Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

The anticipation in Jilin had reached a fever pitch. Families gathered in their living rooms, friends crowded around televisions in sports bars, and even travelers in transit paused to catch glimpses on their devices.

It was the start of the round of sixteen, a moment in the high school basketball season that had captured the nation's attention.

Even collegiate players couldn't help but tune into the league. The games were finally going to be broadcast all across the country! Most people didn't keep up with the rankings, so as soon as they were shown on screen, they were shocked.

On screens across the country, the names of the sixteen teams flashed, accompanied by enthusiastic commentary from the newly appointed commentator rookies.

"We have our top sixteen on the screen! For the first time ever, Jilin City has two representatives—and they're both in the top five!"

With the mention of their city, the Jilin locals couldn't help but cheer.

"Jilin! Jilin!" they exclaimed in the bars that contained a number of people.

"Tsk," a young woman clicked her tongue as the pilot announced the take-off for her flight.

"We are now bound for Beijing. The flight will approximately take two hours and fifteen minutes. The weather is sunny, but expect some turbulence as the flight progresses."

"Who cares about turbulence?" she muttered.

Frustration flickered across her face as she lamented the lack of internet at such altitudes.

"Plane people should learn how to put internet in the sky instead."

She focused her gaze on the phone, but as the plane took off, she didn't have any way of streaming the opening ceremony for the quarter-finals.

She impatiently tapped on her phone when, suddenly, the screen flickered to Kai, his image briefly gracing the broadcast. She gasped, captivated by his presence on screen. "Why is he so handsome?" she whispered to herself. Then, like fate, the screen got stuck on Kai as the connection broke.

She swiftly took a screenshot and set it as her home screen, a smile spreading across her face.

"So handsome," she muttered. "You'll be mine soon."

Meanwhile, in the court, Lina and Suzy were both on the first row of the bleachers, perched on the edge of their seats with their eyes fixed on one person.

Lina lifted her head and watched as Kai was put on the big screen. Just then, squeals filled the arena, causing her to frown. With that, she glanced at the girl beside her, who mirrored her expression.

The two of them were annoyed.

"Crap," Suzy muttered. "Do you hate this too?"

Lina pursed her lips and shook her head. "It's annoying, but I don't hate it. It just means that more people are coming to appreciate Kai's talent."

Suzy clicked her tongue. "Stop lying. I know you're jealous."

Lina sighed, not denying it anymore.

"Well, we don't have to worry for now," Suzy said. "We're the prettiest people to like him. I'm sure he wouldn't even bat an eyelash to these other girls."@@novelbin@@

Lina's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Should that make me feel better?"

Suzy shrugged. "Take it as it is. I'm just saying."

Lina shook her head in amusement. It was times like this when she felt that Suzy wasn't too bad.

Just then, David's voice boomed through the speakers, breaking the tense silence.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the top sixteen of this year's Interhigh Nationals!" he announced.

"We are currently live, so let me say my regards to those watching in the comfort of their own homes! I hope you guys are as excited as I am."

Grandma Bingbing, who stopped peeling onions for a moment to watch the screen, couldn't help but clap in excitement. When Kai was home, she barely showed her excitement—not wanting to show her grandson how much she supported him. However, with him in another city, Grandma Bingbing could go all out. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire

"Let me briefly explain how this will go. This is single elimination. The losing team goes home, and the victorious team advances to the top eight. The same mechanism will follow for the top eight until we get our top four and, finally—the top two!"

"However, I'm getting ahead of myself. We still have a lot of exciting games before we get to that."

"With that, let us start the first game! Four games will be held in the Water Court, while the other four will be in the Fire Court. The top four teams will compete with the bottom four teams here on the Water Court!"

"Our first game would be with the Juren Champions and the Shining Lizards," he continued.

The court erupted into cheers as soon as the Champions' name was mentioned. They quickly walked to their bench, appearing confident about the outcome of the game.

Well, it was rightfully so.

It was already pretty expected that the Champions were going to win.

Chaoxing sighed as he placed his bag on the bench. "I want to thank the Shizi Dogs," he said, making Jian and Jimmy frown.

"Those guys again?" Jimmy asked. "Why are you even thanking them when they didn't do anything for our team!"

"But they did," Chaoxing smiled. "Because of them, we don't have to play with the Giants. Isn't that a great thing?"

Jimmy was about to argue, but he also knew that Chaoxing was right. The Giants, indeed, were a pain in the ass, and playing with the Lizards was a much better choice.

As they conversed, the other teams made their way to the Fire Court.

As the Shizi Dogs made their way past the other teams, each squad seemed to glance at them. The Dragons exchanged nods with the Dogs, mutual respect evident in the brief gesture. Nearby, the Guardians were deep in a strategizing huddle, their faces masked in focused determination.

"Good luck," Calvin called out to them, a genuine note of camaraderie in his voice. Max echoed the sentiment, the tension momentarily easing as sportsmanship prevailed.

Kai smiled and bowed his head in respect.

Two elite teams acknowledged them, and soon, the others would too.