The entire Basketball Court erupted, and people swarmed over like a hive. The excitement was no less intense than during the school basketball tournament.
A private basketball showdown between students was nothing special, but this involved Zhang Mingyu, and it was such a gunpowder-filled wager match. That made it interesting. Even more eye-catching was the fact that Zhang Mingyu's opponent was Qin Ze, who had caused a minor stir on the Campus Forum a few days ago.
Anyone who wasn't an idiot could tell this was revenge from the School Hunk.
Would Zhang Mingyu succeed in getting revenge, or would Qin Ze beat up the School Hunk again?
This was going to be a great show.
"Quick, quick, record a video and livestream it."
"Upload it to the Campus Forum."
"This Qin Ze really has some nerve. He keeps trying to use Zhang Mingyu as a stepping stone. I think he's done for this time."
"No, no, Zhang Mingyu started it this time. He's getting revenge for being humiliated the day before yesterday."
"Qin Ze is definitely going to lose. Zhang Mingyu's side is full of Basketball Team members. They'll crush them."
"Zhang Mingyu is finally getting a round back. I told you, it wouldn't be so easy to make a name for yourself by stepping on the School Hunk. See? The revenge is here."
"The wager is calling someone Grandpa. Pfft, just thinking about it gets me excited. That's a total loss of face."
"I'm just afraid they won't keep their word and will run away with their tails between their legs. Either way, it'll be humiliating."
The match began. After some discussion, they set fifty points as the finish line. Whoever reached fifty points first would win.
Qin Ze and Crew Cut Youth handled the tip-off. Qin Ze's astonishing jumping ability earlier had earned him unanimous support from his teammates.
The ball was tossed high into the air.
Qin Ze and Crew Cut Youth leaped up at the same time to fight for possession. The jumping power they displayed immediately shocked the spectators around the court, especially Qin Ze. He jumped more than ten centimeters higher than Crew Cut Youth and easily tipped the ball toward Old Wang on the left.
The instant the ball was in play, the players changed from still as maidens to swift as rabbits, quickly breaking into motion.
After Old Wang got the ball, Virgin immediately darted beneath the hoop and raised his left hand high. The two had great chemistry, and Old Wang promptly passed the ball to him.
The basketball flew through the air when Zhang Mingyu cut in diagonally from the side, leaped up, and intercepted it.
"Beautiful!" Amid the cheers from the spectators, Zhang Mingyu hurled the ball across half court. Crew Cut Youth caught it steadily, dribbled rapidly toward the basket, and with the lane wide open, Qin Ze and the others did not have time to get back on defense.
Just when everyone thought he was going for a layup, Crew Cut Youth did something jaw-dropping. After three steps, he slammed it down.
A dunk!
The crowd outside the court exploded.
"Whoa, a dunk!"
"666!"
"Two points right off the bat, and with a dunk too. This is a complete beatdown."
"Zhang Mingyu's steal was so good. Zhang Mingyu, I love you!"
"Did anyone get a shot of that?"
"I did. I'm uploading it to the Campus Forum."
"I'm recording video directly. Why bother taking pictures?"
The cries of surprise and cheers went on without end.
For the second ball, Qin Ze's side started with possession. After Liu Ziqiang got the ball, he quickly charged toward the opposing basket, with his teammates following close behind. His dribbling fundamentals were solid, and he ran fast and steadily. With a left-right crossover, he actually evaded the defender. However, Liu Ziqiang did not continue driving in and instead passed the ball to Old Wang at the Three-Point Line on the right.
After catching the ball, Old Wang immediately jumped and took his first three-pointer of the match. His touch was perfect. It was going in... The thought had barely surfaced in his mind when, with a smack, his shot was blocked.
He was so fast...
Old Wang had still underestimated the Basketball Team's strength. None of them were weak. His shot just now had indeed been careless; the opponent had only been five steps away from him.
"Great block!"
The spectators cheered.
Zhang Mingyu grabbed the ball and launched a fast break. Virgin clung tightly to him, looking for a chance to steal it. But then Zhang Mingyu suddenly stopped sharply at the Three-Point Line, displaying his outstanding physical ability. Virgin's momentum carried him several steps forward, and it was already too late to recover.
He jumped!
He shot!
Perfect form!
Nothing but net!
That precise three-pointer instantly ignited the entire court. The boys roared in approval, while the girls screamed and cheered excitedly, chanting, "Zhang Mingyu, Zhang Mingyu..."
Just as Old Wang had said, three-pointers and dunks were unbeatable weapons on the court.
On the third possession, Liu Ziqiang dribbled around half the court with a defender following him, but he could not find an opening to drive in. The two sides were locked in a stalemate.
Zhao Baliao strode out from beneath the basket. "Old Liu, give me the ball."
The opposing defense was too tight, leaving Liu Ziqiang no opportunity. He decisively passed the ball.
At that moment, Crew Cut Youth charged over and intercepted the pass with his excellent jumping ability.
"Another steal."
Li Liang and the others outside the court cursed furiously.
Crew Cut Youth flung the ball over half court. "Mingyu, fast break."
Zhang Mingyu dribbled into the fast break and fired another three-pointer.
The ball spun fiercely around the rim several times before dropping through the net.
"He's just draining threes like it's nothing."
"They're not even in the same league."
"Zhang Mingyu's three-pointers are ridiculously accurate. He's just too good."
"Zhang Mingyu, Zhang Mingyu..."
Outside the court, the spectators watched with great relish.
In less than five minutes, the score was already 9–0.
On the Campus Forum, someone uploaded photos of Crew Cut Youth's dunk and Zhang Mingyu's two three-pointers, starting a thread titled: "A Completely One-Sided Match: Zhang Mingyu Crushes Qin Ze."
"As expected."
"The face-slap king is getting slapped in the face."
"It was never a fair match to begin with. They're from the Basketball Team. How is he supposed to compete?"
"The person above is wrong. Was what happened in that public classroom fair? Qin Ze relied on his Russian skills to humiliate our Mingyu. Now our Mingyu is using basketball to humiliate him. Nothing wrong with that."
"Right, nothing wrong with that."
"Before anyone tries to step on our Mingyu in the future, they should first weigh whether they have what it takes."
"Good thing I didn't go, or it would've been a wasted trip. OP, remember to tell us the outcome... Actually, the result doesn't matter anymore. You absolutely have to upload the part where he lowers his head and calls someone Grandpa."
Basketball Court.
Ten minutes later, the score was 22–4. Only the word miserable could describe Qin Ze's side's performance.
Being at a disadvantage for a while was not scary. What was scary was having their spirit crushed. Once that happened, there was truly no hope left. Apart from Zhao Baliao still struggling desperately, Liu Ziqiang, Virgin, and Old Wang had all wilted. They were getting their passes stolen and their shots blocked. At first, their anger had boiled as they fought desperately to turn things around, but now they were numb with resignation, mechanically running back on defense.
They could barely even be considered amateurs. They usually hardly touched a basketball, so how could they play against Basketball Team members? In terms of skill, they were eighteen streets behind. In terms of teamwork, they were a hundred thousand miles apart. And tactics... What even were tactics? They had no idea.
Another steal sent the ball into Zhang Mingyu's hands. He sprinted with it toward the Three-Point Line. Zhang Mingyu had taken several shots, all of them three-pointers, and his shooting percentage was absurdly high, even better than Old Wang's. He was probably one of those flamboyant guys who believed in "only practicing threes for shooting, and only respecting dunks in the paint."
The girls outside the court screamed, "Three-pointer! Three-pointer!"
Their cries were disorderly at first, then gradually became synchronized. Many people were swept up in the excitement and began shouting together.
Zhang Mingyu indeed stopped at the Three-Point Line, a confident and flamboyant smile curling across his lips and making the nearby girls swoon.
He jumped.
He shot.
The three-pointer left his hand.
Amid the roaring cheers, the three-pointer that haunted Zhao Baliao and the others like a nightmare was launched once again.
But at that moment, a figure shot into the sky. He jumped incredibly high, as though he had broken free from gravity itself. It was as if his entire body had taken flight, his short black hair whipping wildly and his T-shirt rippling.
"Three-pointer my ass!" Accompanied by his furious roar, his palm struck the rising, spinning basketball with a smack that rang across the entire court.
The basketball howled as it crashed into the ground, then rebounded toward the spectators. It happened to hit the girls who had been cheering the loudest, and their cheers instantly turned into startled cries and screams.
Then the entire court fell silent.
Ever since the match began, Qin Ze had been little more than a background player, running back and forth with the ball and doing useless work. He had never stolen the ball or taken a shot, much less delivered such a powerful block.
The spectators outside the court could not react for a moment. How had there suddenly been a block? How had that unnoticed guy suddenly erupted?
Zhao Baliao suddenly let out a roar, excitedly throwing both arms wide.
Old Wang, Liu Ziqiang, and Virgin were also filled with excitement.
A block.
They had finally made a block.
Qin Ze had erupted.
That was more like it. With the speed and jumping ability Qin Ze had shown before, how could he possibly remain unnoticed? So what if Zhang Mingyu could shoot threes? Did he really think he was some invincible basketball prince?
Qin Ze turned to his companions and shouted, "Pull yourselves together. The match has only just begun."
He had not been playing dumb to hide his strength. He had been figuring out the strengths and habits of the opposing players. Rather than focusing on tiny details, he was looking at the overall situation. It fit his gaming style perfectly. He had to keep a close eye on all three lanes, analyze the enemy's habits, playstyle, and the strengths and weaknesses of both sides. Only then could he support his teammates at the right time and gank the enemy.
Anyone who played games with Qin Ze for long enough would easily notice his style. He always erupted in the mid to late game, remaining unnoticed in the early stages.
If I still can't win like this, then I curse Qin Baobao to remain a virgin for the rest of her life.
Only then did the spectators outside the court finally erupt in exclamations:
"That block was savage."
"Damn, how can he jump that high?"
"That's incredible."
"The momentum came right back. With that jumping ability, no one can compare."
"Who got that on camera? Hurry, upload it to the forum."
"Who had time to take pictures? It's all on video, though. We can watch it later."
Zhang Mingyu took a deep breath, suppressing the fury and embarrassment churning in his heart. He shot Qin Ze a cold sideways glance.
Qin Ze fearlessly met his gaze, then walked over and said in a low voice, "grandson, get ready to call me grandpa later."
Zhang Mingyu sneered.
Zhang Mingyu's side took possession. They were not affected too badly. It was only one block, after all. It could not change the outcome.
The ball moved between several players as they approached the basket at an unhurried pace. Crew Cut Youth sprinted toward the left, quickly pulling away from Old Wang, who was marking him. He rushed beneath the basket and raised one hand to signal for a pass from the ball handler.
Using his powerful explosiveness, he created an opening. His teammate with the ball did not hesitate to pass it to him.
Qin Ze suddenly burst out from several meters away and stole the ball. Then he flung it across half court to Virgin, who had stayed back.
That was a beautiful steal.
Virgin dribbled forward at full speed, made a three-step layup, and scored.
"Nice one." Qin Ze ran over and high-fived Virgin.
Before you continue