I Really Didn't Mean to Play Go!

Chapter 407: The Storm Rises Again

Yu Shao stood at the entrance of the Go academy hall, sweeping his gaze across the crowd inside. For some reason, everyone who met his eyes felt an inexplicable tension and instinctively averted their gazes. After a moment, Yu Shao finally withdrew his gaze and strode through the crowd under everyone's watchful eyes, heading toward the Go room.

Only when Yu Shao's figure disappeared from view did hushed discussions resume in the hall. "They've all arrived..." "The second match of the Twin Stars Cup is about to begin." "This game will determine whether Su Yiming can retain the title he just won..." After exchanging a few whispered words, the hall inexplicably fell silent again.

"I'm going to the broadcast room," Zheng Qin finally said to Le Haoqiang beside him before turning to leave. Others followed suit, heading toward either the broadcast room or review room, their expressions uniformly solemn. The academy was unusually crowded today - even with multiple rooms available, they would likely be packed to capacity. Everyone wanted to witness this game firsthand.

Yu Shao soon arrived at the Go room and gently pushed open the antique-style wooden door, which creaked softly. Inside, the referee and recorder were already seated, and Su Yiming sat poised at one side of the central Go table. With calm composure, Yu Shao walked in, step by step, until he reached the opposite side of Su Yiming. He pulled out his chair and sat down slowly.

Beneath the calligraphy scroll reading "Sit and Discuss the Way," the two players had taken their positions. Witnessing this scene, the recorder and two referees inexplicably felt their hearts grow heavy. Over a year had passed since these two first emerged during last year's Ranking Tournament until now, when both held titles and met at this pinnacle within the Go room. Previously, Su Yiming had never won a single game against Yu Shao, suffering a crushing defeat in the first Twin Stars Cup match. What would happen now in this title-deciding game?

Yu Shao's performance in the previous game had been so extraordinary it could humble all Go masters past and present. But did Su Yiming truly stand no chance at all? They didn't know. They only knew today's match would pit two geniuses against each other, promising an extraordinary game that would not disappoint. All answers would be revealed today.

Time ticked by. The match's start time approached. Yu Shao and Su Yiming exchanged no words, sitting silently opposite each other like strangers. As the countdown continued, the two referees, the recorder, and thousands of television viewers collectively held their breath.

Finally, about five minutes later when the clock struck ten, the central referee stood up, took a deep breath, and announced solemnly: "Time has come! This match will follow alternating colors - last game Yu Shao played Black, Su Yiming White;this game the colors switch, with Su Yiming as Black and Yu Shao as White! Black receives a 7.5-point komi. Both players have three hours main time with one-minute byo-yomi. The match—" The referee paused before declaring: "Begins now!"

Su Yiming bowed slightly first. "Please advise me." Yu Shao returned the gesture. "Please advise me." The game had begun.

Su Yiming gazed at the empty board before him with clear eyes, his mind recalling Yu Shao's words after their last game. After a silent moment, he reached into his bowl of stones. The clack of stones echoed crisply as he placed his first move.

Click! Star point at 16-4. The stone's impact seemed to resonate through the world. Even through television screens, everyone seemed to hear that decisive sound and see this opening move.

"It's started!" Though only one stone had been placed - a standard star point at that - everyone watched with intense focus, even tension. "Star point opening..."

Yu Shao studied the board silently before soon placing his stone. Second move: star point at 4-4. Su Yiming promptly responded with his next stone: komoku at 17-16. Yu Shao answered again: star point at 16-16.

Within four moves, a star-komoku versus twin-star formation took shape, and they began exchanging moves rapidly. Black made a small knight's approach;White answered with small knight's move;Black extended low;White split and extended along the side...

The recorder watched intently, quickly recording each move with her mouse, yet feeling inexplicably oppressed. This was supposedly a life-or-death title match, yet she sensed no direct confrontation - both players remained calm and restrained. Strangely, this very calmness made her increasingly uneasy. Because it shouldn't be like this. They should have come out aggressively, demonstrating a no-holds-barred determination to win!

This current tranquility felt more like—the ominous calm before a devastating storm over endless seas.

Then Su Yiming placed another black stone. Click! Block at 17-15. "Blocked." The female recorder focused and logged the move.

Yu Shao studied the board thoughtfully. "Black adopted a connected formation. Normally Black would extend to the eleventh line, but this time extended to the twelfth. If I follow conventional thinking and retreat, Black's lower stones would respond differently due to their altered positions. If Black blocks below and I cut, Black can atari;if I extend, Black jumps out - making Black's extension too efficient... So I must adapt accordingly."

Having reached this conclusion, Yu Shao swiftly placed his stone. Click! Push at 18-16. "He pushed in the corner first?" In the broadcast room, professional players' expressions changed dramatically. Against Black's connected formation, retreat was the standard response - yet White chose to push in the corner instead?

ized.