I really don’t want to play Go!

Chapter 363 I Will Never Run Away From You Again
Another three days passed.

When the clock struck twelve, the next day, even though it was still early morning, the number of viewers in the official live stream of the National Tournament began to surge at an astonishing rate!

Today is the final round of the National Players Tournament!

Today's game is crucial in determining who will qualify for the national champion challenge. If Yu Shao wins today, he can directly challenge the national champion.

If Li Congyou wins, he will need to play an additional game. If Li Congyou wins the second game, then he will be the one challenging the national champion!
In the first round of this tournament, Li Congyou faced Yu Shao, and Li Congyou ultimately lost that game.

In other words, this will be a war of revenge!

"The game between Li Congyou 8-dan and Zhuang Weisheng a few days ago was amazing! Li Congyou's performance was absolutely divine, his calculations were so precise, it was breathtaking!"

"Li Congyou is still strong. Although he has long been at the level of a title holder, he has always been a bit unlucky. After so many years, he still hasn't obtained the title. This year, he has encountered a monster like Yu Shao. I wonder what the outcome will be."

"Yes, as a genius who was once on par with Zhu Huai'an, Zhu Huai'an now has two major titles, while Li Congyou hasn't even gotten one yet. This time, he'll probably have to give it his all."

"I wonder if Li Congyou's dream of winning the title will come true this year. But Yu Shao is only seventeen years old this year. It's unbelievable that he has actually come this far."

"If Yu Shao fights his way into the challenger tournament and wins the title at the age of seventeen, he will truly be hailed as a legend!"

The live stream chat was filled with comments, with all the netizens discussing the upcoming National Players Tournament. The outcome of this match was on everyone's mind.

After all, the seven title matches have always been the highest level of Go competitions in each country. Apart from a few major international tournaments, almost no other competitions can compare with the title matches!
On this path, heroes vie for supremacy. To obtain the title, one must defeat one world-renowned master after another before finally stepping into the hall of fame!

Now, this will be the battle that determines who has one foot in the hall of fame, and the number of people paying attention is naturally incomparable to the previous rounds!

Amidst the heated discussions across the internet, time continued to pass.

By around 7 a.m., the number of viewers in the official live stream of the National Tournament had exceeded 10 million, and the number was still soaring!
Around 9 o'clock, the number of viewers in the live broadcast room reached a staggering 40 million, and the three words "National Team Battle" dominated the trending topics on major social media platforms.

Will Yu Shao be able to take that next step?
Will Li Congyou be able to realize the dream he has been striving for for more than ten years?

As the match approached its start, the number of comments in the live stream, which had been constantly popping up, began to decrease.

Perhaps it was because it was a cloudy day, but the entire East China Sea was shrouded in a gray haze, and everyone's heart began to feel somewhat heavy.

A sense of tension, as if a great battle was about to break out, was gradually spreading in the air.

At this moment, in a high-end apartment in Donghai, Jiang Changdong and Chu Jingfeng sat in front of their computers, staring at the still-black live stream screen, without saying a word.

Meanwhile, in the reporter's office of Jiangling Chess Academy, Ding Huan also stared nervously at the computer screen, seemingly foreseeing a major battle about to begin.

In Seoul, South Korea, a group of young professional Go players gathered in front of their computers. They had already set up a four-legged Go table, and the Go boxes were all open, ready to disassemble the Go pieces simultaneously once the match began.

In New York City, a group of people sat on a large sofa, watching a television screen. The youngest of them was only thirteen or fourteen years old, while the oldest looked to be over fifty. Zeng Jun was among them.

now--

All eyes in the world are focused on this!

National Team Tournament, Main Tournament, Final Round!

At this moment, inside the game room, the two judges and the notarizer were already sitting upright.

The three of them were filled with complex emotions. They couldn't help but glance at the center of the chess room from time to time, looking at the young man who was already sitting on one side of the chess table.

Li Congyou had already arrived, even earlier than them.

However, ever since they arrived at the chess room, Li Congyou has remained silent, simply staring at the chessboard in front of him with a somewhat cold expression, and they dared not even speak to him.

Li Congyou was just sitting there, and even before Yu Shao arrived, an inexplicable sense of oppression filled the air, so heavy that they could hardly breathe.

They all understood what this game meant for Li Congyou.

They couldn't help but wonder what Li Congyou was thinking as he was about to face Yu Shao again.

After all, Li Congyou had already lost to Yu Shao once!

Perhaps it was precisely because Li Congyou, an 8-dan player, lost the previous game that this next game was destined to be tinged with a tragic and fierce atmosphere.

Time passed by minute by minute.

The entire game room was completely silent.

"Squeak."

Finally, with a creak, the door to the game room was slowly pushed open.

The four people in the game room immediately turned their gazes toward the door, their eyes instantly focusing on it.

But when they saw who it was, all four of them were slightly taken aback.

The person who arrived was not Yu Shao, but... Zhuang Weisheng.

In games held in the game room, unauthorized personnel are usually not allowed to enter, but the players participating in the game are an exception. As long as they do not disturb the players, they are allowed to watch the game.

Zhuang Weisheng glanced around the game room, then silently walked to the referee's table without saying a word.

Li Congyou remained silent, quickly turning his gaze away from Zhuang Weisheng and continuing to wait for his opponent to arrive.

"In that game not long ago, Li Congyou, an 8-dan player, played exceptionally well and ultimately defeated Zhuang Weisheng."

One of the referees couldn't help but glance at Zhuang Weisheng, then at Li Congyou, silently thinking to himself.

A moment later, the door to the game room creaked open again, and a handsome young man of about seventeen years old slowly walked into the game room.

The game room suddenly became even quieter.

All eyes were focused on the newcomer, including Zhuang Weisheng.

Li Congyou's gaze was also deeply attracted by the newcomer, and he could not look away. He stood up and stared intently at the newcomer. Although the newcomer was still young, there was no look of contempt in his eyes.

"Yu Shao, third dan, you've arrived."

Li Congyou looked at Yu Shao standing at the door of the game room and finally spoke.

Upon hearing this, Yu Shao looked up at Li Congyou, only to find Li Congyou staring intently at him, and fell silent for a moment.

There was no retreat in that gaze, it was unwavering, filled with stubbornness, resentment, and a strong fighting spirit, or rather, killing intent, as if it were burning with flames!

"I've been waiting for you for a long time, Yu Shao."

Li Congyou spoke in a deep voice, his expression serious and earnest.

"Sorry I'm a little late."

Yu Shao apologized, then finally took a step and walked towards the chess table in the center of the chess room. He quickly arrived opposite Li Congyou, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

Li Congyou opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. He sat back down, closed his eyes, and began to breathe heavily, his chest rising and falling, as if trying to compose himself. The female music notator beside him was even astonished to notice that Li Congyou's right hand was trembling slightly.

She suddenly remembered what her Go teacher had told her when she was learning Go: a true Go player is one who chases after opponents with a trembling body and challenges them with a heart full of awe.

In her view, Li Congyou was a chess player she needed to challenge with awe, but now Li Congyou's right hand was trembling slightly when facing a seventeen-year-old boy.
"Although Yu Shaoxia defeated Li Congyou not long ago, was it really necessary... Li Congyou's level of 8-dan is top-notch, even on a global scale!"

The female music notator was incredulous: "This is unbelievable!"

Although the two judges next to the female notary did not notice Li Congyou's slightly trembling right hand, they could feel that since Yu Shao's arrival, the already oppressive atmosphere had become even more tense!
Time continues to pass.

The time for the match is getting closer.

Li Congyou seemed to have finally adjusted his mindset. His right hand stopped trembling, his chest stopped heaving, and he finally opened his eyes, looking directly at Yu Shao with a calm expression.

The tension and confrontation in the air were escalating rapidly!

at last.

A few minutes later, a referee glanced at his watch, took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and finally said, "Time's up!"

"The match time is three hours for each side, with one and a half minutes of overtime, and seven and a half points for Black!"

The referee glanced at Yu Shao, then at Li Congyou, and said, "Now, the two players may begin to coin toss for first place!"

Upon hearing this, Li Congyou reached out and grabbed a handful of white pieces from the chess box, holding them in his palm. Seeing this, Yu Shao immediately reached into the chess box as well, took out a black piece, and placed it on the chessboard.

White has six pieces.

Black, one piece.

Upon seeing the result of the coin toss, the referee spoke again: "In this game, Yu Shao 3-dan will play black and attack first, while Li Congyou 8-dan will play white and go second!"

Upon hearing the referee's words, Li Congyou lowered his head slightly towards Yu Shao and said softly, "Please give me your guidance."

Yu Shao immediately bowed in return and said, "Please give me your guidance."

Seeing that the two had finished, the notarizer, the two judges, and Zhuang Weisheng all became more serious!
The game has begun!

Yu Shao lowered his eyes and looked at the empty chessboard in front of him. After a moment, he finally reached into the chess box, picked out a chess piece, and made his first move in complete silence.

Hey!
Sixteen columns, four rows, stars!
The chess piece falls onto the chessboard like a meteor streaking across the sky, radiating dazzling brilliance upon landing!

Li Congyou stared at the chessboard in front of him, looking at the black piece occupying the star position in the upper right corner, but hesitated to make a move.

He thought back to his previous game of chess with Yu Shao.

In the last game between him and Yu Shao, although he tried to fight back with ko fights many times, he still lost in the end, and it could even be said that he suffered a crushing defeat!

After that, he watched Yu Shao's subsequent games, almost every single one, and then kept studying and observing them.

The more game records he read and the more he studied, the more he saw those incredible moves and the completely new understanding that almost overturned his view of Go, the more he began to... have thoughts of escaping!
Because of his exceptional chess skills, he was well aware of the immense power contained in each of Yu Shao's moves!
All his pride crumbled before those chess scores, leaving nothing behind!

He even didn't want to fight Yu Shao again, nor did he want to face Yu Shao, fearing that he would face Yu Shao again!

So, he called Zhu Huai'an earlier.

That call wasn't just to Zhu Huai'an; it was also a call to himself.

No one can stop him from moving forward, no one can!
"I...I will no longer run away!"

Li Congyou reached into the chess box again, his fingertips touching the chess pieces, feeling their cool touch!
"I finally understand that if I shrink back because of this, if I don't face you again, if I only know how to run away, my chess skills are destined to never improve!"

Finally, the chess piece was clipped out and fell swiftly!

Hey!
Four columns and sixteen rows, a star!
Upon seeing this move, the two referees and the recorder in the game room were all slightly stunned.

Although it was just an ordinary move, for some reason, they seemed to sense something unusual from it.

But they couldn't say what it was.

"This is... hand talk."

Zhuang Weisheng stared at the chessboard, at the white piece that had just been placed, and fell silent for a moment.

"All the feelings of a chess player are poured into every move they make."

Zhuang Weisheng looked up from the chessboard and gazed at Yu Shao.

"What kind of game are you planning to play?"

"I can feel it, I can clearly sense it from this move—"

"Li Congyou, with the determination to fight to the death, has issued a challenge to you!"

"Although he lost to you before, past victories and defeats do not define present victories and defeats!"

"Chess players with this kind of do-or-die mentality are capable of creating miracles!"

Yu Shao looked down at the chessboard, seemingly able to glean something from the sound of the pieces being placed.

"A desperate gamble?"

A moment later, Yu Shao finally picked up a chess piece and placed it down again.

"So--"

Hey!
Three columns and four rows, small eyes!
"bring it on!"

Yu Shao placed his chess piece down, then looked up at Li Congyou opposite him!
Seeing Yu Shao make his move, Li Congyou immediately picked up a piece and placed it on the board as well.

Hey!
Seventeen columns and sixteen rows, small columns!
At this point, both sides have formed a classic opening with star point versus star point. This opening is very flexible, and the final outcome of the game is completely unpredictable!

“I must win!”

Li Congyou picked up another chess piece and placed it with lightning speed!

"I'm determined to win the national team title this year, and no one can stop me!"

Hey!
Fifteen columns and sixteen rows, hanging high!
Yu Shao followed closely behind, not to be outdone, and quickly placed his piece as well.

Hey!
Fifteen columns and seventeen rows, please!

　Asking for a monthly ticket!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)