"What is all this about 'central village' or not, old man like me don't understand those things. I won a game of chess yesterday, and that person told me to come here to the Hua Country Go Association to register and claim the entrance animation prize."
Old Master Bai said discontentedly, "Why do I even have to say such a thing, isn't your service too poor?"
At this moment, Song Yun parked his car and came in. The receptionist was instantly attracted to Song Yun's appearance, and Old Master Bai had to call her twice before she even heard.
"What's the matter?"
Song Yun asked curiously.
"This little girl doesn't know anything. It's truly a waste of time."
Old Master Bai now looked like a child who couldn't get a toy, with his arms crossed and showing great impatience.
"Let me ask."
Song Yun said with a smile to the receptionist, "Hello, don't you have a service here to register information and claim entrance animation for Go chess games?"
"Ah? Ah!"
The receptionist's face turned red, and she bowed her head, not daring to look at Song Yun. In a low murmur, she said, "This is the Hua Country Go Association, not an online Go website. We really don't have the thing you're looking for."
"Old Master, it seems we've been played."
Song Yun shook his head helplessly and said, "I guess the other side couldn't accept their loss and thought to make you look foolish."
"Humph! People nowadays are so malicious!"
Old Master Bai appeared very angry, "When I get back, I'm definitely going to find that bastard!"
Angry as they were, the Go Association couldn't help with this matter, so they could only leave in disappointment.
As they were leaving, they brushed past a middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man looked curiously at the duo and approached the receptionist to ask, "President Liu, what were those two here for?" Continue your adventure at Freewebnovel
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"Good morning, President Liu. They said they were here to collect some entrance animation, but we don't have that kind of thing here. I sent them away," the receptionist replied.
"What!!!"
President Liu, casting aside his usual genteel demeanor, threw his briefcase and ran outside.
"Wait, wait, wait!"
President Liu, panting for breath, called out after Song Yun.
"Old Master, do you recognize that person?"
Song Yun turned his head to look and asked.
"Don't know him."
Hearing this, Song Yun immediately took a defensive stance, ready to retaliate heavily if the other party had any bad intentions!
"Huff, huff, huff~"
President Liu, supporting his knees with his hands, breathed heavily of the fresh air: "You... You came to collect the entrance animation?"
"Yes! But it seems we were tricked!"
"No, no, no..."
President Liu swallowed several times and, still gasping for air, said, "I was the one who played chess with you yesterday."
"You?"
"Yes, Desert Lone Wolf!"
President Liu straightened his back and tidied his hair as he slowly spoke, "I am the president of the Hua Country Go Association. My surname is Liu, and I'm honored to meet you."
"You tricked us into coming here deliberately. What are you trying to do?"
Old Master Bai asked with a hostile look.
Being deceived was indeed not a pleasant matter, and on top of that, the old gentleman had not slept well last night because of it. If the other party dared to talk nonsense, he really would get angry and call the higher-ups!
"The entrance animation isn't a deception, I'll take care of it for you right now!"
President Liu took out his mobile phone and dialed the person in charge of the online Go battles, and after explaining the situation, the other party quickly agreed.
"Old gentleman, I see you are also a connoisseur of chess, how about we talk in my office?"
President Liu extended the invitation, and looking at the other's earnest expression, Elder Bai felt it didn't seem like a deception.
The three of them arrived in the office, where President Liu personally brought out his years-cherished tea to entertain the two guests.
"I wonder, President Liu, do you have anything else you wish to discuss with us?"
Elder Bai asked after taking a sip of tea.
"The game of Go you played with me yesterday was simply brilliant!"
President Liu exclaimed excitedly, "In my opinion, your strength is absolutely at the level of a national player! Only a handful of people can match you!"
Elder Bai did not become complacent from the flattery, well aware that the crux of the matter was yet to come.
President Liu rubbed his hands together, and seeing that the grandfather and grandson had no intention of taking the hint, he said somewhat awkwardly, "Well, we would like to invite you to play a few matches, what do you say?"
"I'm sorry, I'm not interested," Elder Bai kindly declined.
As a joke, the game he played yesterday wasn't even his own play, and if he were really to compete with those professionals, he would be exposed as an impostor in just a few moves!
If this spread to his old friends, they'd surely call to tease him!
"Don't be like that! I won't let you make your move for free, I can offer a subsidy... five thousand per game! How about it?"
President Liu said, troubled.
Because the higher-ups would never approve the funding for hiring an outside player for such an event, it meant that he would have to cover tens of thousands out of his own pocket after several games!
"I'm sorry, I'm not interested," Elder Bai repeated, waving his hand, "Thank you for the tea, but if there's nothing else, we'll be on our way."
"Wait a moment!"
President Liu clenched his fists, his eyes filled with reluctance, "If you don't help us, Go in Hua Country will truly be in name only!"
"Hmm?"
This statement piqued Elder Bai's interest, as Go had been around for thousands of years; how could it be doomed just because he refused? There must be a reason.
"The day after tomorrow, Go masters from Cherry Blossom Country and Kimchi Country will visit, intending to defeat all of Hua Country's masters in public. When that happens, we will suffer a terrible defeat..."
Having said this, President Liu seemed to lose all his strength and sat down on the chair, "The way of Go passed down by so many sages, is it really going to be broken in my hands?"
"But that shouldn't be the case. Although there are fewer Go learners in our Hua Country compared to those two countries, we still outnumber them; how can we possibly lose?" Elder Bai asked in confusion.
President Liu said with a bitter smile, "They place much more importance on Go than we do, hence they've nurtured many more high-level masters. And our grandmasters, capable of standing against them, are either unable to sit for extended periods due to health issues or have passed away. Essentially, our high-end combat power has been severed!"
"They are seizing this gap to come and cleanse the whole Go community of Hua Country, and by then, they will also establish their own stronghold, no longer recognizing the suzerainty of Hua Country's Go."
Hearing this, Elder Bai's brow furrowed; to him, this seemed like a war without the smoke of gunfire!
As someone who had lived through that era, the sense of national pride was deeply ingrained in the old gentleman's mind.
"First things first, it wasn't me who played the game yesterday, it was someone else."
"Ah? Now we're really finished... truly finished..."
"Song Yun, why don't you have a good talk with President Liu?"