The work of the Go master

It felt like the students only dared to get up from their seats and breathe loudly after the teacher had walked away.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed the night view outside the window.

Although it was past midnight, the area around Tokyo Tower was still lit up with lights that never slept, and the snowflakes had stopped falling.

Christmas is just around the corner, so how should we spend it? Are there any traditions or customs associated with it?

After thinking about this and that for a long time, he finally took the elevator downstairs and left.

......

......

The battles came to an end one by one, and peace returned to both inside and outside Tokyo, with the scattered sparks of fire dissipating in the wind.

In Setagaya Ward, under the full moon, the holy Buddha clasped his hands together again, chanting scriptures to deliver the souls of the dead.

At its feet, black scales shattered, the burning black fire was dying down, and moonlight repaired the earth, as if the earth-shattering battle had never happened.

The two giant dragons fell at the feet of the holy Buddha, their red light in their eyes fading away.

This... is less like reciting scriptures for salvation and more like using a Gatling gun for salvation...

"Is this the strength of the number one expert of this era? To actually win against the combined attack of the two of us, I've learned a lot." One of the two spoke, clenching his fists.

Shi Xin nodded: "You two are indeed the two strongest ancient chess masters. Dealing with both of you at the same time is already my limit. If a third opponent appears, even if he is only half as strong as the two of you, I will not be able to win."

Upon hearing this answer, the two smiled helplessly: "I see, not modest at all. Perhaps this is the arrogance unique to chess players... In that case, you're just an ordinary person."

Shi Xin remained silent.

"The feeling of being invincible is certainly something to aspire to, but if only one person is at the top, it would be too lonely at the top. So I'm very fortunate that we were born in the same era," one of them said.

The other person chimed in, "You must have studied and reviewed the 'Ten Games of Danghu' that the two of us played many times, right?"

Shi Xin nodded: "Of course, that is the greatest masterpiece of medieval Go. Even if I were to study it now, I would still benefit from it."

"We are very satisfied to receive such high praise from you."

"I hope that one day you will also be able to play your own Danghu Ten Games and pass them on to future generations."

Then their voices began to fade and eventually disappeared.

With a thud, the two ordinary boys collapsed onto the tatami mats, which were covered in mercury.

Their game was a single, all-or-nothing affair, a gamble that had them on their lives, and now their mission had failed.

Shi Xiangxia and Fan Xiping, two ancient chess masters, have officially retired.

......

......

In Shinjuku Ward, the chess game was also coming to an end, and to everyone's surprise, this game was the last to finish.

At some point, the fighting outside all ceased, and only this place remained alive in the entire world.

On the chessboard, the battle raged to every corner, lasting a full 287 moves until the very last moment.

Starting from the lower right corner of the board, when the thick wall of black stones and the empty territory of white stones are closely connected, an avalanche-like wave begins, rolling from the lower right corner all the way to the lower left corner.

Then, on the left side and in the center, the pieces are all moving in an orderly fashion towards the same direction.

The unique characteristics of medieval Go, such as a decisive battle that can move mountains, were fully demonstrated in this game, with neither side making a single move that allowed them to gain the initiative.

In the center of the battlefield, scattered sparks danced, but there was mostly ice. A large amount of Crimson Lotus Fire was absorbed and evaporated into water vapor filling the sky.

Moisture clung to Qingdaolu's eyelashes, making it impossible for her to tell if it was sweat or something else.

"Fourteen and a half pieces, in ancient chess terms, that's how it is." Yixin shrugged, giving a "yes" look.

Only in ancient chess would the expression "winning by a number of stones" be used; in modern chess, the focus is on the objective, with one stone equaling two points.

For top Go players, they generally have a general sense of the situation before the game ends, and can predict the outcome in advance. They will admit defeat when necessary. However, the tradition of medieval Go is that the game must be finished to find out the exact number of wins and losses.

This is also why Shiorijima Shika played this game to the very end, following an ancient method.

"If this were our time, Lu Zi, losing this much to me would have meant losing a lot of money." Yi Xin tossed the two chess pieces up and caught them like coins.

“Hmm…” Harushima Shika seemed too lazy to pay attention to the other person, resting her chin on her hand and seriously reviewing the game.

When the final move of the 130th move was played, the game did indeed shake. All the complex roots began to disintegrate, evolving into a battle to slay the dragon.

As she delved deeper into the calculations, a diagram of a horn-shaped struggle appeared at the end of Qingdaolu's calculation path, and she rushed towards that end without hesitation.

However, the old man suddenly turned around nimbly and threw the dragon away with a snap, his amazing skill as if he were possessed by the spirit of Tatsumi Koshikawa.

The two dragons' breaths ultimately prevailed, with the side of ice gaining the upper hand, and ice spikes blooming all over the mountains and cities.

"You have great eyesight," Isshin suddenly said.

"Huh?" Harushima Shika was taken aback.

"I'm praising you. I was worried that if you lost the game like this, you might suddenly burst into tears or something, but seeing your mature eyes now, I immediately let you go."

"Isn't this just the first game of a best-of-three series?" Harushima Shika looked at her opponent with suspicion, feeling that the other person was making a fuss over nothing.

“Okay, keep this momentum going, I expect you to win two more games in a row,” Yixin said, pointing at his opponent.

"Pah, pah, pah, you're on the opposing side now, don't try to get close to me."

The moment the game ended, that sense of destiny in the final battle vanished instantly. However, it was not over; it was merely temporarily sealed away, waiting to be unsealed again in the next game.

"Goodbye, I look forward to seeing you perform even better next time," Ichishin said as we parted at the school gate.

Since it's the women's cup, there are shuttle buses to take people home from the entrance, whereas the men's group doesn't have this privilege.

"See you next time..." Harushima Kaka leaned against the back seat of the car window, looking at herself in the window, and became melancholy again.

The car drove on the snow-covered road, leaving two lonely tracks in its wake.

The fighting in Tokyo has finally stopped today.

Chapter 47 The Final Blizzard Is Coming

On December 20th, as dawn broke, the distant sea shimmered with the light of awakening. Tokyo was still shrouded in winter fog, giving one the illusion of being back in the foggy city of London.

The abnormal weather over the past few days has made many people feel uneasy, especially with the increasingly frequent disasters lately, making people feel as if some kind of apocalyptic scenario is unfolding.

Ke Zhiguang sat down in front of the TV on the sofa as usual and continued to study and review the situation.

Looking at yesterday's match data, a winding win rate fluctuation line appears at the bottom.

With the advantage of the new layout, he once again led the winning rate, reaching a high of 88%. However, as the game entered the mid-game, this advantage began to wane, and on the 56th move, it plummeted like an avalanche, dropping to 15%.

Fortunately, Yagami Kunikyo's next move brought the win rate back up. The win rate fluctuated like the stock market for several moves before finally stabilizing at 40%.

Few people are qualified to analyze this game. From a human perspective, this game... or rather the entire best-of-five series, is an impeccable pinnacle of competition. But in the eyes of the gods, it's like the two sides are slapping each other with spoons... euphemistically called feeding each other with spoons.

The win rate review is over, and it's roughly as I expected. This victory was harder than the first game, and the steep win rate speaks for itself.

A cry of "Oops!" came from behind the kitchen counter, prompting Ke Zhiguang to turn his gaze over: "What happened? Did the food explode again?"

"Hmm... I knew it wasn't a wise move to cook curry in a kettle." Zero pondered the messy scene on the kitchen counter.

In front of her, the kitchen counter was covered in golden curry paste, and no one knew how she had done it.

Hmm... this British maid is gradually developing in the direction of Indian maids, with a hint of curry.

"Okay, close your eyes now," Ling said to Ke Zhiguang.

With a blink of an eye, the mess on the kitchen counter vanishes instantly. The non-observational effect of quantum mechanics is particularly outstanding; it automatically cleans itself as soon as it is out of sight for even a second.

"By the way, I defeated Yagami Kunikyo in the second game. Did I get any loot?"

"No... To be honest, the videotape that you revealed after you won the first game was actually given to you in advance. You would only be able to reveal it after you won the entire five-game match."

Ke Zhiguang was startled: "Oh? You mean you already knew in advance that I would defeat him?"

"How could that be? Who can predict the future? If you really do end up being killed by Yagami Kunikyo, remember to pay me back for this videotape," Zero said with a smile.

As if reminded, Ke Zhiguang asked seriously, "Zero, Yagami Kunikyo said he could also get items from me, is that true?"

Zero paused for a moment before nodding: "It's true."

"So what exactly will I reveal?"

The items a person can obtain are often closely related to the individual; he simply couldn't understand what could possibly drop from him.

You can't exactly drop a [Dou Dizhu Skill Scroll], can you?

"Wait, could it be... a videotape of my own personal experiences?" Ke Zhiguang suddenly realized this.

That is indeed possible.

The gaps in his memory may be related to this.

Ke Zhiguang recalled his conversation with Yixin, who had specifically mentioned obsession, which might be the same thing.

Add to that the memory materials sealed in the game console... and it seems like an amazing clue has been pieced together.

Zero stared at the other person silently, but after a long time shook his head: "No, I don't know what will drop from you. From my perspective, your item drop list shows a question mark."

"question mark?"

"Yes, it's a question mark. The only thing I can see... is the thick black fire it carries. It's a terrifying thing."

Just as Ke Zhiguang's heart sank, Zero spoke again: "But you don't need to worry. Even if you lose to Yagami Kunikyo, nothing terrible will happen."

"Really?"

“It’s true, I can guarantee that.” Zero nodded firmly at Ke Zhiguang.

It remains a very reassuring guarantee, as if with this guarantee, all worries have been swept away.

However... just like a gear suddenly jamming while running normally, Ke Zhiguang's thoughts paused.

It's a bit strange.

That sense of disharmony reappeared, like static entering my ears.

Lately, whenever Zero makes assurances and promises to him, he feels a sense of security and stops asking questions; it has become a fixed formula.

Is it possible that... Zero is manipulating his fortune, giving himself psychological suggestions?

Ke Zhiguang looked at Zero with surprise, seemingly trying to understand everything with his expression, but this time Zero did not answer his question quickly with just a glance, as he usually did.