Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog

[Congratulations! You have completed your side quest. Zhou Renren is now part of the team]

[+50 XP]

[The host has finally chosen a team]

[Team chosen: Shizi Dogs]

[+27]

Kai's eyebrows raised in surprise when he saw the amount of XP he had gained from his three-week mission.

It was almost pitiful that the Shizi Dogs had only won 27 times in official games for the past five years.

Just then, his surroundings changed, and his silver aura turned into a different color—dark blue.

[You have now reached a new level!]

[Current level: Premier (64)]

[This level entails greater power and greater responsibility. With that, the progression system has also been upgraded]

[200 XP is needed for next level upgrade]

Kai frowned in confusion. He was expecting his system to get more difficult as time passed by. He just didn't think it would happen so soon.

However, his frown eased since he realized that he had still upgraded his level somehow. Now, what he needed to do was stack on his skills during the Interhigh Preliminaries.

With that, Kai finally opened the doors leading to the court.

The sound of 'Final Countdown' filled the court as Kai entered.

They had finally registered their team, and the Interhigh Preliminaries were just right around the corner.

Kai frowned as the music intensified, making him even more confused.

He saw his teammates at the side, watching him in amusement. The second-string team was right beside them, with big speakers that looked quite expensive.

"Stop right there!" Dylan shouted, causing Kai to halt

"Pose for us, Kai!" Jet exclaimed, causing Kai's frown to deepen.

He stood awkwardly at the center of the court, not knowing what to do.

Lina looked at him in amusement, covering her mouth to stifle her giggles.

Then, she felt a nudge on her shoulder. She turned to the side, and saw Kun looking at her while wiggling his eyebrows.

"Cute, huh?" he asked in a teasing tone.

Lina clicked her tongue and pushed him away.

Meanwhile, Kai still didn't know what to do.

"Come on!" Shang exclaimed. "Just pose! We all did it."

Kai turned to Yuze for help, but the captain merely shook his head.

"I also did it," he deadpanned. "So, you have no choice."

Kai felt like he was going to explode from embarrassment. So, he posed like a shy boy in a family picture, making the other boys sigh in disappointment.

Shang clicked his tongue. "You know, I sometimes forget how Kai is a known troublemaker when he acts like this," he remarked.

"Tell me about it," Jet sighed while pitifully looking at Kai as he continued to pose. Although, it was even arguable if he was really posing.

"He is scary, though," Andy muttered, trying to justify his fear of him when he tried to recruit him to the team.

"I thought so, too," Bao chimed. "But that was only in the beginning. Other people still don't believe me when I say that he's kind."

"He's not kind," Renren grumbled. "He's annoying as hell."

"Oh, I know that you appreciate him for convincing you to go back to the team," Kun teased.

"Thanks for giving us nothing!" Dylan shouted through the music.

Kai finally stopped and scratched the back of his head. Then, he made his way to his teammates, but he found himself stepping on his own shoelaces, making him tumble to the ground.

His teammates burst into laughter, with Shang and Jet being the loudest.

Then, Renren turned to Lina. "That's the guy you want to push to become the face of the team?" he loudly asked, causing the boys to turn to Lina with wide eyes.

"WHAT?" they simultaneously asked.

Lina then turned to Yuze with a glare. "I told you to not tell anyone about my plan."

Yuze scratched the back of his head. "Renren's not just anyone," he muttered.

Kai finally joined them after his stumble, appearing confused as to why they were arguing. Read latest chapters at empire

"We can't have him as the face of the team!" Jet exclaimed. "He doesn't even have a face," he said, gesturing to Kai's covered features.

Kai scratched the back of his head.

"Guys, what are we talking about?" he asked, but his questions got shrouded with their arguments.

Lina sighed in frustration as she looked at Kai.

"Why did you even form the bet with Fei?" Shang asked. "You were setting yourself up for failure. Just look at Kai!"

Kai cleared his throat. "Okay, so you guys know that I'm here, right?"

She also found it ridiculous how she made the bet with Fei. How could they have the most merch sold if Max Zhou was on their team?

Although Max was not the best-looking person in the league, he was still the most popular player because he was a part of the Elite Five.

"Shang's right," Jet said. "The only way we can beat their team is if we have a handsome-ass dude or if someone gets into the Elite Five!"

"True, true," Dylan said. "In my opinion, Yuze has the highest chance of achieving that in the team. Besides, he's already very handsome."

"Yuze simp," Kun said as he cleared his throat. "Anyway," he continued. "I do kind of agree with that, but it's too soon! Although the team has become fairly popular during the Winter Cup, it's still not enough to overtake the teams that were originally good. Even the Xing Stars has more supporters than us," he revealed.

Renren scratched the back of his head.

"Why does it even matter if you lose an unofficial bet anyway?" he asked Lina, making the boys turn to him with wide eyes.

Renren was shocked by their reactions.

"Because!" Lina nearly screamed.

"Her pride is on the line," the boys said in unison.

"And!" Lina added. "That girl, Fei, has been on our asses since the last year! I don't even know why she became the manager of the Yin Yang Knights when she only knows the basic things about basketball," she grumbled.

"Her team may have won multiple times, but she won't be able to laugh once we get the most sales for this year's Interhigh Preliminaries!"

"I like the enthusiasm," Yuze said, finally giving his take about the enthusiasm. "But you've also betted that Kai would be the center of it all."

Lina's shoulders immediately slumped.

"You're right," she said, plopping to the floor in defeat.

"We're doomed!"

Meanwhile, Kai felt like he had joined a roasting session that was solely intended for him.

"Guys, you know I have feelings too, right?"