Chapter 85: Takemiya Susumu, You Must Die!

Xu Yunzhou fell silent on the other end of the screen.

There was no more doubt in his heart, almost one hundred percent certain—that extreme right-wing politician Takemiya Susumu in the news, who died bizarrely in 2016, was personally "sent away" by this little brat!

But this little brat... is only turning seventeen next year, and she's going to have blood on her hands?

No, perhaps in her heart, that isn't blood at all, just a necessary step to clear her inner demons...

A moment later, he sighed, his voice carrying a steadiness of accepting a heavy destiny:

"I understand, Ah Nuo. This is your karma, I respect your choice."

He paused,

"But with your current status as an unregistered citizen, you can't even enter the most basic shooting club.

How about this, next week, we'll take a trip to Kyoto. I'll help you solve the identity problem, so you can openly and honorably come into contact with everything you want to learn."

"Thank you..."

Xu Nuo said softly. These two words were much gentler than usual, carrying a trace of undetectable reliance.

She hesitated for a moment, her voice even softer,

"Teacher, thank you... for accompanying me. It's been a long, long time since anyone asked me what I want to do, what I want to become."

Listening to the subtle trembling in her words, Xu Yunzhou's heart softened inexplicably:

"Silly girl, what are you thanking me for. Just tell me whatever you want to do in the future, I will always accompany you."

Hearing this, an extremely complex expression surfaced on Xu Nuo's face.

It was a fragile mix of warmth from being cared for, deeply buried guilt, and a faint, lingering fear of losing it all.

She smiled extremely lightly. Under the moonlight, this smile was breathtakingly beautiful, and also heartbreakingly fragile.

She didn't speak anymore, just gently gave an "mhm."

That night, after returning to that dilapidated and cramped residence.

Xu Nuo opened her computer as usual to start writing code. Xu Yunzhou watched from the side, occasionally giving a few pointers.

But as time went by, he felt somewhat bored, so his consciousness drifted and he fast-forwarded to skip this "study time."

She almost immediately perceived that the "sense of being watched" enveloping her had disappeared.

The fingers typing on the keyboard hovered in mid-air, pausing slightly.

An emotion mixing loss and the panic of being abandoned instantly spread.

Then, as if to dispel this unsettling emptiness, and also as if to prove something, she silently cut into a specific deep layer of the dark web.

Relying on the hacker skills that had advanced by leaps and bounds these days under Xu Yunzhou's unreserved teaching and her own monstrous talent, she filtered precisely.

Then, as if seeking thrills, she accepted several targeted intrusion tasks marked "High Risk, High Reward, Bear Your Own Consequences"—just treating it as... consolidation practice, she said to herself.

The targets were the databases of several multinational companies known for being iron walls, stealing designated, highly sensitive commercial and technical materials inside.

Her hands flowed like clouds and water, like a dancer in the dark night.

It was just that...

Every time she used the techniques he taught to bypass the firewall's detection, his focused side profile when holding her hand and patiently explaining the principles of vulnerabilities would uncontrollably flash through her mind;

Every time she successfully obtained core permissions, his gentle promise "I will accompany you as you grow up" would uncontrollably echo in her ears.

That gentleness was like poison, making her intoxicated, and also making her terrified.

When the last task was completed, looking at the newly added one hundred Bitcoins in her encrypted wallet, Xu Nuo felt no joy at all.

(Note: At this time, the unit price was 300-500 US dollars.)

She slowly turned her head, looking toward the direction of the void where Xu Yunzhou's consciousness usually resided. Extremely complex emotions surged in her eyes—there was reliance, guilt, and a trace of deeply hidden fear.

Teacher...

If one day you know the truth, know that I've been lying to you all along...

Will you still treat me so gently?

Or will you... feel I'm disgusting?

And then hate me? Leave me?

No.

The moment this thought arose, it was instantly crushed by an almost crazy paranoia.

That situation absolutely cannot be allowed to happen!

Even if I have to fall into a deeper hell, even if I have to bear more sins, this beam of light that shone into her cold life absolutely cannot be allowed to disappear!

Her eyes abruptly became icy cold, like an unsheathed demonic sword.

Her fingers were as swift as the wind on the keyboard, pulling up all the hidden materials she could gather about Takemiya Susumu, including his itinerary habits, weak links in security, network of political enemies...

Her gaze lingered for a moment on that hypocritically virtuous official standard photo, her killing intent chilling.

Subsequently, she cut into an even more hidden corner of the dark web that required a special pass to access, finding the intelligence board of a Nihon yakuza organization named "Crescent Group."

Comprehensive information showed they had a long-standing feud with Takemiya Susumu and the political faction behind him.

Their conflicts of interest were fierce, friction was constant, and bounty orders targeting Takemiya Susumu leaked from internally could even be found on the dark web.

You're the ones.

The corners of Xu Nuo's lips hooked into a cold and ruthless arc.

In order to continue acting out this drama of "deep master-and-disciple affection," in order to not let Teacher get angry, disappointed, and ultimately leave after discovering the truth...

So, Takemiya Susumu-san, although there is actually no direct enmity or grievance between you and me, but—

You must die!

She began to edit the message calmly, using multi-layer springboards to disguise her IP.

She sent the itinerary weaknesses and security loopholes regarding Takemiya Susumu she had filtered out to a public contact channel of the "Crescent Group."

After doing all this, she closed all windows and cleared all traces.

In the room, only the faint light of the screen and the distant neon outside the window remained.

She hugged her cold knees tightly and buried her face into them, her shoulders trembling slightly imperceptibly.

...

Days passed...

Xu Nuo swept through the major Go clubs in Edo, which could be described as "killing gods when gods block, killing Buddhas when Buddhas block."

The Go circle isn't considered big, nor is it considered small.

Especially in the current age of developed information, the news of "Mysterious Great Xia girl with a bizarre Go style, winning consecutively against Edo amateur experts, never tasting a defeat," was like growing wings.

Rapidly spreading in the Nihon Go world, and even making it onto the hot topics of several Go forums.

"Did you hear? A little girl from Great Xia popped up recently, knocking many good players off their horses in the Go clubs?"

"Real or fake? Sai from 'Hikaru no Go' descended into reality? That's too exaggerated, right!"

"More than that! It's said that when she plays Go, she even hugs a thick 'Introduction to Algorithms,' she's simply like a machine on the Go board!"

At first, this was just an interesting anecdote relished by the amateur circle and Go friends.

Most of the high and mighty professional Go players, upon hearing it in their spare time, just laughed it off, treating it as a little spice in their boring training, not truly taking it to heart.

However, when several top inseis—who were placed with high hopes by the Edo Go Institute and preparing to charge for professional dan status—also lost to that girl one after another, and brought the game records to find their respective teachers, the nature of the matter changed.

(TL: Insei refers to student Go players training to become professionals.)

"Meijin Cho U! Please, you must look at this girl's game record! Too... too bizarre! It's simply not human thinking!"

(TL: Meijin is a major Go title.)

"Even Shindo Hikaru and Toya Akira, who have the most hope of achieving dan status this year, lost. Beaten into a rout in the middle game, completely unable to find the rhythm!"

"Her Go, seems to come from the future!"

A player from Taiwan even rushed directly into the tearoom of his teacher, O Rissei 9-dan.

O Rissei was the well-deserved number one person in the Nihon Go world in the early 21st century.

Although he was gradually fading from the front lines of contention now due to physical and energy reasons, an old lion's residual majesty still exists.

The sharpness of his vision and the maturity of his experience were still top-tier in the Go arena.

He took the game record. At first, he just browsed casually, but as he kept looking, his expression became solemn.

After pondering repeatedly for a long time, he raised his head, blazing light already ignited in his eyes.

"If this Xu Nuo-san comes to the Go Institute again,"

O Rissei instructed his disciple,

"You must invite her to come see me. Just say... I, O Rissei, want to play a game with her."

"Hai!"

(TL: "Hai" is Japanese for "Yes.")

Huang Minghui suppressed the stormy waves in his heart, bowed deeply, his voice somewhat tight from excitement,

"Disciple understands! I will definitely deliver the message!"