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

"...'To win by half a move against Heaven, one yields the first move to the world'?!!"
"No way! Has Rui Zhao gone mad?!"

At 9:00 AM on December 29, 2027, in a laboratory of the Information Science Building at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

After reading the explosive announcement just released by [Go Xiao Zhao], Li Jingzhe, who was diligently continuing his AI optimization work, finally couldn't help but make a rare, inappropriate comment about his beloved!
There was no way around it, this announcement was just too explosive! So much so that he could feel his temples throbbing wildly!

When he first heard that Rui Zhao was going to challenge AI, he was shocked and thought the idea was too audacious... but overall he could understand her actions.

Although the chances of beating the AI ​​are extremely slim, at least there's no real loss if we lose.

Whether it's a sure thing or not, giving it a try isn't out of the question. If it goes well...it might even attract some attention!
So, although Li Jingzhe was shocked at the time, he quickly expressed his understanding and did his best to help his high school classmate prepare for the competition.

But now... a ten million dollar bounty for someone else to defeat me?!
And they even started the game with a handicap disadvantage?!

My goddess, have you made a mistake?!

Li Jingzhe's gaze was once again fixed on that glaring number in the announcement, his expression growing increasingly grim.

Ten million dollars! If we lose that, it's no joke!
Even though Rui Zhao's competition prize money is substantial and her livestreaming income is certainly considerable, 【Weiqi Xiao Zhao】never accepts commercial endorsements or brand ambassadorships, and even keeps organizing various competitions... Do they even have that much money on hand right now?!
Even if it exists! To just output it like that... the loss would be too great!

Is it really necessary to go to such lengths to force a war against AI?!

……no!
We can't let her act so recklessly!
He immediately picked up his phone, practically poking at the screen, and dialed the number he knew by heart!
beep...beep...beep...

The long wait went on, but no one answered.

Dial again! Beep...beep...beep...still no answer!
Li Jingzhe's brows furrowed, but he was not about to give up!
...WeChat! Yes! WeChat!

Li Jingzhe immediately switched to the WeChat interface and opened the pinned chat window!

Soon, a barrage of messages filled with questions and confusion were sent out:

[Rui Zhao! What's the deal with that announcement of yours?]

[Retiring from professional Go?! Giving up all titles?! Do you know what that means?!]

[And that challenge match where they let you win first... with a bounty of ten million dollars?!]

【Are you throwing money away?! Do you and Sister An'an even have that much money?!】

Even if you do, what if you lose?! Ten million dollars is no small sum! Do you know how many matches you'd have to win to earn that back?!

【Oops! If you do this, there won't be any more matches!】

[And what's with this challenge match? You even gave him a head start!]

Who do you think you are?! An AI?!

Do you realize how risky it is to give a handicap to a top professional Go player?!

What will you do if you lose?! What will happen to Sister An'an?! What will happen to your company?!

[Would it really be necessary to go this far just to force DeepBrain to fight?! Was it really necessary to push themselves to the brink?!]

【Rui Zhao, say something, Rui Zhao!!!】

……

One message after another! The messages were filled with disbelief, shock, barely contained anger, and...

Deep concern!
Li Jingzhe's fingers were practically sparking as he typed on the screen! He felt a fire burning inside him, with nowhere to vent it!
However, just as he was about to send a longer message, trying to analyze the huge disadvantage for his beloved from a technical point of view... the silent dialog box in front of him suddenly flickered very slightly twice!
A new message from them!

Li Jingzhe's fingers suddenly stopped, and his heart seemed to stop beating for a moment!
The message was short, only two lines long, yet it carried a power that pierced through people's hearts!

【then……】

"Aren't you willing to continue helping me?"

Those words were like an invisible needle, precisely piercing the softest and most irresistible part of his heart.

Faced with this simple rhetorical question, all his emotions deflated instantly, like a punctured balloon!

He couldn't help but take a deep breath, and then subconsciously rubbed his head!

His once neatly styled hair was instantly turned into a messy bird's nest, as if he wanted to vent all his entanglement and worries through this action!
Although it only took four or five seconds to knead, it felt like an eternity to this top student from Qinghua University.

In the end... he lowered his head again and honestly typed a line of text to reply.

send.

On the screen, his reply, tinged with deep helplessness yet crystal clear, was displayed:

Please! How could I not help?!

And...it might not all be bad, right?
Looking at the message he had just sent, Zhe Shen offered himself a small consolation.

What if she goes bankrupt...

She'll probably have to find a man to support her, right?

… …

"...Sigh, I really don't know what to say to you, Rui Zhao!"
"Although the association has been letting you have your way in all matters, big and small, in recent years and generally doesn't ask too many questions, you can't just act so recklessly!!"
"It would be one thing to just boast about challenging AI, but to pull this stunt is another!"

"I received three phone calls from the center early this morning! The leaders of the General Administration also sent me messages asking about the situation!"
"Sponsors and chess fans are even more confused than the last, and the chess association's phone lines are ringing off the hook..."

Do you know how much of a shock your announcement caused by releasing it without prior notice or reporting?!

"Retiring from professional chess! Giving up all titles! What's with this handicap challenger tournament! And a ten million dollar bounty?!"
"It's not that you can't do something this big! But... couldn't you at least have informed me and the Chess Association beforehand?!"
"It's good for us to be mentally prepared!"
"Now look what's happened! We were caught off guard and are completely on the defensive!"

"This is disorganized and undisciplined! It's against... uh, Rui Zhao?"

Are you even listening to me?!

Meanwhile, in a meeting room at the Zhigao Junrui Hotel.

Seeing that Rui Zhao, who was being scolded, suddenly had a faint smile on her face after fiddling with her phone, Shang Chaotian, who was lecturing her, couldn't help but twitch his lips and remind her.

—Yes, Shang Chaotian, who had bought a train ticket back to Beijing this morning, has not yet embarked on his journey. Instead, he is here lecturing his country's military leader!
As for the reason... it's naturally the earth-shattering announcement that the other party just released this morning!
Since this announcement was released, a large number of leaders from the center and the State Administration have come to inquire about the situation, and it is almost foreseeable that many meetings will be held in the future!

Caught off guard by the question, Shang Chaotian naturally wanted to settle scores with Rui Zhao. But to his surprise, Rui Zhao started laughing during the reprimand, prompting the chess association chairman to offer a gentle reminder.

"……what?!"

Rui Zhao seemed to be startled awake by the suddenly raised voice, and she abruptly raised her head!

A lingering smile remained in those clear eyes, but it was instantly replaced by a panicked feeling of being caught red-handed.

"...I'm listening! I'm listening!"

She quickly straightened her back and tried her best to put on an extremely serious and earnest expression.

She even blinked unconsciously, trying to appear more innocent:

"It's...it's just..."

"Where were we?"

"..."

Seeing that the other person seemed to ignore him completely, Shang Chaotian was speechless for a moment. He thought to himself that although the girl from back then had become more mature, she also seemed to be starting to "go astray".

But he really didn't have any complaints about it!

Compared to the world-renowned goddess of Go in front of me, who am I?

The fact that they're willing to sit here and get scolded already shows they're showing a good attitude!
Thinking of this, Shang Chaotian sighed and waved his hand, saying:

"...Alright! Enough with the nonsense!"
“Rui Zhao, tell me the truth…”

Are you really going to hold this handicap challenger tournament?

Upon hearing this, the innocence on Rui Zhao's face vanished instantly, replaced by a clear and firm seriousness:
"Um!

"Chairman Shang, we need to maintain the current level of interest! We also need to make more and more people understand that Go is not a project that will lose its development just because AI is available."

"But recently I have felt that the publicity effect brought about by my consecutive victories in the competition has been waning. This time, my seven consecutive World Championship titles may be the last wave of popularity!"

"If there isn't anything new or exciting, people's attention will likely shift to other things very quickly."

"So An'an and I discussed it and decided to make a big splash! While maintaining public attention, we'll also demonstrate the awareness and courage of human chess players in the face of AI! But we were worried about putting you and the association in a difficult position, so we'll act first and inform you later..."

Uh……

I'm afraid it will make things difficult for me and the association...

Shang Chaotian silently pondered those last two words.

But things aren't going well for me right now either!

He couldn't help but inwardly complain again.

The General Administration's inquiries, the media bombardment, the bewildered chess fans, and a whole host of practical issues that needed to be coordinated and resolved... which one of them wouldn't give him a headache?

but……

Shang Chaotian had to admit that Rui Zhao's actions were remarkably effective!

He had just glanced at the online situation and found that almost all the media outlets were making this their front-page headline, with related reports everywhere!
If aliens were to arrive on Earth now, they might mistakenly believe that Go is the world's number one sport!
Just as Rui Zhao said...

This "big news" has indeed ignited global public opinion and successfully maintained the popularity of Go at an unprecedented peak!
It's just...

“ε=(ο｀*))) Ah, I understand.”

Shang Chaotian pondered, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, producing a rhythmic sound:
"But is it really worth giving up all titles and quitting all competitions? That's a price to pay..."

"Isn't it a bit too big?" (End of Chapter)