"...Wait, why is the sun rising in the west today?!"

Meanwhile, in Dongjiang City, Huaxia, at the Muhu Go Academy.

Seeing the current win rate given by the AI, Lei Jingming, who was watching the game with his old friend, was dumbfounded:
"Rui Zhao made frequent mistakes today, which is bad enough, but he was even forced into a relay by Shangguan Sheng in the blitz chess tournament?"

"Is there some mistake?!"

"and……

"I don't see anything wrong with White's pieces?"

Although Head Coach Yu was relatively composed, his tone was still filled with immense confusion:

"Black just gained some points in the lower area, but White also captured some stones and gained influence on the outside. Shouldn't it be considered a 2-0 score? How can the winning percentage be only 5%?!"

"Wait a minute, did the official forcefully throw a punch into the middle of his abdomen?"
"Everything outside is a blinding whiteout! Isn't this like running into an impenetrable wall?!"

"Isn't his flying out like that just making him a target for Rui Zhao to practice his swordsmanship on?"

As Coach Yu said: Black's 101st move was a bold maneuver, while simultaneously aiming to take advantage of four black stones.

But right now, all around are white pieces, and if we're not careful, Sister Long could take them all away. It's hard to say if that's a wise choice!

And that's exactly what Rui Zhao thought!
Seeing that Black did not make the first move, Rui Zhao immediately took the initiative in the lower part of the board to shape the pieces!

After gaining an advantage on the bottom, Meijin Tengen then returned to the right side to secure his position, preventing the black stone from easily escaping with its large knight's move—using attack to compensate for shape is a highly efficient move.

At this point, the four black stones in the center have been completely captured by white. White moves to the outside and maintains its offensive against the two black stones near its outer influence, showing no dissatisfaction whatsoever!

But at this moment, Li Wangyuan, who had been staring at the lower right corner and the seemingly thick wall below the white pieces, suddenly spoke up. His voice wasn't loud, but it was unusually solemn, as if he had sensed the danger lurking in the air:
"...No! I have a feeling something's not right!"

"Look closely! This group of white stones in the bottom right corner is too tight on liberties! It's starting to look really bad..."

"I have a feeling that this is what Shangguan Sheng has been eyeing all along!"

Almost the instant Li Wangyuan finished speaking!

On the chessboard, Shangguan Sheng revealed his true intentions!
After exchanging moves, Black continued to push forward with four four-stone formations!

Rui Zhao had anticipated this move when he leaned in earlier, and directly cut off the liberties of the black stones!
Even if Black tries to capture, as long as White extends its territory, Black will end up giving away more and more stones!
But to everyone's surprise, Black chose to stick together!
Upon seeing this move, Rui Zhao, who was on the live stream, fell into deep thought and clearly realized that something was amiss!
"……I go!"

At this point, even Lei Jingming began to realize that something seemed wrong:
"Now Black has gained more liberties! It can cut off White's stones at the bottom at any time!"

But it's too late!
Even though Rui Zhao used five delays in a row and finally made the top choice, the mid-game flying knife that the former master Tianyuan had painstakingly prepared had already accurately hit his junior sister!
On move 115, Black attacks from the outside, and White must connect.

On move 117, Black captures on the third line! At this point, White has no suitable ko threats to capture back and can only stick to the board.

However, when Black continued to capture on move 119, White, without any ko threats, still had no choice but to connect!

The three elders could clearly see what would happen next!

Next, Black first pounced and then attacked, a series of moves that directly turned what looked like a very thick White group into a series of super stupid shapes!

Even though the three veteran chess players had seen it all, they were so shocked by this exquisite yet ruthless combination of moves that they almost simultaneously gasped in astonishment!
The scene seemed to freeze at that moment!

Although Shangguan Sheng's sudden series of attacks could not kill White, it was enough for Black to use this series of borrowed moves to gain a lot of points and influence!

What seemed like a completely playable situation for White turned into a complete rout within just twenty moves, just as the glaring odds predicted!
By move 127, Black had jumped out of its shackles, forcing White to capture. Looking at the entire board, Black's massive territory in the lower part of the board was like a giant python, while the black group in the center, which had just broken free of its shackles, was still poised to plunder the white group in the upper left that was not yet fully alive!

Suddenly, the chess room fell into a deathly silence.

Only Rui Zhao's win rate, which has plummeted to less than 4%, on the screen coldly tells a cruel truth.

Several seconds passed before Li Wangyuan slowly recovered from the enormous shock.

"……Oh My God!

"This ambush is just too ingenious!"

He swallowed hard, a strained sound escaping his throat, and the indescribable shock in his eyes transformed into an almost dreamlike gasp of amazement:

"How did Shangguan Sheng manage to do this...?"

"It looks like someone used a throwing knife here?!"

...

...

"...This is a knife from the shared throwing knife vault!!!"

Meanwhile, at a hotel near the Huaxia Chess Academy.

As Shangguan Sheng's exquisite combination of sacrifices in the lower right corner came to an end, Rui Zhao's once impregnable white stones, now reduced to a series of incredibly foolish shapes, huddled awkwardly on the board... Nie Yunyi suddenly leaned forward, letting out a short, powerful cry of surprise.

He was certainly not surprised that Shangguan Sheng would use a throwing knife—this was originally the core strategic reserve of the encirclement network targeting Rui Zhao, and it wouldn't be surprising if the "rotten milk" (a derogatory term for a woman) pulled it out against the contemporary Zhaojun (a legendary beauty).

What horrified him most was the knife itself!

Compared to the version he saw a few months ago when he was studying it within the encirclement, this knife... has been completely transformed!

The throwing knife, originally intended for the opening phase, was suddenly unsheathed in the middle game!
Moreover, the transition techniques are more mysterious and natural, and the path to lead the opponent into a desperate situation is more hidden and difficult to detect. Every step is like a carefully designed trap!

As for the thunderous methods used in the final outburst, their complexity, suddenness, and destructive power are far beyond what I could have learned when I first studied them!
This is no simple upgrade.

This is clearly a tailor-made, repeatedly refined ultimate weapon designed specifically for an opponent of Rui Zhao's caliber!
Xiao Nie Miao, who was wondering why Rui Zhao made so many mistakes in the first half of the game, was suddenly shocked, and a chill ran down her spine.

In fact, after being directly countered by Rui Zhao in the Tianyuan Battle, Xiao Nie 7-dan never participated in any of the Encirclement Network's activities again.

Previously, he was so amazed by Rui Zhao's brilliant performance of "immunity to flying knives" and "slaying dragons like a god" that he doubted himself. After confirming his own feelings, he directly cut ties with the anti-Zhao people in the group and was completely unaware of the subsequent situation in the group.

In his opinion, those in the encirclement were just a bunch of insects, and there was no way they could do anything effective against Rui Zhao. There was no need to report to Empress Zhao, as it would offend people and easily drag himself into it. Little Nie Miao was definitely not willing to leave any bad impression on Rui Zhao!

But right now, things are clearly not going well!
Putting aside Rui Zhao's previous extremely unusual and frequent mistakes, just look at the "Shared Throwing Knife Pro-Max" in the lower right corner; it's obvious that it was made by a master!

After Black used a sacrificial move to create a ridiculously bad shape in the lower part of the board, White's winning percentage is now a pitiful 3.2%!

Moreover, Shangguan Sheng, who is skilled at the endgame, also keenly seized the key point of the upper left corner and began to plunder the white stones in the upper right corner. It is clear that he intends to slowly and steadily end the game with his huge advantage at hand!
Athena's impressive 81-game winning streak in rapid chess is very likely to come to an end in this match!
After being greatly shocked, Nie Yunyi then remembered to quickly join the encirclement network's live stream to check the situation.

As soon as he logged on, he heard cheers from the fans and Bian Lele's excited, hoarse screams:
"...Everyone! Did you see that? Did you see that!"
"A great Chinese Go player with a 9-dan rank! He inherited the glorious tradition of Chinese men's Go."

"The official represents the long history and tradition of Chinese men's Go. At this moment, he is not fighting alone, he is not alone!"

"So what if she's Athena in blitz chess?!"

"Despite our relentless scheming... no, I mean our relentless preparations, won't we still fall if we're destined to?!"

"The power of mortals can rival that of gods!"

"We are finally about to see the dawn of victory!"

"We...did it!!!"

...Tsk!

It really was those fermented bean curd bastards who were behind this!
Upon hearing this, Nie Yunyi cursed his "former online friend" in his heart while also secretly blaming himself.

The alliance that they considered rotten had actually forged a weapon capable of shaking the gods!
And yet, knowing full well that his beloved was being targeted, he acted like a coward, hiding in this small room and standing idly by!

—Just because of that pitiful selfishness, afraid of exposing that he had also "colluded with the corrupt"!

And this guy... has the nerve to say he likes her?!

Chairman Shang wasn't so cowardly back then!

No! This can't go on!

Nie Yunyi suddenly sprang up from his chair! His clear eyes flashed with an unprecedented determination, a do-or-die courage.

Once this game is over, I must tell her everything!
Even if it exposes my involvement in the encirclement, even if she looks down on me and despises me... I will tell her everything!

That's what a man should do!

Thinking of this, the boy's mind raced, and his actions outpaced his thoughts!

Nie Yunyi didn't even have time to turn off the screen, which was still silently depicting Shangguan Sheng using his advantage to begin to withdraw. He didn't care that he was wearing hotel slippers, and rushed to the door, pulled open the lock, and ran out!

"boom!"

The door was slammed shut, and the sound of hurried footsteps running away echoed down the corridor.

However, in the less than two seconds that Xiao Nie Miao disappeared outside the door...

In the quiet hotel room, a scream, completely distorted by extreme shock and panic, suddenly rang out!

"—Huh?!!"

"No way! What's going on?!"

The laptop screen remained lit, and the chat channel echoed with the signature scream of the top leader, now filled with boundless terror, so piercing it seemed to tear the air apart:
"White's winning percentage..."

"...Why did it suddenly jump up a bit?!" (End of Chapter)

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