Joining the Team

In table tennis, serving had always been an extremely important part of the game.

From the days when hidden serves ran rampant to when the International Table Tennis Federation changed the rules and prohibited obscuring the serve.

From the days when there were no restrictions whatsoever on tossing the ball to the current mandatory vertical toss of at least sixteen centimeters.

From the days when all kinds of strange rubbers were widely used to when many types of rubber were now ruled illegal.

From the days when any kind of glue could be used to when organic glue was forbidden in official competitions.

It could be said that, in order to avoid "information asymmetry" during matches and make competition as fair as possible, the International Table Tennis Federation had made countless rule revisions over the years.

And serves were precisely the worst-hit area for this "information asymmetry" problem.

By now, every serve was crystal clear in slow motion. Theoretically, as long as the opponent observed carefully enough, there was no way they would be unable to judge the serve's trajectory and spin direction.

So Wang Chao's points off his serve actually had nothing to do with how difficult the serves were.

The difficulty lay beyond technique. It lay in "calculation."

For example.

With the same short backspin serve, if the opponent anticipated it and stepped in early, they could forcefully flick or twist-loop it, perhaps even kill it outright in one shot.

But if the opponent mistook it for a long serve to the baseline and did not step in early, then they could only push it short and stabilize the rally first.

And if they actually judged it to be a fast Sneak Long Serve, they would quickly step back. But when their body had already retreated and they suddenly realized the ball was actually a short backspin serve, there was no way to pull themselves back from that rapid backward motion.

They would directly eat the serve and lose the point.

—That was the mystery of serving.

Its essence lay in both "deception" and "anticipation."

The server had to find a way to deceive the receiver.

The receiver had to accurately anticipate the opponent's serve.

It was a psychological battle at an extremely high level.

Many amateur players did not know that after a truly high-quality match, the first thing both players felt was not physical exhaustion, but utter mental fatigue.

What truly wore them out was their "heart"—or more accurately, their "brains."

While Wang Bin was lost in thought, another six rallies had already been played on the court. The score had jumped to 9:3, with Wang Chao in the lead.

Starting from 3:3, he had not lost another point, taking six straight.

By then, the players around the court had stopped making noise. Even the most carefree among them had begun to realize that Wang Chao's style was far from as simple as it looked.

Zhao Fuqiang and Li Zhenguo had long stopped arguing. Both of them felt their faces burning, almost painful.

After all that fuss, the third spot still belonged to Wang Chao. So what exactly had they been fighting each other over?

"You..."

Li Mu's voice trembled ever so slightly, making it particularly clear in the gymnasium that had only just fallen quiet. "When... did you study my game?"

Young people were not truly fearless. When you discovered that the other person seemed to have seen straight through you, when you felt as though you were standing completely naked before them, you would still feel an indescribable kind of fear.

Wang Chao smiled and shook his head. "This is our first time playing each other. I didn't even know you before today, so how could I possibly have studied your game?"

"But... but..." Li Mu's face flushed slightly, but he did not know how to continue.

Wang Chao, however, sighed softly to himself.

I still hit him too hard. I hope it won't affect his mindset.

If possible, Wang Chao did not want to do this.

It was just that his stamina truly could not keep up today, and he really did not want to miss an opportunity like this to enter the professional world.

So he could only apologize, kids.

He had once been a famed national team coach, while this was ultimately only a small city team's reserve squad area.

It was no exaggeration to say that the combined experience of everyone present was not even a tenth of Wang Chao's.

He had seen far too many players of every possible type and knew the playing styles and particular habits of every kind of player.

For players at Zhao Ge and Li Mu's level, he only needed one look to see straight through them from their expressions, speech, racket grip, and serving motions.

As for the tiny bits he could not see clearly, two or three balls against them were enough to reveal everything.

So when he played Zhao Ge and started out at 4:1, on one hand, he was observing him. On the other, he was actually getting used to the racket he had just received.

But by the time Li Mu came on, he was already familiar enough with the racket.

So Wang Bin's judgment could not really be called wrong. Under the current circumstances, Li Mu was indeed more threatening than Zhao Ge.

Unfortunately, Wang Chao was also more familiar with the racket in his hand and the table before him.

So when they truly played, Li Mu's results were actually worse than Zhao Ge's.

The match continued. Wang Chao served twice, and Li Mu ate both serves. The whole scene was effortless, as though Li Mu had already given up resisting.

The score settled at 11:3. Wang Chao won the first game.

He lay down on the floor again, panting in exhaustion, but everyone looked at him completely differently now.

Li Mu felt somewhat wronged. He walked to one side and quietly complained to Li Zhenguo beside him. "I wasn't throwing the match... I didn't give up resisting... I was really trying hard to return the ball. He just fooled me..."

Li Zhenguo said nothing. He merely patted his nephew on the shoulder.

He had seen it clearly.

Wang Chao's last two serves had been strange. The first was clearly a Sneak Long Serve, yet every detail of his serving motion looked like a short backspin serve. Only at the instant the racket struck the ball did his wrist suddenly flick, an extremely concealed movement that even he, as a coach, had almost failed to notice.

As for the second serve, the angle of the racket, the direction Wang Chao's body leaned, even the spot Wang Chao stared at—all proved that the ball should have been aimed at Li Mu's short forehand triangle. Yet its final landing point was at Li Mu's backhand baseline.

Li Mu had not given up resisting. He had merely been fooled.

Fooled by an excessively brilliant feint.

Ten minutes later, Wang Chao sat up from the floor again, but what awaited him was not a second game with Li Mu.

Li Mu directly conceded.

"Can you still play?" Wang Bin's expression was complicated as he asked.

"I can probably handle one more person," Wang Chao said frankly. "Any more than that, and I can't. I won't be able to hold on."

His gaze swept around outside the court, and only then did he suddenly notice something. He could not help asking, "Where's Tian Zhengguang? Doesn't he want to try again?"

Wang Bin said nothing.

But the instant Wang Chao asked the question, he understood the entire situation.

He knew the exact state of affairs at every level of table tennis training base too well. After all, he had spent a considerable number of years at every level himself.

So in just one second, he had already guessed that Tian Zhengguang must have received a severe punishment. He naturally changed the subject. "Then who would you like me to play?"

Wang Bin looked around the court, about to speak when he suddenly paused. His brows furrowed. "Where's Jiang Shan? Why isn't Jiang Shan here? Didn't he come to training today?"

That was right. Jiang Shan, the youngest and strongest member of the reserve team, the little brat who normally loved joining in the excitement, had unexpectedly not appeared today.

"He came with me this morning," Tian Ye said. "Later, when he heard there was a newcomer trying out, everyone came over to watch. But he said he needed to use the restroom. Once he left, he never came back."

"What the hell is he doing?" Wang Bin was somewhat displeased. He turned to Tian Qi. "Go find him. Tell him to get over here immediately."

Tian Ye, however, was eager to give it a try. "Head Coach, since Jiang Shan won't be here for a while anyway, how about... letting me try?"

Wang Bin glanced at him, then at Wang Chao. After pondering for a moment, he shook his head. "Forget it. Wang Chao can only play one more match. We should wait for Jiang Shan."

The implication was clear: he had already decided that Tian Ye could not beat Wang Chao.

Only Jiang Shan, ranked first among the reserves, still had some small chance.

This head coach has a decent eye. He must have noticed something, Wang Chao thought with a secret smile.

Ten minutes later, Jiang Shan finally arrived. His expression was not very pleasant when he saw Wang Chao. Clearly, yesterday's shadow had not yet faded.

"Hello, we meet again," Wang Chao said with a smile.

"Who wants to meet you again?" Jiang Shan said indignantly. "When I heard someone was trying out, I knew it was you. But I never expected that even after I hid in the bathroom, Coach Tian still dragged me back here!"

After he said that, everyone's expressions changed.

"You two have played before?" Wang Bin frowned.

"Yeah, just yesterday. I couldn't beat him at all." Jiang Shan sighed. "Head Coach, stop wasting time. A freak like him isn't someone us reserve players can handle. Hurry up and send him to the main squad."