Infinity Starting with Hikaru no Go

Page 12

Chapter 17 A Dead End, an Unsolvable Chess Game!?

In Chen Anxia's eyes, in that hazy scene, the white behemoth, though fallen, was not dead; it was struggling desperately and roaring incessantly.

It's like that white behemoth, faced with this predetermined situation and the disparity in strength between the two sides, did not give up and refused to be defeated.

Because the white behemoth knew that it had not truly failed yet, and that glimmer of hope lay somewhere on the battlefield.

But where exactly is this glimmer of hope?

The white behemoth is searching, and so is Chen Anxia...

At the same time, Uemura Tairyu was startled awake by the mission pop-up window in front of him.

Looking at the mission he had just triggered, he couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.

Because, in every way, a unique mission is more valuable than a time-limited mission.

Therefore, the rewards for a unique task will definitely be more generous than those for a time-limited task.

It's worth noting that the limited-time mission already rewarded Uemura Tairyu with 10 Hikaru no Go points, so what about the unique mission?

Thinking it over, Uemura Tairyu directly brought up his personal panel and, just like last time, connected to the network of his world through the personal panel, posting a request for help on the largest Q&A community, namely the Zhihu website.

"Seeking help: Where is White's only chance of survival? (Game record attached)"

After posting his request for help, Uemura Tairyu thought for a moment and then specifically tagged the Zhihu user 'Wandering in the World'.

Last time, it was this "wandering human" who solved Uemura Tairyu's problem and helped him complete the time-limited mission.

Therefore, in Uemura Tairyu's view, this "wandering human" should have something that might help him complete his mission again.

Yasutaka Uemura is an active user of Zhihu.com and has many fans.

Therefore, as soon as Yasutaka Uemura posted his post, many people saw it immediately.

The number of replies to the post also increased at a visible rate.

"I don't know anything about Go, but I'm just here to join in the fun!"

"Is this still the same Mighty Dragon I know? He's actually started to enjoy studying Go?"

"Thanks for the invitation. I've looked at the game record, but I completely don't understand it..."

"This chess record is something..."

"Black's move here is somewhat reminiscent of Shusaku's style?"

......

Uemura Tairyu quickly browsed the ever-growing number of replies, but couldn't find what he was looking for.

This made Uemura Tairyu somewhat anxious. Although the mission prompt did not specify a time limit, it was clear that this unique mission was not a permanent one and must have some kind of restriction.

Therefore, completing the task as quickly as possible is the best option.

Finally, Uemura Tairyu saw a reply and was immediately startled.

This reply came from 'Wandering in the World', which was specifically tagged by Yasutaka Uemura.

In the reply, 'Wandering Among Us' asked, 'OP, where did you find this chess manual? Is it an ancient one?'

"But it doesn't look like it. Although the black player is using the Shusaku style, which has been phased out by the times, the white player's moves are clearly more in line with the mainstream playing style in the current komi era."

"It's as if chess players from the old and new eras, transcending time and space, played their respective games using the representative methods of their time, and together they composed this chess record. It's truly strange..."

Upon seeing this, Uemura Tairyu hurriedly replied, "This is a game record from the game 'Hikaru no Go,' depicting a duel between two characters. I don't know if it's an ancient game record."

After seeing Uemura Tairyu's reply, 'Wandering in the World' was first taken aback, then asked with great interest, "Is the prototype of this black player Honinbo Shusaku? Or is he Honinbo Shusaku himself?"

Uemura Tairyu was completely taken aback that 'Wandering Humans' would be interested in the real-life prototypes of game characters. He paused for a moment before replying, "I don't know the answer to that question either."

"Because both players in the chess game are probably elementary school students. (Attached is a photo of Hikari and Ryo)"

After replying, Uemura Yasutaka worried that 'Wandering Human's' focus would continue to drift, so he couldn't help but ask, "@Wandering Human, do you know where White's chance of survival lies?"

'Wandering in the Human World' did not immediately reply to Uemura Tairyu. Instead, he stared blankly at the photo of light and brightness, a look of disbelief flashing in his eyes.

In the opinion of 'Wandering Among Humans', although the white player's skill is strong, he has only just touched the professional level, which is something even a primary school student could understand.

However, the black player's skill level is clearly at the peak of the old era, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he is the Honinbo Shusaku himself.

How could a primary school student possibly possess such chess skills?

Even in a game, shouldn't such an unreasonable character be included?

The existence of such a character is clearly a bug in the game.

The question of 'wandering among people' remains a mystery, so I can only suppress my doubts for now.

Afterwards, 'Wandering Among the Worlds' looked at the chess score again and fell into deep thought, pondering the last chance for White to survive.

During the long period of contemplation that "Wandering Among the People" was in, people continued to reply, including some who were genuine chess experts.

In their replies, almost all of them said that White had no hope and there was no chance of survival.

This situation dampened Uemura Tairyu's spirits.

As for the half that hasn't cooled down, they pin their hopes on the 'wandering in the world' who has yet to receive a reply.

A few minutes later, as Uemura Tairyu waited anxiously, 'Wandering the World' replied, "How did you know that White still had a chance?"

"Judging from the board position alone, White should have no hope."

After seeing the reply from 'Wandering Among Humans', Uemura Tairyu's already half-hearted spirit sank completely.

Clearly, the reply "wandering among humans" means that White has absolutely no hope.

Uemura Tairyu knew that his mission this time was most likely to fail.

Given the current situation, unless they can find truly top-tier chess players, there might still be some possibility.

But the key issue is that Uemura Yasutaka doesn't know a single player at that level.

However, still clinging to a sliver of hope and unwilling to give up, Uemura Tairyu continued browsing the newly added replies, hoping to find the answer he wanted.

At the same time, Yasutaka Uemura also answered the question about 'wandering among humans' by saying, "This is a task given by the game system."

"So there must be a solution, because the game system would not give a task that has no solution."

Upon seeing Uemura Tairyu's reply, 'Wandering in the World' frowned deeply, his face becoming extremely serious.

The true identity of 'Wandering in the Human World' is a top-tier Go player who is 22 years old and at his peak, comparable to the Go Saint Miki Sōshi.

It is also because of his age and mindset that, in his spare time outside of honing his Go skills, he likes to browse various online communities and answer questions related to Go.

In 'Wandering the World's' view, this can not only help those who love Go to find answers to their questions, but also solidify one's own foundation.

Of course, Uemura Tairyu was unaware of the true identity of the 'Wandering Human'.

At this point, Uemura Tairyu was still hoping that a top Go player would see his plea for help and assist him in completing this one and only task.

......

Snapped!

Snapped!

Snapped!

As the sound of pieces being placed rang out, "Wandering the World" replicated the game from the chess manual on a real chessboard.

During this process, 'Wandering the World' attempts to find a glimmer of hope for White.

As a result, the 'wandering among humans' attempt failed.

Upon hearing this result, 'Wandering in the Human World' frowned deeply and muttered, "Unless the game is malfunctioning, according to the game's settings, there is indeed no task that cannot be completed."

"So, where exactly does White's glimmer of hope lie?"

"Does the answer lie within the game 'Hikaru no Go'?"

......

Chapter 18 A Miracle Reappears, A Way to Break the Stalemate!

Meanwhile, inside the Zishui Go Club.

After the game ended, Hikaru Shindo first spoke with Fujiwara Sai, then wanted to say hello to Chen Anxia before heading home.

However, before Hikaru could greet him, Fujiwara Sai stopped him, saying, "Hikaru, don't disturb him now."

As he spoke, Fujiwara Sai looked at Chen Anxia with amazement and admiration and continued, "He should be gaining something now and is currently digesting and reflecting on it."

"This situation is extremely rare; a chess player might only encounter it a few times in their entire life, so we shouldn't disturb them."

Hikaru Shindo was taken aback by what he heard, and then asked in his mind, "Gain? Insight? Sai, what are you talking about? I can understand each word individually, but I can't understand it at all when they are put together."

Fujiwara Sai smiled slightly and said, "These things are indeed difficult for Hikaru to understand right now."

"Perhaps he will understand once Xiaoguang truly falls in love with Go."

Then, Fujiwara Sai changed the subject, saying, "By the way, Hikaru, didn't you promise Mom you'd come home early to help with the cleaning today?"

"If you don't go back soon, Mom will be angry."

Upon hearing this, Hikaru Shindo panicked and, without thinking, ran straight home, yelling, "Ahhh! Sai, why didn't you warn me sooner?"

"Oh no, I'm definitely going to get scolded when I get back, and I might not even get my allowance next week..."

"Xiao Guang, I already told you not to bother that boy named An Xia. What if you disturb him by shouting so loudly..."

To everyone else, Hikaru Shindo seemed to have suddenly gone mad, running off while talking to himself and screaming like a madman.

This situation caused everyone's expressions to become strange, and a thought simultaneously popped into their minds.

'This child, could there be something wrong with his/her mind?'

Seeing this, Akira Touya looked somewhat dazed, muttering to himself, "I... I actually lost to someone like that..."

After adjusting his mindset, Akira Toya took a deep look at Chen Anxia before leaving the Zishui Go Club.

Before leaving, Akira Toya specifically instructed Harumi Ichikawa, the manager of the club, not to touch the game of Go before Chen Anxia left on his own initiative.

Harumi Ichikawa naturally agreed to Akira Touya's request.