Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog-Chapter 330: Won But Lost

The gym erupted into chaos as his teammates and coach rushed to his side, panic flashing in their eyes. Yuze was the first to reach him, his sadness leaving his body as he looked at Kai.

"Kai! Kai, can you hear me?" he exclaimed while shaking his shoulders.

But there was no response.

Kai was out cold, his body limp and unresponsive.

The adrenaline that had fueled him through those final moments had finally run dry, leaving him completely drained.

The crowd fell silent, their cheers replaced by worried murmurs. The realization of what had just happened settled in. The paramedics were called, and they rushed onto the court with a stretcher.

Mark, the commentator who had been narrating the game with such enthusiasm, now spoke in a hushed, serious tone. "This…this is not how anyone wanted this game to end. Kai Guo has given his all, and it seems his body just couldn’t take it anymore. Let’s hope he’s okay…"

The Knights’ celebration quieted down as they, too, noticed what was happening. Max watched from a distance, the adrenaline still coursing through his veins. He felt a pang of concern as he saw Kai being attended to by the medics. Despite being opponents on the court, there was mutual respect among players—especially after a game like this.

As Kai was taken to the infirmary, Mark spoke once more, trying to bring order back to the court. "Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll be taking a break. We’ll resume after lunch for the awarding ceremony. Please remain calm, and let’s all hope for the best for Kai Guo."

But even as the announcement echoed, the crowd was still worried.

Suzy was about to run after him, but her dad caught her just in time.

"Come on," Sir Dao said. "Let’s eat lunch and come back for the awarding ceremonies."

Suzy clicked her tongue. "I want to see Kai."

Sir Dao clicked his tongue. "He already has Lina. You don’t have any room in the infirmary anymore."

With her dad’s statement, Suzy felt a strange pang in her heart.

Meanwhile, the others still whispered about Kai’s health, worrying for the young player.

"Eh, he’ll live," Chunlei nonchalantly said, causing chuckles to erupt from the seats of the players.

"Should you say that when he just passed out?" Zedong asked, amused.

Chunlei shrugged. "We all know that it would take a lot more than that to bring Kai down. For all I know, he must be feeling sick before all of this. Did you know that he was fresh from a car accident when he played with the Alligators?"

On the Knights’ bench, Max felt a wave of unease wash over him. This wasn’t their first championship, but it definitely felt like the hardest one yet. The usual euphoria that followed a victory just wasn’t there.

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Ailun, sensing something was off, approached Max and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What’s wrong? You don’t look too happy. We just won the championship," Ailun said, trying to coax a smile from his teammate.

Max stayed silent for a moment, his mind replaying the final moments of the game over and over again.

Something wasn’t sitting right with him.

"Don’t you think it’s weird?" Max finally spoke, his voice low and thoughtful.

Ailun raised an eyebrow, confused. "Weird? What do you mean?"

"The illusion…," Max began, his eyes narrowing as he tried to piece together his thoughts.

"It felt like I saw an illusion from the Shizi Dogs before the game ended. Like, right before Kai collapsed."

Ailun chuckled. "You must be really tired. I didn’t see anything. The Shizi Dogs couldn’t even keep up with us. You’re saying that they’ve pulled off the illusion—a technique we’ve been curating for months?"

"No," Max shook his head. "Not the entire team. Just Kai. For one second, he also saw right through the illusion and blocked the ball. Perhaps, did he figure out the technique to it?"

Ailun was about to respond, but before he could, a crowd of fans and photographers surrounded them. They were clamoring for pictures with Max.

For a brief moment, Max considered pushing through the crowd to chase the strange feeling. However, the reality of the championship win came crashing back in, and he forced a smile for the cameras.

Across the gym, Kexin and the others were chatting, trying to make sense of the game that had just ended. "It’s still too early for the Shizi Dogs to win," Kexin said, trying to reassure himself and the others. "They don’t have the experience, the resources… They’re good, but they’re not there yet."

But Chunlei, who had been quietly observing everything, shook his head. "I’m not so sure about that."

Yiming, curious, raised one eyebrow. "What now? Why are you micro-analysing everything in this game?"

Chunlei chuckled in amusement. "For one, it’s fun. It’s the first time we haven’t played in the championships, so I’m more attentive than usual."

Then, he leaned back, his eyes narrowing as he began to lay out his thoughts. "The Knights can’t be truly happy with this win. Not like this."

Kexin looked puzzled. "Why not? They won, didn’t they?"

"Yeah, but think about it," Chunlei continued. "One, they nearly lost. They were one point away from losing it all. We’re talking about a team that has more resources and more support and has been doing this for a long time. A team like that shouldn’t be struggling this much against the Shizi Dogs." Enjoy exclusive content from novelbuddy

Yiming nodded slowly, seeing the point.

"Two," Chunlei continued, "they had to break out a special move just to secure the win. I heard it was supposed to be their secret weapon for the Nationals, and they had to use it now just to beat a team that’s supposed to be less experienced."

"And three," Chunlei finished, "the Shizi Dogs are the talk of the day. They’re the stars, the ones everyone is talking about. Not the Knights. Everyone’s talking about how close they came, about Kai’s leadership, about Kun’s buzzer-beater. Even though they lost, they’ve captured everyone’s attention."

As if on cue, they heard various groups of fans talking excitedly about the Shizi Dogs.

"I’m excited for the Nationals this year!"

"Do you want to buy a Kai Guo mug?"

"I think I became a fan of Kun. He’s quite cute, isn’t he?"

Aside from praises, there were also voices of disappointment—particularly those who questioned Kai’s decision to pass the ball to Kun instead of Andy.

"He should’ve passed to Andy! That was the safer bet," one fan argued, shaking his head.

Coach Yixing, who heard the fan’s statement, spoke up.

"It was deliberate," he said, his voice tinged with admiration. "Kai knew exactly what he was doing. Andy wouldn’t have made that shot. Max would’ve stopped it at all cost."

The coaches and players around him listened intently as he continued. "Moreover, passing to Kun… that was brilliant. Kun hadn’t scored all night, and it was clear his confidence had taken a hit. But Kai knew that, and he gave Kun the opportunity to redeem himself. It was a calculated move—one that will pay off when the Nationals come around."

Chunlei shook his head in amusement, seeing the bigger picture. "The Knights may have won the game," he said, a small smile playing on his lips, "but it seems like they lost a whole lot more."