Chapter 74

Page Twenty-Four – On the Brink · Beach Volleyball

Finally, under the full encouragement of Sister Yuanyue, I accepted this match.

After all, attending a commercial performance with Thunder Meow-Meow wasn’t such a bad deal. What if I won?

I could do all sorts of things to Thunder Meow-Meow! I would invite her to my house, lock the door, and then… hehehe… play with PS4 for a whole day.

Thunder Meow-Meow, Thunder La, Sister Yuanyue, Tian Qian vs. Zhao Zhao, Chen Ju, Lin Hua Tan, Chang Kai

Except for Sister Yuanyue and Tan Lin Hua, everyone else was a volleyball rookie, so Sister Yuanyue spent some time giving us rookies a quick lesson.

Just like card games have R cards, SR cards, and SSR cards, there’s also a difference among rookies.

Though she turned into a girl, Thunder Meow-Meow’s stamina wasn’t weak at all; the lively and active Orange had plenty of energy and was quite flexible as a cat-girl; judging from the previous bear hug, Tian Qian had considerable strength; the solid muscles on Uncle Lei Lao and Uncle Zhao Zhao weren’t for show; only I was useless.

Thunder Meow-Meow’s team started with Tian Qian and Uncle Lei La first… um… the well-developed chest muscle duo, though Tian Qian’s chest muscles were soft.

Being underestimated by a mere Zhao Zhao made me feel a bit annoyed, so Tan Lin Hua and I went up first.

I admit, I had a bit of a “riding the bandwagon” mentality.

Humble supporting character! Feel the power of the protagonist’s dark transformation! See what it means when someone becomes three times stronger due to dark transformation.

Although I’m not very good, I have an inexplicable confidence, and that’s me.

“Kai-Chan! The ball is coming!”

“Thud!”

“Augh!”

Oh no, I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn’t notice Tian Qian had already served. The volleyball hit my forehead and bounced off into the air.

Fortunately, Tian Qian’s strength wasn’t great, and non-professional athletes couldn’t really hit the ball like a cannonball.

“Considering Kai-Chan, you did pretty well.”

Pretty well? I was clearly hit!

Tan Lin Hua seized the opportunity created by my “header,” leaped up, and delivered a powerful spike. Uncle Lei La tried to cushion it, but the ball still rolled out of bounds. Our team scored first.

“Is Little Brother Chang Kai okay? I really didn’t mean to!”

Although we lost a point, Tian Qian immediately ran to the net to check on me, sounding somewhat anxious.

“It’s fine, I have thick skin.”

Thunder Meow-Meow shouted from the sidelines at Tian Qian, “Little Qian, don’t worry about him! This is his scheme!”

Hmph, looks like I need to show Thunder Meow-Meow my true strength.

Then I served the ball and missed the net, giving them another point and losing the serve.

Tan Lin Hua scolded unhappily, “Idiot Kai! If your technique isn’t good enough, don’t even think about serving close to the net. Serve higher!”

I wasn’t thinking about serving close to the net; the net is two meters high, which is taller than me, making it difficult to get over.

“Maybe we should lower the net a bit for the rookies.”

Following Sister Yuanyue’s instructions, the net was lowered to two meters. Although it made it easier to clear the net, it also made it harder to spike.

“Here we go!” Uncle Lei La, with his robust muscles, looked like a bomb ready to explode. I absolutely couldn’t let him spike.

Perhaps they saw me as a weak link, as Uncle Lei La consciously aimed his serve at me. However, he was also a rookie, and the ball went a bit too high, giving me enough time to react.

I held the ball with both hands and passed it back to Tan Lin Hua, who then hit it back, but it was intercepted by Tian Qian under the net and sent back. This ball lacked power, and Tan Lin Hua gently lifted it and completed a spike, scoring another point.

Though Tan Lin Hua’s spike wasn’t strong, the opponents couldn’t catch it.

Back and forth, our team relied entirely on Tan Lin Hua’s offense, and we won the first set with a significant advantage of 21:14.

With a substantial lead, I felt uneasy.

Tan Lin Hua proved that experience was more valuable than stamina. Once she got tired and left the game, would we be annihilated by Sister Yuanyue?

“Lin Hua, save your energy. We might depend on you.”

“I’ll try.” Even though she hadn’t caught her breath, her face was flushed and sweaty.

Every time I created a hitting opportunity, he was responsible for the attack. Hitting the ball was much more exhausting than setting it.

To conserve Tan Lin Hua’s energy, I tried to return the ball myself. Only when he hit the ball did we make progress, so the score in the second set was relatively close.

The situation on the other side was similar. Uncle Lei La handled most of the attacks and serves, and now he was panting heavily. His sweat made his body glisten, highlighting his muscular physique, making him look like a bodybuilder.

“Substitute! Let me take over!”

Thunder Meow-Meow finally couldn’t hold back any longer. She tossed her straw hat aside, revealing her beautiful golden hair, and bounded onto the court after stretching.

Sister Yuanyue must have given her extra training. Despite being a rookie, Thunder Meow-Meow could somewhat control the landing points of the ball.

Her hits were tricky, always aiming far away to force me or Tan Lin Hua to move around, thus exhausting our energy. A slight mistake could result in losing points.

She was too cunning, not like Thunder Meow-Meow’s usual style. It seemed Sister Yuanyue designed this strategy for her.

Not only that, Thunder Meow-Meow’s strength was terrifying. The volleyball in her hands truly felt like a cannonball. Her spikes were harder to handle than Uncle Lei La’s, making her a real heavy hitter, and it was hard to imagine how those slender arms could generate such immense power.

From this, it was clear she held back when she hit me before.

Running around chasing the volleyball like a monkey, Lin Hua finally exhausted her energy and sat down on the beach, panting.

Hmm, boys can also sit like ducks?

“Lin Hua, you can rest. It’s just for fun, you don’t have to push yourself so hard.”

Tan Lin Hua nodded in agreement, and I waved to Zhao Zhao.

Orange helped Tan Lin Hua down to rest, while Zhao Zhao hopped onto the court like a monkey.

“Leave it to me. I’m confident in my stamina, the tactic of exhaustion won’t work on me.”

Zhao Zhao smiled brightly as he spoke, looking particularly cheerful, like a reliable veteran on the battlefield.

Tian Qian and Thunder Meow-Meow vs. me and Zhao Zhao, a real rivalry.

Our main player, Tan Lin Hua, was already off the court, and Sister Yuanyue hadn’t joined yet, so it was truly a match between amateurs.

Zhao Zhao, who confidently said, “Leave it to me,” couldn’t even last a few hits before bending over and struggling to walk… wasn’t this completely unreliable!

“Hey! You can’t be serious? You’re done already?”

He frowned, looking extremely pained.

“Sorry Chairman, the enemy’s psychological attack is too strong. I’ve resisted with all my might, but I can’t stand straight.”

“What psychological attack?”

He pointed at Tian Qian on the other side of the net.

In fact, I noticed too. Tian Qian’s chest always drew attention when she served or spiked, especially when she jumped.

Thunder Meow-Meow and Tian Qian were once men, so Zhao Zhao’s meaning was clear. Tian Qian’s face flushed red, and Thunder Meow-Meow stood in front of her with a childish pose, looking disdainfully at us… wait, why was I also being looked down upon?

Sigh, Thunder Tiger’s male dignity was completely gone. How could he not understand such uncontrollable physiological reactions… what kind of idol training or personality transformation did she undergo?

“A wolf’s friend is also a wolf.”

“Um, maybe we should switch places with Sister Yuanyue and Sister Qian?”

“Not surprising, even going after someone’s mother?”

“Otherwise, we can’t continue the beach volleyball.”

“Why do we waste a substitution slot? Send the muscular wolf down!”

“But he just got on the field!”

“Is that our problem?”

I looked at the mountain gorilla next to me, deep in thought.

If Zhao Zhao continued like this, we were definitely going to lose. Orange had no ability to turn the tide, and Zhao Zhao on the court was just a slow drain.

Whether we win or lose, the game is over!

“Here she comes!” As I was in a panic, Orange excitedly shouted toward a direction, “She’s here!”

Following Orange’s gaze, hope rekindled in my heart.

A tall girl with a single braid wore a cherry blossom-colored two-piece swimsuit, adorned with lace ribbons to cover her flat chest.

On her shoulder was a wooden sword, a blade without the “Toyohashi” inscription, which I remembered correctly was a souvenir sold at the Sea House.

Her lips curled into a wicked smile, half-closed eyes fixated on Thunder Meow-Meow, exuding an aura of “I am supreme under heaven,” missing only a jacket that read “Brawling King” or “Night’s End.”

“Everything is fine now. Want to know why?”

She stuck the wooden sword in the sand, picked up the volleyball that had rolled aside, and bounced it.

“Because I’m here.”