Time flew by quickly. Before Xu Ze knew it, Professor Xiao Dao had already covered nearly a quarter of the physiology lesson. Xu Ze hesitated a few times but finally couldn’t hold back any longer. “Xiao Dao, what time is it now? I still have classes in the morning!”
“It’s 4 a.m. You’ve got plenty of time to continue studying here,” Xiao Dao paused his lecture and smiled at Xu Ze. “Don’t worry, this is a virtual mind space. The time here flows at a ratio of 3:1 compared to the outside world. So, you can stay here for at least another six hours.”
“What?!” Xu Ze was stunned. He hadn’t expected this virtual space to have such a benefit.
Seeing Xu Ze’s shocked expression, Xiao Dao chuckled. After a moment of thought, he said, “Alright, we’ve been studying for quite a while now. Let’s take a break and switch to something else.”
“Switch to something else?” Xu Ze blinked, looking at Xiao Dao curiously.
Suddenly, Xiao Dao’s figure shimmered and transformed into a tall, muscular black man wearing a strange white basketball jersey. The man flashed a toothy grin at Xu Ze, then waved his hand. The dark surroundings instantly brightened, revealing a spacious indoor basketball court.
Xu Ze blinked again, looking around in amazement. However, his initial shock gradually faded. He was starting to get used to this virtual environment, where seemingly anything was possible.
The black man smiled at Xu Ze. “I’m Bond. I led my team to win five consecutive championships in the Federal Basketball League. Welcome to basketball training…”
“Basketball training?” Xu Ze blinked, feeling completely bewildered. How could this place offer basketball training too? Was there anything it couldn’t do?
Still, Xu Ze was quite interested in basketball training. Recently, he had been dragged into playing basketball by his friend Luo Zi, and his dribbling and ball-handling skills were… well, let’s just say they were far from impressive. If he could improve his skills here, even just a little, it would be worth it.
Bond turned out to be a very dedicated coach. Although Xu Ze had a high shooting accuracy thanks to the system’s glasses, Bond looked down on such technological aids. To him, relying on high-tech gadgets to cheat was an insult to the sport of basketball.
As a result, Xu Ze was put through a grueling training session. From correcting his shooting posture to adjusting the force behind his shots, Bond drilled him repeatedly. Then came the dribbling exercises, which left Xu Ze utterly exhausted.
Even though the virtual space didn’t involve real physical exertion, the realism of the simulation was incredibly advanced for Xiao Dao’s era. After three hours, Xu Ze collapsed onto the floor, panting heavily. “I can’t do this anymore. I need a break. If I keep going, I’ll collapse!”
“Oh no, dear Xu, you must continue. Otherwise, Xiao Dao won’t be happy,” Bond said with a strange smile on his dark face.
“No, I really can’t…” Xu Ze sat on the floor, refusing to get up. Three hours of intense training was more than enough. Even an iron man would struggle to keep up. This was way more exhausting than riding a bike.
“Are you sure you won’t get up and continue?” Bond asked, still smiling.
“No… Ah!” Before Xu Ze could finish his sentence, he let out a sharp cry and jumped to his feet, his hair standing on end as his body tingled with an electric shock. He stared at Bond, stammering, “W-what was that? What did you do to me?”
“My apologies, Xu. The system automatically administered an electric shock as punishment…”
Five and a half hours later, Xu Ze held the basketball in his hands, feeling a strange sense of accomplishment. From being completely dominated by Bond at the start, he had now managed to hold his own to some extent. When Bond tried to break through his defense, Xu Ze was no longer completely helpless. He could now disrupt Bond’s plays and make it harder for him to score easily.
“What’s going on? Did I get better, or did Bond get weaker?” Xu Ze dribbled the ball and charged toward Bond, his eyes filled with confusion.
By the time Xiao Dao reappeared, Xu Ze was lying on the floor, completely spent and gasping for breath.
Xiao Dao looked at Xu Ze with a teasing smile. “How do you feel? Not too bad, right?”
Seeing Xiao Dao’s fake concern, Xu Ze couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger. “What do you think? I’m not made of iron! Even NBA players would struggle to keep up with six hours of intense training.”
“I’m sorry, but while the system simulates physical exertion, it won’t let you collapse,” Xiao Dao said, raising his eyebrows with a sly grin. “This is to train your reflexes, agility, and, most importantly, your willpower. Of course, the benefits are obvious. If you keep this up, I can imagine you earning the title of Star University’s next basketball prince in no time.”
“…” Xu Ze lay on the floor, speechless. After a moment, he asked, “Why did Bond seem to get weaker?”
Hearing this, Xiao Dao’s face showed a strange smile. “Why do you think Bond got weaker? Could it be that you’ve improved?”
“What? That’s impossible!” Xu Ze looked at Xiao Dao in disbelief. “I’ve only been practicing for a few hours. How could I have improved so much?”
“Is it really impossible?” Xiao Dao smiled. “Haven’t you noticed that your ball-handling has become smoother? That you’re more familiar with the game?”
“Ah…” Xu Ze was stunned by Xiao Dao’s words.
Seeing Xu Ze’s expression, Xiao Dao explained with a smile, “Tao Jun’s favorite sport was basketball. To win the S60 Military District basketball championship, he spent three months training with Bond’s virtual neural imprint in the system. As a result, the system has stored his basketball experience, which can be directly transferred to you through memory infusion. So, your memory now contains this experience. With a bit of practice, you might not beat Bond, but dominating Star University’s basketball scene in the short term shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Really?” Xu Ze’s eyes widened. This was incredible! He could gain advanced basketball skills without years of training. He had hit the jackpot!
“Don’t be too surprised. There are many things you haven’t discovered yet. Kid, you’re really lucky to have activated this system,” Xiao Dao said with a mysterious smile. “Alright, it’s 5 a.m. in the real world. You’ve got a little over an hour before you need to get up for your morning exercise. Go ahead and start your energy circulation training. That’s the most important part.”
With a snap of Xiao Dao’s fingers, Xu Ze’s eyes shot open. He found himself staring at the ceiling, breathing lightly. To his surprise, even though he had spent the entire night in the virtual space, he felt incredibly refreshed, as if he had slept a full eight hours.
“This auxiliary system is amazing!” Xu Ze sighed with a smile, feeling great. He closed his eyes and began circulating the energy within his body. He had a little over an hour left, which should be enough for three cycles.
Xiao Dao had mentioned that the standard for a Level 1 medic was to complete nine cycles in one go. Yesterday, Xu Ze had only managed six cycles before feeling completely drained. It seemed he still had a long way to go.
