I'm Really Going to Become an Immortal
Chapter 212 - 170 The Second Day without Him, Wanting to~

Chapter 212: Chapter 170 The Second Day without Him, Wanting to~

April 12th, Noon.

Hua Country Chess Institute is located in the cultural heart of Beijing, where at noon, the atmosphere is tranquil and elegant, as if it is a quiet oasis in a bustling city.

Sunlight filtered through gauzy curtains, casting shadows on the antique wooden Go board. The interplay of light and shadow reflected the black and white world of the pieces, like a flowing ink painting.

Inside the hall, players either sat or stood; some were immersed in deep thought, their brows furrowed, tapping their fingers lightly on the table as if they were strategizing against thousands of troops in their mind. Others had just finished a game and sat opposite each other reviewing their match, chatting and laughing, the air filled with a rich academic atmosphere and the spirit of friendly competition.

Occasionally, the crisp sound of Go pieces being placed on the board could be heard.

Meanwhile, Ke Bao, 9th rank, who had shut himself in the headquarters of the Chess Institute for the whole day without leaving his room, lay back in his chair.

His computer screen was on the Go Network page, constantly watching for the Go Emperor’s online activity.

The several Go boards beside him were also set up for reviewing previous games against the Go Emperor.

Ever since the day before yesterday’s three games were completed,

he had been too distraught to eat or drink properly.

He had almost no interest in the in-person training usually organized by the institute.

Yesterday, he didn’t catch the Go Emperor online all day, and everything felt pointless.

That was a whole day!

An entire day without being utterly defeated!

Just the thought made him incredibly impatient and restless with the burning desire to play.

Every game played against such a master was beneficial. Just by reviewing the games, he felt that he learned a lot every time.

This feeling was like an addictive drug for the mind.

He couldn’t stay away for even a moment.

But yesterday, when he opened Go Network as usual, he didn’t manage to catch the Go Emperor online. After asking around in Zhan Ying’s live-streaming room, he found that no one had seen the emperor online either.

In silence,

Ke Bao, 9th rank, looked toward the replay of the game on the nearby board where he, playing black, had been given a handicap but still lost.

He was preparing to review the game yet again, to relive the experience,

when he heard someone knocking on the door.

"Come in,"

Ke Bao said.

The door opened, and in walked a familiar face to Ke Bao, 9th rank.

It was Li Xuan, the 9th rank, one of the leading figures in Hua Country’s Go scene, whom Ke Bao felt he could only match up to with difficulty.

Li Xuan’s playstyle, almost a perfect imitation of AI, had been suspected by some as being "piloted" by someone else, but Ke Bao, 9th rank, knew very well this wasn’t the case.

He had face-to-face games with Li Xuan, the 9th rank, more than once, and Li Xuan’s AI-like moves remained the same, ruling out the possibility of using AI to cheat.

In this era of AI in Go, he is definitely the epitome of the Go fixed pattern developed by AI.

"Still reviewing your games? Not even taking time to eat?"

Li Xuan, the 9th rank, unceremoniously pulled up a chair and sat down, starting to study the board beside Ke Bao, 9th rank.

After glancing at the board,

Li Xuan, the 9th rank, couldn’t help but squint his eyes.

"This black playstyle is so conservative. Normally, black wouldn’t play conservatively... "

"Is this a handicap game? From the start, black has been trying hard to avoid combat, working to maintain their lead advantage right through to the end game."

"But still, you’re impressive. White plays with such force, the black seems strong, but no matter how much it avoids conflict, you’ve left it with not a piece to stand on. Your style as white here seems a bit different from before; did you learn something new... "

Li Xuan, the 9th rank, didn’t finish his sentence when he suddenly stopped.

He noticed that something was off about Ke Bao’s expression; it wasn’t one of someone receiving praise.

Considering Ke Bao’s typical arrogant nature, having received such compliments, he would normally be grinning smugly by now.

But not this time.

Ke Bao, 9th rank, didn’t show any such reaction, instead somewhat helplessly curling his lips.

After a moment of silence, Li Xuan, the 9th rank, suddenly realized something.

"Shit! You’re the black stones, aren’t you?"

"You played black with the handicap and lost to someone? And lost that badly?!"

"But you’re the world number one!"

Li Xuan, the 9th rank, observed the board again in disbelief, his eyes wide.

His strong calculating ability quickly determined how many points the white stones had won by.

If it were an even game, white would be leading by twelve and a half points. Even after deducting the seven and a half points for the handicap, it was still a five-point lead.

Considering that black played defensively to maintain its earlier advantage, being five points behind was almost like being thrashed while pinned down.

Li Xuan, the 9th rank, swallowed hard and looked at Ke Bao again in disbelief.

He found it hard to accept.

That the current Chess Saint and the world’s number one could suffer such a defeat even with a handicap.

Could that really be?

If the opponent were a top-tier Go AI, it wouldn’t be strange to be defeated even with a two-stone handicap.

But if the opponent was human, to thoroughly defeat the world’s number one player, even with a handicap, seemed too exaggerated.

It felt like a dream.

Most importantly,

Li Xuan, the 9th rank, as the player whose style is most similar to that of AI in the world, was certain that Ke Bao’s opponent in this game was not AI.

At least not AI born from any mainstream algorithm of the current era.

He was nicknamed by netizens as "Xuan’s AI" for his profound understanding of AI.

"Yes, I’m the black stones."

"Indeed, I’ve never lost a game like this before."

Ke Bao, 9th rank, nodded, without any reluctance to admit defeat or sore loser attitude.

He was genuinely convinced.

After the loss two days ago, he was even willing to proclaim himself a mere foil, a lesser steed, all for the sake of this amateur master.