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

"...Tsk!"

"He truly is a man with the heart of a master of winning and losing!"

At 9 p.m. local time on the same day, in the discussion and rest room of the Chinese team at the Sanshuang Training Institute.

After reviewing Sun Linjian's semi-final game this afternoon, Jiao Kai, the head coach of the Chinese national team, stood in front of the Go board with a hint of emotion and regret on his face.

In this afternoon's game, although Sun Yi gradually gained an advantage thanks to thorough preparation, and even forced Lin Ruixin into a draw in the middle game based on the win rate, the actual situation was far less smooth than he had imagined.

When Lin Ruixin realized that he was behind, his sense of victory suddenly erupted!

He played extremely aggressively, instigating a complex ko fight in the upper right corner. Although Black still held a leading winning percentage, the situation became increasingly chaotic.

When Sun Yi chose to eliminate the ko on move 129, Lin Ruixin did not relax.

He keenly seized the opportunity, decisively cutting off the connection between the two groups of black stones in the lower right corner, forcing Sun Yi to make up for his own life in the lower part of the stone, while cleverly using a ko fight to continuously put pressure on the black stones on the right side!

Both sides were running out of time extremely quickly, entering the byo-yomi phase almost simultaneously. However, the situation on the board remained chaotic and unclear!
With the ticking of the second hand, the two of them used almost every moment to their maximum!

Both sides repeatedly assessed the situation and made adjustments, with each step affecting the balance of victory or defeat.

Ultimately, in this suffocating stalemate... it was Sun Yi who made the fatal mistake first!
In move 137, Black squeezes in the upper area to find ko threats, intending to create chaos—but the value of these ko threats is far from enough!
Lin Ruixin accurately seized this fleeting opportunity, made a decisive change, and demonstrated superior calmness and precision in assessing the chaotic situation that followed, ultimately emerging victorious.

After 190 moves, seeing that White's lead was unshakeable, Sun Yi had no choice but to resign, watching as 31-year-old Lin Ruixin made it to the World Championship finals again after many years!
Looking back on Lin Ruixin's journey to the finals of the Sanshuang Cup, Jiao Kai felt even more emotional.

He defeated Park Min-yeol, Uesaka Rei, Chu Jun, and Sun Yi in succession—all four of whom are top-tier players in the current Go world!

Even at this age, he can still unleash tremendous energy! He maintains excellent competitive form, defeating his juniors all the way to the final competition.

He truly deserves to be called a "person of supreme talent"!

However, Jiao Kai's admiration was quickly replaced by regret in reality—it was indeed too late now!

Although Lin Ruixin fought her way into the finals with great difficulty, the other semi-final did not produce an upset.

Liu Shixian defeated Yang Manjing, the "Little Witch," and also entered the finals with his head held high, aiming for his long-awaited sixteenth WorldSkills Championship trophy!
Facing his absolute nemesis, whom he hasn't beaten in eight years, one can imagine how difficult the final will be for Lin Dawanghong!

If it were a single-game deciding factor, Lin Ruixin might still have a slim chance.

However, in a best-of-three match with a high margin for error, Lin Ruixin can hardly have any hope against Liu Shixian, an opponent who is recognized as one of the top three in the world and who has an absolute advantage over him both psychologically and in terms of record.

After all...

Lin Ruixin truly devoted himself entirely to Go too late!

Just as Jiao Kai was immersed in this regret, the door to the seminar room was gently pushed open—the person who came in was Lu Wenjie, the vice chairman of the China Chess Association, who had come with him as a team.

"...Hmm? Wenjie?"
"What's with you?"

Seeing the other person walking straight towards him, Jiao Kai naturally asked.

"Ah, indeed."

Without much small talk, Lu Wenjie went straight to Jiao Kai's side and began communicating clearly:
"Brother Kai, now in the Sanshuang Cup, we only have Lin Ruixin left as our player."

"Our main task right now is to provide support for Rui Zhao, so I naturally need to go back as soon as possible!"

"So, I'll leave Lin Ruixin's situation to you!"

"Ah, of course..."

Upon hearing this, Jiao Kai gave a wry smile, his voice carrying a hint of helplessness and understanding:
"But... it's not too troublesome!"
"And even when he made it to the finals after a long absence, Lin Ruixin showed no reaction at all!"
"I won't give any interviews, and right now I'm focused on training in my room. I don't need to worry about anything else!"

Lu Wenjie fell silent upon hearing this.

As Jiao Kai said: After today's semi-final, Lin Ruixin did not give any post-match interviews, just like in the past two years.

Although this violates the rules of each competition in principle, the competition organizers have basically tacitly approved of Lin Ruixin's behavior, who is clearly somewhat obsessed, in order to avoid reporters asking too pointed questions and provoking him, who is obviously not in a normal state, to create a big news story that is difficult to handle!
However, even though he made it to the finals again after many years, almost no one paid much attention to it.

Almost everyone's attention was drawn to Deepbrain's formal acceptance of Rui Zhao's previous challenge, and they were all waiting for Rui Zhao's response! Who had any interest in paying attention to the villain Joker who was just causing trouble for the protagonist!
At this point in the conversation, Jiao Kai seemed to suddenly remember something, or perhaps he was intentionally changing the subject, so he asked Lu Wenjie another question:

"Oh right, Wen Jie... when do you think Rui Zhao will officially announce the news of the showdown with AI?"

"I reckon if there's no news for a while, these reporters who came to cover the Sanshuang Cup will definitely target me since I'm staying here!"

"Hmm...it'll probably be tomorrow!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Wenjie shrugged and said:
"Xiao Ai is still writing!"

"...Writing?"

Jiao Kai raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of confusion on his face:
What kind of writing?

Lu Wenjie didn't answer immediately, but instead gave him a meaningful look:

"A proclamation".

...

...

"...Yeah! I think it's great!"
"Sister An'an, let's just post it like this!"

At 10 p.m. on the same day, in a suite of a high-end hotel in Seoul, South Korea.

Seeing that her idol had quickly replied with an affirmative opinion on the laptop screen, Ai Jian'an, who had just sent the draft of the public response to the other party, did not take immediate action. Instead, she curled her fingers on the mouse, her face filled with deep worry.

"Little Zhao Meow..."

Are you really going to reply like that?

"Yeah! I think it's great!"
"That perfectly expressed my meaning!"

However, seeing Rui Zhao's calm and composed demeanor, Boss Ai felt a surge of worry.

She took a deep breath, fearing the other person might not understand the consequences, and continued to persuade them:
"But Xiao Zhao Miao... with such a sharp and confrontational reply, we almost have no way out! It really is a fight to the death with Deepbrain!"
"If you lose to their AI, the ridicule you'll face won't be much better than Lin Ruixin's! You're already a world-renowned superstar, deserving all the praise and glory, but this..."

"It's alright, Sister An'an!"

Faced with Ai Jian'an's concern, Rui Zhao's expression remained unchanged, and she interrupted him in a gentle yet firm voice:

"I told you long ago that I don't care about what others think."

"But this will further boost our morale and attract more people to pay attention to Go! Isn't that right?!"

Ai Jianan was speechless for a moment after hearing this.

As Rui Zhao said, once this public response is released, it will inevitably generate tremendous buzz, and may even turn this human-machine competition into the most watched event in the history of competitive sports! This is extremely beneficial to the morale of the "pro-sie" faction and to attracting more attention.

However... to confront the other party so head-on, leaving oneself no way out, is tantamount to putting oneself on the edge of a cliff!

Worse still, Ai Jianan currently sees almost no way for Rui Zhao to defeat the AI.

Although all the top-ranked Go players in China have been mobilized and secretly put into the work of screening for potential blind spots, no one knows for sure whether there is any real "gold" in that "sand".

Even if we were to develop a toolkit targeting AI's weaknesses, potentially gaining a one-point advantage in the opening, against the most advanced AI capable of giving top players a three-stone advantage, Yong Shi Zhao Jun would likely still be at a significant disadvantage, with a win rate of no more than 10% in a single game.

...This can no longer be described as a desperate act; it's a complete willingness to die!

Ai Jianan silently watched Rui Zhao on the other end of the video, her lips tightly pressed together, her eyes filled with complex emotions, and her face showing unspeakable worry.

"Sister An'an, don't worry!"

Seeing that Ai Jian'an was clearly conflicted, Rui Zhao immediately put on an even brighter smile and gently comforted her:
"I've already said, I really don't care about reputation or anything like that, it's completely free!"

"If this can put an end to all the controversies surrounding Go, it would be a risk-free and highly profitable deal. Wouldn't that be something to be happy about?"

Is it possible to make huge profits with no initial investment?

Looking at the girl in front of her with a bright smile and clear eyes, Ai Jianan was filled with mixed feelings.

After a few seconds of silence, she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, the tense lines on her face softening into a doting smile that said, "I just can't do anything with you."

"...Ah! I get it!"
"Then I'll work on the details a bit more and release it officially tomorrow morning."

"Mmm! Thank you, Sister An'an!"

"Don't just say thank you, I'm waiting to see what you do, Xiao Zhao Miao!"

She then shifted her focus, raising a more practical concern:

"Besides arguing with Deepbrain, is there anything else you need me to prepare for you?"
"I'm too bad at chess to help you, but I hope I can be of some help in other areas!"

Upon hearing this, Rui Zhao tilted her head slightly, thought about it seriously, and then her eyes lit up:
"If possible... I hope to attract even more fans!"

"fan?"

Ai Jianan was surprised by this answer once again.

"Correct!"

Rui Zhao nodded vigorously, a contagious smile spreading across her face:

"The thought that more people will pay attention to Go because of me makes me feel better! I'm sure... I'll be able to perform even better!"

"So, I'd be even happier if I had more fans!"

"Is...is that so...?"

Looking into Rui Zhao's expectant and innocent eyes, Ai Jian'an hesitated for a moment before smiling involuntarily:

"Then... I'll take care of it! Just you wait and see, Little Zhao Miao!"

Ai Jianan confidently agreed to the request from her star performer.

She was absolutely certain that after this response was sent out, this competition would definitely spark an unprecedented wave of discussion!
Its popularity will far exceed that of any previous Go competition, and it may even rival some of the most popular events in the entire competitive sports world.

In the eye of this global media storm, gaining another wave of fans wouldn't be difficult. This is precisely Ai Jian'an's forte!
"...Alright then, Little Zhao, if there's nothing else, I won't bother you anymore!"

After explaining everything, Boss Ai prepared to leave the meeting, giving Rui Zhao more time to train and prepare for the competition.

However, just as she was about to focus on the window, Ai Jian'an seemed to remember something and added:

"...Oh, I almost forgot!"
"Xiao Zhao Miao, now that we're about to have a human-machine competition with Deepbrain, how about we stop the special challenge match as well?"
"Lin Ruixin has been in good form lately, reaching the finals of the Sanshuang Cup. Although he probably doesn't have much of a chance against Liu Shixian in the finals, I'm still worried..."

"Lin Jiudan?!"

Before Ai Jian'an could finish speaking, Rui Zhao abruptly interrupted her:
"He made it to the finals of the Sanshuang Cup?!"

"Ah."

Ai Jianan bit her lip and honestly admitted it.

Before Boss Ai could even begin explaining to his star performer how troublesome it would be if Lin Ruixin actually won the challenger's right, Yong Shi Zhaojun immediately gave her answer:

"Then... let's have another round, Sister An'an!"

"I promised Lin Jiuduan that I would wait for him to come to me."

...

...

Beijing time, April 4, 2028, 10:00 AM.

On all of [Weiqi Xiaozhao]'s social media accounts, Huaxia Yongshi Zhaojun Rui Zhao officially released a public response to Deepbrain's challenge letter from yesterday.

This forceful reply, resembling a declaration of war, instantly shook public opinion worldwide... (End of Chapter)