Ming You silently watched as his opponent deftly dribbled the ball from hand to hand, displaying clear superiority.
"I could snatch the ball right now, but then they'd start playing seriously..." flashed through his mind.
He intentionally let Shi Lei pass, only slightly pretending to try and stop him.
Shi Lei, sensing the opening, sharply accelerated, easily bypassing Ming You, and with a powerful swing, slammed the ball into the hoop. The dunk sounded with a dull thud, making the metal rim tremble.
"Heh, what idiots..." Ming You smirked to himself, stepping back.
"Not bad, but let me have some fun with him for a bit," exclaimed Hong Ji, moving away from the hoop.
"Whatever," Shi Lei agreed without objection, positioning himself closer to the basket.
When Hong Ji stepped up on defense, his confident smirk spoke for itself—he was sure he could easily handle Ming You. The latter, ignoring the provocations, with a stone face, methodically dribbled the ball against the asphalt, maintaining his rhythm.
"Well then, kid, entertain me while you still can," laughed Hong Ji, spreading his arms wide as if inviting an attack.
The reply was not long in coming. The next instant, the ball flew into his face, bouncing back to Ming You, who immediately dashed forward, leaving the defender bewildered.
"Motherfucker!" roared Hong Ji, rubbing his nose and giving chase.
"Hey, Hong Ji, don't embarrass me," Shi Lei said with cold contempt, cutting off Ming You's path.
Ming You wasn't in a hurry. A few sharp dribbles between the legs—first with the right hand, then the left—and the defender faltered for a moment. That was enough. Ming You sharply moved to the side, leaving Shi Lei empty-handed.
"Ha-ha, you fell for it, you dumbass!" yelled Hong Ji, who had already positioned himself under the hoop, arms wide, blocking all paths for a shot.
But Ming You had no intention of taking a standard shot. Instead, he jumped sharply... behind the backboard, eliciting mockery.
"This idiot jumped behind the backboard! He's so full of himself," Shi Lei smirked.
Hong Ji also laughed, but his laughter got stuck in his throat when the ball, released from behind the backboard, sailed in a high arc straight into the basket.
"Huh?!" everyone on the court exhaled in unison.
Ming You was already walking towards the line, not even granting them a glance.
"This time, let's deal with him seriously." Shi Lei shot a glance at Hong Ji, his voice firm, without a hint of a joke.
Hong Ji only nodded silently, squeezing the ball in his hands. His fingers dug slightly into the leather. Shi Lei, meanwhile, had run closer to the hoop, positioning himself for a quick pass. His eyes carefully watched the opponent, waiting for a moment to attack.
"You're pretty lucky." Hong Ji smirked, making a sharp fake—he abruptly lifted the ball as if he was about to throw it right into Ming You's face.
But Ming You didn't bite. Because of the provocation he had planned, he already knew the first attempt this round was just a decoy. His reaction was instantaneous: his hand shot forward, intercepting the ball's trajectory.
Slap!
The ball slipped out of Hong Ji's hands and ended up with Ming You.
Shi Lei shouted, waving his hand in irritation:
"Damn it, I have to do everything myself again! Hong Ji, get to the hoop!"
Hong Ji clenched his teeth but said nothing. He sharply turned and headed towards the basket, his gaze burning with the determination to redeem himself.
Meanwhile, Shi Lei switched to hard defense. He dropped into a low stance, arms spread wide, completely shutting down the space. Any attempt to drive or take a shot now seemed impossible.
"Now's the moment," Ming You said to himself when Hong Ji moved to the hoop and Shi Lei took his serious defensive stance. "Time for the final maneuver."
Shi Lei and Ming You stood facing each other for a couple of seconds; the spectators froze in anticipation. The defender was full of confidence, but a moment later, his face twisted in shock.
"What the..." Shi Lei whispered to himself, feeling the ground disappear from under his feet.
"There's a monster on the court!" someone from the crowd yelled.
Ming You began his fake with a sharp shift to the right, forcing the defender to instinctively step in that direction. But before Shi Lei could react, Ming You swiftly moved the ball behind his back with his left hand, simultaneously making a false step to the left. This created the illusion for the defender that he was going to break through in that direction.
Then followed a lightning-fast crossover—the ball was whipped in front of his body, and Ming You's torso swayed in the opposite direction. Shi Lei, trying to guess the trajectory, had already lost his balance. At that moment, Ming You added a quick double between-the-legs dribble—first with the right, then the left hand—creating the effect of the ball disappearing and reappearing.
Due to the speed and agility, the movements merged into one continuous flow. For a second, it seemed to both the spectators and Shi Lei himself that it wasn't one player before them, but several—as if Ming You had four heads, eight arms, and several balls simultaneously.
Just as the defender thought Ming You was about to shoot, he abruptly raised his hands, faking a jump. Shi Lei, fooled by the pump fake, leaped into the air, but the ball was already gone—Ming You simply dropped it down and slipped past him as if bypassing a child.
"What the..." Shi Lei uttered in astonishment.
Hong Ji was already under the hoop, closely guarding Ming You, but the latter was in no hurry to attack. Instead of taking the shot, he abruptly raised the ball, faking a shooting attempt, and Hong Ji immediately reacted—he jumped up powerfully, trying to block the shot.
"Don't underestimate us, you little shit!" he yelled, confident he was about to stop the attack.
But Ming You had no intention of playing by his script. With a sly grin, he took two sharp steps back, creating space from the defender, and instantly released the ball towards the basket. The trajectory was perfect—a clean shot, leaving Hong Ji in a state of helpless fury.
"Holy shit, he's good!" shouted one of the spectators, jumping to his feet. "He's just untouchable!"
The stands erupted in shouts, though most were upset that their bets had gone up in smoke:
"Hey! This is all a setup! There's no way a little shit like him could get past two bruisers like that!"
"That's right! Where's our money!?"
But then a whistle blew.
"Time's up. Score 3-2 in favor of the solo player," the referee announced, raising a hand in his direction.
"What? How? What do you mean, time's up?" Hong Ji exclaimed in confusion, looking back at the scoreboard. He was sure there were still a couple of seconds left.
"You dumbass, he made us lose track of the time," Shi Lei cut him off sharply, clenching his fists.
After the intense game, with Ming You emerging victorious, his opponents stared at him in bewilderment.
"You're not just a player," one of the organizers approached him, rubbing the back of his head. "You're a fucking insane player."
Ming You merely responded with a feigned smirk and collected his money.
"So your strategy was to distract us from the clock?" Shi Lei asked him roughly.
"You're not as much of an idiot as you look, unlike your friend here."
"Hey, you little faggot, watch your mouth! The game's over, the rules don't apply here now!" Hong Ji snorted, swinging his fist at Ming You.
"Calm the hell down," Shi Lei grabbed Hong Ji's arm and continued, "We just underestimated you. But if you want a rematch, you know where to find us."
Hong Ji gritted his teeth, while Ming You started to gather his things.
He put the money in his pocket and left the court with a sense of triumph, walking along the sidewalk.
"Because of my past... condition, my mind had almost managed to forget that I am a talent, a real talent. No one can be more talented than me, and if they can…"
Ming You remembered dismembering bodies. How his kitchen knife sliced through skin, cut through meat, and reached the bone. He felt a slight thrill of excitement but quickly shook his head, composing himself.
"Killing is only for a purpose. I must not let my desires lead the police to me."
As Ming You was about to pass a bus stop, he noticed a newspaper lying on a bench.
He picked it up and skimmed through the pages until he came across the rental listings.
A particular black-and-white picture caught his eye—a three-story apartment building. The apartment was a one-bedroom, minimalist unit.
"Only four blocks from here... the closest and most advantageous option for me."
Ming You dialed the number from the newspaper and called the landlord. Feigning politeness, he arranged a meeting and headed towards the building.
After about thirty minutes, he reached the destination—a three-story residential complex. The streets were quiet; cars were a rarity here, mostly just motorcycles.
"You Ming You?" a short man in his mid-twenties called out from behind him.
He had short, chestnut-brown hair. He was dressed in a blue shirt and blue jeans.
Ming You put on a smile for him and said confidently:
"Yes, that's me. To be honest, I'm in a bit of a hurry, so let's try to wrap this up quickly."
"No problem, but shall we take a look at the apartment first?"
Ming You nodded silently, and he, along with the landlord, began climbing the stairs.
Reaching the third floor, they passed two neighboring doors and entered the apartment. The space was empty and clean. In the hallway, there was a mirror opposite the entrance door. To the left of the mirror was the entrance to the room. Further left from the room were the bathroom and kitchen.
Without removing their shoes, they proceeded to the kitchen and sat down at the table. After filling out the paperwork, Ming You pulled out several stacks of cash from his pocket and placed them on the table.
"Let's agree on six months?"
"Perfect!"
After the landlord left the apartment, Ming You entered the room and let his gaze sweep over the large wooden wardrobe to the right of the door and the small bed to the left. Directly across from the door was a window, covered by curtains. By the window stood a desk with some blank papers and a deck of playing cards. Opposite the desk was an ordinary kitchen chair.
Ming You sat down on the chair, leaned his head back, and simultaneously glanced at his phone.
"Yoshido High School... close to home, and the school is nothing special... that works in my favor."