Thump, thump, thump!
The hoops became crooked one after another. One of the people on the field had a slight change in expression and wanted to defend his basketball. However, another person snatched the ball away with a slight flicker, then proceeded to make another violent dunk!
Throughout the entire basketball court, all ten baskets faced that situation.
The atmosphere suddenly became solemn and everyone was terrified. They were shocked by the skills displayed by that group, and were simultaneously angered by their vandalism!
Little Gen saw the situation and was ready to use his height advantage to raise the ball high above his head. In the meantime, the other players would surround him to prevent anyone from snatching the ball away.
However, following a strong gust of wind, a figure leaped up at lightning speed and grabbed the basketball from Little Gen’s hand without the slightest suspense. After landing, he dropped his body low and jumped up again, raising both hands toward the basketball hoop and dunking it!
His pupils widened and he had an evil and excited smile on his face. His attitude was like that of someone looking down on others from above, as if he had spotted the haplessness and resentment on everyone else’s faces.
At that time however, the same figure rose from the ground. He was very quick and even managed to catch up to the person and be on level height with him!
The guy’s pupil contracted slightly and his face looked frightened. Before he could even respond, a loud bang ensued and his hand became empty. The basketball had already flown out.
The two of them landed on the ground at the same time and the entire venue went silent!
Thump, thump, thump!
The only sound that could be heard was that of a basketball bouncing on the ground.
Everyone looked at those ten people as well as Ye Lingchen, and for that moment, were briefly left stunned.
“Ye’zi, beautifully done!”
Xiang and Potato shouted at the same time with excitement!
Although nine of the ten basketball hoops were destroyed, there was still one that Ye Lingchen managed to protect. For them, it was already considered a great encouragement!
Whoa!
There was soon an uproar in the basketball court!
“What the hell are these people doing? How dare they come here and destroy everything?!”
“F*ck! Motherf*cking cocky! Come on bros, let’s f*ck them up!”
“I don’t think they’re Chinese. They don’t even speak well!”
“DUH! Didn’t you hear what they said? They look down on our country!”
…
At that point, the team of ten had their heads up and were staring at Ye Lingchen with unsightly gazes. It vaguely appeared as though they were going to surround him.
“Your jump is amazing, kid!”
The person whom Ye Lingchen managed to block stared coldly at him, then lifted his legs and walked to Ye Lingchen. He was practically coming into contact with Ye Lingchen’s chest.
Ye Lingchen’s face was calm. He stared indifferently at the guy.
“You’re very cocky!” Another person growled and raised his hand to point at Ye Lingchen’s head!
“What the f*ck are you gonna do?”
“F*ck! You wanna fight?!”
The classmates all around began cursing and immediately stood in front of the group of people. There were plenty of them, and they surrounded those ten people with extremely unfriendly-looking faces!
Tempers flared up when playing basketball. By then, the hoops were destroyed for no reason and they were mocked by others, which fired up the bellyful of anger that they had been suppressed earlier.
Preet!
A sharp whistle dispelled the tension. Outside the basketball court stood a man wearing a cap while holding a whistle.
“Don’t waste time. Everyone, gather round!”
His voice was rather loud, but he was speaking the Stick Nation language instead of Mandarin.
The ten people shot a taunting glance at the crowd. Arrogance and disdain was apparent in their expression, and they shook their body with their heads held high as they walked out of the sports fields.
One of them also pointed goadingly at Ye Lingchen.
“Coach!” they said to the man in the cap.
“What are you doing here? Go back into the stadium and prepare for the game!”
“We’re just having a bit of fun. Do we really need to get serious when we’re facing the Chinese team? Bwahahaha…”
“Yeah, people in this country are born to be sports junk. Whether it’s basketball or football, they’re totally unpresentable!”
“If it weren’t for the hundreds of invitations from China, we wouldn’t have shown up. Such a waste of time! They’re a big country with more than a billion people, but not a single one of them are skilled athletes. Man, it’s funny!”
“Just look at how they play. In their own words, I finally understand why they’re like ‘the useless Adou’![1]”
…
They spoke in the Stick Nation’s national language and gradually moved away. The others could not understand it, but Ye Lingchen’s heard it all and frowned.
“Ye’zi, you’re too cool! Vent out your anger!” Little Gen said with a smile.
“Yeah, that group of people can’t possibly be pro players from the Stick Nation, right? F*ck man! No wonder they’re so good!” someone speculated.
“They most likely are. They’re heading to the stadium.”
“Motherf*cker, so they’re awesome just because they’re professional players? It was still Ye’zi who managed to slap them down!”
“What were they talking about amongst themselves?! My head hurts when I hear the Stick Nation’s language!”
Everyone looked at the ruined basketball hoops and had a sour expression. After a bit of grumbling, they then walked back to their respective classes.
“I’m pissed! Those people from the Stick Nation are just so despicable!” Potato complained all the way back.
“Can’t help it. They’re the good ones. It’s not like you don’t know our Chinese basketball standards. Too shameful!” Little Gen shook his head.
“We’re a big country and we’re skilled! Can’t we deal with a small island country?” Xiang snorted and was feeling very uneasy. “I think Ye’zi is better than them!”
“Stop kidding!”
The person walking with them were the players who had just accompanied Little Gen to play some basketball. He laughed and shook his head. “Do you think that the players in the Stick Nation are just merely basketball players? In their training, they will add in judo and taekwondo drills, making them the same as professional judo players. Because of that, their physique is very strong, and the disparity between them and the average person is far too great!”
“Realistically speaking, the reason Ye’zi was able to succeed earlier was only because it was unexpected,” someone then commented.
“Didn’t Ye’zi also enter the Warrior’s Department before. They’re not afraid of him?” Potato pursed his lips, but he was clearly not that confident.
“Just let them be smug for a while. Our basketball team occasionally goes to the Warrior’s Department to participate in special training. It’s only a matter of time before we wipe off our disgrace!” Little Gen huffed too.
China’s basketball team had always been at a disadvantage internationally. Everyone complained about it, but they were unable to do anything except walk sullenly into the classroom.
Ye Lingchen did not take what had just happened to heart. His face remained calm and unsurprised. In his eyes, the Stick Nation’s basketball skills were good indeed, but it was still far behind his level. It was no different to comparing an adult to a baby—was there even a need to compare them?
Moreover, he was not a member of the Basketball Association, and he showed his hand earlier simply out of spite.
Class then began.
The students were sitting and listening, but it was obvious that many were absent-minded. They gazed at the door from time-to-time, and on occasion, they whispered and discussed amongst each other…
[1] 扶不起的阿斗 is used to describe a useless weakling, with its literal translation being ‘Adou who cannot be lifted up’. Adou or Edou (阿斗) is the infant name of Liu Shan (刘禅), a man commonly perceived as an incapable, even mentally handicapped, ruler who was accused of indulging in pleasures while neglecting state affairs.
