I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 314 China vs. Japan
Meanwhile, in the market commentary room, the atmosphere was extremely tense.

"Lost..."

Someone looked dejected and muttered absentmindedly, "We actually lost to the Chinese team today too..."

Previously, North and South Korea had won the championship for four consecutive years. Last year, despite the difficulties, they still won the championship. This year, they originally hoped to avenge their previous defeat and win the team competition in a beautiful way.

Lee Jun-hyuk had performed at his best, and despite being at a disadvantage, he managed to survive three cycles of tribulation.

However, just when everyone thought the draw was a foregone conclusion and a rapid chess tiebreaker was to be played, Higashiyama Kaoru surprised everyone by abandoning the triple ko cycle, sacrificing half of his large group of stones, and winning the game!
Last year, only Lee Joon-hyuk and Bae Yoo-yeon lost, but this year, only Bae Yoo-yeon and Shin Wook-taek won, and Shin Wook-taek even won after a hard-fought battle!
They could accept this result, after all, the Japanese team has always been a strong contender and has been their biggest rival in team competitions for the past few years.

But, surprisingly, they lost today's game too...

It's worth noting that the last time North and South Korea finished last in a team competition was nine years ago!

Such a crushing defeat was nine years ago!
……

……

Meanwhile, in the Japanese seminar room.

"China leads 3-2."

Upon seeing Kim Jo-eun throw the ball on the television screen, Miyamoto Shun said in a deep voice, "The Chinese team has defeated the North and South Korean team."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the entire Japanese seminar room became heavy.

Higashiyama Kaoru kept his head down, gazing at the chessboard where the main general was fighting, his fists clenching involuntarily.

"I'm going to play against him tomorrow."

As Dongshan Xun gazed at the chessboard, Yu Shao's every move seemed to flash before his eyes.

On the side, Fujiwara Terashima was also watching the game of the vice-general, and subconsciously clenched his teeth.

This game wasn't particularly noteworthy; Su Yiming maintained a slight advantage throughout. If the game had continued normally, Park Ji-guk would most likely have lost by only about one point.
However, Park Ji-guk refused to give up and tried to disrupt the situation and seize the initiative. Instead, Su Yi-ming seized the opportunity and defeated him in one fell swoop, forcing Park Ji-guk to resign in the middle game.

This game of chess may seem unremarkable, but having played against Park Ji-guk just yesterday, he knows all too well that Park Ji-guk is no easy opponent!

This entire game of chess was merely a desperate, all-out attack by Park Ji-guk, which Su Yi-ming effortlessly neutralized!

The others were also looking at the chessboards of their respective opponents for the next day, their expressions far from relaxed.

After a moment, Miyamoto Shun suddenly looked at Higashiyama Kaoru, remained silent for a moment, and then asked, "Higashiyama Kaoru, are you confident about tomorrow's match?"

"grasp?"

Higashiyama Kaoru took a deep breath and replied firmly, "I only know that I absolutely cannot lose."

"But--"

Miyamoto Shun was about to speak when he was interrupted by Higashiyama Kaoru.

"Mr. Miyamoto, there's no 'but' about it."

Higashiyama Kaoru said in an icy tone, "I said I want him to apologize for that nonsense, not to me, but to Go!"

"You don't look like you're full of confidence."

Miyamoto Shun stared at Higashiyama Kaoru as if he could see into her heart, and said, "You feel the pressure."

Higashiyama Kaoru's expression immediately turned ugly after Miyamoto Shun's words exposed his inner thoughts.

"I……"

Higashiyama Kaoru opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.

A moment later, Higashiyama Kaoru suddenly closed her eyes.

After a while, Higashiyama Kaoru opened her eyes again, her expression becoming incredibly calm.

Higashiyama Kaoru looked at the chessboard again and said, "Mr. Miyamoto Shun, do you know why I was able to play that game yesterday?"

Upon hearing this, Miyamoto Shun was taken aback and looked at Higashiyama Kaoru.

Not only Miyamoto Shun, but everyone else in the seminar room also looked at Higashiyama Kaoru.

"Normally, when people see a triple ko forming, they think a draw is inevitable and no one thinks about how to win when a triple ko has formed."

Looking at the chessboard in front of him, Dongshan Xun slowly said, "However... at that time I was thinking that Yu Shao must be watching this game, he must be watching."

"Actually, I started paying attention to Yu Shao earlier than any of you. I was already following him back during the War of the Torch."

"Because I have studied many of his game records, I think he can beat Lee Jun-hyuk."

"Since he can beat Lee Joon-hyuk, then I must beat him to prove him right. Even if it's a draw, I will never accept it!"

Higashiyama Kaoru finally raised her head, her voice resounding: "Tomorrow will be the same! I will give it my all, I will use all the knowledge I have acquired, to teach him a lesson. I absolutely cannot lose!"

"Absolutely not!"

Everyone looked at Higashiyama Kaoru, speechless for a moment.

They had known Higashiyama Kaoru for so long, but they had never seen him so serious. He was so serious that he almost seemed like a stranger to them, and so serious that he almost sent chills down their spines!
"I'm going back to my room now. I have a match tomorrow, so I want to get some rest today."

After finishing speaking, Higashiyama Kaoru turned around and walked towards the door of the seminar room.

Miyamoto Shun watched Higashiyama Kaoru's retreating figure. Just as Higashiyama Kaoru reached the door of the seminar room and put her hand on the doorknob, about to open the door, he suddenly called out, "Higashiyama Kaoru."

Higashiyama Kaoru suddenly stopped, but did not turn around.

Miyamoto Shun took a cigarette from the pack, put it in his mouth, lit it with a lighter, and said, "I'm waiting to see your victory tomorrow."

Higashiyama Kaoru didn't reply, but finally turned the doorknob and left the seminar room.

Miyamoto Shun smoked his cigarette in a sullen manner, and after a moment, slowly exhaled a smoke ring.

Amidst the swirling smoke, Miyamoto Shun couldn't help but recall the game between Yu Shao and Lee Jun-hyuk that had just ended, and then he couldn't help but think of the game between Higashiyama Kaoru and Lee Jun-hyuk yesterday.

"One game featured a brilliant move that decided the outcome in 293 moves, while the other game was completely uneventful, yet the winner was determined in 90 moves."

Miyamoto Shun could never forget the shock these two games had brought him.

A look of bewilderment crossed his face as he asked the others who remained in the seminar room, "What do you think will happen in tomorrow's game of chess?"

……

……

Inside the competition venue, Yu, Shao, and the other four walked together towards the exit.

"In the end... I still lost."

Although he won the match, Le Haoqiang's expression was still incredibly somber, and his voice was somewhat weak.

Gu Chuan, standing nearby, also appeared visibly downcast.

However, Gu Chuan quickly took a deep breath, rallied himself, patted Le Haoqiang on the back, and said, "It's alright, victory and defeat are common in war, there's another match tomorrow."

Hearing this, Le Hao gritted his teeth and said, "I will definitely win tomorrow's match."

"Ah."

Gu Chuan clenched his fist as well and said, "Tomorrow, we must win no matter what!"

Not far ahead, Ma Zhengyu and his group spotted Yu Shao and his group of five. Ma Zhengyu immediately smiled and said, "You've already come out?"

"Chairman Ma."

Upon seeing Ma Zhengyu, Yu Shao and the other four immediately called out.

"You've all worked hard. Let's go out for dinner together. This meal is on the chess academy."

Ma Zhengyu looked at Le Haoqiang and Gu Chuan, noticing their sullen expressions, and said with a smile, "You've won the game, why do you look so gloomy?"

"Although you lost, you played very well. Moreover, you can only improve by losing. I believe you can perform even better tomorrow and strive to win the game!"

"All five games today were excellent!"

Looking at Yu Shao and the other four, Ma Zhengyu couldn't hide his smile. It had been five years since they last achieved a result in a team competition.

This year, not only did they escape third place, but they even managed to escape third place by defeating North and South Korea. It was a real triumph!

It's worth noting that a large part of the reason he had a bad relationship with Shin Seung-hyun, the leader of the North and South Korean teams, was that they both frequently led their teams to compete abroad, and North and South Korea usually won every time.

After winning so many games, Shin Seung-hyun would always make sarcastic remarks about him before the match. Now that he has finally gotten his revenge, he can't wait to go and make sarcastic remarks to Shin Seung-hyun.

Just thinking about Shin Seung-hyun's expression then, Ma Zhengyu felt only one word in his heart—great!

Ma Zhengyu didn't really think Le Haoqiang and Gu Chuan could beat Japan tomorrow, after all, Japan's strength this year is indeed terrifying, far surpassing that of previous years.

In any case, having now shed the third-place status, this trip to Seoul this year can be considered a complete success!
Of course, if Ma Zhengyu can win tomorrow's match, he'll be laughing in his sleep, after all, it's been a full seven years since he last won the team championship!
After leaving the hotel, everyone went to a barbecue restaurant for lunch before dispersing.

Since Yu, Shao, and the other four had a match the next day, they naturally couldn't go out to play. After lunch, they returned to the hotel together to get a good rest and recharge for the match the next day.

"Tomorrow, our opponent is the Japanese team."

Inside the elevator, Gu Chuan suddenly spoke up.

Upon hearing this, both Le Haoqiang and Qin Lang couldn't help but look at Gu Chuan.

The atmosphere in the elevator suddenly became heavy, and the relaxed atmosphere at the barbecue restaurant vanished instantly.

Soon, the elevator arrived at the seventh floor.

Le Haoqiang's room was on the seventh floor. As he walked towards the elevator, he said, "Yes, the opponent is the Japanese team."

……

……

The day passed quickly.

At just seven or eight in the morning, before the competition even started, countless netizens flooded into the live stream of the China-Japan-Korea team competition, with the barrage of comments flying everywhere.

It's already winter, and Seoul's winters are exceptionally cold. Getting up early in the middle of winter is like magic.

Even so, around eight o'clock in the morning, many people wearing bulky cotton-padded coats, their breath turning into mist, were walking one after another towards the market commentary room at the Seoul Grand Hotel.

Everyone heading towards the market commentary room looked preoccupied. Even when they encountered acquaintances, they remained silent and walked on without uttering a word.

Today is the last day of the team competition, with the Chinese team facing off against the Japanese team, which can also be considered the final.

This year's team competition was truly breathtaking.

On the first day of the competition, Higashiyama Kaoru played a game that could be described as astonishing, abandoning a triple ko and sacrificing half of a large group of stones to achieve a kill, which made the world take notice.

In the second day of the competition, Yu Shao played a seemingly uneventful game, but the outcome was decided in just ninety moves.

The contrast between the two is both shocking and bewildering.

Go has three stages: the opening, the middle game, and the endgame.

If we were to compare this entire team competition to the game of Go, the first day would be the opening, the second day the middle game, and today would be the final endgame.

As the night passed, everyone's feelings became increasingly complicated, but as the competition time approached, their mood became surprisingly peaceful.

They all wanted to see the final outcome, to watch the final battle.

"It's so cold... Why is it still so cold even with the air conditioning on?"

A young man walked into the market commentary room, found his seat, rubbed his hands which were red from the cold, and breathed on them to warm them while complaining.

"I heard it's going to snow today."

Next to the young man, a bald man said, "It's so cold today, it's amazing you could even get up."

"Today is the last day of the team competition."

As the young man breathed on his hands to warm them, he said, "Besides, I really want to know what kind of game Yu Shao and Dongshan Xun are going to play today."

Upon hearing this, the bald man was speechless for a moment. He looked at the young man, and the young man's words about Yu Shao being "like a frog in a well" seemed to still ring in his ears yesterday.

Inside the commentary room, more and more people gathered, each taking their assigned seats at their respective ticket counters. There were even quite a few couples watching the game together.

The room where the market analysis was conducted was initially quiet, but it became noisy as more and more people gathered.

However, as time passed and the match drew closer, the commentary room inexplicably fell silent.

Whether it was because it was too cold and people were unwilling to talk, or for some other reason, a sense of oppression gradually filled the entire commentary room.

There are 20 minutes left before the match starts.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Seoul Grand Hotel, a man wrapped up like a rice dumpling was stopped by a hotel hostess as soon as he entered the hotel.

"Hello, please show your ID or spectator ticket."

The hostess smiled and said.

Upon hearing this, the man took his hand out of his pocket, but instead of taking out his identification, he reached out and removed his mask, looking at the hostess.

Upon seeing the man's face, the hostess paused for a moment, then suddenly realized something, her face showing shock as she finally recognized him and couldn't help but cover her mouth.

"An...An Hongshi, the Go Master!"

An Hongshi smiled slightly and said, "I didn't originally plan to come to the team competition. I forgot to ask the chess academy to prepare my credentials. Could you make an exception and let me in?"

The hostess blushed instantly, immediately made way for her, and bowed, saying, "Of course, what are you saying? You don't need any identification; your face is the best identification!"

Meanwhile, in the hotel lobby, a man also noticed the scene at the door. He was taken aback when he saw the man standing at the door.

The next moment, his eyes widened, and he couldn't help but nudge his friend with dyed blond hair next to him with his elbow.

"Hey, look... who's that!"

His friend looked puzzled and turned to look at the hotel entrance.

"what?"

Upon seeing the familiar face of the man at the door, the blond youth's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "It's An Hongshi, the Chess Saint!"

Upon hearing the blond-haired youth's voice, everyone in the hotel lobby couldn't help but turn their gaze towards the entrance!

…………

P.S.: Please vote for me next month!
　Asking for a monthly ticket!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)