Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

44-24.

The buzzer sounded, signifying the end of the set. However, even then, the gymnasium fell silent, the cheers and applause fading into the background as all eyes turned to Shang.

Gripping his ankle with both hands, he bit his lip in an attempt to stifle his cries, his face contorted in agony.

Yuze wasted no time rushing to his teammate's side, his heart sinking as he witnessed Shang's suffering. The referee called for a foul, but it was clear that the injury was far more serious than any mere foul could account for.

The four other Shizi players gathered around, their expressions etched with concern as they watched the medic arrive on the scene.

Beads of sweat formed on Shang's temples as the medic assessed his injury, slowly flexing his ankle to gauge the extent of the damage. With each moment, Shang winced in pain, his cries echoing through the gymnasium and sending a shiver down the spectators' spines.

At that moment, a sense of dread settled over the Shizi team. They knew in their hearts that Shang's injury would lead him to end his role in the game earlier than expected.

Yiming cursed under his breath as he made his way to the court.

Their coach, too, hurried to the scene. He went to where Ling was standing and patted his back.

"Good job," he whispered. However, his voice was drowned out by the clamor of the crowd.

"Go sit this one out," the coach said in a much louder tone this time.

Ling, with not a hint of guilt on his face, went to the bench and sat alongside his other teammates.

As Shang was carefully lifted onto a stretcher and carried away from the court, the Shizi players remained in anguish. However, despite the pain he was feeling, Shang showed them a thumbs-up and a smile.

"Tell me how it goes later," he cheerily said.

Yuze shook his head and massaged his aching temples.

Then, he stood tall, his gaze locking with Yiming's, who wore a subtle guilty look on his face.

"Looks like we aren't the only ones who stayed the same."

"You guys are still the same, too," Yuze remarked, his words laced with bitterness.

It was clear that he had overheard his earlier conversation with Chunlei. Yiming pursed his lips and didn't respond anymore.

With that, the two teams gathered in their designated rooms for halftime. The atmosphere in the two rooms was completely opposite. While the players of Feng Arts, with the exception of the five starting players, celebrated their apparent lead, the players of Shizi High were suffocated with heavy silence.

For a few moments, no one spoke, each lost in their own thoughts and with the harsh reality of their situation. Jet, Shang's best friend, was particularly devastated by the loss.

"We were supposed to play together in the fourth quarter," he muttered. "What are we going to do now?"

The question was met with silence. However, it was quickly broken when Jinping spoke.

"It's those sly foxes. That guy definitely did it on purpose."

Zeren scoffed. "If only you managed to hold one of them off, then we wouldn't be in this situation. Ling was supposed to be your guy, right?"

Jinping looked at Zeren in disbelief. "You're pointing fingers now? Well then, why don't we talk about your assumption of Kun's role. You're the Shooting Guard, but frankly, you haven't made any shots at all."

"I can't believe you're bringing an irrelevant topic up," Zeren said.

At that moment, chaos reigned as fingers were pointed, blame was assigned, and their emotions ran high. Many of the players directed their anger toward Feng Arts; however, some of them also jumped onto Zeren's and Jinping's hate train and started blaming each other.

"Guys," Lina said, trying to calm the situation down.

The second-string players watched the official team crumble into pieces. Kai's eyebrows furrowed as he kept his gaze directed at Yuze, the captain ready to explode at any given time.

"Silence," Yuze said after a while, his voice booming in the room.

With just one word, the players all stopped talking, afraid to agitate their captain further.

"I can't believe you guys are pointing fingers at each other while our teammate is injured."

Lina nodded in agreement while the rest of the players cast their heads to the ground.

"Now, I don't know about you, but I've had enough of the shame that Feng Arts has inflicted on us. Shang did not deserve what happened to him; however, we can't do the same to our opponents. We're not at their level," he said.

"So, what's the best way to prove them wrong?" Yuze asked.

"To win," Kai answered, the team turning toward him.

"To win," Yuze repeated. "And for that to happen, we need a new strategy."

"We need a new Power Forward now that Shang's gone," Jinping suggested. "My original role is a Power Forward, so I'll gladly take the role."

"And I'll assume the Point Guard position," Zeren quickly said. "Kun does a better job at shooting than I do."

Yuze smirked before shaking his head. "I'm not letting you guys play after the stunt you've pulled just now. I don't want to jeopardize the teamwork of the team."

The two were about to argue, but Yuze had already made a decisive choice.

Kai smiled as he watched Yuze, admiring how he was able to lead the team.

"Kun will still be the Point Guard," Yuze stated. "I, too, will continue on with my role."

Lina stepped forward. "Are you sure?" she asked, glancing at his ankle for a split second. "You've been playing non-stop for the last two quarters."

"It's fine," Yuze said. "I've already had enough rest."

"Jet, you'll be the Small Forward," Yuze instructed while the smaller player nodded in determination.

"Gongwen, you're the Shooting Guard," he said, making the second-year player with limited experience point at himself in uncertainty.

"You were a Shooting Guard, right?" Yuze asked.

Gongwen meekly nodded.

"Good. You're going to be playing in this game."

Gongwen gulped in nervousness but accepted the role nonetheless.

Meanwhile, as Yuze continued assigning roles, Kai thought back on his current weekly mission.

'How am I supposed to prove these people wrong when I'm not even going to play?' he thought. He was way too excited when he received the mission that he forgot the most important part!

Yuze looked at the players, momentarily speechless as he didn't find the perfect fit for the role. None of them appeared ready to fill in the gap that Shang had left, and Yuze was sure that the team would crumble without a good defender.

With no obvious candidate in sight, his eyes turned to one particular person, who had been lost in thought throughout the discussion.

"Kai," he finally declared, the mere utterance of his name making everybody surprised.

Kai, hearing his name, finally snapped out of his daze and looked up—only to see that everybody was looking at him.

"You're up. You're going to be playing as our Power Forward."