Kuroko's Basketball template: the king of slacking off, Shohoku's strongest sixth man.

The members of Xiangbei bent their backs with extraordinary strength, and the sound made the ceiling fall dust.

The Hainan team member's voice was dry and hoarse, as if he had swallowed sand.

The handshake.

Mu Shenyi looked at Lin Bei, who looked lazy and as if he had just returned from shopping.

He stretched out his palm with a little force, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged.

"Lin Bei".

Maki Shinichi's voice was deep and resolute, with a hint of gritted teeth.

"I will get my revenge for this at the national competition, with interest."

Lin Bei yawned and gave Maki Shinichi a perfunctory handshake, an attitude that sent Maki's blood pressure soaring.

"Ah...you're welcome anytime."

Lin Bei withdrew his hand, his gaze sweeping over Mu Shenyi's slightly weathered face, and suddenly smiled:

"But next time, remember to bring a thermos and brew more goji berries."

"After all, he's middle-aged, so it's normal that his physical strength can't keep up."

Shinichi Maki: "..."

That hurts, bro.

On the coach's bench, Gao Touli didn't get angry; he just sat quietly, looking like he had aged ten years in an instant.

"Everyone did a good job."

"I underestimated Shohoku, I underestimated that Rinhoku guy..."

"It was my arrogance that ruined Hainan's winning streak."

……

With Shohoku defeating Hainan, the situation in the joint finals became clear instantly.

With two consecutive victories, Shohoku leads the standings as the undisputed champions.

Buri is the next easy win; victory is practically guaranteed.

The real life-or-death situation hinges on the rivalry between Ryonan and Hainan.

The winner takes all, the loser goes home to fish.

But that's a story for another time.

For Shohoku tonight, there is only one thing.

celebrate!

As we walked out of the stadium, the setting sun cast long shadows of everyone.

The wind, carrying a salty, damp smell, drizzled the sweat, but couldn't dispel the burning passion in my heart.

"Hey everyone!"

Lin Bei walked at the back with his hands in his pockets, and spoke lazily.

"I'm hungry, shall we go get some ramen?"

"I know a good restaurant; the food is really authentic."

Upon hearing the word "eat," Sakuragi Hanamichi's ears perked up instantly, and his stomach rumbled loudly in response.

"Ramen!! I want chashu ramen!!"

"But this genius has no money..."

Sakuragi's eyes gleamed with a green light, and he immediately clutched his pocket warily.

"Since it's a celebration, of course you don't need to pay."

Just as Lin Bei was about to say "swipe my card," Akagi, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped and turned around.

The setting sun cast a soft glow on his rugged face.

Akagi patted his chest hard, making a dull "thump" sound.

"Ramen is good! Lin Bei doesn't need to treat this time!"

Akagi waved his hand, his heroic spirit soaring to the heavens:

"I'm the captain, this meal's on me!!"

The entire room fell silent for one second.

Then a wolf howl erupted.

"Wow!! The gorilla's treating!!"

"The miser has finally been plucked! Long live the captain!!"

Sakuragi Hanamichi excitedly jumped onto Akagi's back:

"Okay!! Since the gorilla is treating, I'll eat ten bowls! With eggs and meat!!"

Akagi's smile froze instantly, a bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and he roared:

"You bastard!! Eat less!!"

"My wallet is going to die!!"

"Hahaha! I don't care!"

"I'm going to eat all the char siu I've ever had in my life to make up for it!!"

As the sun sets, the silhouettes of the boys playing are edged with gold.

This is their youth—passionate and exuberant.

It is also full of rich tonkotsu ramen flavor.

……

The next day, at the Shohoku Basketball Gymnasium.

No holidays, no relaxation.

The atmosphere was even more enthusiastic than on the day of the competition.

The sounds of floor scraping and muscles colliding intertwined to create a symphony called "Struggle".

On the field, Rukawa Kaede and Sakuragi Hanamichi, these two "rivals," were assigned to the same team.

Although they verbally called each other "dead fox" and "idiot".

But when they worked together, they created a wonderful chemistry, leaving the senior substitutes bewildered and questioning their existence.

Sidelines.

Lin Bei did not participate in the competition.

He was wearing a soaked vest and doing the most tedious physical training.

"98...99...100..."

Lin Bei was panting heavily, sweat dripping down his chin.

Despite the system's support and the incredible template, this body's basic endurance remains a weakness.

If we don't end this quickly, he'll definitely be the first to give up in a protracted battle.

To survive the grueling schedule of the national tournament.

Even in the final stages, basic physical fitness must be maximized.

Refuse to be a "three-second wonder"; endurance is the key.

"Give."

A bottle of mineral water was handed to me.

Lin Bei looked up and met Akagi Haruko's pure and lovely smiling face.

"Thank you for your hard work, Lin Beijun."

Lin Bei took the water and tilted his head back to gulp it down.

The cool liquid slid down my throat, taking away the heat from my body.

Thanks.

Qingzi squatted down next to Lin Bei, hugging her knees, and looked at the field with gentle eyes.

Then he turned to Lin Bei, his eyes sparkling.

"That... Lin Beijun."

"Um?"

"Thank you so much... really."

Haruko's voice was choked with emotion, and her eyes were slightly red.

Lin Bei was taken aback for a moment: "Thank me for my performance in yesterday's match? That's standard procedure, don't be so smug."

No.

Haruko shook her head and lowered her voice, as if guarding a secret.

"It's my brother's business."

She pointed to the empty captain's bench on the sidelines. Takenori Akagi was absent today.

"The doctor said that if my brother's ankle is not completely healed, there will be long-term consequences."

"Last night, you arranged for someone to bring your brother to the United States for closed-door rehabilitation."

"They said...it's the best sports rehabilitation center in the world, and they can guarantee that my brother will be fully recovered and able to participate in the national competition."

Haruko bit her lip: "The cost is astronomical, and that team of experts is not something you can hire just because you have money."

Haruko looked steadily at Lin Bei, her tone firm: "Thank you, Lin Bei."

Lin Bei screwed on the bottle cap and tossed it aside.

"Bang!"

The empty bottle landed precisely in the trash can some distance away.

He stood up, dusted off his pants, stretched, and spoke in a lazy tone as if he were discussing the weather.

"Oh, that one."

"I think the captain's foot is swollen like a pig's trotter, which is really affecting the team's appearance."

"My family happens to have a small business in the United States, so I just arranged it."

Lin Bei looked down at Qingzi, a mischievous smile playing on his lips:

"After all, if it weren't for that gorilla acting as a meat shield in the paint, I would have had to do the dirty and hard work."

"I hate trouble the most."

"If a problem can be solved with money, is it even a problem?"

"Besides..."

Lin Bei turned around, waved to Qingzi with his back to her, and continued with the next set of frog jumps.

"If he weren't there, who would lift the national championship trophy?"

"I'm too lazy to carry something that's so heavy."

Haruko watched the figure leaping in the sunlight.

Despite saying they were afraid of trouble and wanted to be lazy, they were secretly paving the way for everyone's dreams.

"Lin Beijun..."

Haruko wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and a bright smile bloomed on her face.

"She really is...a very gentle person."