CHAPTER 395: CHAPTER 395: BORING

Before long, the white-haired old man won again. It was already his fifth victory today, having defeated almost all the elder men present.

He was undoubtedly the star of the Go games at the square.

Grinning with satisfaction, he deliberately sighed, giving off a vibe of being unbeatable in solitude.

He had figured out the strategies of these old men, realizing none of them could beat him, and he was feeling a bit bored.

That’s when he noticed Paige Sterling in the crowd.

"Young girl, do you know how to play Go?"

Paige Sterling replied, "I’m pretty good at it."

The old man next to them, "...", wasn’t she just claiming she only knew a little? Now it’s pretty good?

This young girl really talks big, huh?

The white-haired old man chuckled, "Then come, play a game with me."

The old men nearby immediately said, "Oh dear, how could a young girl know how to play? You, an elderly man, don’t bully her now..."

"She said she knows how to play, how does that mean I’m bullying her?"

The white-haired old man’s whiskers twitched as he glared, "Young girl, tell me, am I bullying you?"

Paige Sterling adjusted her glasses, looking quite scholarly, said, "I won’t play with you."

The white-haired old man asked, "Why not? Didn’t you say you know how to play? Or were you lying to me?"

The old men knew that few young people nowadays knew how to play Go, most treating it like Gomoku; he said, "It’s fine if you don’t know. If you’re interested, I can teach you. You just have to come over..."

Paige Sterling shook her head, "I don’t want to play with you because your skills are too poor."

The smile on the white-haired old man’s face froze instantly. For a moment, he almost doubted his hearing. Although he’s not particularly skilled in front of masters, he should easily surpass a young girl, right?

And what did he hear? This young girl just said his game was poor?

Young people are too arrogant these days, they need a little discipline from us elders!

The surrounding old men did not expect Paige Sterling to say such audacious words and burst into laughter.

"Young lady, Old Man Jennings is the best Go player around here, and you actually say he’s poor? Be careful, Old Man Jennings might as well go all out against you."

"Yeah, young girl, do you even know how to play Go? You probably can’t even read a board, and yet you say such things."

"Young people these days are too... well, too good at pretending to be really... something."

Paige Sterling, "I’m just being honest."

Seeing Paige Sterling display no embarrassment from being exposed, Old Man Jennings said, "Since you’re so confident, young lady, why don’t you sit down and play a game with me, so we all can look at your skills? If you’re really good, I’ll give you my ’Go Star at the Square’ title!"

Old Man Jennings said this with great confidence. He didn’t believe a young girl really had any skill, that if anything, it was just bluster.

A group of old men egged Paige Sterling to play a game.

Paige Sterling saw them all looking like they were waiting to lecture her after her loss and nodded, "Alright, I’ll play a game with you."

She sat down, and Old Man Jennings generously offered her a three-stone handicap, but Paige Sterling refused, "Isn’t that bullying an elderly person? I can’t do that. Let’s just play directly."

Well, he kindly didn’t want to let this young girl lose too badly, but she didn’t appreciate it.

Since that’s the case, he wouldn’t hold back either.

So, the two of them began to fight on the board.

Old Man Jennings didn’t really take Paige Sterling as an opponent and played very casually at the beginning of the game.

And Paige Sterling played even more casually, dropping her stones wherever she liked, showing no respect for her opponent.

Some old men next to them started advising Paige Sterling.

"Young girl, you’re not playing Go, you’re playing Gomoku, right? Look at your moves..."

"Ah, it’s okay if you’re not good at it; young people today generally don’t know about these old games. You should stop playing..."

Paige Sterling remained silent and continued to place her stones.

Old Man Jennings saw this and continued to play along with her, planning to quickly surround Paige Sterling’s stones and end this unsatisfying game quickly.

This complacent mood of Old Man Jennings persisted until he realized, to his shock... he had no more stones to play...

No more stones to play?

How had he run out of stones to play?

Old Man Jennings stared dumbfounded at the board, where Paige Sterling’s moves were random and chaotic, leading everyone to believe she was playing haphazardly. But now, upon closer inspection of the board, they found that Paige Sterling’s seemingly random placements had formed a connected shape that resembled... a rooster...

Upon closer inspection, it astonishingly resembled the map of Veridia.

And all of his stones were contained within that map.

He had no idea when he had been surrounded by Paige Sterling.

Old Man Jennings was stunned, "Young lady, you really are something!"

He had underestimated her. When the young girl said she could play, she really meant it, and it seemed she was a strategic sage!

He was suddenly invigorated, "Young lady, who taught you this maneuver? Does it have a name?"

Paige Sterling shook her head, "I just played randomly."

How could that be considered playing randomly?

Who could play Go like that so casually?

How did this young girl suddenly become so modest?

Having finished her game, Paige Sterling stood up, "I’m heading off, you all take your time playing."

A group of old men blocked the road to prevent Paige Sterling from leaving, and Old Man Jennings also stopped her.

"Young lady, don’t rush off, come, let’s have another game..."

He had fought everyone around into submission, about to be the invincible loner in the area, and now, having finally found someone who could beat him, how could he let this opportunity go?

He definitely wanted to spar with her more.

"Yeah, young lady, let’s have another game..."

The onlooking old men all thought Paige Sterling’s victory over Old Man Jennings was probably just luck, because Old Man Jennings had underestimated her.

In another game, Paige Sterling surely couldn’t win.

Paige Sterling didn’t want to play, stating, "We agreed on just one game, I don’t want to play anymore."

Old Man Jennings quickly said, "I wasn’t giving it my all in that game. Let’s have another game, and if you beat me again..."

Paige Sterling, "I’m not interested in your ’Go Star at the Square’ title, and even if you try your hardest, you still won’t beat me."

On hearing these words earlier, Old Man Jennings had thought she was merely arrogant without actual skill...

However, upon realizing Paige Sterling’s genuine ability in Go, her words sounded more like she was just speaking the truth.

He said, "Young lady, you’ve seen your grandpa playing here for so long, it’s rare to meet someone who can win against me. Let’s have another game, okay? Consider it an elderly plea..."

Paige Sterling, pestered by the old man, had no choice but to sit back down.

"This will be the last game. After this, I won’t play with you anymore."

Old Man Jennings quickly nodded.

However, as it turned out, old men who were supposedly wise could also be very crafty, spouting all sorts of clever lies.

The promised last game ended up being one game after another, even though he couldn’t win against her, yet insisted on continuing.

Paige Sterling grew a little annoyed, "No matter how you play, you can’t beat me. Why do you keep insisting on playing with me?"

Old Man Jennings replied, "Precisely because I can’t beat you, I want to play with you. If I could beat you, what would be the point?"

Paige Sterling, "I’m finding this very pointless right now."