Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 379 "Ball" Match
Su Ming walked to the basketball court next door and found that the situation was much better there—at least the players on both sides were not carrying weapons onto the court!
One player was seen with the ball—his movement was absolutely a traveling violation. Like a rugby player, he clung tightly to the ball, which was clearly made of bone, and forcefully drove into the opponent's paint area.

"Oh well, it's understandable that these people only had a short practice time!" Su Ming comforted himself.

The attacker was quite agile. He shook off the last defender, then leaped high into the air, hovering gracefully before unleashing his full power and hurling the bone ball in his hand like a cannonball.

The move was certainly cool, but the accuracy was ridiculously off. The ball whistled past without even touching the edge of the backboard, and slammed heavily into the support pillar of the basketball hoop, which was also made of white bone!

Crack! With a crisp sound, the bone ball shattered, sending bone fragments flying! The basketball support frame also cracked. The caddie quickly rushed forward, repaired the frame, and reassembled the bone ball.

Upon seeing this, the referee immediately raised his hand and announced, "The attack is valid! Five points!"

"Huh? Why?" Su Ming was completely dumbfounded. The ball didn't even touch the rim, so how could it be considered a successful shot?
And what kind of weird rule is this "five points"?

"His throw was incredibly powerful, causing significant damage to the basketball hoop!" Seeing Su Ming's confused expression, the assistant referee on the sidelines quickly stepped closer to explain, "Hitting the rim earns a basic score of two points; the bone ball completely shattered, which is considered a powerful impact and counts as a three-pointer—so the total is five points."

"..." Su Ming was completely speechless and could only rub his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

Completely exasperated, Su Ming walked dejectedly to the edge of the soccer field. He scanned the field, making sure he didn't see any players carrying weapons, nor did he see anyone using the ball to smash the goalposts and then scoring points based on the amount of health lost in the goal.

He repeatedly confirmed with the assistant referee on the sidelines that as long as the ball rolls into the goal normally, it counts as one point, and there are no fancy rules for scoring based on injury.

Su Ming immediately breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that at least there was one with a relatively normal style. Then he searched the green field for a long time and found that all twenty-two players were present, each one eager to play—but where was the football?
What does it mean when there's no ball on the field during a football match?
"Aren't there players?" the assistant referee said matter-of-factly.

“I know there are players,” Su Ming said, pointing to the empty center of the field. “But what are they going to use to play?”

As if to answer his question, the referee raised his hand, signaling for the ball to start from midfield.

A player responded and came to the center of the center circle, then squatted down with his hands around his knees. At the same time, his body flashed with light, and his whole body was instantly covered with magical armor of different colors, completely wrapping himself up.

With a sharp, piercing whistle from the referee, his teammate stepped forward without hesitation and delivered a solid kick to his curled-up back! He immediately rolled rapidly like a large ball that had been kicked away, landing precisely at the feet of another player.

The team immediately began passing the ball around, quickly setting up an attacking formation.

Su Ming's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and his jaw almost dropped onto the deck.

"Players, aren't they just taking turns being the ball?" The assistant referee, seeing Su Ming's shocked and speechless expression, explained with even more confusion, "When the two teams take turns being the ball, they also have to be careful to protect their own 'ball,' otherwise if the 'ball' gets kicked out or seriously injured and has to leave the field, it counts as a point for the opposing team."

"Wait! I have a question," Su Ming took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, "Where is the standard version of the competition rulebook I distributed?"

"We've all read them, and we know them by heart!" The assistant referee patted his chest, looking proud and smug. He then pointed to the dozen or so newly erected bone bulletin boards on the sidelines, "Elder Yin Er is considerate of everyone, and to make it convenient for everyone to check the rules at any time, he specially carved them all by hand."

Su Ming looked up in the direction indicated and found that although the notice boards were quite far apart, every word on them was exceptionally clear, down to the smallest detail of the strokes. Stacy had placed them there, casting a spell that would last for several days: 'Academy Spell - Proclamation for All to See.' This ensured that the notices were visible to everyone on the deck, making it convenient for everyone to watch the games.

Above were Yin Er's vigorous handwriting:
-
The football field is a microcosm of life and death; Cuju (ancient Chinese football) is a strategy of alliances and counter-alliances.

The law now consists of twelve chapters to demonstrate fairness.

The area is 120 paces long and 80 paces wide, bounded by an arcane firefly rope.

The four pillars stand at the corners, suspending the true eye of vision; any ball's shadow that crosses the line will be clearly visible, down to the millimeter.

……
-
Okay, now we have a magical version of VAR (Video Assistant Referee).

Su Ming shook his head, both amused and exasperated, and gave up struggling, resigning himself to appreciating the completely changed style of the match before him.

Let's just consider it as Earth's culture being adapted and localized in another world.

****
At noon, the first batch of fresh vegetables that Qiluo had painstakingly cultivated in the ship's greenhouse was finally put into the kitchen.

The long winters in the north already severely limit leafy green vegetables, and after months at sea, all that's available is bean sprouts. For the vast majority of people on board, this is the first time in months that they've eaten fresh, tender, and vibrant green leafy vegetables.

In an instant, the cafeteria was filled with noise, cheers, and excitement.

The sports meet lasted for three days. On the morning of the third day, the final round-robin matches that would determine the final rankings began.

The atmosphere on the entire ship was enthusiastic and high-spirited, with everyone waving various homemade banners and cheering for their respective teams.

Because the points difference between the teams was generally small, the suspense of who would win the championship remained until the very last moment. Among them, the most eye-catching was the championship match in the football tournament, which took place between the POW camp team and the second team of the Bone-Beast Crazed Machines.

On the field, the POW camp team clearly had the upper hand, especially one agile figure who, with a few flying kicks, made the opposing "players" playing the role of the "ball" scream in pain, scrambling back to the goalkeeper's close protection circle, no longer daring to attack easily.

Upon seeing this, the members of the prisoner-of-war camp watching from all sides raised their arms and cheered, the sound almost lifting the deck.

"Defense! Defense!" everyone shouted in unison.

Su Ming squinted and stared intently, and the figure that had stolen the show was none other than Jelus! The girl had changed into a dashing jersey, and her signature pink hair was flying wildly in the wind stirred up by her intense running, making her exceptionally dazzling.

Black magical light appeared and disappeared in an instant at the foot of her foot.

(End of this chapter)