Ryonan's Shock

Ryonan High School, basketball gym.

The setting sun stained the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows blood red.

The floor gleamed from the friction of sneakers, and the air was thick with the scent of male hormones.

"Defense! Move your feet!"

"Uozumi, rebound!"

Shouts rose and fell one after another.

Taoka Moichi stood at the sidelines with his arms crossed, his brows tightly furrowed.

He had great confidence in this year's roster.

The two-meter-tall beast Jun Uozumi, the genius scorer Akira Sendoh.

This was Ryonan's best chance to make a run at the national tournament.

Bang!

The main doors were violently slammed open.

Everyone froze for a moment.

Aida Hikoichi rushed in, only to trip and crash onto the floor with a loud clang.

But he had no time to care about the pain. He scrambled to his feet and rushed toward Taoka Moichi.

"C-Coach!"

"Something terrible happened!"

Hikoichi was gasping for breath, his notebook crumpled tightly in his hand.

"Hikoichi!"

"How many times have I told you? Salute before entering the gym!"

"And what is this fussing all about?!" Veins bulged on Taoka Moichi's forehead.

"No, Coach!"

"It's Shohoku! I went to scout Shohoku!"

The fear still lingered in Hikoichi's eyes.

"Shohoku?"

"That one-man team built around Akagi? What was there to scout?"

"Other than Akagi, that Kaede Rukawa from Tomigaoka Middle School is the only one even slightly worth watching." Taoka snorted disdainfully.

"No! It wasn't Kaede Rukawa!"

Hikoichi abruptly flipped open his notebook and pointed at the frantic, messy scribbles inside.

"It was a first-year exchange student named Lin Bei!"

"H-He destroyed Kaede Rukawa in a one-on-one match!"

The moment those words fell—

The entire gym sank into brief silence.

Then a wave of laughter erupted.

"Hey, Hikoichi, did you fall asleep and dream while scouting?"

"Destroyed Kaede Rukawa? That MVP?"

"How could a rookie at that level possibly go to Shohoku? He would've been snapped up long ago, just like Sendoh."

Koshino and Uekusa laughed so hard they doubled over.

Even Jun Uozumi, built like a small mountain, let out a low snort. "Hmph. Nonsense."

"It's true!"

"I saw it with my own eyes!"

"That speed... it was like a ghost!"

"Kaede Rukawa didn't even have time to react before the ball went in!" Hikoichi was so anxious that his face and neck turned red.

"And that Lin Bei even said..."

"What did he say?" Though Taoka Moichi did not believe him, he still asked instinctively.

"He said... winning was too exhausting, so he did it just to leave early."

"Huh?"

Taoka Moichi was stunned.

What kind of ridiculous reason was that?

It was even more outrageous than Kaede Rukawa saying he chose a school because it was close to home!

"Enough, Hikoichi."

Taoka waved a hand, his face full of impatience.

"I think Kaede Rukawa's reputation scared you stupid, and now you're hallucinating."

"What kind of monster could a lousy public school like Shohoku possibly have?"

"More importantly..."

Taoka turned around and swept his blazing gaze across the court. "Where the hell did that bastard Sendoh run off to now?!"

The entire team fell silent.

They exchanged glances, but no one dared speak.

Just then, a door in the corner of the gym cracked open.

A hedgehog-haired boy poked half his body through, a fishing rod still in his hand.

"Ah... everyone's here."

"The sunset is pretty nice today. Perfect for fishing..."

After saying that, Sendoh wore his trademark harmless smile.

"AKIRA! SENDOH!"

Taoka Moichi's roar nearly blew the roof off.

"Coach, I just went to the beach to think about some life strategies." Sendoh shrank his neck and scratched his head with an awkward laugh.

He slowly changed his shoes and walked onto the court.

As he passed Hikoichi, Sendoh stopped and glanced over the notebook.

Inside was a crude drawing of a little person, with the words "Unbelievable" and "Lin Bei" written in huge letters beside it.

"Destroyed Kaede Rukawa, huh..."

Sendoh narrowed his eyes, a teasing curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Won just so he could leave early..."

"That personality sounds like it would get along pretty well with mine."

He patted Hikoichi on the shoulder. "Take me to see this Lin Bei next time."

Hikoichi was so moved that tears streamed down his face. "Sendoh! Finally, someone believes me!"

The next day, Shohoku High School.

In the first-year classroom, the sound of studying rang out clearly.

At the podium, the math teacher was passionately explaining quadratic functions, spittle flying everywhere.

Meanwhile, in King's Homeland by the window in the back row—

Lin Bei was using an upright textbook as cover, sleeping like the world was ending.

Sunlight fell across his face, his eyelashes casting shadows beneath his eyelids.

For someone dedicated to slacking off, class time was the best time to catch up on sleep.

"Lin Bei!"

A chalk nub shot through the air like a precision-guided missile, tracing a parabola.

Smack!

It struck Lin Bei squarely on the forehead.

Lin Bei jolted awake and reflexively wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.

"Present!"

The entire class burst into laughter.

The math teacher pushed up his glasses, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes. "Come up and solve this problem."

Lin Bei walked to the podium with bleary eyes.

Looking at the symbols on the blackboard, which resembled an incomprehensible heavenly script, he yawned.

[System Prompt: The host has been detected facing an academic crisis]

[Would you like to spend 10 Slacking Points to exchange for the "Top Student Possession Card (1 minute)" ?]

"Exchange."

Lin Bei muttered inwardly.

He could not let detention take up his club activity time.

Of course, more importantly, it was for the sake of slacking off.

This little investment was necessary.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

The chalk danced across the blackboard.

Thirty seconds later, Lin Bei tossed aside the chalk, dusted off his hands, and turned to return to his seat.

Three different solution methods were left on the blackboard. The last one was even a method from advanced college mathematics.

The classroom fell dead silent.

The math teacher's mouth hung open, his glasses slipping down his nose.

As Lin Bei passed the podium, he even politely asked:

"Teacher, may I go back to sleep now?"

"I haven't finished my dream yet."

Lunch break, rooftop.

Lin Bei lay in the shadow of the water tank, a straw between his lips as he drank strawberry milk.

"Master!"

A booming shout shattered the silence.

The iron door was kicked open, and Hanamichi Sakuragi charged up like a red gorilla.

He held two enormous yakisoba buns in his hands.

"These are for you!"

"Can you teach me the secret of Instant Teleportation today?"

Hanamichi Sakuragi held the buns out before Lin Bei, his face full of flattery.

Lin Bei glanced at the buns.

Mm, deluxe edition, with double meat.

The boy could be taught.

He unhurriedly tore open the wrapper and took a bite.

"Hanamichi."

"Yes." Hanamichi Sakuragi stood at attention.

"To learn Instant Teleportation, you must first learn 'stillness.'"

Lin Bei pointed to himself. "Look at me. Am I not very still?"

"Y-You're very lazy," Hanamichi Sakuragi answered honestly.

"Wrong!"

"In Chinese, it's called being still as a maiden and swift as a hare."

"The chakra inside you... no, your basketball soul is too restless."

"Starting today, you will practice 'meditation.'"

"That means holding one pose without moving, while imagining that you are a stone."

"As long as you can stay still for an hour, I'll teach you the next move." Lin Bei spouted nonsense with a perfectly serious expression.

"Really?!" Hanamichi Sakuragi's eyes lit up.

"Truer than pearls."