HLnovel Chapter 190 The racket that flew through the air, was it intentional injury?
Chapter 190 The racket that flew through the air, was it intentional injury?
Before the command was even finished, Inui had already spotted Kaido's figure out of the corner of his eye.
Haitang did not return to his original position.
Instead, he rushed out from the front of the net at an extremely fast pace.
Was it really... out of bounds?!
Kaoru Kaidou was furious after being mocked by Shishido in the previous round. Now, with her ears ringing, she can't listen to her senior's instructions and only trusts her own judgment.
As he watched the ball fly towards him, a premonition swirled in his mind.
That ball definitely didn't go out of bounds.
Since the ball wasn't out of bounds, why didn't you return it? After being beaten so badly in the last game, why are you afraid to even return the serve in this game?
He, Haitang Xun, was not afraid and was determined to take back the serve and break through their service game.
We need to regain our dignity.
He sprinted forward and reached the spot his senior had indicated. As the ball bounced, he swung his racket to meet it, trying to use the power of his wrist to push the ball back.
The moment the racket made contact with the ball, Kaido knew he was in trouble.
The immense force traveled through the racket, numbing his hand and causing a sharp pain in his thumb and forefinger. He couldn't grip the handle at all; his hand loosened, and the racket flew out of his hand, tearing a clear gash in the racket face. It tumbled several times in the air before crashing into the net with a loud thud.
Kaidou himself took two steps back before regaining his balance. His right hand trembled uncontrollably, his fingertips were numb, and he couldn't clench his fist for a long time.
"30-0".
The entire room fell silent for a second.
Then, the Hyotei cheering squad erupted in a huge shout. The murmurs from the stands also surged up like a tide.
Wow! That serve was incredible!
"The racket flew off its back? And the racket face even broke? That must have taken a lot of force!"
"When did Chotaro's 'One-Shot Kill' become so amazing? It wasn't this incredible before! Now it's ridiculously powerful."
……
In the Seigaku rest area, Oishi suddenly leaned forward and cried out, "Kaidou!"
Long Qijin frowned, stood up, and took half a step forward.
Qian stood frozen at the baseline, staring blankly at the tennis ball rolling to the side of the court. The old data model in his mind seemed to have been hit by a heavy hammer and shattered into pieces.
impossible.
How could there be such a big improvement in just two months?
Fuji's smile faded, and his blue eyes became serious. "This serve speed far surpasses all previous records. It's probably over 200 kilometers per hour."
Tezuka's brows furrowed as well.
He knew very well what this serve at that speed meant; even if he were on the court, he would have absolutely no chance of receiving it, let alone Haitang.
Ryoma Echizen leaned against the railing, his eyes beneath his hat brim fixed on the court. He tossed and caught the tennis ball in his hand, then tossed and caught it again, repeating this three times before muttering something under his breath.
"Good serve."
The second half of the sentence was left unsaid: "It's a bit like my old dad's serve back then."
The three first-year students next to him were even more terrified.
Satoshi Horio's mouth remained agape for a long time, and the fist he had been waving earlier slowly lowered.
"That Feng..." Katsuro Kato covered his mouth, his eyes wide, his voice trembling, "...broke Kaido-senpai's racket..."
Mizuno Katsuo himself flinched, nearly falling backward down the steps. "Keep your voice down..."
In the press box, Saori Shiba covered her mouth, her face filled with panic. Her voice cracked with anxiety, "Is Kaidou alright? What's going on at Hyotei? That serve was so powerful, was it intentional?"
"Don't talk nonsense."
Inoue Mamoru held her arm, his brows furrowed. "It's a normal competition, and Kaidou insisted on taking it, just like Mukahi in the last match. It's a matter of one willing to fight and the other willing to be fought."
He paused, staring at Feng's figure on the court, a hint of disbelief in his eyes. He looked down and flipped through the data. "This serve speed is conservatively estimated at 200 kilometers per hour. It's at least 20 kilometers per hour faster than the record set at the Grand Prix."
Shiba Saori stared, mouth agape, forgetting to even raise her camera: "Twenty...twenty? That's not..."
"That's already beyond the level of many professional players." Inoue nodded, his voice a little deep. "And the accuracy of the shot placement has also improved compared to before. If this shot had been hit by Ootori from the Metropolitan Tournament, the ball would probably have gone out of bounds, just like Inui said."
"But today's shot landed perfectly in the corner, without missing a beat."
……
On the Shonan side of the castle, Kajimoto's gaze froze.
He himself is famous for his super-fast serves, with 190 kilometers per hour being a record he is very proud of. But now, a second-year student from Hyotei has actually surpassed his serve.
Kajimoto's fingers tapped the railing unconsciously, and the inquiry in his purple eyes deepened.
Ruo Renhong pushed his hat up a bit, and seeing Feng's joking expression disappear, he sat up straight: "Wow... that serve was really powerful. It's stronger than most of the serves I copied from professional players."
"With just this one move, Hyotei's doubles team is set in stone for the serve."
"Hyotei's Phoenix really made the most of her height advantage; the weight transfer on that last shot was even more perfect than the replays we saw before." Kajimoto flexed his wrists, sighed, and continued in a low voice:
"The angle of the wrist downward pressure has also been adjusted, and the ball bounces lower. The power chain is complete, from the feet to the waist to the hands, without any disconnect."
"The power of this serve lies not in its speed, but in the low bounce of the ball after it lands, making it difficult for the opponent to use the momentum to return the ball."
"At the junior high school level, basically no one can catch it."
Ruo Ren pulled his hat brim down, unusually remaining silent. He glanced at Feng's position for a few seconds, then looked towards the Hyotei coaching bench.
"...What kind of magic potion did Coach Mochizuki give them? How did they improve so much? I really want to know!"
Aoi Hanamura adjusted his glasses, a barely perceptible smile playing at the corners of his lips: "It's not about what they ate, it's about what they practiced. Have you ever seen a team that could improve their doubles from a weakness to what they are today in just two months? You could see that in Hyotei's doubles match 2; you simply couldn't achieve that without high-intensity practice."
As she spoke, she leaned back in her chair, smoothed her red curly hair that fell over her shoulder, and watched as Feng's serve landed steadily on the baseline. Excitedly, she lightly tapped the armrest of her chair with her fingertips.
"Power, speed, angle... everything is being optimized. Wow, these kids from Hyotei are truly enviable sources of inspiration for their works."
The Tanaka brothers didn't say anything, but their faces were a little pale. They were most troubled by these kinds of powerful shots when playing doubles, and they both said, "We can't return them."
Shencheng watched Feng's serve, his eyes turned cold, and he remained silent.
On Rikkai's side, Niou stared at Ootori's serve, blinked, and sighed softly, "It's going to be quick again, isn't it?"
"Of course." Liu put away the speedometer in his hand, and his pen flew across the paper, writing a line of numbers densely packed together.
"With a speed of 215 kilometers per hour, the topspin intensity is increased by 30%, the speed is increased by about 12%, and the landing point deviation error is reduced to within 4 centimeters. If you have more than 80% success rate in the first serve with this kind of serve, it's equivalent to winning the point in advance."
He paused, his tone carrying a hint of mild approval, "The effects of the weight training are fully evident."
Marui's chewing gum bubble popped halfway through. He wiped his mouth, looking amazed. "I experienced his serve during the training camp. It was fast enough back then, but it's gotten even faster. How did Ling train like that?"
"They practice a hundred high-quality serves every day with heavy loads, only stopping when their arms can't lift anymore." Niou whistled, his silver braid swaying in front of him, and shrugged. "It's not surprising that it works."
Sanada lowered his arm and nodded slightly, this time agreeing with Niou's words. His expression was solemn. "These two from Hyotei have honed their basic strength very well. This kind of perseverance is rare."
Kirihara squatted down in front of the railing, staring at the racket with a hole in it on the court, his mouth agape, unable to close for a long time; it looked like he could fit an egg inside.
"Wow, so fast..."
He stammered out, "Faster than Vice-Captain Sanada's 'invisible swing'!"
"Well... that Seigaku guy with the headscarf already arrived at the landing point ahead of time. If he tries to catch it again, is it possible for him to catch it?"
"You can't catch it."
Niou leaned on Yagyu's shoulder, a piece of gum he'd gotten from Marui dangling from his mouth. "You can tell just by looking at his hand. If he hadn't let go quickly enough, that ball from Ootori would have...crushed his hand."
Yukimura's gaze lingered on Mochizuki Ryo for a moment before shifting away.
She nodded casually, playing with Luna's little tail in her hand, a hint of amusement in her eyes, her voice gentle yet tinged with pride, "Ling's weight training plan is very scientific, not just brute force. The results are even better than we expected..."
"Genichiro, Renji, we can't fall behind in our weight training program. Let's get back and get ready to train."
After listening attentively, Sanada and Yanagi immediately replied solemnly, "Yes, Minister."
Luna felt itchy from having her tail touched, and snuggled closer to Yukimura while hugging the crumpled little fish, but didn't resist his touch.
It just let out a helpless meow, as if to say: Sigh! Yukimura-papa is just too attached to the cat~
……
In the Hyotei rest area, Atobe tapped the railing with his fingertips, making a crisp sound. He began to nitpick, "Hmm~ It's alright! A slightly more challenging angle would have made it even more spectacular."
He said that, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips.
Hiyoshi, sitting in the back seat, gleamed with a clear fighting spirit, his grip on his racket tightening. Jiro clapped his hands and muttered, "Wow, that was fast."
Wang Yueling leaned back in the coach's chair, watching Feng's shot on the court, and nodded in satisfaction.
When Atobe and his cousin initially devised a weighted serve plan for Feng, they thought it was too aggressive and worried about injuring his wrist. It was he who focused on the details of the movements, adjusting the way he applied force little by little, ensuring that he could increase his strength without hurting his joints.
After nearly two months, the results were even better than he had expected.
"Almost there." Mochizuki Ryo turned her head and mouthed to Atobe in the stands, "If I practice for another half month, I can break 220."
Atobe scoffed, but didn't seem to object. "Watch your step."
……
In Seigaku's half of the court, Kaidou looked down at his racket, which had been knocked away by the impact. There was a large crack on the racket face, extending from the edge of the string.
He clenched his slightly numb fists, his expression grave.
Inui stood beside him, noticing the broken racket on the ground and Kaidou's trembling wrist. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but Kaidou had already signaled to the referee to change rackets.
The remaining points of the second game were a foregone conclusion.
Feng's serves were all precise, either a "soul-piercing" ace or a "normal high-speed serve" that forced Seigaku to make a return error, allowing Shishido to easily finish the point with a volley after stepping forward at the net.
Kaoru Kaido's hand was so numb from the previous shot that he could barely grip the racket, making it impossible for him to generate power when receiving serves. Sadaharu Inui's stats were also completely messed up; his predictions kept failing, leaving him only able to defend passively.
The score climbed steadily, giving Seigaku no chance whatsoever.