Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

As the spectators and players tried to comprehend Kai's sudden burst of energy, a sense of astonishment rippled through the gymnasium. How had he moved so swiftly, covering the length of the court in a matter of seconds?

The Shizi players, too, found themselves taken aback by Kai's remarkable display.

Jinping's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He knew of Kai's athleticism; however, he didn't know that it was to this extent.

Kai quickly passed the ball to Yuze since was not confident enough to land the shot.

Despite his initial hesitation, Yuze quickly shook off his surprise and launched the ball toward the basket, almost haphazardly. To his amazement, the shot found its mark, making Shizi score the first point for the third quarter.

44-26.

The crowd gasped in surprise; however, before they could even ponder about what just happened, an object passed through their eyes at an almost lightning speed.

"What was that?" Yiming asked, standing on the edge of his seat.

The passing object was, indeed, not an object. Instead, it was Kai Guo, the new player that nobody expected to excel in the game.

Yiming couldn't help but feel a twinge of unease.

What was this newcomer capable of, and what role would he play in shaping the outcome of the game? It was a question that lingered in the back of Yiming's mind.

However, before he could think that the new player was a genius on the court, he fouled Kexin, swatting his hand instead of the ball. Kai definitely didn't mean it. Kexin just moved at an unworldly speed, so he miscalculated his block.

Kai wordlessly raised his hand, admitting to his foul before walking to his position under the ring.

Yuze shook his head. "You lost two points just seconds after we've gained them."

Meanwhile, Kexin stared at his hand with disbelief. Despite the small contact, he could already feel it throbbing. Just how hard did this guy slap his hand?

He chuckled in disbelief before making his way to the free-throw line. Kexin shot the first throw, the ball effortlessly landing inside the basket.

"As expected," Yiming proudly said. "His free-throw shots never miss."

Kexin dribbled the ball, preparing for the second shot. For a sharpshooter like him, people were already accustomed to him sinking all of his shots.

However, for this particular shot, he missed by a small fraction, causing the ball to bounce on the rim.

His eyes widened in surprise, and his teammates, too, were shocked by the miscalculation.

"What the heck? Did Kexin just miss a free-throw shot?"

Kai, however, wasn't focused on the murmurs that emitted from the crowd. Instead, he kept his gaze focused on the ball, ready to leap at any given time. As it bounced off the rim, he jumped the fastest amongst all those aiming for the rebound.

Then, he snatched the ball from the air before dribbling it to their side. He glanced back for a second to see if any of his teammates were there. However, much to his surprise, the other players lagged behind by more than a quarter of the court.

"Shoot it!" Yuze called out.

Kai pursed his lips and took a step back, preparing himself for an overhead shot.

Yiming held his breath as he watched Kai prepare to take the shot. For him, it was hard to gauge the new players' skill sets based on what he had seen. However, it couldn't be denied that his athleticism was comparable to Shizi High's official players. If he could shoot as well as he could run and rebound, then Yiming would question why he wasn't part of the first-string team.

[Advanced Beginner (06)]

'You can do this,' Kai chanted in his mind, knowing that he practiced this specific shot more than a hundred times when he got his extra mission.

However, casual training and an actual game were definitely different. Kai threw the ball to the ring, but it was like his previous attempt at a free throw.

"Ugh," he groaned in disappointment.

At that point, the Feng Foxes and the other players of Shizi High had already arrived at the court, and Bocheng freely took the rebound.

Yuze clicked his tongue and shook his head at Kai, obviously disappointed by the blatantly missed shot.

"He can't shoot," Chunlei suddenly said, his tone sounding more serious than before.

Yiming turned to him in surprise. He wasn't one to comment on new players unless asked, so it was intriguing to hear him comment on this 'Guo' player.

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"What do you mean he can't shoot?" Yiming asked.

"It's his weakness," Chunlei smirked. "Actually, I see a lot of weaknesses from this guy."

"I do, too," Yiming said. "Yet somehow, I feel that it's quite strange. His jump just now—it was almost as high as Yuze's. Yet, he's shorter than Yuze, so that means that he must have jumped higher."

"He has an athletic build," Chunlei explained. "But it's all there is to it. Right now, he can only contribute to the rebounds and the fast breaks. However, he'll always have to depend on someone to shoot the ball."

It turned out that Chunlei was right.

Kai, although advancing his rank, was still a beginner at heart. But then again, his presence on the court definitely made a difference. With his raw athleticism, Yuze and Kun were able to make some decent plays.

However, they still couldn't shake off the gap. Although it seemed like they were finally catching up to the race, it was also as if they had a different finish line.

54-34.

"I have to give hats to them, though," Yiming sighed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "They managed to keep the gap consistent. Last year, we beat them by more than 40 points."

"That's because I played last year," Chunlei smirked.

Yiming shook his head in amusement. "Yeah, you were a cocky freshman."

"Cocky is for the people who don't have the skills to back up their words. I, on the other hand, am just confident with my skills."

The game continued, and Kai was increasingly becoming more frustrated. None of his shots made it in. Well, frankly, he never even attempted to shoot, so who was he to complain?

They were still stuck on a 20-point gap, and there was a minute left on the clock.

Kai believed that if they went to the fourth quarter without breaking it, then they would continuously lag behind.

So, Kai finally plucked up the courage to shoot.

A lay-up. Just a simple lay-up. He had done it plenty of times when he was training alone!

Fortunately, an opportunity opened right before him.

Jet's voice cut through the intensity of the moment. "Catch!" he cried out.

Without a moment's hesitation, Kai darted towards the ball, his muscles tensed as he ran to their side of the court.

The other players were left behind; however, Nuan, the new player who was also a known fouler and had fouled four times in just a single quarter, was waiting right underneath the rim.

Kai paid him no attention and focused his gaze on the ring.

No one can stop him. He needed to score at least one point for his team!

As he positioned himself for a lay-up, a sudden sensation prickled at his side, causing him to flinch momentarily.

It felt almost like a mosquito bite, one of the insects that he truly hated.

'What are mosquitoes doing in such a prestigious school like this?' he thought.

Shaking off the distraction, Kai refocused his attention on the ball.

"Shoot, shoot, shoot," he chanted to himself, blocking out the noise of the crowd and the lingering discomfort in his side.

Then, with a burst of speed, Kai launched himself toward the basket before releasing the ball towards the hoop. At that moment, everything seemed to align perfectly – the arc of the shot, the angle of his trajectory, the rhythm of his breathing.

This was it! He felt that the ball was going to make it in.

And then, the ball sailed through the net before the sound of the buzzer ringing out in perfect harmony with the referee's whistle was heard.

Kai smiled to himself before turning back to his teammates.

Much to his surprise, they weren't looking at him with celebratory expressions but with confused faces instead.

Then, the referee went before Nuan.

"Flagrant foul!" he exclaimed.