Chapter 164 Physical Education Class 2 What is this? Kick it.
The sepak takraw match has begun. According to the teacher, it's best two out of three, and if it's a tie, there will be extra rounds.
But you feel like this instance is just messing with you.
You cheered and encouraged Meiling and Huimin for ages, but the three girls on the other side of the net, whose names you couldn't recall, smiled shyly at you, as if they wanted to talk to you but didn't know what to say.
All three of them have typical Taiwanese looks, quite different from the ethnic minorities like Mei Ling and Hui Min, and even more different from you. You've felt some of the subtle atmosphere created by this racial difference in other instances, and on the school bus this morning, but in this face-to-face, semi-private setting, you're experiencing a completely different kind of friendliness.
It's both curiosity and a message: "Hello, maybe we can be friends."
“Gulu Bodiba!” A girl with short hair and a somewhat spirited look smiled at you from across the way. You tilted your head and thought for a moment, sifting through the Cantonese you had painstakingly memorized all night to find a similar phrase, guessing that she was probably saying something like “Are you ready?”
You try responding with a smile: "Guru bodime! (Ready!)"
The three girls opposite were clearly stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing, instantly lightening the atmosphere. The short-haired girl raised her hand in a "go for it" gesture, then gently kicked the ball over, starting the first round of serves.
The sepak takraw ball arcs through the air and lands near you. You're momentarily stunned and at a loss for what to do. You almost try to catch it with your hands, but then you remember that it's something you "can only use your feet, head, or shoulders" to throw.
You hurriedly raised your foot to block, but you stumbled—and with a "thud," the ball hit your calf.
"Oh dear!" You laughed out loud, and the others burst into laughter too. The short-haired girl who had struck up a conversation with you rushed over, smiling and patting your shoulder: "It's okay, it's okay!"
You smiled and nodded, then after a quick mental search, said, "Thank you!"
The ball continued to be passed around among the six players. Huimin and Meiling both played exceptionally well, their movements were very agile. When the opposing team kicked a high ball, Meiling immediately jumped up and blocked it with her shoulder, a clean and decisive move that left everyone stunned, clapping their hands excitedly.
Okay, then you need to work hard too. You're the older sister, you can't always hold everyone back.
If you try to fight them directly, you'll always be uncoordinated. So, you can openly imitate their movements from the sidelines and try to find the right point to exert force.
When it's your turn to serve, try to imitate the other girls. Use the ball of your foot to lightly flick the ball up, then swing your other foot from behind to make a beautiful arc in the air before passing the ball to Meiling.
Wow! It actually worked?
The girl across from you with braces looks at you in surprise and gives you a thumbs up: "Awesome!"
After thinking for a long time, you still had to ask Meiling for help: "How should I put this?"
"Mikai! (Not good) You're even worse~" You finished reading it according to Meiling's instructions and then realized that she was deliberately teasing you, making you say a half-baked slang with flower language mixed in.
You click your tongue and give Meiling a good whack. Your clumsy pronunciation makes the three people opposite you laugh so hard they're doubled over. After all, happy emotions never rely on language to flow, and neither does friendship.
Gradually, it became less like a competition and more like a game. You passed the ball back and forth, occasionally chasing each other all over the field after missing. You fell on the sand more than once, but each time you got up, someone on the other side would reach out to help you up and shout energetically, "Watch out!"
You stood up, panting, and replied with a smile, "Guess, guess!"
Meiling wiped the sweat from her forehead and said, "They are all very nice people. We can go get some snacks together after school." She wanted to introduce you to a few more classmates to hang out with.
“That’s great,” you replied. It’s always good to have more friends.
Huimin grinned: "Great! I was so worried just now, but look, they didn't kick you hard at all. They were just playing with us. It seems like nothing strange will happen today."
"Hey—don't say it—" You wish you could cover Huimin's mouth before she made that promise, but unfortunately, she had already said it.
"W-what happened?" Huimin asked in shock.
"It's okay, let's continue," you said weakly.
Of course, this can't be blamed on Huimin; when bad things are about to happen, there are no warning signs.
For example, if you kick her several rounds in a row without any problems, then you just give her a light kick, and the short-haired girl who was talking to you at the beginning lets out a scream, startling all three of you.
Mei-ling and Hui-min both turned to look at you, but they both knew that you had agreed to kick gently and carefully.
You shake your head: "No, it's not our problem."
Ignoring everything else, Meiling was about to rush over to check on the girl's injuries when she crashed heavily into an invisible wall of air, falling flat on her backside.
"Again?" She rubbed her back, frowned, and looked at you with a wry smile.
You nodded.
Huimin stood beside you, and now she understood the meaning behind your unspoken sorrow in your eyes back then.
Now, the entire boundary of the field is surrounded by an invisible barrier, and even the fence is tightly closed. The students and physical education teachers who were training on the other side of the field, and even the occasional patrolling teachers walking past the teaching building, have all "disappeared".
The girls across from you are surrounding the wounded, and all three of them are looking at you with an expression that says, "How could you do this?"—probably far more obsessive and insane than that.
"Huimin, please try to communicate with them and tell them that I didn't do it on purpose, and that I'm willing to go to the infirmary with her and take responsibility." You said, "Let's try to resolve this through communication first."
The competition venue is inaccessible, but if those inside no longer wish to continue the competition, the matter can likely be resolved peacefully.
Huimin nodded and called out to the other side through the net.
“You saw my kick too,” you said seriously as you continued to Meiling. “I didn’t use any force at all, I just touched the ball lightly—even if I did, with my terrible technique, I couldn’t possibly kick it that hard.”
You spoke so earnestly, but Meiling couldn't help but smile: "I'm sorry."
You clear your throat and look at Meiling and Huimin, who is communicating with the other side while also pricking up one ear.
"I'm not joking. We're trapped in this stadium right now, as you can see."
The two nodded.
“That ball hurt the other side, and it just so happened that it happened right after I touched it; plus we were trapped in—let’s call it the barrier—I felt—” you paused, “that the ball was trying to incite conflict between us and them.”
"Let us think they blame us...and then we think they want revenge?" Mei-ling said.
“Yes,” you said, “don’t you think? We were just having a happy PE class, and suddenly the ball malfunctioned, and the other team got injured. They’ll blame us, and our attempts to explain will likely be useless. We’ll also be stuck and unable to leave… It’s like creating a conflict.”
Meiling looked at you for a few seconds, processing everything, and suddenly asked, "Then what should we do?"
You hesitated for a moment: "We're playing sepak takraw now, right? The rules are basically that the game ends when you win, right?"
“I think so,” Huimin said as she walked over. Her communication with the person opposite her had failed.
The three aggressive girls had already formed their battle formation, their eyes filled with hostility. Especially the injured one; her blood-stained cotton socks were practically her badge of honor, proclaiming that she would make you pay for your crimes in blood.
You quicken your pace and say, "But precisely because this 'game' is so obviously designed to force us to win, it's not just about 'winning'."
Meiling frowned: "Huh?"
You explained, “If you were the one who designed this scenario, you set up a situation that would evoke people’s adversarial emotions, and then presented the only ‘solution’—winning. Isn’t that too obvious?”
"So you suspect," Huimin realized, "that winning is just a distraction?"
You nodded: "And think about it, isn't it unfair to our team to have me, a newbie, play?"
“In the end…” you sighed, “I’m unlikely to win. So if we have to win to get out, that’s really unfair, which means it’s not the only solution.”
"Or rather, 'winning' is at least a difficult goal to achieve," you added. The reason you were able to go toe-to-toe with those three girls was ultimately because you didn't treat this so-called match as a competition; you were just playing ball politely and happily. If you really had to fight to the death, it would be very difficult for your team no matter how you look at it.
One minute they're saying they want to win, the next they're saying winning is an unrealistic goal. Mei-ling and Hui-min are completely bewildered.
"I don't care what you're saying for now," Meiling suddenly patted your shoulder, abandoning her thoughts and choosing to confront the challenge head-on. She said with a smile, "Just stay in the back, and be careful not to hold us back or get hit. Huimin and I will design the formation!"
You were taken aback when she grabbed Huimin and started discussing tactics: "We'll play the pyramid strategy. You'll be in charge of the rear, I'll push forward, and then—don't laugh! Just follow our commands!"
You nodded eagerly, "That suits you perfectly: 'Then I'll dodge and observe the ball to see what's going on.'"
"Let's try fighting first, and then we'll see what happens!"
At that moment, the opposing team had already served the ball, a fast and powerful volley coming straight at you!
A scream was stuck in your throat. Before you could even think, your body instinctively hid behind Meiling and Huimin.
"Hurry up and dodge!" Meiling was almost caught off guard, but thankfully she managed to jump up and block the ball with the instep of her foot while shouting, "Concentrate!"
She blocked the ball, which spun as it landed and bounced back up. Huimin quickly slid to the side, stretched out her leg to catch the ball, and passed it back.
You can see that her movement is extremely standard—the inside of her foot steadily lifts the ball, and with a gentle flick, she makes the ball somersault and rise into the air. The ball draws a beautiful arc in the air.
Even if you say you're just observing, you might still learn something.
Meiling had been waiting for this. As if she had anticipated it, she leaped into the air and actually completed a beautiful inverted hook in mid-air!
Wow! Is this a shot a high school student could make?? You're stunned.
The ball slammed into the opposite side. The girl on the other side was clearly surprised by how well Meiling and Huimin coordinated and how technically proficient they were. In her haste, she tried to jump up and catch the ball, but she missed and the ball bounced off her shoulder, instantly tearing her sportswear.
"Hey!" you yell, "Don't catch it on your shoulder!"
You just noticed at a glance: a ring of thick, hard, sharp spikes has grown on the surface of this ball!
You not only want to remind Meiling and the others, but also the people on the other side. Meiling doesn't understand your actions, but she still helps you translate.
"Don't use any part of your body other than your legs to catch it! The ball has spikes!"
Upon hearing this, the opposing team was taken aback, picked up the ball, glanced at it, and then angrily kicked it at you again.
The ball is heading straight for your face.
You slide back, and Meiling immediately fills your position, turns, and flicks the ball to Huimin with her heel, "Continue!"
You crouch down, focusing intently on the ball's movements. And there it is! The ball seems to have come alive; with each touch, its spikes grow sharper. And this change only occurs just before it's about to touch your bodies!
You quickly shout, "It will evolve—the more we play, the more dangerous it becomes! We just won a game, right? In that case—" Even if you think winning is difficult, who knows? Besides, who knew Meiling's skills were so good.
"Meiling, Huimin, let's try our best and see if we can leave now if we win one more game?"
"good!"
Huimin passed the ball high, and Meiling jumped, preparing to do another bicycle kick.
This time, however, the three girls opposite them also jumped, and their movements were surprisingly synchronized—or rather, it would be strange if they weren't.
They've completely lost their initial sunny, lively, and enthusiastic selves; they all seem to be under a spell.
Despite such a defense, the attack remains just as fierce.
You had barely taken your positions when the ball came hurtling towards you at high speed, this time hitting Huimin squarely in the stomach. She couldn't dodge in time, gasped for breath, clutched her stomach, and turned deathly pale.
The blood quickly seeped out. She gritted her teeth and caught the ball with her foot before it hit the ground. She passed it to Meiling first, then hid to the side to catch her breath.
You rush over to check the injury—the dense, needle-like blood spots make your anger surge. Luckily, it's just a superficial wound.
"They weren't playing football at all, they were beating people up," Huimin said through her pain, her face turning angry.
In competitive sports, people will stop at nothing to win, but throwing things at your opponent's body is simply thuggish behavior.
Once you calmed down, you suddenly realized how this strange change in the sepak takraw had stirred up everyone's emotions on the field. If its purpose was to turn your originally harmonious relationship into mutual loathing and a fierce battle, then the solution was probably—
"Meiling, don't rush to kick it back!"
But you're too late. Meiling has already kicked the ball with all her might towards the other side, and it's aimed at one of them in the stomach.
Huimin is also Meiling's best friend. Even though Huimin and Jinglian followed Meiling around like little followers when they first met, Meiling was just an ordinary boy who liked to show off and was occasionally a little mischievous. If she didn't like Huimin and Jinglian, why would she play with them?
However, the opponents easily dodged, and when they kicked back, their power was even greater. Meiling caught the kick with her foot and struck back.
Back and forth, each kick from the other carried incredible force, completely disregarding the body's limits.
The ball bounces off someone's feet like a cannonball, flying straight towards you, aiming for either the face, the stomach, or any vulnerable joint below the knee—anywhere that's likely to get injured. And they themselves seem completely unconcerned about catching the ball with their knees, shoulders, elbows, or even their foreheads.
You see one of the girls get her knee punctured while blocking the ball, blood streaming down her calf. But she seems oblivious to the pain, wiping away sweat before forcefully kicking the ball again, aiming for Meiling's leg. You instinctively rush forward to block it—but it's too late.
Meiling fell to the ground, the sound of her shoes scraping against the playground floor like sandpaper scraping against her eardrums, unbearably grating. She frowned, remaining silent, but you could tell she was enduring it with great difficulty.
Meiling and Huimin were both getting desperate, and they didn't want to listen to anything you said, so you had no choice but to grit your teeth and go for it. You tried to return the next few balls.
While you were dodging the ball on the sidelines, you weren't just a mascot; you were constantly learning from your teammates' receiving techniques and the opponent's serving rhythm and landing point to make judgments. As it turns out, real matches are the best way to hone your skills; you're not just a sepak takraw master now, you're at least a sepak takraw prodigy—your random thoughts amused you, so you quickly shook your head and focused on the situation.
But you're really not feeling well. You didn't sleep, and at noon you only ate some rice and stewed beans. After just a few rounds, you were panting heavily, and your buttocks felt numb.
"Are they robots?" Meiling asked, panting heavily, "Don't they ever get tired?"
"They don't seem to need a rest." Huimin was barely standing, also sweating profusely.
"So you two are finally willing to calm down and talk to me?" you replied helplessly.
These two seem obedient, but in the end, their brains are still not fully developed and they're like little brats—your adult arrogance made you mentally beat them up—now you've lost your energy and your mind has calmed down.
Honestly, the three of you are all ordinary people. No matter how intense your exercise is, you still have to respect your body's limits. But the three on the other side are clearly no longer considered "normal."
They worked flawlessly, without breaking a sweat or showing any emotion. They didn't need to talk to each other, yet they coordinated perfectly. Even national team players need their coaches on the sidelines to call out to them and change strategies! Not to mention, every kick they made was like a perfectly wound-up mechanism.
“They can no longer be considered our ordinary classmates. You two shouldn’t vent your emotions like you hate a normal person,” you said, kicking out with a leap.
Just like the first time the girl on the other side got injured, this kind of sport is inherently dangerous for ordinary players. Even if you plan to kick with your shoe on, you can't help but get your calf injured.
By now, the spikes on the sepak takraw have grown so long they could pierce your muscles. The pain almost makes your legs buckle, but you still manage to kick the ball back.
“You two are good at this sport, but I’m not. So if you don’t agree with what I’m saying, then nothing I say will work. I can only cooperate with you until you realize that something is wrong. Otherwise, if we start to have a rift with each other, it will be absolutely fatal for us in such a tense and irrational moment.” You blurted it all out. “Look at them. They are in much more pain than we are, but it is we who are feeling the pain and our strength is being rapidly depleted.”
“If we keep playing like this, we’ll just get crushed. Even if the match ends and the current situation is resolved, we’ll still be the ones suffering the real injuries,” you said. “So, from now on, we can no longer make winning the match our goal, because we really shouldn’t participate in unfair matches.”
"What can I do?!" Meiling tried her best to catch the next ball. She had to concentrate all her strength in her legs, so she had to shout to compensate with her facial muscles and release the pressure.
"Meiling, if we do nothing and don't receive the ball, will it be our turn to serve?" you asked.
Meiling was taken aback for a moment: "Theoretically, that's how it is. There's no referee now, so everyone is spontaneously changing possession..." She suddenly gave a "Are you alright?" look and said with dissatisfaction, "We've been playing for so long, are you expecting us to stop playing and beg for mercy now?"
"I didn't say that!" She yells at you, and you yell back; who can't out-shout? Meiling stopped talking, though she still held her neck stiffly, but this was already a sign of yielding.
You take a deep breath. "Let's give it a try," you say. At least let's calm down and think things through.
Not wanting them to feel resentful, you patiently continued to explain, "If we keep going like this, we'll get seriously injured sooner or later. This isn't competition, it's torture. If that's the case, then we're not playing sepak takraw, but rather a 'can't lose' rule where we're giving it our all."
They were taken aback. Huimin was the first to agree with your idea. Meiling looked at herself, then at the two of you, and although she was still a little unconvinced, she had to admit that you were right.
So the next ball, neither of you caught it.
The three of you lunge to the side, raising your hands high to indicate that you're giving up.
The ball is something that grows spikes and hurts you, but it doesn't move on its own. Its trajectory is fixed. Therefore, after you all give way, it just bounces a few times on the ground, spins twice, and finally comes to a slow stop next to the boundary line.
Since the three of you have given up resisting, the right to serve in this set falls to you.
You can decide for yourselves when and how you want to serve.
After waiting a while without any punishment, you exhaled a sigh of relief, plopped down, and began to rest.
"What the hell? If we'd known we wouldn't have fought, we could have rested. What were we doing all this time?" Meiling also found it ridiculous. She didn't look at you, but still sat down next to you with Huimin.
You shrug, think for a moment, and then share with them how to deal with any unexpected anomalies that might occur in the future: "That's just how it is, especially when strange things happen for no reason. We can only take it one step at a time and make some bold guesses—"
Huh?
Speaking of being inexplicable... well, that means you can use whatever rules you want.
In various scenarios, you can usually find applicable rules based on the direction of events. For example, a few tens of minutes ago in the locker room, the gender identity issues and the extremely stereotypical beauty of those being scanned told you which rules you could align with and then find a way to resolve the predicament.
Right now, you're facing a random, inexplicable attempt to sow discord. What can you do? But this is just a dungeon, there's no way around it. So the solution lies with you.
You can choose a rule to solve it. Which rule should you use?
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Author's Note: I might revise the language of these chapters tomorrow, because I didn't sleep all day yesterday, and even now that I'm awake, I still feel a bit dizzy. == The plot won't change, so those who see the updated chapters don't need to reread them. ^^
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