“Ah!”
The surrounding students once again expressed their surprise, but this time it was completely different from before. Their eyes flashed with confusion, unsure whether the basketball was too fragile or if Darnell was truly that strong, as he punched and burst the ball.
They then saw Darnell withdraw his fist, and the burst basketball immediately fell to the ground.
Darnell kicked the broken ball aside. “Pathetic.”
“Whose ball is this?”
Karlee, seeing that Darnell nearly got hit by the ball, spoke up for justice. “It almost hit him!”
Under the glaring eyes of a dozen security personnel, a group practicing flashy basketball tricks on one side of the stage suddenly stopped their rehearsal with a loud commotion.
A dozen agile basketball players, shouting at each other, approached Darnell and Karlee with provocative expressions on their faces. “Who burst our ball?”
Darnell clearly saw Shawn, who still had injuries on his face. There was no doubt that it was he who had kicked the ball towards him earlier.
Darnell sneered at these troublemakers.
Karlee was very angry. “Shawn, why did you kick the ball at people?”
“It’s you.”
Shawn ignored Karlee’s presence and looked at Darnell, shouting loudly. “Last time at Vantage, you offended me and Mr. Chavez. For Karlee’s sake, I let it go.”
“Today, you burst the basketball I was going to use for tonight’s performance and insulted us by saying we’re pathetic. How do you want to settle this?”
Karlee interjected, “You kicked it over here first! How can you falsely accuse Darnell?”
“There’s always some deviation in playing basketball.”
Shawn shrugged. “If I were always that accurate, I would already be Westergold’s Jordan.”
“I’ll compensate for this basketball on behalf of Darnell.”
Karlee didn’t want to waste any more words and straightforwardly asked, “How much did this ball cost?”
“Karlee, is this about money?”
Shawn put his hands on his hips. “Do I lack money for a basketball? Even though it’s a limited edition, I can still afford it.”
“What I want is justice and an apology. He must apologize to us or get out of the University of Whiteville.”
“If he doesn’t apologize or leave, then don’t blame us for being rude.”
Karlee coldly responded, “Rude? What can you do? Gang up on him?” Her pretty face showed a hint of mockery.
“If you had this courage back at Vantage, you wouldn’t have been beaten to a pulp by Samuel. Also, don’t forget, this is a school. Try hitting someone here if you dare.”
“The school will expel you immediately.”
Shawn was momentarily speechless.
Darnell felt somewhat disappointed. He actually hoped Shawn would start a fight so he could show off his security prowess and throw these troublemakers out.
“We’re students. Of course, we won’t fight!”
Shawn glanced at the second floor opposite them and then became indignant again.
“But if we don’t get justice, we’ll boycott our performance and protest at the campus until forty thousand students and three thousand alumni demand justice for us. This is the University of Whiteville, not a place where he can act recklessly.”
Karlee’s face changed. She hadn’t expected Shawn to be such a scoundrel. If they really caused such a fuss, not only would it disrupt tonight’s performance, but it would also have a bad impact.
Her pretty face darkened. “Shawn, are you not giving me any face?”
Since Darnell appeared by her side, many people in her circle had started to oppose her intentionally or unintentionally.
“It’s not about giving you face. It’s about getting justice.”
Shawn raised his head and shouted at Darnell. “Brat, aren’t you ashamed? Hiding behind a woman, not daring to respond, and letting her come out to solve your problems!”
“Being a man like you is a failure.”
Amid Shawn’s exaggerated ridicule, dozens of students gathered around laughed boisterously. They were naturally jealous of Darnell being with Karlee and now saw him letting Karlee handle things for him. They didn’t hesitate to mock his cowardice.
“Say something and take responsibility!”
Members of the Brigade of Light were very displeased and wanted to throw these people out. Darnell slightly tilted his head and signaled them not to act.
He could handle such a trivial matter himself.
Karlee frowned slightly. “Why are you all talking nonsense?”
“Darnell, either play a basketball match against me now or bow to apologize to us. Otherwise, get out of here as fast as you can.”
Shawn still ignored Karlee and just stared at Darnell with a disdainful look while loudly shouting to the surrounding students.
“Everyone, remember his name-Darnell! Darnell, a coward who dares not take responsibility! A coward hiding behind a woman! Let’s all despise him together!”
The basketball players around him shouted as well and gave Darnell the middle finger.
Darnell ignored the noise, his gaze fixed on Shawn. “A basketball match?”
Shawn lifted his chin defiantly. “That’s right. You smashed our ball and said we suck at basketball. So, let’s settle this with a match.”
“If you beat me, what just happened is over. But if you lose, you have to apologize to us and get out of here.”
Shawn was a key player on the basketball team, known as the master dribbler. He believed that while he might not be able to beat Darnell in a fight, he could definitely crush him in basketball.
More than ten basketball players also shouted together. “Dare to play? Let Shawn show you what he’s got!”
Many girls covered their mouths in laughter with faint contempt in their eyes. Shawn was an excellent basketball player. How could Darnell possibly compete with him?
Karlee gently tugged on Darnell’s sleeve. “Darnell, don’t mess around with them.”
“Karlee, don’t worry. I’ve got this.”
Darnell gently shook his head and then stood in front of Shawn’s group. “It’s not that I’m targeting any of you specifically, but it’s just that you’re all trash.”
“What did you say?”
As soon as he said this, Shawn’s group immediately became furious and rushed forward to attack him. “Don’t you dare, say that again!”
Darnell pushed through them directly onto the stage where Shawn’s group had been playing basketball earlier and pointed at them.
“I said, you’re all trash.”
Darnell stood under one of the hoops. “Five against one. Ten-minutes limit. If you can beat me, I’ll crawl out of here naked.”
“If you can’t beat me, slap yourselves four times each and stay far away from me in the future.”
Shawn’s group was first enraged but then burst into laughter. One against five? Was this man crazy? No matter how strong someone was, they’d be overwhelmed in such odds. Shawn grabbed a basketball and jumped onto the stage.
“Darnell, are you out of your mind? One against five? It seems you’re quite confident in yourself, huh?”
Shawn scoffed dismissively. “Even if we win against you like this, it’s not honorable. I alone can teach you enough of a lesson.”
The rest also mocked Darnell’s arrogance while several tall and beautiful girls pouted disdainfully.
Darnell remained firm. “I want five!”
“Fine! If you insist on humiliating yourself. I’ll grant it!”
Seeing Darnell so arrogant ignited Shawn’s fury even more as he wanted to humiliate this jerk thoroughly. He called up five people, each one burly and glaring fiercely at Darnell.
Dozens of male and female students practicing scattered around made space for both sides onstage with two hoops while an experienced senior stepped forward as referee.
No pulling or pushing people allowed, no collisions or holding, no hitting hands, just scoring baskets counted within ten minutes, and the highest scorer won.
Rules were simplified yet clear-cut.
Karlee exclaimed softly, “Darnell!”
Darnell smiled reassuringly, signaling no need for worry.
This clash quickly attracted many students rehearsing nearby while Lisa upstairs squinted, waiting eagerly for Darnell’s downfall, she’d never seen such an absurd one-on-five match before!
“You’re so confident. Fine, we won’t fight over possession.”
With a sharp whistle, the referee signaled the start of the game. Shawn curled his lips into a smirk and tossed the basketball to Darnell. “You take the first shot.”
“Alright!”
Darnell caught the ball, dribbled it twice, then looked at the referee and Shawn’s team. “If I stand here and make the shot, does it count?”
He was standing in his own half, just outside the three-point line. Even though the court was a smaller version, the distance to the opponent’s basket was still ten meters.
A ten-meter shot? It sounded like pure fantasy. Shawn and his teammates burst into laughter, and even some of the girls watching couldn’t help but smirk. Did he really think he was some kind of sharpshooter?
“It counts, it counts!”
Before the referee could respond, Shawn waved his hand grandly. “As long as you don’t step out of bounds. If you make the shot into our basket, it counts.”
His four teammates chimed in with laughter, “Yeah, if you’ve got the skills, we’ll kneel to you.”
The entire court erupted in laughter, everyone thinking Darnell was being overly arrogant.
The referee made the final call. “It counts!”
“Good!”
Darnell nodded, paused, and with a swift motion, sent the ball flying from his fingertips. His shooting form was flawless, and the arc of the ball was perfect.
“Swish!”
The ball went straight through the net without touching the rim.
In an instant, the laughter on the court froze.