Go: The live broadcast queen launched a gorgeous rebellion against the dog

The cicadas' chirping gradually faded, the twilight stretched on, and the oppressive heat of summer pressed down on the earth. Before we knew it, it was already late August.

At 5:30 p.m. on August 23, in a budget hotel in Gezhou City, Zhejiang Province.

Bai Yinhua paced back and forth in the room, which was less than 20 square meters, her footsteps hurried and fragmented, leaving messy marks on the carpet.

He glanced at his watch every now and then, then rubbed his hands together in frustration. The bottle of mineral water on the table was already empty, and the bottle had long been deformed from his repeated kneading.

Of course, there's nothing we can do about it—this afternoon is the final round of the Go ranking tournament.

After nearly a week of fierce competition, Qu Hui, with a record of ten wins and three losses, faced her final match in her first professional ranking tournament.

At noon today, Bai Yinhua had already analyzed the students' chances of qualifying – although theoretically there was still a possibility of ranking based on point differential even if they lost the last match, Qu Hui's point differential was not optimistic compared to her main competitors, so this last round was undoubtedly a life-or-death match that would determine her final professional rank qualification.

If he wins, he will make history, breaking the record for the youngest player to achieve professional status in Chinese Go at the tender age of eight years and eleven months, and officially entering the professional arena!
If you lose, everything will be lost, and you'll have to wait another year.

Success or failure depends on this!
Therefore, Bai Yinhua, who was unable to go to the scene, felt like she was being fried in a pan of oil, and every minute and every second was so long that it was suffocating.

Sudden--

Ding-ling-ling!!!

The shrill ringtone of the cell phone rang out like a thunderclap, instantly tearing apart the stuffy air in the room!

Bai Yinhua almost reflexively lunged at the table, grabbed the vibrating phone, and immediately pressed the answer button after seeing the caller ID: Zeng Guangwen, pressing the phone tightly to her ear.

"How about it, Fatty Zeng?"

"How is the situation?!"

"Look how impatient you are!"

Hearing Bai Yinhua's nervousness, the superstar's subordinate on the other end of the phone deliberately dragged out the words, keeping everyone in suspense.

This brief pause almost suffocated Bai Yinhua. But the next second, Zeng Guangwen's voice suddenly rose, transforming into a piercing, unrestrained roar of ecstatic joy:

We won!!!
"The youngest professional Go player in the history of China has been born!!!"

Zeng Guangwen's voice trembled with excitement, filled with a sense of pride and honor:
"There's a huge group of reporters surrounding her now, interviewing her!"

"The flashes were blinding, and the little girl was practically drowned out by the microphone!"

"My goodness, you're really something, Lao Hua!"

"We've nurtured a chess player who will make Chinese history!!!"

"real?!!"

Bai Yinhua practically roared it out, his voice filled with unbelievable, overwhelming joy!
An overwhelming sense of happiness overwhelmed him like a tidal wave. He could no longer control himself and jumped up and down in the small room, clutching his phone. He even punched the wall hard, making a dull thud!
Hearing this undisguised outpouring of joy, Zeng Guangwen on the other end of the phone seemed deeply infected as well, chuckling with satisfaction in his voice.

"Oh, seeing you so happy makes me happy too!"

But then Comrade Greyhound changed his tone, becoming more serious and earnest:

"Also... Old Hua, I think this is also an opportunity!"

Bai Yinhua's excitement subsided slightly, and she held her phone, somewhat puzzled:

"Opportunity?"

"Yup!"

Zeng Guangwen's voice was clear and direct:
"Xiao Hui will find out about your relegation sooner or later... Do you really want to keep it a secret for the rest of your life?"

Bai Yinhua fell silent for a moment. The flush of ecstasy on her face quickly faded, replaced by an indescribable paleness and embarrassment.

On the other end of the phone, the air in the room seemed to instantly drop from scorching hot to freezing cold.

As Qu Hui's mentor, he should have been at the competition to watch his student strive for higher ranks. However, fearing being recognized, he could only entrust Zeng Guangwen to help him, which was extremely embarrassing.

Seeing only heavy breathing coming from the receiver, Zeng Guangwen clearly sensed the sudden cooling of emotions on the other end of the phone.

"But you don't need to worry about it too much!"

"Although your mess back then caused a lot of controversy in the industry, the fact that you were able to train such a record-breaking talent as Xiao Hui has already shown your attitude of returning from prodigal son!"

"And judging from the previous situation, the diva also approves of you quite a bit!"

"If the Queen of Go, the godmother of the Go world, puts a few words on your behalf, I think the entire Go community will forgive past grievances and allow you to return to the Go world!"
"That way... you won't have to keep hiding it like this anymore, and you'll be able to help Xiaohui continue to improve!"

After another long silence, Bai Yinhua finally revealed a relieved smile, carrying a sense of open-mindedness and tranquility after everything had settled down.

"……yes!

"From now on... we really don't need to hide it like this anymore."

Zeng Guangwen was overjoyed upon hearing this! He thought his persuasion had worked:

"That's right! Old Bai, you're absolutely right! With the Queen of Pop protecting you..."

However, before he could finish his happy words, Bai Yinhua abruptly interrupted him with her next words.

Bai Yinhua's tone remained calm, as if she were stating a decision she had already carefully considered:

"It's time for me... to find Xiaohui a truly qualified professional teacher again."

"Eh???"

Zeng Guangwen's extremely surprised and doubtful voice came from the other end of the phone!
But Bai Yinhua seemed not to hear his surprised expression and continued speaking to herself:
"I already owe Rui Zhao so many favors, how could I possibly trouble her again!"
"Besides, my chess skills aren't good enough to continue coaching Xiaohui professionally... It's time to let go!"

"No, Lao Hua, you..."

On the other end of the phone, Zeng Guangwen seemed completely stunned, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Bai Yinhua didn't give the other party any more time to react. He continued his previous words, his tone carrying a barely perceptible sigh:

"Besides... I shouldn't be causing trouble for Rui Zhao right now!"

"After watching her post-match interviews recently, I think she wasn't in a good mood, was she?"

This time, the opposing celestial hound was completely speechless. After a long silence, he also let out a long sigh:

"……indeed!
"She hasn't been asking me to stream practice sessions lately. Whenever she has free time, she locks herself in her room, I don't know what she's doing..."

...

"Rui Zhao...

"What's wrong with her lately?"

Meanwhile, in Dongjiang City, Huaxia, at Li Jingzhe's home.

Seeing the "Attachment uploaded successfully!" message pop up on the screen, Li Jingzhe breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension that had been building for days finally eased a little.

However, before he could fully exhale, his brows furrowed involuntarily, and an indescribable confusion and worry crept into his heart, causing him to mutter to himself unconsciously.

Like Zeng Guangwen, Li Jingzhe also keenly noticed the subtle changes that had recently occurred in the world's chess master.

On the surface, the five-time champions of China are still invincible and undefeated!

In the two most recent rounds of the Chinese Weiqi League and the just-concluded Pinghu Quick Chess Tournament, the world's number one player continued to demonstrate overwhelming dominance, winning cleanly and decisively without any suspense.

however……

From the brief post-match interviews, Li Jingzhe sensed something unusual.

Deep within those usually clear and calm eyes, there seemed to be a hint of unseen gravity. Beneath that composed aura of complete control on the chessboard, there was a subtle tension, as if bound by some invisible pressure.

Although she remained concise and gave appropriate answers, the subtle change did not escape the notice of Li Jingzhe, who admired her.

What made Li Jingzhe even more confused and somewhat uneasy was that just ten days ago, Rui Zhao suddenly called him! And her tone was unusually urgent!

She made it clear that she hoped to use the "stronger AI" that Li Jingzhe had mentioned when they met in Dajing as soon as possible!
Athena's words were very sincere, and she even stated directly that she would agree to any reward she could afford!
This sudden request was like a boulder thrown into the calm lake of Li Jingzhe's heart!
Upon hearing that his beloved had actually come to him seeking his help, Li Jingzhe almost lost his mind in an instant, let alone discussing payment with her!
Without bothering to delve into the reasons behind it, he agreed almost reflexively and decisively!

During his summer vacation, he almost immediately put down his luggage, which he had prepared to go to Gezhou to participate in the ranking competition, and began a forced march, sleeping only three and a half hours a day!
Finally! Just now! The initial results of this ten-day intensive march have been successfully tested and operational!
Although this AI still has many unfixed bugs and is far from reaching his ideal state, it is at least able to run stably in most situations!
Li Jingzhe eagerly packaged this "first version" and sent it to Rui Zhao's email. At the same time, he planned to continue fixing bugs and constantly update her with more complete versions.

however……

When the ten-day-long, frantic development finally came to an end, Li Jingzhe's rationality, suppressed by adrenaline, began to return slightly.

A huge confusion, like a vine, quietly crept into my heart:
Rui Zhao, she...

Why are you in such a hurry all of a sudden?
Li Jingzhe understood that her sweetheart had always been an extremely independent person who didn't like to trouble others—although she had many demands on him in high school, it was only a test for her!

Especially in the field of Go, she is the undisputed number one in the world! Why would there suddenly be such an urgent need for an AI that is still under development?
Is it to further enhance their strength? To consolidate their already dominant position as the world's number one?

wrong!

Li Jingzhe immediately rejected the idea.

He clearly remembered Rui Zhao's attitude towards AI when they last met in Dajing—she showed interest and a desire to explore it, regarding it as a tool to further explore the mysteries of Go, rather than a reliance on it to quickly improve her skills.

Moreover, judging from the game records of her recent matches, her strength has not stagnated at all; on the contrary, the gap between her and other top players continues to widen!
The ruling power of the world's number one person does not need to be consolidated by external forces!
Or perhaps... it's because there's been no progress on the issue of Go's inclusion in the Olympics, and the controversy surrounding Go is growing? Is that why she's feeling a bit emotional?

But what does this have to do with my own AI?!
So... what was it all for?
Li Jingzhe stared at the "sent successfully" message on the screen, his brows furrowing even more deeply, lost in profound confusion.

Finally, he shook his somewhat dizzy head, temporarily suppressing his doubts. His fingers tapped on the keyboard, he opened WeChat and sent a message to Rui Zhao:

[Rui Zhao, the first version has been sent to your email. Although there are still some bugs, it should run stably most of the time.]

[Please use this for now. I will continue to optimize it and send you a more complete version later.]

Li Jingzhe's finger hovered over the send button for a few seconds, but he ultimately couldn't suppress his intense concern and curiosity, and typed another line:

Also... could you tell me why you're in such a hurry to get it?

Ah, well, I was just a little curious. You can just ignore this if you don't want to talk about it.

After sending these WeChat messages, Li Jingzhe felt her tense nerves finally relax a little. A strong sense of exhaustion instantly washed over her.

He put down his phone, prepared to change into his pajamas, and went to bed for a good night's sleep.

However, the moment the phone left his hand, a rapid and familiar ringtone suddenly rang out! And what was displayed on the screen was:

Caller: Rui Zhao

She actually... called me back?!

And she replied almost instantly after receiving the WeChat message?!

Li Jingzhe's heart skipped a beat. He almost frantically grabbed his phone and quickly swiped to answer the call.

"Hello, Rui Zhao?"

"Li Jingzhe, thank you!"
"I just received your email! Thank you so much!"

Rui Zhao's familiar, gentle voice came from the other end of the phone, her tone filled with gratitude:
"As for the payment, just send it to me on WeChat once you've thought it through."

"This matter... has really been too much trouble for you!"

"It's nothing! Why are you being so polite? It's a small matter!"

Li Jingzhe subconsciously wanted to downplay his efforts, even resorting to a habitual attempt to appear "at ease" in front of her:

"I mentioned the end of the year before because I have a bit of a procrastination problem, but actually it's very easy to get it done!"

"That's because I'm too lazy to work overtime, otherwise you'd already get the full version! Hahaha..."

He chuckled twice, trying to sound more relaxed, but the laughter sounded somewhat abrupt and hollow in the quiet room.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.

Rui Zhao did not seem to be fooled by his "lighthearted" words, but she did not expose him either.

A few seconds later, she spoke again, her voice steady, directly answering the question he had just asked on WeChat:
"Li Jingzhe, the question you just asked on WeChat..."

Her voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable solemnity:
"I originally planned to announce this news officially a little later. But since you asked, I have no reason not to tell you now:"

"I……

"We need to find a way to defeat the AI!" (End of Chapter)