People in Zongman: My Dimensional Cuisine

There was a pause on the other end of the phone before a deep voice said, "He was wearing a kimono, had squinty eyes, and was rather short, right?"

"Yes, do you know Kiyotaki-sensei?"

Kiyotaki Kosuke sighed and said, "Of course I know him, we're good friends. But he took a different path and didn't make shogi his profession. It's a pity. Did you see him?"

Sora Ginko clenched her fist before nodding and saying, "That's right, I met him in the park. I saw him playing open-air shogi, so I tried it out. Kiyotaki-sensei, I'm sorry... I lost..."

"Huh?! You challenged him?!"

"Yes..."

"You're not the type to give up after just one challenge, are you...?"

"I just lost 273 times... I can do it..."

Upon hearing this, Kiyotaki Kosuke burst out laughing and said, "Hahaha! Gin! That's inevitable! Your current strength is far from enough to beat Kaneda! Losing so many times is normal! Hahaha!"

"Mr. Kiyotaki, does he have any special abilities?"

"Yes, he not only has strong thinking, observation, reaction, and overall strategic vision, but most importantly, he can perfectly predict his opponent's next move. With these strengths, it can be said that once he predicts it, the game will proceed according to his plan. It is very difficult for his opponent to beat him!"

"Huh?! This...this ability is way too overpowered!"

Kiyotaki Kosuke nodded and said, "That's right, it's a pity. But he's not only good at shogi, he's very strong in any board game, even mahjong."

Sora Ginko swallowed hard. This was truly impressive. Thinking about it, she suddenly remembered her previous challenge and felt a little...dazed...

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Chapter 977 Kaneda Suekichi's Reluctance, and the Distressed Sora Ginko (Please Subscribe~)

This is a good day, a perfect day for a walk, not just because of the good weather, but more so because it's Saturday.

Saturdays are generally a happy time, except for some special professions and special circumstances, because it is a time to rest. You can sleep in, go out to play, have dinner with friends, go to your hobby class, or go on a date with your boyfriend or girlfriend.

Everything was so beautiful, everything was so relaxing. Even the chirping of the birds outside the window sounded exceptionally pleasant, and the sunlight felt exceptionally gentle.

Today, Sora Ginko was no exception; she was exceptionally relaxed because she had been in good form recently and didn't have any matches she absolutely had to compete in, so she decided to take a break.

Sora Ginko tossed aside her usual school uniform, changed into her favorite dress, and began applying makeup in front of the mirror. She put on a simple, light makeup, checked her wallet, put it in her small handbag, and then left her residence wearing a parasol.

Sora Ginko walked along the road with her umbrella, not knowing where to go. However, her first thought was to pass by the park and then take a shortcut to the street, wander around for a morning or afternoon, and when she passed by the Shogi Association, she would go in to take a look, act like a master, enjoy the admiring gazes, and then leave.

Sora Ginko thought this way, and that's exactly what she did. She walked straight towards the park. Her place wasn't far from the city center, making it convenient for going to school, shopping, and visiting the Shogi League. Most importantly, there was a park where she could relax.

As Sora Ginko passed by the lawn, she suddenly paused, turned around, and saw a large crowd gathered around the pavilion where she sometimes sat to read.

Out of curiosity, Kong Yinzi went over to investigate. Most of the people gathered around the pavilion were middle-aged, between thirty and fifty years old, both men and women. They were all whispering to each other and nodding from time to time.

"Who is this Kinda? The Shogi League has never heard of such a person."

"I wonder, could he be a rogue chess player? There are so few of those these days..."

"Huh?! Trapped! How did they do that?!"

Sora Ginko couldn't see anything from the outermost edge, but she could hear shogi, she could hear stalemate, and she knew what was happening in the center of the crowd: open-air shogi.

This practice exists in both China and Japan, involving both shogi and xiangqi. Games are played outdoors, sometimes as a friendly exchange between friends, but more often as a competition to win money.

Kong Yinzi said softly to the man in front of her, "Is this a game of chess to win money, or a friendly exchange of skills?"

Upon hearing Sora Ginko's voice, the man who had previously shouted "I'm exhausted!" turned around, then froze, exclaiming in disbelief, "You...you are...you are the Snow White Princess of Naniwa! The Snow Queen, Sora Ginko?!"

"Huh?!" xn

Upon hearing this voice, Kaneda Suekichi, who was sitting in the very center, paused for a moment. Sora Ginko, that name sounds familiar, like I've heard someone mention it somewhere before.

Sora Ginko simply nodded, and the man from before quickly said, "This is a game where you win money by playing chess. The challenge fee is 500 yen. If you win, you can get 50,000 yen. If you lose once, the game is over."

Sora Ginko was stunned for a moment. Just how confident did they have to be to play like this? But this also piqued Sora Ginko's interest, because she had just heard them say that they didn't seem to have heard of the name Kinda. This made her even more curious.

Sora said softly, "Anyone can challenge me?"

Kaneda Suekichi said with a smile, "The world of shogi is getting fresh blood everywhere! So, young lady, would you like to play a game? It only costs 500 yen per challenge! If you win, you can take home 50,000 yen!"

"You're quite confident, but you don't recognize me?"

"I haven't paid attention to these things for a long time!"

Sora Ginko narrowed her eyes, becoming more relaxed. She took out a 500 yen note from her wallet, tossed it into the small box in front of Kaneda Suekichi, and then sat down opposite him.

"Hey, who is this girl?"

"You're new to the group, so you don't know, but Miss Sora Ginko is known as the Snow White of Naniwa. She holds the two highest titles: 'Queen' and 'Lady's Throne.' What a young prodigy!"

"Huh?! That's amazing! Maybe they can even beat this Kaneda!"

"Who says it's not..."

Kaneda Suekichi just smiled as he looked at the little girl named Sora Ginko in front of him. For some reason, he felt that he had seen or heard of this little girl somewhere before.

"Challengers first."

Sora Ginko bowed before starting the game, but for some reason, her expression became more and more serious as she played, until she was completely stunned. She was actually playing the game in a way that was completely different from what she had planned.

Kaneda Suekichi laughed and said, "I'm done for! Next! Who wants to challenge me?"

"Huh?! That Shirayuki-hime from Naniwa actually lost?!"

"This is amazing today!"

"I think I know how he plays! I'll give it a try!"

"and many more!"

The new challenger had barely finished speaking when he saw Sora Ginko staring at Kaneda Suekichi with a serious expression. He chuckled softly. She had never encountered such a situation before; it was as if she had been led astray while the rain was falling.

"Hmm? Would this young lady like to continue the challenge?"

After throwing down 500 yen, Sora Ginko said nothing and started playing on her own. Kaneda Suekichi chuckled. Sora Ginko had lost again. This time, Sora Ginko played the game entirely according to her own ideas.

But in the end, she discovered that every move she made had been anticipated, her counters were improvised, and there were even hidden traps. Finally, she launched a sudden attack, and Kong Yinzi lost again. This time, she was truly serious, but Kaneda Suekichi remained calm. She had only felt this way when she was a child learning Go from her teacher—this feeling of helplessness...

"Again..."

"Come again!"

"Come again!"

"..."

"Again...again...."

The spectators couldn't bear to watch any longer, and even Kaneda Suekichi himself felt a little sorry for him. He had been playing all day and losing all day. At noon, Kaneda Suekichi even went out for lunch. The Go board and everything else were left there, and he just kept the empty silver pieces there.

Sora Ginko's brain was trembling; she had never been so embarrassed. The audience was also urging her to stop, and even Kaneda Suekichi said he wanted to find someone else to fight.

Kaneda Suekichi coughed lightly and said, "That's fine!"

"Wait...wait a minute!"

"Hmm? It's late, and I'm starving..."

Sora Ginko bit her lip and looked at Kaneda Suekichi, saying in a deep voice, "You... what are you doing here?!"

"I'll be here every day until someone wins the 50,000 yen..."

"when it start?"

"seven in the morning."

"I see...."

A few thousand yen, or even ten or twenty thousand yen, was a small sum for Sora Ginko, but she felt as if she had lost her entire fortune. Her long-dormant passion was rekindled...

PS: Kinda didn't completely crush me, but rather gave me the illusion that I was just a little bit away from winning each time, so I didn't break down mentally.

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Chapter 978 Kiyotaki Kosuke's Evaluation: Which Lover? (Please Subscribe~)

Sora Ginko herself didn't know how she got home. She hadn't gone shopping or to the shogi association; she hadn't even stepped out of the park.

Kong Yinzi ate something quickly and then began to study chess scores like crazy. She searched for game videos online and analyzed them carefully. If she encountered a move with the same pattern, she would think about it carefully.

"This move is the same as that guy's move. So this is how it should be solved and then this... I guess you can't just rely on the game records."

"Huh? How did he manage to turn a living piece into a dead one?!"

"This is a recording of President Moonlight's match. Hmm? Is it the same up to the seventh move? The fourteenth move, the sixteenth move... the opponent resigns... As expected of President Moonlight..."

Sora Ginko studied for a long time before going back to rest. Although she couldn't sleep, she knew that she needed to have plenty of energy for the competition.

She can't sleep now because of her obsession, her unwillingness to accept things, and her adrenaline, so she's going to sleep anyway, for a sharper mind.

As dawn broke and the sun began to rise, the room was empty. The dishes that had just been washed in the kitchen were not yet completely dry, but no one was there.

When Kaneda Suekichi arrived, he found that Sora Ginko was already sitting in her seat waiting for him. Kaneda Suekichi's eyes twitched, as if he had aroused the competitive spirit of some extraordinary person.

"Ah... this young lady has arrived very early."

"You're here... When does it start?"

"Um... now is fine...."

Sora nodded and said softly, "Let's begin."

"Um... okay..."

Another day of crushing defeats, but Sora Ginko remembered that she hadn't finished her homework, so she didn't keep challenging herself and left around 2 PM, which relieved Kaneda Suekichi.

To be honest, even Kaneda Suekichi himself was a little reluctant to win. It was only after Sora Ginko left that Kaneda Suekichi won with even more abandon, which also made the little pavilion's reputation grow.

The next day in class, Sora Ginko kept thinking about whether Kaneda Suekichi had lost, how he lost, who lost the fight, and what his age was. What if Kaneda Suekichi left before she could avenge herself?

Thinking this, Sora Ginko decisively took sick leave and ran over. Seeing that there was still a group of people surrounding her, Sora Ginko breathed a sigh of relief. However, her legs seemed to have a mind of their own and walked to the pavilion.

Kaneda Suekichi had been relieved that Sora Ginko wasn't coming, but when he saw her, he was dumbfounded. Just how much did she want to win?! Didn't she know how strong her guilt was?!

It was obvious that Sora had lost again. She tried playing fast chess, but she lost even faster. Her thinking was not bad, but after being led astray by Suekichi Kaneda, she could never get back on track.

Another day of humiliating defeats, but as soon as the topic of playing blitz chess came up, Kaneda Suekichi's own people changed the fee to 100 yen. At first, no one understood, but they soon realized that charging 500 yen would be too much of a rip-off.

Kong Yinzi is now having a headache just thinking about the competition these past few days. Only now does she realize that the person she was challenging was actually a friend that even her master had to seriously challenge.

Kiyotaki Kosuke said with a smile, "Gin, it's normal for you to lose to him. He's a natural talent, even though he's been sickly since birth. But when one door closes, another opens. After this, you should know that you can still improve."

"Hmm...I understand, I'll adjust my mindset..."

"Well, winning and losing are common in war. Money is a tough nut to crack even among professional players. Don't be too proud, stay calm. Too much rigidity leads to breakage. By the way, who is the other person you asked about?"

Sora Ginko breathed a sigh of relief and felt much better. After all, losing to a senior who was both talented and strong wasn't shameful. She could just consider it as needing more experience, and she was still young.

Sora said softly, "This person seems to be your friend as well. He is much younger than Kinda-senpai, but Kinda-senpai seems to be his friend and respects him a lot."

"Hmm? Really? Do I have friends that young? What's their last name?"

"His name is... Bai Yu..."

After a moment of stunned silence, Kiyotaki Kosuke exclaimed in disbelief, "What?! Who did you run into?!"

"Mr. Shiraha... He and Senior Kaneda played a fast game of chess, and Senior Kaneda narrowly lost... After that, they played chess, and Senior Kaneda narrowly lost again."

After learning that Kaneda Suekichi was a friend of her teacher and a very skilled Go player, Sora Ginko changed Kaneda Suekichi's name from Kaneda-san to Kaneda-senpai, acknowledging that he was indeed a powerful Go player.

Kiyotaki Kosuke sighed and said, "I haven't seen Shiraha for a year or two either. He probably still hasn't joined the association..."

"No, I think he owns a restaurant?"

"That's right, his cooking is even better than his chess skills."

"Eh?!"

Sora Ginko was truly shocked. She had witnessed Shiraha's chess skills, but his culinary skills were even more terrifying. This was simply too exaggerated.

"That kid is incredibly talented and has a great personality. I've even talked to President Moonlight about his shop, and President Moonlight has ordered takeout from him before!"

"Mr. Shiraha told me about this. It seems he met Mr. Kaneda when he was taking a walk with his lover."

"Lover?"

"Ah."

"Which one?"