The work of the Go master

Even if you cut out her silhouette, you could still recognize her at a glance.

If she let her hair down, she probably wouldn't be recognized.

—He...recognized me so easily?

After hearing this answer, Harushima Kashima felt a tender flutter in her heart, as if her heart had been struck.

"Hmm...yes, after all, it's me. It's no wonder I left such a deep impression on you. It's only right." Harushima Shika turned her back, blushing as she spoke demurely.

His legs were so happy they could barely close.

"It seems that Tsuda-senpai is in a tough fight." Koji walked to a Go board, and this game happened to be the club's vanguard match.

Ok?

Why is this person suddenly ignoring me and starting to talk about chess?

Harushima Kaoru was thus forced back to the dull reality, and she suddenly noticed that Koji Hikaru was drinking some strange beverage.

The beverage can was green, but it wasn't Sprite; it was covered in English writing, making it seem like it was imported.

It says 7up on it.

What are you drinking?

7UP.

Do you have this kind of drink?

"It's only sold in Europe and America right now, but it will soon be available in Japan... Here, I have another bottle for you, as compensation for not bringing you milk these past few days." Ke Zhiguang took out another bottle of 7UP from his pocket and gave it to the other person.

"I always feel like you can pull out some weird drinks..." Harujima Kashiwagi said without any hesitation, and accepted the drink after making a couple of sarcastic remarks.

—Hmm, this flavor is milder than Sprite, with a very gentle texture.

These two bottles of 7UP were obtained after defeating Tsuda Ichiro several times. As for why they were obtained, Ke Zhiguang can only speculate that it may be related to his broom-shaped hairstyle.

That's right, it's perfectly reasonable that this 7UP broom head exploded a can of 7UP.

This bottle of 7UP is naturally categorized as a "consumable," but its effects are somewhat mystical—

[After drinking the first bottle, your health will increase by 2, but this only happens once!]

When Ke Zhiguang first saw this effect, he was puzzled. Could even carbonated drinks have nutritional value?

But upon closer reflection, it's reasonable that the President, who drinks sugar-free cola all day long and remains full of energy, would benefit from drinking 7UP to boost his health.

Although it's unclear what 2 health points mean, more is definitely better.

Unfortunately, only the first bottle of 7UP was effective; after that, it just became a regular beverage.

"Who are the members of your Go club who will be participating?" Harushima Shika asked.

"The vanguard is Tsuda Ichiro, the second striker is Kima Doi, the center is Hira Minori, the vice-captain is me, and the captain is Shiro Mengyin, who is also the president of our Go club," said Ke Zhiguang.

"You're not the commander-in-chief?" Harushima Shika asked, puzzled. In her opinion, the position of commander-in-chief should be held by whoever is the most capable.

Does he mean he's implying that there are stronger players than him in this Go club?

"President Bai Meng is very strong and deserves the position of captain," Ke Zhiguang said.

Harujima Kaoru had heard the shop manager mention the name Shiro Mengyinyu before, and knew that she had the skill level of an amateur 6-dan, which was rare among high school students, especially since she was a woman.

Although in theory Go is a mental sport and there should be no difference between men and women, in reality, male Go players are generally much stronger than female players. If a woman can play Go well, she will be treated like a princess in the Go world.

But Harushima Kazuya still didn't think this high school princess could be stronger than Koji Mitsuaki.

Although when I last saw Ke Zhiguang, he was only a strong amateur third dan, who knows what kind of transformation he has undergone in the last few days.

—His aura has become even stronger now.

Feeling the oppressive atmosphere at such close range, Harushima Shika swallowed hard, as if taking a sharp breath.

As a result, he accidentally choked.

—Cough, cough, damn it! I accidentally choked on 7UP!

"Why don't you go find that Bai Meng or something and try to compete for the captain's position in the next game?" After a cough, Harushima Kashima said awkwardly.

"We'll talk about it after this competition. I'm definitely going to play a few games with her," Ke Zhiguang said confidently. "The position of the captain isn't that important. The format of this team competition is very special. The vice-captain's position is almost the same as the captain's. If I can keep winning, she won't even have a chance to play."

"So, you're going to steal all the limelight from her?" A sly smile crept across Harushima Kashima's lips; this was exactly the scenario she'd been hoping for.

Women, you know, are always more ruthless when it comes to other women.

"Qingdao, I have a rather serious question I'd like to ask you," Ke Zhiguang suddenly said, his tone abruptly changing.

"What's the problem?"

"What is the Black Workshop?"

Harushima Deer choked on a mouthful of salt soda.

Chapter Forty-Eight: Clear Swamp and Raging Marsh

"Are you serious?" Harushima Shika cautiously confirmed, this was no joke.

“I only know that it’s a gambling den, an illegal area, but I have no intention of going there to make a quick buck. I’m just wondering if I could go there and shut it down.” Ke Zhiguang stroked his chin, having been seriously considering this matter since yesterday.

In fact, he didn't determine that the Lord of the Swamp was in the Black Market through concrete evidence, but rather through abstract association.

The chess games on those flyers are likely related to gambling on chess. The specific operation involves gamblers choosing black or white, and then continuing according to that chess game.

It's a very unique way to gamble, and it can indeed take into account even a terrible player like Yoshida.

Black Market is a swamp, and its owner is naturally the swamp's master.

That should be the logical flow of the plot.

"Has this place ever ripped you off? Why are you kicking them out the moment you come in?" Harushima Kashiwa asked speechlessly.

"No, I've only heard that such a place exists. It seems like a den of villains. Destroying them should give me a lot of merit points."

Harushima Kashiwa was speechless, thinking to herself, "This person... really doesn't make any sense at all!"

But, well, he was the type to attack head-on, so it's not really fair to accuse him of sneaking up or lacking sportsmanship...

"Let's get this straight, the black market isn't illegal, it's legal. Anyone over 17 can enter, and the stakes aren't that outrageous, with a maximum of 20. But the returns are incredibly high, several times the initial investment," said Harushima Kashima.

"You can get in at 17?"

“Yes, it was revised a few years ago. This is… the power of the Imperial City Chess.” Harushima Shika sighed, her strength waning.

The title "Oshiro Chess" once again entered Ke Zhiguang's ears.

It is the highest-paying of the seven titles, and also the most privileged, the pinnacle that countless people dream of.

The name has a historical background. During the Edo period, the four great Go families of Honinbo, Yasui, Inoue, and Hayashi would gather in Edo Castle once a year to play Go in front of the Emperor and the Shogun. It was a competition of the Holy Grail War level.

Later, the Black Ships incident occurred, and the Westerners kicked down Japan's gates, so the Oshiro Go tournament could no longer continue. However, after the Meiji Restoration, title battles rose to prominence, and the name Oshiro Go was brought back to life, becoming the top title and wielding considerable power, judging all aspects of Go.

If we exclude the monk from Yugenji Temple, then this Imperial Chess Player could be considered the de facto emperor of the chess world.

"So how much strength would it take to kick this place away?" Ke Zhiguang continued bluntly.

"I don't know either, but professional chess players and amateur masters are prohibited from entering here. There are many people who don't like this place. If professionals could enter, this place would have been flattened long ago."

"Is an amateur 6-dan enough?" Ke Zhiguang asked.

"You should be able to get in... Wait! You already have the skill level of an amateur 6-dan?"

"I think so, I believe."

"What the hell is this?! Give me a definite answer!"

Ke Zhiguang also understood this very well. Judging from his current skill level, which allows him to reliably beat Cang Yuqiao even when playing evenly, he should be at least a 6-dan. If he suddenly has a breakthrough and reaches 7-dan, that should be enough to beat him.

"In short, if you really want to go, you have to be mentally prepared. I've heard that place is very eerie; many excellent amateur Go players suddenly underperform there and end up leaving in frustration," Harushima Shika warned.

“Suddenly malfunctioning…” Ke Zhiguang repeated the word, sounding very familiar.

His first thought was of spiritual objects, such as the lucky cat placed on the Go board counter, which was specifically targeting Yoshida; to put it bluntly, it was bad feng shui.

Does this mean that in the black market, there are also some kind of weapons of mass destruction similar to a lucky cat? Like laundry detergent... Pshaw.

"Thank you for telling me so much. If I really want to go, I will definitely be prepared," Ke Zhiguang said.

The most urgent task is definitely to improve our own hard power.

His chess skills have improved so rapidly because of the chess manual from his previous life indicated by the treasure map he obtained.

Each time you thoroughly understand a game record, your skill level can increase by at least two dan.

He didn't know how many chess scores were waiting for him to discover, but the [Treasure Map] hadn't been triggered for over a week, as if the game company had announced the game's hiatus.

Challenge Scrolls and Event Trigger Scrolls drop randomly, and you can defeat anyone you want, but Treasure Maps seem to be different.

After defeating his first opponent, Takashi Hase, he obtained his first treasure map, which can be interpreted as a beginner's journey.

After defeating Yoshida, a second [Treasure Map] will drop. This can be understood as a requirement for completing the purification quest, since the [White-tailed Fox] is at stage 3, so a second [Treasure Map] is needed to help him upgrade to stage 3.

After defeating the White-tailed Fox, the third Treasure Map will drop immediately. The next goal is to reach level 5.

I thought that after clearing the fifth stage of the Azure Bridge, the fourth one should drop, but I didn't expect to only get a [Weather Doll].

Who could it be, the possessor of the fourth treasure map...?

It could be Bai Mengyinyu, or it could be that Inoue Hoshia.

After thinking for a while, Ke Zhiguang shook his head.

Adjust your thinking and don't fall into this trap of relying on experience books, just like some countries that fell into the resource trap and ultimately couldn't get out.

He had to prepare for the worst—the treasure map had been distributed, he had recalled some of his past life's memories, and replicated some of his chess skills; now it was time to roll up his sleeves and fight hand-to-hand.

Use talent and hard work.

"Then I'll be going now," said Harushima Kashima.

"Are you leaving so soon?"

"I thought you had a match today, which made me rush over to watch," Harushima Shika said with a sneer.

But she quickly changed her tune, her tone suddenly becoming assertive: "But, but don't get too cocky. Even on the day of your competition, I might not be able to make it. It depends on my mood!"

"Oh, I understand. I'll assume you'll definitely come."