Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

"Yiming's going to play this early on?"

"He normally doesn't play."

"So does Chunlei. They're saving themselves for the finals since they want to win against the Yin Yang Knights this time."

"But I think we need them in the team right now—well, at least one of them."

"Chunlei hasn't even played in the league yet."

The Shizi Dogs also looked at the Foxes' bench just as Yiming removed his jacket.

Shilei and Bocheng turned to each other with concern, feeling ashamed that they weren't able to create a gap during the first quarter of the game.

Meanwhile, Kai smirked as he watched Yiming slowly stand up.

"Finally," he muttered, feeling that they were seeing them as real opponents.

Justin Liang, who was paying attention to the game despite not knowing much about basketball, pointed toward their way.

"Why is everybody making a big deal about that guy?" he asked.

"Yiming Yang?" Junior asked. "You don't know who he is?"

Justin Liang shrugged. "I only know the players of the Feng Flies. I don't keep up with the basketball teams aside from Max Zhou—but that's only because he's the most famous student-athlete in the entire city."

"Let's just say that Yiming is like you," Junior said. "In the field of basketball, that is."

Justin's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Then, he must be a really big deal."

"Yeah," Junior smirked. "And rumor has it that he also thinks of Yuze as his rival."

Justin's eyes narrowed in suspicion as he glanced at the good-looking captain of the Shizi Dogs.

"This bastard has quite a lot of rivals, huh?"

Yiming slowly walked away from the bench and watched the scene before him with clenched fists, feeling the familiar churn of adrenaline.

But then, Chunlei put a restraining hand on his shoulder and pushed him to sit back down on the bench.

He shook his head as he looked into Yiming's eyes.

"It's too early," he said.

Yiming's pride stung, but he respected Chunlei's judgment. He nodded reluctantly and sat back down, his eyes never leaving the court.

The worried gnawed at him, and he felt an uncertainty in the pit of his stomach.

Kai waited for the coach to call for a substitution to have Yiming into the game, but it seemed like he was still going to sit the next quarter out.

Kai sighed in disappointment as he wiped the sweat forming on his temples.

"The first quarter ended in a tense draw, 25-25, and as the second quarter begins, I can feel that the air is thick with tension!" Mark exclaimed just as the whistle resounded in the entire venue.

Yuze wanted to create a gap as soon as possible, trying to take advantage of the fact that Yiming wasn't playing just yet.

He had a feeling that he was going to play soon, so the Shizi Dogs needed all the points that they could get.

So, he broke the deadlock with a powerful slam dunk.

The crowd erupted in cheers, the sound reverberating through the arena.

"He's so cool!"

"That's the best player in our school!"

Justin's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"So, he's also a big deal here, huh?" he muttered.

His teammates rushed to high-five him while the bench came alive with excitement.

However, the Feng Foxes were not to be outdone.

Kexin found his moment and returned fire with a three-pointer.

The ball arced through the air before swishing through the net. The crowd roared again, this time in favor of the Feng Foxes.

28-28

Zeren, not willing to let the Shizi Dogs lose their momentum, answered with a three-pointer of his own.

His shot was clean and precise, but the effort was taking its toll.

Luna could see the fatigue setting in. Zeren's shoulders slightly dropped, and he became slower in his movements.

"That kid's pretty good," Coach Ben as he looked at Zeren.

"Ding Zeren," he muttered, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

Yiming clicked his tongue, feeling surprised since he felt like he was the only one worried about the situation.

31-31

They had been leading in most of the games of the Winter Cup, and they were only expecting to have a hard time against the Xing Stars and the Yin Yang Knight.

He clicked his tongue with furrowed eyebrows as he continued watching the game.

Meanwhile, Lina noticed that Zeren was, indeed, getting tired, so she called for a substitution.

Jinping stepped in, trading offensive power for a defensive one.

Jinping immediately faced off against Kexin.

Kexin's strength lay in his shooting, but his defense was lacking.

Jinping exploited this weakness, clamping down hard, which made it difficult for Kexin to find his rhythm.

And although the Shizi Dog's offense stuttered, the Feng Foxes also slowed, which made the game remain close.

"I have never seen such a close game with the Feng Foxes!" Mark exclaimed. "It seems like the Shizi Dogs are suffocating them!"

Yiming's impatience grew with each passing minute.

Then, he glanced at the timer.

5 minutes, 17 seconds

He sighed and leaned back against his seat.

"If we do not take the lead by the end of the five-minute mark, I'm going to play," he said to the younger player.

Chunlei wanted to argue, but Yiming appeared determined.

So, he stayed silent and focused his eyes on the court, only able to hope that the Foxes on the court would create the gap that Yiming was looking for.

Just as the timer went over five minutes, Shilei fouled Kai.

The whistle blew, and Kai stepped up to the free-throw line.

"Nice foul!" the players on the bench exclaimed, already aware of Kai's shooting skills.

However, those at the Shizi Dogs' bench glanced at each other with knowing looks.

Meanwhile, Kai couldn't help but smile since he was finally granted an opportunity to fulfill his weekly mission.

The first shot bounced off the rim, drawing a collective sigh of relief from the Feng Foxes' supporters.

Kai pursed his lips in shame. Well, his new skill did say that his free throws made it in 85% of the time, but he couldn't help but feel disappointed since this was his opportunity to overtake the Foxes' score once again.

"This is his weakness," Chunlei said to Yiming. "You're not going to play in the second quarter."

However, just as he said those words, the second shot found its mark, and the Shizi Dogs edged ahead.

Kai smiled as he heard the people cheer for him from the audience.

32-31

Yiming clicked his tongue in frustration.

Without wasting any time, he stood, a hint of anger etched on his face.

"Coach," he called to Coach Ben, who was pacing the sidelines.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Time out."