Chapter Sixteen: Mental Calculation

  Wang Long woke up from his meditation, looked at his watch and found it was already 8 o'clock in the morning. He felt that his body had not fully recovered yet, but his spiritual energy had restored to about 60% of its normal state.

  In the morning, the back mountain was quiet with few people coming to exercise. Wang Long rarely enjoyed this peaceful and beautiful morning: The branches of the umbrella pine swayed gently, each one resembling a large wine cup filled with dazzling sunlight like jade liquid. Golden honeybees and yellow bees were already flying around the flowers, greedily sucking the sweet nectar. A few green lizards emerged from the stone crevices, blinking their sleepy eyes.

  Thinking of participating in the city's high school basketball game today, I hurriedly got up and headed to school.

  The venue for the competition was set at the Municipal Sports Hall, and the time was 10:00 am. When Zhao Fei and his friends arrived at the sports hall, it was already 9:01. Accompanying Wang Long to watch the competition were also Gong Guang, Liu Wei, Kong Yong, Dongfang Lan, Xiao He, and several others. Since this was a competition among dozens of key high schools in the province, the entire school had been given the day off, allowing students to cheer on their school team. Dongfang Lan and Xiao He walked on either side of Wang Long, drawing attention from people inside the sports hall. Wang Long's height had already reached 1.83 meters, and his handsome appearance paired with a smile that could charm anyone to death. With two beautiful girls by his side - one elegant and gentle, the other heroic and spirited, both with devilish figures - the entire sports hall was abuzz like boiling water: "If only I could be his girlfriend, he's truly the image of my dream prince." "Oh, MY GOD, my goddess smiled at me. If only I could find her to be my girlfriend, I'd be willing to live a few years less..."

  But when the girls saw Xiao He and Dongfang Lan standing next to Wang Long, and the boys saw Wang Long standing next to the two girls, their eyes changed instantly. They glared with envy, gritting their teeth and muttering under their breath: "What a pity he has a girlfriend already! Look at the two girls beside him, they're so much prettier than me... Ah, my Prince Charming is gone!" "Heaven is unfair! Why can he have two beautiful girls by his side while I've been praying in front of Buddha for dozens of days and nights, yet I still can't get a beauty to accompany me? God, save me..."

  If eyes could kill, Wang Long, Xiao He and Dongfang Lan would have been reduced to ashes long ago.

  Wang Long, Xiao He and Dongfang Lan did not know the influence of the three of them being together. They followed Zhao Fei to the locker room to warm up before the game started soon. This was a match that would affect the high school rankings, and the school leaders were also very concerned about this match. Last time, EN High School lost in the quarterfinals, but this time as the host team, Zhao Fei made a promise to the school leaders that he would lead the basketball team into the top four.

  The team members were all eager to try, looking confident. As the players took to the field one after another, the basketball game began! The players were full of energy and ready to show off their skills, the scene was boiling with excitement.

  The main player of the EN High School team is Zhao Fei, tall and powerful; while the main player of the HG High School team is Qian Shi Hao, also known as "Golden Leopard". Compared to Zhao Fei, he appears slightly weaker, but his strength is actually quite formidable. The two teams are evenly matched, so it's no exaggeration to say that this basketball game was extremely intense.

  First to serve was Fang Jiale from HG High School, who was eager to win and wanted to "swallow the ball in one gulp". He passed the ball to Qian Shihao, but unexpectedly, a sudden gust of wind appeared on the court - Cheng Yaoguang from EN High School jumped up and stole the ball. Just as Fang Jiale was feeling pleased with himself, Ding Yuchen from HG High School gave him a "dismounting blow", blocking his way. Fang Jiale dodged left and right but couldn't break through the "encirclement" set by the opposing team. With no other options, he could only dribble in place. But just as all hope seemed lost, Zhao Fei suddenly appeared behind Ding Yuchen like a thunderbolt. Fang Jiale was overjoyed and quickly passed the ball to Zhao Fei. Qian Shihao from HG High School saw that things were going badly and immediately blocked Zhao Fei's way. With no other options, Zhao Fei could only pass the ball to Wang Long, who was closest to him. Wang Long did not disappoint, dribbling the ball with a series of feints and dodges. His efforts finally paid off as he broke through the multiple layers of defense. Under the basket, he leapt into the air, flipping the ball lightly with both hands, and scored.

  In this way, the team that was attacking with the ball racked their brains to break through the layers of defense, while the defending team defended stubbornly. The two teams fought fiercely, contending intensely, and the entire gymnasium was filled with the passionate cheers of the students, as the players sweated profusely on the court.

  In the end, EN High School won with a score of 30:16. This result is quite good, considering that in the previous match, the EN High School basketball team lost to HG High School. Qian Shi Hao felt extremely depressed. That small forward named Wang Long was really something else - as long as he got his hands on the ball, basically no one else had a chance. How can you play like this?

  The four strong high school teams were decided on Saturday, and the final will be held next Saturday at the Municipal Sports Hall.

  Zhao Fei was particularly happy and decided to invite the team members to go to "Seagull Seafood City" near the school for a dinner party that night. Wang Long and his teammates said goodbye, and then returned to school with three brothers from the dormitory, while Dongfang Lan and Xiao He went home separately.

  Wang Long returned to the dormitory, went to the school bathhouse for a hot water bath, and then played cards with Gong Guang and others in the dormitory. Because high school life is relatively tense, for high school students, apart from playing cards during holidays, there are no other entertainment activities. Their bet was that whoever lost would treat the others to dinner, so the guys in the dormitory were also having a great time. "Damn, how did you play your card? Are you letting us win?" Gong Guang shouted loudly at Liu Wei, because Liu Wei's card just happened to let Wang Long take it in sequence, and it seemed that they two would lose again.

  The loud ringing of the phone broke out in the dormitory, Liu Wei reluctantly put down the cards in his hand and picked up the phone: "Hello, who is it? Who are you looking for?" After a while, Liu Wei's face turned iron blue, and he said to Wang Long: "It's Ouyang Li, looking for you." Wang Long felt very strange, as if the Ouyang family had disappeared during this period of time and hadn't come to trouble him again. What did Ouyang Li want with him today?

  Wang Long hesitated and picked up the phone, only to hear Ouyang Li laughing triumphantly on the other end: "Hahaha, Wang Long, you're in a bind! Xiao He is now in my hands. If you want to save him, come quickly to the abandoned factory next to the city's scrap metal station. You have half an hour, or else." With that, he hung up the phone with a "click".

  Wang Long was so angry that he wanted to ascend to heaven, and another Buddha was born. This Ouyang Li, why did he always like to play such a kidnapping game? Can't he think of something new for once?

  Wang Long said to his dorm mates, "You guys go ahead and play, Ou Yang Li has something to discuss with me, I'll be right back." Liu Wei expressed concern, "Ou Yang Li must have ulterior motives for looking for you, should we call the police?" Gong Guang also held Wang Long back, "Why don't we go with you and see what tricks Ou Yang Li is up to?" Wang Long shook his head, "No need, Ou Yang Li just wants to talk about something, it's nothing serious, don't worry about it, you guys go ahead and play." After finishing speaking, he walked out of the dorm in big strides.

  Outside the dormitory, people were coming and going, but Wang Long didn't want to cause a stir, so he hailed a taxi and arrived at the city's waste disposal station in 20 minutes. He could clearly see the abandoned factory next to the waste disposal station, its massive mouth open as if ready to devour someone, like a ferocious beast. However, only a collapsed wall made it seem like the beast was seriously injured, leaving only the main building of several hundred square meters still standing in the wind.

  In front of the old iron gate stood two young men with bright yellow hair, dressed in flashy clothes. When they saw Wang Long approaching, they looked at him with disdain. One of them, with two large iron rings on his nose, sneered and said condescendingly, "You're that little brat Wang Long? Our boss has been waiting for you inside. Hurry up and go in." Wang Long felt that people like this didn't even have the qualifications to talk to him, so he calmly walked through the gate with a straight face.

  Inside the factory, there were scraps of iron and withered wood everywhere. In front of him, on a relatively new wooden chair, Ouyang Li was sitting, using a small knife to dig at his fingernails. Next to him stood over a dozen young people dressed in alternative clothing, each staring at Wang Long like they were looking at a dead man. Wang Long had already stopped at a distance of over ten meters from Ouyang Li and asked in a low voice, "Ouyang Li, what are you trying to do? Where have you hidden Xiao He?" Ouyang Li didn't even lift his head, continuing to dig at his nails. Next to him, a young man with a face full of scars shouted loudly, "You little brat, are you tired of living? How dare you speak to our Brother Li like that!" Just as he was about to swing his fist at Wang Long, Ouyang Li waved his hand and lifted his head, staring at Wang Long with venomous eyes. He said sternly, "That slut Xiao He is hidden away by me. What makes you think you're better than me? I chased her for over a year, but she wasn't moved. Yet after seeing you just a few times, she fell in love with you. Ouyang Li will not let anyone have what he can't get. Today, I'll destroy both you and that slut to vent my anger." Wang Long anxiously asked, "What do you want to do? How is she now?"

  Ouyang Li laughed maniacally and said, "Kid, don't say I didn't give you a chance. That slut Xiao He is currently in the mine cave just tens of meters away from here. If you have what it takes, go rescue her, good luck." After finishing his sentence, he revealed another triumphant sneer.

  Wang Long didn't say a word, swiftly turned around and disappeared in front of Ouyang Li. In an instant, he arrived at the entrance of an abandoned mine tens of meters away from the factory and stepped inside with large strides without any hesitation.

  As soon as Wang Long entered the mine, the entire mine was like an atomic bomb explosion, and a black mushroom cloud burst out. Hearing the explosion, Ouyang Li became even more exaggerated, dancing with joy.

  (Brothers, if you think it's okay after watching, please vote a few votes to support me, thank you!)