Futile Devices Scans

The student council worked very efficiently. That very night, everyone received a message:

Tomorrow afternoon at 2:00. Location: gymnasium. Match time has been increased to 80 minutes, split into first half and second half over two days. Number of players on court: five. No restrictions whatsoever. Free substitutions allowed. No rules. The side with the higher number of baskets wins. Statement: collisions and impacts during the match are unavoidable, and both sides bear no responsibility. Note: To prevent anyone from going back on their word, the key and Ke Bu will stay at the scoring table.

Ke Bu let out a breath of relief and pillowed his head on both hands. “Good thing I don’t have to participate in the match. I have absolutely no interest in this kind of high-intensity exercise. Isn’t the student council going a little too far? They actually increased the match time by half. They’re probably trying to drag us to death.”

“Good thing you don’t have to participate in the match. Our chances of winning just got a little higher.”

“What do you mean by that!!”

Zhang Luo raised his hand. “I don’t know how to play basketball.”

“Then you can go eat shit on the side too. Anyway, our side is definitely going to win.” Ying Xiu Jie said with full confidence.

“Then the players are decided: Zhi Li, You Yan, me, Xiu Jie, and Gong Zhu.”

“But I’m not very good at basketball…”

“There are no rules anyway. Just use your top-tier shou basketball method.”

“There’s no such method!!” Gong Zhu rolled his eyes at Ke Bu. While joking, Ke Bu did not have no thoughts of his own in his heart. Those who could become members of Sheng Jie Academy’s student council were not ordinary people, not to mention that the president was quite confident. Could their side really win easily? The fact that he had proposed having no rules was already quite suspicious, and the contents of the message were even more like they were marking that the student council would definitely win. It really gave him a headache. A headache was a headache, but Ke Bu had never thought Zhi Li would lose. So what if that president could draw better than Zhi Li? If he had to stay by the president’s side, he would bite his tongue and kill himself on the first day.

That day, quite a few people had gathered in the gymnasium. Most were from the student council, though there were also people who had come to watch the excitement. Even Ke Bu’s homeroom teacher had come and was sitting beside Ke Bu with her legs crossed. Weren’t the teachers at this school a little too free?

“Homeroom teacher, are you here to cheer us on?”

“I’m here to watch how you lose.” One sentence from the homeroom teacher dealt Ke Bu a heavy blow.

“We’re your students, aren’t we?”

“It’s not that I look down on you. The other side is the student council.”

“Are they that good?”

“Very good. They’ve never lost.”

Ke Bu found it difficult to swallow. His homeroom teacher’s words made him start feeling uneasy, and a bad premonition rose in his heart. His right foot began shaking anxiously against his will. The homeroom teacher glanced at Ke Bu from the corner of her eye. “You don’t have to be that discouraged either.”

“Then you shouldn’t have said those things earlier.”

“The reason I came to watch is because it’s worth watching. Zhi Li is here, and so are Su You Yan and Ying Xiu Jie.”

“Chu Hao Yu is passable too, right?”

“His explosive power is fine, but his stamina and endurance won’t do. This is a full forty minutes.”

“You know way too much.”

“How has your dad been lately?”

“He’s alright.” Ke Bu blurted it out, then went blank for a few seconds before turning his head, opening his mouth wide in shock. “Homeroom teacher, you, you know my dad?”

“Otherwise, how did you get into this school?” The homeroom teacher’s words suddenly enlightened Ke Bu. Back then, he had indeed gotten in because his dad’s friend was a teacher at this school, but he had never imagined it would actually be his homeroom teacher, and she had never said anything either. Before Ke Bu could continue asking, both sides came onto the court. Compared to the other side’s uniform white basketball jerseys, their side was far too casual, wearing their usual clothes. Of course, no one would specially buy clothes just for a match. Zhou Xin He’s cheerleader outfit, on the other hand, had been prepared quite well. Zhi Li’s appearance drew quite a bit of discussion from the girls. When someone was good-looking, this was the only benefit, and Ke Bu had already gotten used to it. The cheers for the student council were very loud. The president sat at the side with a meticulous smile, carrying the posture of certain victory. After changing into a basketball uniform, his appearance leaned more toward handsome and was not so rigid. He did not seem to have any intention of going on court. Aside from Mr. Authority, the other four players on court were all muscular, nearly 1.9 meters tall, and the people sitting on the bench were all the same, their eyes flashing fiercely.

Ying Xiu Jie observed the other side’s players. “Looks like the no-rules part was set for them.” Ying Xiu Jie’s intuition in this aspect had always been very accurate.

“Be careful.” Zhi Li said simply. Su You Yan nodded. She had already taken off her glasses, and there was no expression on her beautiful face. Gong Zhu was deeply moved. “Thank you for your concern, Lord Zhi Li. I’ll work hard.”

Ke Bu clasped both hands together and murmured as if praying, “Please, Zhi Li. You absolutely can’t lose.”

The whistle for the match blew. Ying Xiu Jie leapt up and snatched the ball, then passed it to Chu Hao Yu. The big No. 1 rushed over forcefully, his elbow aimed at Chu Hao Yu. Chu Hao Yu lifted the ball and dodged. “Don’t look down on me.” Chu Hao Yu’s foot kicked out, but No. 1 caught it between his arm. What was going on? His strength was terrifyingly great, and Chu Hao Yu could not break free at all. He wanted to pass the ball and swept his gaze across the basketball court. Ying Xiu Jie was being blocked, Zhi Li was too far away, and he could not pass to Gong Zhu. As long as the ball reached him, he would definitely be attacked, and he would have no way to dodge.

“You Yan, catch.” Chu Hao Yu passed the ball to You Yan. No. 1 flung hard, preparing to throw Chu Hao Yu out, but Chu Hao Yu borrowed the force, grabbing No. 1’s clothes the instant he was thrown. No. 1 was dragged into a stagger. Chu Hao Yu steadied himself, and No. 1 quickly circled around him, charging toward Su You Yan together with No. 4. Su You Yan stopped. She was being attacked from both front and back. She quickly sized up the other side, ran two steps forward, and No. 4 opened his muscle-filled arms, waiting for Su You Yan as if preparing to crush her. Su You Yan suddenly lowered herself, both knees hitting the ground, and used the momentum to slide between No. 4’s legs. Of course, she did not forget to use the basketball to viciously strike the thing between his legs. She reached beneath the hoop and was just about to jump up and shoot when Mr. Authority leapt up with astonishing jumping power and slapped Su You Yan’s ball down. Just as the ball was about to roll out of bounds, Zhi Li caught it. The president revealed a smile and signaled with his eyes. Almost all the players rushed toward Zhi Li. Zhi Li dribbled unhurriedly, calmly staring at the men charging at him with fierce momentum. “So this is how you want to play.”

No. 3 was the first to surround him. Zhi Li directly threw the ball into his face. No. 3 let out a scream, and the ball bounced from his face back into Zhi Li’s hands. Taking advantage of this opening, Zhi Li dribbled past him from the side, his elbow striking straight into No. 3’s soft ribs. Mr. Authority bent down and blocked him in front of the three-point line. Zhi Li did not stop. Just when everyone thought they were about to crash into each other, he unexpectedly stepped onto Mr. Authority’s slightly bent leg and pushed off, easily leaping very high. His bent knee slammed into Mr. Authority’s face. He shot. The basketball left his beautiful fingers and fell into the hoop. Three points.

Ke Bu stood up and clapped, raising one hand. “Zhi Li, just like that! Kill them! Turn them into eunuchs!”

Zhi Li swept a glance at Ke Bu, and the meaning in his eyes was very clear: stop embarrassing yourself in public.

The president did not show any anger at all and said indifferently, “Only three minutes have passed. Enjoy it properly. Looks like there’s no need for me to go on court.”

Ten minutes passed. Twenty minutes passed. The student council kept switching players, while Gong Zhu on this side had already gone deathly pale. Chu Hao Yu was also starting to pant. “This bunch of cockroaches that can’t be killed.” Their score was already behind, and the defense against Zhi Li was growing tighter and tighter. The ball landed in Gong Zhu’s hands. Gong Zhu dribbled toward the hoop, while No. 10 chased closely behind him. He clasped both hands into fists, then jumped. It looked as if he was trying to steal the ball, but his hands fell toward Gong Zhu’s head. Chu Hao Yu shouted and rushed over. “Danger!” He tackled Gong Zhu down, and they fell hard onto the floor. His leg was twisted. Chu Hao Yu clenched his teeth. “Fuck, are they trying to kill us? My leg.”

“Hao Yu.” Ke Bu wanted to rush over, but was stopped. Zhi Li walked expressionlessly up to Chu Hao Yu. Gong Zhu kept crying and apologizing nonstop. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“It has nothing to do with you. Why are you crying?”

Zhi Li crouched down and looked at Chu Hao Yu’s leg. Chu Hao Yu forced down the pain. “It’s fine. It’s only a slight twist. I can still hold on for a while.”

“You’re leaving the court.” Zhi Li’s tone allowed no refusal.

“But…”

“No discussion.”

Ying Xiu Jie also ran over worriedly. “It’s fine. The difference in points isn’t that big. Go have your leg checked.” Ke Bu had already pushed aside the people blocking him and rushed over, taking off his jacket. “I’ll go on.”

“Go back.” Zhi Li said briefly.

“I can do it.” Ke Bu’s attitude was very firm.

“Do you want me to be distracted?”

Ke Bu bit his lip tightly and helped Chu Hao Yu up. “I know.” Su You Yan turned her head and looked at Gong Zhu, who seemed as if he were about to faint. “You leave the court too.”

“I don’t want to.”

“There’s no need to risk your life for one basketball game. They’re not opponents you can handle.”

Gong Zhu looked toward Zhi Li. Zhi Li nodded lightly, and Gong Zhu also left the court. There were only three people left on the court. How were they supposed to play? The president walked over with his arms folded. “First-year, why don’t you admit defeat now? Don’t say I’m unreasonable. As long as you admit defeat, we can end this match. If someone else gets injured because of the match, how ugly would that be?”

“Has no one ever told you that you talk a lot of crap?” Zhi Li stood up.

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