Under the watchful eyes of more than 200 people, Wang Yi picked up the ball and took a deep breath. Then he raised his arm slightly, flicked his wrist, and sent the basketball spinning backward toward the hoop.
The arc wasn't high. If anything, it looked a little flat.
But Wang Yi knew the shot had felt perfect. With the boost from the Experience Card he'd used earlier, he was 100% certain the ball would go in.
As the passengers watched the shot's low arc, though, each of them felt as if the ball had soared incredibly high.
Higher than the sky, higher than the blazing sun.
It was as if everyone's heart had stopped beating.
Everyone held their breath.
Every gaze was fixed on the ball.
It was as if the fate of the whole world rested on this shot.
If it went in, the world would still be a beautiful place.
If it missed, it would mean the end of the world.
Under everyone's gaze, the basketball dropped precisely toward the hoop.
The arc was flat, but its direction looked true. It was falling straight toward the center of the hoop.
But just then—
Whoosh—
A powerful gust of wind suddenly swept through the area.
Dust filled the air.
The wind sent the basketball veering off course, and it slammed into the left side of the rim.
Then it bounced to the right side.
It sprang high into the air, then danced along the rim several times.
At last, it began to lose height.
The wind had passed. Everyone rubbed the dust from their eyes, then forced them open despite the stinging and stared at the basketball.
After bouncing along the rim several times, the ball finally rolled off the right side.
The scene fell utterly silent.
All