A Fierce Match

The ninth floor of the Jurassic-themed hotel was the restaurant area.
It featured delicious cuisines from all over the world for visitors to enjoy.
The Class 9 students chatted about their next itinerary while eating.

"Where are we going after eating?"
"Let's watch a show. After eating our fill, we definitely can't do those thrill rides."
"We're planning to go to the hot springs."
"If you go to the hot springs, won't you miss the fireworks show at 9 o'clock?"
"That's known as the most spectacular fireworks show in the neighboring provinces."
"Right, there's also the fireworks show. I almost forgot."
"Then let's walk toward the fireworks stage while checking out if there are any interesting performances along the way."
"After playing all day, I'm actually a bit tired."
"You're too weak. Look at me, I rode the roller coaster three times and felt absolutely nothing."
"You're brave, I can't compare, I can't compare."

…

After dinner, the students no longer split into groups but walked together toward the fireworks performance stage.

At 8:30 PM, a float parade began in the park.
Each float, glittering with multi-colored lights, made it impossible for the tourists on both sides of the road to look away.

Exactly at 9:00 PM.
*Boom!*
A giant firework shot up, lighting up the entire night sky.
Immediately after, all kinds of fireworks in various shapes and forms burst open one after another.
Some were like wild golden snakes dancing.
Others resembled fiery trees and silver flowers.
The dazzling fireworks display left all the visitors in the park gasping in awe.

"So shocking!"
"I got goosebumps all over."
"So beautiful."
"Quick, make a wish."
"Right, right, right, make a wish."
"It truly deserves to be called the most spectacular fireworks show in the neighboring provinces; it indeed lives up to its reputation."
"I heard some tourists come here just for the evening fireworks show."
"It's definitely worth the trip!"

…

At noon on the second day, after a hearty meal, Xu Jie finally took the students to the Hua Province International Sports and Performing Arts Center.

This center was located in the central area of the provincial capital.
The total construction area exceeded 150.000 square meters.
It was a sports and performing arts commercial complex integrating various functions such as cultural and sports performances, commercial offices, retail, and dining.

The home court, Shuiyun Basketball Arena, could accommodate over 20,000 spectators.
The arena was equipped with a three-tier, four-sided central funnel screen, a two-tier 360-degree ring screen, an imported EV line-array sound system, and other professional equipment.
In addition, the basketball arena had 36 VIP suites.

When Xu Jie and the Class 9 students arrived at the Shuiyun Basketball Arena, spectators were already trickling into the stands.
Today was the third day of the May 1st holiday.
The group stage of the high school basketball tournament finals had also entered its final phase.
Many basketball fans, tournament-related personnel, and school cheer squads were already present at the venue.

"Look over there."
"Jinling No. 9 High School, who dares challenge us!"
"What a bold claim."
"Oh my, did we forget to make a cheer banner?"
"Right, how did we forget about this?"
"Is it too late to go out and find a place to make one now? After all, our Zhenzhong's match is the second one."
"Who says we don't have a banner? Look, what is this?"
"Zhenzhong team, bravely seize the gold cup!"
"Nice, Teacher Xu is indeed thoughtful."
"If the other opponents all have banners and we don't, wouldn't that be incredibly embarrassing."
"Hehe, what a pity we couldn't bring our class's big drum, otherwise, in terms of momentum, we would have already secured the victory."
"Let's go, change into our class uniforms, and get ready to watch the match!"

…

At 1:30 PM, the two teams facing off in the first match, Linhai High School and Jinling No. 9 High School, began to take the court.
In the stands, a boy with an extremely loud voice suddenly shouted, "No. 9 will surely win!"
"No. 9 will surely win!"
Led by the boy, the surrounding Jinling No. 9 High School cheer squad also began to chant along.

"Linhai High is invincible!"
"*Toot toot toot!*"
Since the Jinling No. 9 High School crowd had made their move, their opponents, the Linhai High School crowd, naturally refused to be outdone.
They screamed while pulling out small megaphones to boost their momentum.

"Defeat No. 9!"
"Take down Linhai High!"
On the court, the match had not yet begun, but off the court, the battle of momentum was already surging in waves.

Having changed into their class uniforms, the Class 9 students gathered together.
"We're just here to watch the fun, hahaha."
"Not bad, not bad, the atmosphere is very passionate!"
"It's filled with the smell of gunpowder."
"How could the smell of gunpowder not be strong? This match is a do-or-die game for both teams."
"Why do you say that?"
"Our Zhenzhong team, along with Linhai High School, Shimen No. 2 High School, and Jinling No. 9 High School, are placed in the same group, which is known as the group of death."
"In the first round, only our Zhenzhong team went completely undefeated."
"Last year's runner-up, Shimen No. 2 High School, is in second place."
"Last year's high school games basketball champion, Jinling No. 9 High School, is in third."
"Meanwhile, Linhai High School, the team that once pulled off an unbelievable feat by snatching the only gold cup from Qinghua High School in the past fifteen years, is at the bottom of the group."
"In this match, if Jinling No. 9 High School can win by a large margin, and in the next match, Zhenzhong beats Shimen No. 2 High School, then Zhenzhong and Jinling No. 9 High School will advance together."
"Last year's runner-up Shimen No. 2 High School and the former champion Linhai High School will both be eliminated in the group stage!"
"For two teams with such deep heritage and achievements, this is undoubtedly unacceptable."
"So that's how it is."
"No wonder they're about to start fighting in the stands even before the match begins."
"Being eliminated in the group stage would be incredibly frustrating."
While the Class 9 students were chatting, the match on the court began.

As soon as they stepped onto the court, the Jinling No. 9 High School players began utilizing a full-court press.
Meanwhile, their opponents, Linhai High School, were an experienced team that calmly neutralized the pressure.
Right from the start, both teams treated the audience to an intensely competitive, neck-and-neck game.

"This defensive intensity is really high."
"Yeah, it's several levels higher than the regional tournament matches."
"Look at Jinling No. 9's No. 10. His drives are so sharp."
"I know him. He's ranked sixth in the latest five-star high school recruit rankings. I think his name is Huang Mingyi."
"Right, right, right, that's Huang Mingyi. He's ranked sixth, while our captain is ranked seventh."
"Huh? He's ranked one spot higher than our Zhou Lu? That's impressive!"
"Huang Mingyi is 2.07 meters tall. You can think of him as our Zhenzhong's Yi Li from last year, but his skills and awareness aren't as good as Yi Li's, otherwise he wouldn't be ranked only sixth."

…

As the match progressed, the scores of Jinling No. 9 High School and Linhai High School remained neck-and-neck.
By the final two minutes, Jinling No. 9 High School only led Linhai High School by three points.
The intensity on the court translated into tension in the stands.
The supporters of both Jinling No. 9 High School and Linhai High School stopped shouting, tensely watching the time on the court tick away second by second.
Some even began to clasp their hands in prayer.

*Swish!*
Following a precise three-pointer from Huang Mingyi,
the game was completely put to bed.
Jinling No. 9 High School won!

But neither the Jinling No. 9 High School players on the court nor their cheer squad below showed much excitement.
Because their fate was not in their own hands!
Whether Jinling No. 9 High School could advance to the next round still depended on the outcome of the match between the Zhenzhong team and Shimen No. 2 High School.