Donnie looked up and immediately identified the person who had intentionally thrown the ball at him.
It was obvious because the jerk was staring right at him with an undisguised sneer.
"This is a game, you punk!" Donnie thought.
"You just watch if I don't wreck your whole day!"
With that, Donnie started rolling up his sleeves, ready to give the guy a beatdown, chapter two.
But just then, the game screen grayed out, and time seemed to freeze.
A progress bar appeared in front of him.
"System Notification…"
"The currently displayed progress bar indicates story synchronization progress."
"If the player performs actions inconsistent with the story's development, this progress bar's value will decrease. When the value reaches 0, the game will be unable to proceed with the story and will enter Free Mode."
"In Free Mode, the player may miss certain game features and will be unable to experience the full game content. It is recommended to complete the game and unlock all features before restarting in Free Mode."
A moment later, the vibrant game world returned.
At the same time, Donnie unrolled his sleeves because a new prompt had appeared beside him:
'Challenge your opponent 'Kenjiro Takamuro' to a streetball game.'
The chat immediately reacted:
[This streetball game must be a story quest, right?]
[DONNIE! WRECK HIM!]
[Yo, chat, Donnie doesn't actually know how to play basketball, does he?]
[Uhhh…]
[Donnie's like 5'5" in real life, his basketball skills are probably trash…]
[HOW DARE YOU! Donnie is clearly 6'3"!]
Just as everyone was questioning Donnie's basketball prowess…
On screen, Donnie bounced the ball a couple of times, then smoothly executed two between-the-legs dribbles.
Donnie dribbled a few more times, then excitedly addressed his viewers:
"Guys, this game is something else…"
"I can feel my character's base stats. His basketball skills seem pretty good. I just don't know how good exactly."
[Judging by Donnie's reaction time catching that ball earlier, his in-game physical abilities are definitely different from real life! This VR game achieving that through the haptic rig is pretty nuts!]
[If that's the case, even someone like me who sucks at basketball can experience what it's like to be a baller in this game!]
[That punk who threw the ball is coming over! Donnie, teach him a lesson!]
Kenjiro Takamuro swaggered over, an arrogant look plastered on his face. He was the one who had suddenly thrown the ball at Donnie.
The other people on the court saw this and looked over with concern, but no one dared to step in at that moment.
"Hey, kid! Come play a couple of rounds with me!" Kenjiro said, simultaneously waving his lackeys to surround Donnie.
Hearing Kenjiro's command, four guys who had been resting courtside immediately moved to encircle Donnie.
The guy's tone reignited the anger Donnie had just managed to suppress. He scanned Kenjiro. The dude was close to 6'3", built like a brick house, and looked completely out of place among the teenagers on the court.
"Yo, don't even think about running~"
"Didn't you hear Big Bro Kenjiro?"
"Heh, our Big Bro Kenjiro is a member of Teiko Middle School's second-string team. He's personally offering to teach you some skills. You gonna turn down such a precious opportunity?"
[Whoa, Teiko Middle School… isn't that the school where the 'Generation of Miracles' played, according to the intro?]
[No way this chump is one of the Generation of Miracles, right?]
[Definitely not. He wasn't on the game cover or in that opening CG.]
[Pfft, second-string? What's so great about being on the B-team?]
Teiko Middle School's second-string?
Donnie thought back to the players he'd seen in the CG, especially that 'Aomine Daiki,' who had displayed terrifying skills.
He wondered how his own character's initial skills would stack up against theirs.
"Oh, so just the second-string, huh?" Donnie said, walking onto the court with a mocking sneer.
Kenjiro didn't get angry at Donnie's words. He grinned widely, looking at Donnie with a pitying expression. "Kid, I hope your mouth is still this tough after I shut you out completely."
Donnie paused for a second at his words, and the live stream chat also momentarily went quiet.
[HOLY CRAP! Is this dialogue actually this smart?!]
[Folks, that was a smooth comeback! This is next-level NPC interaction!]
[The dev team for this game is seriously skilled!]
"This kid's got a big mouth!" one of Kenjiro's lackeys sneered.
"Don't worry, Big Bro Kenjiro will teach him some manners soon enough!"
"Even on the second-string, Big Bro Kenjiro's one-on-one skills are top-tier. He's gonna break this kid's ankles in no time!"
A confident smile spread across Kenjiro's face. He tossed the ball to Donnie, then squatted into a defensive stance with one hand on his hip, raising an eyebrow to indicate Donnie should make the first move.
Donnie caught the ball, spun it in his hands, and adopted a standard triple-threat stance. Simultaneously, the game camera shifted to a dynamic, cinematic third-person perspective.
[The character Donnie's playing looks so cool!]
[No joke, he actually looks really badass!]
[Look at that textbook triple-threat. Not bad, not bad. Maybe Donnie's actually a basketball prodigy in this game, hahaha…]
Donnie feinted slightly to his left, then brought the ball down to his right.
The movement was light, swift, and fluid.
Teiko second-stringer Kenjiro reacted quickly too. His powerful legs, supporting a well-built 6'3" frame even in middle school, rapidly matched Donnie's movement.
"Is that all you got, kid?" Kenjiro taunted.
Donnie paused for a beat, then exploded with a power dribble, followed by a between-the-legs crossover and a behind-the-back spin. The sequence was smooth and aesthetically pleasing. However, Kenjiro was experienced; while maintaining physical contact, he stayed glued to Donnie, trying to disrupt his dribble.
[Nice!]
[Donnie's got serious handles in this game, but his opponent's no slouch either!]
[These camera angles are sick! It feels like there are multiple cameramen following the action, switching perspectives smoothly. It's like watching a movie!]
Donnie and Kenjiro bumped bodies again. Donnie used the momentum to take a step back, creating some distance.
He lowered his stance, the ball weaving between his legs, his body continuously faking left and right.
In a particular instant, Donnie's eyes narrowed as if he'd spotted an opening.
"There it is!"
A subtle step to the right, then a lightning-fast change of direction, pulling the ball behind his back to his left hand!
He ducked low and blew past Kenjiro's left side!
Kenjiro had initially shifted right with Donnie, but seeing Donnie's sudden change of pace, his expression changed.
He clearly hadn't expected that the dribbling speed Donnie had shown so far wasn't even his full capability.