Exhausted Stamina

When Wang Chao got serious, he was terrifying. Throughout the entire match, across eleven points, there wasn't a single mistake or fluctuation in his performance.

He was like an iron wall that Zhou Bo couldn't break through, no matter how he tried.

Then, he was like a sharp blade that, with a gentle thrust, pierced Zhou Bo's defenses.

The coach couldn't help but wonder: if Wang Chao in this state faced Wu Li, who would win?

He thought about it for a very long time, and in the end, he still believed Wu Li would win.

Because Wang Chao's attacks were only precise in their placement; his power wasn't great, and his speed was limited. The coach felt that attacks of this caliber weren't enough to break through Wu Li.

Next was the second game.

There were no surprises; it ended within five minutes, still 11:0.

The only difference was that this time Zhou Bo only received five serves because he was the one serving first in this game.

He didn't even have time to receive the sixth serve before the game ended.

"So... so terrifying..." Zhou Bo's face was pale.

He had dreams, which was why he wanted to see Wang Chao's true strength. But now, he suddenly regretted it a little.

He was afraid he would lose the confidence to continue playing.

He vaguely remembered that half a year ago, when he first joined the team, he had been Wu Li's practice partner for half a month. He felt listless every day, wishing he were dead. He couldn't win more than a few points even after a full day. The despair he felt then seemed similar to how he felt now.

He looked up at the coach. "Coach, I..."

A flicker of pity crossed the coach's eyes. For once, he was unusually gentle and proactively said, "If you really can't win, you can forfeit."

Wang Chao was stunned.

For Wang Chao, this internal round robin of the Jiangcheng City main team wasn't much different from the round robin with the substitute team.

Although the opponents' strength had clearly improved a notch, he had also improved his own strength and stamina even more.

After nearly two weeks of self-abusive training, Wang Chao's stamina was enough to support him playing an entire day of matches, and it even allowed him to engage in some rallies with his opponents.

As long as they didn't push him too hard.

And so, by the end of the morning, Wang Chao had completed nine matches, winning all of them with a clean 4:0 score.

The only two shutouts were both against Zhou Bo.

When facing others, Wang Chao played relatively relaxed and wasn't as meticulous, so he would lose two or three points in each game. Sometimes it was a miscalculation, sometimes it was a matter of form, and sometimes it was just a casual way of handling the ball.

In short, unless his opponent specifically demanded it, he didn't want to be too serious and calculate everything; it was really tiring.

His opponents included bottom-tier players like Li Shaoqin, as well as mid-tier players like Xiao Ping and Xiao Jian. However, he hadn't faced any of the six players universally acknowledged as the strongest in the team.

When they met at lunch in the cafeteria, he and Jiang Shan realized something was amiss after they compared notes.

"I played seven matches, won five and lost two. I'm absolutely exhausted. The main players are definitely much stronger than the substitutes!"

Jiang Shan sighed, "All my matches this morning were against players who ranked lower in the last round robin, and I still found it so strenuous. My opponents this afternoon are all stronger than the last. What am I going to do?"

Wang Chao frowned. "All lower-ranked ones?"

Jiang Shan nodded, then also felt something was off. "Brother, you didn't have the same experience as me, did you?"

Wang Chao nodded.

The two looked at each other, both vaguely sensing some sort of perverse amusement from Old Comrade Luo.

Could it be that the head coach wanted the two newcomers to play a challenge round this time, starting from easy and progressing to difficult, one stage at a time?

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye, and the afternoon matches continued.

Just as Wang Chao had predicted, his opponents began to get progressively stronger. Moreover, he could clearly feel that starting with his third opponent in the afternoon, the quality of the matches took a qualitative leap.

Roughly calculating, there were still three people left to play. This meant this person was likely ranked fourth in the last round robin.

"Wang Chao, I watched two of your matches this morning, and you are indeed very strong!" this person said seriously. "However, I still believe that I will be the one to win today!"

Wang Chao's somewhat casual mood immediately became focused.

In his opinion, this statement had the same core meaning as Zhou Bo's statement that morning.

Both were essentially asking him to play seriously.

And so, the scoring coach witnessed another massacre.

From 1:0 all the way to 6:0, Wang Chao's opponent showed extremely strong fighting will. Wang Chao served four times. On the first serve, the opponent tried to play it safe, and was eventually scored on by Wang Chao's counter-attack.

So, on the second serve, the opponent chose to counter-attack but made a mistake and lost the point.

When Wang Chao served for the third time, the opponent directly played a backhand long serve to the baseline, attempting to create an opening that Wang Chao couldn't reach. However, Wang Chao directly executed a backhand loop with a shakehand grip.

Then, when Wang Chao served for the fourth time, the opponent preemptively took position, forcefully predicting that Wang Chao would serve a long serve to the baseline. He guessed correctly.

He unhesitatingly went for the counter-attack, entering a rally with Wang Chao and gaining a significant advantage. Unfortunately, after eleven consecutive shots in this situation, he finally made an error in his shot.

After losing this point, the opponent's momentum suddenly dropped.

This situation was actually somewhat similar to how Wang Chao had dealt with Li Shaoqin before.

Although table tennis is played at a fast, flat, and quick pace, it's the rally in front of you that truly tests fundamental skills, and it's also the rally in front of you that most easily stirs emotions and momentum.

Losing the front rally, especially when having the clear advantage, is a fatal blow.

It would make him feel that Wang Chao was like a mountain, impossible to break through no matter how he pulled, and then fall into a kind of powerless despair.

Therefore, after reaching 6-0, the match began to spiral downwards, reaching the 11-0 finish line in just two minutes.

This was the third shutout Wang Chao had delivered today.

In the very next second game, the opponent put up a weak, dying struggle, but was ultimately hit with another 11-0 by Wang Chao.

At this point, this person had tied Zhou Bo's humiliating record from the morning.

"Do you want to concede?" Wang Chao kindly reminded him, "If you really lack confidence, you can forfeit."

"How is that possible?"

The opponent's previously dejected mood actually perked up slightly upon hearing this. His voice was loud, as if he were cheering himself on: "Wang Chao, I can see it now, you're running out of stamina, you're definitely faking your composure, right?"

Wang Chao smiled: "You're overthinking it."

"No way! You intentionally beat me so badly because you want me to concede voluntarily, so you can conserve your stamina, right?"

This person laughed heartily: "Come on, let's fight another three hundred rounds. Even if I don't win a single point, I'll wear you down until you're completely exhausted!"

Wang Chao felt like cursing.

Things were going badly!

He had actually been seen through...

Fine, given how clever you are, I might have to hit even harder...

Wang Chao ultimately defeated his third opponent of the afternoon 4-0, and then defeated his fourth opponent 4-0, but he was already close to his limit.

The matches in the morning had indeed drained too much of his stamina, and the short two-hour break at noon couldn't allow him to fully recover; at best, it only provided some relief.

Moreover, the combined strength of the three opponents in the morning was less than that of just one opponent in the afternoon.

So, when he reached the second-to-last match, Wang Chao began to have a bad feeling.

He hadn't even faced the final "Great Demon King," Wu Li, yet, but his stamina seemed to be failing him.

He could only give a wry smile; he had been tricked by Old Luo after all.

If they had played the stronger opponents first and then the weaker ones, he believed he would still have had a chance to win them all despite his depleted stamina.

But... playing the easy ones first and the difficult ones last?

This path was probably beneficial for Jiang Shan, allowing him to gradually adapt to the opponent's high pressure.

However, for Wang Chao, it was a dead end.

"What was Old Luo thinking?" Wang Chao was a little confused. "Doesn't he want to see me play Wu Li?"

He put his thoughts away and took a deep look at his second-to-last opponent, attempting one last effort: "If you don't want to be shut out, you can just concede directly."

Liu Heng, standing across the table, burst into laughter: "Wang Chao, who are you kidding? You're already at the end of your rope, do you really think I can't tell? This time, let me be the one to shut you out!"

Wang Chao helplessly wiped away the sweat that was constantly flowing down, gritted his teeth, and said, "Bring it on."

Thanks to "Book Friend 20170218173727105," "Feng Zhu Yu Zhu," and "Du Du Shui De" for the monthly votes.