Chapter 45: Planning to Learn Combat

The address sent by Luo Yun was an indoor basketball court within the urban area, not too far from the Big Dipper Star Palace. Hua Twelve stepped outside, hailed a taxi, gave the destination, and arrived in fifteen minutes.

After getting out of the car, Hua Twelve wondered if he should buy a car. Since he had two parking spaces, it seemed a waste to leave them empty after paying the management fees. However, Shanghai license plates were an issue; he didn't seem qualified to apply for one yet. If all else failed, he could just get an out-of-town plate to use temporarily.

Pondering the car purchase in his mind, he entered the basketball court and immediately heard the familiar sound of balls dribbling and sneakers squeaking against the hardwood floor, filling Hua Twelve with a sense of nostalgia.

Scanning the courts with his eyes, he hadn't yet spotted Luo Yun when someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder, and a familiar voice sounded from behind:

"You got here pretty fast! Were you dying to see me that badly?"

Hua Twelve turned around to see Luo Yun lifting her pretty chin, staring at him with a pair of beautiful eyes, and smiling brightly.

He had to admit that the girl's online moniker was quite fitting; her looks truly resembled a captivating little enchantress.

Today, Luo Yun wore box braids and a Curry jersey, exuding a strong athletic vibe that lent her a unique charm.

However, hearing what she said, Hua Twelve didn't give her a pleasant look. Didn't she have the slightest self-awareness regarding her own orientation? Had she no shame?

Luo Yun blinked at an equally stunning beauty standing nearby who wore a high ponytail: "This is my blind date, Hua Twelve. What do you think? A handsome guy, right?"

The beauty was wearing an old Kobe jersey with a single-strap basketball bag slung over her shoulder. She looked at Hua Twelve with a hint of hostility and replied:

"He's just so-so!"

Luo Yun chuckled. "If you say he's so-so, that means he's actually pretty good!"

She then introduced her to Hua Twelve: "This is my fei... um, my female friend, Yixue!"

Hua Twelve's eyelids twitched uncontrollably. This was definitely a slip of the tongue. Female friend? Wasn't she about to say girlfriend?

Besides, what kind of name was that? *Yixue* (First Blood)? Was this circle really that chaotic?

Seeing his expression, Luo Yun suddenly burst into a bright giggle, hugging Yixue's shoulders and shaking with laughter.

Yixue clearly knew her name was prone to misunderstandings, so she gave a cold snort. "What are you thinking? My name is Yixue—*Yi* as in a refined person, and *Xue* as in snow!"

Hua Twelve coughed, rubbed his nose, and forced an awkward smile. "That's exactly the Yixue I was thinking of. Hello, hello!"

With that, he reached out his hand, intending to shake hers. To his surprise, the other girl rolled her eyes, clearly showing her disdain: "What are you doing? Trying to take advantage of me?"

Hua Twelve sheepishly withdrew his hand, muttering inwardly, *With your kind of orientation, advantage? Who would even want to take advantage of you.*

Seeing Hua Twelve get rebuffed, Luo Yun laughed out loud. Still, after her laughter subsided, she put on an act and said to Yixue, "Yixue, don't bully my boyfriend!"

Hua Twelve quickly chimed in, "Stop right there! We've only met once, and I certainly didn't agree to that!"

Luo Yun completely ignored him, took the basketball bag from Yixue, and shouted:

"Oh, stop chattering and let's go play! I haven't played in half a month, and my hands are itching!"

Hua Twelve pointed at the currently occupied court and said with slight annoyance, "Play what? Don't you see there's no available court?"

Unlike outdoor public courts where anyone could walk up to shoot a few hoops or ask to join a game, this was a paid indoor facility. Since other people had paid for the court and hadn't finished playing yet, you had to wait no matter how impatient you were, unless they were short-handed and invited you to join.

When Hua Twelve was a student, he and his friends always played at outdoor public basketball courts. Although he had never played in a paid gym like this, he was well aware of how it worked.

Unexpectedly, Luo Yun acted as if she hadn't heard him at all. She walked straight toward a court where a game was in full swing and called out to the group of young guys:

"Hey! How about a 3-on-3 for the court fee?"

The guys looked to be in their early twenties, likely college students. They were currently in the middle of a 3-on-3 game. Hearing Luo Yun, they stopped playing and looked over. Seeing that the challenger was a stunning beauty, their eyes lit up, and two of them even looked a bit embarrassed.

A guy wearing a LeBron jersey looked over Luo Yun, Yixue, and Hua Twelve, then smiled and said, "You have two girls on your team. Wouldn't that be bullying you?"

"Hah, who are you looking down on!"

Luo Yun bounced the ball once, then stepped back a meter behind the three-point line and pushed the ball forward. The basketball traced a beautiful arc before swishing cleanly through the net a second time.

Not only were the young guys stunned into loud cheers, but even Hua Twelve found it incredible. Girls who enjoyed basketball were already rare, and one who shot this accurately—releasing the shot and draining it instantly—was even more uncommon.

Although it was an uncontested shot, it was still extremely impressive. Especially judging by Luo Yun's confident demeanor, it was clear this wasn't a fluke; the girl was highly confident in shooting from that spot.

Hua Twelve reckoned that if it were him, a 40% shooting percentage on open threes would be decent, and if anyone contested the shot, whether it went in would be pure luck.

After making the shot, Luo Yun proudly lifted her chin at the opponents. "Is this skill okay?" Her cute and charming appearance made the group of young guys stare wide-eyed.

Her display of skill won their recognition. They decided they wouldn't need to pay for the court fees after all; the nine of them could simply rotate and play.

To everyone's surprise, Luo Yun refused, directly asking if the guys were scared.

People naturally made concessions for a beauty due to the perks of good looks. But even a clay Buddha had a temper, let alone a group of young college guys. The one who had spoken earlier smiled and said, "Fine, let's play then. Don't go crying that we're bullying you later!"

As he spoke, he beckoned to a teammate for the basketball and took an ultra-long three-pointer himself, wanting to show off. As a result, *clank*, the ball hit the rim.

Luo Yun and Yixue burst into peals of laughter, making the young guy flush red, looking as if he wished a crack would open in the ground for him to crawl into.

After some brief discussion among the opposing team, three players stepped off to rest, leaving the remaining three to play 3-on-3 against Hua Twelve's group.

The two sides agreed on a best-of-three series, playing to 21 points. Baskets inside the three-point arc counted for 1 point, and those outside counted for 2 points.

As the only male on his team, Hua Twelve had to play center in the paint. Luo Yun handled the ball, and Yixue played shooting guard.

Hua Twelve changed into his Chicago Bulls No. 23 Jordan jersey and took a position in the paint. He noticed that his opposing center stood at a solid 1.9 meters tall and weighed around 200 pounds, towering over him by more than half a head despite his own 1.8-meter frame. Luo Yun looked on with schadenfreude, giggling, "Better pray for yourself, Great Sage!"

Hua Twelve rolled his eyes at the enchantress.

The game began, and to his surprise, the two girls actually played rather well. Luo Yun in her Curry jersey had exceptional dribbling skills, and her three-point shooting was quite impressive for an amateur.

Yixue, on the other hand, played a skill-based slashing style, featuring various driving layups and tricky pull-up jumpers.

Only now did Hua Twelve realize that their jerseys weren't chosen at random; they played precisely in the style of the players whose jerseys they wore.

Fortunately, since Luo Yun and Yixue had genuine training, their solid skills helped them secure the first game. During this game, Hua Twelve transformed into Sakuragi Hanamichi, completely dominating the boards and grabbing seven rebounds over the opposing center.

The opposing guy kept glancing at Hua Twelve, thinking, *This guy isn't as tall or as bulky as me, so where does he get all this strength? Is he made of crab bones and solid muscle?*

Although Luo Yun and Yixue possessed good skills, girls were still girls. After the second game started, their stamina began to decline. Both their drives and shots felt a bit labored, and after a few missed shots, the opponents established a clear advantage.

At this point, Hua Twelve decided to take over the game.

Though he no longer possessed Shaquille O'Neal's complete basketball mastery, he had always enjoyed playing basketball. Combining his own skills with the peak physical strength of Shaq, let alone amateurs, he could hold his own even against professionals.

This time, after grabbing a rebound, he didn't pass it out. Instead, he dribbled the ball past the three-point line himself, used a pump fake to freeze the opposing center, sliced into the paint in two steps, and launched himself into the air with explosive force.

With his legs infused with peak Shaq-level strength, and given his body weight, his leap felt almost like a martial arts lightness skill. Without exerting much effort, his head was nearly level with the rim.

With a ferocious one-handed tomahawk dunk, *boom*, the entire basketball rack shook violently.

One had to remember that peak Shaq was famous for shattering backboards and bending rims.

The massive noise startled everyone else in the gym, causing them to turn and look over. Although Hua Twelve had already landed by then, the continuously shaking basketball rim made it obvious that someone had just thrown down a dunk.

Luo Yun cheered, "Not bad, Great Sage! If you had this kind of skill, why didn't you use it earlier?"

Hua Twelve joked with a smile, "I was just watching Kobe and Curry earlier!"

Luo Yun laughed and punched his arm lightly, then took the ball out beyond the three-point line. This time, she lobbed it directly to Hua Twelve in the paint, where the opposing center immediately glued himself to him in defense.

Hua Twelve pounded the ball with one hand and backed into his opponent. The 200-pound center was forced back two steps by the sheer force, exposing a defensive opening. Gathering the ball with both hands, Hua Twelve spun and exploded upward for a powerful slam dunk, the sound of the rim echoing across the court once again.

This time, everyone watching caught the action, and many involuntarily shouted, "Awesome!"

The young guys playing 3-on-3 with them began grumbling at their big center, asking why his 200 pounds of fat were wasted if he could be pushed aside so effortlessly.

The center looked aggrieved. "My chest still hurts! When he bumped into me just now, it felt like being hit by an ox. I almost lost my breath. If you don't believe me, try defending him yourselves!"

Next came Hua Twelve's possession. The opponents resorted to double-teaming him, but he tore through the paint like a tank, doing whatever he pleased.

Players on the other courts stopped their games and crowded around to watch Hua Twelve unleash his power, instantly making him the focal point of the entire gym.

After single-handedly driving the opponents to utter despair and forcing them to concede defeat, many basketball players rushed over to add him on WeChat, inviting him to play together whenever he had free time.

As they were leaving, the gym owner even handed him a business card, urging him to visit often and waiving his court fees permanently.

The gym owner was sharp; with a powerhouse like this playing here, he'd never have to worry about a lack of customers.

Outside the gym, Luo Yun insisted on treating Hua Twelve to a meal, saying she had never teamed up with such a powerhouse before and that playing today had been exceptionally satisfying.

Watching Luo Yun slap his shoulder with the demeanor of a heroic outlaw from *Water Margin*, Hua Twelve feared she might blurt out "Brother..." at any second.

Working up an appetite from the exercise and having someone else pay, they headed straight for hot pot.

Earlier, Yixue might have harbored some inexplicable hostility toward Hua Twelve, but as a basketball enthusiast who witnessed him dominating the court, her attitude had undergone a complete 180-degree turn. Over dinner, they chatted and drank like old buddies, having a wonderful time.

After the meal, as the two women parted ways with him, they both invited him out to play again sometime. Watching their retreating figures walking arm-in-arm, Hua Twelve couldn't help but shake his head in regret. *Wasting such great resources on each other—no wonder there are so many single dogs these days. Wait... aren't I a single dog myself?*

After returning home and resting for the night, Hua Twelve began planning how to enhance his abilities the next day.

With the system now in his life, the core focus of his future would undoubtedly center on missions and other worlds. Given his current capabilities, entering a non-peaceful world or a high-tier world would be extremely dangerous.

Therefore, Hua Twelve wanted to improve his skills across the board. In fact, he had already attempted this in the *Better Days* world, though the system's rules ultimately rendered his efforts useless.

However, it wasn't a total loss. This didn't refer to winning the luxury mansion, but rather the realization that while knowledge and skills acquired within a mission world couldn't be brought back out, things he had mastered beforehand could be improved upon inside the mission world.

For instance, his previous English was mediocre—foreigners might not understand him, and Chinese people might not fully grasp it either. But during those years in the mission world, his English proficiency had improved tremendously, and this enhancement was retained after leaving the mission world, not wiped out by the system.

Realizing this, Hua Twelve felt he had wasted a great opportunity. If he had gone to learn free-combat or something similar before entering the *Better Days* world, decades of practice would have turned him into a kung fu master. *Ah, missed opportunity, missed opportunity.*

Still, it wasn't too late to mend the fold even after the sheep had bolted. Hua Twelve now intended to start a brand-new skill tree for himself.

His primary choice of skill was combat. After all, when walking the pugilistic world, safety came first, and possessing self-preservation skills was top priority; otherwise, if he accidentally kicked the bucket during a mission, game over.