Chapter 106: Extraordinary Performance

"This brat is still smiling; he must be up to some bad idea again in his heart."

On the sidelines, Dong Qingguo couldn't help but complain when he saw the smile on Huangqian Yangyi's face.

"Ya-haha, Senior Dong, you really understand Huangqian well," Kuramochi laughed loudly.

Dong Qingguo snorted, "I only know that once this brat shows that villainous smile, it means someone is about to have bad luck."

"Hm? A villain?" Miyuki muttered to himself. It really did seem that way; to the schools defeated by Seido, Seido was likely the villain in their eyes, and the one they hated most among the Seido players was undoubtedly this guy on the Pitcher's Mound who gave his opponents absolutely no chance.

"I think Huangqian looks quite gentle when he smiles," Kominato Ryosuke said while stroking his chin.

Everyone turned their heads to look at Kominato Ryosuke; you smile the same way yourself, so of course you would think that.

Kominato Ryosuke chuckled, turning a blind eye to the strange looks cast by the others.

On the field, Matsumoto Takuhai was also under great pressure looking at Huangqian Yangyi; this guy not only had the power to hit a Home Run, but also seemed to be quite skilled at selecting pitches.

In reality, what Matsumoto Takuhai didn't know was that Huangqian Yangyi's ability to select pitches was actually inferior to Miyuki's; the reason he could track the ball so accurately was entirely due to his freakish dynamic vision.

Harada Masatoshi took a deep breath and quickly gave the signal; to deal with a Batter like Huangqian Yangyi who could hit a Home Run, he absolutely had to keep the pitch low.

Receiving the signal, Matsumoto Takuhai pursed his lips slightly, then threw the baseball toward Home Plate.

The moment the baseball left his hand, a sharp glint flashed in Huangqian Yangyi's eyes.

Pop!

The baseball entered the mitt, and Huangqian Yangyi looked back at where the ball landed; it was a ball pitched especially low!

Hah, starting off with a ball to lure him into swinging; it was a good thing his vision was good enough to clearly capture the trajectory, otherwise he would have almost fallen for it.

"Ball!"

Sure enough, Harada Masatoshi frowned as he returned the ball; this Huangqian Yangyi's pitch selection ability was very strong. Although that last one was a ball, it was just barely outside the Strike zone. If he couldn't trick the opponent into swinging with that, he couldn't throw any more balls from here on out.

He had to face him head-on!

Harada Masatoshi gave Matsumoto Takuhai a look, and the latter nodded; this was what he wanted as well.

Soon, Matsumoto Takuhai threw the second pitch, a High-speed Slider.

Huangqian Yangyi made his move the instant the baseball left the hand; he put force into his feet, and his body drove the bat as he swung it fiercely.

Whoosh!

The bat swung out with great force, intersecting with the baseball in front of Home Plate; the tip of the bat swung past, almost grazing the ball.

Pop!

"Strike!"

Phew~

Harada Masatoshi let out a long breath; it was just a hair's breadth away from being hit, not even half a ball's distance.

"Nice ball!"

Returning the ball, Harada Masatoshi crouched down and looked up at Huangqian Yangyi again. Having just seen an outside High-speed Slider, logically, pairing it with an inside Forkball now should yield good results.

However, Harada Masatoshi really had no confidence in his heart; what if the opponent thought in reverse and guessed it? Did I predict your prediction?

As soon as this thought appeared in his mind, Harada Masatoshi hurriedly pinched his own leg hard.

He couldn't overthink it; the more it was like this, the more he needed to stay calm.

What he needed to do now was trust his team's ace!

Meanwhile, Huangqian Yangyi was also guessing Harada Masatoshi's pitch sequence. The first pitch was a ball, the second was an outside High-speed Slider, so what would the third pitch be?

By common logic, most Catchers would pair it with an inside pitch, but if this Catcher was Harada Masatoshi, that wasn't certain. This was also a very bold and capable Catcher; to guess his intentions, one had to be bolder than him!

But it seemed there was no need for that, Huangqian Yangyi thought. Matsumoto Takuhai's finishing pitch was a Forkball, and besides that, there was the High-speed Slider. The trajectories of these two pitches were completely different, at most differing in inside or outside placement. And with his vision, it was very easy to capture that; he could completely wait for the ball to be thrown and judge the trajectory clearly before swinging.

Matsumoto Takuhai was stunned after seeing the signal given by Harada Masatoshi; it was still outside? But it was a Forkball.

Completely different trajectory, same landing spot. Matsumoto Takuhai nodded and quickly threw the ball.

Whoosh!

Huangqian Yangyi locked onto the trajectory and swung his bat. This outside Forkball had a very tricky path, almost sticking to the edge of the Strike zone.

Bang!

The bat collided with the baseball, making a sound. The baseball flew out instantly, heading toward the boundary in the direction of First Base; it was a foul.

"Strike!"

Two strikes, one ball!

The count was in Inashiro's favor. Huangqian Yangyi pulled back his bat and shouldered it.

Although he could see Matsumoto Takuhai's pitches very clearly, being able to see and being able to hit were two completely different things. This guy was in great form today, and his pitches were sharp; if he didn't time his swing correctly, it would be hard to hit well.

Slowly taking a breath, Huangqian Yangyi focused intently on Matsumoto Takuhai's mitt. Watch the ball, watch the ball, and even when the bat finally hit the baseball, he had to keep watching the ball!

Harada Masatoshi also quickly gave the signal: an inside Forkball. Having already seen two outside pitches, the Batter must have a deep impression of them. As long as he could throw this Forkball well and keep the trajectory low, Harada Masatoshi believed that even Huangqian Yangyi would find it hard to hit a Home Run, and the possibility of an Extra-base Hit was also low.

Whoosh!

The little white ball was thrown by Matsumoto Takuhai, aimed at the inside position.

In Huangqian Yangyi's eyes, this baseball was locked onto by his gaze the moment it was released. Hm, he could see it very clearly. Huangqian Yangyi stared fixedly at the baseball, the bat in his hands swinging rapidly toward the lowest position of the inside Strike zone.

Bang!

The moment the bat hit the baseball, Huangqian Yangyi knew clearly where the ball would likely fly.

The little white ball flew over the Shortstop's head and slammed hard into the ground. Taking this opportunity, Huangqian Yangyi successfully reached First Base.

"Oh oh~!"

"Huangqian!"

"Not bad, Seido has another runner on base."

The audience cheered and gave applause.

In the Seido Dugout, Dong Qingguo frowned, "This brat didn't pull any tricks."

Miyuki, standing to the side, heard this and smiled helplessly, saying, "Senior Dong, in your eyes, what kind of image does Huangqian Yangyi actually have?"

"He's an annoying brat!" said Dong Qingguo.

At this moment, Manager Kataoka was also watching Huangqian Yangyi on First Base; regarding the few pitches in the duel just now, he had originally thought that Huangqian Yangyi would very likely be put out, but he did not expect that this guy would successfully reach base in the end.

Especially that final pitch; Kataoka turned his head to look at the speed gun, 147! This pitch speed had already refreshed Matsumoto Takuhai's personal highest pitch speed; it could be said that the opponent threw this pitch very well, and it could be considered an extraordinary performance.