Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

The buzzer that indicated the half-time resounded in the entire court, and the students of Shizi High placed down their banners by their sides to drink some water.

Alen shivered as they watched their synchronized movements.

"Seriously," he said, goosebumps arising from his skin. "They give me the creeps. Why are they always so robotic?"

"Well, Xing Stars is a school known for its military-like system. That's why a lot of them enroll in the police force or army after high school!" Mingze logically answered.

Alen clicked his tongue. "It was a rhetorical question."

Bao chuckled at his two new friends' banter.

"It still doesn't take away the fact that they're creepy, though," Alen quickly added.

"Bring back Kai to the game!"

"We want Kai for the third set!"

The unknown group of boys started cheering loudly from their seats, causing Kai to glare at them.

Alen shook his head as he popped a potato chip inside his mouth. Enjoy new stories from empire

"Those guys are creepier, though," Alen said while Mingze and Bao nodded in agreement.

Glancing at the scoreboard, Yixing noted that they still held a ten-point lead. The Shizi Dogs may have improved, but they were still trailing behind.

"A ten-point lead is still possible to overcome," Lina started off as the players gathered around her. They opted to stay at their bench for the halftime to save more time.

It seemed like the Xing Stars thought the same as they were also on their bench, appearing to be in a discussion.

Coach Yixing smiled at his players.

"You guys did good," he started off, causing them to beam.

"But it's not excellent," he quickly added, making Zedong nod his head.

"The odds are already in your favor, so you should use that to your advantage," he continued.

Zedong once again nodded in agreement. "This is a game we can't lose," he proceeded to say.

"Shizi High still has a lot of weaknesses."

"That's right," Coach Yixing said.

"They don't have a coach," he pointed out. "Yuze is their main offender. They have a good defense, but that will only take them so far. And they don't have a lot of plays... at least not enough to throw you off."

Yixing's gaze hardened as he glanced at the Shizi Dogs' bench. "They tried to play like the Stars in the game," he said. "But what they aren't aware of is... we are the game. They are just our puppets."

Meanwhile, on Shizi High's bench, Kai remained deep in thought, his lips pursed together as he pondered the events of the first half.

He had been watching the game intently, analyzing their plays and moves.

As they say, the best sight was insight, and Kai was determined to use his to their team's advantage.

Finally, Kai cleared his throat, capturing his teammates' attention.

"I think we're going in the wrong direction."

Yuze crossed his arms in front of his chest. Xing Stars was undoubtedly the toughest team they ever faced. He even found this game more difficult than the practice game they had with the Feng Foxes since all of the players had equally competent skills.

Back then, two of the Feng Foxes's players were only there to fill the team since Chunlei and Yiming opted not to play.

However, now that all of them were equally skilled, although none of them were outstanding, Yuze found it harder to cover the entire court.

"How do you say so?" Yuze asked, looking at Kai, genuinely curious about his assessment.

From their past games, Yuze quickly realized that Kai wasn't as empty-headed as he seemed. He had a lot of great insights for the game—some that he wasn't even aware of sometimes.

Kai scanned the faces of his teammates, noting their curiosity.

"You can't beat fire with fire," he started off.

Lina turned to him and listened intently. It was her suggestion to play strategically against the Xing Stars and beat them at their own game, so she wondered what Kai deemed as a better plan.

"If we try to play the same game as the Xing Stars, the original fire would still remain."

Zeren scratched the back of his head.

"Alright, I'm not getting this fire thing," he said. However, Kai continued speaking, ignoring his side comments.

"What we need to do is add gas to the fire," Kai smirked.

[Audience members: -3]

Kai quickly glanced at their side of the bench and saw three people leaving as they spoke. He frowned. He had been getting notifications since the second set started, and if this continued, he would earn less than 50 XP!

So, he wanted to enjoin his teammates to create a crazy game so that the audience would continue watching.

His teammates exchanged puzzled looks, unsure of what Kai meant.

"How is that going to help put out the fire?" Jinping asked, voicing the confusion shared by the rest of the team.

"Gas plays an important role in leading the fire," he explained.

"It doesn't merely add to the fire, but it determines which direction it can go—left, right, or maybe even go insane."

The players looked at each other, slowly beginning to understand Kai's point. He wasn't suggesting they add fuel to the fire; he was suggesting they use it strategically to manipulate the game in their favor.

"They're a strategic team," Kai continued, his voice gaining momentum as he elaborated on his plan.

"And what better way to shake up their strategies than through the most illogical plays?"

Everything started making sense for them. Kun nodded in agreement as he thought back on the last sets they've plaid.

"Like the first shot you did—I think they weren't expecting that," Kun excitedly said.

"Oh, and that one time you guys initiated a play that we didn't know about," Zeren chimed.

"We need more of that," Kai continued.

"Undoubtedly, they're one of the strongest teams in the city. Their strategic and robot-like plays contribute a lot to their success."

"However, their biggest strength is also their greatest weakness."

"They're like robots—but robots can only operate based on what they are taught. That's why they still need humans to manipulate them."

"We can manipulate the Xing Stars...," he continued, his gaze settling on the other bench.

"...and show them that humans are still the best players."