CHAPTER 10
A pure, old-school Tianjin dialect outburst erupted, perfectly conveying Donnie's exasperation.
"Son of a MOTHERLESS GOAT!"
"Where's the logic in this damn thing?!"
"HUH?!"
"Kagami! How the hell did I get spooked by a SKILL?!"
The chat exploded:
[LMAO~]
[Donnie, you gonna use that 'superpower' again?]
[Just gotta save up for another 90 pulls! This time it should be the hard pity, guaranteed Kagami!]
[No more first-time purchase bonus though. For 90 pulls, you'll need to drop another $150 or so.]
[There are other top-up tiers, you know. The $50 first-time purchase also gives double Crystals. Another hundred bucks should do it.]
Just then, a prominent moderator message appeared in the chat. With this message, the tone of the stream viewers instantly shifted.
[CandyBunnyNana: Spend? Spend on what?!]
[…]
[…]
[Nana's here~]
[Hey, Mrs. Donnie!]
[Spending money on a game? Donnie, do you even know how to play?]
[Donnie didn't spend that much. It's just a free game, he only dropped like, 60 bucks on it~]
[Quick, someone stop him, hahaha~]
At this moment, Donnie was still lamenting his bad luck and cursing up a storm. He glanced over and saw the chat spamming a single message repeatedly.
[@CandyBunnyNana: Spend? Spend on what?!]
[@CandyBunnyNana: Spend? Spend on what?!]
…
[@CandyBunnyNana: Spend? Spend on what?!]
"Ahem…"
"Didn't spend, didn't spend!"
"Spend on what? Who spends money on games, right?"
[CandyBunnyNana: Don't even try to explain. I've been watching from the beginning!]
"Tsk, Nana, didn't you go to pick up the kids? How do you have time to watch the stream…?"
"I only spent 60 bucks. Not much."
"It's just, you know, seeing them make such a high-quality free game, wanted to support a domestic developer."
[CandyBunnyNana: Isn't supporting them with 60 bucks enough?]
[CandyBunnyNana: Weren't you about to drop another $150?]
"Absolutely not gonna spend any more."
"Your boy Donnie, when he plays games, he never spends money!"
[??]
[?]
[Donnie?]
[Donnie, didn't you just use your 'superpower' a minute ago?~]
Donnie instantly exited the Wish system and explained with a straight face:
"As everyone knows, I, Donnie Yin, have a certain status in my household…"
"Let me first declare, I am absolutely not stopping the pulls because of certain external pressures."
"Mainly, a viewer in the chat just now made a very valid point."
"This game definitely has some kind of mission rewards."
"Given how the developer gave us 20 Acquaint Fates right at the start."
"We can easily save up for 90 pulls. Wouldn't spending money be a waste then?"
Donnie rambled on for a bit. Seeing that 'CandyBunnyNana' in the chat hadn't said anything further, he changed the subject, lowering his voice and whispering to the audience:
"Bros, about the Wishes… we'll find another opportunity!"
"We will get Kagami!"
The instant he finished that sentence, the door of the VR rig suddenly opened, and the game was forcibly interrupted.
Though the screen was black and they couldn't hear the specific conversation, the viewers all recognized the familiar voice.
[Hahaha~]
[Nana came to drag him out IRL!]
[Whipped. Absolutely whipped.]
[Nana taking care of 3 kids, plus Donnie, one big kid. It ain't easy.]
After a while, Donnie returned to the VR rig and resumed the game, his expression calm and composed, as if nothing had happened.
He just completely avoided mentioning the Wish system anymore.
"Alright, let's check out the only 5-star card we have…"
"Lightning Dribble!"
"Sounds awesome!"
"Let's equip it to our skill bar right away!"
"Gotta go back to the court and borrow a ball."
Donnie returned to the street court. By this time, Kenjiro Takamuro and his crew had already honored their self-imposed rule: losers leave the court.
He looked around. The moment he stepped onto the court, everyone else stopped playing.
Donnie looked at a youth standing outside the court holding a ball and said:
"Can I borrow that ball? I'll give it back in 5 minutes."
The youth holding the ball jogged over excitedly. "Here, for you…"
Donnie took the basketball and dribbled it a few times. He could feel that after equipping 'Lightning Dribble,' his body instantly had an instinct, a readiness to use the skill at any moment.
The sensation in his fingertips became one with the basketball.
His powerful three-finger grip suddenly tensed, slamming the basketball towards the ground!
No…
With that kind of force, it wasn't so much a dribble as it was smashing the ball into the pavement!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
A thunderous booming sound echoed, like actual thunder!
Witnessing this, everyone around froze, some even getting goosebumps!
[Holy smokes! It's literally just like the name! 'Lightning Dribble,' for real!]
[That dribble is so fast! You can barely see the ball when it hits the ground!]
[Guys, the craziest part is, Donnie is dribbling with THREE FINGERS!]
[If it's this insane just dribbling in place, can he even control it while moving?]
"So fast!"
"A monster!"
When Donnie actually started moving, the basketball players on the street court couldn't help but exclaim in shock!
Accompanied by a series of thunderous booms, Donnie charged towards the basket at incredible speed. In front of an unsuspecting bystander player, he executed a crossover and blew past him!
The extreme speed of his dribble turned the basketball into a blur.
Then, before that player and everyone else around could even react, Donnie was already under the basket!
He leaped high!
Layup!
Silence…
The entire court fell into a stunned silence.
[Did you guys see that?!]
[No way! How is that possible?!]
[Is this where it starts getting all sci-fi?]
[If the story keeps going like this, maybe he can actually go toe-to-toe with Aomine?]
A few seconds later, the people on the court erupted, all discussing Donnie's 'Lightning Dribble' from moments ago.
Just then, the youth from whom Donnie had borrowed the ball, urged on by his companions, walked over and asked somewhat shyly:
"Excuse me…"
"Can I ask your name…?"
"And what school's basketball team are you on?"
"We don't think we've seen you in the middle school league."
At this moment, a game notification appeared, and the 'Missions' system page also popped up.
[Name: Ethan Woods]
[School: Teiko Middle School, First-Year Student]
[Main Quest: 'Teiko's Super Rookies']
[Quest Description: Join the Teiko Middle School Basketball Club and make it to Teiko's first-string team during your first year.]
Donnie hadn't expected the main storyline to go in this direction. The team he was supposed to join was actually Teiko…
After a moment of surprise, Donnie returned the ball to the youth and answered:
"Teiko Middle School, first-year student."
"Ethan Woods."