Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

With the sound of the buzzer, the players went back to the court.

Coach Yixing's eyebrows raised in surprise when he saw that the tall player who managed to score against the Xing Stars was now on the bench.

"Interesting," Coach Yixing said before turning his attention back to the court.

Meanwhile, Bao sighed in disappointment when he saw that Kai was not part of the line-up anymore.

Just then, he felt someone's arm wrap around him.

"You must be new here, huh?" he asked.

Bao's eyebrows raised in surprise when he saw two new people by his side. He had seen them before at school, but they'd never been acquainted, so Bao was still apprehensive.

"Who...are you?" Bao skeptically asked.

The boy on his right shook his head in disappointment. "I'm sad that Kai hasn't mentioned us before. He mentioned you a lot when he was a part of our team."

Bao's eyes finally widened in recognition.

"Alen and Mingze?" he asked.

"We got a winner!" Alen exclaimed, offering his hand. "Hi, nice to formally meet Kai's one and only classroom friend."

Bao nodded and took his hand. He also bowed slightly at Yuze to acknowledge his presence.

"Anyway," Alen continued yapping. "As I said, you must be new here."

"Yeah," Bao nodded. "It's my first time watching a basketball game with Shizi High."

"I see," Mingze said. "Well, Kai doesn't play much during these games."

Then, Mingze leaned against his seat and crossed his arms. "But every time he's on the court, he makes sure that he's remembered."

"Hmm," Bao hummed, finding his statement interesting. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

Mingze and Alen shared knowing glances before turning their attention to the court.

"Both," they said at the same time.

The set continued, and indeed, Kai and Yuze were right—it seemed like the Xing Stars had over 17 plays up their sleeves.

Zedong continued giving them cryptic instructions, each one leading to a different play.

The Shizi Dogs found themselves constantly on the defensive, struggling to keep up with the Xing Stars' relentless attacks.

"Xing, Xing. Shining Xing!"

Lina clicked her tongue as she continued moving the pieces around the whiteboard.

"Will we be able to beat them through this way?" she muttered, feeling unsure of the situation.

Meanwhile, Kai also took note of the flow of the game. It was a good thing that the Shizi Dogs had strengthened their defenses through their past training, so they kept the gap to less than ten points.

Yuze stood as the wall of the Shizi Dogs, unmoving and ever-calm. As they jogged over to their side of the court, Yuze nodded in Kun's direction, and the latter quickly understood his instruction.

Kai watched them intently. One thing that Kai commended about the two was their teamwork. It seemed like being friends and teammates for three years paid off well.

Kun dribbled the ball, then with a quick glance at his teammates, he raised his hand, signaling the number zero.

Jinping frowned in confusion. They didn't have a play that signaled the number zero!

Zeren was also confused, and he didn't know how to move.

Because their opponents were confused, the Xing Stars couldn't help but feel confused, too.

They began to move erratically and unexpectedly like the Shizi Dogs, who didn't know how to execute the play.

Before they could further question Kun's decision, he acted.

With a swift motion, Kun lobbed the ball high into the air.

The Xing Stars' defense looked on in confusion, unsure of what was happening.

Then, out of nowhere, Yue soared into the air, his eyes fixed on the ball as he rose higher and higher.

With a powerful leap. He grabbed the ball mid-air, brought it down, and slammed it through the hoop with a thunderous dunk.

The side of Shizi High erupted into cheers as Yuze's incredible display resonated in their hearts.

14-7.

"They weren't lying when they said that Yuze was good."

"He's the star player for a reason."

"That was so cool! Has he always played like that? I honestly only heard of it since I never watched any of their basketball games."

Meanwhile, the girls behind Eva swooned as Yuze calmly dropped to the ground and continued leading his teammates.

***

The first set ended, and the second quickly followed.

It seemed like Lina's initial plan was actually going well since the Shizi Dogs were now scoring against the Xing Stars.

One by one, both teams executed their plays with precision and determination.

Eva glanced at Jinping and subtly shook her head.

"Well, he's not so bad," she muttered.

The Xing Stars continued to rely on their extensive playbook, with Zedong orchestrating their every move as the Point Guard. Shizi managed to keep up with them with the score, but it seemed like the gap wasn't closing anytime soon.

Coach Yixing watched intently from the sidelines, his eyes scanning the court with keen focus.

He observed the Shizi players as they executed their plays, noting their improved cohesion and coordination.

His friend at the professional scorer's table glanced over at him.

"What do you think about Shizi this time?" he asked, eager to hear Yixing's thoughts.

Yixing's had a serious expression for a moment.

However, as Zedong orchestrated another play, a wide and confident smile graced his lips.

"Xing, Xing. Shining Xing!"

"Stars of the Golden Ring!"

Then, Yixing's lips curled into a confident smirk as he watched the Shizi Dogs' strategy unfold.

He glanced at the pretty young lady on the other side of the bench and wanted to commend her for keeping their team together despite being a student herself.

"I can see that they've improved a lot," Yixing started, to which the scorers nodded in agreement.

"They're more cohesive this time," he mused, his tone thoughtful.

"That's no wonder. They wouldn't be able to create such plays if this was last year."

Yixing crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"They're trying to beat us out of our own game," he continued, his voice filled with amusement and confidence.

Then, he focused his gaze on the court once more.

"But they still have a long way to go."