The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 291: Final

Team A and Team J would have a semifinal round. The winning team would go against Team K to determine the champion.

No one disagreed with him; in fact, they couldn’t be happier since their chance of winning would be higher this way.

The four players entered the court for the semifinal. Without wasting their breath on chit-chat, they got right into the game.

X made a float serve.

Joker got the ball, but it ended up flying out of the court.

White Rabbit chased it down and saved it. Trusting her speed, Joker made a high pass.

And indeed, White Rabbit quickly made it back into the court and jumped with ease, raising her arm for a smash.

On the other side of the net, Chen Ying responded quickly and put up a block with both arms.

White Rabbit, however, stopped putting force into the swing of her arm and opted for a tip instead. The ball flew over Chen Ying’s hands lightly before falling to her side.

Having been ready for a feint, X appeared right behind Chen Ying and dug the ball, passing it to Chen Ying.

She jumped again as soon as she landed and smashed the ball to the right corner of the opponent’s court.

While Joker was quick, he was a complete newbie in volleyball, and he didn’t have the instinct to predict where the ball would fall; hence he couldn’t make it in time.

But White Rabbit could!

With Jump, she shot toward the ball like a bullet and dug it.

Joker made a pass toward the net. White Rabbit quickly picked herself up and jumped again, smashing the ball over the net powerfully with impressive speed.

Chen Ying dove toward it and made a last-second save.

With perfect timing, X jumped and smashed the ball, aiming at Joker.

Joker lowered his body and dug the ball with both arms. Instead of flying up as he expected, though, the ball ended up sliding away from his arms and falling onto the ground like a slippery fish.

One point to Team A.

All those who didn’t know about volleyball were surprised.

“Huh? What happened?” Can’s jaw dropped.

“There was a spin,” said Vermilion Bird.

“I get all that, but it’s ridiculous for the ball to spin so much,” Wu Dahai grumbled.

“We’re awakeners.” Green Tea smiled. “The move isn’t that unimaginable, is it?”

“Hmph!” Wu Dahai said with a hint of resentment. “You fighter type will never understand the problems we spellcasters face. In terms of physical capability, we are not much stronger than regular humans.”

“Ugh, my knees hurt.” That also hit a nerve for Can, a Support-type.

“Keep working hard to level up.” Vermilion Bird patted Can on the shoulder. “Even those with non DPS Talents will become physically much stronger once their Talents reach a high enough level.”

“Really?” Can asked with renewed hope.

“Of course.” Vermilion Bird gave her a confident smile. “I’m the living proof of that.”

Gao Yang fell into thought. True, take Guildmaster Qilin’s level 7 Eidos as an example, the Talent not only grants significant bonuses to Willpower and Charisma, but also 500 in all other stats.

Vermilion Bird played the role of a doctor or a healer, and her Talent was most likely the top Life-type Talent. When she was playing in her match, though, her inhuman jump proved that her Agility must be quite high.

In Gao Yang’s moment of distraction, X’s side had already earned the second point.

Although the two teams kept up quite a long rally with the second play, White Rabbit failed to dig X’s spinning ball.

She had observed the curved trajectory of the ball to determine the way it was spinning, but she wasn’t able to offset the spin with her arms. She absolutely would be able to after a few more practices, but she wasn’t given the chance.

Both White Rabbit and Joker had an impassive look on their faces, covering the frustration burning in their hearts.

For the last play, White Rabbit went all in on the offense. Chen Ying could barely keep up, but she still ended up finding an opening.

Chen Ying jumped and moved to smash the ball. White Rabbit didn’t immediately put up a block.

And indeed, Chen Ying’s jump was only a feint. X showed up behind her to make the smash instead, the ball spinning powerfully as it flew toward Joker.

Joker caught it with his arms put together.

At the same time, White Rabbit dashed to Joker’s right, having predicted the direction the ball was spinning according to its trajectory.

However, she was half a second too late.

The ball skittered sideways on Joker’s arms, and White Rabbit only made it to the ball the moment it hit the ground.

3-0.

Team A had another perfect victory.

For a moment, White Rabbit couldn’t accept defeat. She picked herself up and dusted sand off her arms, waist, and legs before walking to the audience, looking down.

“You played well, Rabbit,” Wu Dahai offered. “X is just too sneaky.”

White Rabbit wasn’t in the mood to respond. She took a bottle of water and uncapped it with more force than necessary, tipping her head back for a large gulp.

Crack.

She crushed the bottle with her grip, turning to Qing Ling. “Get revenge for me!”

“I will.” Confidently, Qing Ling took big strides toward the court. After taking two steps, she stopped. Her partner wasn’t following.

She frowned at Gao Yang, who was still sitting on a beach lounger.

Gao Yang would like to get into the court already, but Green Tea had an arm around his shoulders and was giving him a sales pitch like a gym trainer.

“You’ve got a nice foundation, Elder Seven Shadow. Even without systemic training, the lines of your abs are visible. Just train with me and have three cups of protein shake per day. I guarantee you that you’ll be as fit as I am in a year.”

“Um, I’m good. I’m satisfied with the way I am now.” Gao Yang gave him an awkward smile.

“No! Men should be masculine!” Green Tea patted himself on his hard, toned pecs. “You’ll know once you’re past 25. A pretty face isn’t going to get you some. The cougars go for hunks!”

“Green Tea!” Chen Ying was getting inpatient in the court. “You done?”

Green Tea let go of Gao Yang reluctantly. “Alright. Go have your game. We’ll talk later.”

Finally freed, Gao Yang scrambled to his feet and went up to Qing Ling.

...

Qing Ling and Gao Yang each took the front and the back of the court.

At some point, the blazing sun had disappeared behind the looming dark clouds, and the beach was getting windy. It was going to rain.

The afternoon showers always came and went suddenly in Naldives.

“This is the last match. I won’t go easy on you.” X smiled at Chen Ying with confidence. “Miss Chen, you have to play properly.”

Chen Ying didn’t say anything, but her serious gaze was an answer in itself.

With the ball in hand, she took a deep breath, considering the wind sweeping against her. She made a strong serve with elegance.

Gao Yang took two steps and easily dug the ball with his arms. The ball flew toward Qing Ling in a parabolic line.

Qing Ling moved forward two steps and raised her arm to make it look like she was going for a smash, but once she got Chen Ying jumping for a block, she opted for a tip.

Having been ready for a feint, X easily dug the ball and passed it to Chen Ying.

Chen Ying saved the ball again after landing, returning the ball to X.

Without missing a beat, X made a perfect smash.

A spinning ball!

Qing Ling was ready for it.

She rushed to where the ball would land and quickly crouched down, her arms pressed together. To offset the spin as much as possible, she shifted her center of gravity to the direction the ball was moving toward and adjusted the platform of her forearms.

Bam.

She managed to control the direction the ball went, and it flew into the sky.

She did it!

Gao Yang crowed inwardly, As expected of level 4 God of Blades. Her arms and wrists are ridiculously agile and flexible.

Chasing the ball, Gao Yang made a high jump at the right time and swung his arm for a smash.

They had won.