Chapter 26: Unyielding Spirit: The Finals Begin
The first game of the finals.
It’s over…
Yun Hui 5-dan leans back in her chair, exhausted, as cheers erupt around her.
It feels like a win. No, it is a win. The delight of the Chinese reporters confirms it.
Her clothes are soaked with sweat, and her dry mouth begs for water.
Can this be called a victory? Even a 5-kyu amateur could have won, yet she was utterly outplayed.
It’s impossible. It shouldn’t be possible.
The gaze of the blonde girl in front of her.
Yun Hui 5-dan averts her eyes.
She woke a monster. A dormant being, roused by her reckless taunt.
Two more games remain, but Yun Hui 5-dan’s spirit is already broken.
“Good game.”
Pale complexion, bloodshot eyes. A parched, blood-stained mouth.
The frail, innocent girl is gone.
A seductive, manic smile.
It’s terrifying, like facing a demon.
Yun Hui 5-dan, dazed, accepts the handshake.
“Let’s have another good game tomorrow.”
The girl whispers chillingly in a northern dialect. Yun Hui 5-dan shudders, tears welling up.
Seoa Ryu 1-dan passes by, declining the post-game interview citing health reasons, leaving Yun Hui 5-dan to face the questions alone.
Reporters praise the first game as a masterpiece, claiming Yun Hui 5-dan secured her advantage with skillful play.
They know nothing.
They can’t even guess what Seoa Ryu 1-dan is.
‘She’ is a presence that shouldn’t exist in women’s Go. The gap is insurmountable, etched painfully into her.
Even at her peak, Inaye Lee 9-dan never gave this overwhelming feeling.
Unreachable.
Days, weeks, even years wouldn’t be enough.
The second game is tomorrow. Closing the gap is impossible without a miracle.
How do you beat an opponent coming for blood from the start?
Yun Hui 5-dan gives a passive interview.
She praises her opponent and downplays herself.
It may seem humble, but for her, it’s a surrender.
Her only hope is that the girl’s condition worsens.
Yun Hui 5-dan stammers through the interview.
*
“Cough… cough, cough.”
As my emotions settle, exhaustion crashes over me.
Still, venting my frustration has lifted a weight from my heart.
My fever has subsided a bit, and the medicine seems to have eased the swelling in my throat.
“…”
Inaye Lee 9-dan, supporting me, looks at me with sparkling eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“Seoa, you’ve got grit…”
I glance at her, and she reacts oddly.
“Huh?”
My face stiffens, and I frown without realizing it.
“Eek…”
Inaye Lee 9-dan flinches. Probably because I look like a wreck right now.
“Sorry…”
“No, it’s cool… But what a shame…”
A suffocating chase to the end. I didn’t claim victory.
“There’s still a chance, so it’s okay.”
The second and third games are still ahead.
I don’t want to lose.
Even if it means relying on Changmo Shin’s Go again.
Recovering my condition is key for tomorrow’s win.
I collapse into sleep as soon as I reach the hotel.
Deep sleep.
Cold shower.
Hotel breakfast.
I spend the morning refining opening strategies with Inaye Lee 9-dan.
10:30 AM.
We head to the finals venue a bit early.
Inaye Lee 9-dan buys coffee, I get green tea, and we wait in the lounge.
She sits far from us.
Is she prepared?
I’ve sharpened my dagger—what has she brought?
Will she be as arrogant as yesterday, wasting moves to taunt?
I stare blankly at Yun Hui 5-dan’s back, quietly anticipating.
Match time.
We take our seats as guided by the organizers.
I sip my cold green tea.
In my past life, I preferred high-acidity coffee, but this young body can’t handle too much caffeine.
My condition isn’t bad.
Like yesterday, Yun Hui 5-dan takes white, and I take black.
My first move is a small knight’s move.
Yun Hui 5-dan plays a star point.
I secure profit with double small knight’s moves, while Yun Hui 5-dan seeks development with double star points.
I extend two spaces from the upper-right small knight’s move, solidifying profit.
Yun Hui 5-dan plays a high one-space extension from the lower-right small knight’s move. I attach with a knight’s move shape, securing the corner’s profit.
Standard progression. White extends to the right side, and I expand influence on the bottom.
First-move advantage.
I play a 3-3 point in the upper-left side.
A move once considered taboo in this era.
The reason: it gives too much influence compared to the profit gained.
But AI has shown that’s a vague assumption.
Influence is meaningless without guaranteed expansion.
By stifling expansion with an invasion, there’s no loss. In most cases, it’s a gain.
A trade of profit for influence.
I follow with an attack on the upper-left corner.
Three corners, the left side, and the bottom.
Profit secured.
Now, it’s about invading the large central area where white has influence.
I slide my stones in smoothly.
White holds the center’s initiative.
A deep, penetrating invasion.
Like a fighter jet striking key enemy facilities, swift and precise.
High enough to hide in the clouds. Skirting the edge of surface-to-air missile range.
Targets.
High-value targets, assigned and memorized before takeoff.
Clean, simultaneous strikes.
Quickly neutralizing threats to allies.
Conditions set, special forces naturally infiltrate.
A small unit, swiftly fortifying key points.
White can’t move rashly.
Each attempt to shift from the front line to the rear is pinned down by black’s main force.
As time drains, a connection operation unfolds.
A unit breaking through elsewhere links up with the special forces, securing supply lines.
Now, white’s main force is the one surrounded.
A limited chance to turn the tide.
In haste, white makes a directional mistake.
White willingly chooses a disadvantageous battlefield.
The final battle, staking everything, ends almost embarrassingly easily for the forces committed.
A massacre.
A point difference so overwhelming it’s shameful to call it a rout.
I return yesterday’s taunting move in kind.
I’m not still hung up on it, but debts must be settled, no?
Surprisingly calmly, Yun Hui 5-dan picks up two stones, places them on the board, and resigns.
A quiet contrast to yesterday.
I smile lightly at the Chinese TV cameras and photographers.