Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

"What are they doing here?" Jinping grumbled as soon as he saw the Shizi Snakes also waiting in the open field.

"To be fair, this is their territory," Kun said. "We're the ones intruding."

Jinping clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Anyway," Kun continued, waving at the Shizi Snakes with a wide smile. "I believe they're also going for a training camp."

"I see," Jinping said. "Where are they going?"

"To Shanghai!" Junior exclaimed from a distance, causing the basketball players to purse their lips in envy.

"Where are you guys going?" Junior threw back the question.

Kun smiled happily. "It also starts with a Sh!"

The Shizi Snakes turned to each other in confusion with Kun's vague answer.

"Good job, Kun," Jet said, patting his back. "We shouldn't let them know where we're going."

Lina sighed as she listened to their conversation.

"I apologize, guys. This trip is all we can afford for our training camp," she said.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Don't worry, honey," Zeren said, standing next to her. "I heard you guys only trained in the city last year."

"Yeah," Jet chimed. "We didn't have any budget last year, and we were eliminated pretty early in the league, so the team wasn't too motivated."

"Well, to be fair, this is the farthest city we're going to as a team," Kun said. "When Yuze and I were first-year students, we only went to Changchun, which is 25 minutes away."

"This is great, then!" Zeren exclaimed. "This means that Lina's hard work had paid off."

Lina shook her head in amusement.

"Let's go to bigger cities next time," she said, trying to uplift everyone.

Everyone cheered, with a few extra people cheering behind them.

"I know that we're tight on budget, so what are they doing here? That Bao guy isn't even on the basketball team!" Jinping said, pointing to the second-string team, which had a different vibe from the first-string team.

"They even have pool floaties," Zeren remarked. "It's winter, so it must be snowing in Shenyang. Are they expecting to swim?"

"Let them be," Yuze said, ignoring the shivering students by their side. "They're shouldering their own expenses."

Just then, a black limousine pulled up to the field, making everyone follow it with their gazes.

"What the heck? Is that our ride?" Zeren excitedly asked, his eyes bright with hope. Explore stories at empire

The Shizi Snakes also turned to the basketball team in surprise.

Justin clicked his tongue. "I should have rented something like that too," he muttered.

"Did you make this happen, Lina?" Jinping asked, also excited to ride the limousine.

Lina frowned in confusion. "No...," she muttered.

Just then, the limousine bypassed them and stopped right in front of the second-string team.

Dylan stood, already wearing his pool floaties and sunglasses, coaxing the other members to enter the limousine.

The second-string team excitedly went inside. Then, the car backed up a little bit before the window was let down.

Dylan, appearing like a pimp, waved his hand at the first-string team.

"We'll see you there!" he exclaimed before the limousine sped away.

The Shizi Snakes and the first-string team watched as the car left the school.

"Is it bad if I want to join the second-string team?" Shang asked.

Jet clicked his tongue and elbowed his abdomen. "You aren't even a part of the team anyway...but same. How come they get a limousine and we don't?"

"Just let them be," Lina chuckled. "Our ride is here!"

The players' faces fell as soon as they saw their ride. Compared to the limousine of the second-string team, their ride was a major downgrade.

It was the usual van, cramped and appearing like it was already in service during the 80s.

"I got this for a good price, so I was able to book better accommodations!" Lina excitedly said.

Zeren wanted to say something, but he held himself back since he didn't want to hurt Lina's feelings.

Meanwhile, the Shizi Snakes' ride also came.

Three white vans that were obviously newer and better than the basketball team's stopped before them, causing Jet to sigh in longing once again.

"Should I switch sports?" he asked Shang as he observed the Shizi Snakes.

Shang shook his head and chuckled in amusement. "You probably wouldn't pass their try-outs."

Jet clicked his tongue and pursed his lips.

"Alright, put your bags in the back," Yuze instructed, and the players immediately complied.

There were a total of nine players from Shizi High. One of them wasn't allowed to go because their parents were strict, so they were able to cramp their luggage in the back of the van due to the extra space.

After that, Yuze conducted the headcount, frowning when he saw that they were still missing one player.

"Where's Kai?" he asked.

Meanwhile, the Shizi Snakes also started loading the van and settling inside.

However, Justin remained outside, craning his head to the side of the Shizi Dogs.

Junior frowned and went to him, nudging his shoulder.

"What are you looking at?"

"Where is he?" Justin muttered, holding onto an envelope that had a heart sticker at the front.

Junior's frown deepened.

"Who?" he asked.

Just then, Justin's eyes widened. "There he is!"

"There he is," Shang said, pointing to the entrance of the field.

The Shizi Dogs turned to where Shang was pointing, their eyes immediately widening when they finally saw Kai.

"What the heck?" Zeren exclaimed, suddenly feeling threatened by Kai's presence.

Kai, with a small smile, walked to where they were. His hair was longer, but his facial hair was now shaved, making him look cleaner.

However, that wasn't the most prominent thing about Kai.

He finally arrived at where the players were standing, waving his hand as a greeting.

"Hey, sorry I was late. I had to do something this morning."

The team remained silent, not giving Kai a response.

Kai was confused as to why the other players were merely looking at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Jet broke the silence and held onto his biceps, causing Kai to move back.

"What the heck?" Kai exclaimed.

"What the heck?" Jet repeated. "I should be the one asking you that, man! What the heck happened with you?"

Kai frowned and held onto his face. "Nothing. I just shaved. Oh, is it my cut? Sorry, I'm new to this."

"Not that, you idiot," Jet said. "Why did your body get so big? You're almost as huge as Yuze now!"

Shang stood next to Kai and measured their heights.

He was sure that they were the same height the last time they saw each other, but now, Shang had to look up at him when they spoke.

"And did you grow taller, too?"