Basketball System: Rebound of the Underdog-Chapter 611: Oxygen

Aiden bit his lip as he watched the gap increase with each passing second.

Kai still tried to get his attention, but he didn't want that! He was already too afraid to face him!

The second quarter had started, and except for Marcus, the other players had been switched.

Kai was still on his knees, poking Coach Xu Wei like a little kid wanting to play games on their older cousin's phone.

"Kai," Coach Xu Wei said, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Your knees are red. Go and sit with your teammates."

"But coach," Aiden whined, shaking the old man's belly.

Coach Xu Wei clicked his tongue and gently pushed him away.

"Put me back in, Coach! Please! I told you—my life is on the line here! Do you want to see your favorite player burn into dust?"

Coach Xu Wei shook his head, his arms crossed. "You're being dramatic, Kai," he said firmly. "You can still play in the next games."

Aiden glanced back at Kai, who sat further down the bench, arms crossed, looking anything but impressed.

Kai narrowed his eyes at him. "Stop it!"

But Aiden took that as a sign to hurry up. He turned back to Coach Xu Wei. "But if we lose here, then we're not going to have a next game!"

"If I put you there, I doubt we're going to advance," Coach Xu Wei muttered. "Considering how you're currently playing."

Aiden bit his lip. He was trying to come up with something dramatic that his coach would have no choice but to agree.

"I'll stop playing!" he suddenly exclaimed, his voice rising. "I'll stop playing entirely if I fail this quarter!"

The players nearby exchanged glances, bewildered by his statement.

"Why is he so passionate all of a sudden?" Caleb muttered under his breath.

"Kid's a nutjob," Dong replied, shaking his head.

Coach Xu Wei clicked his tongue, his gaze shifting to the scoreboard.

15 points.

France's lead was increasing, and although it wasn't unsurpassable, Coach Xu Wei knew that it would only increase if he didn't do anything different.

He weighed his options, tapping his clipboard.

"Fine," Coach Xu Wei said, at last, exhaling heavily. The other players shook their heads in amusement.

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"But if you screw this up…"

"I won't!" Aiden cut in before the coach could finish, his eyes burning with determination.

Coach Xu Wei shook his head and called for a substitution. Marcus, who was already breathless, went back to the bench.

Max frowned. "Marcus is being exchanged with Not Kai?"

"Not Kai?" Zheng asked.

"I don't think he's Kai," Max said as Marcus said some words to Aiden. Well, it was more like a warning. If he didn't do well, he would be the most hated 16-year-old in the entirety of the country.

"I think you've been watching way too many conspiracy theory videos," Zheng said with a chuckle. "He is Kai. Who else could he be?"

"I'm not convinced," Max said before going back to his position.

As Aiden jogged toward the court, Kai leaned forward, watching intently. His heart pounded in his chest, wondering what he had up his sleeves now.

"Does he even understand what I told him?" Kai muttered to himself.

He watched as Aiden cluelessly positioned himself on the court. He sighed, knowing that he was still the same as before.

Because of that, Kai seriously considered the option in that forum.

What if I jump? No, my legs won't do it.

Hit me on the head? Too brutal.

Kai let out a frustrated sigh. His gaze fell on the court, where Aiden was already fumbling with his defensive position.

"We'll go with the classic method," Kai muttered, preparing himself. He inhaled deeply and held his breath, determined to keep it that way until he passed out.

Meanwhile, the French team wasted no time. Aiden scrambled to keep up, but his hesitation gave the French shooting guard just enough time to sink a clean three-pointer.

The crowd groaned, and the gap widened to 18 points.

24-42.

On the French bench, the players chuckled.

"Take it easy," one of them said in French, gesturing toward Aiden. "The clumsy kid is back."

Aiden didn't understand what they were saying. However, he knew that tone. It was a universal condescending tone! Their laughter echoed in his ears, even louder than the booing crowd.

However, Aiden's frustration only made his playing worse. His passes were off-target, and his dribbles became sloppier. When he went for a drive, he stumbled straight into a defender, earning a charging foul.

Coach Xu Wei buried his face in his hands.

The commentators were merciless.

"Kai Guo seems completely out of sync today," Gina remarked. "This is not the player we've come to expect."

"It's almost as if he's forgotten the fundamentals," David added. "France is exploiting every mistake."

Kai, meanwhile, sat on the bench, his face turning red as he continued holding his breath.

Come on, switch back already!

His chest burned, and his vision blurred, but he refused to give in.

On the court, Aiden's frustration reached its peak. During a scramble for the ball, he collided with one of the French players. The ball flew loose, bouncing toward the sideline.

The crowd held its breath as both teams lunged for it.

Kai's lungs screamed for air. His vision tunneled, and he felt himself staggering on the edge of consciousness.

This better work…

And then, he heard it.

A loud bang.

The impact of Aiden's dive echoed through the stadium as he crashed into the scorer's table, his body sprawled across the floor. Screams filled the air, followed by silence.

Kai's eyes flew open, and he gasped for air, his lungs greedily sucking in oxygen.

He blinked rapidly, his head pounding and body weirdly aching.

Aiden groaned, not from the pain but from how embarrassing it must have been! He blinked up at the bright lights of the arena, disoriented.

However, instead of a scorer's table surrounding him, he was comfortably seated in a cool place. His eyes widened, and he focused his gaze on the scorer's table, where Kai still lay.

He covered his mouth with both hands.

"We're back."