A Challenge on the Court

Li Liang got into position. Just as he turned around, he saw the basketball leave Old Wang's palm. "Damn, another three-pointer..."

Liu Ziqiang and Zhao Baliao charged toward the basket at the same time, preparing to grab the rebound.

But at that moment, a figure suddenly shot into the air as though he had broken free of gravity. He jumped incredibly high, his feet nearly reaching Old Wang's waist. Smack! He swatted the basketball down with one hand. The ball traced a V-shaped arc and rolled far away.

After Old Wang landed, his hands remained frozen in a shooting pose, his face blank with disbelief. Impossible. This is impossible.

The others were no better, all wearing utterly stunned expressions.

Qin Ze jogged over to retrieve the ball. When he came back and saw everyone staring at him dumbfoundedly, he tossed it into Old Wang's arms and raised his chin. "I can see the admiration in your eyes."

"Damn it, you could block it from that high up? How the hell did you do that?" Old Wang blurted out.

Li Liang said, "We might be playing a fake game."

Liu Ziqiang said, "666."

Zhao Baliao said, "Qin Ze, that jumping ability of yours... it's not scientific. Since when did you become such a beast?"

The other three were equally amazed, loudly praising him.

Qin Ze himself had been startled. A thought had flashed through his mind just then, and his body had immediately followed it by jumping. With his usual leaping ability, there was no way he could have reached that height. Yet he realized he had not even hit his limit. He could jump even higher.

So I can jump this high.

The first thing he thought of was the internal training method of the Twelve-Section Brocade. He had been consistently working out these past few days, but even so, it was impossible for his body to undergo such earth-shaking changes. Only the internal training method could explain it.

"System, System, is this because of the internal training method?" he asked the system in his mind.

"Yes!"

"Damn, am I about to take off into the sky? But I've only practiced for a few days."

"You improve quickly in the early stages. There's nothing surprising about it. It only means your physique used to be pathetically weak."

Qin Ze ignored the system's jab, too excited to care. I've only trained for a few days, and I can already jump this high. What if I train for a month? A year? Wouldn't I be breaking world records in minutes?

I can practically see myself leaping over roofs and walking on walls, roaming the martial world with a sword.

Haha, I'll take on ten at once!

After being intimidated by Qin Ze, Old Wang became much more restrained. He no longer dared to blindly shoot three-pointers and played stiffly. Meanwhile, Qin Ze gradually adapted to his explosive power and speed, getting better and better. Several steals made the useless bunch from Dorm 303 cheer loudly. Unfortunately, everyone on their side, Qin Ze included, was terrible at shooting. Their success rate was practically one basket for every ten shots.

A cool breeze drifted by. Twenty minutes after lunch, more and more people arrived at the Basketball Court. It became somewhat crowded, and the students who came later had no room to play, so they discussed rotating groups based on ten baskets.

"Hey, classmates, could you let us have the court? We want to play full-court," someone standing outside the sideline said with a smile.

Qin Ze turned to look, and his expression became strange.

The one speaking was Zhang Mingyu, the School Hunk whose face Qin Ze had thoroughly slapped a few days ago. He had a basketball tucked under his arm, wore an Adidas jersey, and had on a pair of four-digit Nike sneakers. A School Hunk truly was a School Hunk—his hairstyle was stylish, his brows were sharp, his eyes bright, and even his physique was excellent. He was the sunny type of handsome guy who looked lean in clothes and toned without them.

Zhang Mingyu's gaze swept across the crowd as if he had not noticed Qin Ze at all. He did not even glance at him.

The animals from Dorms 303 and 304 were in the middle of enjoying themselves, and there were no other empty courts available. Naturally, they refused.

Behind Zhang Mingyu stood a group of sturdy men in basketball uniforms. One of them, a crew cut, walked beneath the hoop, snatched up a missed ball, and shouted, "We're from the Department Basketball Team. We need to train, so give us the court."

His tone was casual and completely impolite, utterly domineering.

Old Wang raised his brow. "Where's your coach? The Basketball Team's training time doesn't seem to be now."

One of Old Wang's buddies was also on the Basketball Team, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Is that any of your business? The Basketball Team can train whenever we want," the Crew Cut Youth snapped, glaring at him.

"Who the hell do you think your Basketball Team is?" Zhao Baliao's broad shoulders and muscular build made him look imposing as he pointed at the basketball in the Crew Cut Youth's hand. "Give the ball back, then get the hell out of here."

The Northeastern man was simple and rough, never backing down from trouble. His build really was quite intimidating.

"Forget it, forget it. Let's just play half-court." Zhang Mingyu stepped in to mediate in time, took the ball from the Crew Cut Youth, and tossed it to Zhao Baliao. Then he led the Department Basketball Team toward the hoop on the other side.

After several more minutes of playing, Qin Ze's group was drenched in sweat and panting heavily. Although there was no sun that day, it was still late June, and the humid heat made them lose a great deal of water.

Wiping away sweat, Qin Ze glanced at Zhang Mingyu's group, who were playing enthusiastically on the other side. Not only was the School Hunk handsome, he was also great at basketball. His dribbling was smooth, his shooting form standard. He had probably dominated the court back in middle school. In junior high and high school, a handsome guy who was good at basketball was extremely popular with girls. If he was also a top student, that would be downright unfair—nine out of ten girls would want to give birth to monkeys for him.

Qin Ze, meanwhile, was built from the template of a random extra. All he could do was look up at the protagonist.

"Time-out. I'll go buy some water. You guys practice your shooting," Qin Ze said before running off the court.

The campus supermarket was not far away. After a five-minute round trip, Qin Ze had bought everyone an energy drink and jogged back carrying a plastic bag. He could only play for about twenty more minutes before he had to go to the classroom and discuss the Mathematical Modeling Fund with Professor Li.

When Qin Ze returned to the court, he saw a long-planned "conspiracy" unfold. The arrogant Crew Cut Youth glanced at Zhao Baliao and the others, gave a sinister laugh, leaned back, and hurled the basketball with all his strength.

The hard rubber basketball tore through the air with a whistle, nearly becoming a black blur as it smashed squarely into the back of Li Liang's head.

Bang!

The dull impact startled everyone. Li Liang stumbled forward, not even managing a groan before collapsing limply to the ground.

Everyone was shocked and rushed over. Seeing his empty eyes and dazed expression, they breathed a sigh of relief, but anger quickly rose within them.

Li Liang's mind was completely blank. It took several seconds before he came back to himself. Touching the back of his head, he found a lump. He immediately jumped to his feet and cursed, "Fuck! Which bastard hit your grandpa with a ball?"

"Sorry, sorry." The Crew Cut Youth rushed over, but he picked up the ball first before apologizing. "The ball flew off. It was an accident, an accident."

On a Basketball Court, balls flying around and hitting people was commonplace. But a ball that accidentally flew out would not hit someone too hard. For someone like Li Liang to get a lump on the back of his head was extremely rare.

"Are you fucking blind? Is that how you hit someone with a ball?" Zhao Baliao roared.

"We didn't do it on purpose. It's basketball. Mistakes happen," the Crew Cut Youth said with a shrug.

"If apologies were enough, what would we need the police for?" Old Wang said grimly.

"Then go call the police." The Crew Cut Youth sneered.

Not only Liu Ziqiang and Zhao Baliao, but the people from Dorm 304 were furious too, cursing under their breaths.

"My classmate has a lump on the back of his head. Is that how you people play basketball?" Liu Ziqiang frowned.

Several Basketball Team members came over from the other side as well. Zhang Mingyu said mildly, "I'm sorry. That ball really was unintentional. We didn't notice. Sorry, classmate."

After a pause, he smiled. "Is the injury serious? To be safe, you should go to the Medical Clinic. I'll cover the cost. If you're worried, you can also visit a nearby hospital. Bring me the receipt afterward."

What kind of attitude was that? They had hit someone, and a few half-hearted apologies were supposed to settle it? He would cover the medical fees? Weren't they supposed to pay for them in the first place? The most infuriating part was that they wanted him to bring the receipt afterward for reimbursement. What kind of nonsense was that? They had hit someone, yet could not even be bothered to take him to the Medical Clinic?

Li Liang was so angry he nearly coughed up blood. Did he care about that little bit of medical money? It was their attitude that he could not stand.

Zhao Baliao had a violent temper. He strode forward, ready to hit someone, but Liu Ziqiang tightly held him back.

They had been in the right to begin with, but once they started hitting people, being right would turn into being wrong. University was different from middle school. Fighting was no small matter, especially group brawls. At best, they would receive a major disciplinary warning; at worst, they could be expelled. If they beat someone badly enough to cause a minor injury, then they would be headed straight for a cell.

Middle school students fought because they were hot-blooded and immature. On top of that, they were generally underage, so as long as nothing major happened, it was fine. University was different. They had to bear legal responsibility.

Besides, this sort of thing could be considered an unintentional mistake, and the other side had apologized. If they made a big deal out of it, Zhao Baliao's group would not gain anything either.

"Hurry up and leave. Take your classmate to the hospital, so you don't blame us if something happens," the Crew Cut Youth said with a shrug before turning away with the basketball in his arms.

Bang!

Something whistling through the air struck the back of his head. It burst open, liquid spraying everywhere.

The Crew Cut Youth was much stronger than Li Liang and was not knocked senseless. He screamed, the basketball slipping from his hands as he clutched the back of his head and turned around with bloodshot eyes.

Everyone present was startled and turned in unison toward the culprit.

Qin Ze walked over slowly with the drinks in hand. Instead of apologizing, he began complaining to Zhao Baliao in rapid succession. "Baliao, are you deaf? I told you to catch the drinks. I called you for ages, and you didn't hear me?" After rolling his eyes at the bewildered Zhao Baliao, he finally apologized to the Crew Cut Youth. "Oh, sorry, sorry. My aim was terrible. I wasn't trying to hit you. My hand slipped, my hand slipped."

"Fuck your mother!"

The Crew Cut Youth roared and kicked at Qin Ze.

Qin Ze moved first despite reacting later. He raised his leg and kicked the guy in the stomach, sending him crashing to the ground. "You want to fight? Come on!"

He could hardly believe he had said something that cool.

That totally doesn't fit my random-extra character setting.

Qin Ze turned around and said to his companions behind him, "I saw it just now. That guy hit someone on purpose."

"Fuck your ancestors!"

"Local ruffian!"

"You're asking for it. Do you think we're easy to bully?"

Zhao Baliao, Old Wang, and the others' expressions immediately changed. So he had really hit someone on purpose. He was deliberately provoking them. Did being on the Basketball Team make them so great?

Everyone was furious. None of them were clay bodhisattvas without tempers. The Basketball Team had already made things unpleasant by arrogantly demanding that they give up the court. Now they had deliberately hit someone with a ball. They were clearly bullying them.

Just as the two sides were about to start fighting, the tense atmosphere attracted students playing nearby, who gathered to watch. Zhang Mingyu hurriedly stopped his enraged companions and stared darkly at Qin Ze. "We're all adults. Let's settle this another way."

"This is a court, so we'll settle it with basketball. The loser apologizes." Zhang Mingyu curled his lips into a sinister smile. "Not only will they apologize, they'll also shout three times, 'Grandpa, your grandson won't dare do it again.'"

**Ding! Main Mission, Show Off in Public (2/15):**

Compete against the Basketball Team led by Zhang Mingyu and achieve victory. Success rewards 300 points. Failure deducts 300 points.

"Fine!" Qin Ze agreed without hesitation. Fighting was too low-class. The losers would suffer, but the winners would not fare much better. With so many people around, it would be easy to alert the school authorities. Getting disciplinary action would be the least of it—if he got expelled, the Old Man would probably beat him to death.

The most important reason was that the system had issued a mission. He had no choice but to go all out. At the same time, Qin Ze became wary. The mission reward was three hundred points. Wasn't that a little too much? The first mission had also rewarded three hundred points, but that had included a bonus for being the first mission. This showed that this mission was far more difficult than translating Russian or kissing his older sister's little mouth.