I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 32: The Final Three Tables

Sitting in the front row, Wu Zhixuan stared at the screen, her face filled with shock as she saw the black stone’s bold hane.

“There’s actually a hane here? But that’s such a counterintuitive move.”

She hadn’t expected that the boy who had asked her for a signed photo would have this kind of skill. Even as a professional player, she hadn’t seen that move coming.

The hane was so against conventional thinking that ordinary players wouldn’t even consider it as an option.

“Is my autograph really that powerful?”

The energetic young woman suddenly found herself pondering. “Should I just give myself an autograph too?”

On stage, Wu Shuheng’s expression darkened further as he stared at the board.

After a long pause, he finally picked up a stone and placed it down slowly.

Click.

Though reluctant, Wu Shuheng ultimately made the most logical decision. He picked up the lone black stone that had invaded the white territory and placed it back in the stone bowl.

Yu Shao immediately followed up with his next move.

Click!

A black stone landed, capturing the white stone involved in the previous ko fight.

At this point, the white stones could no longer immediately counter the black’s capture. Wu Shuheng could only either neutralize the ko or, like before, seek new ko threats.

Instead of making his next move, Wu Shuheng stared at the board, memorizing the position in his mind.

Without hesitation, he turned and walked to the next table.

He needed time to think through his next move on this board. If this were a regular one-on-one match, he could take all the time he needed. But this was a simultaneous exhibition, and he had to keep playing at the other tables.

Seeing this, the students in the audience glanced at each other, their eyes reflecting the same astonishment.

Even if they didn’t fully understand the current game, they realized what it meant for Wu Shuheng to leave the table without making a move.

At the other boards, Wu Shuheng played with remarkable speed. Every move was ruthless, leaving no room for mercy.

At these tables, he had already overturned the handicap he had given his opponents. Some games were even tipping in his favor.

Despite having the complex game with Yu Shao in his mind, these other matches posed little challenge for Wu Shuheng.

Before long, he returned to Xu Zijin’s table.

Seeing the current board position, Wu Shuheng couldn’t help but feel a twitch in his eyelid.

“She’s directly attacking the Small Point, not giving me any breathing room at all…”

After a moment of contemplation, Wu Shuheng picked up another stone and placed it on the board.

It seemed Xu Zijin had anticipated his move, as she immediately followed up with her next one.

Wu Shuheng furrowed his brows tightly and continued to place his stones.

The two began to play at a quick pace, their stones landing one after the other. The game grew more intense with every move, and the pressure on Wu Shuheng increased.

As the match progressed, the two-stone handicap Xu Zijin had been given not only wasn’t neutralized but had grown into a greater advantage. Wu Shuheng’s formations were beginning to show cracks under the relentless pressure from the black stones.

After ten or so moves, Xu Zijin paused to think, giving Wu Shuheng a chance to move to the next table.

Click.

Click.

Click.

The sound of stones landing echoed continuously. This time, Wu Shuheng played rapidly, while his opponents were forced to think long and hard before every move.

Finally, after a few more grueling moves...

"I... I concede."

The student sitting beside Xu Zijin looked at the board, recognized his inevitable defeat, hesitated for a moment, and then lowered his head in surrender, his voice weak as he admitted his loss.

“It’s over already? So fast?”

“It hasn’t even been that long!”

“Wait, not even half the board is occupied yet! How is it over so quickly? This is absurd. Is this the skill level of a professional player?”

“Isn’t that guy a senior? He represented our school in last year’s high school Go tournament and still lost this fast?”

“Maybe he’s just not that strong?”

“Yeah, even against a pro, I thought he’d last longer. Who would’ve guessed he’d be the first to lose?”

The audience erupted in murmurs.

If someone else had conceded, it might not have been as surprising. But this was a student who had represented Jiangling High School in a Go tournament last year. Even if he hadn’t placed well, his skills should have been decent.

Yet against Wu Shuheng, even with a handicap, he was crushed almost effortlessly.

“He didn’t play badly. You can tell he gave it his all.”

Wu Zhixuan’s sparkling eyes watched the match displayed on the screen as she reached her conclusion. “Under normal circumstances, he should’ve lasted longer. But unfortunately, my brother didn’t hold back at all in this match—he just wanted to end it quickly...”

Wu Zhixuan glanced worriedly at the student.

“For him, this must feel like a harsh blow, right?”

Wu Shuheng gave the senior a small nod but didn’t offer any words of comfort or praise. He immediately moved to the next table.

The defeated student stared at the board, his head lowered, as the murmurs from the audience buzzed in his ears. He bit down on his lip hard.

He had given it his all.

But even with the handicap, he had been thoroughly crushed by Wu Shuheng, barely putting up a fight.

The disparity left him with an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

With the first surrender, more quickly followed under Wu Shuheng’s fierce attacks. The second, the third...

As the number of defeated players grew, the whispers and doubts from the audience began to quiet down.

If the first player’s quick loss could be attributed to their lack of skill, the second and third losses made it clear—this wasn’t about their skill.

It was about how overwhelmingly strong their opponent was.

Soon, Wu Shuheng returned to Yu Shao’s table.

After glancing at the board, he immediately reached out and placed a stone.

Click!

Row 5, Column 14—cut!

“A cut?”

Yu Shao looked at the move, unsurprised, and calmly reached for his next stone.

But before Yu Shao could place it, Wu Shuheng turned and walked to the next table without hesitation.

He had no intention of staying here. His sole focus was to wrap up the other games as quickly as possible so he could dedicate all his energy to his matches against Yu Shao and Xu Zijin.

If he allowed himself to be distracted by the other games during those two matches, the outcome was clear—he would lose miserably.

Especially in his match against Yu Shao. His white stones were already on the verge of being choked by Yu Shao’s black stones. He was desperate to find an opportunity for a comeback.

These two matches required his full attention.

As a professional third-dan player competing against high schoolers with at most amateur second- or third-dan strength, even with a two-stone handicap and in a simultaneous exhibition, the gap was still despairingly wide.

Under Wu Shuheng’s relentless, identity-disregarding attacks, more and more students surrendered.

Now, only three players remained.

Yu Shao, Xu Zijin, and a second-year male student.