Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 24: The Wind Rises (Part )

Limei High School.

A luxurious indoor stadium with golden light shining inside and out. Many students want to come in here, because being able to come in means being a member of the Limei school basketball team.

Li Mei has no echelon. The team has 15 people, three substitutes, four regulars, and eight rotations, not one more or less.

Every week, some people go out and some come in. There are 15 people in the team, and only a few of them don't go in or out.

Limei's elimination rules are well-known far and wide. There was even an intra-team competition in which the losing team was eliminated from the school team. When playing for the Limei school team, you cannot slack off at any moment and must give your all.

Limei High School is a very small school with just over a thousand students, half of them are from arts and half from science, and the ratio of boys to girls is even close to 1:1. Here, if there are boys, there will be who like basketball, and more than % of the students have played in the school team. In Liying, there is only a basketball court, and no other sports facilities.

Just like their unique structure, eight open-air basketball courts surround the only indoor stadium. Every student playing on the outdoor courts will look at the center longingly, looking forward to the day when they will go there.

The basketball atmosphere in Limei is fanatical. With everyone fighting for his life, Limei has always been a member of the N6 League in NY City and has never been eliminated.

Just like what their old principal said: the more brutal the elimination, the less likely you will be eliminated. This is true for studying and playing ball.

This sentence has even replaced the school motto and become the first motto of every student entering the School of Arts and Sciences.

The thinking of Li Meiren is extreme. This tendency is particularly evident in the basketball team. They do not have diverse tactics. Each round of offense is based on breakthroughs. They prefer to fight in the interior and kill. There was even a game in which they did not take a single three-point shot.

On defense, she led the defense from the beginning to the end. Half-court defense and full-court press were frequently used. If she played against Liying, without tough and good defense, she would be easily torn apart by Limei in the first two quarters.

Just like Li Mei’s school emblem, the spear that is inserted from the top to the base of the shield is unstoppable.

At this moment, a one-on-one duel is taking place in the stadium.

Li Mei's one-on-one duel is very different and is different from the current mainstream one-on-one duel.

Five-ball, serve change. This is where the same thing happens.

There are many differences.

Each attack lasts seven seconds, and the ball is changed when the time expires.

The defense can go straight to attack after grabbing the rebound without having to go out of the three-point line.

Every time a goal is scored, free throws begin. When a total of ten free throws are made and five goals are scored, the team wins.

After the first free throw is made, the defending team does one push-up, the second, two, the third, four, the fourth, eight, the fifth, sixteen, and so on.

If you score 5 goals but don't have 10 free throws, as long as you miss a free throw, the ball will be given to the other team and the duel will continue.

Liying regards this kind of one-on-one fight as a bloody fight, and no matter who goes up, he will have to climb down.

Many times, Liying used blood selection as a way to eliminate people, and this week, it was time to screen out a few people again.

Head coach Chen An was drinking tea. Compared to the constant sounds of fighting on the court, he was calm and relaxed. Assistant teacher Liu Guishan was recording videos to prepare for the individual technical analysis later, while arranging another assistant to compile technical statistics. The two have been partners for nearly ten years, and they have the tacit understanding they should have. Often, they can understand what the other person wants to express with just a glance.

Liu Guishan coughed, Chen An put down the teapot and blew the whistle.

All the players gathered around, each of them was wet, breathing heavily, their arms were covered with bruises and scratches, and even blood. Chen An looked around without noticing, and then said, "The second to last round of eliminations ends here."

A form was handed over. Chen An nodded to Liu Guishan and glanced at the form. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense.

In the dead silence, the noisy sounds of basketball playing outside the stadium suddenly came through, echoing in the stadium along with Chen An's voice.

"Guo Zhichao, Sheng Yuhao, Liu Mingyi, Dong Zhifei."

Looking at the four people who lowered their heads and shed tears, Chen An said calmly: "The school team journey is temporarily over. I look forward to your next visit!"

"Disband!" Liu Guishan shouted.

Everyone dispersed and walked towards the rest area. I could vaguely hear others comforting me: "It's okay, come again next time, try harder, I'm waiting for you here, come on, don't give up!"

On Chen An's stern face, a hint of warmth flashed in his eyes.

"Tomorrow, we will arrange the school team tryouts!"

"Ok!"

“Are there any requirements this time?”

Chen An stopped. The two had already walked out of the stadium. Looking at the young man running on the court, the middle-aged man smiled, patted his old partner on the shoulder, and walked away alone.

Liu Guishan shook his head, looked at Chen An's back, and said to himself: "The championship is never the end, it's just a goal. That's what you think, right?"

※※※※

It was evening, and the sky was gradually getting dark. On the outdoor court stands of Yuehu High School, shirtless teenagers were standing with their feet pointed up in the air. Every one of them was soaked, with sweat dripping and panting sounds coming one after another. "Wu Zhen!" One of the teenagers struggled and shouted.

A young man with a shaved head slowly raised his head. In the darkness, his eyes seemed to sparkle with starlight, and his originally ordinary face suddenly became lively.

"Qin Wei, you say."

The young man staggered to his feet. He was a big, burly man with greasy muscles all over his body. If it weren't for his childish face, he would have been mistaken for a cook. He continued to shout in a hoarse voice, "Can we really go out and fight this year?"

"Well! We are going out this year! The coach said that starting from this year, our goal is to endure high altitude!" Wu Zhen sat there, supporting himself with his hands and looking up at the sky.

"We have to fight our way out of Nanyang and go to Jinan! To the national competition!"

"Go to Jinan! Go across the country!" The other young men also shouted, their faces filled with affirmation, their eyes fixed on Wu Zhen. No one would not believe it, because the young man in front of them had never let them down, and he always kept his words.

"It's very late, you should go first, as we still have evening self-study!" Wu Zhen waved his hand, signaling everyone to leave first, and then signaled Qin Wei with his eyes.

Soon, the court was empty and the two teenagers sat there, strangely silent.

"Is the information out?" Wu Zhen spoke.

"N6 and the other companies have all gotten the intelligence." Qin Wei patted his chest confidently, his bulging pectoral muscles vibrating.

"Actually, you are no longer confident, right?" Wu Zhen suddenly asked.

Qin Wei was stunned. Before he could explain, Wu Zhen said, "When you understand your opponent, you start to panic, right?"

"Otherwise you wouldn't have asked that just now. I know you too well, Qin Wei."

Seeing his good brother's silent expression, Wu Zhen smiled and patted Qin Wei's cheek: "When did we meet?"

"Fifth grade! In the lighted court in Old Town!"

“You were selling water at that time, right!”

"Yes, to earn some pocket money during the summer vacation!"

"Do you remember how you met me?"

Qin Wei looked up as he recalled: "You came in and challenged the court, and the whole audience burst into laughter. You threw the ball at the person who laughed the loudest."

"A group of people beat you up, and then you get up and say, 'There's no use having more people, if you have the guts, take the ball and hit me!'"

"You were bleeding as you challenged 13 people in a row, causing a sensation in the entire stadium. Many people came to watch you duel. Many masters who rarely appear came to fight with you. The entire lighted stadium was full of people. When you challenged the last person, someone shouted, 'King of Lighted Ball!' and everyone shouted together."

"That sound was earth-shattering. It was the first time I realized that basketball could be played like this and with such passion. I was so excited. I swore at that moment that I wanted to play like you!"

"Yes, that year, I just turned 14 and went out to challenge for the first time. I practiced alone for three years. I wanted to know how strong I was. That day, when I knocked all the adults to the ground, I suddenly realized that I was very strong!"

"I saw you at school and realized that we were classmates. You started training me, and it's been three years!"

"You're a sophomore, and I'm a freshman. This year, we at Yuehu High School are finally going to break out of NY City!"

Wu Zhen smiled again. His teeth were neat and white, and his dark face looked even whiter. "Are you not afraid now?"

"Don't be afraid, Wu Zhen. With you here, we can beat anyone of us, because you are the king of football, the real number one player in Nanyang. Bai Ye is no match for you!"

Wu Zhen shook his head: "Nanyang is too small. I want to go to Jinan, Shanghai, BJ, Guangzhou. I want to see masters all over the world and see how they are better than me!"

Qin Wei's eyes showed conviction, but he was also a little hesitant: "The world is big, don't let people laugh at you for being a frog in a well. Besides, sometimes, I think you are too sharp and you have offended a lot of people!"

Wu Zhen didn't care. He said, "In life, I don't mess with anyone, and on the court, no one can mess with me!"

Seeing that Qin Wei was about to persuade him again, the boy stood up and said, "If you are still timid when playing basketball and still care about social etiquette, I will not play. Don't say anything more. This is the kind of basketball I like. If you are afraid of offending others, you can quit at any time!"

"Never!" Qin Wei swore.

"I've been training hard, but I've never thought about these things. Qin Wei, if you're more pure, you can improve faster!"

"Yes, I don't want to think about it anymore!"

"That's right, let's go! Tomorrow is another new day, and our future is one day closer!" Wu Zhen jumped off the stands and strode forward.

"Bai Ye or Yan Zhen, they are nothing but a bunch of chickens and dogs!"

Looking at Wu Zhen's back, Qin Wei was excited. At this moment, he would not hesitate even if there was a mountain of swords and a sea of fire. Thinking of his previous ridiculous fear, he wanted to slap himself twice. N6 Alliance, we are serious this year, we Yuehu High School are coming! "

(End of this chapter)