Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog-Chapter 512: Accomplish the Impossible

Loss.

Everyone has to have experienced loss at one point in their life.

Jian must have, too. However, he never necessarily felt that his losses were greater than his victories. At the end of the day, the amount of times he won couldn't be compared to the minor losses he had in life.

Of course, he also knew that loss was inevitable.

The death of his goldfish during first grade.

The passing of his grandma after a year-long battle with cancer.

Maybe even the B+ grade he had for not studying the material the night before.

However, he had come to accept all of these pretty quickly.

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Not because he was the resilient type but because they were expected.

Death had to happen.

His grade was still the highest even though it was a mere B+.

However, for a long time, basketball was the one game he had always dominated.

He hadn't played for long to be so sure that he was the greatest player of all time. Of course, he knew that those at the pro-leagues, and maybe those in other countries, were better than him.

In this domain, though, he was the best.

So, it was certain that he would win.

Being the champion of the Interhigh Nationals for two years straight, he was sure he was going to take his third trophy home—not that he felt it would be a big deal.

However, it was.

It was only at that moment that he felt that it was.

As he watched Kai execute his last shot of the night, he felt utterly defeated.

Jian ran to their side of the court, determined to stop him at all costs. Although the gap was big, he could still do it. He always managed to win in the end.

However, as he ran near the ring, he felt strange when he didn't feel or hear the familiar footsteps of those running after him. Instead, it was eerily silent.

And so, he turned back—even if it was against his principles.

He never looked back.

There, he saw Kai standing from where he had left him—the half-court line. He felt like he was imagining things.

Kai, who had just learned how to shoot from the three-point line, was attempting the half-court shot Jian was most confident about.

"There's no way," he muttered.

There was really no way.

There wasn't a person better than him in this domain.

However, as Kai dribbled once, twice, he felt it in his bones.

And as the ball left his hands, it was determined—a new player had come to steal his spot.

No—he didn't come to steal it.

He was just naturally better.

The Elites, too, felt like they were watching a mere illusion.

It wasn't the first time Kai had done something like this—using their special skills against them. Fang was a victim of it. In a way, Zheng was, too.

However, it was still amazing to witness—especially when it wasn't them playing on the court.

"H—how is this possible?" Calvin stammered, standing from his seat and leaning against the railings. He gripped the metal so hard that his knuckles had turned white.

Max sighed and shook his head, massaging the bridge of his nose.

"For so long, I thought Jian would continue to dominate. I thought I would have the chance to snatch the first place as long as Jian graduated. Now, that seems like a lost cause."

Fang pursed his lips, looking at Kai with glazed eyes. Who knew that he would be able to beat Jian in his first year?

"It still doesn't make sense!" Max exclaimed. "How can Jian just lose like this? He didn't even do anything special in the fourth quarter," he continued. "Did he go easy on Kai?"

Zheng pursed his lips, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"That's one thing that Jian won't do," he explained.

The others turned to him with raised eyebrows, curious about why he said such a thing.

"What do you mean?" Chunlei asked. "Isn't Jian known for going easy on weaker players?"

"That's Max," Zheng said, causing Max to scratch the back of his neck.

"Now, Jian is known for his natural talent—not for his hard work. However, one thing that Jian won't do is not do his best. He always does. That's why he was able to grab the first place in the Elite Five."

"So, that's his limit?" Chunlei asked. "Kai just beat him like that?"

A small smile made its way to Zheng's face.

"Hmm," he hummed. "However, it's not as simple as that."

"Jian didn't lose because he was weak. It was simply because Kai was stronger. In the fourth quarter, Jian gave it his all. However, it wasn't obvious because Kai was suppressing him in every way that he could."

"In the end, Jian realized that it's all there is to the situation. He was a natural talent. I am a hard worker. We've been clashing since the start of our career as basketball players."

"However, we had come to the point where he met a person who has both," Zheng said, looking at Kai, who was still frozen in the middle of the court.

"A person with natural talent and works hard to improve it," Zheng concluded.

At that moment, a lot of things made sense. The loss that they faced wasn't because they were weak but because they could never beat a person who had both.

It was simply impossible.

Kai did the impossible.

Zheng smiled, feeling relieved. He stood from his seat and dusted off his shorts. He turned away from the court.

"Where are you going?" Max asked.

"To have lunch," Zheng replied casually. "We need to eat before the awarding ceremonies. We're all going to be called to the court later, right?"

The current Elites turned to each other with smiles.

Chunlei, on the other hand, looked like a lost little squirrel amidst them.

"Let's have lunch then," Max smiled, joining Chunlei.

Fang glanced back at the court and frowned. "Don't you think we should wait for Jian? This'll be the last time we can be complete like this."

Zheng paused for a while before shaking his head.

"That guy still has a lot to process."