Chapter 22: Desperate Struggle for Rebirth

  "Are these kids too foolish or too innocent?" Li Kun, on the other side of the court, gazed at the crowd of Class 8 students cheering and shouting together with a complex expression, his voice laced with a hint of mockery and pity.

  Liu Ba laughed loudly and said: "Who didn't have a youthful time? Great Lord, forgive their ignorance."

  "The game is only one quarter in, and the score difference hasn't opened up yet. Don't be careless, anything can happen before the final whistle blows." Wu Fengtao still maintained a calm attitude, as the core and soul of the team, it's very necessary to keep a clear head at all times.

  "The end of the strong crossbow, its momentum is unstoppable. These kids have almost used up all their strength, what else can they use to fight us? Fengtou, you're being too cautious." Bi Xiangyang patted his palm lightly and continued: "Everyone, let's go all out and try to defeat them before the end of the first half. Fengtou, didn't we agree to meet those kids from Vocational High School this afternoon? We should save some energy for that."

  "Uh, they're already at their physical limit, now it's just a matter of hanging on. Xiangyang should pass the ball more often and everyone should run a few more steps to get them moving. Ending the suspense early won't hurt anyone."

  The second half of the game begins.

  Bi Xiangyang slowly dribbled the ball across half court, Zhao Senming dragged his lead-filled legs to pounce on him. The two were about 5 cm apart in height, and Bi Xiangyang was two years older than Zhao Senming. At this age of high school students, being older means more developed, so Bi Xiangyang squeezed into the interior line step by step, relying on his superior strength and height to completely overpower Zhao Senming.

  Seeing Zhao Senming at a disadvantage, Han Dengyun immediately let go of the defense he was supposed to guard against Liu Ba. He took two small steps forward and blocked Bi Xiangyang's path. Meanwhile, Zhao Senming quickly shifted his defensive target and blocked Liu Ba in front of him.

  Bi Xiangyang is a pretty good ball-controlling defender, with eyes that see in all directions and ears that hear everything. Before Han Dengyun came to provide defensive support, he had already spotted Liu Ba being left unmarked. He let out a cold laugh, turned around to face Han Dengyun, took two steps back while dribbling the ball, and pretended to pass it to Liu Ba.

  At this time, Zhao Senming had not yet made up his defense, and Fu Zijun saw that Bi Xiangyang was about to pass the ball. Without thinking much, he quickly ran two steps with his arm stretched out, intending to intercept the ball.

  Bi Xiangyang noticed Fu Zijun, but the basketball in his hand was still passed out. His eyes were still staring at Liu Ba, who was competing with Fu Zijun for position. The right hand hidden behind Han Dengyun's back shook in the opposite direction at the moment of passing the ball, and the ball flew towards Li Kun's direction.

  Fu Zijun blocked Liu Ba's way, but his line of sight was blocked by Han Dengyun's large figure, so he didn't realize that Bi Xiangyang was pretending to pass the ball to Liu Ba, but actually passed it in Li Kun's direction.

  Han Dengyun naturally saw it clearly, but when he realized something was wrong, it was already too late to stop. The basketball was about to fly into Li Kunpeng's hands, but just then, a yellow shadow flashed by, and the ball was suddenly snatched away mid-air.

  It wasn't just Bi Xiangyang, even Li Kun, who was waiting to receive the ball, was stunned for a moment. He had already observed it earlier and logically inferred that it was impossible for anyone to intercept this ball, but unexpectedly, something unexpected happened.

  Zhao Senming had just made a desperate leap, using all his strength to hold the ball in his arms, and after his feet floated in mid-air, he almost fell over with one stumble. He gritted his teeth to overcome his fatigue and stabilized his body, then used all his strength again to throw the ball forward with force.

  The eagle soars in the sky, and the fish swims in the shallow water. Sun Feiying had already started sprinting towards the opponent's half court at the moment Zhao Senming intercepted the ball, while Zhang Peng, who was responsible for defending him, didn't realize it until Zhao Senming passed the ball. By the time he turned around to chase, Sun Feiying was already five meters ahead, leaving behind only a yellow shadow.

  Sun Feiyang had just passed half court when the basketball flew over, he jumped high to catch the incoming ball, thinking of continuing the attack with a layup. Just then, a black shadow darted into his peripheral vision, without time to think, Sun Feiyang gritted his teeth and prepared to force his way up, directly dribbling towards the basket.

  It was Wu Fengtao who made a timely return to defense. He started almost at the same time as Sun Feiyang, but his absolute speed was slightly inferior to Sun Feiyang's, so he was left behind by Sun Feiyang. However, Wu Fengtao did not give up and took advantage of Sun Feiyang's jump to catch up with gritted teeth.

  Two people rushed into the three-point line, one on the left and one on the right. Since Sun Feiying had the ball in his hand, his speed was slightly slower than Wu Fengtou's empty-handed run, and they were tied.

  But Sun Feiyang didn't care, his eyes were now fixed on the basket that was getting closer and bigger, Wu Fengtou had already been deleted from his line of sight.

  As soon as his right foot stepped into the three-point line, Sun Feiyang hugged the ball with both hands and strode towards the basket. Starting from the three-point line, taking three steps is difficult for others, but for Sun Feiyang, who has a large stride and can hang in the air, it's not a problem at all.

  Wu Fengtao seemed to be caught off guard as well, completely unaware that Sun Feiyang had already started driving towards the basket from such a distance. In the blink of an eye, Sun Feiyang raised his right hand high and sent the ball flying towards the hoop, while his left hand was held up in front of his chest, both defending himself and intimidating Wu Fengtao at the same time.

  Wu Fengtao would not be intimidated by Sun Feiyang's elbow, he took a deep breath and also jumped high, his right hand raised high, rushing towards Sun Feiyang.

  Wu Fengtao is going to foul and prevent this ball from being scored, in a basketball game, when one side makes a mistake and the other side seizes the opportunity to counterattack, it can be very damaging to morale. Wu Fengtao does not want to see his team's morale being suppressed by these newcomers.

  Sun Feiyang smiled slightly in mid-air, at this time he had already reached the highest point, the call of gravity had made him start falling, but Sun Feiyang was not flustered, he brought back the basketball that was held high, lowered his head and body, and actually drilled under Wu Fengtao's ribs, lightly tapping the ball on the backboard before watching it bounce into the hoop.

  Between breaths, this attack has ended, and the two people's confrontation has also ended. The result is that Wu Fengtao was defeated.

  Sun Feiyang had already turned around and walked away, but Wu Fengtao couldn't help but stare at his own palm in disbelief, unable to comprehend how Sun Feiyang had managed to slip past him from under his ribs.

  This counterattack, from Zhao Senming's successful steal to Sun Feiyang's final layup, took absolutely no more than 5 seconds. However, in these 5 seconds, Zhao Senming and Sun Feiyang jointly taught this group of old players a lesson, vividly illustrating perfect switching defense, tacit cooperation, and skilled basketball techniques.

  "Sorry, it's my fault for passing it poorly."

  Sun Feiyang has already gone halfway, and Bi Xiangyang retreated back to his own half. His speed was not very fast, so seeing Sun Feiyang had already gone far away, he didn't exert himself to chase, watching with open eyes as Sun Feiyang single-handedly scored a goal against Wu Fengtuo.

  "Haha, it's okay, just one ball, we can play it back."

  Wu Fengtao came back to his senses, patted Bi Xiangyang's shoulder, smiled casually, picked up the basketball on the ground and handed it to Bi Xiangyang, then clenched his right fist and sprinted towards the opponent's half court.

  Bixiangyang and Wu Fengtao have known each other since childhood, so naturally he understands how fake his earlier smile was. He knows that Wu Fengtao has already gotten angry for real, having been provoked by Sun Feiyang. Bixiangyang looked at Wu Fengtao's back and smiled, provoking him further - this group of newcomers is just waiting to get into trouble.

  Bi Xiangyang dribbled the ball to the half court of Class 18, High School No. 1, and passed it out without thinking, with Wu Fengtuo standing outside the three-point line, arching his body and opening his hands as the target.

  Wu Fengtao received the ball, narrowed his eyes and glanced at Xiang Qingyun in front of him, exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, and suddenly jumped up with both hands holding the ball.

  Xiang Qingyun was taken aback, and without thinking too much, he hastily turned his body sideways, raised his right hand, and followed Wu Fengtou in jumping up. In terms of speed, Xiang Qingyun's physical quality was generally not good enough to compare with Wu Fengtou, so although he used all his strength, he could only watch as Wu Fengtou made a shooting gesture, then very standardly shot the basketball out of his hand.

  The basketball was still in the air, but after landing, Wu Fengtao didn't even glance at it and turned around with his right hand raised high, retreating to his own half of the court.

  Xiang Qingyun turned around and watched as the orange basketball drew a beautiful arc, then accurately fell into their own basket. He slapped his right hand in frustration.

  Wu Fengtao made a three-pointer from beyond the arc, stunning the entire audience. What was most astonishing wasn't the basketball itself, but Wu Fengtao's overflowing confidence, which exuded an aura of invincibility that sent shivers down people's spines and inspired fear.

  After this ball hit, it also made the slightly sluggish momentum of Class 31 of High Three just now recover. These newcomers are indeed formidable, but with Wu Fengtuo, who has never lost a battle, what's there to worry about?

  Xiang Qingyun helplessly shrugged his shoulders, he had indeed done his best, but the huge gap between the two people made him helpless. Sun Feiying walked over and patted his shoulder, saying: "It's okay, he can't make every shot."

  Fu Zijun picked up the basketball on the ground with a cold face and handed it to Zhao Senming. He originally thought his three-point shot was already excellent, but just now Wu Fengtuo told him through actual actions that he still had a long way to go.

  Zhao Senming silently dribbled the ball across half of the court. He wasn't good with words, but he wanted to tell his teammates through his actions that in this world, nothing is invincible as long as you have a strong enough heart.

  Bi Xiangyang once again lazily pressed forward, and Zhao Senming's previous interception did not make him more vigilant. In his eyes, apart from having a bit of the recklessness of a newborn calf that is not afraid of tigers, there was nothing else about Zhao Senming that made him look up to him.

  Zhao Senming didn't know what was on Bi Xiangyang's mind, but he felt the disdain from his opponent in front of him. He stepped on the three-point line, dribbling the ball at a steady pace, his eyes fixed on Bi Xiangyang with a fierce gaze, like a beast. The strength of his enemy wouldn't make him back down, nor would their contempt ignite his anger. His heart was as cold as ice and as calm as water. At this moment, all he saw in front of him was the hoop and his opponent.

  Time passed second by second, Zhao Senming was still dribbling in place, Bi Xiangyang gradually became a little impatient, he didn't understand what the newcomer in front of him was waiting for, several times he deliberately exposed his weaknesses, but the opponent seemed to have not seen them at all.

  He unconsciously turned his head to glance at the teacher in charge of timing beside him, because he felt that the opponent's attack time had exceeded 24 seconds. But just as he turned his head, Zhao Senming, who had been waiting for an opportunity, finally moved. With a flick of his left hand, the basketball bounced back into his hands, and at the same time, he flashed past Bi Xiangyang's left side and rushed forward.

  Bi Xiangyang was shocked and turned pale, his face becoming extremely unsightly. Being pantsed by someone was a very humiliating thing, previously he often pantsed others, leaving only good memories, but today he finally understood the taste of humiliation that made one lose face.

  Just as Zhao Senming sprinted past, the sports teacher in charge of timing reminded: "The yellow team's attack time has only 3 seconds left!"

  Zhao Senming calmly and unhurriedly shifted his body to block Bi Xiangyang behind him, then exerted force to jump out with the ball, perfectly dodging Li Kun who was rushing forward to defend. After landing steadily, he jumped up from three meters away from the basket and made a small toss shot. Liu Ba, who had jumped up to defend on the other side of the basket, watched helplessly as the ball slipped past his fingertips and accurately fell into the center of the hoop.

  18：23！

  The unyielding and unwavering Class 8 of High School Year 1, was not intimidated by the formidable momentum of Class 11 of High School Year 3, nor did they give up due to physical conditions. They fought tenaciously, gritting their teeth in persistence, expending all their strength in every attack, and defending with a life-or-death determination. Gradually, they narrowed the score gap, gradually devouring the fighting spirit of Class 11 of High School Year 3, with only one goal in mind - ultimate victory.

  Bi Xiangyang watched as the basketball went through the hoop, and he lowered his head in shame. However, he quickly lifted his head again, gazing at Zhao Sen who was walking away, gritting his teeth in frustration.