I revived the Demonic Sect in North America

Coach Duke was speechless, his chest tightening at these words. His finger trembled slightly as he pointed at Bruce, and he was unable to utter a word for a moment.

He knows Bruce too well.

This stubborn donkey is usually obedient, but once it gets stuck on a point, not even ten oxen could pull it back.

If he says it, he will definitely do it.

Without Bruce playing with all his might on the court, the Cavaliers, a team already demoralized, would probably collapse immediately.

His coaching career at Duke is pretty much over.

But if he backs down now, where will his authority as the Cavaliers' head coach be?

Coach Duke's expression shifted, caught in a dilemma.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, his eye twitched, and a delaying tactic flashed through his mind.

"Enough!!"

Coach Duke suddenly roared, breaking the silence and seemingly giving himself a way out.

He first glared at Bruce with murderous eyes, then forced out the words through gritted teeth:

"Quit the team? Surrender? I'll pretend I didn't hear that kind of mindless nonsense today! If you dare say it again, I guarantee I'll make you drag that broken tire around the track until you throw up, then keep running until you can't get up anymore!"

Then, he abruptly turned to Leon, who had been standing silently behind Bruce.

His gaze remained critical and cold, but his tone carried a hint of impatient perfunctoriness, as if he were dismissing a persistent salesperson.

"You, Li Ang, right?"

Li Ang responded calmly:

"It's me, Coach."

Coach Duke scanned Li Ang from head to toe, his gaze lingering a second longer on Li Ang's not particularly muscular physique.

Then he snorted through his nostrils and said stiffly:

"Considering Bruce's stupidity and all the bullshit he's spouted for you... I'll consider this. But kid..."

He emphasized his words, his tone carrying a warning:

"You'd better not get your hopes up. My team isn't just for anyone. Get back here and stop getting in the way and disrupting training!"

After saying that, he seemed not to want to stay a second longer.

He turned around abruptly, ready to leave this troublesome situation.

"Coach! Wait! What do you mean by 'consider'? Is it even possible...?"

Bruce panicked and quickly stepped forward, reaching out to grab the Duke coach's arm, wanting to get to the bottom of things.

Just then, the wire mesh gate by the playground was pushed open, making a creaking sound.

A blond white man wearing a sharp suit and tie walked in.

He was around forty years old, with his hair neatly combed, holding a folder in his hand, and looking around.

Upon seeing the Duke coach, his eyes lit up, and he quickly walked over.

Coach Duke also saw the person who came in. His brows furrowed imperceptibly for a moment, then relaxed, and his face quickly adopted a businesslike, slightly polite expression.

He seized the opportunity to shake off Bruce's hand that was trying to stop him, and waved it impatiently at Bruce, as if shooing away a fly:

"Alright, alright, I have important business to attend to! Bruce, get out of the way and don't get in my way!"

Bruce saw that outsiders had come over and knew that this was not the time to continue the argument.

He gritted his teeth, and although his face was full of resentment, he still obediently took a few steps back and stood next to Li Ang.

His gaze remained fixed on the Duke coach and the man in the suit who was walking over, his fists clenching unconsciously.

The blond-haired white man strode forward.

He extended his hand with a well-trained, professional smile on his face, just the right moment.

Good afternoon, Coach Duke. I hope I haven't disturbed your training with the two kids.

Coach Duke reached out and gave him a brief handshake, forcing a smile on his face.

"Bob, what brings you to the training field? What new instructions have the sponsors given you?"

Bob smiled and, without beating around the bush, got straight to the point.

"It's still about the field feedback on our new batch of steroid drugs, Duke. Headquarters is pressing us hard this time; they want to see some... well, you know, lab reports alone aren't enough. We also need data from volunteer trials."

The Duke coach's brows immediately furrowed, and he crossed his arms, replying in a harsh tone:

"Bob, didn't we make this clear before? We welcome your sponsorship. We'll provide the team's training data and regular fitness reports as required. But that thing you mentioned about testing new steroid drugs is out of the question. I'll say it again, my players aren't guinea pigs; they're still kids."

Bob's smile remained unchanged, but his eyes were noticeably sharper.

He slowly opened the folder in his hand, pulled out a document, and spoke in a calm tone, but with an unquestionable air.

"Don't be so absolute, Duke. Let's look at the facts, okay? Our sponsorship of the River Valley High School Knights by Apex Biotech over the past two seasons is real. Those brand-new professional-grade barbells, those expensive physiotherapy devices, and the specially formulated high-protein supplements delivered on time every week... these didn't just appear out of thin air, right?"

He lightly tapped a bolded clause on the document with his long, slender fingers, his voice loud enough for Bruce and Leon, who were not far away, to hear clearly:

"Our sponsorship agreement, Appendix C, Section 3, clearly states in black and white that, to a reasonable extent, the school and the team are obligated to cooperate with the sponsor in tracking the effectiveness and collecting data on the designated products. Please note, Duke, this is legally binding."

His gaze swept casually over Bruce, who stood beside him like an iron tower, a hint of eagerness flashing in his eyes.

Then I looked back at Duke:

"Let me put it this way, Duke. We need a volunteer, your best, most promising, and most capable living specimen to demonstrate the power of our company's drug."

"Just imagine, if he used our drug, what kind of beast would he become on the field? How many crushing victories would that bring, how many media headlines?"

"This is a win-win situation for the team's performance, for your precarious position as head coach, and for the market prospects of our products. Old friend, it's a win-win situation."

Coach Duke's face darkened completely, and the veins on his forehead throbbed slightly.

He first gave Bruce and Li Ang, who could hear everything clearly, a warning glare.

Then she abruptly turned around, took a step closer to Bob, and almost forced the words out through clenched teeth, the suppressed anger clearly visible:

"Fuck you, Bob! You fucking listen to me! I yell at these guys and push them to their limits, but it's all for their own good, to make them tough on the court, to win! Not to fucking use their health or even their lives to fill your stat sheets!"

"God knows what kind of crap you're giving me! Stronger effects? What about the risks? Side effects? Long-term effects? Don't try to pull this vague rhetoric on me!"

"Let me tell you, as long as I'm still the head coach of this team, I will never let any of my kids touch any of your bullshit that hasn't even finished phase three clinical trials! Don't even think about it!"

Bob's perfect professional smile finally faded.

He slammed the folder shut and tapped his palm lightly with the hard edge of the folder.

The temperature in his tone plummeted:

"Duke, watch your words and attitude. Our collaboration between Apex Biotechnology and River Valley High School is a completely legal business transaction, clearly stated in black and white."

"Sponsorship is not a charitable donation; we expect a return on our investment. And contracts are not worthless pieces of paper to be ignored. If you insist on refusing to fulfill your clearly stated, written obligations of cooperation..."

He paused deliberately, his sharp gaze fixed on Duke's slightly reddened eyes:

"Then our legal department colleagues would be happy to sit down with you and the gentlemen of the River Valley High School board to discuss the specific terms and amounts of the breach of contract compensation. You'd better think carefully about those expensive equipment, the sponsorship fees we provide every year that other teams envy, and whether you can keep your job as head coach."

"Do you think River Valley High School will bear the cost of this compensation and reputational damage because of you and your stubbornness?"

Coach Duke's face instantly turned bright red, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white and cracked, and veins bulged on his forehead.

He stared intently at Bob's refined yet cold face, his chest heaving violently like a bellows, clearly trying his best to restrain the urge to throw a punch.

On one hand, there's the team's source of funding, and on the other hand, there's his own precarious livelihood.

On the other hand, there's the health and even the safety of his young team members.

He was caught in the middle, feeling as if he were being squeezed between two walls.

Frustration, anger, and helplessness.

Just then, a calm voice rang out from behind the Duke coach.

"Coach Duke, if becoming a volunteer for a top biotech company's drug trials can solve the team's current problems, then..."

"I do."