Go Defeat the White Room

Recalling the feeling of falling in love for the first time, the girl turned her head away.

My vision was blurred by tears, and my sobs drifted away in the wind.

Looking up at the sky, the night is almost turning into the colors of dawn.

She pressed the knife in her hand against her lover's heart, leaned close to his ear, and sang him a song of love from a young girl.

There was a sound of crying.

Whose is it? In the pitch-black world, there is a faint glimmer of light.

The prince opened his eyes, his dark pupils reflecting the confusion of someone just waking up.

The song that reached my ears was both so distant and so close, just like the one I heard back then...

The sounds of storms, cries for help, screams, the long night, and the unfathomable sea.

The monsters of the sea are Singing.

He remembered the desperate cries of the captain who had died in the shipwreck:

"Sirens! These monsters brought the calamity and storm!"

The prince let out a scream.

He frantically waved his hands, trying to prop himself up.

As his hands flailing about, he stumbled upon the blade that Shiina Hiyori holding, the one pressing against his heart.

The prince, in a frenzy, thrust forward the knife, aiming it at his own nightmare.

The surroundings fell silent instantly.

The knife tip didn't feel like it was piercing into a real object.

The first rays of dawn had already begun to fall.

He pierced a ball of foam.

Although he already knew that Shiina Hiyori had the talent to modify scripts according to her own preferences, Kitagawa Ryo had also co-starred with her in quite a few plays in the last simulation, plays that were so drastically altered that Shakespeare would have turned in his grave.

However, when Shiina Hiyori's rewritten script for "The Little Mermaid" was actually presented to him, Kitagawa Ryo truly felt the other's potential.

That's the ability to control words and evoke emotions cultivated through extensive reading.

"Fantastic."

"If I can maintain today's performance during tomorrow's assessment, I should be able to pass."

Kitagawa Ryo played with the prop dagger in his hand and exclaimed in admiration.

"Yay!"

Karuizawa Kei was the first to raise her hand and cheer, Shiina Hiyori also joined in with applause.

"Let's take a group photo as a memento."

Because today's rehearsal was on a formal stage, the Theater Troupe's photographer also came to the rehearsal site, gesturing with his camera to the three people on stage.

"What kind of pose should we strike?"

Upon hearing that they were going to take pictures, Karuizawa Kei immediately perked up Shiina Hiyori to a corner to whisper among themselves.

After a week of rehearsals together, the two became quite familiar with each other.

When the two returned, even the usually calm Shiina Hiyori had a faint, strange smile on her face.

"Then, are you ready?"

"Three, two, one!"

"Cheese--"

Just as the photographer shouted and pressed the shutter, the two people who were standing next to Kitagawa Ryo simultaneously and in perfect unison pulled out a prop dagger from the Theater Troupe from their pockets and stabbed Kitagawa Ryo in the middle from the left and right.

"What a scumbag!"

The two girls laughed together.

Kitagawa Ryo complied perfectly and fell to the ground.

He looked up at the white ceiling, but his vision was quickly filled by two small faces that had come close.

For the first time, a strange feeling welled up in Kitagawa Ryo's heart.

Outside the window, the shadows of trees were already beginning to appear, their branches swaying gently in the wind, and brilliant sunlight filtered through the gaps in the new leaves, casting dappled patterns on the windowpane.

Spring came earlier this year than usual.

Chapter Seven: Go Defeat the White Room

The black and white chess pieces are being manipulated by the players on the chessboard, moving back and forth, engaging in a game of strategy and combat.

On this Chess- centric gaming platform that includes various other board games, the live stream of this match attracted thousands of viewers, with dozens of new comments appearing almost every second on the chat panel on the right.

However, as the match intensified, the number of comments gradually decreased. This was not because viewers were leaving, but because more and more people were so engrossed in the exciting and rare match that they had no time to send comments to discuss it.

Fourteen-year-old Sakayanagi Arisu stared intently at the screen, gripping the mouse tightly and pursing her pale lips. She moved the cursor aimlessly across the screen, and unbeknownst to herself, her knees were trembling slightly.

The countdown seconds were ticking away, and you could almost hear the ticking of the clock urging you on.

"Check (General)."

It was as if one could see the opponent's fingertips pushing the black pieces, as they made the final move towards Sakayanagi Arisu:

The comments section on the right was already flooded with "GG (Good Game)".

It was less a good game and more a complete rout, a one-sided massacre.

"Your chess skills are truly outstanding; you must be far from an amateur."

Sakayanagi Arisu wasn't the type to dwell on temporary wins or losses, especially since she had already lost five matches to her opponent in the past few days. She let out a soft sigh and sent the following message in the chat.

To show her goodwill, she added a small smiley face at the end of the message.

"Thank you. Your chess skills are also excellent; you must have practiced specifically for it."

The other party replied quickly. On this platform, which is full of newcomers and amateurs, the two of them had become regular rivals because of their high skill levels.

"Yes, I started learning about Chess systematically when I was eight years old, and it's been six years now."

Although she lost the game, Sakayanagi Arisu frankly explained how long she had been learning Chess, since from her perspective, her opponent might very well be a veteran who had been immersed in the game for decades.

To put it another way, Sakayanagi Arisu was still a little unconvinced.

The other party seemed to be shocked by Sakayanagi Arisu's message and didn't reply for a long time, so Sakayanagi Arisu took the initiative to send another message:

Do you have any time left? I'd like to play a couple more games with you.

It's not that Sakayanagi Arisu find suitable Chess opponents. With the Sakayanagi Family's resources, they could even find one or two famous Chess masters in the country to tutor them. However, these masters wouldn't be willing to lower themselves to have such a pleasant match with her as a student. It would indeed be difficult to find another opponent like this one, whose playing style suits her perfectly and whose skill level is also superb.

"No."

The other party replied quite readily, rejecting the request without the slightest hint of tact or politeness.

"Why is that? Could you please explain the specific reasons?"

"Your skills are very good, almost at a professional level, but you're still a bit too inexperienced."

Sakayanagi Arisu in front of the computer screen, stiffened slightly. The girl, who was usually known for her good manners and praised by everyone who met her for her generosity and poise, twitched slightly on her clean, fair forehead.

"I'm really sorry."

"It seems the master is quite pleased with himself for bullying a newcomer like me."

Sakayanagi Arisu a deep breath and, almost as if venting her frustration, instantly replied with the above message.

"Then I, a novice like myself, will not disturb you any longer, Master."

"... I'm not worthy of the title of master."

"Actually, I've only been learning Chess for two years."

For the first time, Sakayanagi Arisu stared wide-eyed in such a daze, completely unaware that her cane had been knocked to the ground beside her.

"--ha?"

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she squinted and sent a new message:

"Then, how about I find you another opponent?"

The scene I saw through the glass that day felt like it happened just yesterday in Sakayanagi Arisu's memory.

Returning to this facility Yamanaka after six years, Sakayanagi Arisu felt a more pronounced discomfort than she had in her childhood.

The building's exterior, corridors, and identical rooms were all painted pure white.

Walking through the buildings, which were thickly painted pure white, almost made one feel dizzy. Sakayanagi Arisu her lips, and her father, noticing her discomfort, took the initiative to support his daughter's shoulder.

"Sakayanagi, no, now I should call her Chairman Sakayanagi, right?"

A man in his forties appeared at the end of the corridor. He extended his hand in a welcoming gesture, and his sharp eyes left a deep impression.

"Ayanokoji's father, it's been a long time."

The father bowed slightly in greeting.

"What a nostalgic title. Ever since you took over your father's position Chairman six years ago, you've barely contacted me, let alone come here."

The middle-aged man, known as Ayanokoji, scrutinized the two of them:

"This must be your daughter. I remember she came here with you before."

"Yes."

"I'm well aware that your attitude towards this experiment has shifted from approval to opposition over the years, which is why I agreed to let you come here, understand?"

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ayanokoji stepped forward and whispered in Chairman Sakayanagi's ear, his tone carrying an almost morbid satisfaction:

"Because a truly successful product is about to emerge."

"If we take his training program as a model..."

Sakayanagi Arisu paid no attention to the man's self-absorbed mutterings.

She pressed her hands tightly against the clear glass, staring intently into the room.

This is a one-way window; people can only see in from the outside, but those inside cannot see out at all.

The boys and girls, dressed in matching outfits, were reading inside. Each of them made no unnecessary movements, simply turning the pages mechanically.

"These are the children from the fifth cohort. There are a few excellent samples among them, but they are far inferior to those from the fourth cohort."

Noticing Sakayanagi Arisu's action, Ayanokoji stopped his presentation and began his introduction with a blank expression.

"It sounds impressive, but this experiment has many problems."

Sakayanagi Arisu turned around, put her hands behind her back, and said with a smile.

"If you're referring to humanitarian aspects, then there's no need to discuss it further."

Ayanokoji frowned slightly. If he didn't want to demonstrate the results of his experiment and bring the Sakayanagi Family back to his side, he wouldn't have wasted his time here.

"That's not what I'm trying to say, of course. After all, this experiment has been going on for so many years, and I can't stop it by speaking out."

Sakayanagi Arisu shook her head, and her next words made Ayanokoji's expression turn quite ugly:

"I just think this experiment itself is fundamentally incapable of successfully creating artificial geniuses."

A person's potential is determined at the moment of birth, the instant they are given life.

This is a product of chance, and it will continue to manifest itself in various fields from time to time.

This is the structure of human society.

Humans cannot transcend what is imprinted in their genes.

This could be an awakening stemming from bloodlines inherited from ancestors, or from a sudden mutation.

This means that if you want to create geniuses, you can only do so at the genetic level; there is no other way.