SSD 11. Qinghuo vs. Yangsheng: No. 9 Guard

The whistle sounded.

The basketball shot into the air. The game had begun.

Just as the ball reached its peak and was about to fall, two hands flew upward, slicing through the air, shadows trailing behind them as they stretched higher and higher.

The opening jump ball was crucial. It didn’t just determine which team would gain the first possession. It marked who would seize the early advantage, who would land the first psychological blow.

Fang Ruihan gritted his teeth and thrust his hand up with everything he had. He was just about to touch the ball when a dark hand came out of nowhere and slapped it away with explosive power.

Yangsheng had taken the lead.

Stunned by the speed, Fang Ruihan’s gaze shot toward the opposing player who had leapt for the ball. No. 9, Tian Ye.

Tian Ye gave a small smile, but his eyes remained locked on the ball now caught by his teammate.

Yangsheng had clearly come out stronger.

Landing back on the court, Fang Ruihan snapped back into focus and sprang into motion. Zhu Xuyao was already guarding the current ball handler. Fang Ruihan started to rotate over to help, but Tian Ye had already slipped behind the ball handler’s line. Alarm bells rang in Fang Ruihan’s head.

The ball handler passed the ball backward behind his own back.

Right into Tian Ye’s hands.

Tian Ye surged forward, already in perfect position for a layup. The defenders were too late to stop him. With a clean and precise three-step layup, Tian Ye scored the first basket.

The scoreboard flickered—2 to 0.

Everyone knew Yangsheng’s No. 9 guard was a menace, but only after facing him on the court did they truly understand just how powerful he was. Tian Ye’s bounce, speed, and offense were all top-tier. Not a single weakness in sight.

This was Yangsheng’s home court, and after scoring the first basket, the crowd exploded in cheers. Fang Ruihan glanced around at his teammates. Their faces were tight with focus. All except for He Jiang, who still stood casually outside the three-point line, calm as ever, as if he hadn’t stepped into the rhythm of the game at all.

Zhu Xuyao blinked. He Jiang had been playing basketball longer than any of them, with the sharpest instincts and the clearest eye for reading a game. If anyone could spot the opponent’s flaws and openings, it would be him. But He Jiang was still keeping that unhurried pace. Was he… waiting? Watching for the moment to strike?

The ball dropped from the hoop and was caught by Xu Fanming. The team quickly reset, adjusted their positions, and began driving toward the opposing basket, cutting through the roar of the home crowd.

Just past the center line, Xu Fanming was immediately blocked by Tian Ye. Xu Fanming looked up, fire practically shooting from his eyes. Tian Ye met his glare with a taunting smile, fueling his desire to break through the defense.

But Tian Ye’s defense was too precise. At 1.88 meters tall, he stood like a wall, pinning Xu Fanming in a tight corner. Every twitch, every feint was noticed and shut down.

Xu Fanming tried to throw a fake, hoping to shake him, but Tian Ye seemed to read him too easily. He pulled the ball back, still dribbling, and the two locked in a moment of tense silence.

Then, right when it mattered, Zhu Xuyao stepped back, faked out his defender, and crossed his arms in front of his chest, using his body like a shield. He braced himself at Xu Fanming’s side, forming a wall just as impenetrable as Tian Ye’s.

His teammate had come to screen.

Xu Fanming instantly understood. He drove forward, brushing past Zhu Xuyao’s shoulder, forcing Tian Ye to pivot, but Tian Ye ran straight into Zhu Xuyao’s chest. He staggered, surprised for a beat. That beat was all Xu Fanming needed to take the lead.

But the help defense was already charging in. At the same time, Zhu Xuyao broke away from Tian Ye and raced into position, ready for a clean shot. Xu Fanming glanced at him, then looked toward He Jiang.

He hesitated.

He never could figure out what went on in He Jiang’s head. Thinking back to how careless He Jiang had seemed before the match, Xu Fanming began to lose confidence again.

Three-pointers were fine, but He Jiang’s current position wasn’t ideal for a clean shot. If the ball hit the backboard and bounced back into the opponent’s hands, it would be a complete waste.

They had fought hard to keep possession, and Xu Fanming didn’t want to take that risk.

His hands moved faster than his brain. Before he realized what he was doing, he had already passed the ball.

Zhu Xuyao froze for a split second. He hadn’t expected Xu Fanming to pass to him after all.

He scrambled forward and caught the ball just in time. With a quick adjustment to his stance, he swung his arms back and went for the layup. Xu Fanming’s chest tightened.

Then, once again, No. 9 in the white jersey leapt into the air.

Zhu Xuyao was just about to send the ball into the hoop when he caught sight of the figure rising beside him. Instinct made him flinch. How could someone move that fast, with such explosive bounce? To reach him that quickly and leap so high to contest the shot felt almost unreal.

Even though the ball was already in motion, and it should have been impossible to intercept it midair without a foul, Tian Ye’s sudden appearance still made Zhu Xuyao’s fingers flinch.

The ball spun in the air, shuddered as it struck the edge of the rim, then tilted off balance and dropped.

Missed. Painfully close.

And it had clearly been Zhu Xuyao’s mistake that cost them such a prime scoring chance. He wiped the sweat from his face and glanced toward the sideline, where Pan Yuan stood watching with a tense expression. His heart sank.

Xu Fanming had also been startled by Tian Ye’s sudden burst forward. From where he was outside the paint, he had seen everything clearly. Tian Ye had locked onto the ball from the start. Even though a better-positioned defender was already near Zhu Xuyao, Tian Ye still charged in, going for the interception.

Maybe it was because he had no doubts about his own ability. He believed with absolute certainty that his speed could carry him to Zhu Xuyao in time, that his vertical could reach the ball.

It was like watching a killer charging into a 1v5 with complete disregard for anything else.

What made it worse, he actually had the strength to back it up.

Frustration burned in Xu Fanming. As he stepped back, he caught a glimpse of He Jiang beside him. He Jiang had one fist raised to his lips, the corners of his eyes slightly curved, his shoulders faintly trembling.

Xu Fanming stared in disbelief.

He Jiang was laughing.

Their teammate had just fumbled a golden scoring chance. The team was once again stuck in an awkward position, and He Jiang actually found it funny?

The ball dropped, and the rebound was scooped up without contest by No. 9, Tian Ye, who was already the closest. The moment the ball touched his hands, he turned and sprinted back toward the opposite basket.

Fang Ruihan and another substitute rushed in to block him. Seeing them close in fast, Tian Ye quickly passed the ball to a teammate behind him. The teammate drove straight into the paint, while Tian Ye slipped through the defenders and moved into position under the basket. Fang Ruihan noticed it just in time.

Only then did he realize that the pass had been a feint. The real finisher was still Tian Ye.

But it was too late. The ball arced cleanly through the air and dropped straight into Tian Ye’s hands. The substitute tried to intercept, but he couldn’t keep up. Tian Ye took two quick steps, turned, and went up for the layup.

The scoreboard changed again. 4 to 0.

Fang Ruihan took the ball. Xu Fanming exchanged a look with Zhu Xuyao. Across from them, Tian Ye stood waiting in his own half, knees bent, shoulders relaxed, arms open wide. A toothy grin tugged at the corner of his mouth, one sharp canine flashing. His eyes were full of mockery.

Come at me, if you dare.

A sharp rush of anxiety built in Xu Fanming’s chest. Several minutes had passed already, and he could feel this round was dragging. It was as if something had him pinned down, like his body just couldn’t shake loose.

“Focus!”

The captain’s sharp shout snapped everyone’s focus back to the court.

Xu Fanming took a deep breath and reset his stance, bracing for what came next.

Fang Ruihan dribbled past the center line and ran into the wall of pressure that was No. 9, Tian Ye. He locked onto Tian Ye’s eyes and every shift in his movement. After the third bounce of the ball, Fang Ruihan suddenly grabbed the ball and lifted it high above his head, as if preparing to shoot a high-arcing ball.

The sudden motion triggered Tian Ye’s instinct. He jumped to block.

But something didn’t add up. This was way too far from the basket. What was Fang Ruihan trying to do?

It was a feint.

Just as he reached the peak of his movement, Fang Ruihan twisted and bounced the ball sharply to the floor, catching the opening on Tian Ye’s exposed side—

And standing right where the ball landed was Xu Fanming, arriving at exactly the right moment.

He caught it, curling one side of his mouth into a smirk.

Then he burst forward.

No one could keep up. Once the Little Raptor got his claws on the ball, he tore through the court like a storm, overwhelming everything in his path.

A clean lane opened straight ahead. Xu Fanming drove hard toward the basket.

But a player in white charged across and blocked his path.

He scanned the court in a flash. Zhu Xuyao and a substitute were holding off defenders. Fang Ruihan was still far from the rim. And then… when had He Jiang moved to the edge of the paint?

Was he waiting for a pass?

The image of He Jiang covering his mouth and laughing flashed through his mind again. Xu Fanming’s brow furrowed.

He didn’t pass. He stopped abruptly and went up for the shot.

He wasn’t going to give He Jiang the ball.

He was still outside the paint, just behind the three-point line. If the shot went in, it would bring them right back into the game.

But the shot came too fast. The angle was off.

The ball slammed against the rim and started to fall.

“Rebound!”

In an instant, dozens of hands shot into the air at once. The most prominent among them was Tian Ye.

Outside the three-point line, Xu Fanming was pacing anxiously, but the defender in front of him held firm, locking him in place. Tian Ye’s height gave him the advantage. Just a small jump and his hand could nearly touch the falling ball.

He was just about to seize it when, out of nowhere, another figure rose beside him.

He Jiang.

Like a towering wall, He Jiang blocked the light and the court from Tian Ye’s view. He reached out, nudging the falling ball gently to the side.

The ball grazed the rim, then dropped neatly through the net.

A clean tip-in, just barely.

He Jiang landed on the court. He pressed his lips together and raised his head slightly, looking straight at Tian Ye, who had also come down.

There was something unreadable in his expression.

Tian Ye looked up. He Jiang was a little taller than him, but what unsettled him wasn’t the height. It was the pressure hidden behind that calm gaze, the undercurrent that seemed ready to erupt at any moment.

That look triggered something in him. It was like the warning before a storm, the kind of gaze that made your skin crawl, like every movement had already been seen through.

Who was this guy?

It was as if he knew exactly which direction Tian Ye would take, which angle he would cut from, how he would drive to the basket.

Tian Ye narrowed his eyes, staring hard at the tall man in front of him. He couldn’t shake the feeling that He Jiang was nothing like the rest of Qinghuo’s players so far.

After the basket, the players picked up speed again. Back and forth they went, fighting for every inch of the court. The score grew wider, then narrowed again.

Several intense exchanges passed in a blur.

The first quarter came to an end.

Final score: 22 to 18. Yangsheng held a two-basket lead, ahead by four points.

The tension on the court began to tighten again.