The longest river

Chapter 7 Truth
Yang Shuai ultimately stayed, and he also kept his promise to Lin Xiulan that he would go home earlier in the evening.

In addition, his training intensity and focus were higher in the following month than in the previous month.

It was under these changes that Yang Shuai made considerable progress in the past month.

In terms of the most crucial points, he earned a total of over 4 points.

This allows him to redeem 1 points of C-grade physical fitness packs instead of just 2000 points of D-grade physical fitness packs when using the system.

He continued his previous plan to improve his personal running and jumping abilities, spending 3 points to exchange for C-level straight-line speed, C-level agility, and C-level jumping physical fitness improvement packs.

His weight, too, is steadily increasing in a methodical manner.

His system panel has undergone tremendous changes since he first transmigrated.

Name: Yang Shuai

Height: 194cm
Weight: 81 kg
Arm span: 210cm
Control: 47 (47); Passing: 42 (42);
扣篮：55（59）；上篮：55（57）；近距离：51（51）；中距离：47（48）；罚球：55（55）；三分：60（60）

防守：54（56）；盖帽：53（55）；抢断：49（51）；篮板：53（55）；造犯规：40（40）

Second-level interface ①

It's no exaggeration to say that he is now fully capable of playing in NSAA League 2; it just depends on when Johnson will put him on the court.

Before that, he would still go to the streets of Cleveland to play basketball as usual.

As soon as they arrived at the basketball court that day, someone shouted, "The nightmare has arrived!"

A key characteristic of American baseball or streetball courts is that players who make a name for themselves there often receive a nickname.

Some of the most well-known players include Earl "The Goat" McNicholt, who could dunk twice on a single ball; Rafer Alston, the "King of Streetball" who made a name for himself in the NBA; and Grayson Boucher, the "Professor," who was considered capable of teaching opponents on the court.

Thanks to his outstanding performance over the past month, Yang Shuai has earned his own nickname: Yellow Nightmare.

Nightmare, in itself, refers to a sleep disorder characterized by recurring dreams of extreme anxiety, fear, anger, and other distressing emotions during sleep.

This is also the most direct impression Yang Shuai gives on the basketball court, because he can always make his opponents feel negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, anger and unease.

Yang Shuai didn't care much about his nickname; as long as he could get points, it didn't matter what he was called.

And today he was lucky; he encountered a black man named Jill Arenas who kept giving him negative energy.

The opponent was quite skilled, and with tattoos all over his neck, he must be a pro at streetball. However, Yang Shuai's current skill level far surpasses that of ordinary streetball players, which put Arenas at a disadvantage.

When the score reached 5-3, Yang Shuai and Rondo executed a brilliant combination play.

After a pick-and-roll with Yang Shuai, Rondo made a lob pass to Yang Shuai, who leaped up and slammed home an alley-oop dunk over Arenas for the game-winning shot.

The crowd erupted instantly. Although Yang Shuai can bring a lot of negative emotions to his opponents, he can also constantly ignite the emotions on the court, which is another key reason why he earned his nickname.

After landing, Yang Shuai gave Arenas a death stare, then turned around and waved to the crowd after getting the points he wanted.

This was his usual practice, but what he didn't expect this time was that, halfway through the interaction, the people on the sidelines suddenly ran away as if they had seen a ghost.

Following their horrified gazes, Yang Shuai turned around and saw Arenas pull out a Truth from somewhere and pointing it at him.

"This is our territory! How dare you, an Asian, act so arrogantly here?!" Arenas was clearly out of his element.

Yang Shuai was stunned. He had considered the possibility of a fight breaking out during a game, but the way he directly revealed the truth was completely beyond his expectations.

He then realized that he was not in the country, but in free America.

"Calm down, brother, calm down!" Just then, Rondo walked towards Arenas with his hands raised.

"Stop right there!" Arenas said, shaking the Truth, looking very agitated.

“It’s about respect!” Rondo stopped in his tracks, but his next words left everyone present stunned.

Even Yang Shuai was momentarily confused about what Rondo was up to.

"Everything he did was out of respect for you. Think about it, if he didn't respect you, he could have just hit you however he wanted. But he's going all out, even using his emotions, to fight you. It's all out of respect for you, isn't it?"

There was a long silence as everyone tried to understand the theory behind Rondo's words.

Arenas finally put away his gun.

The tense atmosphere dissipated with his action.

The game continued as if nothing had happened.

However, Yang Shuai and his team weren't in the mood to continue playing seriously, and after playing one casual game, they left early.

Nobody knows if that Arenas guy will come to his senses and cause them trouble again.

"Have you ever encountered something like this before?" Yang Shuai couldn't help but ask curiously on the way back by bike.

Rondo shook his head: "This isn't Chicago or New York. This is the first time I've ever seen that thing."

"How do you know that will work?" While it's true that most Black people aren't very bright, not all of them are. "If he really knew how to shoot, he would have done it before you even turned around. He was just trying to scare people. I was just giving him a way out."

Rondo's answer made Yang Shuai turn around and widen his eyes.

As expected, Americans understand Americans better, and Rondo's mind works even better than he imagined.

However, considering that Rondo's mother is Lin Xiulan, this doesn't seem so surprising.

"Let's not play ball at night for a while," Yang Shuai said, turning around.

Although today's events were a close call, no one knows if they will be so lucky next time.

In comparison, the NSAA league is a better option.

After the training session on the second day, Yang Shuai took the initiative to approach Johnson.

"Sir, I'm ready to go on the court."

He often eats with Johnson, and their relationship is now much closer than that of other players; even their way of addressing each other has changed.

Johnson did not immediately respond.

His original minimum requirement for Yang Shuai's weight was 85 kilograms, but Yang Shuai is still quite far from that number.

However, judging from the team's usual training, Yang Shuai's improvement in physical strength is much better than he expected.

Although he didn't know that Yang Shuai was playing pickup basketball, he had witnessed Yang Shuai's hard work in training over the past month.

Furthermore, Cleveland High School has struggled this season.

The team reached the quarterfinals of the Ohio 4A tournament last season, but their strength has clearly declined with the departure of several 12th-grade players.

The tournament is now halfway through, but they are only ranked tenth in the Cleveland region. If they continue at this rate, they will most likely miss the championship.

In situations like these, adding a talented player like Yang Shuai is extremely helpful.

However, if Yang Shuai were to play now, he would have to bear the potential risk of injury.

"I will protect myself and won't be reckless," Yang Shuai assured Johnson, noticing his hesitation.

Johnson finally nodded: "I'll put you on the bench for next week's game to give you a try."

"Sir, I knew you were the best," Yang Shuai said, putting his arm around Johnson's shoulder.

In preparation for the upcoming competition, Yang Shuai spent his remaining 1 points to redeem a C-level core strength physical fitness pack.

The main improvement in core strength that can be seen on the panel is in shot selection against interference, including dunks after contact, mid-range shots and three-pointers against interference. These aspects can be improved by 4 to 5 points.

However, due to time constraints, not training in these areas will not immediately lead to improvement.

In comparison, what's more important for Yang Shuai is that exchanging for this physical fitness package can help him avoid injuries to some extent.

A large proportion of injuries in basketball games are caused by falling and losing balance after contact.

The stronger your core strength, the better your body's stability and balance, and the less likely you are to fall.

A week passed quickly, and Yang Shuai finally got to play his first game in the NSAA.

They will host the Chan Bolin High School team.

The two teams last met two months ago, when Cleveland High School suffered a crushing 46-65 defeat on the road.

That game happened two days before Yang Shuai's time travel, the game in which Yang Shuai mentioned Luther being dunked on by James Posey during his conflict with Luther.

-Dividing line-

①: Defense: Single defense 49 (51); Help defense 59 (61)

Rebounds: Offensive rebounds 52 (54); Defensive rebounds 55 (56)

Drawing fouls: 42 offensive fouls (42); 40 defensive fouls (40)

Dunking: Standing dunk 58 (62); Sprint dunk 58 (62); Confrontation dunk 51 (55)

Layup: Standing layup 50 (52); Breakaway layup 59 (61)

Close range: Throw 51 (51); Hook shot 51 (51); Lap-up 51 (51)

Mid-range: 50 (50) open shots; 48 (48) catch-and-shoot shots; 45 (47) shots under pressure.

Three-pointers: Open shots 62 (62); Catch-and-shoot shots 60 (60); Uncontested shots 58 (58); Long-range three-pointers 50 (50)

②: The American high school basketball league is divided into five levels: A, 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A, depending on the number of students in each school. The games are held on a state-by-state basis from October to March of the following year and include regular season games and championship games.

③: The NSAA regular season is divided into regional preliminaries and regional competitions. Generally, the top four teams in a division advance to the regional competitions, and then the top eight teams in each state are determined through a round-robin tournament to enter the continental championship.

(End of this chapter)