The four boys returned to their respective groups.
Pan Ning looked at Su Yang and asked, "Can you play?"
"Me? Are you kidding? They call me the Mini McGrady."
Tang Ziyun couldn't help but ask, "Who's Mini McGrady?"
Su Yang chuckled awkwardly. "Uh, just a really good basketball player. Anyway, all you need to know is that I'm amazing."
Yaya's eyes sparkled as she gazed at Su Yang. "Then you better carry us to victory."
"No problem."
At that moment, Meng Wenzhou, holding a basketball, turned to the group and said, "Our team will go first against Liu Meng's team."
"Okay."
Everyone stepped off the court and stood by the sidelines. Meng Wenzhou led Xia Keke and Li Yutong onto the court, while Liu Bo's team fielded all their players—since they only had three.
Su Yang watched from the sidelines. Xia Keke, Li Yutong, Liu Meng, and Liu Wenxin were all dressed in skimpy swimsuits.
Playing basketball in outfits like these was… quite the spectacle.
Su Yang thought to himself, This is basically a bikini basketball game. Nice, very nice.
The match began.
Liu Bo's team took the first possession. Liu Meng grabbed the ball and hurled it toward Liu Bo.
Meng Wenzhou stepped up to defend.
Liu Bo dribbled twice before crossing over to shake off Meng Wenzhou, then drove hard toward the basket.
Li Yutong rushed to defend.
Liu Bo pulled up for a quick jumper.
Swish!
Nothing but net.
"Nice shot!" Su Yang cheered.
"Pretty cool, huh, Yang?" Liu Bo turned and grinned.
"Damn right. Mini Shaq over here."
"Liu Bo's team, two points!" Zhang Ziming announced, taking on the role of scorekeeper.
Liu Wenxin finally spared Liu Bo a glance. She removed the cat ears from her head, set them aside, and walked onto the court with a sweet smile. "Bo-ge, do your best! Our team's counting on you."
Liu Bo swallowed hard, then confidently thumped his chest. "Leave it to me."
Next, Meng Wenzhou's team inbounded. Meng Wenzhou dribbled twice before passing to Li Yutong.
As soon as Li Yutong caught the ball, Liu Wenxin rushed over, flailing her arms wildly in front of her face.
Li Yutong blinked. "What are you doing?"
"I'm defending!"
"Who defends like that? What’s the point?" Ignoring her, Li Yutong took three steps before passing to Xia Keke nearby.
"Traveling," Zhang Ziming pointed out.
Su Yang, thoroughly entertained, shook his head with a laugh. "Come on, let’s keep it casual. No need to be so strict."
"Fine."
[Ding! Host is enjoying the basketball game. Reward: 600,000.]
On the court, Xia Keke caught the ball, dribbled clumsily twice, then heaved it toward the hoop with all her might.
Clang!
The ball bounced off the rim twice before dropping.
Liu Bo and Meng Wenzhou both scrambled for the rebound.
Meng Wenzhou deliberately slowed down, letting Liu Bo leap up and snatch the ball. Liu Bo stepped back beyond the three-point line.
With no one guarding him, he smirked and let it fly.
Swish!
Another clean bucket.
"Hell yeah, big guy!"
"Liu Bo's team, five points! Current score: Liu Bo's team 5, Meng Wenzhou's team 0."
"Old Meng, what are you doing? Get serious!" Su Yang teased.
"Alright, alright, no more holding back," Meng Wenzhou laughed.
The two teams played for another seven or eight minutes, ending with Liu Bo's team winning 15-8.
Now it was the other two teams' turn. Su Yang glanced at Pan Ning and the others.
"Who’s playing with me?"
Pan Ning shook her head. "This kind of game isn’t for me. You take them."
Su Yang turned to Tang Ziyun and Yaya.
Both grinned and nodded. "We’ll back you up."
"Deal."
On the other side, Zhang Ziming led Yang Yuwei and Han Xiaoyu onto the court.
Shen Yixue wasn’t interested in this kind of game either, so she opted out.
The two teams faced off.
Zhang Ziming smirked at Su Yang. "Yang, don’t expect me to go easy on you."
Su Yang shrugged. "Bring it on."
"Let’s go."
Meng Wenzhou, sitting on the sidelines, waved impatiently. "Hurry up already!"
"Go, go!" Shen Yixue cheered from the sidelines, playing temporary cheerleader.
Pan Ning leaned against the chain-link fence, arms crossed, silently observing.
After rock-paper-scissors to decide possession, Su Yang’s team got the ball first.
Su Yang dribbled just outside the three-point line and called out to Tang Ziyun and Yaya, "You two, stay inside and guard their girls."
"Got it."
Zhang Ziming crouched low, arms spread, ready to defend.
Su Yang crossed over, trying to shake him, but Zhang Ziming—clearly an experienced player—reacted quickly and stuck with him.
Su Yang drove toward the basket. Han Xiaoyu and Tang Ziyun briefly tangled before Han Xiaoyu broke free and rushed toward Su Yang.
But Su Yang was already in motion. Unable to stop in time, Han Xiaoyu crashed into him, arms flailing.
Su Yang barely had time to register the impact before Zhang Ziming closed in. He jumped for a shot.
Clang!
The ball ricocheted off the rim.
"Damn!"
Thud! Yang Yuwei scooped up the loose ball.
"Here! Pass!" Zhang Ziming sprinted back to the three-point line.
Yang Yuwei tossed it to him without hesitation.
Swish!
Zhang Ziming caught and fired in one smooth motion—a perfect three.
"Not bad," Meng Wenzhou clapped from the sidelines.
Su Yang grinned. "Pretty sharp."
"You thought I was joking?"
Second possession. The winning team kept the ball.
Zhang Ziming drove, but Su Yang stayed tight on him, swiping the ball away mid-dribble and dishing it to Yaya.
Yaya awkwardly dribbled toward the basket.
Han Xiaoyu and Yang Yuwei double-teamed her.
Su Yang rushed over. "Here! Pass!"
Yaya blindly flung the ball his way.
Su Yang barely caught it, but before he could shoot, Zhang Ziming was already on him.
Su Yang faked, then ducked past him toward the hoop.
Yang Yuwei and Han Xiaoyu swarmed him, clinging to his arms like koalas.
Su Yang couldn’t even jump. "What kind of defense is this?!"
"Doesn’t matter, as long as it works," Yang Yuwei said, reaching for the ball.
She swung wildly—Su Yang lifted the ball just in time.
Yang Yuwei’s hand kept going—straight into his family jewels.
"OOF—!" Su Yang doubled over, wincing. "Dude, watch where you’re slapping!"
"Oops, sorry!" Yang Yuwei backed off, face red.
But thanks to his boosted physique, the pain faded fast. Seizing the moment, Su Yang jumped and shot.
Swish!
"Hey! You faked it!" Yang Yuwei pointed accusingly.
"Who's lying to you? You definitely fouled me."
"Foul... Fine... fine, I'll be more careful later." Yang Yuwei replied awkwardly.
"3-2 now, come on, let's go!" Liu Bo cheered from the sidelines.
The next round began with Zhang Ziming serving.
He passed the ball to Han Xiaoyu and immediately sprinted toward the basket. Seeing this, Han Xiaoyu quickly returned the pass to Zhang Ziming.
Su Yang seized the moment, darting forward and stealing the ball again.
"Heh, that pass was way too slow," Su Yang taunted as he dribbled outside the three-point line.
Zhang Ziming clapped his hands in self-encouragement and hurried to defend.
The two tangled near the three-point line for a few seconds before Su Yang shook off Zhang Ziming once more. He assumed Yang Yuwei and Han Xiaoyu wouldn’t double-team him as aggressively this time.
But he was wrong—both lunged at him again.
......
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
