“Are they really determined to have everyone come neatly and leave neatly?”

The crowd nearby saw the two finish their guesses and start preparing to play, and immediately couldn’t help but whisper among themselves.

“There’s no other way;

the gap is just too huge. Who exactly is she? Her skill…”

“I suspect she’s a professional player.”

“You’re joking, right? Is there even any doubt? At this level, I don’t think most professional players could even match her. She’s way too strong. How can a female player be this powerful?”

“A female player from Japan? I know quite a few Japanese male players, but female ones I’m not too familiar with…”

Although the girl wore a mask and had not revealed her identity so far, the previous three games had already spoken volumes. The crowd had already guessed much about her.

Some even accurately speculated that the girl was a participant in the Phoenix Cup World Championship, though this could not be confirmed, since professional players in the Phoenix Cup would hardly have so much free time to play casually in a Go salon.

But no matter what, there was absolutely no way the girl was just an ordinary amateur player.

Thinking this, the crowd’s gaze shifted to Yu Shao and his group, and a hint of pity arose.

The murmurs around were kept very low, so Yu Shao did not hear them. He looked at the board in front of him and, after a moment’s thought, finally took a stone and gently placed down the first move.

Click!

On the seventeenth column and seventeenth row, at the 3-3 point!

Seeing Yu Shao’s first move at 3-3, the crowd immediately calmed down and stopped whispering, all turning their eyes toward the game, beginning to watch intently.

“3-3?”

The girl was slightly surprised to see Yu Shao’s first move placed at the 3-3 point.

Although nowadays playing 3-3 as the first move was no longer considered a bad move, it was still a relatively rare opening, with few players using it.

“Maybe he feels there are too many games starting with star point or Komoku openings, making it hard to gain an advantage, so he’s trying a new trick to win by surprise?”

The girl thought her guess was about 80 to 90 percent accurate, and a faint smile appeared on her face as she took a stone from the bowl and lightly placed it down.

“Well then, let’s see how it goes?”

Click!

At the fourth column and sixteenth row, a star point!

Yu Shao looked at the board, quickly took another stone, and placed it down again.

At the sixteenth column and seventeenth row, Komoku!

The first move at 3-3 was already quite rare;

generally after 3-3, the second move would be at a star point to form the three-three-star formation. The combination of 3-3 and Komoku was even rarer.

The girl did not think much and quickly took a stone, placing it down.

At the fourth column and fourth row, a star point!

After four moves, Black had played the extremely rare 3-3 Komoku layout, while the girl responded with the most common and general twin-star formation, showing an attitude of adapting calmly and observing Black’s moves.

Yu Shao lowered his eyes, gazing at the board. After a few seconds, he took another stone and placed it down heavily.

Click!

At the seventeenth column and fourteenth row, a large knight’s move to defend the corner!

The girl quickly took a stone and responded with her own move.

Click, click, click...

Both sides began alternating moves continuously, the sounds of stones falling echoing through the Go salon.

Soon, over thirty moves had been played, and the black and white confrontation on the board gradually became apparent.

“So far, Black is playing very well.”

Among the crowd, someone frowned slightly at the board and murmured, “At least in the opening, Black doesn’t seem to have suffered any losses and is on equal footing with White.”

“His two friends accompanying him are actually quite strong players, so naturally he won’t be weak. But unfortunately, his opponent is stronger.”

Hearing this, someone nearby nodded slightly and was not surprised. He whispered, “But how long can he hold on? That remains to be seen.”

“The opening relies on accumulation. If studied deeply, many amateurs aren’t weaker than professionals in the opening and sometimes even gain an advantage.”

A burly man spoke gravely, “But the midgame and endgame depend on fundamentals. The gap between professional and amateur players is often most evident in the midgame and endgame.”

Hearing this, the crowd became more focused, their expressions sharpening as they stared at the board.

What the burly man said was true. The three stages of Go are the opening, midgame, and endgame. The difference in the opening stage is usually small if both players have studied it.

There are even amateurs who study some particular opening extremely deeply, causing professional players to fall into disadvantage right from the start.

For example, someone who has never played Go before but memorized a rare and complex opening pattern might cause a professional player to fall into disadvantage if the professional does not understand the pattern and it appears unexpectedly.

However, in the vast majority of cases, when facing amateurs, even if the professional player is caught off guard, as long as it’s not a fatal mistake, the professional usually still wins in the end.

Because the midgame and endgame are where the difference lies.

The midgame is too complex, with no fixed rules to follow. Unlike the opening, it can’t be memorized. It depends on the player’s understanding of the board;

each move must change according to circumstances.

The gap in midgame strength is enough for professional players to recover from serious damage and turn the tide even when bleeding from wounds!

For this reason, everyone was very curious. Up to this point, Black’s level was obviously not bad, so how would the girl widen the gap?

That process of widening the gap was surely the essence of this game, and they could learn something from it.

Unnoticed even by themselves, after watching the previous three games, they had silently come to fully respect the girl.

Click!

At this moment, the girl took a stone and lightly placed it down.

“Atari?”

Seeing this move, the crowd first froze, then suddenly felt a sharp shock.

“She’s directly invading the enemy’s camp. That’s so bold!”

The burly man’s eyes didn’t even blink, firmly fixed on the board.

“Could it be starting right now?”

This atari move caught everyone by surprise. White advanced deep into Black’s formation, leaving no breathing room for Black and forcing a response. Black’s reply would change the development of the entire game!

Yu Shao looked at this atari, thought for a moment, then quickly took a stone and gently placed it down.

Click, click, click...

Soon, after more than ten moves, the expressions of the crowd subtly shifted.

“Just now, White’s atari launched a surprise attack on Black’s Komoku, but Black ignored it. However... White ended up with no gain.” Someone stammered.

“No, it’s not that White failed, rather...”

Someone beside him looked at the board in shock and said, “Black seems to be doing his own thing, but this move silently neutralized White’s attack!”

“At this point, White still has no advantage!”

Behind the girl, the young man accompanying her had remained silent the entire time but finally raised his head and glanced at Yu Shao before quickly averting his eyes and returning to watching the game.

At the same time, the girl looked at the board with slight surprise.

“Originally, I thought he would reinforce, but he really shifted to the left to seize a large area.”

“Black seems to have left a gap, but if I really invade, my stones might become overburdened. So I can only retreat a step, consolidate and reinforce.”

“That’s interesting.”

The girl pondered thoughtfully, then took another stone and gently placed it down.

“Well then, how about this?”

Click!

At the seventh column and twelfth row, a clamp!

Seeing this clamp, Yu Shao hesitated briefly, then took a stone and gently placed it down again.

Click, click, click...

They alternated moves once more, the sounds of stones falling resuming.

Soon, after more than twenty moves, the crowd’s expressions showed signs of astonishment, though no one knew exactly when.

At this moment, the girl took a white stone and placed it on the board again.

As soon as the white stone landed, Yu Shao glanced at the board and immediately took a stone, placing it swiftly!

Click!

At the tenth column and twelfth row, a jump!

“This...”

Seeing this jump, everyone was stunned, then immediately widened their eyes.

The whole room fell silent for two or three seconds.

After those seconds, someone finally opened their eyes wide, staring at the board in shock and unable to help but say, “White’s retreat is an extremely beautiful move, full of subtlety!”

“After White’s retreat, with the cooperation of surrounding stones, the external position has become astonishingly strong, forming towering mountains and deep valleys. It’s easy to defend but hard to attack!”

He looked up, staring at Yu Shao in disbelief, “But after his jump, Black’s surrounding stones strangely resonate with this seemingly weak and unsupported jump!”

“Now White is tightly caught by Black!”

Not only he but everyone was deeply shocked, staring at the board in disbelief.

They had originally thought the gap would rapidly widen after entering the midgame.

But—

The reality was completely different from their expectations!

Up to this point, White still had no advantage. Instead, Black revealed his strength, directly biting back at White, displaying an attitude of fierce competition!

“Jump...”

The girl was stunned at Yu Shao’s jump.

“The judgment is very accurate, the calculation very deep. It’s like he knows what I’m thinking;

every move precisely hits the weak points of my white stones.”

“After the jump, my external position was damaged, and there is still the possibility of Black forcing an invasion in the center!”

Her expression finally changed, her brows furrowing tightly as she stared at the board, becoming intensely serious.

“He... is very strong.”

The girl lifted her head, looked deeply at Yu Shao, then composed herself. A sharp glint appeared in her eyes as she took a stone and quickly placed it down again!

Click, click, click...

The two sides again played moves at lightning speed.

At some point, the girl’s eyes not only held sharpness but also a killing intent—a sign of feeling an intense threat and having to play deadly moves!

Black and white stones began spreading continuously across the board.

It was very clear that the atmosphere in the Go salon had completely changed from before.

Previously, the onlookers were relaxed, having seen the first three games and feeling this one had little suspense.

They occasionally whispered and discussed each move and the girl. But now, almost no one spoke.

The air had grown solemn and tense!

Even the young man accompanying the girl looked increasingly serious as he stared at the board.

Click.

Click.

Click.

The sound of stones falling echoed continuously throughout the salon.

Everyone silently fixed their gaze on the board, fully immersed in the game. Watching each stone fall was like witnessing endless flashes of blades and swords.

Quiet.

Growing quieter.

Even breathing became barely audible. The world held only the long echo of stones hitting the board!

No one knew how much time had passed. When the girl stared intently at the board, lost in deep thought, someone finally spoke again.

“So strong...”

He looked at the game, still shaken, and said in awe, “So advanced. Many moves I can’t understand at all. Only by the late stage can you gradually grasp them.”

A fine sweat appeared on his forehead as he said, “After White’s hane, Black’s hane was the correct move. White should have extended naturally, but instead jumped out, playing a foolish shape without any hesitation!”

“Facing White’s foolish shape, Black surprisingly did not attack, instead used a large knight’s move to advance into the center—another amazing and unexpected brilliant move!”

“But in the central fight, White’s foolish shape surprisingly unleashed unimaginable power!”

“Now I understand why Baiqi (foolish shapes) are not feared—they have dead stones acting as effective tactical tools!”

“And Black clearly saw through this long ago!”

He hardly dared believe it, saying, “They calculated so far ahead... I can’t believe they can play such a deep game!”

“Incredible. They’ve played to such a level. Who exactly are these two?” someone couldn’t help but ask, alarmed.

“I don’t know. It’s like watching a title match. Without commentary, it’s impossible to tell who’s winning.”

“I can’t tell. Sometimes I feel White is better, sometimes Black.”

Among the crowd, a young man in his early twenties frowned deeply. After a moment, he roughly judged the situation, though still uncertain.

He took a deep breath and said, “If I’m not mistaken, Black is better.”

“Although White has large territory on the edges that’s hard to invade or reduce, Black’s shape in the center is already taking form. Though not complete yet, its potential is terrifying!”

“So White’s best outcome is to break Black’s shape and enter the endgame to decide the result. If White can’t break Black’s shape, White is doomed!”

“The key to the outcome lies here!”