Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

The strongest high school basketball team in the entire country was right before Kai's eyes.

He had heard plenty of stories about them before—the Juren Champions. Kai had also watched a lot of their games on the television before, especially when his aunt and cousin wasn't around.

However, this was the first time he was seeing the team in real life. The Huolan Guardians never made it to the Nationals during his time as a water boy, so he only ever heard of them.

It was pretty surreal—seeing them like this.@@novelbin@@

He scanned the group of boys with a curious gaze, somewhat excited.

"He's not here," Yuze muttered, snapping Kai back to reality.

The boy before him, just a tad bit shorter, clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Are you not going to move?" he asked, a venomous glint in his eyes.

Kai's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he unconsciously moved to the side. He didn't recognize him, so Kai inferred that he must be a first-year like him. With his gaze, he didn't appear like a first-year student, though. It seemed as if he was looking down on Kai even though he was taller.

Kai pursed his lips. "Apologies," he briefly muttered.

However, that did not stop the cocky-looking boy from glaring at him.

Fortunately, the player behind him sighed and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Jimmy," he warned. "Play nice."

'Jimmy' sighed and shook his head before walking to the door, leaving the teams of Jilin City behind. Following him were his teammates, who all appeared unfriendly.

The guy who warned 'Jimmy' stayed behind. Kai instantly recognized him to be Chaoxing, a great player who made a name for himself in last year's nationals.

'He must be the captain now,' Kai thought.

Then, Chaoxing faced the teams of Jilin City. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

A small smile made its way to his lips, making him appear friendly.

"Hello there," he said. "Sorry about that. They're in a grumpy mood because our flight got delayed. We were supposed to be here earlier."

Yiming took the honor of responding. He shook his head.

"It's alright," he said. "Although, it seems as if someone pissed in that kid's cereal."

Chaoxing chuckled. "He's always like that, so please don't misunderstand him. He's just used to getting what he wants in an instant. However, he's a good kid if you dig deeper."

"Sure," Chunlei said. "Your first description is already enough to let me know that we won't get along."

Yiming turned to Chunlei with one eyebrow raised. "Because he's similar to you."

Chunlei clicked his tongue and glared at their captain. "Shut up," he deadpanned.

"You're Chunlei, right?" Chaoxing suddenly asked, taking the Feng Foxes by surprise.

"Yeah," Chunlei trailed off, wondering how Chaoxing had known him.

"I knew you looked familiar," Chaoxing exclaimed. "I've watched some of your games on my phone. I see that you're very good."

Chunlei pursed his lips to hide the smile that threatened to appear.

"I'm alright," he humbly muttered. "How do you know about me, though?"

"Max mentioned you," he said. "We played one time out of the National League and had the chance to talk about how basketball was in Jilin City."

"Speaking of the Knights, they aren't here?" he asked, looking around the group of people.

"No," Shang answered. "I heard they're in Beijing since they already went here for their previous training camp."

A look of recognition passed by Chaoxing's eyes as he nodded.

"Ah, right," he smiled. "We trained together on this camp during the winter break. It was quite fun since we were the only two high school teams who were here."

"We also trained in Shanghai," Chunlei said. "However, not at this facility."

"Understandable," Chaoxing said. "Did you guys come here so you could train for the upcoming Nationals?" he asked.

The Feng Foxes turned to each other, amusement seen in their eyes.

"No, not really," Yiming answered. "We're here to prepare for the next season."

Chaoxing's eyebrows raised in surprise. "The next season? Dang, you guys really want a head start. I'm assuming you're all prepared for the Nationals then?"

Chunlei chuckled before turning his gaze to the Shizi Dogs, who appeared like meek little puppies in the presence of the captain of the strongest team in the entire country.

"I think you have the wrong team. You should be asking them," he said, pointing at the Shizi Dogs.

Chaoxing's eyebrows furrowed as he turned to the Shizi Dogs. They had the least amount of members among the teams on the grounds, so he tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"They're the ones competing in the Nationals," Chunlei clarified further.

"Oh!" Chaoxing exclaimed, and he quickly bowed his head as an apology.

"I'm sorry," he chuckled as he lifted his head. "Max told me that the Feng Foxes were the ones that were always hot on their tails. He also said that you guys ended up second on the Winter Cup, so I just assumed that you're going to the Nationals."

He turned back to the Shizi Dogs.

"What's your team name again?" Chaoxing asked, his eyes filled with curiosity. "You know how it is. There are so many teams in the country, so I can't keep track."

"We understand," Yuze said with a small smile, walking closer to Chaoxing to offer his hand. "Jilin City is quite a small town. The Yin Yang Knights are usually the only ones that are known in the city."

"So, allow us to introduce ourselves," Yuze continued.

"We're the Shizi Dogs," he said, his voice filled with confidence as he shook Chaoxing's hand.

"The Shizi...Dogs?" he asked, looking at the team to see if anyone was familiar.

"Cute name, right?" Chunlei teased. "I also almost couldn't believe it when I first read their name."

Chaoxing snapped out of his thoughts and smiled at the team.

"This is the first time I've heard of your team."

"Nice to meet you! I hope you can play with the Champions one day."