Starting Check-in Reward: Tomson Riviera

The days of military training passed by, one after another.

For Ye Ling, these past few days had been quite relaxing. The daily training was rather tame, and even when the requirements were strict, it was still a breeze for him.

As for the rest of the time, he mainly teased his girlfriend, sometimes engaged in a little PDA, and otherwise messed with his wisecracking dorm mates.

After spending these days together, the four guys from dorm 3222 had grown much closer. Though they often bickered, their bond was undeniably better than those of roommates who only seemed amicable on the surface.

This kind of bond was undoubtedly purer and more genuine.

"Brother Ling, there’s a freshman basketball tournament this afternoon. You wanna join?"

He Jian walked over with two bottles of water, casually tossing one to Ye Ling as he asked.

"A basketball tournament?"

Ye Ling raised an eyebrow, then smiled. "Sure."

He might have been a novice when it came to music, but he was an expert in all sorts of ball sports. This was especially true for basketball. With his incredibly accurate long-range three-pointers, he’d earned the nickname "the Little Prince of Turrets!"

"Alright then. Crazy isn’t playing, so it’ll be the three of us from our dorm."

He Jian nodded and added, "It’s three-on-three, using a point system. First to fifteen wins. Shots from behind the three-point line are worth two points, and shots inside the line are worth one."

The freshman basketball tournament at Modu University wasn’t an annual event. It depended mainly on the drill instructors’ mood, so they were the ones who set the rules.

This year, the rules were roughly as follows: first, there would be several matches within each school to select the strongest representative team, and then those teams would compete against each other.

In the end, one team would emerge as the ultimate champion.

And this year, that team would even get to play an exhibition match against a lineup formed by the drill instructors!

This was unprecedented.

For the many freshmen who had just entered university, this was sure to ignite their competitive spirit.

After all, they had been run ragged by those drill instructors for the past few days. Now that they had a chance to go head-to-head with them, how could they possibly pass it up?

"Yang Yu is a big guy, so I’m having him crash the boards. His job is just to box people out. Brother Ling, what position are you playing?" He Jian asked.

"Me? I’ll play guard. You’re looking at a sharpshooter," Ye Ling said with a chuckle.

"Deal. You just get open and shoot. We’ll get you the ball," He Jian said with a sly grin.

Over the past few days, Ye Ling had unknowingly become the core of their small group.

Logically speaking, in this day and age, every student was treated like a little prince or princess at home. They were all proud and headstrong, so how could any of them easily submit to another?

But Ye Ling had well and truly managed it. After all, everything he’d shown them over the past couple of days was just too damn impressive.

You could say that Ye Ling, through his personal charisma alone, had completely won over his new friends.

...

In the afternoon, the freshman basketball tournament began.

There were eight teams from the School of Information Science, and the team from dorm 3222, led by Ye Ling, was one of them.

In the first round, Ye Ling’s team was up against dorm 3321.

The three players from that dorm were all tall and powerfully built, with an average height of over 1.85 meters. Their size alone would be a huge advantage against Ye Ling’s team!

"These guys are kinda tall..."

Seeing the opposing lineup, much of the confidence on He Jian’s face began to fade.

In basketball, there are generally two types of people who have a natural advantage...

The first is the exceptionally tall player—the kind who can block your shot just by raising a hand. The other... Ye Ling liked to call them the "Short and Stocky Rebound Kings"!

Trying to get a rebound against them, not getting the ball was the least of your worries. If you were unlucky, they’d just send you flying. In a way, this second type was even more dangerous than the first!

"It’s fine. Don’t worry."

Ye Ling just smiled, feeling no pressure at all. He casually grabbed a ball and took a shot.

SWISH!

The ball traced a beautiful arc through the air, dropping into the hoop with perfect precision.

"Nice."

He Jian and Yang Yu both gave him a thumbs-up. Their confidence was bolstered, and they weren’t as panicked anymore.

"Whoa, isn’t that Ye Ling? He’s playing in the tournament too?"

"Girls, girls, let’s go! We have to watch him play!"

"I didn’t know Ye Ling could play basketball too? I love it~~"

...

Many of the girls on the field had noticed Ye Ling. When they saw him effortlessly sink a three-pointer, their eyes lit up, and they began to crowd around his court.

In reality, games were being played on about twelve different courts simultaneously, but over seventy percent of the female spectators were gathered around Ye Ling’s.

As for the reason why, you’d have to ask Ye Ling.

"Hmph! That jerk is always attracting a crowd! I don’t get what these girls are thinking. What’s so great about watching a basketball game?"

Not far away, Ning Ruoxi, who was taking a walk with Luo Yue, couldn’t help but snort when she saw the crowd around Ye Ling.

"Sister Ruoruo, why don’t we go watch Master play!?"

Luo Yue seemed quite excited, pumping a small fist as she spoke.

"No way. I’m not interested."

Ning Ruoxi pouted and added, "Besides, that guy didn’t ask me to watch. It’s not like I care!"

"Oh, come on, Sister Ruoruo! Just come with me. I want to watch!"

Luo Yue immediately grabbed Ning Ruoxi’s arm, pleading coquettishly.

’Based on what I know about Ning Ruoxi, she’s just being stubborn. Deep down, she definitely wants to go.’

’After all,’

’before they even came to the field, Ning Ruoxi had gone out of her way to buy a bottle of water.’

’If not to give to Ye Ling after his game, why buy it?’

"Well... alright, then. I’ll go with you for a bit."

Hearing that, Ning Ruoxi stopped in her tracks and relented.

"Yay!"

Luo Yue giggled. ’Master,’ she thought to herself, ’you can thank me for the assist later~’

Just then, the game on the court began. To decide who got first possession, Ye Ling sank a beautiful three-pointer.

"Brother Ling, you’re a beast!"

Yang Yefeng, who was watching nearby, immediately shouted.

"Ahhh, Ye Ling is just too handsome!"

"I think I just saw his abs..."

The many girls watching Ye Ling immediately broke into screams.

Wasn’t he just the most handsome guy ever?!

Back on the court, He Jian got the ball and passed it directly to Ye Ling. Living up to expectations, Ye Ling used a series of dribbles to blow past the tall defender in front of him.

Then, he pulled up for a spot-up jumper.

SWISH!

The sound of the ball swishing through the net echoed.

Nothing but net!

Instantly, another wave of cheers erupted from the crowd.