Slam Dunk: My physical abilities can be increased indefinitely.

Chapter 29 Rukawa's Late-Night Invitation

At 10:30 p.m., Sendoh came out of the gymnasium.

Under the light, flying insects swarmed around him. One of them pounced on his face, its wings making his face itch. He reached out and brushed it away, his fingers getting covered in a layer of fine scale powder.

Today I did an extra 300 three-pointers and 100 free throws. After adding those points, my shooting touch was definitely different. My body was more stable when I released the ball, my knees didn't buckle after jumping and landing, and my upper body didn't sway. After upgrading my jumping ability to A, my jump height increased by a few centimeters, and the arc of my shot also changed. I spent the first 50 shots adjusting, and then I slowly found my rhythm.

My phone vibrated several times in my pocket.

He received a message from a number asking what he had practiced that day; Uekusa sent a message saying he had finished watching the video and that Sannoh's point guard was troublesome; and then there was another message from a number that Sendoh clicked on, which read: Rukawa Kaede, with only one line of text: "Where are you?"

Sendoh typed a few words: "School, just finished training."

Rukawa replied instantly, "Don't go, I'm coming."

Sendoh stared at the screen for two seconds, then put his phone back in his pocket and sat down on the steps at the entrance of the stadium.

It was getting a bit chilly at night, and the wind blew in from the playground, carrying the dry smell of grass left after being dried by the sun.

Fifteen minutes later, a white bicycle rode in from the school gate. Rukawa was wearing a black tracksuit, zipped up all the way, with his backpack slung across his body and his headphone wire sticking out from his collar.

He didn't use a footrest when he got out of the car; he just laid it down on the grass. The movement was very casual. The sound of the car hitting the ground was louder than I expected, a dull thud like metal colliding.

Sendoh remained seated on the steps, not moving. "You don't want the car anymore?"

"It won't break if you drop it."

Rukawa walked over and stood in front of Sendoh, looking down at him. The streetlight shone from the side, illuminating half of Rukawa's face while the other half was in shadow, making it difficult to see his expression. However, his breathing was heavy, and his chest was heaving considerably, indicating that he must have ridden his bike very fast to get here.

"What do you want from me?" Sendoh asked.

Who will be your opponent in the first round of the national tournament?

"Hakata Sho."

"What about the second round?"

"The Mountain King."

Rukawa paused for two seconds, then asked, "How do you plan to defend against Sannoh's Sawakita Eiji?"

Sendoh stood up, dusted off his pants, and looked at Rukawa at eye level. This guy was a little shorter than him, but his shoulders were almost as wide as his. First-year high school students are still growing, and by the time they are third-year students, he might be even stronger than him.

"I haven't decided yet. You came all this way just to ask this?"

"no."

Rukawa pulled a videotape out of his bag. The box was labeled "Sannoh vs. Hainan, last year's winter tournament".

Sendoh took it and glanced at it. The label on the cover was yellowed and the edges were frayed. He had seen this tape more than once. He could recite every single play in it. Sawakita Eiji scored 38 points against Hainan's defense, breaking through, shooting mid-range shots, three-pointers, and dunking, turning Hainan's defense into a sieve.

"I've watched this tape ten times," Rukawa said.

"and then?"

"Then I discovered something: Zebei's first step wasn't the fastest, but his acceleration between the second and third steps was continuous, without any pause. Most players are fast on the first step, but slow down a bit on the second step to adjust their center of gravity. His second and third steps were just as fast."

Sendoh looked at Rukawa but didn't say anything.

Rukawa continued, "Your first step was faster than his, but you slowed down between your second and third steps, a slight slowdown, about 0.2 seconds. Maki Shinichi seized this gap that day, moving ahead of you when you slowed down on your second step, and by the time you accelerated on your third step, he was already standing in your path."

The fluorescent tubes at the entrance of the stadium emitted a faint buzzing sound. Flying insects circled under the lights. One of them bumped into a tube, bounced off with a thud, fell to the ground, flipped its wings, and flew away again.

Sendoh turned the videotape over and looked at the back. "You watched it ten times just to figure out my weaknesses?"

"No, I saw yours while I was researching him."

"By the way?"

Rukawa didn't reply.

Sendoh handed the videotape back, but Rukawa didn't take it. "Here, watch it and tell me your conclusion."

After saying that, Rukawa turned around and went to help the bicycle that had fallen to the ground. He straightened the handlebars and kicked away the kickstand.

"You rode your bike all night just to deliver a videotape to me?"

"There's one more thing."

"What did you say?"

Rukawa got on his bike, one foot on the pedal and the other on the ground. "National Tournament, don't lose to Sannoh. If I lose, it won't be fun if I beat Sannoh."

Rukawa pedaled away, the white taillight of his bicycle flashing twice in the darkness before disappearing around the street corner.

Sendoh stood at the entrance of the stadium, looking in that direction. The edge of the videotape in his hand was digging into his palm. He looked down at the cover and saw a photo of Eiji Sawakita making a layup. At that moment, the defender's hand was still in front of his face, but his eyes were already on the basket.

The system panel popped up, but he didn't look at it. He stuffed the videotape into his bag and went back to his dormitory.

All the lights in the dormitory corridor were off, except for the green light of the emergency exit. Sendoh felt his way to the door of his room and tried to insert the key several times before he could.

He entered the room, turned on the light, placed the videotape on the table, lay down on the bed, and stared at the ceiling.

The detail Chuan had just mentioned kept replaying in his mind: the deceleration between the second and third steps, 0.2 seconds.

Maki Shinichi was targeting this, but Sawakita Eiji didn't have this deceleration ability, so his second and third steps were just as fast. By the time the defender thought he was going to slow down and adjust his center of gravity, he had already accelerated past.

How do I train? This isn't a problem that can be solved by adding stat points. Your speed attribute is A, but the slowdown is a matter of movement habits, not a matter of physical fitness.

Sendoh rolled over, burying his face in the pillow. The pillow was a bit damp, probably because he hadn't dried it after training these past two days. The laundry detergent still smelled the same—the cheap kind of artificial fragrance that gets a bit cloying after a while.

My phone vibrated; it was a message from Rukawa: "Have you watched the tape?"

Sendoh replied, "Not yet."

Rukawa, "Let's see now."

Sendoh: "I'll see tomorrow. I'm tired today."

Rukawa, "What are you tired about? What did you practice today?"

Sendoh thought for a moment, then said, "Shoot."

Rukawa, "You're lying."

Sendoh didn't reply. He put his phone face down on the bedside table, turned over, and pulled the blanket up to his chest. The chirping of insects outside the window was still just as intense as it had been the day before yesterday and the day before that.

His consciousness slowly sank, and halfway down, he suddenly remembered something: Rukawa had come over tonight, riding his bike for fifteen minutes and half an hour round trip, just to deliver a videotape and say a few words.

That guy already trains a lot, training until very late every day, then spending half an hour cycling back and forth, losing half an hour of sleep, and having to get up early the next day.

For what?

To prevent him from losing to Sannoh?