"I'm up next."
Allen Ju pushed up his glasses and walked onto the court from the sidelines.
Jason Jiang shot Evan Lin a hateful glare, full of frustration, and walked off the court. He went over to Selina Shi and forced a smile: "Sorry, I haven't been feeling well lately. That last shot should've gone in."
He meant the second shot, that three-step layup.
Evan Lin barely touched the ball before letting it fly—nothing but net. Two-one.
Allen Ju didn't even get a hand up—he just stood there, stunned, as the ball dropped clean through the net.
"Doesn't matter if you see through my moves. What matters is—you're never beating me."
"Still don't get it? If I've got the rock, it's going in. Your serve—bring it." Evan tossed Allen Ju the ball. Allen inbounded, trying to drive in, but caught Evan Lin just chilling on the sideline, ice-cold and unfazed. His heart skipped a beat.
"There are still two left. Let's see if you can keep winning!" Jason thought bitterly to himself.
He didn't count Selina—she was just a girl, and her skills probably weren't much to speak of.
On the court, Evan Lin took the ball first.
"I was watching you play from the sidelines just now. Your feel for the ball is great. Your technique's a bit rusty, but it's not a big deal. I probably can't beat you."
Allen Ju stood in front of Evan Lin and spoke calmly.
"If you don't think you can beat me, why step up?" Evan Lin looked at Allen Ju with curiosity—this guy gave him a weird feeling.
With the ball back in Evan Lin's hands, he set up the play.
Just like he called it—if Evan's got the ball, it's dropping through the hoop.
Allen Ju finished speaking and looked at Evan Lin.
The real secret? From the jump, as long as that kid's got the ball, he's straight-up unbeatable!
"Huh?"
Evan Lin raised his eyebrows, dribbled with one hand, spun around, lowered his body, dodged Allen Ju's sweeping hook, then drove forward two steps and nailed a spot-up jumper—nothing but net.
Seeing this, Allen Ju clenched his teeth, looking a bit dissatisfied.
Allen Ju gritted his teeth, eyes locked on Evan Lin with a predatory glare. He was dead set on shutting him down this time—had to block that shot!
"Save your energy. It's useless."
Allen Ju's opening line was clearly meant to lower Evan Lin's guard, hoping to steal the ball with a surprise move.
If it were Hank Chu on the court, he might've fallen for it. But Evan Lin was different—he hadn't been serious at all, so there was no guard to lower. He played purely by feel.
"Hmph."
Allen Ju took the ball and drove hard, faking two shots in a row. Once he was sure Evan Lin couldn't close in, he pulled off a fadeaway jumper and tied the score at one-all.
Height, power, angle—Evan nailed every detail.
Allen Ju smirked, clearly proud of that play.
"He scored! Yes!" Jason Jiang was thrilled—he definitely didn't want to kneel to Hank Chu and call him 'Dad.' That would be way too humiliating.
"Allen's the man." Warren Wu grinned.
On Hank Chu's side, his group was getting anxious and a little worried.
It was Evan Lin's turn to inbound.
Right after the inbound, Evan Lin shot instantly—swish. Two to one.
"Who's next?"
"Reading you isn't the point. The point is, you can't win."
"Haven't you figured it out yet? As long as the ball's in my hands, it's going in. Your turn—let's go." Evan Lin passed Allen Ju the ball. Allen took it, inbounded, and started to drive, but caught sight of Evan Lin just standing there, totally calm and indifferent. His heart skipped a beat.
Allen drove, jumped, shot—and scored.
Two-all!
Jason Jiang was beside himself with excitement.
Hank Chu's palms were slick with nervous sweat.
Selina Shi and Warren Wu both frowned at the same time.
Even though Allen Ju scored, he didn't feel happy at all. He whipped his head around, staring at Evan Lin standing off to the side, and felt a chill run down his spine for no reason.
"Guy's shooting like he's got a cheat code!"
Just like he said—as long as the ball was in his hands, it was going in.
In other words, whether Allen Ju scored or not didn't matter at all.
The real key was: from the very start, as long as that guy had the ball, he was standing in an unbeatable position!
Allen Ju suddenly realized this, and cold sweat broke out down his back.
Now he understood why, on that last play, Evan Lin hadn't even bothered to defend and just let him shoot.
Impossible!
Warren Wu squared up to Evan Lin, towering over him, clicking his tongue in mock surprise. "Not bad, man. But this is where your highlight reel ends!"
"It's pointless."
It was like Evan Lin could read Allen Ju's mind—he shook his head slightly, face calm and indifferent.
After the inbound, Allen Ju sprinted and leapt at Evan Lin, trying to block his shot.
But Evan Lin had no intention of dodging—he just jumped straight up.
The ball left his hand!
Height, force, angle—everything was absolutely perfect.
Allen Ju jumped with everything he had, even felt his fingertips brush the ball—but it was just an illusion. At the very instant he almost touched it, he couldn't get any higher.
He reached his jump's peak—exactly the distance the ball sailed past his fingers!
Allen Ju's eyes went wide. All he could do was watch helplessly as the ball flew toward the hoop and—clang.
Three to two.
Allen Ju gasped for breath, eyes wide, staring in shock at the boy standing before him.
But more unsettling than losing was the terrifying calculation ability of the boy in front of him!
"Next."
Evan Lin spoke calmly.
Jason Jiang's face went pale.
In just a short time, two had already been knocked out—only Warren Wu and Selina Shi remained.
In Jason Jiang's eyes, Selina Shi was no threat at all—so really, only Warren Wu was left!
If Warren Wu lost...
Just thinking about it sent a chill through Jason Jiang.
"Damn! That was awesome!"
"That shot was gorgeous! Absolutely perfect!"
"His shooting percentage is like he's cheating!"
Hank Chu burst out laughing. When it was tied at two-all, he'd nearly died from the suspense, but now that the tables had turned, he couldn't help but grin.
He'd never expected Evan Lin to be this skilled—and more importantly, to have a one hundred percent shooting rate!
"I'm up!"
Warren Wu strode forward, face set and fierce, his muscular frame radiating intimidation.
He slapped the ball up from under the hoop with one hand, then palmed it, gripping the whole ball in his hand.
Hank Chu's smile froze; Jason Jiang yelled from the sidelines, "Go get 'em, Wu!"
Warren Wu stood before Evan Lin, looking down at him and clicking his tongue, impressed. "Didn't expect you to be so good, but this is where it ends!"