Chapter 346: Professional Level
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Before the table, Dai Li had prepared a copy card. That was why he had accepted the challenge, even when he knew Yaozu Li was a professional player.
A copy card could copy a player on the players illustrated handbook. Then Dai Li could use this card to gain 70% capability of the player in the next 12 hours. Without any hesitation, Dai Li copied Anshan Wang in the illustrated handbook.
The players illustrated handbook stored the Anshan Wang at his peak, with the strongest talent, full capacity, and no defects. Dai Li calculated in his mind. Even a 70% Anshan Wang contained 700 capacity, which contended against a foreign first-class player. That was Dai Li's confidence.
A seventy percent Anshan Wang is better than Yaozu Li! Dai Li thought confidently.
Using a copy card would cost ten thousand points of experience, which made Dai Li feel distressed, but he thought it was worthwhile, as he was doing this to help Yunan Xiao.
Just try the effect of this copy card. Since the system rewarded me with this card, it would be a waste if I didn't use it. Dai Li thought this in his mind.
"What are you waiting for? Serve the ball!" Lefeng Gu shouted impatiently.
Back to life, looking at Yaozu Li at his opposite, Dai Li said, "You first. Serve the ball!"
"Do I need it?" Yaozu Li twitched his mouth disdainfully, "If I serve the ball, you can't catch it. I'll let you serve the ball first!"
Dai Li didn't discuss it with Yaozu Li. He took the ball, telling him to be ready, and started to serve.
Yaozu Li was still wearing a relaxed and pleasant expression. He didn't stress over him at all. He was a professional ping pong player anyhow, although not world-class. Compared with a coach, he was much more sufficient.
Moreover, he just saw Dai Li's serve, which was not even as good as an amateur player, let alone in comparison to Yaozu Li. He could defeat him just with a single stroke.
With full confidence, Yaozu Li stared at the ball coming over the net. Just as he had done, he simply took a stroke. Yaozu Li thought that Dai Li couldn't react to this the same as he had before.
Actually, Dai Li didn't react at all, because he didn't need to. The ball flew off of the table lines as soon as it bumped on Yaozu Li's racket.
Yaozu Li's catching was out, directly!
It's spinning. A topspin! He can serve a topspin! Yaozu Li was also surprised. It was out of his expectations.
I was so careless. I thought he would serve a ball like before. I didn't expect he could serve a topspin. It seems that he was hiding his strength just now. Thinking of this, Yaozu Li suddenly felt like a cat catching a rat.
Even if you hide your strength, you're just a coach, and I'm an active professional! Let me play with you slowly.
Yaozu Li blamed that ball on his carelessness, and for the next second, he bent down and concentrated. However, Lefeng Gu was unpleasant. He didn't expect Yaozu Li could lose one point first.
"He let you win a point first, in case you would get a zero!" Lefeng Gu roared.
Still, Dai Li ignored Lefeng Gu's bluster. He knew that the harder he roared now, the more embarrassed he would be after he lost this game. Dai Li threw up the ball and served the second time.
Another topspin! Yaozu Li sized up the ball immediately.
I didn't concentrate on it just now, so you could take me by surprise using that topspin. But this time, I prepared for it. How could I be fooled again? Yaozu Li was going to catch the ball with full confidence.
However, when the ball touched the racket, the uncontrollable shaking from the racket made Yaozu Li realize that he was going to lose the control of this ball, too.
A professional level serve! It was too late once he realized this. He couldn't ensure the quality of his receive.
This receive was bad, as far as spinning, speed, and landing. Judging from professional standards, it could be regarded as a muff, just like giving points to the opponent.
He is not a professional. Maybe I still have hope. Yaozu Li prayed in his mind.
Yaozu Li knew that, in the face of such a receive, without quality at all, any professional players would seize the chance. However, it would be different if the opponent wasn't a professional.
Nevertheless, god didn't hear Yaozu Li's prayer. How could Dai Li miss such a good chance? He directly took his offense along the diagonal and Yaozu Li only could see the ball flying away in front of his eyes.
"2-0! Dai Li won two points in a row! Is his opponent a professional player?"
"The Singaporean champion should be very powerful. Why does he seem to be a rookie?"
"No wonder our national team of ping pong is so powerful. An ordinary coach can defeat a foreign national team player."
People whispered such things all around.
Staring at Dai Li, now Yaozu Li's face was not the same as the contempt he had shown minutes before. On the contrary, he was a little afraid now.
That was a professional level serve. And only the first-class professional players can serve such a spinning ball! This coach is real proficient. Yaozu Li's thoughts swirled in his mind.
However, Lefeng Gu was quite angry and said, "Yaozu Li, what are you doing? How could you lose two points in a row? Win it back, quickly!"
Yaozu Li felt a bit helpless. He picked up his racket and prepared to serve the ball.
The serve is the most basic skill, and also the most easily-trained. Many amateur players do well in serving, but badly receive. Maybe you're professional in serving, but I don't believe you are also professional in your receive!
Thinking of this, Yaozu Li kept concentrated. Then the ball was tossed up and flipped to the direction of Dai Li, after Yaozu Li swung his racket.
"Bang!" Dai Li was really quick in receiving the ball, and his action was also fluent.
He caught that ball! The anger of Yaozu Li disappeared in a flash. He served the ball with full preparation. At his level, this serve was really high in quality.
Yaozu Li had thought, in the face of this serve with high quality, even Dai Li could catch it, and he must catch it hurriedly. However, it seemed to be quite easy for Dai Li, as the quality of his catching was pretty good.
It is not only about the serve and receive in ping pong. What's also crucial is every reaction, treatment, and tactics selection. Those amateur players don't know these things. Only the professional players are equipped with these qualities. Dai Li, you will know the gap between you and me soon!
Yaozu Li thought of this and stroked back the ball to Dai Li.
Dai Li stroked it back, quickly, agilely, and the landing point was just the diagonal, which was, again, out of Yaozu Li's expectation.
"Damn!" Yaozu Li managed to catch the ball, but the return stroke was of no quality.
"Bang!" without any hesitation, Dai Li smashed the ball very hard. The ball flew out of the bounds, even before Yaozu Li could take any actions.
The next second, Yaozu Li stared at Dai Li, full of astonishment.
That ball was at high professional level in speed, spinning, and landing point, and he did well in his reaction. How could an amateur table tennis player do that? Could it be that he is really at a professional level?
Yaozu Li always regarded Dai Li as someone he could defeat easily, so he never paid attention to Dai Li mentally. However, when he found that Dai Li was not as weak as he had thought before, he became panicked in his heart.
Oh, no. Am I going to lose this game? How can I get defeated by such a nameless?!
There was a saying that only the brave man could win in a fierce battle. If one side thought that he would lose, then, naturally, he would lose his morale soon. A sports contest was no exception. For players, the moment he thought he would lose in his mind, the balance of the game began to tilt.
Right now, Yaozu Li needed time to adjust his mental state. If it was an official competition, so his coach could call a timeout to let him have a rest and seek mental psychological guidance.
But now, it was unreal. His coach was not here. What's worse, Lefeng Gu was urging him to score quickly. In this moment, only a stupid partner would do such things.
In the following game, Yaozu Li played worse and worse, quite irregular and out of his own patterns. On the flipside, Dai Li was advancing triumphantly. He seized up Yaozu Li's muffs and kept scoring.
...
In the private room, these three bosses were chatting casually and drinking tea, as if none of them put the competition in the banquet hall at all in their minds.
The moment when Jianshe Gu's assistant came over to report to him the current situation about the competition, Dalu Fang asked at first, "Has the competition ended? What's the result?"
With a meaningful smile, Dingtian Xiao had a look at Dalu Fang. He could tell that Dalu Fang did that deliberately, and he meant to mess it up.
The assistant glanced at Jianshe Gu hesitantly. Apparently, he was asking his boss whether he should tell him. The assistant was intending to tell his boss secretly, but now Dalu Fang asked about it directly. He didn't know what to do.
"Say it!" Jianshe Gu said casually, as if he didn't care about the result at all.
Since his boss gave him the order, the assistant need not hide the truth and said directly: "The first game ended, and the score is 11-2."
"This coach is pretty good. Unexpectedly, he could get two points, when facing the Singaporean champion," Jianshe Gu said in a relaxed tone. At first, he thought Lefeng Gu was mischievous. But until now, his action caused no harm to Jinsui Group, and so his anger relieved a bit.
However, with a hesitant expression, the assistant stood there still, looking at Jianshe Gu. He wanted to say something more, but stopped finally.
"What's the matter? Anything else?" finally Jianshe Gu lifted his eyes.
"Chairman, it's the Singaporean champion that gets two points, not the coach!" the voice of the assistant became lower, as did his confidence.
"You mean Dai Li won? He defeated that Singaporean champion and let his opponent get two points only?" All of a sudden, Dalu Fang's face was filled with shock. He never would've believed it...