"Next, Zhang Han!"
Zhang Han really felt like he was having a tough time. The guys before him had already piled on the pressure. Now even a catcher had surpassed his best practice record, and not by a little.
How was a pitcher supposed to survive if a catcher could throw that far?
The people around him were buzzing with excitement. Miyuki had completely taken the spotlight. Supervisor Ono Binchi had always said that if you had true ability, it was easy to stand out. Zhang Han used to doubt this. After all, when genius players from all over junior high gathered in one place, everyone around you was a genius. Among so many, how could you guarantee you would be the one who shined?
There is an old saying in China: "If you don't enter Tsinghua or Peking University, you'll never know how many academic elites exist in this world." No matter how brilliant you are, once you enter a top school, standing out becomes difficult.
But difficult does not mean impossible.
Even in the best schools, there are always a few geniuses who leave people in awe. Just like now. Everyone's way of looking at Miyuki had completely changed. Before, because his team had been weak, people knew he was strong but didn't understand to what extent. Now, even though they still couldn't fully judge his level, the basic tests were already showing a few clues.
This guy was truly exceptional. Exceptional enough to suppress everyone here.
Feeling helpless was pointless, so Zhang Han put all his strength into his test. He pressed all his power onto the two fingertips he used to pitch. He would never dare use this technique in a real game. Doing it too often would injure his fingers. But for this one simple test, it was fine.
"Whoosh!"
The ball he threw shot out like an arrow, cutting through the air. His distance was also impressive. A bit shorter than Miyuki's, but clearly beyond everyone else's.
"108 meters!"
"Another one over 100 meters!"
"This is crazy. I heard the freshmen this year were strong, but this is too much."
"Maybe they can actually challenge the upperclassmen."
The crowd grew more and more excited.
One guy, however, frowned and muttered, "Why are you getting excited? If our class is this strong, doesn't that just mean our competition will be harsher than any other year?"
The complainer was Aso Takeru. He was one of the last to be tested, scoring 101 meters. It wasn't as good as Zhang Han's or Miyuki's, but it was still excellent. He just didn't break into the top three. A quiet student he had never noticed before had suddenly thrown 110 meters.
That student's name was Shirasu.
First place: Miyuki, 115 meters.
Second place: Shirasu, 110 meters.
Third place: Zhang Han, 108 meters.
Fourth place: Asou, 101 meters.
Fifth place: Kawashima, 99 meters.
Sixth place: Kawakami, 91 meters.
Seventh place: Yamaguchi, 88 meters.
…
Manager Ota looked like he was about to burst with excitement. Last year, Chris had been the only one who broke 100 meters.
"Third place."
Zhang Han didn't say anything about failing to surpass Miyuki. Miyuki had been a well-known star in junior high baseball. Zhang Han's reputation was decent too, but half of it came from being an international student and the other half from being on Matsukata. Deep down, he always expected that he was not quite at Miyuki's level.
But he never expected someone in their year to surpass him in pitching.
Prestigious schools really were different.
That was the feeling he had after the first test. During the later tests, that feeling only grew stronger.
"Hee-haw!"
The boy running beside him in the sprint looked like he had rockets strapped to his legs. He overtook Zhang Han in a flash. Zhang Han pumped his legs as hard as he could, but the gap kept widening. The boy crossed the finish line first.
Zhang Han placed second in their small group. As a main player from a strong team, his scores were excellent even among Seido's freshmen. He ranked high in almost everything.
But he was never first.
The top two in each group entered a hundred-meter playoff. Zhang Han's time earned him fourth place overall.
Even though his result was strong, the gap between him and the first-place runner was unbelievable.
The first-place runner clocked 11.02 seconds.
The entire field went silent. With that time, he could compete in track meets and rank well. Even the head of Seido High's track club couldn't run that fast.
The others clustered around twelve seconds.
Miyuki Kazuya: 11.98 seconds.
Shirasu Kenjiro: 12.12 seconds.
Zhang Han: 12.14 seconds.
Kandou Nao: 12.20 seconds.
Manager Ota and the assistant coach were thrilled. Basic abilities couldn't reflect everything about a player. But they definitely reflected something.
Seido hadn't gathered this many excellent freshmen at once in two or three years. Compared to previous years, this was a full harvest.
Zhang Han, however, couldn't feel happy.
How important were the entry test scores? Ono Binchi and Senior Kusunoki had warned him more than once. These scores would directly affect his future at Seido.
"First-year students who receive special care and training before summer are usually only one or two."
This meant that if Zhang Han didn't break into the top two freshmen by the start of the Summer Tournament, he would not get a First-string number.
He knew this clearly and worked hard, but it was simply too difficult.
He used to feel confident. Even though he was only a relief pitcher at Matsukata, he was still a core player and had faced opponents from all over the country. Compared to them, he had never felt like he was lacking.
But now he finally understood. Many players in the same generation were held back by their teams and therefore never stood out.
Not standing out did not mean they were weak.
************************************
From this week I have decided to start a little initiative. For every 50 power stones donated to the book I will release an extra chapter that very moment on top of that day 2 chapters.
Remember For Every 50 Power Stones An Extra Chapter.
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