Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

The gymnasium fell silent for a split second as the impact reverberated through the air. The referee's whistle pierced the silence, signaling the flagrant foul and bringing attention to the act of aggression on the court.

Ling held up his hand, appearing to not be guilty at all.

Kai's jaw clenched in frustration. It seemed like Lina wasn't lying when she said that the Feng Foxes were prone to fouling. He didn't believe it at first since they were pretty tame during the first set.

The players of Shizi High couldn't help but stand as they observed Yuze's body sprawled on the floor.

Lina gasped loudly as she called for his name.

"Yuze!" she said.

Meanwhile, Yiming and Chunlei turned to each other with furrowed eyebrows.

"Is he…okay?" Yiming hesitantly asked.

The crowd started murmuring as Yuze stayed on the ground.

"Once Yuze is out of this game, then it's a done deal."

"I agree. Should we go to the cafeteria instead?"

"Isn't this a good thing for us, though?"

Lina clicked her tongue and was about to approach Yuze when the towering player suddenly stood, shaking off the dust from his shorts.

Ling gulped as Yuze glared at him. Meanwhile, the other Shizi players went to Yuze to see if he was alright.

"I'm fine," Yuze said, lightly jumping on his feet while shaking his arms. "I just got dizzy for a second."

"You didn't hit your head, did you?" Kun asked out of concern.

Yuze shook his head. Then, he turned to the referee and held out his hand. The referee passed the ball to Yuze while the other players went to their positions for Yuze's free throw.

"He's fine," Yiming said, almost out of relief.

Chunlei chuckled in amusement. "You're acting like you hate his existence, but you're actually pretty worried about him, right?"

Yiming scoffed. "Shut up. I'm just worried that he got injured by a chicken player like Ling. If it were one of the starting players, then I would understand."

Chunlei shook his head. "Whatever you say, man."

Yuze positioned himself behind the free-throw line, letting out a deep breath as he threw his first shot. He was fouled on the three-point line, so he was going to get three shots for this one.

The Shizi players clapped as he made it in. Yuze caught the ball from the referee for his second shot and once again made it in without any trouble.

23-18.

Dylan sighed in relief as Yuze prepared for his last shot.

"I'm glad he's still playing well," he muttered. "I wouldn't know what to do if the team loses Yuze."

As Yuze dribbled the ball and aimed it at the ring, he blocked out the noise of the crowd and honed in on the task at hand. However, just as he was about to release the ball from his hands, a slight twinge of pain shot through his ankle, causing him to lose his grip on the ball ever so slightly.

He cursed under his breath. However, none of the players seemed to have noticed this.

The ball grazed the rim before bouncing out, eliciting triumphant cheers from the Feng Arts students.

"Don't mind!" Kun said as they made their way to the other side of the court.

Yuze sighed in frustration, knowing that every point mattered in the game.

However, despite his inner turmoil, he remained composed, urging his teammates to stay focused.

As the game continued, Kai couldn't tear his gaze away from Yuze's figure.

He tilted his head to the side as he watched his movements.

"His ankle is bothering him," he muttered.

He looked around the bench to see if anyone had noticed it, too. However, they seemed to think that Yuze was playing like he was before.

To the casual observer, there was little evidence of any injury—no limp or any visible signs of discomfort. However, Kai noticed the subtle changes in Yuze's plays. His cuts were slightly slower, and his jumps were a fraction lower than usual.

These subtle shifts in Yuze's performance had a ripple effect on the entire team.

Although it wasn't blatant, the Shizi players found themselves struggling to find their rhythm on both ends of the court. Passes were a split-second too late, shots fell short of their mark, and defensive rotations were just a hair off.

Zeren, who excelled during the first half, found himself overwhelmed since their captain couldn't play at full strength.

Moreover, it seemed like the Feng Foxes were more determined to halt Yuze's momentum as they assigned both Bocheng and Shilei to guard him.

With each passing minute, their confidence waned, and their opponents capitalized on their uncertainty, widening the gap on the scoreboard with each possession.

44-20.

As the game entered its final minutes, Yiming and Chunlei observed keenly from the sidelines.

"They're just like before," Yiming remarked. "I have to give it to them for reaching twenty points, though. They definitely have more decent players this year."

"Yeah," Chunlei nodded in agreement. "Decent players, but nothing more. And without Yuze, they're doomed."

Yiming sighed in disappointment.

"I agreed to this practice game to see if Yuze had improved, and he really did. However, it's disappointing to see that they haven't progressed as a team at all."

"It seems like we won't be seeing Shizi as another threat this year," Chunlei concluded.

With less than a minute remaining on the clock, the Shizi team managed to break through the 20th-point mark. In the midst of this, Shang noticed an opportunity to exploit Feng Arts' defensive focus on Yuze.

"Pass to me!" he shouted as he positioned himself beneath the basket, unnoticed by the strong opposing defenders who were preoccupied with containing Yuze.

Yuze recognized the opening and delivered a precise pass to Shang, who rose up for what seemed like an uncontested shot.

But just as he released the ball, Ling, the aggressive fouler of Feng Arts, once again intervened with a blatant foul, crashing into Shang in mid-air and sending him crashing to the ground.

Despite the foul, Shang's shot miraculously found its mark, the ball swishing through the net without even touching the rim.

44-22.

The Shizi players erupted into cheers, their excitement increasing with the unexpected basket.

"Shang?" Lina called in the midst of their cheers.

The onlookers gasped in surprise when they saw the tall player on the ground.

The Shizi players' celebration was short-lived as they watched Shang in horror.

He was in a similar position as Yuze a while back, but at the same time, he looked so different.

…because at that moment, Shang was on the ground, writhing in pain.