Chapter 40

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Chapter 40: A Basketball Game Like No Other

"Why haven’t they come yet!" Tang Jiaorong said, a bit worried. Long Aotian seemed calm and replied, "No need to rush, there’s still some time. They should be here soon!"

Today is the day when Long Aotian bets against Li Huaian from the Meteorological Bureau in a basketball game. Long Aotian arrived early, but the other key players from the Xiangbei Basketball Club were taken away by the old monk for training. They had been unreachable for days, and now, as the game approached, they still hadn’t shown up.

Li Huaian didn’t seem to want outsiders to see this basketball game and had booked the entire gym. He arrived early too, provocatively staring at Long Aotian from the other side of the court. Long Aotian refused to back down, and the two exchanged fierce glares, creating a lot of sparks. If someone had a great imagination, they might even see words like "Three Character Classic" and "F*ck you" swirling amidst those sparks.

Ye Hui also arrived, a stunning woman standing next to Long Aotian with a mysterious smile. Her gaze at Long Aotian was quite flirtatious, which further irritated Li Huaian. Tang Jiaorong, noticing this, seemed a bit jealous and clung to Long Aotian, acting playfully. Ye Hui, not to be outdone, flirted even more with Long Aotian. While Long Aotian enjoyed the company of two women, Li Huaian, alone, was furious and wished he could rush over and deal with that winged scoundrel. This was a class conflict between a single man and a scoundrel with wings, an utterly irreconcilable contradiction.

If Bai Qige were there and saw this scene, he might slightly revise his guesses. It was not certain that Li Huaian wasn’t actually trying to compete for Long Aotian’s attention with Ye Hui, where one played the bad guy and the other the good guy.

Just then, the side door of the gym opened, and an old man slowly walked in, followed by a pair of beautiful young girls. Li Huaian, already filled with anger, forbade outsiders from entering since he had booked the entire place. Though there were staff outside guarding, he did not know if someone was negligent and let people in. Seeing this, his eyes turned icy, and he walked over to scold them.

"Today, this place is already booked, and we cannot accept outsiders. Please leave!"

The old man wore a traditional Han outfit, which young people rarely wear nowadays, with wide sleeves and a tall crown. He looked graceful and noble. He did not care about Li Huaian’s reprimand, glanced at him lightly, and said slowly, "I am the principal of Canglan Academy. I really did not know there was a place in this academy where I cannot enter!"

Hearing the words "principal of Canglan Academy," Li Huaian’s face suddenly stiffened. Before coming, the leaders of the Meteorological Bureau had told him that there was a person he absolutely could not offend at Canglan Academy, and that person was the old man in front of him. This old man was not just a school principal; he was also a famous scholar in the literary world with a very high social status. Moreover, he was also a royal relative who could directly meet the current emperor of the Yanhuang Empire when necessary.

Li Huaian’s expression changed several times, but in the end, he simply apologized and obediently backed away, saying nothing. Inside, his anger grew stronger, but the old man did not care. He simply walked toward the audience and sat down, seemingly wanting to watch the match.

"Hehe, Long Aotian truly has his father’s charm; at such a young age, he already has the presence of a dragon or tiger, attracting so many beautiful friends! Yansnow, Yanzhan, what do you think?"

The old man looked towards Long Aotian, his eyes showing a hint of a smile. The twin girls by his side looked at Long Aotian, and one of them said, "Grandpa, is he the one you arranged for marriage? He’s really a playboy! Hmph, it’s just because he looks a little handsome!"

The old man raised his eyes to look at his two granddaughters and noticed their cheeks were rosy, their gazes following Long Aotian. He smiled, "Hehe, Grandpa remembers that you’ve met Long Aotian a few times before, right? Seems like there was a little conflict, but your behavior now makes it seem like a girl shouldn’t be kept around."

"Grandpa, that’s annoying!"

"Alright! Grandpa won’t make any more jokes. Since we have some free time, let’s quietly enjoy the match. I heard he was taken as a disciple by a mysterious old monk to learn martial arts. I wonder what wonderful performance this match will bring."

"It’s just playing basketball, what special performance can there be!" Though the tone was dismissive, the two girls still looked quite eager.

After a while, the door of the gym suddenly swung open, and two rows of soldiers in uniform, carrying guns and wearing tactical masks, rushed inside. The leading officer ran up to Li Huaian and suddenly saluted, saying, "Good day, sir! The Ninth Experiment Team from the Sky Combat Zone has arrived as ordered. Please give your instructions!"

At that moment, Li Huaian appeared quite proud and said, "Stand down and prepare to play basketball!"

"Yes, sir!"

After a moment, the armed soldiers were gone, replaced by "basketball players" standing in perfect military posture, looking strong and serious. They had simply set down their guns and tactical grenades but still wore their uniforms and masks, looking nothing like they were there to play basketball, as if they would swiftly eliminate any enemy at a command.

"You actually got soldiers to play basketball?!" Long Aotian asked in disbelief, and Li Huaian coldly replied:

"Who said they were soldiers? Even though they look like a special forces unit chosen from the best soldiers in some combat zone, they are actually just a group of amateur military enthusiasts! They are ordinary people. As a civil servant, I have principles and would never misuse my power to use military personnel for my own benefit."

Looking at the "amateur military enthusiasts," who, despite their concealed faces, seemed to radiate the aura of a battle-hardened warrior, Long Aotian felt once again how low people could truly stoop.

However, Long Aotian couldn’t help but wonder why every time he had a basketball bet with someone, they never chose the usual way. Last time it was a team of NBA players, and this time it was a group of amateur military enthusiasts. What would it be next time? Wizards riding broomsticks or the Shaolin Temple’s twelve bronze men?

Long Aotian tried to push away the small, subtle thoughts in his mind. Looking at the group of "amateur military enthusiasts" with their strong bodies clearly visible even through their uniforms, he felt a bit uneasy. No matter if these "amateur military enthusiasts" could play basketball well or not, their intimidating presence was truly frightening and made him feel afraid before the battle even started. Long Aotian looked around, and sure enough, the substitutes from the Xiangbei Basketball Club already had fear written on their faces.

Seeing Long Aotian like this made Li Huaian feel excited and think that victory was certain. He bragged, "Hmph, are you scared? If you’re scared, just kneel down and admit defeat! I might still let you live."

"In my dictionary, there is no word for fear!" Inspired by Li Huaian’s taunts, Long Aotian snorted angrily. At that moment, perhaps because of his feelings, a faint golden light flashed in his eyes.

Li Huaian suddenly felt a little dizzy but didn’t think much of it. Seeing Long Aotian refuse to back down, he laughed loudly, "Does just being tough mean anything? I will make you wholeheartedly accept your defeat! The Ninth Experiment Team is an imperial top-secret unit, a battle team testing the feasibility of creating Psychics. Other countries have tried every way to uncover the secrets of this team but have failed! I asked my Uncle in the military zone to forge a mission order, taking a huge risk of leaking state secrets, just to bring this team out to play basketball with you! Ha ha!"

"Um, is it really okay for you to say all this so clearly? If I expose this matter, won’t you and your Uncle in the military zone be done for?" After hearing Li Huaian’s words, Long Aotian was a bit shocked. Li Huaian, unaware of the danger, continued excitedly:

"Hmph, what could a small person like you do? The military commander is going to meet with the high leaders today to discuss military affairs. Unless you stop the commander outside the military zone at five o’clock this afternoon, or you call this number 168xxxxxxxxx right now and tell him about this, then this matter will remain a secret! Wahaha!"

"Grandpa, is he a fool? Why is he saying everything?" In the audience, Principal Li’s two granddaughters curiously asked. Principal Li remained silent for a moment and then sighed deeply:

"I should give a call to this young man’s leader later. Even if the Yanhuang Empire is lacking in talent, we can’t let someone with such a lack of intelligence be on duty."