A young and beautiful girl greeted Shindo Hikari with a smile.
"Hi, Sister Sangu, I have to trouble you again today."
"It doesn't matter. The computer is empty anyway, but I have something to do this afternoon and will leave at four o'clock. You have to pay attention to the time."
"Hey, I won't cause you any trouble."
A month ago, during the summer vacation, Shindo Hikaru came into contact with online Go for the first time. Playing chess on the Internet, Shindo Hikaru was not worried about the exposure of his "chess prowess".
Because no one can find out through the network cable whether the person playing chess is a man or a woman, an adult or a child.
Therefore, on the Internet, he can let Zuo Wei play chess unscrupulously without worrying about his identity being exposed.
After saying hello to Sister Mitani, Shindo Hikari walked straight to the corner, turned on the computer skillfully, and logged into the World Go Network.
'Zuowei, Sister Sangu just said that we can only go down to four o'clock today.'
'It doesn't matter.'
Zuo Wei's wish is very simple, as long as he can play chess, even if the time is short, even if the opponent is weak.
He didn't care about any of this. Of course, if he had a choice, he would definitely want to compete with the masters.
It's a pity that the level of online chess players varies. Most of them are amateurs, but occasionally one or two masters will appear.
In the past month, the chess player that impressed Zuo Wei the most was a Datang chess player named ‘g’.
Others may not be sure, but Zuo Wei, his opponent, is extremely sure that 'g' is definitely a chess player from the Tang Dynasty. He can feel the strong Chinese style from Chu Ying.
I really want to play another round with him!
Just as Zuo Wei was sighing, Shindo Hikari pointed at the box that suddenly popped up on the screen.
'sai, someone has launched a challenge, but this person's name is so strange, j...u...e...y...i, what kind of strange letters are these?'
'Forget it, never mind!'
'Zuowei, let us kill it without leaving any trace behind!'
As he spoke, Shindo Hikari controlled the mouse and pressed the accept button.
The game begins!
SAI, Zhihei.
Jueyi (Excellent Art), Zhibai.
'Zuowei, do you still want to focus on the small eye first?'
Having played with Sawei countless times, Shindo Hikaru is already familiar with his habits as a chess player. Generally speaking, Sawei starts by occupying the small end first, a classic show-style opening.
'Well, seventeen of four, small head.'
Snap!
Snap!
From time to time, the sound of falling chess pieces came to mind in the headphones. After a dozen moves, Zuo Wei tightened the folding fan in his hand and fell into a long test.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes passed. Shindo Hikari turned his head and glanced at Zuowei with a solemn expression in surprise.
After only a dozen moves, Zuo Wei fell into a long test. Could it be that the players in this game were very good?
Shindo Hikari remembered clearly that the last time Sawei showed this expression was more than twenty days ago.
By the way, the name of the player in that game was also very strange. It seemed to be "g". Speaking of which, the naming rules of the two names seemed to be somewhat similar. It looked a bit like the Chinese pinyin introduced by the teacher.
Tick tock!
Tick tock!
Time passed slowly, and seeing that the allotted time was coming soon, Shindo Hikari finally couldn't help but speak out and urged.
'Zuowei? You haven't thought about it yet?'
After hesitating for a moment, Zuo Wei pointed to a certain point on the chessboard.
‘Seventeen-fifth, pull!’
This time, it was White's turn to fall into a long test. Taking advantage of the opponent's failure to make a move, Shindo Hikaru said curiously.
'Zuowei, is your opponent strong this time?'
'Well, no doubt, very strong!'
'Very?'
Shindo Hikaru was obviously stunned when he heard this. Sa Wei rarely used such words to evaluate the players. After being exposed to Go for such a long time, Shindo Hikaru was no longer Wu Xia Amon.
He was well aware of how strong Zuo Wei was. When the two of them played chess, Zuo Wei always gave him six pieces to pass.
Even so, Shindo Hikaru still hasn't won even a single game!
Shindo Hikaru even doubted that Sawei would not be at a disadvantage even if he was playing against Taya Yukihiro, the number one player in Country R.
'Yeah! Very strong!'
Zuo Wei reiterated it again, and then he said in an uncertain tone.
'Besides, the other person feels very familiar to me.'
Shindo Hikaru said unexpectedly: 'Very familiar?'
'That's right, Xiaoguang, you still remember the Chinese boy named 'Duke'. Although I only played one game of chess with him, he left a deep impression on me.'
'In today's game of chess, White's chess style has some shadow of his, with impeccable layout, precise judgment, and unconstrained skill.'
'Every move of white's chess piece hides the shadow of that young man.'
Zuo Wei lowered his head slightly and stared at the computer screen with a heavy gaze. At this moment, he seemed to see a Chinese boy through the screen, frowning as he thought about his next move.
The accident in the last game made Zuo Wei regretful. If Xiaoguang hadn't played in the wrong position, the outcome of the game would have been uncertain.
However, the person I am now is no longer the person I was then, I have become stronger!
What about you? A Chinese boy named Duke?
Come on, I'm looking forward to your next move, just use Go to tell me the answer!
Shindo Hikaru didn't know what Zuo Wei was feeling. At this time, he was only thinking about the white chess piece being "Duke"?
If it is really him, what if the other party recognizes his identity through this game of chess?
How should I explain it then?
Huh?
its not right!
Shindo Hikaru suddenly remembered that 'Duke' had already returned to China. The two of them were thousands of miles apart, so even if they were recognized, it would not have much impact.
Furthermore, he had clearly promised to play chess with the opponent before, but in the end he broke the promise.
If the white piece is really "Duke", he can be considered as making up for his broken promise last time.
…
…
…
Country M, late at night.
John, who was sleeping soundly, was awakened by a rapid ringing. John drowsily picked up the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Teacher, SAI has appeared!"
"What?"
Hearing this name, the sleepiness in John's mind immediately disappeared.
SAI is a mysterious chess player on the Internet. So far, SAI has played hundreds of games online and has only lost one game.
John is one of the top amateur Go players in Country M. According to the information he gathered, there are many top Go players among those who lost to SAI.
Among them, Park Jiuduan from Bangzi Country, Xiaolin Seventh Dan from R Country, and Xu Qidan from Hua Country are known to everyone.
As for how many masters are hidden among the unknown chess players, I am afraid only the players themselves know it.
"Yes! SAI has appeared, and his opponent this time is not easy. He started with more than forty moves, and the two sides are evenly matched!"
(Don’t complain about the way M people speak. It’s not a literal translation, it’s a free translation, haha.)