Hikaru no Go: I taught you Go, and you made the Kisei cry?

He finished speaking.

Makoto Ito was about to leave the minister's office when he rushed off to report to President Ryukawa and request that all resources be mobilized to increase the newspaper's print run.

If this task is completed well, my year-end bonus this year will at least double!

"Minister, I don't think THESAI will rain again tonight, right?"

Ohara Namajiro thought about it and said:

"You know, his opponent just now was Kobayashi, an 8th-dan player!"

"To fight such a master for nearly a hundred moves, even the legendary Go master Qingyuan would probably need a rest. How could THESAI possibly..."

Just before Ohara Namijiro uttered the last word "can".

Sudden.

The door to the minister's office was pushed open again, and then a slightly trembling voice said:

"Minister... Big news! Just now, Kato Hachidan was defeated by THESAI!"

"and!"

The colleague who rushed in, his eyes filled with shock yet undisguised admiration, said:

"This time, THESAI once again only used less than a hundred moves!"

……

Chapter 46 Sixteen-Game Winning Streak! He Might Be Artificial Intelligence!

In Toya Kouhiro's villa.

The ashtray in front of Ogata Seiji was already piled high with scattered cigarette butts.

It has been more than three hours since THESAI went live.

In those three hours, Ogata Seiji had personally witnessed at least three professional sixth-dan players and two professional seventh-dan or higher players being defeated by THESAI.

This even includes a long-established Go legend, nicknamed "Heavenly Killer Star"—Kato Masao 8-dan!

"Unexpectedly, even Kato-senpai was defeated by THESAI..."

"Where on earth did this guy learn such domineering chess skills?"

Ogata Seiji stared intently at the computer screen, completely unaware that the cigarette between his fingers was almost burned out.

the other side.

Akira Touya was also intently watching the changes on the computer screen, his expression growing increasingly complex.

"If we get this far, we might be able to use the pressure to force Heizi back."

"But the black piece chose to push... he wanted to slowly crush the white piece."

“This playing style…is completely different from Su Ran's…”

"It's like the kind of stratagem that Shusaku's nemesis, Ota Yuzo, used in ancient times, with a hidden dagger in his hand."

"Su Ran, if it were you, you would definitely not hesitate to confront Bai Zi and fight him to the death."

"How can one person have completely different playing styles? THESAI... Could it be you, Su Ran-kun?"

A moment later, a pop-up window appeared on the computer.

"I voted."

Thesai won another game.

This is the eighth opponent he has defeated tonight.

Just like last time, they won all eight games.

and!

None of his opponents could last more than a hundred moves against him...

"THESAI has won again."

Ogata Seiji stubbed out his cigarette, his eyes flashing with a hint of fighting spirit.

"Mr. Ogata, could you... could you challenge THESAI? I... I want to play a game with THESAI!"

Suddenly, Akira Touya excitedly grabbed Seiji Ogata's wrist, his eyes blazing with boundless fighting spirit!

"I want to play against THESAI!"

Ogata Seiji looked at Touya Akira in surprise; he had never seen Akira Akira so out of control.

"Xiao Liang, you..."

After hesitating for a moment, Ogata Seiji nodded: "I'll give it a try."

Moving the mouse, Seiji Ogata checked THESAI's ranking points on the website. Currently, he has been awarded the title of 8-dan player by the official website with an impressive record of sixteen consecutive wins.

In this way, there is a very high probability that you will be matched with yourself.

According to the rules of the official Go website, players with similar skill levels are more likely to be matched together.

Because Ogata Seiji is a registered player at the Go Association, he still maintains his real-world rank even though he hasn't played many games online.

Professional 9th ​​Dan.

Therefore, as long as THESAI hasn't been matched with an opponent yet, the two of you will almost certainly meet after you click the match button.

really.

As Ogata Seiji clicked "match," a notification window quickly appeared:

[A suitable opponent has been matched for you. Opponent ID: THESAI. Would you like to start the match?]

Immediately afterwards, a pop-up window with a 30-second time limit appeared on the computer screen.

These 30 seconds are called the battle waiting period.

This option was added specifically to prevent either player from having to deal with unforeseen circumstances.

During this waiting period.

If a player is unwell, the match can be interrupted at any time without affecting their record.

As the thirty-second countdown ticked away, Akira Touya's fighting spirit grew even stronger.

"THESAI, I think I will learn a lot from playing against a master like you..."

Just as Akira Touya was eagerly anticipating the game, he began to play.

On the other end of the computer, Su Ran took a sip of the cola that Yuko Mitani had given him, just about to continue crushing the next opponent.

But suddenly, he caught a glimpse of the time frame in the lower right corner of the computer screen.

next moment.

He sprayed out all the cola he hadn't swallowed yet!

"Oh no! Oh no! It's almost midnight! The security guard is going to lock the gate again!"

Thinking of this, Su Ran no longer cared about playing chess with the opponent she had just matched with.

He quickly tapped the "Refuse Match" button, then turned and said to Yuko Mitani without turning back:

"Yuko-neechan, I have to go now! Could you please turn off the computer for me? Thank you! Goodbye!"

Done.

He then ran out of the internet cafe without looking back.

……

On the other end of the computer.

Akira Touya stared at the bright red message in front of him: "Match failed, your opponent has left the room," his face turning extremely grim.

He knew that THESAI wasn't necessarily targeting him.

but.

This feeling of being completely ignored without even a greeting...

That's really frustrating!

"Mr. Ogata, have you ever played against THESAI?"

Ogata Seiji subtly observed Touya Akira, then shook his head and replied, "No, I only heard about THESAI from an amateur Go player a few days ago, so I went online to check it out."

After saying that, Ogata Seiji took out paper and pen and began to draw the game record from THESAI's first move.

This is a good habit he developed before becoming a top chess player: whenever he sees a game played by a master, he reviews it from memory afterward.

While carefully recalling every move THESAI made, Ogata Seiji quickly sketched on a piece of paper, muttering to himself:

"I'm really curious, is there anyone on the internet who can defeat THESAI?"

Upon hearing Ogata Seiji's words, Touya Akira was visibly shaken:

"Mr. Ogata, do you really think... that even you are no match for THESAI?"

That's not it.

Ogata Seiji put down his pen and paper, thought about it seriously, and then said solemnly, "Actually, I'm starting to suspect that the THESAI on the other side of the computer is probably not a real person at all."

Ok?

Akira Touya didn't understand the meaning of Ogata Seiji's words for a moment, and looked at him in confusion.

That's right.

Ogata Seiji sat up straight, lit another cigarette, and exhaled smoke as he said:

"Xiao Liang, I wonder if you've ever heard of the term 'artificial intelligence'?"

Seeing Akira Touya's puzzled look, Seiji Ogata patiently explained:

"It must have been last year when I gave a lecture in the United States. There, I met a scholar who is very accomplished in the field of artificial intelligence development."

According to him, the tech company he works for is currently developing software specifically for playing Go, and its name is...