The next morning. At school, in the locker room of the Yoshido basketball club. Ming You arrived first, and about twenty minutes later, the rest of the team came in, nursing hangovers from the victory celebration. After such a long, or for some, short night, everyone except Ming You had a headache.
"What a night to remember! Thank you, Ming You, we'll give it our all for victories like that!" Jung Ho said, happily recalling the previous night.
"Yeah, I can't get those girls out of my head," Haru Lin added.
"Where's Lu Shen?" Hong Ren asked.
"Probably still passed out somewhere. I wonder if he managed to have fun with the girls? And did he faint during the process?" The team started laughing.
"I didn't faint!" Lu Shen entered the locker room, still with a red face.
"We thought you'd be sleeping for a couple more days after a night like that," Haru Lin joked.
"How could I not come to thank Ming You for such a night?" Lu Shen exclaimed.
"If it weren't for Ming You, you'd be a lifelong virgin!" The team laughed even louder, while Ming You pretended to laugh.
"Alright guys, get yourselves together before the coach arrives. It wouldn't be good if we trained looking like this," Ming You said without any emotion.
"Yes, captain!" the teammates responded in unison.
"Just call me by my name," Ming You replied.
"Yes, Ming You!" the team answered.
"Come on, get yourselves ready." After Ming You's words, his team silently nodded and went to tidy themselves up.
"You, Lu Shen, need to get yourself in shape more than anyone," Hong Ren teased him.
"I'm fine!" Lu Shen protested while his teammates laughed.
After everyone washed up and got ready, they sat on the benches, waiting for the coach. A few minutes after they sat down, the coach of the Yoshido team, Chang Wu, walked in.
"Alright guys, it looks like everyone is here. The week of self-training is over, and judging by your matured faces, it did you good. I'm very pleased with your independence," Chang Wu praised them, unaware of how they had truly matured.
"Now, let's get to business. Oh, by the way, Jung Ho, did we really get a starting player so quickly to replace the one who left?" Chang Wu asked after shifting his gaze from Ming You to the former captain.
"Yes, coach, he's the strongest and smartest among us. Thanks to his strategies and strength, he can easily lead us to the top of the school league, so we decided to make him the captain of our team," Jung Ho said, winking at Ming You.
"What? A new captain? Why did you give such an important position to a newcomer so easily?" Chang Wu was surprised.
"Because, as he said, I'm the most effective among them," Ming You replied indifferently instead of the former captain.
"You're quite arrogant, but since the team recognizes you, I have no objections. Just one thing: could you trim your hair? It's below your eyes, and it obstructs your view during games," the coach said, pointing at Ming You's hair.
"If it were bothering me, I would have cut it a long time ago," Ming You said, knowing how to deal with those who hinder his victory.
"As you wish, Ming You. Alright guys, let's get to the point." Chang Wu continued, "A group of newcomers from other schools has joined us, and I have a task for you."
The main team of Yoshido continued to listen attentively to their coach.
"Each of you will take on a temporary captain role for each group of newcomers, and you'll need to conduct friendly games among your groups. This way, we will select talented newcomers, thus replenishing our reserve players and allowing them to become members of the main team and participate in tournaments," the coach explained, raising his index finger.
"Got it, but where are these newcomers now?" Ming You asked.
Chang Wu, trying to get used to the new team captain, replied, "They'll come after additional training. I'll come back later to assign players to groups, but for now, prepare yourselves as captains. Good luck with the talent selection." The coach left, closing the door behind him, leaving the team alone.
All eyes were on Ming You, awaiting his decision.
"I don't oppose the coach's idea, but we will only select players who are loyal to us," Ming You declared to everyone.
"As you say, we'll give it our all!" Jung Ho said enthusiastically, and the rest agreed.
"Now, we can shoot some hoops or do our own things while we wait for the groups of newcomers," Ming You instructed his team.
After that, they nodded confidently. Jung Ho began shooting hoops, Hong Ren started practicing dribbling, while Lu Shen and Haru Lin began doing homework. Meanwhile, Ming You sat back on the bench, leaning his head back, waiting for the newcomers.
Half an hour later, the coach gathered all the players and lined them up. The main team stood next to the coach, with Ming You closest to Chang Wu. Opposite the coach and the main team stood twenty-five new members of the Yoshido basketball club.
"Attention, everyone! You will now participate in friendly games and go through selection for the reserve players, and perhaps you might even make it to the main team. I will now assign you to groups with each member of the main team."
Chang Wu began dividing the players into groups of five and assigning them to Ming You, Jung Ho, Lu Shen, Hong Ren, and Haru Lin. After the coach assigned the players, he continued:
"Now that you're in a group with each main player, you can start following their guidance and competing against each other." After explaining, Chang Wu turned his gaze to the main team and said, "Once you finish selecting new team members, give me a list of recommendations."
The main team nodded in response, and the coach left the gym. After Chang Wu left, the main team again turned their gaze to Ming You, waiting for his instructions.
"I have an instruction for you, but I'll say it away from prying eyes," Ming You said, pointing his finger at the locker room door.
"And you, newcomers, wait a couple of minutes while we prepare a task for you," Ming You looked towards the newcomers as he headed in the opposite direction.
The newcomers of the basketball club nodded silently and stayed in place. Meanwhile, the main team silently nodded and followed Ming You into the locker room, waiting for his orders.
"At the moment, these new team members are our walking wallets filled with cash," Ming You said with a sly smile.
"They're all rich, and we need to rob them or demand money for training?" Jung Ho asked in confusion.
"No, we'll do something much better and smarter. We'll take them to the streetball court and tell them to play for stakes, thus earning money for us and increasing their loyalty to us," Ming You explained dispassionately.
"Great idea! But what if they get into debt or aren't loyal to us?" Lu Shen asked.
"In that case, I already have a solution. We'll use a rather dirty method, which is to make them drown in debt, and the gangsters know how to take care of debts," Ming You said with a slight smile, as if he hoped for such an outcome.
"Alright, so shall we take them?" Jung Ho asked, agreeing with Ming You's plan.
"Yes, but I'll be the one to call them over," Ming You replied straightforwardly as he exited the school locker room.
The newcomers, dribbling the balls and chatting in small groups, turned their full attention to Ming You, who was in front of his main team. All eyes were fixed on them.
"Alright guys," Ming You clapped his hands and continued, "We'll compete in streetball and get used to crowds of spectators and fans. So gather your things, and then follow us."
"Why can't we play here in the gym?" one of the newcomers, named So Ho, asked.
"As I said, you need to get used to the pressure of the spectators first," Ming You replied.
So Ho nodded silently and headed with the others towards the locker room.
After the new members of the Yoshido basketball club gathered their belongings, they followed Ming You and the rest of the main team towards the streetball court where they play for stakes.
As soon as they arrived, a crowd was already gathering. On the central bench sat Taek Jun with his entourage.
"You wait here for now, and I'll talk to the organizers so you can all play," Ming You instructed his team and then headed towards Taek Jun.