The work of the Go master

He stopped moving.

I played two games of chess yesterday, one against the shop manager and the other against that mysterious student, whom I'll call Ghost.

I won the game against the shop manager decisively, but it's hard to say about the game against Ghost.

Only after 150 moves or more will the system that generates items determine the outcome of the game. If the player kills the opponent's dragon as early as move 86, and the opponent simply resigns, the system will not recognize the win.

Strictly speaking, this game against Ghost King only went up to the 149th move.

The opponent's 150th move, which was their last move, landed on a single line, essentially a resignation.

There are many ways to concede defeat. You can press the timer or tell the referee that you have lost. But the most formal way to concede is to take out two pieces and place them in the far corner of the board.

It's similar to what happens in Yu-Gi-Oh!: when you realize you can't win, you just face down all your cards on the table.

So, I guess I won last night?

Of course, this kind of victory is not considered a victory in Ke Zhiguang's eyes. After carefully reviewing the game last night, he found that the situation was quite subtle.

Both sides have comparable strength and solid ground, and their scores are almost identical. Their scores are also evenly matched, so it should be a spectacular final showdown.

Although endgame play is his weakness, he is very confident that he can unleash a powerful move at crucial moments.

Of course, this doesn't stop Ke Zhiguang from happily accepting the items dropped by his opponent. Winning the game in terms of strategy and winning the game as determined by the system are obviously unrelated.

Ke Zhiguang carefully lifted the curtain on the chessboard, fearing that Ghost King might actually reveal something sinister and suddenly give people a jump scar.

I originally thought that after acquiring the Insight skill, daily box openings would become boring, but unexpectedly, the mystery and anticipation level have increased even more.

The curtain was lifted, revealing three other items on the chessboard besides the store manager's rent coupons.

Item 1: [Special Item: Multi-Challenge Ticket x3]

[I'll give you three chances to be Ip Man]

Here they come! Three multi-challenge tickets! Now I can take on thirty!

Prop 2: [Synthetic material: ancient cloth]

[Give it to a trustworthy dwarven blacksmith and let him forge you a new set of equipment.]

Ok?

Forget it, stop making all that "uh-huh" all day long.

The moment Ke Zhiguang mentally labeled Shang Xixing as a blacksmith shop, he had a feeling that he might be able to find some crafting materials and that he would need to ask him to forge things in the future.

Ke Zhiguang glanced back at the genteel suit hanging on the wall.

Now I have two sets of skins. I can change them depending on my mood and the opponent's characteristics. That's awesome!

However, Ke Zhiguang touched the fabric to feel its texture and looked at the item's name: "Ancient Fabric".

I don't think this is meant to be used for making suits.

It is more likely that it was used to create clothing for ancient nobles.

That works too. I could have one of Sai's hunting clothes.

Item 3: [Location Description Card: Peach Blossom Studio]

A cradle of geniuses, a blessed land for cultivating the art of Go.

Be careful in that room.

this.....

When the location card for Yugenji Temple was released, it included a warning at the end: "Be careful of that monk."

As a result, it now uses the same sentence structure to say, "Be careful of that room."

What exactly are its intentions?

Ke Zhiguang glanced at the address of Taohuazhai and realized—it seemed familiar.

He quickly picked up the "rent coupon" and compared it with the coordinates on the location information card.

Exactly the same.

My heart felt heavy.

So it seems that the room that's being rented out at a low price must be the one in the "Beware of That Room" ad.

this.....

If I'm not mistaken, this is what you call "absolutely necessary to go," right?

In the realm of nothingness, beyond the reach of mortals, the gears of fate creaked twice.

My blood boiled again, and the heroic spirit I felt a few days ago when I slew the demonic dragon returned.

Life is a necessity.

The practice of Go is also essential.

On the other hand, if there really are any demons or monsters in this world waiting for him to slay, then he will not hesitate to do so.

Only when you truly possess the ability do you understand that with great power comes great responsibility. This is not a weak person begging for mercy from the strong, but rather the inherent arrogance of the strong.

Of course, if there are no monsters or ghosts, then it's just to satisfy your curiosity, your desire for novelty, or even to be a little mischievous.

On the other hand, this room may also be related to yesterday's ghost.

It is well known that when two unusual things happen to one person in quick succession, there must be a connection between them.

After having lunch with the bento boxes he had stocked up on, Ke Zhiguang prepared to go out, carefully considering whether to invite some people to go with him.

Forget it, just to be on the safe side, I'll go alone.

I called Shuicheng to let him know that I had something to do today, and then I went out.

After a two-hour drive, he arrived at the designated apartment, passing through tree-lined paths and an exaggeratedly steep ramp often seen in anime, before finally reaching the place.

The location is exceptionally quiet, with a park and a bus station nearby, making transportation very convenient. Naturally, the land prices and rents here are also extremely high.

The apartment is in a six-story building. The units aren't very big, but they're definitely big enough for Tokyo.

The apartment is named Peach Blossom Studio, although there is no trace of peach blossoms to be seen yet.

Ke Zhiguang walked into the apartment through the main entrance.

A chess notation, or rather a chess game, was prominently displayed on the apartment's notice board; the game was in the middle stages.

Since no difficulty level is displayed, it's probably not a problem; it's just a simple chess game.

Ke Zhiguang stared at the notice board for a long time. Now it was Black's turn to move first, and he was trying to find the optimal solution on the board.

But after thinking for a few minutes, I couldn't come up with an answer right away. The current situation is one of fierce fighting and mutual attacks. There is a ko fight in the corner, and there is also a pressing situation in the middle. It is not so easy to see at a glance. I have to find a board and set it up myself.

The title of this chess game is "Daily Practice".

That's outrageous! What kind of apartment building would use such a high-difficulty thing as a daily practice?

Considering the location card's description of it as a "cradle of geniuses," and given its proximity to the chess academy, the answer becomes clear.

This place is either a gathering place for professional Go players or an apartment building specifically for rent to students.

He made the right choice coming here.

This is exactly the kind of place he's looking for!

"Sir, you've been pondering this chess score for so long, have you come up with an answer?" A gentle voice came from behind the counter.

She was a woman who looked like a dormitory supervisor, wearing a traditional kimono embroidered with tiny flowers.

Surprisingly, props were visible on her body: cherry blossom-flavored potato chips.

This is a bit ahead of its time. Nowadays, potato chips are at most barbecue flavored. Cherry blossom flavored potato chips won't be available until more than 30 years later, when someone comes up with such an outrageous flavor.

But it doesn't matter. After all, Ke Zhiguang has already seen a small TV that can run 24K videotapes, so it's perfectly reasonable for him to have cherry blossom flavored potato chips.

"I've come up with a possible answer. Now it's Black's turn to move first. I think it would be better to play a straight move here." Ke Zhiguang pointed at the board with his finger.

"Then we typed it out and posted it. The rest is too complicated to figure out in a short time," Ke Zhiguang said.

If he were personally engaged in such a tense battle on the chessboard, he might be able to figure out the outcome after much deliberation. But as a relaxed bystander, it's already quite impressive that he could think this far.

"Sir, you're right. That's the correct solution for this game. It's already very good that you thought of the first move," the dormitory manager said with a smile.

"Excuse me, is this rental specifically for professional Go players or for Go students?"

"This place is for rent to graduate students. Only some outstanding graduate students are eligible to live here. Of course, if they achieve professional status and embark on their professional careers, they can still rent here, but the rent will be higher."

“I’m not an insei, but I’m a student of Saito 9-dan. Can I rent a room here?” said Koji Mitsuaki.

"Oh? Mr. Saito has taken on an apprentice?" The dormitory supervisor's eyes lit up.

"I guess you could say I'm just nominally renting it... I'd like to rent room 336, is that okay?"

The dormitory manager smiled knowingly: "336, sir, are you sure you want to rent this room?"

“I heard it’s being rented out at an extremely low price.”

"That's right. Its monthly rent is now only 8 yen, which is already a Hokkaido-level price."

"Is there some kind of ghost story behind its low rent?"

Ke Zhiguang had already considered this possibility.

Based on past life experiences, many Japanese horror films and TV dramas like to use this as the opening: the protagonist is "lucky" enough to rent a room at an extremely low price, but strange things start happening shortly after moving in. Later, they find out that there was a bloody incident in the house before, and it is haunted.

Actually, Europe and America also use this approach, but they all buy luxury homes, while Japan is more down-to-earth and insists on targeting a small rental building.

"Of course nothing like that could happen. Anyone qualified to live in our apartment is a child deeply loved by the God of Go. How could they possibly encounter something so terrible?" The dormitory manager smiled sweetly and professionally. "Besides, sir, I think you're the kind of person who isn't afraid of ghosts or gods, right?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I just received a baptism of Buddha's light a few days ago."

Ke Zhiguang didn't know if the other party really had some kind of supernatural ability to see through people at a glance, so he gave a vague answer.

He's been dealing with these kinds of people every day lately, so he's gotten used to it.

"Then please come with me, I'll show you the room."

The dormitory supervisor gracefully rose from behind the counter, and Ke Zhiguang followed her.

The apartment's main color scheme is pink and blue, with dolphins and bubbles painted on the wallpaper, giving it a very youthful feel. There are no paintings or flower pots that would give off an old-fashioned or bloated vibe.

Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, you can see a robust peach tree standing in the courtyard of the apartment. Although it is not the flowering season now, you can imagine how magnificent it will be when it is in full bloom.