Emperor Eye Activated

Episode 19: As Chi Tong shook off the two-man trap, he glanced at the score on the electronic scoreboard. The sight made his pupils suddenly contract.

Sacred Radiance 48, Meisei 60—a twelve-point gap.

The gap was not particularly large, but what mattered was not the score difference. It was the time.

The second half was already past its midpoint. If they did not come up with something soon, defeat would be their only ending.

Now you knew just how unreliable your teammates were, didn't you?

Chi Tong's second personality continued to tempt him.

Chi Tong once again evaded Bright Marsh's two-man trap and passed the basketball to Yamamoto Ryu.

This time, Chi Tong specifically reminded him not to rush into an attack. He should look for a chance to pass and first shake off the opponents.

Chi Tong had made himself perfectly clear, and Yamamoto Ryu had understood perfectly well. Yet what happened next left Chi Tong utterly speechless.

Sensing someone approaching him, Yamamoto Ryu recalled Chi Tong's warning. His eyes immediately swept from side to side as he searched for his teammates.

He quickly spotted Kirie Sondo and, without a second thought, flung the ball toward him.

Yamamoto Ryu's target was accurate, but his pass was simply unbearable to watch.

When Chi Tong saw the basketball sail crookedly straight into an opponent's arms, he felt as though the lights above his head had dimmed.

Chi Tong fell completely silent. He did not even bother with Bright Marsh's counterattack, instead standing where he was and sinking into deep thought.

He had thought that everyone had trained hard alongside him on the team, and their abilities had indeed improved. But he had never expected that they could handle easy games just fine, only to immediately fall apart at the slightest setback.

He inadvertently glanced at Sendoh and could imagine what kind of state of mind Sendoh must have been in while playing last year. It was impressive that guy could still get along so happily with everyone.

After that mistake, Bright Marsh scored another two points.

Sacred Radiance 48, Bright Marsh 62. The difference had widened to fourteen points.

The situation was becoming increasingly grim. It looked like he could only rely on himself.

Chi Tong silently made up his mind. He knew relying on his teammates was no longer an option. He had to carve out a path through this himself.

Once again, Chi Tong dribbled the ball. This time, however, he did not choose to pass. Instead, he faced Bright Marsh's two-man trap head-on.

Faced with defenders on both sides, Chi Tong's gaze flickered. He stepped forward and immediately pulled back, then made a behind-the-back crossover, followed by a wide spin move that successfully slipped past the two-man trap.

The entire sequence flowed like water, giving his opponents no time to react!

Bright Marsh's two defenders were completely thrown off by Chi Tong's sequence of moves.

The two of them had thought Chi Tong was merely good at passing. They had never imagined his drives would be so smooth and swift!

Caught off guard, Chi Tong successfully broke through their double-team defense and charged straight toward Bright Marsh's basket.

At that moment, Qie Yuan Sunren, Kobayashi Koichi, and Yamamoto Ryu had also each found open space. Their gazes all turned toward him, ready to receive Chi Tong's pass at any time.

However, Chi Tong had no intention of passing this time. He drove straight into Bright Marsh's painted area with the ball.

Just then, Chi Tong heard pursuing footsteps behind him. He did not panic in the slightest. He gathered the ball with both hands and sprang off the ground.

The instant he rose, a figure suddenly rushed out from behind. Chi Tong knew it was someone trying to block him, but this was exactly what he had been waiting for.

Chi Tong raised the basketball high in one hand as if preparing to shoot. Seeing this, the man behind him immediately stretched out his arm, intending to disrupt Chi Tong's shot.

But to everyone's surprise, Chi Tong flicked his wrist and gently tossed the basketball toward the hand behind him.

No one had expected this sudden move. The person behind him who had been ready to block him was utterly dumbfounded. He only saw the basketball strike his palm before bouncing toward the hoop.

Though the force was not great, his heart sank. Propelled by the rebound, the basketball fell cleanly into the basket.

The ball went in!

Under Chi Tong's manipulation, Sacred Radiance dramatically pulled two points back.

Sacred Radiance 50, Meisei 62. Chi Tong landed and turned to look at the man behind him.

Damn it!

The Bright Marsh player looked deeply frustrated, his eyes full of anger as he stared at Chi Tong. He had actually been toyed with by this brat, who had used him to score an own goal. To him, this was the ultimate humiliation. How could something like this happen? It was utterly outrageous, Qie Yuan Sunren!

Kobayashi Koichi and Yamamoto Ryu also came over to congratulate him. The three of them seemed not to have considered why Chi Tong had not passed to them just now, as though simply watching him play gave them hope.

Chi Tong did not know whether they were genuinely clueless or merely pretending. He gave Sendoh a meaningful look, thinking that guy was probably feeling the same way he was.

Sendoh gave him a thumbs-up. Seeing that, Chi Tong did not know whether Sendoh truly understood, or if he had understood long ago and was simply playing dumb.

In the following game, Chi Tong's style changed drastically. He went from a commander skilled at passing into a fiercely attacking killer. Even when Bright Marsh sent two people to trap him, they could not stop his advance.

It was as if Chi Tong could predict the movements of the two opponents in advance. Whenever Bright Marsh's two players rapidly closed in, he always saw through them a step ahead and acted before they could.

This left Bright Marsh's two players endlessly frustrated, while Chi Tong broke through again and again, continuing to score.

Qie Yuan Sunren, Koichi Kobayashi, and Yamamoto Ryu could all tell that Chi Tong intended to fight alone.

The three did not think much of Chi Tong's choice. They only believed it was the best option under the circumstances. Seeing Chi Tong stabilize the situation, they were excited, but Sendoh saw everything. Chi Tong now was extremely similar to Sendoh last year. Back then, Sendoh had done everything he could to find a way for the team to win, only to be dragged down by his teammates in the end. Afterward, his teammates merely apologized, and that was it. It was as though the opponents were so strong that losing was simply unavoidable. That attitude toward basketball nearly made even someone as good-tempered as Sendoh lose his composure. What was most maddening was that these teammates had always been utterly sincere toward him, leaving Sendoh feeling conflicted and even embarrassed to lose his temper.

54:66. 58:70. 64:76. Although Chi Tong broke through the two-man traps and scored consecutively, Bright Marsh's counterattacks also kept succeeding. The gap remained stuck at twelve points and could not be narrowed. This could not continue.

Chi Tong breathed heavily, a thoughtful light flickering in his eyes.

There were about five minutes left in the game. With his current strength, there was only one way to break the deadlock: Words of Heaven and Earth.