima Kashiwa gently shook her head.

"No, what do you mean by 'everything is normal'?"

"Who knows? He's always been so abstract in his speech."

"But since he said so, it should be fine, right? We just need to focus on our own side."

After a brief exchange, everyone fell silent again, gazing intently at the frosty white distance.

Winter is coming.

......

.......

At home, Ke Zhiguang held a cup of hot coffee, staring blankly at the screen in front of him.

(9/10)

This data has been stuck for several days, as if it has been permanently frozen, just like not being able to see the distant view outside the window.

Just as Zero said, the difficulty of the final level will increase by another level.

"This final hurdle is actually this difficult?"

“Of course, this is the final boss. Don’t think it’s like the NES version of Metal Gear, the weakest game boss in history, where players just need to diligently feed bullets into the tube and the bullets will hit the boss who can’t fight back,” Zero said.

Hmm... While her use of this joke was as sharp as ever, there was something odd about her description...

Just as he was about to open matchmaking again, Zero reached out and pressed on the controller of the KOZhiguang, interrupting this solo spellcasting session.

"Why don't you take a break first? You're going to face the final boss today, so it's not good to expend too much energy," Zero said.

"Neither Yagami Kunikyo nor the upcoming tenth match will be an easy boss, and... there has never been a clear instruction that you must clear the game before you can defeat Yagami Kunikyo."

"Really? You think I'd let it through just because you say that? What a joke." Ke Zhiguang said with a cheeky grin at the end.

He continued, "I used to think that the Scroll of Life and Death wouldn't need to be used, the power of sacrifice wouldn't need to be used, and during the Dragon Throne battle, I thought I wouldn't need to use anything... But as it turns out, the facts proved that none of the necessary methods were omitted."

“That was only at a crucial moment, when I used all sorts of tricks I had prepared for you. We’re still far from that crucial moment. This match is a best-of-five series. You can consider giving us a two-game handicap first, and then see if you can come back to win three games,” Zero said lightly.

"This... although something feels off, I can't quite refute it for the time being..."

"The match starts at 4 PM, with each side having three hours and three one-minute countdowns. At this pace, another night match is inevitable." Zero seemed to be urging Ke Zhiguang to make the most of his rest time.

"This is really... In my memory, chess matches usually start around 10:30 in the morning. How come after arriving in this world, they can play until the wee hours every day?" Ke Zhiguang gave a rare wry smile.

"By the way, the media outside are going crazy trying to find you, hoping to get some shocking pre-match trash talk out of you, but you keep [Shadow of the Crane] running the whole time, so they don't know how to contact you."

"Oh? Then I'll trouble them to keep busy for a while. I haven't been in contact with the outside world for a long time, and my mouth is not fluent anymore. I need to call up some acquaintances to chat and get back into the swing of things."

"I think so too."

After saying that, Zero snapped his fingers, and the front door of the foyer suddenly opened automatically.

"Let's just go for a walk outside. It would be even better if we could run into a few familiar people and chat with them," Zero said.

......

.......

Ke Zhiguang was thus kicked out of his home by zero.

It feels like a guy who's been staying home too long is being dragged out of the house by his mom.

On the streets in winter, frost descends like mist, giving the city an ethereal quality it never had before. There are far fewer cars on the streets, and much less of the usual honking noise.

However, the Christmas music quickly brought the city back to normalcy. Fathers carried their children into family restaurants, melancholic photographers captured the streets and buildings shrouded in the cold fog, and couples strolled on the arched bridge spanning the river. Everything seemed no different from usual.

Tranquil, exceptionally tranquil.

I thought that facing a finals-level competition like this, I would feel excited, just like in previous competitions, but I was surprisingly calm.

Is he about to ascend the throne?

Or has he truly reached the Grandmaster level?

Or perhaps deep down you feel that the story is far from over, and this current challenge is just an ordinary hurdle?

With these thoughts in mind, Ke Zhiguang walked slowly down the street.

......

......

Yagami Kunikyo arrived at the top of the building, which was higher than his office and offered a wider view.

A helicopter landed on the nearby helipad, and soon it would take Yagami Kunikyo to Tokyo Tower to guard the pinnacle of the Go world.

"Actually, I have a question..." Xiu Ce muttered to himself from a short distance away.

"What's your question?" Yixin asked.

"Why does Lord Kokukyo spend all day overlooking the street scene? Or is it that people in high positions of power and influence like to do this?"

Yixin seemed to have been enlightened: "Good question! I've had this question for a long time!"

The butler, embarrassed, replied, "Well... how should I put it? Mr. Guojing only stands up and moves around occasionally; he doesn't stare at the street all day long."

Shusaku and Isshin both looked on with suspicion.

Realizing he couldn't continue the conversation along that line of questioning, the butler cleared his throat and replied, "Lord Guojing, he used to be a very low-level person who longed to be able to look down on the city from a very high place."

Yixin and Xiusheng realized that the butler was about to reveal some inside information about the capital of Yagami, so they shut up and listened attentively.

"He's a man who's always wanted to climb to the top, whether in terms of actual heights or other heights... That's all I have to say."

"Tch! All this cryptic stuff, who can understand it! What about the inside story? What about the past? For example, how many women did Lord Kokukyo have, whether he had any illegitimate daughters, that's what we want to hear!" Shusaku and Isshin simultaneously launched into a tirade.

"Oh, this..."

Suddenly, the distant capital of the Night God Kingdom turned its head: "Hey...!"

The two men, who had been so arrogant and demanding inside information just a moment ago, suddenly squatted down with their hands behind their heads, trembling and afraid of being beaten.

"I wasn't talking about the two of you."

With that, Yagami Kunikyo turned his gaze to the butler: "We can set off now."

"clear."

The helicopter's rotor blades took off, carrying Yagami Kunikyo into the frosty sky, their destination Tokyo Tower.

......

......

The sky began to darken rapidly, transitioning from a bluish-gray hue to pitch black, and then immediately turning into night.

Like being woken up by an alarm clock, neon lights come on, and it's time to go to work on time. At the bustling intersection, one large screen after another lights up, and the graceful figures of idols float in the air, accompanied by melodious electronic music.

Something that had been accumulating for a long time began to stir in the darkness.

A cold snowflake landed on Ke Zhiguang's face, and he looked up in surprise... to find that it was snowing.

Everyone stared blankly at the sky, but instead of being stunned, they were filled with joy and couldn't help but stretch their hands out towards the sky, as if they wanted to touch some kind of blessing.

Large snowflakes were falling from the sky, and under the lamplight, every snowflake in the night sky could be clearly heard.

Cheers erupted around Ke Zhiguang, as several girls who looked like high school students hugged each other and cheered, while children ran around.

As I said before, Tokyo, a megacity with tens of millions of people and located near the ocean, should theoretically be immune to snow, let alone such a heavy snowfall of northern scale, as if it had transported everyone to Hokkaido.

How wonderful!

However, behind this beauty lies a quiet brewing of disaster; what blossoms is not tender fruit, but the eerie flower of death.

Just as Ke Zhiguang was making this analogy in his mind, an unusual scene occurred.

A string of sparks exploded on the power lines not far away, and pedestrians fled in panic.

Then the power suddenly went out in the main area, and ten thousand screams of "Eh!" came from all around.

It looks like something catastrophic is on its way.

"Alright, then..." Ke Zhiguang downed the hot chocolate in his hand in one gulp and casually tossed the cup into the trash can.