Chapter 37: Victory
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Fine beads of sweat seeped across Xiao Xiao’s forehead. His eyes remained fixed on the newcomer on the court, yet he could clearly “see”—without even turning his gaze—that the monster slowly opened its half-closed eyes. A faint scarlet glow flickered within them. The instant its eyes opened fully, the blood-red radiance shot forth like a sword.
Golden light erupted from Xiao Xiao’s eyes. The golden brilliance swirling through the air instantly solidified, its razor-sharp force so fierce that even the surrounding space began to warp.
The golden light and the blood-red radiance collided with a thunderous crash. Yet there was none of the earth-shaking violence one might have expected. The air seemed to freeze in an instant.
The two forces gnawed at and devoured each other.
Space twisted, and occasional black fissures appeared, leaking traces of an aura so terrifying that it chilled the soul.
Xiao Xiao felt the headache that had only just begun to ease suddenly flare up again with violent intensity.
His eyes were unbearably sore and feverish as well.
He felt as though he were about to melt.
But he knew that at this moment, he could not relax in the slightest.
Nor could he retreat even half a step.
Xiao Xiao clenched both hands tightly. The railing groaned beneath his grip.
His eyes remained wide and unyielding. Golden radiance continually surfaced in the air, solidifying from nothingness and carrying a fierce, cutting aura as it screamed toward its target.
At last, after what seemed like an entire century, the blood-red radiance finally dissipated completely. The golden light transformed into a sky full of glittering points before vanishing without a trace.
Yet Xiao Xiao did not relax in the slightest. He had been facing the enemy as though confronting a great danger, only to discover unexpectedly that the monster had stopped attacking.
Yes—the monster seemed to cast him a faint glance, though perhaps it was merely his imagination. When he blinked and looked again, the monster had resumed its former posture, its eyes half-closed, sitting as still and unconcerned as an old master unmoved by the world.
Though puzzled, Xiao Xiao could not help letting out a breath of relief.
After staggering several steps, he collapsed into a chair.
His body leaned forward involuntarily. His left hand gripped his right elbow, while his right arm propped up his clenched fist against his forehead.
His sweat-soaked hair clung damply to the back of his neck and forehead. The sticky sensation inexplicably made him feel even more irritated and stifled.
Xiao Xiao’s face was pale. His head throbbed as though pierced by countless needles, and he gasped heavily, though not a sound escaped him.
Suddenly remembering something, Xiao Xiao raised his head and looked toward the court. His vision swam for a moment, and only after some time did the blur gradually clear.
His scattered gaze sharpened once more.
It still refused to give up?
Xiao Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly, the corners curving into a cold, razor-sharp arc.
Golden radiance flowed through them. There was no trace of pain—only a sheet of icy indifference.
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Once again, he forcefully suppressed the opponent’s blood-red glare.
But this time, he did not stop there. Xiao Xiao continued to bear down on it without blinking until fear and horror—the same expressions that had appeared in the eyes of so many Yanda players—finally surfaced in the monster’s eyes as well.
Since the other side did not know when to stop, why should he spare any thought for its feelings?
…
“Bang!”
The basketball spun rapidly once around the rim before dropping cleanly through the hoop with a swish.
“Thud, thud”—the sound of the ball rolling across the floor rang out almost at the same moment as the final whistle.
“Beeep!”
The game was over.
“Yeah!”
After one instant of silence, the entire gymnasium erupted into thunderous cheers. Like a mountain flood surging through a gorge, the roaring excitement instantly engulfed the whole arena.
The scoreboard read 117–114. Yanda had scored 117 points, while Polytechnic University had scored 114. The final three-pointer had carried victory back to Yanda.
…
“Whew…”
Xiao Xiao breathed carefully and slowly bent forward. He was afraid that if he relaxed too quickly, his entire body would collapse.
He rested both elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together to support his heavy head.
It was practically a case of injuring the enemy by a thousand while suffering eight hundred points of damage himself.
No—it was more like injuring the enemy by eight hundred while suffering a thousand points of damage.
His old wounds had not yet healed, and now he had added new ones on top of them. Injury upon injury, pain upon pain.
“Drip, drip!”
Beads of sweat slid down Xiao Xiao’s forehead, slipped along his hair, or seeped between his fingers. Some clung to his eyelashes, swaying precariously several times before finally gathering enough weight to fall to the floor.
Before long, a small patch of moisture had formed on the ground in front of his feet.
“Third Brother… what’s wrong with you?”
Yanda had ultimately won the game, and every Yanda student present had gone wild with joy. The basketball gym was filled with unrestrained howls and cheers.
“Third Brother?”
Zhuge Yun and Zhao Lüzheng were no exception. They had shouted and yelled as wildly as anyone.
After venting their excitement, the two realized that Xiao Xiao was nowhere to be seen. Almost instinctively, they turned and called out to him, their voices still brimming with elation and exhilaration.
But something was unmistakably wrong with Xiao Xiao.
Everyone around them was cheering, jumping, and shouting at the top of their lungs. Xiao Xiao alone was bent deeply forward, one hand pressed against his forehead, leaving his expression hidden.
The aura surrounding him was so utterly different from the atmosphere around them that he seemed completely out of place.
It gave one the strange impression that although they occupied the same space, they had somehow been separated into two different worlds.
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Zhuge Yun and Zhao Lüzheng froze for a moment.
At that instant, even without seeing Xiao Xiao’s face—or perhaps precisely because they could not see it—they sensed a distance and coldness in him that they had never felt before.
Even the usually irrepressible Zhuge Yun hesitated. His lips moved several times, but every sound he made was so indistinct that it was impossible to understand.
Zhao Lüzheng also felt a shiver of unease. At that moment, Xiao Xiao inexplicably gave off an intensely dangerous air.
But Zhao Lüzheng had always been observant. He suddenly noticed the small pool of moisture on the floor. Lifting his gaze slightly, he saw sweat continually falling straight through Xiao Xiao’s fingers. All his concerns vanished at once, and he blurted out, “Third Brother, you’re sweating so much!”
“Third Brother, are you all right?”
“Are you feeling hot?”
Zhao Lüzheng’s words seemed to break some kind of spell. Zhuge Yun instantly sprang back to life, ignoring the strange feeling he had experienced earlier. His usual lecherous expression returned to his face.
“I’m fine.”
The voice was as dry as a file scraping across sandpaper. Xiao Xiao frowned fiercely.
Who would believe he was fine after hearing a voice like that?
Xiao Xiao ran his tongue over his pale, parched lips, slowly raised a hand, and touched his throat. Then he cleared it several times.
“Third Brother, here’s some water.”
“Thank you.”
Xiao Xiao tipped his head back and gulped down several mouthfuls. The cool water washed over his raw throat, and even his tightly strung nerves seemed to relax a little.
“Third Brother, why do you look so awful? Are you really all right?”
When Zhuge Yun saw Xiao Xiao’s face, exposed as he tilted his head back, it was so pale that not a trace of color remained. He could not help being badly startled.
“Third Brother, come on. Let’s go to the campus clinic and have you checked out.”
Zhao Lüzheng reached out and began pulling him along.
“I’m really fine. Maybe I haven’t fully recovered from my illness. I’ll be all right after I go back and rest.”
“No, Third Brother. You’ve been sick for so many days—how are you still not fully recovered? You should go to the hospital and get examined.”
…
“Boss…”
“Their basketball team will definitely be holding a victory celebration afterward. Do you really think they’ll have time for us?”
…
All right. In the end, the minority had to defer to the majority, and Xiao Xiao was reluctantly “escorted” to the hospital by Zhuge Yun and Zhao Lüzheng.
…
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