Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

Ashley was working overtime in her office in Beijing. She looked through her list, her eyes nearly sunken with how much work Mr. Wang had assigned to her. However, they quickly widened when she saw the ranking move at a significant pace.

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"What is this?" she muttered. "Someone just surpassed Fenhua?"

She looked for the player that caused quite a lot of names to move down, only to see the name that had been haunting her boss since the Interhigh Preliminaries.

"Kai Guo," she muttered.

Ashley could still remember when she first saw the name. It was strange. She had never heard of the Shizi Dogs before, aside from Yuze. That guy managed to make it to the top 100 players in the country despite being in a bad school.

However, Kai Guo, the newbie player, actually made it into the top 100 in the middle of the Interhigh Preliminaries. He literally started from the bottom—the 100th spot.

The jump in his rank in the span of a few months was ridiculous. If he kept up with this pace, then he might actually…

"No," she muttered, shaking her head. "It's too sudden."

However, as she saw the news that the Shizi Dogs had beaten none other than the Longyu Dragons, she felt as if she was being drenched with cold water.

Her system was based purely on the players' stats.

Points. Blocks. Steals. Assists. Rebounds.

All of these had corresponding bearings in the total of their scores.

She had eyes everywhere—paid surveyors if you call them. In each city, there were at least ten of them attending official leagues and jotting down the stats of each player.

There were also some factors—wins and losses. Each win was an additional ten points to their overall score. A loss would result in the deduction of the same amount. It was a cruel system. Sometimes, she regretted contributing to the creation of such.

However, it was what made high school basketball into what it was today. Yet, it didn't come without any repercussions. She had seen plenty of young players lose themselves to try and get to the top.

Ashley shook her head, wanting to get rid of such negative thoughts.

"It's better these days," she muttered. Back then, it was more brutal. However, it seemed like the young players had accepted that sometimes, it was impossible to get to the top five. Some were just born to take it.

The answer was obvious.

Kai Guo, however, was not.

"Where did he come from?" she muttered, clicking on his profile. There, she saw a scruffy-looking player with a beard that was way too developed for someone in his age range.

Then, she scrolled up to the higher ranks, only to see that Calvin Wu had dropped in ranks—to the fifth position.

She shook her head. "One loss led to this."

Then, she scrolled back down to Kai Guo's name, staring at the number beside his name.

"16th," she muttered.

In less than six months, Kai Guo managed to move from the last place to the 16th place.

***

"Aren't you going to treat us like the Longyu Dragons' coach?" Jet whined as they went out of the court.

"Yeah!" Shang exclaimed. "We worked so hard for the game to the point that we even won."

Coach Muchen clicked his tongue and pinched Shang's ear.

"You didn't even play," he scolded.

He stopped for a moment and looked at the players. "Besides, you still have what? Five games left? Do you expect me to treat you guys for those five other games?"

Jinping clicked his tongue. "The Dragons' coach is much better. She's pretty. She wears an expensive tracksuit. She also treats her players even though they lost!"

"Yeah, she is pretty," Muchen muttered.

The players turned to him with raised eyebrows, causing his cheeks to redden.

He cleared his throat and raked his fingers through his hair.

"Anyway!" he exclaimed. "My salary is just enough to feed me on a daily basis."@@novelbin@@

They slumped in disappointment, causing Coach Muchen to smile softly.

"However," he continued. "Since you guys won against a very big team today, I will treat you. However, don't expect this for the rest of the games in the group phase, alright?"

The players excitedly turned to each other before celebrating.

"Nice!" Shang exclaimed. "Where do you guys want to go?"

Kai raised his hand. "I saw a steak place not far from here."

Muchen's eyes widened. "Steak?"

"Alright!" Jinping said. "You actually said something I like for once."

"I'm down for steak," Andy said, already bouncing in excitement.

The young players were all excited, so Coach Muchen pursed his lips before sighing in defeat.

"Fine," he muttered. "Lead the way."

The group celebrated once more while Kai gave them instructions on how to go there.

Then, he stayed back for a moment and patted Muchen's shoulder.

"Don't worry, coach," he smiled. "If I become famous and rich, I'll treat you anywhere you like!"

Muchen couldn't help but smile. He pointed at Kai and nodded.

"You better keep your word, alright?"

"I will," Kai smiled before jogging to where his teammates were. Muchen watched as Kai walked next to Lina.

"Those two really look good together," he muttered, watching their figures. It was a good thing they had reconciled before the Nationals started. He was afraid it was going to affect the team's performance. However, it seemed like everything was already back to normal.

Although his wallet was at risk of being drained, Muchen still couldn't help but feel happy. Watching the game from the bench was exhilarating. He felt like he was watching a real-life anime unfold before his eyes.

As he gazed at Kai, he also couldn't help but feel like he was going to fulfill his words.

To be famous and rich in the league of basketball.

"Coach, hurry up!" Jet exclaimed. "We're already here."

Muchen lifted his head and chuckled, hastening his steps.

"Alright, alright," he said. "I'm here!"

He stood next to the players and saw the menu right outside the door. His face became pale as he stared at it.

"Oh crap," he muttered.

Maybe he shouldn't have suggested this after all.