Chapter 66

"Watch this!"

Kikumaru took two steps across, leaped nimbly, and his racket struck toward the tennis ball.

"Trying to hit a cross-court volley?"

Shenwei Ming swept his gaze across, judged Kikumaru's shot style in his mind, and immediately shifted his feet, his body rapidly rushing toward the left half-court.

"Guessed wrong, Nya~"

Seeing the opponent's movement, Kikumaru playfully winked his left eye.

One could see him tense his core muscles; in an instant, his body turned lightly in mid-air, and his gray racket changed position accordingly, quietly emerging from behind his back.

"Kikumaru Beam!"

Boom!

A clever and tricky acrobatic shot landed in the right front court of Budongfeng; the unexpected attack caught Shenwei Ming and Shitian Tie off guard.

"Game, Youth Academy, Eiji Kikumaru and Shuichiro Oishi, 2-1!"

"Switching sides~"

"What a pity, see you next week!"

Kikumaru flipped, supporting himself with one hand, landed steadily on the ground, his eyes bright.

"Well done!" Momoshiro Takeshi shouted excitedly, giving Kaoru Kaido's back a hard pat.

"Hiss, you jerk, watch the match quietly!"

Kaoru Kaido unceremoniously swatted away the large hand resting on him.

"Thanks to the information Gan prepared, Oishi and Kikumaru are able to play so smoothly."

Seeing the match gaining the upper hand, the gloom of Kawamura Takashi's poor start slowly faded away.

"."

"Actually, my information doesn't have an absolute effect."

Gan Zhen Zhi shook his head and explained calmly.

"Unlike ordinary players, the speed and power of Budongfeng's Shenwei Ming and Shitian Tie have already exceeded the level most people can handle.

To deal with them, having information alone is of no use at all.

The reason Kikumaru can suppress the other side is because he possesses powerful dynamic vision and flexible, agile skills.

Only he and Oishi can fully utilize the information, and only then is there hope of defeating Budongfeng's ace doubles pair."

However, despite saying this, Gan Zhen Zhi keenly noticed the unusual sweat on Kikumaru and Oishi; his expression was grave, and he did not appear as relaxed as the others.

"Are Oishi and the others... really doing well?"

On the court.

"Not bad."

Shenwei Ming's tone remained relaxed; such exertion meant nothing to him. As he retreated to the backcourt, his left hand secretly made a 'V' gesture.

Withdrawing his gaze silently, Shitian Tie understood and stood firmly in the front court.

After the semi-finals, he and Shenwei Ming deeply understood the importance of doubles tactics, but due to the short time, the two could only set up a few simple secret signals.

Although crude, it was enough to handle this match.

Pat. Pat. Pat.

After pressing the tennis ball a few times, Shenwei Ming suddenly tossed the ball up and swung his arm with force.

"Keep up with my rhythm!"

Boom!

A powerful side-spin serve sent the ball to the outer corner of the side zone, and the tennis ball bounced and flew toward the outside.

"A very good choice."

Watching Shenwei Ming's movement, Sen Chende's expression showed a subtle fluctuation; it was rare for him to praise someone.

This serve was not impossible to return, but to do so successfully, the receiver would inevitably be pulled to the outside, leaving a flaw in the middle inner corner.

Judging by this ball, Shenwei Ming had already shown the qualities a doubles player should have.

However, as the brains of the Golden Pair, Oishi had a calm personality and possessed an extremely wide field of vision.

Shenwei Ming's intention was quickly seen through by him.

Step, step.

Changing his steps rapidly, Oishi's body quickly caught up to the trajectory of the bouncing tennis ball, swept his gaze across the opponent's positioning, and swung his racket precisely.

Boom!

The tennis ball flew over the net, and he immediately returned to position to cover the gap, not letting the opponent take advantage.

Watching the incoming streak of light, Shenwei Ming's eyes flashed; he pulled his racket upward, and a high-angle lob flew over Kikumaru's head, falling behind him.

At the same time, Shitian Tie crossed his steps and instantly appeared at the baseline.

"Double baseline formation?"

Kikumaru and Oishi immediately showed surprised expressions; the formation change by Shenwei Ming and Shitian Tie startled them.

Seeing this, Shenwei Ming smiled inwardly.

Before the match, Jiecheng Wu had warned them that their information had likely been collected by that sea-urchin-headed guy from Qingxue.

After testing through the first three games, it was indeed so.

The two on the other side coordinated tacitly; Kikumaru was like a kite, floating flexibly in the front court, while Oishi was the one controlling the kite string, grasping everything from the backcourt.

Oishi used his own wide field of vision to constantly capture the positions of himself and Shitian Tie, passing the information to Kikumaru via secret signals.

Furthermore, Kikumaru possessed extraordinary dynamic vision and was one of the few who could capture his own swift movements.

Coupled with that agile and varied acrobatic style, he was able to hit the tennis ball to the positions they disliked most the moment his and Shitian's movements changed, thereby scoring frequently.

Once Oishi and Kikumaru combined with Information Tennis, they became a doubles pair specifically targeting him and Shitian.

These thoughts flashed through his mind rapidly; having stayed by Jiecheng Wu's side for a long time, Shenwei Ming had also begun to get used to analyzing the opponent's true thoughts during a match.

However.

After they changed formation, the opponent's calculations were already useless.

The double baseline formation was originally a defensive-leaning tactical formation, using rapid and varied baseline techniques to control the opponent; it was a proactive defensive strategy.

But when added to Shenwei Ming's speed and Shitian Tie's power, this defensive formation would completely become a war fortress armed with spikes.

Boom!

"Kikumaru Rocket!"

The tennis ball high in the air was intercepted by Kikumaru as he jumped, and the yellow streak of light smashed into the mid-court position.

Swish!

Shenwei Ming's figure flashed, instantly appearing in front of the tennis ball's landing point, his momentum not yet stopped.

Boom!

With an explosive sound, the tennis ball passed through Kikumaru's crotch; Oishi lunged to save the ball, but it was already too late.

"Game, Budongfeng Middle School, Shenwei Ming and Shitian Tie, 2-2!"

Although Kikumaru's sharp acrobatic shots remained tricky and fierce, once the distance was opened up, Shenwei Ming also had more reaction time; relying on his speed, this kind of attack posed no threat.

Boom!

Backhand Wave Ball—

Shitian Tie let out a low roar, his muscles bulging, and the tennis ball, exploding with intense vibrations, knocked the rackets of both Kikumaru and Oishi away.

After the formation change, his Wave Ball was also unsealed.

"Game, Budongfeng Middle School, Shenwei Ming and Shitian Tie, 3-2!"

Shenwei Ming and Shitian Tie stood at the baseline, but Oishi felt as if he were looking at an impregnable absolute defense.

Previously, relying on the information provided by Gan, he and Kikumaru were still able to restrict these two, but after Budongfeng changed formation, those blind spots were no longer blind spots.

To score points from them, one had to break through their defense head-on.

But neither he nor Kikumaru possessed such ability.

Six minutes later.

Boom!

The tennis ball drew an afterimage, and the sharp yellow arc of light leaped across the court; the match was over.

Thanks to Caesar Wang Alexander for the 200-coin tip.

Next is the decisive battle with Tezuka.

But, damn it!

Started writing in the afternoon, and after messing with several versions, I'm still not satisfied; I must rethink it.

Because this match is mixed with important plot points that affect subsequent developments, I must be very, very careful.

Important characters will appear; he is related to whether the Budongfeng group can catch up to the pace of other geniuses. The reason for his appearance will be in the next few chapters.

Wanting to blend these into Jiecheng Wu's final match is indeed a test for me, but I still feel this is the most appropriate timing.

(End of chapter)