Chapter 4: The Mysterious Basket

  Shuizhong No. 1 Middle School Basketball Court.

  The sun was scorching at noon in early September, but the sweltering weather did not deter a group of young basketball enthusiasts. As it coincided with lunch break, almost every court had students playing on it. Although they were all drenched in sweat, each person was thoroughly enjoying themselves and had completely forgotten about the heat.

  After finally finding an empty court, Handen Yun immediately ran over with excitement, holding the basketball and standing under the hoop, shouting: "The enthusiasm for basketball in Zhongyi is really high, there are so many people even at noon."

  Sun Feiying gave him a look as if he was an idiot, and said disdainfully: "Although the basketball game at Yizhong is always played by professional teams every year, but actually, the basketball level of Yizhong is not bad, do you know? One of the physical education teachers at Yizhong, surnamed Yang, used to be a player from the Shandong team."

  "Haha, I don't know if you've heard this phrase before, but in Water Cloud City, the top-notch teams are: Yizhong's basketball, Sizhong's soccer, and Yizhi's track and field!" Fu Zijun continued.

  Han Dengyun didn't understand and said: "It's like a city track and field competition, I've never heard of one job being so awesome?"

  "Cut it out, you big fool! You think you know what's going on? Students in our school fight every day, either chasing after others or being chased themselves. If they run too slowly, that won't do, will it?" Fu Zijun looked at Han Dengyun with a gaze as if looking at an idiot.

  "Come on! You're only 5 centimeters shorter than me? How dare you call me a fool?" Han Dengyun said angrily.

  "It's so hot outside, let's hurry up and play ball then have lunch. Aren't you guys tired of standing under the sun arguing?" Zhao Senming ended this meaningless quarrel with no winner.

  "How to play? 1 on 1 bullfight?" Sun Feiying took the ball from Han Dengyun's hand and retreated outside the three-point line, throwing it out...

  Following the lively Xiang Qing, Yun Meng caught the empty pass thrown by Sun Feiying and wondered in her heart: "The Four Great Kings, is this their real strength?"

  "Exactly six people, three pairs of three, okay?" Fu Zijun suggested.

  "Hmm, that's fine too. Dumb big guy, Ling Feng and Qing Yun are a team, we two will be a team?" Zhao Senming agreed.

  "I... I haven't touched a ball for a long time, I don't know if I can still play." Yan Lingfeng said with some embarrassment, he really hadn't touched a ball for a very long time, it was either one or two years before his rebirth, he couldn't remember clearly, since the small shop opened, he hadn't touched basketball again.

  "Cut, and you're still on this, huh? Today we must fight to the end, you'll be convinced!" Sun Feiying said with full confidence, unaffected by the previous three no-touches.

  Han Dengyun's large palm patted on Yan Lingfeng's shoulder, and he chuckled: "Lingfeng, those three in front are all your subordinates who have been defeated by you. What are we afraid of? Come on, if we lose, I'll treat you to dinner."

  Yan Lingfeng smiled wryly and rubbed his hair, now it's like forcing a duck to go on stage, not coming is not an option. He could only smile wryly and say: "I'm afraid I've really forgotten how to play ball, you guys should spare me!"

  Zhao Senming stood at the center line, holding the ball in his hand, and said lightly: "Six points a game, five games three wins. I'll serve first?"

  "Hey, why are you serving?" Han Dengyun loudly protested. Zhao Senming had already handed the basketball to Sun Feiying, completely ignoring Han Dengyun's protest. Xiang Qingyun, who was closest to him, immediately pounced on him, opening his arms to block his breakthrough. Sun Feiying sneered and passed the ball to Fu Zijun, who was running towards the inside line.

  Fu Zijun received the ball, looked at Han Dengyun standing under the basket and smiled, pretending to shoot. Han Dengyun knew that Fu Zijun's shots were very accurate, so he immediately pounced forward to block the shot. However, Fu Zijun was just faking it, dodged Han Dengyun who was jumping in the air, and easily scored with a three-step layup.

  Fu Zijun passed the ball to Zhao Senming outside the three-point line, and made a face at Han Dengyun who looked depressed, saying: "You're really stupid enough, it's too easy to beat you."

  Han Dengyun just let out a cold hum, didn't say anything, only clenched his fists tightly and leaned in.

  Zhao Senming passed the ball to Sun Feiyang, who clearly had no intention of breaking through. Seeing that Fu Zijun was tightly marked by Han Dengyun, he passed the ball back to Zhao Senming. Zhao Senming slowly dribbled the ball, while Yan Lingfeng crouched down in front of him, his right hand stretched out and his feet sliding into small steps, ready to stop Zhao Senming's breakthrough at any moment. In his past life memories, Zhao Senming's speed was extremely terrifying, so he was now very carefully staring at his shoulders, judging the direction of his breakthrough from the subtle movements of his shoulders.

  Zhao Senming's eyes also flashed with a fierce light, and for the defender in front of him, although his team lost to them in the basketball game, but in their personal conversation, Zhao Senming did not lose, because he was confident that Yan Lingfeng could not defend against his breakthrough. He lost at the collective ironing of his teammates, after all, he was a point guard, his task was to organize the team's offense, send out threatening passes, and not fight alone, which is what scoring guards and small forwards do.

  But now, this is not a basketball game, it's just a bullfight, and his teammates are no longer the silly boys from middle school, but Fu Zijun and Sun Feiyang! They have no reason to lose again.

  At this point, Zhao Senming suddenly accelerated without any fake movements or warnings, swiftly passing by from his right side like a strong gust of wind.

  Yan Lingfeng was taken aback, not because he was intimidated by Zhao Senming's speed, but because of the unexpected decisiveness of Zhao Senming's breakthrough this time. It was as if it was a life-and-death battle.

  It's over, it seems that Yan Lingfeng's physical fitness is not so good after all. Zhao Senming held the ball and rushed into the three-point line, quickly scanning the situation on the court. Sun Feiying was still standing lazily outside the three-point line, while Fu Zijun looked at Han Dengyun with a helpless expression as he was tightly guarded by him. Since his teammates didn't have a better opportunity, he would take it himself!

  Zhao Senming launched a charge towards the basket, dribbling the ball while sprinting and preparing to complete an easy three-step layup.

  Yan Lingfeng, who had been overtaken, was stunned for a moment, but did not give up and turned to chase after him towards the inner line.

  Zhao Senming had already jumped up, his right hand dragging the basketball lightly towards the backboard. At this moment, he suddenly thought of the basketball game last year. If he had utilized breakthroughs to score like today, the final result might have been different.

  A loud "Boom!" broke Zhao Senming's reverie.

  "Bang!" Another loud noise left all six people stunned on the spot.

  Zhao Senming was unbelievable to find his own thrown basketball, when he saw the orange ball slowly rolling near the midline, clearly realizing that he had been sent a big fire pot by someone.

  Yan Lingfeng also looked at his right hand with an incredulous expression, in the instant just now, he clearly felt that his current speed and bounce, as well as his strength, had increased by too much compared to before his rebirth. It seemed that Hei Wuchang's washing of his bones and marrow wasn't just a lie to deceive himself after all.

  Sun Feiying and three others who witnessed the whole process were even more shocked, unable to close their mouths. After Yan Lingfeng was blocked earlier, he briefly lost his composure before turning around to chase after him. Zhao Senming's speed was already fast enough, but unexpectedly, Yan Lingfeng seemed to have the upper hand, catching up from behind and slapping the ball onto the backboard with a loud thud, changing its trajectory. The basketball bounced off the backboard with great force and flew far beyond the three-point line.

  Zhao Senming looked at Yan Lingfeng with an incredulous face and muttered to himself, "How is this possible? I must be dreaming?"

  "Han Dengyun burst out laughing: "You're not dreaming, you've become the background for a great cap! From now on, when playing basketball with Ling Feng, be sure to find someone to record it. Such a cap should be made into a video and savored! Qing Yun, I think your sister is very suitable for this kind of work!"

  Xiang Qingyun shook her head and said: "Do you think it's possible to let a girl who was the top scorer in the city's college entrance exam not focus on her studies and accompany you guys to have fun?"

  "Let's try it out and see if it's possible, right?" Han Dengyun said persistently, refusing to give up.

  Sun Feiyang held the basketball in his hand and shouted: "It's just a cover, what's the big deal? Sen Ming, it's not like you've never been covered before. Come on, let's continue to abuse them!"

  After hearing Sun Feiying's words, Zhao Senming also woke up from his confusion and nodded firmly: "Yes, come on, let's continue!"

  Taking the ball passed by Sun Feiying, Zhao Senming took a deep breath and looked at Yan Lingfeng standing in front of him with a calm face: "I won't be defeated so easily!"

  Yan Lingfeng rubbed his nose and didn't say a word, thinking to himself: "It's just for fun, why be so desperate?"

  Zhao Senming was covered once, and he didn't insist on breaking through. He found an opportunity to pass the ball to Fu Zijun. Fu Zijun bumped backwards, Han Dengyun opened his arms and stood firmly, unmoving, and said disdainfully: "You're just a small rib, far from enough!"

  Fu Zijun jumped up and shot the ball with high speed rotation towards the hoop, Han Dengyun couldn't defend in time, so he turned around and ran to the basket, hoping that even if the ball didn't go in, he could grab a rebound.

  "Swish!" The crisp sound of the net made him stop suddenly in his tracks, muttering to himself: "This guy's shots are getting more and more accurate." It was already 2-0, Zhao Senming calmly dribbled at the top of the arc, looking at Sun Feiyang who hadn't moved from his spot: "The big fool is already giving it his all, can you make one?"

  Sun Feiyang scratched his head and said: "I'm sorry for bullying a little friend!"

  "Come on!" Zhao Senming immediately passed the ball, cursing in his mouth: "We three can't be Lingfeng's underdogs forever." Sun Feiying caught the ball and responded: "Okay, sorry about that, Qingyun little friend!"

  Xiang Qingyun didn't say a word, staring nervously at the basketball in Sun Feiyang's hand which was moving faster and faster. Sun Feiyang chuckled and said: "Don't be nervous, it's not that you're a god from the start, he is only called a god after defeating countless people, now, you are about to become one of those countless people!"

  Sun Feiyang's voice had just fallen when he suddenly accelerated, dashing to his right side. Xiang Qingyun saw this and hastily slid her feet to block him, but there were no fancy moves. Sun Feiyang seemed to have anticipated this, and as soon as Xiang Qingyun moved, he made a big turn from the right side of Xiang Qingyun's body and rushed past. He stepped into the three-point line and immediately jumped up for a shot. His peripheral vision had already noticed Han Dengyun and Yan Lingfeng moving towards the basket below, and he didn't want to give them an easy score.

  "Swish!" The basketball accurately passed through the hoop, Sun Feiyang kissed his right hand that made the shot and made an "OK" gesture, indicating that the score was already 3-0!

  Yan Lingfeng's heart was also burning with anger at this time, although it was just a half-court bullfight that won without any prizes. However, if he were to be cleanly and neatly defeated, it wouldn't look good.

  Next, another ball, Zhao Senming still handed it over to Sun Feiying to hit. Although the previous one didn't make him lose his fighting spirit, in his subconscious mind, he had already refused to confront Yan Lingfeng head-on. In the horse racing of Tian Ji, the upper and lower horses are matched, and to become an excellent organizational defender, a brain that is good at analysis is indispensable.

  Sun Feiyang received the ball, a simple back dribble past Xiang Qingyun's entanglement, and at a 45-degree angle sent an accurate mid-range shot, changing the score to 4-0.

  The ball was passed to Zhao Senming, who continued to move slowly and glanced at Sun Feiyang. He didn't notice the fierce flames burning in Yan Lingfeng's eyes. If he had noticed, perhaps he wouldn't have passed the ball so hastily to Sun Feiyang. However, Yan Lingfeng's previous deliberate movements had already numbed his thinking. By the time he saw Yan Lingfeng and the basketball moving almost simultaneously in front of him, he realized something was wrong. He wanted to catch up with the ball he had just passed, but it was clearly impossible for a person to catch up with a flying basketball in mid-air, unless... like Yan Lingfeng, who made an accurate prediction.

  A white light flashed, and Yan Lingfeng intercepted the basketball with a questioning expression. Without any pause, he threw the ball towards the basket without looking back. Han Dengyun was clearly not prepared to receive the ball, and it hit his chest with a loud "thud". Fortunately, his body was all flesh, so although the impact was not light, he took a deep breath, hugged the ball, turned around, and gently threw it into the basket.

  After all this, the careless Handen Yun covered his chest and frowned: "Why do I feel like a speeding car crashed into me? Ling Feng, how did you kick the ball with such great force?"

  Yan Lingfeng hastily walked forward and asked with embarrassment: "Nothing wrong? I'm not afraid that they will react and intercept the ball?"

  Han Dengyun rubbed his face a few times, took a few deep breaths, and frowned: "It's nothing, this is also thanks to me, if it were Zi Jun that little rascal, I reckon this one move would have sent him directly to the emergency room."

  Yan Lingfeng received Xiang Qingyun's pass, holding the ball with both hands by his left thigh, and smiled at Zhao Senming, who was defending him, saying: "I will do my best!"

  Zhao Senming didn't say a word, he just pursed his lips, and his eyes burst with unyielding determination.

  He took a look at his feet, still two or three steps away from the three-point line. Yan Lingfeng suddenly took a deep breath, and with a burst of strength, he shot out like an arrow leaving the string. Yan Lingfeng was left-handed, and it was the same when playing basketball. Zhao Senming apparently overlooked this problem. By the time he reacted, Yan Lingfeng had already swiftly passed by him, charging straight towards the basket. Zhao Senming also gave up on chasing back, as Yan Lingfeng's height and jumping ability were better than his own, and even if he caught up, he wouldn't be able to block the shot.

  Yan Lingfeng held the ball and charged into the interior, Fu Zijun hesitated for a moment, but still gave up on Han Dengyun, turned his head to block Yan Lingfeng's breakthrough route. Yan Lingfeng was charging in from the right side, already three steps ahead, seeing Fu Zijun pounce on him without panic, his eyes glanced at Han Dengyun who was in an empty position, and the basketball in his hand also made a motion as if he wanted to pass the ball. At this time, Yan Lingfeng had no choice but to break through, instead, he suddenly jumped up, for a left-handed player, charging from the right side to the basket, apart from pulling the rod, there was only one way to wipe the basket. Yan Lingfeng was still some distance away from the hoop, wanting to slide to the other side of the hoop to pull the rod was impossible, so he chose to wipe the basket.

  Fu Zijun, however, was deceived by Yan Lingfeng's fake pass. When he returned to Han Dengyun's side, he found that the big fool still had empty hands and realized he had been cheated. He turned his head just in time to see Yan Lingfeng flying through the air.

  Yan Lingfeng didn't realize how high he was flying until he tried to dunk the basketball with his fingertips, only to find that the hoop was right next to him. At this moment, Yan felt the call of gravity and it was already very difficult to dunk. After all, during the process of falling, the force of his fingers was hard to control. Without thinking much, Yan Lingfeng forcefully pushed his left hand forward and amazingly slammed the ball into the hoop!

  Dunk! It's actually a dunk! A Chinese high school basketball court has seen a dunk!