Chapter Fourteen: The Unusual Soldier

  After a 20-minute break, the two teams returned to the field with renewed confidence. Han Dengyun swaggered in front of No. 3 and said softly: "Rookie, you've got no chance now, stop being arrogant!"

  No. 3 Gao Yang merely glanced at him with disdain

  A clumsy fellow hummed a little tune without saying anything, and walked calmly towards the basket.

  Class 5 kicked off first, and the pace of No. 1's advance suddenly became very slow, slowly coming to the half court of Class 8, skillfully but aimlessly dribbling twice before passing the ball to No. 32. No. 32 immediately hugged his chest tightly with both hands after receiving the ball. Sun Feiying looked at No. 32 in front of him with a bit of helplessness and confusion, wondering how such a luxurious lineup from her own class was being led by this group of basketball novices?

  No. 32 saw that Sun Feiyang didn't come up to defend his idea, hesitated for a moment, got up and shot. The slow arc, the slow speed, the basketball hit the backboard calmly.

  Han Dengyun let out a loud roar, his feet planted firmly on the ground, and with a burst of strength from his waist, he pinned No. 3 tightly behind him. Xiang Qingyun, who had been waiting in anticipation, charged into the paint to grab the rebound, paused for a moment, and saw that Zhao Senming was perfectly positioned in an open spot.

  "Watch out, Qingyun!" Zhao Senming shouted loudly. "Ah?" Xiang Qingyun, who was about to pass the ball, suddenly froze on the spot. The dark-skinned No. 1's palm touched the basketball and then gently poked it, cutting off the pass. Taking advantage of Xiang Qingyun's slow reaction, he made a layup with a single swipe of his hand.

  30 vs 37!

  Xiang Qingyun looked at everyone with a hint of apology and said: "Sorry, it was my fault."

  Sun Feiyang walked over and patted him on the shoulder, saying: "It's nothing, just be more careful next time! Our victory is already unstoppable! Come on, brothers, charge forward!"

  The eighth class attacked, Sun Feiyang beckoned to get the ball, his eyes shot out flames of anger, he could accept defeat, but couldn't accept being beaten by a group of nobodies. Zhao Senming cooperated and transferred the ball over, Sun Feiyang held the ball with both hands at his waist, took a step forward with his right foot, without even looking at how the 32nd defender reacted, his left hand dribbled like a whirlwind past the 32nd's body on the right side, stepped into the three-point line, and immediately jumped up to shoot.

  "Brush!"

  A perfect emergency stop jump shot, Sun Feiyang maintained his shooting posture when he landed, and No. 32 had just turned around, rubbing his eyes with a look of shock, how can people be so fast?

  Ke Sun Fei had just narrowed the gap to two points, but on the other side, Wang Qun made a high-difficulty jump shot that went in, causing Han Dengyun, who was stuck under the basket, to exclaim in frustration and mutter: "This ball also goes in, it's too ridiculous!"

  Fu Zijun walked over from the side, patted him on the shoulder and comforted him: "When God closes a door for someone, he will open a window for him. Since you're not doing well in love, let's take care of it on the basketball court! However... heh heh, I'll tell him what a real shooter is like!"

  In the end, Fu Zijun's handsome face had become somewhat distorted.

  "It doesn't matter, if he can rely on his three-pointers to kill us, I'll admit defeat today." Zhao Senming said disdainfully while dribbling the ball.

  Still Sun Feiyang is preparing to attack, No. 32 stared at the No. 8 in front of him with a hint of tension, his mouth corners slightly curved into a faint smile, and his feet slid irregularly.

  "Hey, do you know how Jordan's last shot against the Jazz in '98 went in?" Sun Feiying suddenly asked.

  No. 32 shook his head vaguely.

  "That's it!" Sun Feiyang suddenly shouted, his right hand dribbling the ball forward, his body twisting into a sharp spear-like dash.

  "Ah ya." No. 32 was a bit panicked, but fortunately his footstep just happened to be on the left side of his body, and he hastily moved his body to block Sun Feiyang's breakthrough.

  Who would have thought that Sun Feiyang was just a feint, and while moving his body with No. 32, he withdrew his right foot that had stepped out, and at the same time, the basketball in his right hand quickly transferred to his left hand. In the blink of an eye, he had adjusted the direction of his breakthrough. No. 32 saw a large empty space on the right side of his body and hastily rushed over with a somewhat disorganized pace.

  If Sun Feiyang chose to break through from his left side at this time, he could have left No. 32 behind before he caught up, but he didn't do so. His sturdy body suddenly stopped in its tracks, calmly taking a step back, the smile at the corner of his mouth growing a bit wider as he gazed sympathetically at No. 32, who had tripped and fallen to the ground due to losing balance, before easily making a shot that went in.

  No. 32 struggled to get up, and the orange basketball had already drawn a beautiful arc into the basket. Sun Feiying shrugged his shoulders and smiled at No. 32: "That's what happened at the time, do you understand now?"

  No. 32 looked a bit dazed and nodded, Sun Feiying turned around and walked back, leaving behind a sentence in a low voice: It's really scary to be uncultured, I must read more books in the future!

  "I'll screw your grandfather!" No. 32, whose name was Ma Ke, was an excellent student with outstanding academic performance. Sun Feiying could mock his basketball skills, but a sentence "uncultured" made this good student who had always been proud of himself as the son of heaven furious. The emperor's anger changed the color of the mountains and rivers, but this anger only made the smile at the corner of Sun Feiying's mouth continue to expand.

  No. 3 was about to serve when he heard the referee's shrill whistle, and when he looked up, the referee was standing between the two of them, making an OUT gesture towards Ma Ke. Han Dengyun pulled Sun Feiyang to his side and advised: "Don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive, if you get penalized and sent off, our team will have no one to replace you!"

  Sun Feiyang sneered, waving his hand: "Cut it out, do you think I'm as impulsive as you? That little body of yours, the punch you landed on my back earlier was almost like scratching an itch. I deliberately provoked him, although he doesn't have much killing power, but earning two free throws is still a gain!"

  The referee's penalty was more generous than Sun Feiyang had imagined, with two free throws and the ball still in the possession of Class 8.

  Ma Ke walked off the field in a sorry state, and at this time he also regretted it. Being substituted out of the game wasn't a big deal, anyway he couldn't play much of a role on the field. The problem was that both the class teacher and the head of the department were watching from the sidelines, and his punch might have left them with a bad impression. If that really happened, then he would be losing out twice. Ma Ke clenched his sore fist tightly and cursed silently: "How can this guy's back be as hard as an iron plate? It's killing me!"

  The head teacher of Class Five might have guessed what Mai Ke was thinking, walked over and patted his shoulder with a smile: "Don't think too much, the teacher doesn't blame you, I know you're for the honor of the class." After comforting Mai Ke, he turned around and said: "Liu Jian, you go up now."

  Liu Jian, wearing the No. 2 jersey, walked onto the court with a gloomy expression, and Yan Lingfeng on the sidelines was immediately shocked and lost his composure. It was actually him, Liu Jian, whom Yan Lingfeng remembered very clearly. His basketball skills were not even close to his own level back then. Why would he be arranged as a substitute? Was Class 5 hiding their sharpest weapon, waiting for the most critical moment to catch Class 8 off guard?

  Sun Feiying stood at the free throw line, ready to shoot. Yan Lingfeng hastily called Zhao Senming over and whispered, "This No. 2 is absolutely not to be underestimated. We must pay special attention to defending his three-pointers. If we can't guard him together, let's switch defenders."

  "However, what about the breakthrough of No. 1?" Zhao Senming frowned and asked.

  At this time, it can only be gambled. Yan Lingfeng gritted his teeth and said: "Let Deng Yun make up for the defense, his body standing under the basket is a threat. That No. 3, I haven't seen him take action until now, and now he can only let go, hopefully he's really a rookie who hasn't been in touch with basketball for long."

  Zhao Senming nodded slightly, at this time Sun Feiyang made two free throws, Xiang Qingyun was already standing on the midline preparing to serve.

  Zhao Senming calmly received the ball and thought: "I don't know if Ling Feng's words make sense, but now we are in a scoring streak, we can't let our opponents score three-pointers. Let's listen to Ling Feng and switch back to man-to-man defense, the threat of three-pointers is too great."

  "Ball!" Sun Feiying, with the cover of Xiang Qingyun, ran to the right side of the three-point line and gestured to Zhao Senming for the ball. Liu Jianji, who had just come on the court, quickly followed up by cleverly dodging around Xiang Qingyun's slender body.

  Zhao Senming hesitated for a moment, and then made a high pass to Han Dengyun in the interior. Han Dengyun held the ball with one hand, lowered his body slightly, and stared straight into the sharp eyes of No. 3. Han Dengyun suddenly widened his eyes, trying to intimidate his opponent with his own domineering aura, but No. 3 didn't even flinch, not even blinking once.

  "Alas, what's the point of this, forcing me to use my butt to push you." Han Dengyun sighed silently, straightened his waist, and leaned sideways against No. 3, using his right hand to dribble the ball towards the free throw line.

  "Hmm, just one more step forward and you'll be within my range." Han Dengyun suddenly exerted force and leaned in, causing No. 3 to stumble backward for a moment before quickly recovering and advancing again.

  "Not in time!" Han Dengyun let out a low growl, raising his right hand to prepare for a hook shot. Just as the ball was about to leave his hand, which had just reached shoulder height, he suddenly felt his grip loosen and the basketball was stolen by his opponent.

  Han Dengyun angrily turned around, and the successful No. 2 had already passed the ball to No. 1 who had rushed to the middle line, and then lowered his head and ran towards the opponent's half court.

  "How detestable!" Han Dengyun cursed loudly. No wonder the fifth team was able to advance into the top 16 with such momentum, it seems they really do have some strength after all.

  No. 1 dribbled down the middle, with No. 2 on the left and No. 22 on the right, forming a triangular shape. Zhao Senming stuck tightly to No. 1, gritting his teeth as he followed his footsteps, using his body weight to prevent him from easily scoring again. Sun Feiying retreated back to half court before the double team arrived, but now he felt momentarily at a loss for what to do. Nos. 2 and 22 were closing in on No. 1 - which one should he defend?

  No. 22, although the fast break just now didn't score, that was just an occasional phenomenon after all, Sun Feiying dared not to gamble on it, so he finally decided to stick to the basket, on the one hand, he could assist Zhao Senming in blocking No. 1's layup, and no matter which direction No. 1 passed the ball, this position could also make up for the defense in time.

  No. 1 had already crossed the free throw line, but his momentum seemed to be pushing through the defense of two people. Sun Feiying sneered and clenched her right fist, thinking to herself: "It looks like my technical stats can add another block."

  The fans on the scene were so angry that they punched their chest and stamped their feet, but now it's too late to say anything. No. 2 has already smiled and taken his place outside the three-point line on the left side. Now we can only pray that No. 1 is a point guard who often loses his head! Fei Ying was really too careless, as the leader of the four kings, he had the capital to look down on others, but he shouldn't have looked down on the hidden masters in the dark like this!

  No. 1 sneered and jumped up, the basketball tightly clenched in his hand. Zhao Senming was a bit worried, but at this time he couldn't care about that much anymore, and followed No. 1 to jump up, opening his right hand to prepare for blocking the shot. Sun Feiying calmly jumped up, he didn't even think about committing an offensive foul, because it was beneath him. This little guy who was less than 1.8 meters tall wanted to dunk over Sun Feiying's head, which was simply suicidal.

  No. 1 held the basketball high, stuck to Sun Feiyang's body, and Sun Feiyang arched his waist in mid-air, exerting force to bump into him, while his right hand was stretched out flat, ready to block at any time.

  No. 1's body had already begun to fall, and a thread of murderous intent suddenly shot out from Sun Feiyang's eyes, his right hand raised fiercely.

  Sun Feiyang swung his palm in the air, and with a stunned expression, he fell to the ground, staring at the empty hands of No. 1. He couldn't help but feel a hint of doubt in his heart. "Where's the ball?"

  "Swish!" The basketball that had gone through the net landed right on Sun Feiyang's head, giving him a ruthless answer.

  Yan Lingfeng by the court saw very clearly, just as Sun Feiyang raised his palm to seal, No. 1 quickly withdrew his right hand, passing from under Sun Feiyang's armpit, and passed it to the empty-handed No. 2 behind him...

  Sun Feiyang's face turned iron-green as he stared at No. 2, who was still in a shooting pose and retreating. He fiercely picked up the basketball on the ground and slapped it once. Zhao Senming comforted him, "It's just one three-pointer, what's the big deal? Who are we, the Four Heavenly Kings, afraid of? Cheer up and win this game, Ling Feng is still waiting for the championship to make a big show!"

  Listening to Zhao Sen's encouraging words, Sun Feiyang's face gradually calmed down, nodded and said: "Don't worry, I'm fine, it's just a 6-point difference, isn't it? The game is far from over, let's see how long these guys can go crazy!"

  Zhao Senming walked forward with the ball, and after No. 1 passed a good ball, he rushed up like a shot of adrenaline, not giving Zhao Senming a chance to pass the ball calmly. Zhao Senming carefully protected the ball and made a gesture for Fu Zijun to come up and block.

  Wang Qun was well aware of Fu Zijun's three-point shot, and although he should have switched to defend Zhao Senming, due to his distrust of No. 1's height, he didn't bother with Zhao Senming, who was handling the ball, and instead stuck closely to Fu Zijun. No. 1 followed Fu Zijun for two steps before realizing that Wang Qun hadn't gone to defend Zhao Senming, furrowed his brow, stopped in his tracks, and turned back to chase Zhao Senming, who had already been left wide open and was driving towards the basket with the ball. Han Dengyun immediately took two steps outwards; this pass was definitely not intended for him. Zhao Senming didn't give any hints, and Fu Zijun and Sun Feiying were completely covered, so he decided to take it to the hoop himself.

  Han Dengyun took two steps back, and No. 3 cautiously followed up, leaving the basket almost completely empty. Zhao Senming used his body to block the rapidly approaching No. 1 from behind, and directly jumped up to shoot.

  No. 3 hastily abandoned Handen Yun beside him and ran to the basket, his task was to protect the backboard and defend, but as soon as he turned around, a yellow shadow flashed by his side, Zhao Senming's basketball was thrown out, the arc was very flat, the speed was very slow, which made No. 1 who followed behind him laugh secretly, it turned out that this No. 5 couldn't shoot like himself either.

  But soon he couldn't laugh anymore, because Zhao Senming's shot wasn't a jump shot, but a pass! Xiang Qingyun quietly shook off the 22nd and occupied the basket position vacated by Han Dengyun, easily dunking after receiving Zhao Senming's pass. At this time, No. 3 had just jumped up to compete for the rebound, while No. 22 was still standing in place, stunned.

  Yan Lingfeng sneered, you have a surprise soldier, how can we not! Xiang Qingyun, who was not favored by everyone, told them that on the basketball court, never underestimate any enemy!