Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

Kai walked to the free-throw line and let out a deep breath. He could feel all the people's eyes on him—some of them pressuring him to make the shot while some praying for him to miss both of them.

Chunlei and Yiming watched him the most intently.

"We'll keep the six-point gap," Chunlei muttered.

Meanwhile, Kai channeled his energy when he challenged Fabin to a shooting game during their Cultural Festival.

He let himself loose as he raised the ball above his head, and then he remembered the feeling before releasing the ball lightly from his palms.

Kai held his breath as he watched the trajectory of the ball, and it seemed like Shizi's supporters held their breaths along with him.

Before it could even reach the ring, Kai already smiled.

"One point for the Shizi Dogs," Mark exclaimed.

46-41

"What?" Chunlei couldn't help but mutter, even standing from his seat in surprise.

Coach Ben also raised his eyebrows in surprise.

The shot right now was almost perfect! It didn't even hit the rim or bounce off of the backboard. It just went straight in like the ball was programmed to do so.

Yiming, too, couldn't believe his eyes.

"It's a lucky shot," he muttered.

However, as Kai attempted another shot, it went in just as smoothly as before, making Yiming believe that it wasn't pure luck after all.

46-42

"Nice," Jet said, patting Kai on the back.

Yuze, too, nodded in acknowledgment as they prepared for another round of defense.

However, even then, Yiming couldn't find it within him to stay focused on the game.

At first, he found that Kai had a promising athleticism. His body was enough testament to show that he was going to be a good athlete—no matter what sport.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

When they played with them in the practice game, Yiming noticed his amateurish and sloppy movements. However, even then, his athleticism showed through.

He actually had a great sense of basketball and how the game really worked—almost as if he had the mind of a basketball fan.

His defense was already good in the beginning, but Yiming knew that he wasn't really a threat to their team.

As the Winter Cup started, however, he had heard stories about a first-year student in Shizi High having immense potential—and that was Zeren.

A lot of people also think that Zeren has the most potential in their team. So, he was the most wary of Zeren out of the new members of the Shizi Dogs.

However, after playing first-hand with them, Yiming realized that he was wary of the wrong person.

Now that Kai had developed his shooting skills, Yiming didn't know how to react.

With his absentmindedness, Kai was able to steal the ball from his hands, earning shouts from the audience and the bench.

"What is he doing?"

"Is he really going to lose to an unknown first-year student like this?"

"Yiming must have lost his touch!"

Chunlei could hear the speculations going around him, and he felt himself worrying even more for Yiming.

Four points.

They were only leading by four points—which wasn't a safe spot at all!

Then, with Kai's steal, the Shizi Dogs were given another opportunity to make the gap even closer.

However, it seemed like the other starting players weren't having any of it this time.

Shilei, despite feeling fatigued, pushed himself to the limit and stole the ball from Jet's hands.

Jet gasped in surprise as he tried to race after him.

However, Shilei had already passed the ball to Bocheng, who was waiting under their ring.

Then, without any hesitation, Bocheng shot the ball into the ring.

48-42

The crowd erupted into cheers. However, the nervousness in their voices was still evident.

It wasn't enough.

They needed more.

With one minute left in the clock, Coach Ben started pacing from the sidelines.

He looked at Chunlei, a crazy thought running in his mind. However, he shook his head.

"We can't," he muttered before sitting back down on the bench while bouncing his legs.

Meanwhile, on the court, with only less than a minute left, Kai attempted a shot from the three-point line.

He knew that he still hadn't practiced the skill just yet, but he wanted to see if he could pull off the shot from a longer distance.

As expected, it bounced off of the rim, and Yiming managed to catch it.

Yiming was already breathless, his movements more erratic as he went to their side of the court.

He was still as strong as ever. However, with his mind in a state of chaos, he couldn't really think clearly.

So, he made the mistake of passing to their fifth player—the one who wasn't a part of the official five starting players of the Feng Foxes.

The fifth player quickly fumbled the ball, causing it to land in Jinping's hands.

Jinping saw Yuze from a distance and threw the ball at him with all of his strength.

Then, without any hesitation, Yuze shot the ball from where he was standing, adding another two points to their score.

48-44

"There's only ten seconds left!" Mark exclaimed. "Will the Feng Foxes take their six-point lead back, or will the Shizi Dogs continue keep the score close?"

Yiming tried to initiate one final play, but Kai went in front of him, his eyes determined as he mirrored Yiming's movements.

This led the captain to have a hard time getting past him, and before he knew it, the buzzer had already resounded in the entire venue.

"...and that ends our second quarter! It's still a close game between the two."

"It's really amazing to see how the Shizi Dogs have improved so far. Who would have known that one of the last-placing teams in the league would now be choking the Feng Foxes?"

With Mark's statement, Yiming became even angrier—not at the other players, but at himself.

Why was he having such a hard time creating a large gap between the two of them?

With that, he went back to the bench, not even bothering to wipe his sweat, causing it to drip on the floor.

Chunlei watched him with narrowed eyes while the rest of his teammates anticipated his next decision.

"Holding room," Chunlei coldly said, sending shivers down their spine.

"Now."