Chapter 148: The Speed Increases Again!

"Hiss, still acting like this even at Koshien, you really are something." A fan familiar with Huangqian Yangyi's style teased.

"Huangqian! Strike them out!"

"Don't give them a chance!"

After the silence, as the game began, the fans roared again.

Come on, the first pitch at Koshien, crank up the speed, and give them a taste of what's coming!

Miyuki's eyes were extremely excited; as long as Huangqian Yangyi could crank up the speed and throw it into the strike zone, he could intimidate everyone!

On this Koshien stage, his first battery combination with Huangqian Yangyi had to be perfect enough, magnificent enough.

Understanding Miyuki's intent, Huangqian Yangyi also grew excited. After just one glance at the opposing Batter, he gave no further attention. All he had to do now was crank his speed to the max and then throw the baseball into Miyuki's glove.

Whoosh!

After taking several deep breaths in a row, Huangqian Yangyi adjusted his state to the best. Having not stood on the mound to pitch for a while, he had to concentrate all his spirit to crank up the maximum speed while maintaining control right from the start; after all, his current maximum speed was not something he could fully control, and it required some luck.

As long as he could pull it off, then for all the subsequent games, the opponents' judgment of his pitching would be off.

"Why do I feel like this kid is about to pull off some big move?" Kusunoki Fumiya looked at the focused expression on Huangqian Yangyi's face on the field, one he had never seen in the past few months.

"After all, his injury just healed, he's probably still a bit uneasy inside," said Sakai Ichiro, a reserve outfielder for Seido.

"No, watch closely, it's coming!" Tanba suddenly said.

Hearing this, everyone in the Seido Dugout stared at Huangqian Yangyi without blinking.

Swish!

Holding his breath, Huangqian Yangyi took a step forward, his arm whipped through the air with a whistling sound, and the little white ball shot out like a sharp arrow.

At the batter's box, the second Batter for Kawae was ready to swing the moment Huangqian Yangyi lifted his leg, yet when the baseball flew in, his mind went blank.

Pop!

Only after the baseball entered the glove did the Batter swing his bat, as if suffering from network lag.

"Strike!"

The umpire's voice rang out. After a few seconds of silence in the stadium, everyone's eyes turned to the speed gun in the corner.

157!!

"157!"

"So fast!"

"A First Year! This is a First Year?!"

"Monster Pitcher!"

"Light Speed Ball!"

The spectators exploded!

On the Koshien pitcher speed record board, the one ranked first was a hot Professional Baseball Player currently in the major leagues, who had thrown 160 km/h when he was a third-year in high school.

And Huangqian Yangyi's 157 km/h was already the second-fastest speed at Koshien, not to mention he was only a First Year.

Even without limiting it to Koshien, Huangqian Yangyi's 157 km/h speed was enough to rank in the top five in the entire history of Japanese high school baseball.

The Koshien audience, whom everyone was watching, was now boiling over; another Light Speed Ball pitcher had been born at Koshien.

"I knew it! This kid was definitely going to pull off a big move," Kusunoki Fumiya shouted excitedly, pointing at Huangqian Yangyi.

"157! A level I'll never reach in my life," Nanjo Taishi shook his head helplessly and sighed.

Listening to the unprecedented cheers from the stands, Tanba had to admit that power pitchers, especially those like Huangqian Yangyi who could throw over 155 km/h, were the best at stirring up the audience's enthusiasm and igniting their hormones.

What the audience loved most was this kind of real, head-on confrontation using pure speed against the batter; just look at those spectators in the stands who had devolved into gorillas and you'd know.

Outside the Dugout, Manager Kataoka looked at the number on the speed gun, his fingers trembling. He never expected that after resting for a period due to injury, Huangqian Yangyi's speed had actually increased again.

While excited, Manager Kataoka couldn't help but worry. Huangqian Yangyi's speed was already fast enough, and with his body not yet fully developed, once the pitch count grew, there was a high possibility of injury. Looking at the growth of his speed now, Manager Kataoka suspected that it wouldn't even take until next year; by this year's Autumn Tournament, he might already be approaching 160. This was too terrifying for a First Year.

He had to find a way to control his speed! Manager Kataoka made up his mind. If such a promising pitcher were to have his future affected by injury due to his own talent, he, as the manager, would definitely be held responsible.

At the Catcher position, Miyuki, having received the ball, had eyes that kept flickering. It went in; although the location was a bit off, it was indeed within the strike zone.

With this pitch, the opponents would definitely have reservations in the rest of the game. In a competition of Koshien's level, once a batter had hesitation in their heart, it would be difficult to hit well again.

Calculating in his heart, Miyuki stood up and threw the ball back with force. The baseball entered Huangqian Yangyi's glove with a heavy thud; he could clearly feel Miyuki's excitement and thrill at this moment.

Although Huangqian Yangyi was also excited, he still gave Miyuki a look.

'Stop getting excited, it was just luck that it went in!'

'I know!'

Miyuki squatted down, pursed his lips, smiled after glancing at the stunned Batter, and then gave the signal.

This batter's fighting spirit had already collapsed; finish him off with a Fastball.

Swish~ Pop!

"Strike!"

Pop~!

"Strike!"

One outside, one inside, both were basic four-seam Fastballs, and the speed didn't exceed 150, yet the batter swung his bat like a bot.

"Strikeout!"

"Woo-hoo!!"

"Seido! Huangqian!"

"Monster!!"

All kinds of shouts reached the field. The second Batter for Kawae only then came to his senses: he had been struck out? So fast?

Walking off the field, just as he entered the Dugout, Manager Suzuki of the Chuanjiang High School Baseball Club walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

"It's normal not to be able to hit that speed on the first pitch, but the next two swings were just too ugly!"

Hearing this, the player wore a bitter expression, not knowing what to say; he hadn't wanted it to be this way, but after seeing that 157 km/h Fastball, he felt that every pitch he looked at seemed just as fast—that impression was truly too profound!!

Seeing his player's expression, Manager Suzuki sighed helplessly; he had long known the Seido First Year ace's pitch speed was terrifying, but the intelligence report indicated his controllable speed should be under 153 km/h, and his top speed was the 155 km/h clocked during the final against Ichidai Sanko, which alone had already given Chuan Jiang a headache during pre-game preparations.

As it turned out, today, Huangqian Yangyi clocked 157 km/h on his very first pitch after taking the mound, and he even threw it into the Strike zone.

With a pitch speed like that, let alone his students, even he felt a chill down his spine; if Huangqian Yangyi could reach this speed with every pitch, then they might as well not play at all and just surrender.