I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 144: The Go World is About to be Shaken!

This game was a breathtaking clash, full of dramatic ups and downs.

White, under the pressure of the Great Avalanche and the Demon Blade, revealed its sharp edge. Black was in a dire position but launched a fierce counterattack, relentlessly pursuing White and shining just as brilliantly. Both sides engaged in a spectacular battle, locking into a deadlock.

Just when everyone thought they had reached the peak—

No one could have anticipated that White would break formation with a forceful assault, a move as shocking as an earth-shattering thunderclap. Black, in response, went all in to hunt down White, risking everything on the board!

In the end, a cluster of White stones on the lower side was suppressed by Black. But before perishing, White dragged Black into mutual destruction, using its own sacrifice to utterly crush Black's formation!

What followed was a dragon-slaying.

With its formation riddled with weaknesses, no matter how hard Black struggled, complete collapse was inevitable. Realizing the end was near, Black ultimately conceded.

"White... wins by resignation."

Fang Haoxin stared blankly at the board, lost in silence.

Ma Zhengyu looked at the game and swallowed hard.

Around the first table, a crowd had already gathered.

Among them, Zhuang Fei stood with his mouth slightly open, staring at the board in a daze.

Silence.

An overwhelming silence.

No one knew what to say. No one could say anything at all.

"Thank you for the game."

In the pin-drop silence, Yu Shao slightly bowed toward Su Yiming in courtesy.

Su Yiming remained staring at the board, as if he hadn’t heard Yu Shao's voice.

A year ago, during the City High School Go League, he had played White while Yu Shao played Black.

Even when he fell behind in that game, he had still found chances to fight back. White had struggled and wrestled, and there had been a sliver of hope leading into the endgame.

For the sake of this rematch, for the chance to play Yu Shao again, he had spent the past year delving deep into modern Go theories and cutting-edge opening strategies.

And yet, this game...

Was even worse than the first.

During the opening phase, he had started with a favorable position, but somehow, move by move, he fell into a disadvantage. And in the midgame, he was completely shattered by White’s relentless offense.

Even though he had fought with everything he had—

This time, there was no turning the tide.

Su Yiming lowered his gaze and stared at the board, lost in thought.

A long moment passed before he finally took a deep breath, suppressing his emotions, and bowed in return.

"Thank you for the game."

With that, the game was finally, completely over.

Hearing Su Yiming’s response, Yu Shao let out a small sigh of relief. He turned toward Ma Zhengyu, who stood among the crowd.

Ma Zhengyu, realizing Yu Shao was looking at him, fell silent for a moment before nodding slightly, acknowledging the outcome of the match.

With that, Yu Shao stood up and prepared to leave the playing room.

And the moment he rose—

Everyone around him instinctively took a half-step back, clearing a path.

Even those older than him were no exception.

The way they looked at Yu Shao was indescribable—

A mix of shock, awe, and even... reverence.

Under their gazes, Yu Shao passed through the crowd and soon left the room.

Even long after he had gone, the playing room remained deathly silent.

Ma Zhengyu glanced at Su Yiming, who was still sitting in his chair. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out.

This game had far exceeded his expectations.

Even now, the echoes of each move still sent shivers down his spine.

Was it true that only the victor is strong?

No...

In this game—

Even the defeated was undeniably a powerhouse!

In the midgame, when faced with White’s ruthless onslaught, any other player would have crumbled. But Black had not only survived the storm but fought back tenaciously, creating intricate complications to counter White’s attacks!

In the end, White had been forced to break formation, plunging itself into a desperate struggle against Black.

The moment White executed that broken formation, it had seemed to be on the verge of collapse. But as the game progressed, one could gradually see—

Black was the one being suppressed across the entire board.

And yet, despite that, Black still killed the lower White group, even if it had to die in the process.

Black had already done its absolute best—

No, more than what any ordinary player could have achieved!

At that moment, Su Yiming stood up from his chair.

Seeing his expression, Ma Zhengyu was momentarily stunned.

There was not a trace of despair on Su Yiming’s face.

Though a hint of regret lingered in his eyes, his gaze was sharper than ever, his presence even more intimidating.

It was an aura that made people—

Dare not meet his gaze.

And just like before—

As he stepped forward, the crowd instinctively parted for him.

The looks they gave him were exactly the same as those given to Yu Shao.

Shock.

Awe.

Reverence.

Su Yiming walked through the crowd and, in utter silence, left the playing room.

"The Go world is about to experience a storm."

Ma Zhengyu watched Su Yiming’s fading figure.

As Su Yiming disappeared around the corner, Ma Zhengyu couldn’t help but take a deep breath, a premonition forming in his heart—

"And at the center of this storm—will be them."

As the game ended, Yu Shao and Su Yiming had both left. The other players slowly, silently, trickled out of the room.

They stepped into the hotel lobby, then onto the busy streets outside.

Yet, their faces remained blank—

As if their minds were still trapped in the game they had just witnessed.

—

After dinner, Yu Shao returned to his hotel room and let out a long breath.

For the sake of offense, he had even resorted to breaking formation in this game. Such an aggressive, reckless approach was something he never would have done in his past life.

"In such an intense battle of life and death, to win, every single move had to be flawless and relentless. I think… I might actually be getting used to this kind of playstyle now."

He walked into the bathroom, splashed cold water on his face, then sat on his bed, replaying the game in his mind.

"The Great Avalanche and the Demon Blade..."

Thinking back to the opening, Yu Shao felt a bit conflicted.

Su Yiming had chosen two outdated josekis—the Great Avalanche and the Demon Blade—both of which had been deemed obsolete after the rise of AI in his past life.

Because of that, White's win rate had already reached 70% after the opening.

And yet—

Black had played so tenaciously that the gap had never truly widened.

It wasn’t until Yu Shao broke formation and launched a ruthless offensive—putting himself in danger just to attack—that he finally took Black down.

Though he had won, he still found flaws in his play.

"If I had played more precisely in the early midgame, Black wouldn’t have been able to hold on for so long."

Ding-dong!

His phone suddenly rang, breaking his train of thought.

Yu Shao picked it up and saw the caller ID.

"Hello? Dad?"

From the other end, his father, Yu Dongming, and his mother, Cai Xiaomei, asked about his game as usual.

"Xiao Shao, how did it go today? Did you win?"

Yu Shao smiled. "Yeah. I won."

Tomorrow, if he won one more game—

He would officially become a professional Go player.

And step into the world of pros once again.