Chapter Thirteen: The Devil Goddess Coach

Geng Haoshi ran while staring intently at Yu Manman, his mind overflowing with wild imaginings...

After Yu Manman had delivered her stern words to establish authority, she instructed the team to begin their own training. Meanwhile, she sat at the coach’s bench beside the basketball court, legs crossed, observing their practice.

In truth, the members of the school basketball team had only just received word that a newly hired international-level basketball coach would be reporting to the school today. This coach was none other than Yu Manman.

Yu Manman, a top coach from an elite international basketball club, was known in the sporting world as the “Devil Goddess.” Rumor had it that every team under her guidance produced players capable of holding their own, with several even making it into the NBA.

Not long ago, Yu Manman had reported to the principal’s office. After reviewing the profiles of all the school’s basketball team members, she headed straight to the team’s headquarters—the Chen Zhi Sports Arena.

The Chen Zhi Sports Arena was designed to NBA standards, with a playing area roughly 28.65 meters long and 15.24 meters wide. A lap around the court measured about 88 meters. One hundred laps amounted to roughly 8,800 meters.

If it had been the old Geng Haoshi, who never exercised, he wouldn’t have lasted ten laps, let alone a hundred. But over the past half month, threatened by 9527 and coached by Yang Mimi, Geng Haoshi had to complete two 5,000-meter slow runs every day. So, despite the grueling distance, he managed to finish the hundred laps within an hour.

Breathless, head bowed, arms hanging limply at his sides, Geng Haoshi trudged toward the coach’s bench.

“Well, you actually finished the run.” Yu Manman, seeing him approach, was surprised. She hadn’t expected this rotund fellow to complete the hundred laps.

“You said it yourself... I’ve finished a hundred laps... So I’m a member of the school basketball team now,” Geng Haoshi hurried to assert, fearing Yu Manman might reconsider.

“Rest assured. I, Yu Manman, keep my word!” With that, Yu Manman stood from the bench and strode onto the court.

“Gather!”

Moments later, the team lined up before her in a straight row.

“You! Get in line!” Yu Manman glanced back at the dazed Geng Haoshi lingering near the bench, signaling him to join the team.

“You all see it now.” She pointed at Geng Haoshi, “This fat guy—your captain had wanted to make things hard for him, to drive him from the team. Yet he completed my task of running a hundred laps. From today on, he is one of you.”

Geng Haoshi grinned foolishly, waving at each teammate beside him in greeting.

“However, it’s only temporary.” Yu Manman shot a glare at Geng Haoshi, still grinning.

“And all of you—your places are temporary as well.” Her sharp gaze swept over the entire squad. “From now on, anyone who fails to complete my assigned tasks will no longer be part of this team.”

The players stood stunned. Yu Manman shouted, “Did you all hear me?”

They snapped out of it. “We heard.”

Yu Manman, hearing their weak response, barked angrily, “Louder!”

“We! Heard!”

“This beautiful coach isn’t just well-endowed, she’s got a loud voice too,” Geng Haoshi muttered quietly to the teammate beside him.

His teammate couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.

This, unexpectedly, thoroughly enraged Yu Manman. She turned sharply to the laughing player. “Is what I said so amusing?” The player shook his head in panic.

“I don’t care if you find it funny.” Yu Manman’s eyes widened as she stared him down. “You are now expelled!” She pointed toward the arena’s exit. “You may leave!”

Just like that—expelled? For a single laugh? The team watched in horror as the unlucky player trudged off, casting a resentful glance at Geng Haoshi, since it was all his fault.

Geng Haoshi swallowed nervously, feeling a chill at what had just happened.

Yu Manman’s fury was still blazing. She addressed the team, “From now on, no one laughs without my permission!”

“Next, I will subject you all to extreme training!”

“Anyone wishing to quit—now’s your chance! Otherwise…” She raised the whip in her hand and cracked it violently against the floor, echoing through the gym. “If you try to leave later, you’ll pay dearly!”

One by one, the team members swallowed hard, but none spoke up.

After all, it had taken tremendous effort to earn a spot on the team—they weren’t about to give it up easily.

As for Geng Haoshi, although he had sneaked his way into the team, the prospect of delighting Yang Mimi made him unwilling to quit.

“Starting tomorrow, you’ll train here every evening from 7 to 10!”

“During the day, unless you have class, you must report here!”

“Did you understand?”

“We! Understood!”

After this announcement, Yu Manman dismissed the team.

Leaving the Chen Zhi Sports Arena, Geng Haoshi stretched lazily toward the sky, then asked 9527, “Hey, 9527, did you finish scanning the beautiful coach?”

“Yes, Master.”

“So, is she a traveler from your planet Dou Ni Wan?” Geng Haoshi felt that Yu Manman didn’t fit his idea of an ordinary earth woman and suspected she might be an alien. After all, these days, stories of visitors from the stars abound.

“Master, after a full-body scan, I confirm she is not from Dou Ni Wan. She is indeed an earthling.”

“Not from Dou Ni Wan means she must be from Earth?” Geng Haoshi was skeptical. “Is it because none of your alien women have a bust as impressive as the coach’s, so you claim she’s not an alien?”

“...Master, is your mind only occupied with bust sizes?”

“You remind me. I’ve been wondering about her actual measurements—she must be even larger than she appears.” By Geng Haoshi’s estimate, Yu Manman’s bust was about 34D, slightly smaller than Yang Mimi’s 36D. “9527, give me your scan data.”

“...Very well, Master. Yu Manman: female, height 172 cm, weight 46 kg, bust 34E...”

“34E?! I knew it! She’s well hidden, but my eagle eyes see through it all!” Geng Haoshi marveled at the grandeur of a 34E, congratulating himself on his growing expertise.

“...Master, your mind is truly... expansive. Tomorrow you start formal training, but you’ve never played basketball, have you?”

Only then did Geng Haoshi remember—if the beautiful coach discovered he couldn’t play, she’d surely expel him.

“Ah—what do I do? What do I do? What do I do?” He felt as if the world was ending.

“...Master, I actually have good news for you...”

“What good news?” At such a moment? Unless 9527 had a conscience and planned to give him a pill to instantly become a master.

“Master, since you’ve skipped ahead to a mid-level task, you must also complete the beginner-level tasks within the allotted time for the intermediate stage.”

“...How is that good news?! And why didn’t you say so sooner?” Geng Haoshi confirmed once again that this damn system would give him no favors.

“Master, as long as you finish the beginner tasks, you’ll grasp the basics and skills of basketball. You might avoid expulsion.”

“Haha… But what about tomorrow? Don’t tell me you expect me to master all the beginner tasks tonight?” Geng Haoshi’s face turned ashen, envisioning Yu Manman berating him and kicking him out.

“...Master, given your intelligence, completing all beginner tasks in one night is nearly impossible. But mastering the most basic knowledge and simplest skills is still possible.”

“…” Geng Haoshi rolled his eyes.

With no way out, and unwilling to disappoint Yang Mimi, Geng Haoshi resolved to spend the night learning the fundamentals of basketball, hoping to bluff his way through tomorrow.

After a quick dinner, he bought a knockoff Spalding ball from the student street outside campus, then headed early to the school’s basketball court.

At that hour, most students were eating, so the court was nearly empty.

Holding the basketball, Geng Haoshi stood beneath a hoop, gazing up, sighing, “So high!” It was the first time he’d examined a basketball hoop so seriously.

“...Master, it’s because you’re too short…”

“Uh, 9527, what should I do now?” Geng Haoshi quickly changed the subject.

“Master, you should first understand the construction of a basketball.”

“Oh? The construction?” Geng Haoshi wondered if there was some hidden secret to a basketball.

“It’s simple—the basketball is round. Master, does that make sense to you?”

“…”