CHAPTER 2: CHAPTER 2: A WAKE-UP CALL

The time for the afternoon finals arrived quickly. Due to the draw, Lin Guanglai’s team would be attacking first and defending later, as they were designated the visiting team.

Leaning in the dugout seat, Lin Guanglai pulled his cap down lower. His gaze was set several dozen meters away, at the players’ resting area on the other side of the field — where Ohtani Shohai from Iwate Prefecture was warming up with his teammates.

"My cousin, who lives in Iwate Prefecture, mentioned about this Ohtani to me before; apparently, like you, he is a very famous young ballplayer locally, strong in both pitching and batting," a voice reached Lin Guanglai’s ears; it was the team’s catcher, Uesugi Yasuyuki, speaking.

Since junior high, Uesugi had been Lin Guanglai’s dedicated catcher; unlike other baseball boys, he was an outright academic prodigy, having passed the entrance exam of Waseda Jitsugyo with very high scores — if nothing unexpected happens, Lin Guanglai and he would continue to be a pitcher-catcher duo for the next three years.

Uesugi Yasuyuki also glanced towards Ohtani Shohei in the distance and said to Lin Guanglai, "I heard that many strong teams offered him a place, but he mostly refused and chose Hanamaki East High School in Iwate local instead — it’s said that Sasaki, the supervisor of Hanamaki East, believes his talent could completely surpass that of Kikuchi Yuusei."

Hanamaki East High School, a high school in Iwate Prefecture. Though not traditionally a strong baseball school in name, its recent achievements have been exceptional.

Led by the talented pitcher Kikuchi Yuusei, Hanamaki East clinched the runner-up position in last year’s Senbatsu and made it to the top four in Summer甲;

As the core of the team, Kikuchi Yuusei himself sparked a scramble among the Nihon Professional Baseball teams: no fewer than six professional baseball teams had him as their first draft pick, including established giants like the Seibu Lions and Hanshin Tigers.

Receiving such notable evaluation naturally proves, indirectly, the strength of Ohtani Shohei, the player from Iwate Prefecture.

Of course, for Lin Guanglai, the stronger the opponent, the more it ignites his fighting spirit. Throughout years of training and matches, he has encountered several formidable opponents — but the final result was always the same: he turned out to be much more of a genius than those people.

"Perfect, today I’ll get to see this genius player from Iwate Prefecture myself!" Lin Guanglai straightened up, shifting his gaze from the distant Ohtani.

He took his glove out of the gear bag and put it on his left hand, with the emotions of wanting to compete against that Ohtani Shohei, he signaled to Uesugi Yasuyuki by his side: "Yasuyuki, let’s pitch and catch. It’s not just about Hanamaki East, even against Osaka Tsubaki and Nihon University Third, we have to win and show them!"

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Although our side was attacking first, as a pitcher, Lin Guanglai’s batting order was quite late, so he didn’t rush to practice swinging.

When he saw Ohtani Shohei ascend the pitcher’s mound, an uncontrollable impulse brewed in his heart — he really wanted to witness what exceptional traits this player, chosen by the runner-up team in Senbatsu and the top four team in Summer甲, possessed.

As if there were some mysterious synchronicity, when Lin Guanglai glanced at Ohtani Shohei, Ohtani on the pitcher’s mound also looked in Lin Guanglai’s direction — their gazes met, but no sparks flew — Lin Guanglai pressed his cap as a gesture of courtesy to the opponent, and Ohtani on the mound responded in kind.

The match officially began.

Fukushima, our team’s lead-off batter, gripping the bat, entered the batter’s box. As the team’s lead-off, he was skilled in bunting, and his speed allowed him to quickly reach the bases, also possessing decent base-stealing abilities.

However, the reality was that Fukushima didn’t even get a chance to swing, as the umpire declared him struck out — Ohtani Shohei on the pitcher’s mound effortlessly dispatched the lead-off batter Fukushima with three consecutive fastballs of such speed that the trajectory was utterly invisible.

"So... so fast..." Tsuchiya Kenta on the bench gasped in awe:

"This speed feels at least 140 km/h, seemingly even faster than Xiao Guang’s... "

Having said this, Tsuchiya Kenta quickly looked towards Lin Guanglai at the front — the latter was keenly focusing on the game on the field without saying a word.

In fact, Lin Guanglai at that moment was in shock — years of pitching training told him that the fastball just now definitely exceeded 140 km/h.

Although his own fastest pitch could reach that number, it would never be with Ohtani’s ease;

What’s more crucial is that a baseball speeding over 140 km/h could still be stably controlled within the strike zone — this isn’t something a regular person could achieve.

"Seems like our batters are going to be out one, two, three..." Lin Guanglai mumbled.

And, indeed, within just a few minutes, the umpire’s shouts echoed ceaselessly —

"Strike! Out!"

Be it Takahashi, the dependable second batter skilled in bunting, or Kondo, the third power hitter and team’s centerpiece, both found themselves helpless against Ohtani Shohei’s pitching: failing not just to get a hit, but even struggling to catch a read on the ball’s path.

Walking off the field lugging the bat, Kondo appeared extremely remorseful, like an eggplant hit by frost:

As the focal point batter for the team, he often hit long balls or even home runs, securing scores for the team;

Yet, when faced with Ohtani Shohei’s pitches, he didn’t even manage to swing before being struck out — for a batter distinguished by hitting prowess, it’s very hard to accept this.

Seeing the team’s morale dropping, Lin Guanglai knew what he should do. He gathered everyone dejected, and in a slightly stern tone asked:

"Hey guys, can you drop that crestfallen look? It’s only the first inning, right? Since when did baseball become a single-inning deciding sport?"

"I admit their pitcher is strong, with fast pitches and precise control — but are we going to raise our hands in surrender immediately after half an inning?"

Lin Guanglai paused, glanced around, and then said jokingly:

"Please, consider my feelings too, will you? It would make me think I am not as good as their pitcher — and if my mindset blows, we’re out of a pitcher!"

After saying this, Lin Guanglai picked up his glove, calling on the teammates for defense: "Get ready to defend, don’t do anything but just stand in place."

Hearing this, the teammates looked at Lin Guanglai with puzzled eyes.

Someone was about to ask, when another voice chimed in:

"Because I’ll soon be sending their batters home one after another."

His tone was filled with nothing but determination.