Chapter Eighty-One: Crushing Alpha Dog (1)

“No, no, I give up.”
Leng Leng admitted defeat without the slightest regard for her own dignity.
Yang Xiaofan, however, responded calmly,
“As you wish.”
With that, he resumed his game.
Defeated, Leng Leng didn’t continue her own stream, but instead chose to broadcast Yang Xiaofan’s gameplay, curious to uncover his secrets.
How could he, simply by playing Go, attract such a massive audience?
Perhaps, if she studied carefully, she might one day elevate herself as well.
By now, the match had reached its eighth round, and the battle had grown ever fiercer.
Were it not for the computer commentary displayed alongside, the average viewer would have struggled to grasp the subtleties of this match.
Yet, thanks to the annotations, the audience began to appreciate the true depths of Yang Xiaofan’s mastery.
No, “mastery” hardly sufficed—his play was flawless, unassailable.
“Yu the Great subdues the Nine Provinces! The Flood Dragon rises from the sea! Sun and moon shine together! My god, these grand tactics—many Go masters spend a lifetime without ever pulling off a single one, and ordinary players may never achieve even that. But my brother-in-law unleashes them one after another, as easily as a merchant clearing stock—this is simply beyond human capability!”
“Of course! Who do you think he is? He’s the most formidable brother-in-law on the whole internet!”
“People really get compared to death! I’ve played Go for thirty years and won countless city and provincial championships, but watching him today, I realize I’m not even an ant. Thank goodness it’s the computer playing him; if it were me, I’d have died a thousand deaths by now.”
“Look, brother-in-law is about to win again!”
All eyes turned to the screen, and sure enough, the computer announced another victory for him.
“Wow! Unbelievable!”
“He won the eighth round in just fifty-two moves? That’s insane!”
“He’s a god! He deserves to be called the God of Go!”
Meanwhile, Leng Leng, watching Yang Xiaofan’s stream, was baffled.
“He just won a game,” she wondered aloud, “why are these people so fanatical about it?”
The chat quickly responded, eager to explain:

“Leng Leng, this isn’t just any Go game—it’s developed by the Eastern Artificial Intelligence Group. They once created a formidable AI called AlphaGo. Have you heard of it?”
She nodded.
“I’ve heard of it, but I don’t know what it does.”
“AlphaGo, also known as Alpha Go, was the first AI to defeat human professional Go players, the first to conquer the world champion, developed by a team of world-class experts. Its core is deep learning. It’s essentially the world’s most challenging and advanced Go player. Humans can’t beat it!”
“So you’re saying, brother-in-law was just playing against AlphaGo?”
Leng Leng stared in disbelief—could it be true?
The chat quickly clarified:
“Not exactly. This game has ten qualifying rounds. If you clear all ten, you get to play against AlphaGo.”
“And as the rounds progress, the AI gets closer and closer in strength to AlphaGo. Look at the game’s description: tens of millions have played, including countless city and provincial champions, even world champions and national players! Yet, only a little over three hundred have ever cleared the eighth round. And brother-in-law did it in just fifty-two moves.”
“Wow, so that’s how it is.”
Leng Leng couldn’t help but gasp.
Yang Xiaofan’s abilities were truly terrifying, far beyond the reach of ordinary people.
At that moment, he began his ninth match.
His fans grew ever more numerous, exceeding fifteen million, with over five million watching live.
Yang Xiaofan, unwavering, continued to display the prowess of a grandmaster, battling the computer AI relentlessly.
Move after move, blow after blow—the struggle intensified, and the on-screen commentary turned the match into an epic battlefield in the viewers’ imaginations.
The tension was palpable, enough to make one’s hair stand on end.
The duel between masters was playing out to the fullest on this tiny board.
Meanwhile, within the Tigerfang Group’s headquarters, the technical department was growing uneasy.
As Yang Xiaofan’s stream became ever more exciting, his viewership numbers kept soaring.
With other streamers competing as well, Tigerfang’s online user count hit record highs, putting immense pressure on their servers.
“Hello? President, our tech team can barely keep up. It’s late at night and we don’t have enough staff to maintain the updates.”
“What’s going on?”
“It’s that newly popular brother-in-law. He’s streaming now, and his viewership is skyrocketing—the servers can’t handle it.”

“Him? Yang Xiaofan?”
“Yes! What do we do?”
“Call in all off-duty tech staff, everyone works overtime. Pay five times the usual rate, cover transportation and meals. I want every hand on deck. We must keep the site running—this is a huge opportunity for Tigerfang!”
“Yes, sir!”
“And put brother-in-law’s stream front and center on the homepage—no rotating banners, just his. Take down everyone else’s for now!”
“Yes, sir!”
As a leader, the president of Tigerfang knew better than anyone what mattered most for a streaming site.
Traffic.
Traffic.
Traffic.
In the past, they had to spend heavily on advertising to boost their traffic.
Now, with Yang Xiaofan’s help, they were reaping a windfall without spending a penny—a fool would let such an opportunity slip away!
Thanks to the site’s support, Yang Xiaofan’s stream experienced yet another surge in followers.
Newcomers were bewildered.
“Seriously? This many people are watching Go? Over six million online—are you kidding me?”
“It’s the middle of the night and you’re all up watching Go? Are you insane?”
Naturally, veteran fans explained the situation.
When everyone learned just how extraordinary Yang Xiaofan was, they were utterly stunned.
A grandmaster of Go?
Was this a joke?
He didn’t look a day over twenty.
A twenty-year-old Go grandmaster?