Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

The Shizi Dogs had finished dressing up, and Yuze was now saying a few words of encouragement to the team as they prepared to go to the court.

"This is it," Yuze started off.

"I'm not going to lie—I didn't expect us to get this far. However, one thing's for sure—I want to go even further," he said, causing the others to nod in agreement.

"We have achieved our goals one by one, and for that, I am thankful for your hard work. However, I want you to instill in your minds that we never play any games half-heartedly."

"Win or lose—we must try our best," he said.

Kun let out a sharp, deep breath as he patted his teammates on the back.

"Come on! We can do this!"

"Let's go!" Zeren exclaimed loudly, his voice filling the room.

Jinping smirked as he looked at his teammates. "None of you better mess up," he said, especially looking at Kai.

"I think you need to say that to yourself, bud," Jet said, making Jinping click his tongue.

Meanwhile, Kai and Lina seemed awfully quiet.

Lina glanced at Kai, hoping he would say something about what happened last night.

However, much to her disappointment, he didn't glance her way even for a second.

Meanwhile, Kai was preparing his mind for the game with the Feng Foxes. This was, undoubtedly, the game with the highest stakes.

So, he felt like he couldn't mess up. Continue reading stories on empire

"Alright, put your hands together," Yuze said, making him snap out of his thoughts.

He realized that he was the last one to put his hands inside their circle. He was about to place his hands on top, but stopped when he realized that Lina's hands were at the very top.

In the end, he settled with placing his hand on the bottom instead, making Zeren smile in satisfaction.

"Shizi Dogs!" Yuze exclaimed as they pulsed their hands inside the circle.

With that, the team made their way out of the room.

However, like perfect timing, the Feng Foxes also went out of their room, making the two teams stop and stare at each other.

Yiming looked at Yuze intently while the latter quickly looked away.

The starting players of their team then stared at the members of the Shizi Dogs like they were their playthings, smirks adorned on their faces. Even their number of players was enough to overpower the Shizi Dogs, but the latter didn't dare back down.

"Hey, it's that funny guy!" Chunlei exclaimed as he pointed at Kai. "Did you get taller since the last time we played?"

Kai didn't know how to respond to his question, so he merely shrugged.

"Aww, you're so hostile now. Shouldn't we act friendlier with each other since we're going to be playing on the same court? Just don't dunk the ball on Yiming's head this time!" he joked and laughed out loud.

However, he started choking on his own saliva as Yiming slapped his back.

"Stop it," he muttered to the hyperactive player.

With that, Yiming led his team to go to the court. Chunlei glared at the back of their captain's head as the rest of the team followed after him.

As soon as they arrived on the court, the crowd erupted into cheers, causing the Shizi Dogs to look at each other with wide eyes.

"Holy crap. That's loud," Zeren said. "Those robots at Xing Stars don't even compare."

"Well, they are the Feng Foxes," Kun sighed, suddenly feeling his hands trembling in nervousness. "They do not lag behind in popularity from the Knights...and we're playing with them tonight!"

Yuze clicked his tongue and nudged his shoulder.

"Don't tremble," he said before walking to the entrance of the court.

However, that was easier said than done. Kun's hands still trembled even after Yuze said those words.

Just then, another team came out of their holding room—the Yin Yang Knights.

Yuze halted once more to look at them before bowing in respect. Their coach, who appeared to be as serious as ever, only glanced at the Shizi Dogs before making his way to the exit, not even bothering to greet Yuze or the rest of the team.

Kai frowned as he felt somewhat suffocated when the coach was in their midst. Meanwhile, Lina glanced at Yuze before patting his back.

Fortunately, Max spoke to break the tension in the atmosphere.

"Good luck," he said to the team.

The Shizi Dogs smiled and bowed once more. However, Fabin, who still wasn't over his loss against Kai, continued to glare at the tall player all throughout the interaction.

Ailun clicked his tongue and nudged his shoulder. "Stop being immature."

Fabin clicked his tongue and looked away from the team.

"Let's go," he said, dragging his friends away.

Meanwhile, the Shizi Dog continued their way to the entrance of the court.

"Wait, wait!" Ailun said just as they were about to reach the exit. "Aren't we going to watch this game?" he asked Max and Fabin.

"No way," Fabin exclaimed. "I'm not watching a game with that onion boy in my entire life!"

Ailun shook his head in amusement. "Well, go home then," he deadpanned.

"How about you?" he turned to Max. "Aren't you curious how things are going to proceed?"

Max was curious, of course. However, after pondering for a while, he finally shook his head.

"The next time I'll be watching their game is when we're playing against them," Max said.

With that, he glanced at the backs of the Shizi Dogs before exiting the venue.

"They're taking so long," Yani said, still not over her complaints. "The game is going to start in four minutes, and the other team is already warming up. Where are they?"

Just then, Yani didn't have to wait for long as the door finally opened, revealing the Shizi Dogs.

The Dogs, who were used to going to their bench without waving at anyone, stopped when they heard loud cheers in the venue.

Yuze's eyes widened in surprise while the other team members mirrored his expression.

"What?" Zeren asked, his mouth agape as he looked around the court.

He was expecting the court to be dominated by a sea of green. However, one part of the bleachers was actually covered with pink!

Kai, too, was confused as loud cheers continued to fill the venue.

"Yuze, marry me!"

"Zeren, you're the greatest shooter out there!"

"Defend the court like your life depends on it, Jinping."

"Go, Kun and Jet!"

"Kai! We want another underhand shot."

"Kai! Kai! Do a slam dunk this time."

"Kai, I want to see you dunk on Yiming's head again!"

What made Kai even more surprised was that some people who weren't the Angs were actually cheering for his name.

Then, as he walked to their bench, he tried to make out some familiar faces.

Eva and her friends.

Suzy and the cheerleading team. That's weird.

Justin Liang? What was Justin Liang doing here?

...and Sir Muchen with Sir Dao?