Basketball 3-on-3

Day one, sunny.

The cafeteria was packed with people.

"Sudō, are you free later? Want to have lunch together?"

"Hm? Sure!"

The next day, rainy.

"Sudō, are you free later? Want to have lunch together?"

"Hm? Sure..."

Another day later, sunny.

"Sudō, are you free later? Want to have lunch together?"

"Hm? It's been several days in a row. What exactly are you after?"

"What do you mean? I just want to be friends with you!"

Zhuge Linghao said with a grin.

Sudō had a vein pulsing on his forehead. "It doesn't feel that way to me. What are you plotting?"

[Sigh, this is a classic case of a child starved for affection, as well as a classic case of paranoid delusions.]

Beside them, Ayanokoji also looked a little confused. "Zhuge, I feel like you're hiding something too."

Zhuge Linghao spread his hands. "Why say that? I haven't done anything strange, have I?"

"Fine, fine. I'm going to the club to play basketball now. Do whatever you want!" Sudō said, finishing off the last bite of his meal.

"I'll come too! I'm going as well, and Ayanokoji's coming too! Hmph, actually, I'm a basketball ace!"

"Oh, this is my first time inside the basketball club. Are those courts reserved for club members?"

Zhuge Linghao looked like a country bumpkin visiting the big city, amazed by everything.

Sudō said proudly, "Of course. The school's loaded, so they give us plenty of funding and the members quite a lot of privileges!"

"I'm joining the team practice." The redhead said, then ran over to gather with the coach.

Ayanokoji looked at the back of Zhuge Linghao's head and suddenly said, "You did well on the Midterm Exam, Zhuge."

"Or should I call you... the mastermind?"

Zhuge Linghao shuddered. So Ayanokoji had seen through everything long ago.

[Come to think of it, that one point of emotional value from Class D last time must have come from Ayanokoji.]

"Uh, what are you talking about, Ayanokoji?"

"I saw you go to see Chabashira-sensei that day."

"What? You noticed that too?"

"Yeah. I was just curious what you had to give up for Chabashira-sensei to agree to change the Midterm Exam papers."

Zhuge Linghao didn't answer, keeping his secret.

Zhuge Linghao simply dropped the act and came clean. "That's right, I did it! Ayanokoji-kun, you're really clever."

Ayanokoji said expressionlessly, "So what's your goal this time in approaching—or should I say, keeping an eye on—Sudō?"

Zhuge Linghao opened his phone terminal and glanced at his 203,051 personal points. "Since you're so clever, why not take another guess?"

Ayanokoji also caught sight of Zhuge Linghao's huge balance. After running through a few calculations and deductions, he proposed a possibility.

"I see. The points for this month still haven't been issued. To prevent the 100 Class Points from being deducted, you're keeping an eye on Ken Sudō, who's the most likely to get a large deduction. Am I right?"

Zhuge Linghao looked utterly shocked.

[Are you freaking cheating? Do you have a system too?]

[It's like Ayanokoji can read minds. What a terrifying guy!]

Zhuge Linghao grinned and gave Ayanokoji a thumbs-up!

That was right. Zhuge Linghao was making sure nothing went wrong with Ken Sudō.

[It took so much effort to get 100 Class Points. I can't let 10,000 personal points go to waste so easily!]

Besides, Ryuen had already announced that he would target Class D after the Midterm Exam. That had become a thorn in Zhuge Linghao's side, and it was also the main reason he hadn't been sleeping well lately.

And Ken Sudō was a likely opening for Class C to make a move.

So, for the past few days, Zhuge Linghao had used making friends as an excuse to stick close to Ken Sudō, all to guard against Class C making a sudden move.

During free practice at the basketball club.

"Hey, you two on the court! Form a team and play a game!"

"Are they talking about us?" Zhuge Linghao asked, puzzled.

"Probably," Ayanokoji confirmed with a look.

Just then, Ken Sudō rubbed his hands together and called out, "Zhuge, Ayanokoji, get over here and team up with me. Hurry up! I'm gonna crush them!"

"Check ball. Play to 21, threes count as two, twos count as one. You know the rules, right?"

Three delinquents from Class 1-C formed a team. One of them, a green-haired guy, spoke up.

Zhuge and Ayanokoji shrugged to show they were fine with it.

Sudō immediately laid out the strategy. "Once you get the ball, just pass it to me! Don't worry about anything else."

[Sigh, basketball is all about teamwork. Who the hell do you think you are, Kobe?]

[We're definitely gonna lose playing like this!]

After ten minutes of intense play, Zhuge Linghao was so exhausted he nearly collapsed. Ken Sudō wasn't doing much better, since he'd been double- or triple-teamed the entire time and his scoring efficiency was low.

As for Ayanokoji, he "looked exhausted, bracing his hands on his knees as he panted."

The score was now 13–19. The first game point had arrived, and Sudō's team was trailing by six.

"System, I can't keep going. Give me an Irving Experience Card!"

"Ding! 250 points of emotional value consumed. Irving Experience Card equipped!"

Zhuge Linghao's back stopped hurting, and he wasn't out of breath anymore. He felt like he could carry a bucket of water up to the twentieth floor!

Used skill: Death Wrap...

Used skill: Flying Hot Pot...

Used skill: Look Back Steal...

After Zhuge Linghao stole the ball several times in a row, two opponents started double-teaming him, while the third kept a tight defense on Ken Sudō.

Zhuge Linghao had no choice but to pass to Ayanokoji. Ayanokoji, wide open, was even worse—he shot an air ball...

Luckily, Ken Sudō leaped up under the basket and tipped it in!

Three minutes later, the score was 20–20. Sudō's team had a chance to stage a comeback!

Ken Sudō had scored almost all their points, racking up 18 in total. Zhuge Linghao had picked up two points, and Ayanokoji had coasted to zero.

At that moment, Zhuge Linghao was possessed by Irving's spirit. He poked the ball away for a steal, then passed it to Ken Sudō with a no-look pass.

The three opponents quickly closed in around the redhead, who had crouched down to shield the ball. Ken Sudō was suddenly left with no room to shoot.

"Give me the damn ball!"

Zhuge Linghao activated his own skill—increasing the chance that someone would agree to a request by 50%!

Ken Sudō had already intended to pass. With the odds now boosted by 50%, he didn't hesitate. He put everything he had into passing the ball through a gap between the defenders.

The nearest opponent hurried back to defend. Zhuge Linghao silently activated Ankle Breaker, then used an enormous crossover to send one defender sprawling. He fought through two more near the free-throw line and took the shot!

Used skill—Clutch Killer!

The basketball clanged off the back of the rim, bounced, then took a "dangerous stroll" around the hoop.

Under everyone's fixed gaze, the mischievous ball dropped through the net!

In the end, to everyone's delight, Zhuge Linghao sealed the game with an incredibly difficult left-handed, drifting floater!

"Whoa! We won! We won!"

Ken Sudō shouted excitedly and rushed over to wrap his arms around Zhuge Linghao!

Ayanokoji also "excitedly" ruffled Zhuge Linghao's hair.

On the other side, the three green-haired Class 1-C students glared at Ken Sudō like hungry wolves.

Just then, the phones of all three Zhuge teammates chimed.

"Ding-dong! 10,000 personal points have been deposited for this month. Please check and verify your balance."

"They're here! The school finally transferred the points!"

Zhuge Linghao, who had been waiting impatiently for ages, couldn't help bursting into tears!