Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

Max turned his head so fast that he could have gotten whiplashed.

He squinted his eyes to get a better look at the blonde boy, his eyebrows raising in surprise when he saw it was indeed Renren Zhou.

Ailun scratched the back of his head.

"Uh—who is Renren Zhou?" Explore more at empire

Fabin chuckled. "Well, it wouldn't be strange that you don't know him. He's a former player of the Shizi Dogs."

"Well, was he any good?" Ailun asked.

Fabin shrugged. "Honestly, I don't remember. I just remember him because he was the only blonde guy in the league before."

Ailun nodded and continued looking at him. "Well, he is pretty tall. I wonder what his position was."

Fabin chuckled in amusement. "Is it bad that I also don't know?"

Meanwhile, Max was silent.

He then recalled where he had seen Renren Zhou before.

"He's my cousin," Max revealed.

"What?" Fabin exclaimed. "Your cousin?" he whisper-shouted.

"We're both Zhou's," Max said. "We're distant cousins, though. His dad is my dad's cousin, so we haven't met except for one family reunion."

"Dang, what a small world," Ailun muttered. "Well, is he any good?"

Max shrugged. "I've never played with him before. I never got the chance to see him play, too."

"But do you know what position he plays?" Fabin asked.

Max shook his head. "No," he responded. "However, judging from his build, I would think that he has the same position as Kai."

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long for their questions to be answered.

The second quarter finally started, and Renren was the one who handled the ball.

He dribbled expertly, making the three of them surprised.

"He has good ball handling skills," Ailun muttered.

"Hmm," Max hummed.

"Wait," Fabin said, the thought finally hitting him. "He's the point guard?"

Just as he said those words, Renren initiated a play—one that didn't even have a command.

He just passed the ball to Kun and received it back before handing it out to Jinping, who was already magically under the rim.

The play went by so smoothly and fast that the Knights on the court barely even felt it.

24-24.

Renren smirked as he felt excitement running through his veins.

"That's what I'm talking about," he muttered.

The Knights turned to each other with furrowed eyebrows, wondering what kind of player was in their midst.

Yutong, not wanting to let the play get to their heads, caught the ball and went to their side of the court.

"Don't mind!" he exclaimed before trying to initiate a play of his own.

However, he frowned when he saw Renren before him, guarding for dear life.

His body build was a cheat code, with arms longer than the average high school player.

Ailun clicked his tongue and nervously bounced his legs.

"He can also guard well," he muttered.

Max pursed his lips. "I think he got some basketball genes, too."

Max's statement was proven right as the game continued in the Shizi Dogs' favor.

With Ailun and Fabin out of the line-up, the current starting players left on the court were Shin and Yutong.

Ailun turned to Coach Guanyu and noted that his frown had gotten even deeper.

With one last minute on the clock, Renren wanted to go out with a bang.

With that, he decided to execute a play on his own.

However, that was only possible with Jinping and Jet guarding Yutong and Shin.

Fortunately, they got the message and covered their respective players.

Kai smiled as he watched the team move on the court.

"The team drills actually paid off," Kai said.

"Of course," Lina smiled. "We can still work on it, but their teamwork has gotten so much better."

Indeed, their teamwork had gotten way better.

The buzzer sounded, and the team burst into cheers as the scoreboard showed the final scores before halftime.

45-40.

Meanwhile, the Knights, as well as the students of Yin Yang High, were stunned to silence.

"Shizi is...strong."

"That blonde guy was super awesome!"

"Where did they get their recruits? Both of them are standing out!"

Coach Guanyu turned his attention to the Shizi Dogs' bench once again.

There, he saw Yuze with a small smile on his lips.

Then, he narrowed his eyes.

"Is this part of your plan?" he muttered.

"They're quite good," Yutong, their captain, said, breathless from playing two consecutive quarters.

Max's eyebrows furrowed.

"The two newcomers," he started off.

He didn't even need to finish the statement for Yutong to nod in agreement.

"They're strong," Shin confirmed. "It would be a nightmare if they would get together on the court."

Max pursed his lips and nodded, suddenly feeling his heart race inside his chest.

"Don't get intimidated," Coach Guanyu said in a strict voice.

The Knights nodded in agreement. However, even then, it was noticeable that they feared for what was to come next.

Ailun cleared his throat.

"But Yuze still hasn't played," he remarked.

"And Kai, too," Fabin added.

Max shook his head in amusement.

"What was the Shizi Dogs cooking during the winter break?" he muttered.

Coach Guanyu's expression hardened.

"You don't have to worry," he said to the team.

"Yeah," Max chimed, a small smile playing on his lips as he stood from the bench.

With this mere action, the court erupted into cheers and squeals.

His friends turned to each other before shaking their heads.

"His popularity is insane," Ailun chimed.

Max then glanced at the timer, smirking when he saw that it only had a minute left before the third quarter.

"You don't have to worry," he said, repeating their coach's words. "I'm going to play for this quarter."

He then glanced at the bench of the Shizi Dogs, his smirk being replaced with an excited smile.

"Surely, you're going to play this time, huh?" Max muttered.

Meanwhile, Kai was practically begging Lina to have him play for the third quarter.

"No," Lina deadpanned.

"But Max is getting all the attention," he whined. "Didn't you want me to be more popular than him?"

Lina chuckled. "You're not going to convince me through that route," she smirked.

"Besides," she said. "I already gave up on that. I realized that it was impossible. Just look at how many supporters he has!"

Kai pursed his lips, feeling slightly offended.

With that, he slumped on the bench, feeling like all of the world's problems were on his shoulders.

Yuze, too, smirked in amusement.

"Just stay put," he said, stretching his body.

The familiar buzzer was heard in the court, and with that, the line-up for the third quarter finally walked to the center.

The air was hotter compared to before as the most popular players of the team finally graced the court.

"Max, I love you!"

"You're going to kill it, man!"

"Kyaa! I'm so excited."

Max was showered with praises as soon as he stepped onto the court.

However, he couldn't really hear what they were saying.

Instead, he was focused on one thing only.

"Why is Kai not here?"