57. Volt Serve

“Songyuan.”

As the boy was about to step onto the court with his racket, Sadaharu Inui’s voice called out from behind.

“Hmm?”

“Remember what I told you before: don’t say things during the match that seem like pop culture jokes on the surface but are actually subtle taunts. It’s not just that I dislike hearing them—the opponent is bound to take offense. It’s...”

“Yeah, yeah… extremely rude,” Songyuan interrupted, cutting Inui off.

“Right.” Inui nodded, adjusting his glasses.

“With Oishi absent, has he become the mother of Evergreen now?” Walking toward the court, Songyuan glanced back to see Inui deep in conversation with Renji Yanagi. Indeed, when men get long-winded, there’s no room for women.

“But speaking of which, I don’t know how strong this Otaki Heijiro fellow really is. If I accidentally beat him, Tezuka won’t get a chance to play.” Staring at Otaki’s solid, tower-like physique, Songyuan mused to himself. If he shaved his head, he’d be a budget version of Gin Ishida.

He was concerned about Otaki’s strength because Songyuan wanted to give Tezuka and Yamato Yudai a chance to face off. True, they’d played during the U-17 camp, but that was different. Now, this would be a duel between two captains. No need to make it a matter of life or death, but victory and defeat still matter.

If Evergreen only beats Seigaku, it would be a single, famous battle. But if they win with Tezuka defeating both Yamato Yudai and Seigaku, their reputation would skyrocket.

Songyuan didn’t care about Evergreen’s fame or about catapulting the school into the ranks of tennis powerhouses. He just purely wanted to see Tezuka and Yamato Yudai fight it out. The U-17 match between them was more like a senior passing down his legacy to a junior. But now, with Tezuka no longer quietly laboring for Seigaku but instead hardened by his experiences with them, it was time for an underdog to challenge the status quo.

Life needs rhythm; matches need ceremony. So the match between Tezuka and Yamato Yudai couldn’t just be held at any time. It had to be now.

“So, it’s time to put my acting skills to the test again?” Songyuan thought it would feel even more ceremonial if there were some kind of mission with a reward for arranging a Tezuka-Yamato match. Unfortunately, the system hadn’t provided any suitable tasks, perhaps due to its limited intelligence. There was nothing to help him stir up more drama.

But since he had received bullet-screen tasks involving Kanata Irie before, he believed his acting skills, as a professional, wouldn’t fail him. If all else failed, he’d use the same verbal tricks he once used on Akutsu to persuade Tezuka. He might not be great at grand speeches, but he was a master at verbal sleight of hand.

“Hey, kid! Are you standing there because you’re scared?” A sharp shout drew Songyuan’s impatient gaze. Seeing Otaki step forward to provoke him, Songyuan hadn’t replied yet when the referee waved and signaled, “Please take the court, player Songyuan.”

“Hmph! With a physique like Otaki’s, anyone would be intimidated,” Saito sneered as he watched Songyuan’s hesitation.

“One set to decide the match! Seigaku’s Otaki serves!”

“You brat, I’ll finish you off in one go!” Otaki barked as he tossed the ball high and smashed it toward Songyuan. Seeing this, Kikumaru exclaimed excitedly, “It’s Otaki-senpai’s Volt Serve!”

Bang!

Songyuan met the fierce serve head-on.

“What power…” His face changed dramatically. Before he could bring his left hand to the racket, his right arm was forced violently backward, and the ball shot away uncontrollably.

Crack!

The ball slammed hard into the wire fence, making the spectators nearest the court instinctively step back. After spinning a few times and rolling forward, the ball finally stopped. Everyone around gasped in unison. That serve… was terrifying.

“My arm’s gone numb…” Songyuan gazed at Otaki with a grave expression. The latter smiled arrogantly, “It took guts to try to catch my Volt Serve bare-handed, but that’s all I can praise you for.”

“Fifteen–love!”

“Otaki-senpai’s Volt Serve causes a numbing sensation like an electric shock for the receiver. It’s not just about brute force. If you can’t overcome that numbness, you’ll keep losing points,” Oishi said confidently, arms folded.

“So this is all the singles number two’s got?” Kawai had expected Songyuan, as the second singles player, to be much stronger. But it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“Seigaku! Go, go!” The unofficial players and the girls’ cheer squad shouted encouragement from outside the court, while Evergreen’s supporters weren’t to be outdone. The students from both schools competed to see who could shout louder, making for a lively scene.

“A Volt Serve, huh… I didn’t expect someone with that kind of build to manage such a delicate technique,” Inoue Mamoru clicked his tongue.

“Inoue-senpai, what exactly is a Volt Serve?” As Shiba Saori turned to him for an answer, Oda Fuyuka and Iwamura Yuna also looked his way.

“It’s a serve that hurts your enemy a thousand times but also damages yourself eight hundred,” Inoue raised a finger and explained, “The numbing sensation it causes is something you’ve all probably experienced in childhood—for example, when you jump from a height or when adults helped you jump down from a flowerbed. When the height exceeds what your body can handle, your feet feel a jolt of pain and numbness as you land, almost like an electric shock.”

“So Otaki Heijiro’s Volt Serve…” Shiba Saori seemed to understand, and Oda Fuyuka added, “It’s a serve that makes your arm feel as numb as your feet after a jump, right?”

“That’s one way to put it.” Inoue nodded. “This serve doesn’t require much technique—just a lot of strength and a good sense of your body’s limits. If you can balance pain and numbness, the Volt Serve works. Of course, the name just sounds cool; it doesn’t actually electrocute you. Otherwise, it’d be lethal tennis.” He couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Sadaharu, didn’t you give Songyuan any information about the opponent before the match?” Yanagi asked, seeing Songyuan lose the point.

“I tried, but Songyuan thought it wouldn’t be fair and didn’t want to listen. He wanted to face his opponent openly and honestly,” Inui shrugged.

“It may just be the regional prelims, but being careless isn’t wise. You need to have the strength to be so willful…” Yanagi was helpless about Songyuan’s approach. Fair or not, researching the opponent and preparing accordingly isn’t cheating. As the saying goes, know yourself and your enemy, and you’ll never lose. Naivety earns you nothing on the tennis court.

“Volt Serve… not bad,” Songyuan thought as feeling returned to his arm and the corners of his mouth lifted. “But if you think that’s enough to stop me, you’re too naïve, right, excavator?”

“Take this, kid!” Otaki pulled out a second ball and launched it with a shout. Songyuan stood unmoving, slowly drawing his racket back.

“He’s going to try to take Otaki-senpai’s Volt Serve head-on again?!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, that’s not something you can just receive with brute force!”

“This is reckless!”

While everyone thought Songyuan was just throwing himself at a brick wall, his eyes narrowed. The moment racket met ball, an invisible wave burst forth, so powerful it seemed to scatter the very air.

With the repulsive force of Shinra Tensei, the wild, yellow-green ball instantly became tame and obedient. When Songyuan returned the shot, the ball, spinning slightly in different directions, seemed to freeze for an instant—then, like an arrow released from a bowstring, it shot out violently.

Whoosh!

Like a meteor plunging to earth, the ball slammed down near Otaki’s feet and soared high with a heavy thud, leaving a shallow dent in the ground.

“Fifteen–all!”