Impossible to Defend Against

Zhu Zhan said softly, "Check the ball."

Fang Wei nodded, walked near the baseline to pick up the ball, then headed to half court.

Zhu Zhan did not actively call for the ball. Instead, he moved back and forth inside the paint, looking for an opening. Perhaps the others had all seen his shooting percentage earlier, because Old Ma, who was guarding him, stayed glued to his side with an intensely focused expression.

Fang Wei checked the ball, and Yuan'er quickly stepped up from the side to receive it.

After catching the ball, Yuan'er immediately passed it back to Fang Wei, almost exactly like Xiao Ke and the others had done before.

With the ball in his hands, Fang Wei was in no hurry. He dribbled toward the left forty-five-degree angle, stopped, and observed the court. Old Wu, guarding him, stood in front of him without rushing in to pressure him.

After passing the ball back to Fang Wei, Yuan'er stood a step above the free-throw arc and did not move up to offer support.

Seeing his two teammates positioned like that, Zhu Zhan more or less understood what they were trying to do. He immediately pulled away from under the basket toward the baseline, drawing Old Ma out of the paint with him.

At that moment, Fang Wei suddenly moved. He dribbled toward the top of the three-point arc, and Old Wu hurriedly pressed up against him. But once Fang Wei reached the top of the arc, he immediately tossed the ball to Yuan'er at the free-throw arc. The instant the ball left his hands, Fang Wei charged straight toward the basket.

He was incredibly fast, blowing past Old Wu's defense in a single step. Then, brushing close past Yuan'er's body, he drove hard toward the hoop. Just then, Xiao Ke, rotating over from the side to stop Fang Wei's drive, suddenly shouted, "Stop him! Don't let Yuan'er pass the ball out!"

Old Wu, whom Fang Wei had left behind in one step, hurriedly answered. Rather than continuing to chase Fang Wei, he tightly pressed up on Yuan'er, waving both arms to prevent Yuan'er from passing to Fang Wei, who had already cut into the paint.

Xiao Ke and Old Wu switched defenders extremely quickly. It seemed they had long known that Fang Wei and Yuan'er would run this kind of play, and they had prepared for it.

Yuan'er raised the ball over his head, intending to immediately pass it to Fang Wei cutting under the basket. But Xiao Ke was glued tightly to Fang Wei, making it impossible for him to turn around and receive the pass while moving. Yuan'er could not get the ball through.

Zhu Zhan had originally drifted toward the left corner near the three-point line. Seeing Yuan'er's setup was about to fail, he moved. Raising an arm, he slipped past Old Ma in a flash, leaving him behind. Like a bolt of lightning, he ran along the three-point line toward the top of the arc.

Unable to pass to Fang Wei, Yuan'er saw Zhu Zhan shake off Old Ma and run toward the top of the arc. His eyes lit up. With a flick of his wrist, he hurriedly passed the ball to Zhu Zhan in motion. After making the pass, he did not stay put. Instead, he quickly moved up from the free-throw arc and positioned himself along the edge of Zhu Zhan's running path, setting a screen to keep Old Ma from chasing over and disrupting Zhu Zhan.

Zhu Zhan caught the ball and immediately understood Yuan'er's intention when he saw the screen. He continued dribbling along the three-point line, and after crossing paths with Yuan'er, he instantly shook off his defender.

Zhu Zhan did not choose to cut toward the basket, because Fang Wei and Xiao Ke were both positioned under the hoop. If he drove inside as well, Xiao Ke would rotate over to help defend.

Besides, he wanted to find that shooting feel and rhythm in an actual game.

After shaking free of his defender, Zhu Zhan came to a sudden stop outside the three-point line. He turned to face the basket, raised both arms, and lifted the ball above his head. His arms bent naturally as he coordinated with his breathing. Then he sprang into the air, and the ball flew from his hands, tracing an arc toward the basket.

When his feet hit the ground, Zhu Zhan's hands still held their shooting follow-through. Without blinking, he watched the ball's path through the air. Seeing that Zhu Zhan had already released the shot, everyone else also fixed their eyes on the ball overhead.

With a swish, the ball traced a beautiful arc and dropped cleanly through the net.

"Hahaha! Brother, that was incredible!" Fang Wei, who had been preparing to grab the rebound under the basket, immediately turned to look at Zhu Zhan, his face filled with excitement as the ball cleanly slipped through the net.

Then he glanced at Xiao Ke beside him, reached out, and gave Xiao Ke's shoulder a hard pat. "Xiao Ke, convinced now? Zhu Zhan really is a master. He's not like us!"

Xiao Ke glanced at Zhu Zhan and said coldly, "It was only one basket. Nothing impressive."

As he spoke, he snatched the ball from Fang Wei's hands and threw it toward Old Ma near the three-point line. "Old Ma, check it!"

Old Ma caught the basketball and walked to half court. Xiao Ke immediately ran over.

With the ball in his hands, Xiao Ke dribbled directly toward Zhu Zhan this time. He looked coldly at him and said, "If you're really that good, come guard me!"

Zhu Zhan glanced at Xiao Ke and softly said, "Oh." Then, ignoring him, he once again walked toward Old Ma under the basket.

This was three-on-three, not one-on-one.

Besides, if the other guy told him to guard him and he actually did it, wouldn't that make him far too obedient? If he went to guard Xiao Ke, what would happen to Old Ma under the basket? Fang Wei and Yuan'er were both too short. Even if Yuan'er was not at too much of a height disadvantage, he was far weaker physically.

So Zhu Zhan was not about to fall for it.

Thinking that, Zhu Zhan simply said, "Oh," and continued running under the basket to guard Old Ma.

Seeing Zhu Zhan actually walk away without even looking back, Xiao Ke snorted again and drove straight toward the basket.

At that moment, Yuan'er quickly pressed up on him again. Although Zhu Zhan was under the basket guarding Old Ma, his eyes remained fixed on Xiao Ke, watching his every move.

Seeing Yuan'er step up, Fang Wei hurriedly warned, "Yuan'er, watch out for Xiao Ke's signature move! Guard against his step-back jumper!"

As Yuan'er raised his arms to interfere with Xiao Ke, he replied without looking back, "I know!"

Xiao Ke, who was dribbling and looking for an opportunity, snorted at that. "You want to stop me? Can any one of you stop me?"

The moment he finished speaking, Xiao Ke suddenly lowered his center of gravity and accelerated, shoving Yuan'er aside with one burst. The instant Yuan'er collided with Xiao Ke, he lost control of his body and staggered back two steps.

Fang Wei was right beside them. He knew Yuan'er could not stop Xiao Ke at all, so he had long been ready to rotate over at any moment. The instant Yuan'er was shoved away, Fang Wei immediately abandoned his own man and moved in to help defend Xiao Ke.

Xiao Ke seemed to have expected it. When he caught sight of Fang Wei coming over from the corner of his eye, he suddenly stopped again, clutched the ball in both hands, leaped up, and passed it straight to Old Wu behind Fang Wei.