Chapter Sixty-Eight: Dog-Tired!

Surrounded by the swaying encirclement of three robots, Geng Haoshi was thoroughly trapped.

“Beep—24-second violation!”

PS: When an offensive play begins, as soon as the ball is gained in the backcourt, a shot attempt must be made within 24 seconds, at least one within that time, or else a 24-second shot clock violation occurs.

Geng Haoshi was alone now, without teammates to support him, forced to rely solely on himself to attempt a shot within the 24 seconds.

“Coach Beauty, I protest! It’s three against one—how is this fair?”

“Protest denied!” Yu Manman thought to herself: There are three modes for these AI intelligent sports robots. Right now, I’ve set them to “Normal” mode, which is their average athletic level. If he can’t handle three robots in Normal mode, there’s no way he’ll manage against the higher “Professional” or “Super” modes.

In truth, even in “Normal” mode, playing one against three is no easy feat.

What Geng Haoshi didn’t know was that, except for the room he was in—numbered X-6—all other rooms prefixed with X only had two robots inside. In other words, only Geng Haoshi had to face three; the other team members only needed to contend with two.

Yu Manman’s reason for this unfairness was simple: Geng Haoshi was now her wager in a bet with someone else. To win the bet, she had to increase her odds.

“But…” Geng Haoshi wanted to argue, but Yu Manman cut him off: “Enough talk! Continue!”

Helpless, Geng Haoshi could only take the ball back behind the yellow line.

Holding the ball, he stared at the three robots standing inside the yellow-lined area, each over 185 centimeters tall. He thought: These guys have long arms and legs, coordinate seamlessly, and now they’ve invented their own swaying defensive style. Their speed isn’t bad either… How should I play this?

If it’s about speed, as long as I go all out, I should be faster than these three mechanical buddies, right? With that thought, Geng Haoshi dashed into the yellow zone, sprinting with all his might!

Robot No. 2 moved in as expected. Geng Haoshi spun swiftly past him. Then No. 1 and No. 3 closed in, but Geng Haoshi stepped back, accelerated with the ball, and, circling around, finally broke through their defense. In the end, he finished with a lay-up… the ball went in.

Oh, so it’s about winning with speed? Yu Manman mused: Against robots in “Normal” mode, a quick assault is indeed a good tactic. However, there are still many rounds ahead. Using such a fast-paced offense burns a lot of energy; if he exhausts himself now, he’ll likely lose the subsequent games.

So, Geng Haoshi continued his rapid attacks—quick rushes, quick feints, acceleration through gaps, and swift lay-ups. After several rounds, he was already breathing heavily.

Luckily, the ball continued to go in.

With this approach, Geng Haoshi won three more rounds in a row.

But after enduring the same tactics from Geng Haoshi over several rounds, the three robots adapted their strategy.

For the new round, they stood in a line, arms outstretched, with only a single step’s gap between each.

“Come on! You can’t be serious!” Geng Haoshi protested loudly, “Coach Beauty, with them blocking like this, I have no chance to break through!”

“Number Two, have you forgotten what this training is for?” Yu Manman reminded him. “It’s to train your shooting skills and improve your accuracy. In an actual game, you won’t always have the chance to charge inside for an easy lay-up. Only by mastering the ability to score from any position can you become truly unbeatable!”

So, she wants me to shoot from here? Geng Haoshi looked down at his feet. He was behind the three-point line. Does she expect me to shoot a three-pointer? I can barely hit a two-pointer, let alone a three… But with these three blocking the way, breaking through might be even harder than shooting from here.

Fine, if this is shooting practice, then let’s shoot! Geng Haoshi took a deep breath, set his eyes on the hoop several meters away, and—having no real choice—threw the ball.

The basketball traced a beautiful arc through the air… but missed everything.

“Number Two, did you not eat enough lunch?” Yu Manman shouted. “Again!”

Geng Haoshi thought: Even when no one’s defending, I can’t shoot accurately. Now you want me to go one-on-three and shoot threes? As if I could ever make one!

But complaining was useless. Trapped in room X-6, if he didn’t obey, he might not even get lunch… Yu Manman often used such “punishments” on players.

In the next eighty or so rounds, Geng Haoshi shot from the three-point line and inside it, from left, right, front, and back—every direction, every posture, every distance, long and short. He didn’t make a single shot.

Panting, Geng Haoshi asked, “Coach Beauty, we’ve done so many rounds now. Isn’t it time for a break?”

“You’ve only completed 106 rounds. You need to finish 500 rounds a day before you can rest! …Continue!”

Geng Haoshi thought: Damn! I have to finish 500 rounds before I can rest? I’m already exhausted!

He was about to protest when 9527 spoke up: Master, she won’t care what you say. You’d better just keep training and avoid a scolding.

“Damn!” Geng Haoshi muttered as he picked up the ball and went on with the drills.

…

The 500th round.

“It’s finally over!” Geng Haoshi collapsed onto the floor of room X-6, gasping for breath.

Meanwhile, in the Boss room, Yu Manman, monitoring X-6, wore a dark expression.

The floors of rooms prefixed with X were equipped with sensors; each entry into the yellow zone registered once. The hoop also had a sensor; each basket made was recorded. These two sets of data were sent to the Boss room computer, which automatically calculated the players’ shooting accuracy.

Geng Haoshi had barely collapsed on the floor when Yu Manman’s furious voice rang out: “Number Two, you’ve got some nerve resting! Out of 500 rounds, you only made 8 shots—an accuracy of just 1.6%!”

9527: Master, a shooting accuracy of 1.6% is twenty times lower than your first target of 33% listed in your notebook.

Geng Haoshi: Damn! I’m worn out, and you still have to rub it in?

Just then, Yu Manman spoke again…