Chapter 1

"Chen Mu, it's your turn!"

"A, a... huh?!"

Chen Mu opened his eyes, the surroundings filled with noise. Just waking up from a strange drowsiness, Chen Mu felt a bit dizzy. Looking around, the scenery was still out of focus, as if covered by a layer of mist, giving off an unreal feeling.

"What are you standing there for?? Hurry up and get in!"

A hurried voice came from his ear. Chen Mu glanced sideways and saw a middle-aged man staring at him with wide eyes, like a bull, his hands constantly waving to get Chen Mu's attention.

"Oh... oh!"

What's going on?

Chen Mu, still dazed, walked onto the court, observing his surroundings as he went.

"2005 Chinese Men's Basketball U17 Team USA Training"

Not far away, a banner read this, which made Chen Mu even more confused, unable to determine his location.

"Hey, can't take a loss, huh? Even sending out the guy at the end of the bench? Haha!"

"I've been saying it all along, Chinese basketball is no good. Apart from Yao, no one can compete with us Americans!"

"Look at this kid, so skinny, and not as tall as Yao. He's probably just as useless as the other players, hahaha!"

In the stands, many Western faces were mocking Chen Mu. Looking up, the scoreboard not far away showed that the game was in the second half of the third quarter, with a very glaring score.

"70 to 44."

Chen Mu stepped onto the court, high-fiving a dejected teammate, completing the handover. Looking at the other Chinese players on the court, they all had extremely disheartened expressions, clearly affected by the lopsided score.

"What's going on? Why am I here??"

"Beep"

There was no time to think, as the referee had already blown the whistle, and the game continued. The middle-aged man, who seemed to be the coach, shouted loudly, urging the players to get their spirits up.

"Chen Jianghua, control the pace, don't rush! It's not a big deal to be behind; the important thing is to work together! Don't be afraid, play with courage and determination! This play, use the Horns tactic!"

The coach said a few words to the point guard who was controlling the ball, then turned to the other players, assigning each of them their tasks. Finally, he turned to Chen Mu, wanting to say something but shook his head and sighed, "Just feel the game atmosphere...!"

"Okay, okay!"

Chen Mu nodded and ran forward.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

Chen Jianghua, the point guard, was very fast, with good ball-handling skills, smoothly advancing the ball to the front court, then made a Horns gesture.

"Thud, thud!"

The center in the paint understood and took a few steps out to Chen Jianghua's side, providing a solid screen.

"Chen Mu!"

Seeing Chen Mu not reacting, the tall center got anxious and turned to yell at Chen Mu, signaling him to quickly come forward and provide a screen.

"Oh, oh, I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Chen Mu vaguely remembered that the Horns tactic involved the other players on the court coming forward to provide double screens for the point guard, giving the backcourt player options to break to either side. The other two players without the ball would run to create space. The main focus of the attack was on the point guard, small forward, and center.

"Bang!"

Chen Mu came forward from the left to provide a screen for Chen Jianghua. Chen Jianghua seized the fleeting opportunity, sidestepped around the screen, broke through the defense, and charged into the paint.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

After the screen, the small forward and shooting guard had already made a baseline cross-run, each landing in the corner. The center, who had just provided a screen for Chen Jianghua, turned and moved down low. Chen Jianghua glanced and passed the ball high to the center.

"Spread out, spread out!"

Chen Jianghua shouted, and the center had already formed a mismatch in the paint against the American point guard, a perfect opportunity for a one-on-one.

"Thud, thud"

Chen Mu reacted quickly, understanding Chen Jianghua's intention immediately, moving to the weak side to create enough space for the center to play one-on-one.

"Bang, bang, bang"

Although his ball-handling skills were not great, the Chinese center, who was at least 2.10 meters tall, pushed his way inside, quickly reaching the basket and turning to shoot a hook shot.

This ball won't go in!

For some reason, as soon as Chen Mu saw the center's weak shot, he felt that the ball would definitely not go in. He even mentally simulated the ball's trajectory after it hit the rim.

"Clang!"

Sure enough, the shot was weak, hitting the front of the rim. Chen Mu silently cursed the center's lack of fundamentals, but then something strange happened.

"Beep, beep, beep"

A system-like notification sound came, and in front of Chen Mu's eyes, a green circle appeared in addition to the real-world scene.

"Beep, beep"

The circle was not far from the basket, flashing in the air, with a diameter no larger than a basketball.

"What the hell is this?!"

Chen Mu was stunned, but his body reacted automatically, as if the circle had some kind of magic, drawing him to run forward.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

"Chen Mu, what are you doing?!!! Get back on defense!!!"

Seeing Chen Mu stepping into the paint, Chen Jianghua got anxious and quickly reminded Chen Mu to get back on defense. With this one-on-one not going in and the other players near the three-point line, it would be easy for the Americans to grab the rebound and launch a fast break, which they were very good at.

In the Horns tactic, the power forward like Chen Mu was not involved in the offense to leave a player who could quickly get back on defense to prevent the opponent's fast break.

"Thud!"

But Chen Jianghua's words flashed past Chen Mu's ears, not registering in his mind. His eyes seemed to be fixed on the green circle, and he could even hear a faint voice in his head saying:

"The rebound will definitely land in that position!"

"Thud!" "Bang!"

In a split second, Chen Mu was already under the basket, reaching out to the position of the circle before the ball even landed.

"Clap!"

The moment Chen Mu's hands reached the circle, the rebounded ball landed perfectly in his hands.

"Offensive rebound!"

Seeing Chen Mu grab the rebound, the other players' faces showed a look of disbelief, as if they had seen a monster, looking at each other in shock, not knowing how to react.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

Chen Mu was the only one on the court with a clear mind. After grabbing the rebound, he heard the footsteps of the American players rushing to defend. He immediately passed the ball to Chen Jianghua, who was still in a daze.

"Whoosh," "Clap"

Chen Jianghua was still in a daze but naturally caught the ball. After a moment, when the Americans started to reorganize their defense, he came to his senses, dribbling and shouting, "Good board, good board! Let's be patient and try again!"

"Thud, thud"

Chen Mu took a few steps back, moving out of the paint, breathing heavily, and recalling the scene that had just happened, finding it hard to believe himself.

"What was that green circle? Why did I see the rebound's landing position before it even fell?!"

"Whoosh, whoosh"

There was no time for Chen Mu to think, as the next offensive play had already started. Chen Jianghua, still very "considerate," called for a pick-and-roll play that did not require much involvement from Chen Mu. The Chinese players quickly moved, and the ball was passed to the weak side at a 45-degree angle. The shooting guard, seeing that the American player was still a step away from the defense, decisively took a three-point shot.

"It won't go in!"

As the shooting guard released the shot, Chen Mu's mind again had that strange thought, as if he had already predicted the ball's trajectory, and he involuntarily moved towards the free-throw line.

"Beep, beep, beep"

The notification sound came in his mind, and this time, the green circle in his mind seemed to indicate a long rebound, with the landing position marked near the free-throw line, still flashing in the air, showing the best time to grab the rebound.

"Thud, thud"

"Chen Mu! What are you doing?! Go for the offensive rebound!!"

Seeing Chen Mu make another strange move, the coach on the sideline also got anxious, waving his hands and shouting at Chen Mu.

In this play, the center did not participate and had already retreated to the three-point line, while the other Chinese players were also near the three-point line, ready to defend against the opponent's fast break.

In a pick-and-roll play, after a long-range shot, the power forward (the 4th position) would rush for the offensive rebound, while the other players would get back on defense. This was a basic tactical idea that had been drilled into every player's mind countless times.

However, at this moment, Chen Mu made another strange move, which made the players and the coaching staff very unhappy, all shouting at him.

"Clang!"

At this moment, the three-point shot hit the front of the rim. The Chinese shooting guard shook his head, about to get back on defense, but he saw another strange scene:

"Thud, thud" "Bang!"

Chen Mu, like a wild bull, took a few steps to the free-throw line, reached out, and the ball, as if guided by a GPS set for Chen Mu, obediently landed in his hands.

"This...?!!!"

Everyone was stunned, not just the Chinese players, but also the American players, who stared at Chen Mu with wide eyes, as if they were looking at a monster.

"This kid... I feel like he got to the landing spot before the ball did... No, he started running for the rebound almost the moment the Chinese player shot!"

The American power forward, who was defending Chen Mu, stared in disbelief until Chen Mu passed the ball to Chen Jianghua and moved to the weak side, then he reacted and rushed to defend.

"Don't worry, it's just luck."

Another American player said to the power forward, who was still shaking his head, "No one can predict the rebound's landing spot that early. He's just lucky."

"I know."

The power forward nodded, turned to follow Chen Mu, but found that Chen Mu had disappeared from his sight again.

"Whoosh!"

Not far away, the Chinese shooting guard got another chance to shoot, a long two-point shot. The ball was still in the air when Chen Mu had already rushed into the paint, looking at the right side of the rim, and made a positioning move.

"This kid...!!"

The American power forward was a bit angry. This new player had never played in the previous training sessions, clearly the weakest player on the Chinese team. If not for the large score difference, Chen Mu probably wouldn't have gotten any playing time throughout the entire training.

However, Chen Mu had already grabbed two offensive rebounds in just two plays. This third shot, he was trying to grab the rebound again, which seemed overly aggressive and reckless.

"Clang!"

The ball hit the side of the rim and bounced high. The American power forward sneered to himself, thinking, "This time, I'll show these Chinese guys our American jumping ability!"

"Thud, whoosh!"

The American power forward had an incredible jump, taking one step and launching himself like a rocket, his hands reaching above the rim, about to grab the ball in mid-air.

"Chen Mu, jump!!!"

The coach was frantic, seeing the opposing player jump while Chen Mu was still standing there, thinking he had lost it again, and frantically shouting to get Chen Mu's attention.

"Whoosh!"

The ball started to fall, and the American power forward was still in the air, his hands just a finger's width away from the ball. If the ball moved just a bit more, he would have grabbed the rebound.

However, something incredible happened again.

"Clang!"

The ball, instead of falling straight, hit the rim again, and the American player's jump was in vain, not even touching the ball, landing on the ground.

"Right now!"

In front of Chen Mu, the green circle started to flash rapidly. With the experience from the previous two times, Chen Mu knew that the more intense the circle's flashing, the closer the ball was to landing in the circle.

When the ball first hit the rim, the circle only flickered slightly, leading Chen Mu to believe that the ball would not fall so easily. So, when the American player jumped to contest the rebound, Chen Mu did not move.

And now, the ball was truly falling.

"Thud!"

Chen Mu took one step, leaped up, and with his long arms, reached the circle.

"Whoosh!"

After the ball hit the rim for the second time, it obediently fell towards the circle, and Chen Mu smoothly caught it, firmly grabbing the rebound.

"...Wow!!!"

In three offensive plays, Chen Mu had grabbed three offensive rebounds, causing the crowd to erupt in excitement. Many spectators were discussing whether this tall, skinny player was the Chinese team's final ace!

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New book uploaded, hope everyone supports it, recommend and collect it! If you want to see your favorite player appear, leave a comment, and I will consider adding them based on the plot to make your hero appear! Mobile users can visit http://m.piaotia.net

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