Chapter Ninety-Nine: Eastern District Sports Front Page

"No, Zhu Di can’t play this time."
"Why not?" Geng Haoshi asked in confusion.
"I know you usually practice with Zhu Di… but if your alley-oop dunk only works with his cooperation, then its practicality is seriously limited."
That’s right—if Geng Haoshi’s alley-oop only worked with Zhu Di, then if Zhu Di were tightly guarded, Geng Haoshi would hardly be able to score that way.
"Just see if you can create some alley-oop opportunities for Xiao Er," Yu Manman told the other four substitutes who would play in the fourth quarter.
Hearing her say this, Geng Haoshi found it reasonable, so he said no more.

The buzzer sounded—the fourth quarter began.

"Hey, isn’t that the guy who just claimed to be the most handsome on the team out there?" "He doesn’t seem to be in the player profiles?" Some clueless reporters were puzzled.
Since the player profiles in their hands were all printed from the internet—and some schools didn’t update their rosters quickly—new players sometimes weren’t recorded.
At this moment, among all these reporters, only Qin Mengmeng knew Geng Haoshi’s name. Pen and notebook in one hand, camera in the other, she was ready at any moment to capture this “super rookie” (as Geng Haoshi himself had told her) in action.

The fourth quarter had barely started when Geng Haoshi sped into the opponent's paint. In the blink of an eye, he was already under their hoop.
"Pass!"
At his call, he sprang up. Substitute point guard Chen Yu heard him, aimed at Geng Haoshi’s leap, and hurled the ball… but his throw was a little weak, leaving the ball about an arm’s length behind Geng Haoshi.
Damn! Was Chen Yu running out of steam in the fourth quarter?… The ball hung behind Geng Haoshi, nearly an arm’s length away… but its height was perfect… In that instant, as his airborne body reached its peak, Geng Haoshi arched his back, bent his right arm backward, his whole frame a taut bow… and managed to catch the ball right in his palm!

Truly, “the arrow is nocked, the bow is drawn full.” At the apex, Geng Haoshi’s body uncoiled like a released bow, the basketball in his palm becoming an arrow loosed straight at the basket!
Bang!
Bullseye—the ball slammed home!

The crowd was utterly stunned—so were even the sharpest reporters, left dumbfounded… except for Qin Mengmeng, who, though shocked, kept clicking her camera in rapid succession.
By the time the other reporters realized they needed to capture this spectacular moment, Geng Haoshi had already let go of the rim and landed on the floor.
One by one, they beat their chests and stamped their feet in regret—only Qin Mengmeng was quickly reviewing the images she’d just captured… “Luckily, they’re all clear,” she murmured with relief.

"Wow—Senior, you’re amazing!" It was Li Shishi who was first to leap up and cheer.
On the bench, Coach Yu Manman nodded in satisfaction, thinking, That move just now—Xiao Er really looked like an NBA superstar!
The reporters who’d failed to photograph the dunk all raised their cameras, lenses trained on Geng Haoshi. For the rest of the game, they would focus on him alone, ready to snap at any moment—they weren’t going to miss another opportunity!

The game went on, and Geng Haoshi kept trying for more alley-oops… but the next few attempts failed—either the passes were off, or the balls came too fast. In short, there wasn’t another spectacular alley-oop dunk.
Watching him miss again and again, the reporters who’d missed the shot groaned with every failed attempt.

With less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, most of the reporters lowered their weary cameras—except for Qin Mengmeng, who still held hers up, diligently watching the action.

With just six seconds left, substitute shooting guard He Zhikun threw a high lob that veered off the rim. As the ball dropped to the level of the basket, Geng Haoshi sprinted beneath, soared up, caught the ball, and with a powerful swing of his arm—bang!—slammed it down!
Sure enough, fortune favors the prepared—once again, only Qin Mengmeng caught the entire sequence. The other reporters in the stands were stunned all over again.

The buzzer sounded.

The score was frozen at 139 to 51. In the end, Tiancheng University of Science and Technology claimed their second knockout game in the National College Basketball League by a massive 88-point margin.

…

Back at the Chen Zhi Arena, the team resumed their usual afternoon practice.
As dinnertime approached, Li Shishi and Yang Mimi were busy in the kitchen inside the arena.
Just then, a loud voice boomed from the campus radio—it was the principal speaking: "Respected teachers and students, this is your principal."
"A moment ago, I saw a piece of news I’d like to share with you all."
"This article was just published this evening, and it made the top headline on the Tencent News East Division Sports page."
"Damn! Just say what it is, don’t keep us in suspense!" Geng Haoshi grumbled, tossing his basketball at the hoop.
"This news is about our school’s basketball team."
"About us?!" The players all stopped in their tracks.
"It’s a rather long article, so I won’t read it in full. In short, thanks to the careful guidance and support of the school’s leadership, our basketball team has made tremendous progress in just one year, which is why we’ve attracted media attention. On behalf of the school leadership, I commend the basketball team and hope you’ll keep striving for even greater achievements!"
"That’s it?" Zhu Di rolled his eyes. "What exactly was the news? He didn’t say!"
Fortunately, Xu Gaofeng was quick—he pulled out his phone, searched the Tencent News Sports Channel, tapped into the East Division’s sports section—and right there, in bold, was the headline: “The Rise of the Bottom Dwellers? A Super Rookie Makes His Debut!”
Beneath the bold headline were a series of large photos.
"Isn’t that Xiao Er?!" Xu Gaofeng exclaimed, staring in surprise at the images on his phone…