Winning

Xiao Xiao's forehead was beaded with fine sweat. His eyes were fixed on the new players on the court, yet he could clearly "see" the monster slowly opening its half-closed eyes. A scarlet blood-red light flickered within them, and the moment its eyes fully opened, the blood-red light shot out like a sword.

Xiao Xiao's eyes blazed with golden light. The golden radiance that surged and weaved through the air instantly solidified, its sharp edge even causing the surrounding space to distort.

The golden light and the blood-red light collided with a roar. It wasn't the earth-shattering explosion one might expect; the air seemed to freeze for an instant.

The two forces began to consume each other.

Space warped, and occasional black cracks appeared, leaking a terrifying aura.

Xiao Xiao felt his head, which had just started to feel better, begin to throb violently again.

His eyes felt swollen and burning.

He felt like he was about to melt.

But he knew he couldn't relax even a little at this moment.

Nor could he retreat an inch.

Xiao Xiao clenched his fists tightly, the railing groaning under the pressure.

He forced his eyes open, and golden radiance continuously appeared in the air, solidifying from nothingness, carrying a sharp, whistling aura as it shot out.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the blood-red light completely dissipated, and the golden light dissolved into countless specks of light, disappearing without a trace.

Xiao Xiao didn't relax at all. Just as he braced himself for another attack, he was surprised to find that the monster had stopped fighting?!

Yes, the monster seemed to glance at him indifferently, or perhaps it was just his imagination. When he blinked and looked again, the monster had resumed its posture of half-closed eyes, appearing as immovable as a mountain.

Although Xiao Xiao was puzzled, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Stumbling a few steps, Xiao Xiao collapsed onto a chair.

He leaned forward, his left hand gripping his right elbow, his right arm propped up, his fist pressed against his forehead.

His sweat-soaked hair stuck to his neck and forehead, feeling clammy and inexplicably irritating.

Xiao Xiao's face was pale, his head felt like it was being stabbed by needles, and he gasped deeply but silently.

Suddenly remembering something, Xiao Xiao looked up at the court. He felt a moment of dizziness and blurred vision before it slowly cleared.

His unfocused gaze sharpened again. Still not giving up?!

Xiao Xiao narrowed his eyes, the corners of his eyes forming a sharp arc.

Golden radiance flowed, devoid of pain, only a chilling indifference.

He forcefully suppressed the opponent's scarlet blood-red light once more.

But this time, he didn't stop there. Xiao Xiao continued to press down on the opponent until their eyes showed the same terror and dread that had appeared in the eyes of several Yan University players.

Since the other party didn't know when to stop, why should he be too considerate of them?

"Bang~" The basketball bounced around the rim once before "swish," falling into the net.

"Thump thump." The sound of the basketball rolling on the floor coincided almost exactly with the final whistle.

"Beep~" The game ended.

"Yeah~" After a moment of silence, a roar of cheers erupted from the entire stadium, like a mountain flood, surging and overwhelming the entire gymnasium.

On the scoreboard, 117:114. Yan University with 117 points, Polytechnic University with 114 points. The final three-pointer secured the victory for Yan University.

"Hoo~" Xiao Xiao breathed carefully, slowly bending down. He feared that if he relaxed too quickly, he would collapse entirely.

Xiao Xiao rested his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped together, supporting his heavy head.

It was like hurting the enemy a thousand, but hurting himself eight hundred.

No, it was completely hurting the enemy eight hundred and hurting himself a thousand.

His old wounds had not healed, and now he had new ones, adding injury upon injury, pain upon pain.

"Drip, drip!" Drops of sweat trickled down Xiao Xiao's forehead, either sliding along his hair, or seeping through his fingers, hanging on his eyelashes. After several near falls, they finally gathered enough strength to fall to the ground.

Soon, a small wet patch appeared on the ground in front of Xiao Xiao's feet.

"Third Brother... what's wrong?" Yan University had won the game, and all the Yan University students present were ecstatic, the basketball arena filled with wild cheers.

"Third Brother?"

Zhuge Yun and Zhao Luzheng were no exception. After their boisterous celebrations, they realized Xiao Xiao wasn't with them and instinctively called out, their voices still filled with the lingering joy and excitement of the victory.

However, Xiao Xiao's condition was too obvious. Everyone around them was cheering and shouting, but only Xiao Xiao was deeply bent over, his hand pressed against his forehead, obscuring his expression.

The aura emanating from him, clearly different from the surrounding atmosphere, made him seem out of place.

It created the illusion of being in the same space yet separated into two worlds.

Zhuge Yun and Zhao Luzheng froze for a moment. In this state, even without seeing Xiao Xiao's face, perhaps precisely because they couldn't see it, they felt a sense of distance and coldness they had never experienced before.

Even the usually boisterous Zhuge Yun hesitated, his lips moving several times, his voice too muffled to be understood.

Zhao Luzheng also felt a palpitation, sensing an inexplicably extreme danger from Xiao Xiao at that moment.

However, his usual attentiveness suddenly caught sight of the water stain on the ground. As his gaze shifted slightly upward, he saw beads of sweat continuously dripping from between Xiao Xiao's fingers. All his worries vanished instantly, and he blurted out, "Third Brother, you're sweating so much!"

"Third Brother, are you okay?"

"Mm, are you very hot?" Zhao Luzheng's words seemed to break some kind of spell. Zhuge Yun immediately became "full of life," ignoring his earlier strange feeling about Xiao Xiao and returning to his usual "lecherous" expression.

"I'm fine." Xiao Xiao frowned fiercely, his voice dry, like a file scraping sandpaper.

Who would believe he was fine with a voice like that?

Xiao Xiao licked his pale, dry lips, slowly raised his hand, touched his throat, and coughed a few times.

"Third Brother, water."

"Thanks."

Xiao Xiao tilted his head back and gulped down several large mouthfuls of water. The cool liquid washed over his dry, sore throat, seeming to ease even his taut nerves.

"Third Brother, why is your face so pale? Are you really okay?" Zhuge Yun was startled when he saw Xiao Xiao's face, which was completely bloodless, as he tilted his head up.

"Third Brother, let's go to the school infirmary," Zhao Luzheng said, directly pulling him.

"I'm really fine. Maybe my previous illness hasn't completely healed. I'll be fine after resting at home."

"No, Third Brother, I'm saying you've been sick for so many days, why aren't you better yet? You should still go to the hospital."

"Eldest Brother..."

"Their basketball team is definitely going to have a celebration party later. They won't have time for us."

Alright, in the end, the minority had to obey the majority. Xiao Xiao was helplessly "escorted" to the hospital by Zhuge Yun and Zhao Luzheng.