I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 186: What Are You Doing?!

Qi Fanyu couldn’t help but look up at Yu Shao across the board.

He had long heard that Yu Shao was strong, and Yu Shao’s consecutive wins had already proven his ability. But since he had never played against Yu Shao before, he had no real grasp of his skill level.

Now, after this game, he finally understood the gap between them.

Even though Yu Shao repeatedly ignored local losses, played tenuki multiple times, and used such excessive moves, Qi Fanyu should have been able to punish him severely. But in reality, he had no way to fight back at all.

His formation of white stones couldn’t even threaten the black stones. He could only watch helplessly as Yu Shao controlled the entire board!

“But… I haven’t lost yet.”

Qi Fanyu took a deep breath, reached into his stone container again, picked up a white stone, and placed it down swiftly.

“Now, the only chance left is to fight on the left side!”

Snap!

Yu Shao looked at the board with his usual calm expression. After a brief moment, he picked up a stone and placed it down quickly.

Finally, after nearly twenty more moves—

Qi Fanyu lowered his head, staring at the board. Then, he spoke.

“I lost…”

“Thank you for the game.”

Yu Shao exhaled slightly and bowed.

Qi Fanyu immediately returned the gesture. “Thank you for the game.”

After cleaning up the board, Yu Shao stood up and looked toward the referee at the table.

The referee had been silently observing the match from the start. He gave Yu Shao a complicated glance before nodding slightly, indicating that he had recorded the result.

Seeing this, Yu Shao turned his head toward Table 19, where Wu Zhixuan and Xu Zijin were playing.

His game had ended quickly—the first in the entire room—so it was obvious that Wu Zhixuan and Xu Zijin’s match hadn’t finished yet.

After a brief thought, Yu Shao walked toward Table 19.

On his way, he passed by Table 14, where Su Yiming was playing. He stopped for a moment and glanced at the board.

The situation was clear at a glance.

Su Yiming was about to win. His opponent was completely outmatched.

The boy sitting across from Su Yiming was biting his thumbnail, lost in deep thought. He was clearly unwilling to give up and was still trying to find any playable move.

After a quick look, Yu Shao withdrew his gaze and continued walking toward Table 19. Soon, he arrived at the board and focused his attention on the game.

“…Huh?”

Yu Shao’s eyes slightly widened when he saw the upper-left corner of the board.

In this match, the local shape in the upper-left corner had developed into a 3-3 invasion variation.

The player who chose to invade 3-3 was White. However, instead of following up with a hane and connect, White crawled twice on the second line before playing tenuki to another area.

Xu Zijin was playing as White, while Wu Zhixuan was playing as Black.

Not only that, but there was another unconventional pattern in the lower-right corner—a Star-Point Attachment with consecutive hane moves.

After White had made a Small Knight’s Move to secure the corner, Wu Zhixuan didn’t respond with the usual Small Knight’s Approach but instead chose to attach to the corner.

“This game…”

Seeing these two modern patterns played back-to-back, Yu Shao suddenly felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

For a brief moment, it was as if he had returned to the AI era of his previous life.

Because of his influence, the world was slowly shifting into something more familiar to him, even though the changes were still subtle.

But the transformation had begun.

Yu Shao let out a slow breath, suppressing his emotions as he assessed the board.

“After the 3-3 invasion, Wu Zhixuan chose to extend, probably thinking that extending would create a strong outer influence.”

“But because White has that one peep restricting Black’s shape, Black’s formation is outer influence rather than thickness. While Black has potential, White’s immediate profit in the corner is more valuable. Right now, White has a slight advantage.”

Yu Shao silently observed the game, sensing that Wu Zhixuan might not realize she was falling behind.

After a 3-3 invasion, if the defender chooses to extend outward, they do suffer a loss—but the loss isn’t immediately obvious. Instead, the disadvantage accumulates over time and only becomes apparent later.

Simply put, the key question now was: after extending against a 3-3 invasion, which side had the easier game?

Even though Xu Zijin had played the 3-3 invasion, she might not yet know the answer. She was likely just experimenting. She probably thought the game was even at best, not realizing that she was slightly ahead.

The only way to fully grasp this concept was through extensive practice and move-by-move analysis. Actual games would reveal the truth—no amount of theoretical explanation could convince a player otherwise.

Ultimately, it came down to the fact that humans struggled to accurately measure the value of outer influence. Its effectiveness varied depending on the player’s style, making it hard to standardize.

Just then, Xu Zijin suddenly looked up and glanced at Yu Shao.

Meanwhile, Wu Zhixuan was still focused on the board, seemingly unaware of his presence. Her expression was intensely serious—her long eyelashes completely still as she stared at the game with unwavering concentration.

Click.

At that moment, Wu Zhixuan reached into her stone container. The crisp sound of stones clinking together echoed as she picked one up between her slender fingers and gently placed it down.

Snap!

Row 8, Column 12—Jump!

Hearing the sound of the move, Xu Zijin immediately retracted her gaze and looked back at the board. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly as she thought for a moment before reaching into her container and making her move.

Snap!

Snap!

Snap!

The stones kept falling one after another as the game entered the midgame. Both players were focused, carefully considering every move.

“Evenly matched.”

After watching more than a dozen moves, Yu Shao silently reached a conclusion. The two players were very close in strength, and the outcome was unpredictable—it could go either way.

“They’re both playing… pretty well.”

From Yu Shao’s perspective, many of their moves weren’t entirely precise—there were better options. But at the very least, both Wu Zhixuan and Xu Zijin’s play was understandable, and some of their moves were even commendable, showing real creativity.

There were even a few moments that caught Yu Shao’s eye, moves that he found genuinely interesting.

Some female players had skill levels comparable to AI, often making moves so obscure that they were nearly impossible to understand.

No, that wasn’t quite right.

There were indeed some AI moves that humans simply couldn’t comprehend. But professional female players, while their moves could be analyzed, often left people in an awkward position. If they were completely incomprehensible, they could be considered profound. But once understood, they sometimes felt… questionable.

That was why Yu Shao didn’t particularly enjoy watching female players’ games. If he laughed, it felt inappropriate; if he didn’t, it was just as bad. Fortunately, Wu Zhixuan and Xu Zijin were solid players.

In fact, after becoming a professional player himself, Yu Shao realized that among all the opponents he had faced so far, aside from Wu Shuheng, no one else could compare to Wu Zhixuan and Xu Zijin.

Just then, someone suddenly appeared beside Yu Shao, also focusing on the board.

“Hm?”

Yu Shao turned his head and saw Su Yiming standing next to him.

Seeing Su Yiming, Yu Shao wasn’t particularly surprised. Since the tournament was still ongoing, he didn’t greet him and instead shifted his gaze back to the game.

Snap. Snap. Snap…

The stones continued to fall in turn.

Both Xu Zijin and Wu Zhixuan had furrowed their brows, beads of sweat forming on their foreheads. Each found the other incredibly difficult to deal with.

It was Xu Zijin’s turn to move.

She glanced at Wu Zhixuan, then back at the board. After a moment of thought, she reached into her stone container. Her gaze turned cold, and she swiftly placed her stone.

Snap!

Row 10, Column 14—Attach!

Seeing this move, both Yu Shao and Su Yiming’s expressions shifted slightly. They became more serious, sensing the sharp killing intent behind it.

“She’s going for an all-out attack on my hundred-stone dragon?”

Wu Zhixuan was momentarily stunned before her face flushed with frustration.

She had hoped to secure a clean and beautiful victory, never expecting such a tough battle. Now, Xu Zijin had found the slightest opportunity and was bold enough to attach and launch a dragon-slaying attack!

If her massive dragon was truly taken down, it would be an utter catastrophe—total defeat!

“If she dares to invade, I’ll counter at the Small Point!”

Without hesitation, Wu Zhixuan reached into her container, picked up a stone, and placed it down swiftly.

“She’s also a girl, and she only just became a professional player this year. How could I lose to her?!”

Snap!

Row 18, Column 3—Push!

The battle had begun!

The two players started placing stones at lightning speed, no longer pausing for deep thought. Each tried to overwhelm the other with relentless, airtight moves, aiming to shake their opponent’s resolve.

The game quickly grew more intense. Black and White fought fiercely across the board, each trying to seize the initiative. The battle was brutal and ruthless, with both sides determined to destroy the other!

Time passed—

More than half an hour later—

Click!

Xu Zijin grabbed another stone and slammed it down!

Snap!

Row 7, Column 4—Turn!

The game was decided.

Although White failed to slay Black’s dragon, she had leveraged the attack’s threat to secure several forcing moves. Then, she forced a trade on the left side and gained a significant amount of territory.

By the time Wu Zhixuan realized this and tried to counterattack, Xu Zijin had already started consolidating her advantage. No matter how hard Wu Zhixuan fought, she found no openings—Xu Zijin never gave her a chance.

At this point, there was no room left for struggle.

Black had lost by one and a half points.

“I…”

Wu Zhixuan stared at the board, her eyes suddenly reddening. She clenched her fists tightly, holding back her tears. After a long moment, she lowered her head and murmured in a pitiful voice, “I lost.”

“Thank you for the game.”

Xu Zijin let out a relieved breath, bowed slightly, and replied, “Thank you for the game.”

Wu Zhixuan returned the gesture, then rubbed her round nose, trying to hold back the sting of defeat. She quickly packed up the stones and stood up.

She originally planned to leave immediately.

But then, glancing at Yu Shao, who was standing nearby, she seemed to remember something. Without warning, she reached out, grabbed Yu Shao’s wrist, and pulled him along with her.

Yu Shao, completely caught off guard, looked utterly bewildered.

“What are you doing?!”

…