Chapter 903: This is going to be bad for them

BUZZ!

The end of the second quarter came with thunderous roars and whistles as the crowd’s energy grew more intense. After five minutes of the game, Hugo’s team slowly began to dominate the court. Despite Max’s encouragement to his team, they were unstoppable.

"This is... amazing," Nina blurted out in disbelief. "Even though I don’t fully understand it, I can’t believe they closed the gap."

During the first quarter and the first five minutes of the second half, Team Hugo was still at zero. But now, not only had they reached half of Max’s team’s score, but they had also raised their chances of winning.

"They look exhausted," she added under her breath, her eyes on the other team.

On the court, Max was resting his hands on his knees, his eyes on the scoreboard, while his teammates were breathless.

"I didn’t know they were actually good at this," Slater, who was sitting in the same row, murmured. "It’s... kinda cool."

James couldn’t take his eyes off the court and nodded. "It’s a little weird too. Are they cheating?"

"No way in hell that’s cheating." Another person seated next to James replied, even though they weren’t talking to each other. "You can’t just cheat in this game like that. Did you see that Blacky making three-pointers so casually? Not to mention, Dean Pierson and that Plus One—they’re getting a little scary now."

Some were simply hyped by the situation that their cheering for their team intensified. Others, on the other hand, couldn’t help but wonder what was going on. They simply couldn’t believe what was happening. Just like the match looked fierce, the players also displayed an unexpected aura.

"Penny?" Haines called, tilting his head toward her, eyes on the court where Charles and the team were. "Do you find this strange?"

"No."

Haines snapped his eyes at his niece. "No?"

"No," she whispered, narrowing her eyes, focusing on Jonathan in particular. "Back in abroad, Dean would sometimes get dragged into playing basketball or other things by some of his friends. Since we were abroad, there wasn’t much else we could do."

"That’s right." Haines nodded, recalling that he had lived with Penny abroad. Unlike Haines, who had work to do, Penny and Dean—who were still young at the time—had nothing else to do.

Although Penny buried herself in work and school, there were still times she had extra time or uneventful days. Dean was in a similar situation, focusing only on his internship and school. These kids needed some extracurricular activities.

"So, I’m not surprised by what he’s showing. I watched him before," she said, and Penny wasn’t surprised that Ray kept pushing Dean to play. They were cousins, so Ray knew Dean could play.

All Dean needed was motivation.

However, this wasn’t about Dean, and Penny didn’t care much about him. She hadn’t bet on this team just because Dean was in it. There was no way in hell Penny would ever entrust her life to Dean’s hands.

"But that guy..." Penny rubbed her chin, her eyes on Jonathan.

"He’s copying Max and Hugo," Haines remarked, putting into words what Penny couldn’t express at the moment.

When she heard him, she looked at Haines and nodded. "Exactly the right words, Uncle."

---

At the same time, Max’s team stared at the scoreboard with dread. They slowly shifted their eyes to Max, and then to the other team. Their gazes were fixed on Jonathan in particular, though the rest were exceptionally good as well.

"This is insane," said one of the players who had been trying to match Jonathan throughout the game. "Going one-on-one with him feels like... I’m up against Senior Max."

"I’d say Hugo."

"Or a mix of both... just a little more sadistic," another one commented, still in disbelief at how the second half had concluded. "It feels like he’s just mimicking what he’s seen. He’s like a mirror."

Slowly, everyone turned their wide eyes back to Max. Their mouths opened and closed, but none of them could find the right words.

"Senior Max..." one of them found his voice, his tone filled with worry and anxiety. "... What are we going to do?"

Aside from Hugo, who had always shown exceptional skills in this game, and Dean, who surely had experience in street basketball with his graceful moves, there were three others. Atlas might not have done anything grand, but the man was good at passing the ball and was a great partner for alley-oops. Most of the team’s points came from Atlas’s support.

One could say Atlas was the brains on the court.

Then there was Zoren. Like Atlas, Zoren was probably the most relaxed, even though he gave off a very dangerous vibe—a calm wickedness, they supposed. However, whenever Zoren held the ball, he kept throwing it, no matter how far he was. He held the ball three times, and he scored three times—all three-pointers.

Lastly, Jonathan—the most vicious of all. If Dean showed graceful moves, Atlas made critical decisions, Zoren had sharp calculations, and Hugo displayed innate talent, Jonathan was just different—or rather, ironically familiar.

---

"This is going to be bad for them," the captain of the basketball team commented with a grim expression, his eyes on both teams. "That guy is very dangerous."

"He was mirroring everything he saw."

"It feels like there’s two Maxes or two Hugos, depending on who he was trying to copy."

"You guys... did you miss how he mimicked that crossover Dean made?"

"With that body of his and that height, Max is the only person who could match him. But then again, Max has to leave the other four behind."

"It feels like one vs five now. I’m not saying Max’s teammates are bad, but against those five, it’s impossible."

It was only the second half of the game, but everyone already knew the outcome. Not that they were judging the individuals personally, but with everything they had seen so far, it was going to take a miracle for Max’s team to win.

Would Hugo’s team win against the professional team? They would put up a good fight, for sure, but the odds were slim. But against Max’s team, who had played this game for fun, the answer was clear as day.