Chapter 231: Chapter 229: The Most Dreaded Opponent in One Quarter

But, after all, the Automobile Company does not primarily focus on physical training. The soldiers of the Automobile Company concentrate more on automobile driving and maintenance, which leads to insufficient physical fitness. This gap in fitness also affects their performance.

Thus, the match between the Automobile Company and the Sea Defense Second Team, although not as thrilling as the Special Service Company’s, was also fiercely contested.

The match situation was tense, and the score gap couldn’t be widened, with several small turnarounds…

Finally, due to excessive physical exhaustion, the Automobile Company lost by a narrow margin of four points, missing the chance to advance to the finals.

Ling Chengyan didn’t wait for her comrades to come down from the field and quietly greeted Wu Yushu before leaving.

After dinner, Hongbing and Hong Ming went to see off Hongling, while Ling Chengyan went to the basketball court of the Special Service Company.

Different from the usual tense training, after winning the semifinals by a large margin, the members of the Special Service Company were much more relaxed, playing basketball while chatting. When Ling Chengyan arrived, she even saw Zheng Qianjin throw the basketball at the ’enemy’, causing an uproar of laughter.

Ling Chengyan stood with her hands behind her back in the shadow not far away, watching this group training through play. She checked her watch, a full ten minutes had passed and neither team had scored a single goal.

She walked over, perhaps due to the angle or the group’s relaxed state, no one noticed her until she was less than ten meters away from the basketball court.

“Your match is finished, isn’t it?” A faint voice came through.

One person casually replied on the court: “Only the Frontier Second Team is left tomorrow. We easily beat the Reconnaissance Company; the Frontier Second Team is no match at all…”

“Company Commander!”

“Company Commander!”

Someone noticed Ling Chengyan at the sideline and shouted out in surprise. Everyone on the court was startled, instinctively standing straight with their hands down.

Ling Chengyan still kept her hands behind her back, walking almost silently over. She casually hooked a basketball held by a team member into her hand.

“Come, I’ll play a round with you!” Ling Chengyan’s expression was indifferent, showing no signs of joy or anger.

Zheng Haiyang pursed his lips, asking nervously, “Commander, how should we split the teams?”

Ling Chengyan didn’t even look at him, replying calmly, “Do you still need to split teams? All of you, come on!”

After this sentence, she was already standing in the center of the court: “What, don’t you dare take on the challenge?”

Zheng Haiyang glanced back at Geng Wei, who stepped forward to face Ling Chengyan, ready to snatch the ball, while Zheng Haiyang moved back a few steps, preparing to catch.

Geng Wei was from the Reconnaissance Company, his strength and skills ranked among the best in the Special Service Company. Facing Ling Chengyan, he considered himself to have a fair chance.

He knew Ling Chengyan was formidable but hadn’t truly faced her. Though he admired Ling Chengyan, he didn’t think he lacked the ability to compete.

Ling Chengyan glanced at him indifferently, “I’ll start the game; are you ready?”

Before the words finished, the ball had already been tossed into the air from her hand. From Geng Wei’s direction, the ball seemed fairly positioned, not only without leaving convenience for herself but even tilted noticeably towards him, at least by thirty degrees!

Geng Wei reacted quickly, squatting to prepare to jump for the ball. However, his surprise was palpable; even though his movement was quicker than Ling Chengyan’s and he used at least eighty percent of his strength, confidently believing he wouldn’t miss the ball… In the end, as he jumped up, he watched Ling Chengyan catch up effortlessly, reaching out and easily scooping the ball from mid-air.

Next, to Geng Wei’s astonishment, Ling Chengyan didn’t even land, directly twisting mid-air, dribbling out of several people’s encirclement, dodging a few more players intending to intercept her, as if there was no one there, turned thrice and twice, her silhouette broke through layers of encirclement, without using jump assistance, directly raised her hand, a shot — the ball went in! Three-pointer!

Everyone was dumbfounded, just like the Experience of the Reconnaissance Company’s members during the day! Completely unbelievable, Ling Chengyan, alone against a team, was moving like nobody was there.

They couldn’t even touch the hem of her clothing!

Could such a person exist?

Is this still human?

As they were in stunned silence, Ling Chengyan succeeded in multiple shots once again, gaining eighteen points within just three minutes!

Another ball fell from the net, caught by Ling Chengyan.

This time she didn’t continue, simply holding the ball lightly with one hand, turning to look at a group of team members, her expression indifferent, eyes unruffled: “Do you still want to play?”

Those simple three words appeared to be a calm inquiry, yet felt like three heavy slaps on the faces of the team members.

Previously, in their relaxed, carefree state, they were now incredibly embarrassed and uncomfortable!

Everyone instinctively stood straight, yet their eyes lowered, looking at the ground in front of them. No one dared to meet the commander’s gaze.

Ling Chengyan placed the ball on the ground, didn’t even utter a word of anger, and left as gracefully as she had come.

The team members left on the basketball court felt worse than if they’d received a severe beating. Given a choice, they would rather endure a berating or a thrashing.

After two full minutes of silence, Zheng Haiyang finally moved, picking up the basketball from the ground: “Don’t just stand there foolishly; aren’t you going to train properly? Do you really want to disappoint the commander, making her give up on you completely?!”

“We don’t want that!” Geng Wei was the first to respond, stepping forward, standing in his position ready to train.

The others also followed, shouting, “We don’t want that! We don’t want that!”

Everyone lined up, ready, and started training!

This time, no one was joking or leisurely slacking; everyone held their mouth tightly pressed, eyebrows furrowed, suppressing a breath, focusing all discomfort and embarrassment… and the hidden fear they dared not admit, on the small basketball.

Snatching the ball, intercepting, dribbling, passing, jumping—laying up!

They adopted a more focused state than during the match, immersing themselves in tonight’s game.

Finally, when their stamina was exhausted, each sweating profusely sitting by the court, Zheng Haiyang spoke: “Do you know why the commander is angry?”

Everyone looked at him, someone hesitantly said: “Is it because we didn’t train properly…”

Zheng Haiyang didn’t reply, it was Geng Wei who gave the answer: “It’s not because we weren’t serious, but because we disrespected our opponents.”

Zheng Haiyang continued: “The commander once said, no matter the time or place, nor who you encounter, you must respect your opponent. Don’t underestimate anyone!”

Geng Wei sighed: “You know, when outside, what kind of person are you most afraid to encounter?”

No one answered.

Geng Wei said: “The commander once said, the most fearsome people to encounter are not bandits, not robbers, nor strong men, but rather, the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled.”

Those who hadn’t heard this were baffled, wondering why one would fear the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled instead of bandits or strong men. That logic was hard to understand!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep