Chapter 20: Enhanced Advantage

The next day, in the evening, Ming You and his players headed to the streetball court. The atmosphere was quite cheerful and relaxed, but so far, no one was aware of the captain's prepared plans. Jung Ho decided to inquire about this and asked:

"By the way, Ming You, who is going to play?"

Ming You turned his eyes towards him and calmly replied:

"Actually, anyone can play against them, but it would be much more interesting if each of us five shows them who's in charge here. So the only two who haven't played yet are Haru Lin and Hun Ren."

The two players he mentioned first silently looked at Ming You, and then at each other.

"What about me? Hun Ren, are you okay with that?" Haru Lin asked him emotionlessly.

"I don't really care," he replied, equally emotionless.

Lu Shen, intervening with a playfully disgruntled expression, said:

"Hey, why are you all so sour?"

All four players from the Yoshido team glanced at him for a couple of seconds:

"…"

"Am I a joke to you? What's with the ignoring?" Lu Shen waved his hands.

Jung Ho decided to speak first:

"Everything's fine, it's just that we have the advantage." Jung Ho turned his head towards Haru Lin and continued, "But still, don't lose your vigilance, Haru."

Haru Lin scratched his head and indifferently said:

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Lu Shen, not wanting to miss the chance to boost the team spirit, added with a smile:

"Remember how I tore them apart in the last match? Or you, Jung Ho, when you made that three-pointer from the center of the court? We absolutely have to show them who's in charge!"

Jung Ho nodded with a smirk:

"Yeah, that was something! But don't forget, we have a chance to earn double points. If we play smart, we can not only win but do it with flair!"

"Smart play, you say?" Haru Lin scoffed, finally showing a bit of interest. "I hope you don't mean I'll just stand around waiting for them to fall over."

Lu Shen, undeterred, continued:

"Yeah, yeah, you should be like a tiger! Or like… like…" he paused, trying to find a suitable comparison, "like a superhero on the court!"

Ming You, walking ahead, maintained his indifferent expression with empty eyes, observing how his team discussed strategy. He knew that despite their jokes and indifference, deep down, each of them was ready for a fight.

When they finally reached the court, the team dropped their bags by the bench. Taek Jung and his followers, seeing Ming You, respectfully bowed to him.

Lu Shen, trying to lighten the mood, commented:

"Look at our bags! If they could talk, they'd probably say, 'Don't forget, we're here to win!'"

"Or 'Don't leave us alone with this court!'" Jung Ho chimed in, laughing.

Haru Lin, looking at his sneakers, added:

"If bags could talk, they'd probably be asking not to be dragged to games like this."

"What if they just want to play basketball?" Lu Shen jokingly suggested. "Maybe they have their own plans for the evening!"

Ming You pretended to smile:

"Alright, enough joking. Let's show them who's in charge."

On the other side of the court, when So Ho, Jen Ryu, and Mei Yu approached the benches, their faces were serious, and despair was evident in their eyes. They had just suffered a crushing defeat from Ming You, and that thought wouldn't leave them alone.

"What a bastard," So Ho muttered, looking at Ming You, who seemed to be enjoying the moment with his team. "Damn it, I knew he would trick us!"

"Yeah, he's just mocking us," Jen Ryu added, clenching his fists. "We prepared, he even talked about some advantage, and he just came out and tore us apart. Are we really that weak?"

Mei Yu, standing a bit apart, crossed his arms over his chest and looked at his teammates:

"We need to change something. If we can't handle his game, we'll keep losing forever. He knows how to manipulate us, and it's infuriating."

"Yeah, and his team isn't stupid either. They know what to do to crush us," So Ho noted, eyeing their opponents. "We have to be ready for that."

"As much as we don't want to, we need to give it our all in this game," Jen Ryu said, his voice sounding resolute. "We can't let him humiliate us again. We need to find a way to beat him."

Mei Yu nodded, his eyes shining with determination:

"With rules like these, where one point is less than one and his player has four times more, it's just absurd!"

So Ho, having gritted his teeth, declared to his team:

"Whatever happens, we still need to be stronger than ever."

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the court, as Haru Lin was about to start warming up, sitting on the bench and bouncing the ball against the asphalt, Ming You approached him and said:

"Before you start, I'll tell you about your advantage: your points are quadrupled, while your opponents' points are halved."

Seemingly indifferent to this game, Haru Lin became very surprised:

"What? You're not joking right?" he asked again, but judging by Ming You's indifferent face, this was a serious statement.

"This information is just for your confidence," Ming You said, sitting on the bench. "I just want you to know that you now have a greater advantage than before."

"How did you arrange this?" Haru Lin asked, still squeezing the ball in his hands.

"I just made a deal with the referee, that's all," Ming You replied, suppressing a smile. "You'll win easily, but don't lose confidence and don't relax too much."

Haru Lin shrugged, realizing this was his chance.

"Great, thank you, Ming You."

Ming You put on a smile and leaned back against the bench.

On the court, Sung Wo blew the whistle, and the team started to come out. Haru Lin looked at So Ho's team and then dashed to the center of the court, waiting for the tip-off.

The referee blew the whistle a second time, and the game started as soon as he made the tip-off. Haru Lin won the tip and, without wasting any time, dashed toward the basket. He dribbled, bouncing the ball between his legs, his movements quick and precise.

"Come on, Haru!" Lu Shen shouted from the bench.

"Do I sense that you just distracted him…" Hun Ren remarked, who was sitting next to him.

But soon, Haru Lin was surrounded by two players—Jen Ryu and Mei Yu. Haru tried to break through the defense, but in the end, Jen Ryu knocked the ball out of his hands.

"Don't underestimate us!" he shouted, then ran towards the opponent's basket.

The ball rolled to So Ho, who immediately passed it to Jen. Without wasting time, he leaped into the air and slammed the ball down.

"Yes!" Jen Ryu shouted as he landed. "Suck it, Ming You!" Jen Ryu showed his middle finger towards Ming You, but he was sleeping on the bench with his head thrown back.

So Ho just gritted his teeth, realizing that one point was now equal to 0.5. They were in despair, but Haru wasn't going to give up. He got the ball back and focused on a three-point shot.

"I need to concentrate," he thought, breaking toward the corner of the three-point line. "This is my only chance."

Haru Lin, as the defenders rushed toward him, threw the ball, but it bounced off the backboard and missed. The ball ricocheted to Jen Ryu, who started passing it back to his teammates again.

The five players began to confuse Haru, passing the ball to each other at incredible speed. Haru ran after them, trying to catch up, but they were too coordinated.

"Ha, you can't keep up!" Jen Ryu laughed as he made a dunk.

Finally, the ball returned to Haru, and he, not wasting any time, dashed to the center of the three-point line. Despite two defenders closing in, he confidently shot the ball, and to his delight, it swished through the net. The score became 1:8.

"Damn!" So Ho exclaimed, his face contorted with anger. "We can't lose because of these stupid rules!"

"It's all Ming You," Mei Yu added, his voice full of disdain. "He turned the game into a farce."

Haru Lin, hearing their conversation, felt a surge of confidence. He knew he could win even if everything was against him. He went on defense, but to no avail, as soon as he took a defensive stance, the players immediately passed the ball, allowing So Ho to calmly and steadily make a three-pointer. The score became 2:8.

On the bench, Ming You finally opened his eyes and raised his head. He looked at the game with slight interest.

"Hmm, not bad," he said, stroking his chin. "But it's not over yet."

Jung Ho broke away from his thoughts and looked at Ming You.

"Aren't you going to intervene?" he asked.

"No," Ming You replied with a smirk. "He'll manage on his own; besides, this pressure will keep him from relaxing despite his enhanced advantage."

Hun Ren remained silent, but his eyes sparkled with greed. He also wanted to win to get his share of the money from Ming You.

Sung Wo, standing in his place, observed what was happening. He was only interested in the bets. He knew many had bet on Haru, and that only fueled his greed.

"Come on, guys!" shouted one of the spectators who had bet on the five players.

The game continued, and the five players tried to play according to their strategy, but each time the ball got to Haru, he used his unlimited attempts at three-pointers to score, since the three-point shot could be said to have increased fourfold.

"We can't lose!" So Ho shouted, his voice full of despair. "We need to get it together!"

But Haru was relentless. While the five players were in despair, he advanced to the free-throw line and made a confident shot. The two defenders, distracted by the score, failed to react, and the ball swished through the net. The score became 2:12. The atmosphere on the court was tense, and every player understood that the stakes were high.

"This is impossible!" Jen Ryu exclaimed, his face flushed with anger. "We can't lose to this bastard!"

"Calm down," Mei Yu said, trying to keep his composure. "We can still win if we work together."

Sung Wo blew the whistle, signaling the end of the first half. Haru Lin stood in the center of the court, his heart racing with excitement and adrenaline. Meanwhile, the five players were in deep despair and confusion.