Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

Chapter 394 An Emerging Team

"How is the response for the Interhigh Nationals?" Mr. Wang asked as he entered his office in Beijing.

Ashley stood and bowed before pulling out some articles.

"It is very successful, sir," she responded with a smile. "The attendants had exceeded last year's with over 40%! There are a lot more people who had tried to get the tickets, but they sold out at the very last second. We opened the occluded view seats this time, too."

Mr. Wang chuckled in delight. "It's exactly as I've expected! Now that there are more teams to watch, there are also more viewers."

"Yes, sir," she smiled. "And this year, all of the Elite Five are participating, so the viewers are expected to rise during the quarter-finals."

"Good," Mr. Wang smiled. "Keep an eye on the Elite Five, alright?"

"Yes, sir," Ashley responded.

"Today is Jimmy's game, right?" he asked.

"Yes," Ashley said. "They're scheduled in the afternoon. Do you want to go and watch, sir?"

Johnny shook his head. "No, I'll watch when they have a good opponent. I know that Jimmy will do a great job."

"By the way," he continued. "Has their win been counted on the list?"

Ashley froze before nodding. "Yes, sir," she said.

"All of them have a default of 25 points per player, right?" he asked.

Ashley nodded once again, feeling slightly nervous.

"Pull it up," Mr. Wang instructed.

Ashley let out a sigh as she projected the list once again.

"Let's see," Mr. Wang muttered as he scrolled up. It was expected that his son would rise in the ranks because of yesterday's default win.

However, he saw yet another yellow name above Jimmy's.

"What's this?" he exclaimed. "That Kai Guo is still above him?"

Ashley pursed her lips and cleared her throat before responding.

"Yes, sir," she said. "Yesterday, he was the player with the most points, even surpassing Zheng Zhang."

Mr. Wang couldn't believe it. He stood from his seat, his eyes widening.

"How many points?" he exclaimed.

Ashley also couldn't believe it.

"47 points," she muttered.

***

A group of friends went inside the Water Court—the main court for the Interhigh Nationals.

Beijing's biggest basketball court was divided into four elements.

The Water Court was the biggest one, where the opening and closing ceremonies took place. It was also where most of the big basketball events happened.

The Air, Fire, and Land Court surrounded it, a bit smaller than the main court but large nonetheless.

"Did you finish all the games yesterday? I got bored by the third game," one of them chimed.

"I also left in the middle. You should ask Ming. He stayed here until the end."

They all turned to their friend, Ming, who was sporting a Juren jersey. He was a first-year student from Juren High, so he came to support them. Aside from that, he was a big fan of basketball, so watching games was his passion.

"Well, it's always interesting to watch the Ying Eagles. However, one team surprised me yesterday," he responded.

"Who?" his friend asked.

"The Shizi Dogs!" he happily chimed.

"Who?" his friend repeated.

"The Shizi Dogs?" a familiar voice chimed in, causing the group of friends to turn to each other in surprise.

Then, they turned around, where they saw the Juren Champions sitting behind them.

The group of friends reddened, acting as if they were in the presence of celebrities. And for basketball fanatics like them, it was most likely! The Juren Champions were the most famous celebrities in the high school basketball world!

"Did they do a good job?" Chaoxing asked with bright eyes, even leaning closer to the young group of friends.

Jimmy clicked his tongue and pulled Chaoxing away from them.

"Don't bother them," he grumbled. "And don't talk about that team."

"D—do you know about the Sh—shizi Dogs?" Ming stammered in front of his idols.

Chaoxing beamed. "Well, of course! Did they do a good job? I wanted to watch their game, but it was too late."

Ming nodded excitedly. "It was great! I never thought there would be another team that could play like that aside from those that are in the top ten."

Jimmy raised one eyebrow.

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Chaoxing was about to pry more when Jian suddenly stood, capturing their attention.

"Stop chattering," he said. "It's our turn."

Chaoxing sighed and also stood. "Well, it looks like we need to head down soon."

Ming's friends nodded, still amazed by their presence.

The Juren Champions walked down the aisle. Nearly everybody's eyes were on them, feeling their immense energy.

Jimmy smirked as he basked in their attention. Chaoxing continued to walk with confidence while Jian appeared as if he were just walking around his house.

As they made their way down the court, the crowd chattered excitedly.

"Ah," Chaoxing said as he settled on their bench, watching as the timer ticked down. "I hope this ends soon."

"Why?" Jimmy asked.

"Because I want to watch the game in the Air Court."

Jian frowned. "What's the game happening in the Air Court?"

Chaoxing clicked his tongue and gently slapped the back of Jian's head. Jimmy froze as he watched the action. Out of everyone on the team, only Chaoxing would be able to do something like that to Jian.

However, Jian didn't let him off so easily. He also slapped the back of his head—much stronger than what Chaoxing had done.

"Fuck you," Chaoxing said.

Jian sighed. "Just answer my question."

Chaoxing shook his head. "I swear—you should at least pretend to be interested in the schedule. I'm sure you don't even look at their announcements."

"I bet he doesn't even know who we're going against today," Jimmy chimed.

Jian remained silent, confirming their suspicion.

"Seriously?" Chaoxing asked.

Jian shrugged and chugged some water. "It doesn't matter anyway," he said. "Whoever we're facing, it's the same."

"At least, not knowing our opponents would grant me some excitement," he muttered to himself.

"What was that?" Chaoxing asked.

"Nothing," Jian said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Now, answer my question."

"It's the Shizi Dogs…" Chaoxing responded.

Jian held in the urge to roll his eyes. "Those guys again? Why do you keep on monitoring them?"

Chaoxing smirked before saying the next team.

"…versus the Longyu Dragons.