Kaito's eyelids suddenly twitched a few times. He suddenly felt this matter might not be resolved so simply.
Who was the opponent? It was Ke Jie!
The world's number one Go champion!
Although he once narrowly lost to AlphaGo, that was against a new version that had played millions of games against itself and collected game records from all players!
If it were the older version, Ke Jie could definitely beat AlphaGo!
According to rumors, Ke Jie did privately play against the older version of AlphaGo afterward and undoubtedly won.
It's just that outsiders didn't care about that, only focusing on the result of the livestreamed match.
Because of that, Ke Jie later got a black and white dog named AlphaDog.
Now, Baal had defeated Ke Jie in a Go match.
Maybe Ke Jie wasn't taking it seriously at first, but by the end, when he couldn't recover, he must have used his full strength during the recovery process.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked to meet Baal after the game.
As they say, heroes cherish heroes. Ke Jie was definitely interested in Baal, especially since Baal used his (Kaito's) account, an amateur account...
Ke Jie must have misunderstood.
"Master... I'm sorry."
Realizing things might be serious, Baal lost her desire to continue playing.
Earlier, when she first encountered Go, she was more interested in its deep and extensive ways of playing. During the matches, she quickly won streak after streak.
Then, for some reason, she wondered how strong the world's strongest player was, so she issued the challenge.
And then this happened...
"...Sigh, let me see first."
Taking the opportunity to excuse himself from the group chat by saying he was busy, Kaito sat at the computer desk. Looking at the friend's private message on the platform, it was indeed Ke Jie.
And Ke Jie was incredibly excited, wanting to meet him, even proactively giving his personal phone number and Messenger account, and suggesting that Kaito could decide the meeting place and time.
Kaito: Hello, Ke Jie. I really appreciate you thinking so highly of me. However, just playing against you with full effort already consumed a lot of my energy. So, regarding your suggestion to discuss new tactics together, etc., I'm very flattered but feel I lack the ability.
A man can't say he's not capable, right?
So Kaito found a suitable excuse to politely decline Ke Jie.
Ke Jie: No, no, no, Brother Kaito. You say playing against me consumed a lot of your energy, but I feel the same! In the latter half, I even felt despair at one point and considered resigning. So you have great potential and great ability!
Kaito: Oh dear...
Kaito turned to look at Baal, who, upon being noticed, shyly hurriedly backed away, then hid in a corner without a word, lowering her head like an ostrich.
'Wow, not only did she force Ke Jie to go all out, but she also made him feel despair to the point of considering resignation?'
'Is this you?'
'Baal?'
'Could this be your true nature?'
'Well, I'm screwed.'
'Ke Jie will definitely pester me relentlessly.'
Plus, given his influence, Kaito might have no choice but to agree eventually, especially since his account was registered with real name.
It would be easy for him to find Kaito, and the other party was approaching with good intentions. Kaito couldn't really bring himself to harshly drive him away, could he?
'Forget it.'
'I would just follow the trope of Hikaru no Go, where Sai possesses Hikaru and guides his play.'
He felt he can have Baal attach to him and guide his play through conversations in his mind.
It would be like that morning when they went out to buy clothes. Kaito completely ignored Baal's protests and opinions in his mind and bought the clothes according to his own preferences.
Kaito: Alright... I agree. Can we set the time for next week? I'm not entirely sure yet. Once I confirm, I'll let you know, okay?
Ke Jie: Of course! Of course! Brother Kaito, I'll await your good news.
Kaito: Okay, I'm tired too. Rest early. Good night.
Ke Jie: OK, good night!
Closing the private chat window, Kaito breathed a sigh of relief.
Meeting a figure like Ke Jie... actually, he was quite excited too.
It's just a pity that he was ultimately borrowing prestige, relying on Baal.
"Baal, come here quickly. I'll switch accounts in a bit, and you can play against the AI."
"Huh? I can still play?"
"Otherwise, go to sleep now?"
There were still about ten minutes until midnight. Technically, it was quite late.
But, like the other chat group members, Kaito was waiting for the midnight check-in. What if he got lucky and got a direct 100 points for a draw?
"Okay, thank you, Master!"
Hearing this, Baal happily sat back at the computer. After Kaito opened a guest account for her, he let her play against the AI again.
This AI was, without a doubt, still AlphaGo. Let Baal battle it out with AlphaGo.
If she beats the 'dog' (AlphaGo), then when he faces Ke Jie, he'll have something to say, right?
Kaito sat back on the sofa, picked up his phone, and glanced at the chat group.
Since he had proactively left earlier, the group had stopped talking about him.
That was good.
Otherwise, if they kept discussing it, he might end up becoming everyone's son-in-law.
This was truly terrifying. Kaito indicated that he couldn't accept it in the short term. He'd discuss this matter when he had a kidney of indestructible diamond quality.
Besides, wasn't this still a few years away?
With Baal, and even Beelzebul right in front of him, and all these wives, why would he consider little girls who haven't grown up yet?
That wouldn't do!
"It's time, check-in!"
At exactly midnight, the chat group went silent. Everyone started checking in.
—Ding
[Today's obtained points: 100]
"Oh? Lucky today, directly getting one draw?"
Hehehe, what are you waiting for? Draw naturally...
He got up, quickly ran to the bathroom to wash his face and hands, then checked the time fortune chart hanging on the living room calendar.
'Amethyst (11 PM-1 AM), Great Luck.'
'Suitable for Gacha!'
'The kind Multiverse Gacha Merchant should be here to give out benefits!'
"Now it's my turn!"
"Gacha!"
Pressing the Gacha button, the phone screen displayed a large number of cards. As they continuously refreshed, one card stood out.
Suddenly, a burst of dazzling light filled the entire phone screen. The special effects for this draw were even more spectacular than yesterday's!
This made Kaito's breathing quicken, until that card appeared in the light, the phone played a very celebratory sound effect, and the card presented itself in a reddish-gold color, slowly rotating...
——Ding
Congratulations, you drew...