The next day, it wasn't Narumiya Mei—who wished everyone would get up the moment he woke—that woke Su Qing, but the system notification:
Ding! Daily check-in complete: Obtained Never-Wearing Ulnar Collateral Ligament ×2
When he heard the notification, Su Qing was still groggy. But after hearing it, he instantly snapped awake and sprang out of bed, making enough noise to wake Narumiya Mei across from him.
"Su Qing, what are you doing?"
Su Qing ignored Narumiya Mei. At that moment, he stared fixedly at the line of text on the system:
Never-Wearing UCL!
Holy shit! I love this system!
Su Qing quickly climbed down from the bed because he was afraid he was dreaming.
Even by afternoon practice, Su Qing still felt a little out of it, dazed and muddleheaded.
"Su Su, why did you come over here?"
After finishing their laps, Su Qing followed the main group away, only to be called back by Shirakawa.
"Huh? If I don't come with you, where am I supposed to go?"
"Why are you acting so silly today, Su Su? Narumiya told me this morning, but I didn't believe him. Now it looks like it's true—you really are a little silly. You're a pitcher, so you need to go to pitching practice first. Hurry up, or Coach will come looking for you."
"Pitching?"
The moment pitching was mentioned, Su Qing's eyes lit up. He ran off without looking back.
Watching Su Qing's retreating figure, Shirakawa shook his head and said to Carlos,
"He really has gone dumb."
An hour later, Inashiro's bullpen.
Yamagami despairingly picked up the baseball he had missed, then mechanically threw it back to Su Qing. Today was absolutely the most despairing day of his life. The cause was Su Qing, who had recently formed a battery with him during practice. Today, Su Qing seemed like he had taken gunpowder, and not only were his fastballs so hard they nearly numbed Yamagami's hands—
He had also thrown a whole bunch of vicious breaking balls that no human should have been able to throw, catching him completely off guard. By now, there had already been more than a dozen passed balls. Yamagami felt that Coach must be very dissatisfied with him now.
What Yamagami couldn't understand was what exactly had happened to Su Qing today. In previous pitching practices, Su Qing had always put in thirty percent effort and seventy percent water. Even if he counted generously, he never threw more than a hundred pitches in a day.
But today, in only the first hour, Su Qing's pitch count was nearly a hundred. If Yamagami hadn't wasted so much time on passed balls, it probably would have already exceeded a hundred.
"Harada, switch with Yamagami. You'll catch for Su Qing, and Yamagami will catch for Narumiya."
Coach Kunimoto couldn't stand watching any longer and had Harada catch for Su Qing. But inwardly, he thought that Yamagami still needed more practice. He had taught him for three years, yet he still couldn't catch a ball properly!
"Yes!"
Yamagami felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. For a catcher, passed balls were simply too painful! But the moment he changed positions, he saw Narumiya Mei's thoroughly enraged little face.
Not again!
The instant Yamagami squatted down, Narumiya Mei fired a pitch from his hand—his best Changeup. And so Yamagami had yet another passed ball!
Meanwhile, Harada didn't squat down right away. Instead, he walked over to Su Qing.
"I wanted to ask you yesterday. What breaking balls can you throw?"
"Oh, those? Slider, cutter, Curveball, Curve Slider, Knuckle Curve, Changeup, sinker—I can throw them all."
Su Qing repeated what he had previously told Tada to Harada.
Then he saw black lines appear on Harada's forehead. What was going on? Did no one believe the truth these days?
But like Tada, even though Harada didn't believe him, he didn't say it aloud.
"Then let's start with the Changeup."
"Sure."
Harada had chosen the Changeup because Narumiya Mei's best pitch was also the Changeup. A comparison would tell him just how good Su Qing's Changeup was. If Su Qing's Changeup was sharp, that would truly be a rare blessing. After all, paired with Su Qing's fastball, a Changeup would be an absolute weapon.
Once Harada was ready, Su Qing lifted his leg, took an easy stride, and threw the baseball.
Since he had just been catching Narumiya Mei's pitches, Harada subconsciously thought it was a fastball, because its speed was about the same as Narumiya Mei's fastball. He set his glove, preparing to receive it steadily. He was somewhat disappointed. Su Qing's Changeup was a little too fast. It would have been better if the speed were lower.
At that speed, it would actually be easier for a batter to hit. If he were at the plate, he would definitely give up on the fastball and target a Changeup at this speed.
Just as Harada was preparing to catch the ball and then go talk to Su Qing, the baseball suddenly dropped as it neared his glove. Harada had no time to be shocked. Acting on a catcher's instincts, he tried to scoop the ball back up, but it fell faster and faster. Even when it hit the ground, he still hadn't caught it.
Harada picked up the ball with a look of shock. Yamagami, squatting nearby, noticed it as well, and a smile instantly spread across his face.
Tsk, tsk. See? It's not that I'm bad. Su Qing is just inhuman! Who could catch a pitch like that?
While Yamagami was distracted, Narumiya Mei had already fired another ball over. Yamagami had no time to react and was hit in the stomach. Fortunately, he was wearing protective gear. It only hurt a little, and he was fine.
Narumiya Mei, standing on the mound, apologized as well. Yamagami quickly said it was nothing, since he had been the one who lost focus first.
"Throw another one!" Harada picked up the fallen baseball and tossed it back to Su Qing.
Su Qing caught the baseball, set himself, and threw Harada another identical Changeup.
This time, Harada caught it successfully, but it was an ugly catch. Rather than catching it, it would be more accurate to say he barely reached it.
Harada looked at the baseball in his hand and began recalling what had happened when he caught it just now. Su Qing's Changeup was practically identical to Narumiya Mei's. No, Su Qing's was even sharper—the break happened faster!
The ball dropped in an instant, leaving no chance to grasp the timing. Just like his fastball, it always gave batters a surprise!
"Throw another one!"
Seeing Harada grow excited, Su Qing couldn't help sighing. The Changeup had never been his best pitch, and that had become even more true after he lost his velocity. It merely had movement. Once batters saw through it, they could hit it with pinpoint accuracy.
Harada was clearly excited because he had discovered that Su Qing's Changeup moved. But in Su Qing's eyes, a Changeup was a type of breaking ball. Wasn't movement the most normal thing in the world? A pitch without movement was the strange one, all right?
Still, since Harada wanted to catch, Su Qing wouldn't refuse. After that, Su Qing threw several more Changeups with different breaks and different speeds. Harada's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and his expression more and more excited. Coach Kunimoto beside them was the same. Having developed pitchers for so many years, how could Coach Kunimoto possibly fail to recognize quality?
After watching an hour of pitching practice, Coach Kunimoto should have gone to guide the batters and fielders in their training. But today, he watched until pitching practice ended.
Narumiya Mei, meanwhile, was not happy at all. He looked like a child whose candy had been stolen, utterly miserable.
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