The world is one giant contest of looks.
At that moment, none of the female spectators were paying attention to the basketball anymore. Every pair of eyes was fixed on the person walking at the very front of Kirisaki Daiichi.
He had black hair and a handsome face, with a faint smile that made him incredibly pleasant to look at.
Beside him was a sweet-looking girl with pink hair and some seriously impressive weapons.
Behind the two of them came the rest of Kirisaki Daiichi.
The tall, adorably blank-faced giant Atsushi Murasakibara, the cold-faced Shogo Haizaki, the curious-looking Shuzo Nijimura, the gentle Tatsuya Himuro, the refined-looking Reo Mibuchi, the burly Eikichi Nebuya, and the sharp-tongued Makoto Hanamiya.
Just looking at that lineup put enormous pressure on Jingchuan High School.
"What an overwhelming presence!" Wang Qing said with a serious expression. "And their average height is crazy!"
As he spoke, Wang Qing suddenly noticed Eikichi Nebuya and asked in disbelief, "That guy is a high school student?!"
Wang Qing wasn't the only one who thought so. Even the referee was stunned.
He went over to the control desk and checked the players' information.
When he saw that Eikichi Nebuya really was a third-year high school student, he froze.
Seriously, man? You're a high school senior?!
If you told me you had three kids, I'd believe you!
But the referee quickly shook his head and pushed the thought aside.
Maybe the guy just looked older than his age.
Meanwhile, Liu Yu kept searching for Tatsuya Himuro. When he finally spotted him standing near the back of the lineup, he froze.
Could he really be a substitute?!
"Hey, Liu." Ah Ming walked over and asked, "Which one is the guy you mentioned before? Was it the one at the very front?"
The other Jingchuan High School players gathered around as well, waiting for Liu Yu's answer.
Liu Yu shook his head, pointed at Tatsuya Himuro, and said, "He's the one I was talking about."
Everyone stared blankly.
There was a simple reason for that. Tatsuya Himuro was standing far too close to the back. Starters normally wouldn't stand in a position like that.
They were usually either saved for last or placed front and center from the beginning.
They certainly wouldn't be buried in the middle of the group.
Which meant...
Could he really be a substitute?!
"No." Ah Ming spoke up. "Maybe he just wants to keep a low profile. Let's warm up first. We'll find out soon enough."
That sounded reasonable to everyone, so they began warming up.
...
Once both sides had finished warming up, they exchanged greetings.
The two teams stood face to face and extended their hands.
Wang Qing reached out and shook Miyamoto Tokima's hand, saying politely, "I look forward to playing against you."
Miyamoto Tokima smiled faintly. "Likewise."
As they waited for the tip-off, Wang Qing studied Miyamoto Tokima once again.
Miyamoto Tokima wasn't deliberately projecting any kind of presence, yet Wang Qing could still feel an immense pressure coming from him.
It was like standing before someone accustomed to authority, someone who could command respect without showing the slightest anger.
Jingchuan's center walked to midcourt and frowned when he saw the lazy-looking Atsushi Murasakibara.
Is this guy... still half asleep?
The referee stepped between Atsushi Murasakibara and Jingchuan's center with the basketball in hand, then tossed it high into the air.
Both players jumped for the ball.
In the end, Atsushi Murasakibara reached it first by nearly the length of a forearm and tipped it backward.
What?!
Jingchuan's center widened his eyes. He hadn't expected Atsushi Murasakibara to jump that high!
But he quickly recovered and sprinted back to set up on defense.
After catching the ball, Makoto Hanamiya chose not to launch a fast break. Instead, a wicked grin appeared on his face as he slowly brought the ball into the frontcourt.
Miyamoto Tokima had already reached the three-point line, with Liu Yu matched up against him.
Only then did Liu Yu finally realize that Tatsuya Himuro really was a substitute.
He stared at Miyamoto Tokima in disbelief and blurted out, "Hey, man."
Miyamoto Tokima looked at him curiously.
Liu Yu continued, "Are you the team captain?"
Miyamoto Tokima nodded. "Yeah. Why?"
Liu Yu pointed at Tatsuya Himuro. "That guy is one of your substitutes?"
Miyamoto Tokima nodded, looking puzzled. "Yeah. Is there a problem?"
Liu Yu hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no. I was just asking."
Miyamoto Tokima gave him a strange look.
What a weird guy.
Meanwhile, as soon as Makoto Hanamiya reached the frontcourt, Jingchuan's point guard immediately closed in on him.
Makoto Hanamiya didn't hesitate. He passed the ball straight to Miyamoto Tokima.
The moment Miyamoto Tokima caught it, Liu Yu immediately became alert.
If this guy was Kirisaki Daiichi's captain and their starting shooting guard, then his scoring ability had to be impressive.
All Liu Yu had to do was defend him properl... Wait, what?!
Liu Yu froze.
He hadn't even finished the thought before Miyamoto Tokima had already shot the ball!
And his release was ridiculously fast. Liu Yu couldn't even react!
He had barely raised his hand when the ball was already halfway to the basket!
Swish!
The ball dropped cleanly through the net, leaving Liu Yu stunned.
He stared at Miyamoto Tokima in shock, his heart jolting.
What kind of release speed was that?!
Wang Qing's expression changed as well.
Nothing else even needed to be said. That shot alone was enough to prove just how frightening Miyamoto Tokima was.
Possession changed.
Jingchuan High School's ball.
Jingchuan's point guard passed it to their captain, Wang Qing, letting him play one-on-one.
After receiving the ball, Wang Qing raised a hand and waved.
The other Jingchuan High School players immediately understood and spread out, clearing space for him to isolate his defender.
When Shogo Haizaki saw this, he grinned.
"You wanna take me one-on-one? Kid, you've got some nerve!"
Broken Chinese came out of Shogo Haizaki's mouth.
Wang Qing didn't answer. He simply attacked.
He suddenly drove to the right and blew past Shogo Haizaki with surprising ease.
Huh? That easy?
On the sidelines, Tatsuya Himuro shook his head helplessly and silently offered Wang Qing his condolences.
Because the person Wang Qing was about to face was one of the strongest defensive walls on the court.
On the court, Wang Qing was puzzled. He hadn't expected Shogo Haizaki to put up practically no resistance at all.
Just as he reached the free-throw line and went up for the shot, a massive figure suddenly burst into view.
It was Atsushi Murasakibara!
Atsushi Murasakibara swatted Wang Qing's shot away with one hand, sending the ball flying straight toward the opposite end of the court.
Wang Qing froze.
Wasn't this guy standing on the baseline just now? When the hell did he teleport over here?!
Just as Wang Qing turned around to see whether the ball had gone out of bounds, the sight of someone going up for a layup left him speechless.
...
...
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