Chapter 11 – Exploring the Rules
Bang! McDonald’s powerful forehand shot flew towards Gao Wen at full speed. Despite Gao Wen’s early positioning and attempt to counter with a forehand, the sheer difference in power was overwhelming.
In order to effectively resist, Gao Wen had to exert all his strength, but his powerful swing lacked follow-through, and the trajectory of the return ball wasn’t high enough. As a result, although his forehand made solid contact with the ball, it landed directly into the net, failing to reach the other side of the court.
This is what absolute power dominance in a tennis match looks like.
But Gao Wen, covered in sweat and with a flushed face, showed no signs of fatigue. His eyes still shone brightly as he shouted, “Come on, again!”
McDonald felt that something was off about Gao Wen. No, he was acting very, very strange.
Normally, during practice, the harder and more gruelling it gets, the more frustrated one becomes. But today, Gao Wen seemed to have a masochistic tendency, constantly calling out for “more power, more power,” and even seemed to enjoy it, grinning foolishly.
McDonald swore he wasn’t imagining things, but Gao Wen’s enjoyment in being overpowered made his heart tremble slightly.
Moreover, McDonald had held nothing back, using all his strength. He was also sweating profusely from the intense exchange and was now panting heavily. Looking at Gao Wen, who was energetic, he licked his lips, “Gao Wen, are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure!” Gao Wen replied without any hesitation, his confident tone echoing across the court.
How could Gao Wen hesitate?
There was no need at all!
On the contrary, he was feeling ecstatic and in top form!
Training with McDonald, watching his Growth Potential steadily rise, even while being overpowered, was still a huge motivation. He couldn’t help but shout, “Let the storm rage even harder!”
The McDonald in front of him was the perfect training partner.
Later, McDonald went on to become a hitting partner for the “King” Federer for a long time and was even recognised by Federer. This meant that Gao Wen could enjoy Federer’s treatment ahead of time. The guy in front of him was definitely the best training partner.
During their practice matches, Gao Wen first observed the increase in his Growth Potential value with each shot and each exchange, trying to find a pattern.
Then, because the constant blue message notifications were affecting his observation and judgment, which in turn affected his shots, he summoned the system to turn off the notifications. However, after each practice match, he could see the percentage increase in his Growth Potential, and he could also see the magnitude.
Gradually, Gao Wen figured out some tricks.
Even when facing the same McDonald, the intensity of each exchange would directly affect the amount of Growth Potential gained. Simply put, the more intense and fierce the exchange, the greater the reward; conversely, the less intense, the less the reward. This encouraged Gao Wen to prolong the rallies as much as possible.
Just now, in less than thirty minutes of forehand practice, his Growth Potential had increased by a whopping 8%! Compared to his previous gains, this was astonishing!
In one particular exchange, McDonald hit the ball with all his might, showcasing his full strength. His advantage in power and speed was overwhelming, and it was very difficult for Gao Wen to effectively counter. However, Gao Wen did not give up. Instead, he tried his best to use spin and placement to manoeuvre.
Especially since they were practising forehands, the shot options were limited, which gave Gao Wen some breathing room.
Back and forth, the two of them rallied for twenty-eight shots. At least four times, Gao Wen was on the verge of losing the point, but he managed to save them all. In the end, it was McDonald who suppressed Gao Wen with his absolute power. Gao Wen’s racket failed to put enough pressure on the ball, and his shot was off-time, turning into a lob that ended the rally.
Just from this one exchange, his Growth Potential increased by 2.5%. This gave Gao Wen a great deal of courage and confidence. Even though he was sweating profusely and eventually lost the point, he still felt bright and cheerful.
According to Gao Wen’s speculation, if the opponent was stronger, then the Growth Potential would have more room to increase. But the premise was that Gao Wen could put up an effective fight, rather than being completely overwhelmed by his opponent – such an exchange would be meaningless, and his Growth Potential might even be lower than him just practising his serve.
However, so far, Gao Wen’s only test subject was McDonald, so his idea still needed to be verified. But what was certain was that he was very, very happy to continue training with McDonald, even if he ended up being beaten badly.
No wonder so many people are addicted to games.
In games, killing a monster or completing a quest would directly show an increase in experience points. The exchange equation between input and output is clear, intuitive, and real. As long as you are diligent enough and invested enough, you can improve your strength.
But real life is not like that.
It’s like studying. You read and do problems every day, but you can’t always be sure if your knowledge has improved or if this knowledge will be helpful. It’s not that you’re not working hard enough, but it’s like your efforts are thrown into a black hole, and you have no way of knowing what the return will be –
Even if there is a return, you don’t know when it will come.
Even work can be measured by a salary figure – whether it’s worth it or not is another matter, but knowledge doesn’t have such an evaluation formula.
That’s why many students are addicted to games and can’t extricate themselves.
Gao Wen could now understand this feeling.
Watching his Growth Potential soar towards 50%, even though he didn’t know exactly what it could do, he could still feel that his practice had significantly improved. A smile bloomed on his lips, and he felt no fatigue at all.
Looking up, McDonald on the other side of the court was like a fat lamb waiting to be shorn, and Gao Wen couldn’t help but howl up at the sky.
“Awoooo!”
McDonald looked at Gao Wen on the other side of the court with a dumbfounded expression. Bathed in sunlight, Gao Wen had a bright smile on his face. Despite being drenched in sweat, he showed no signs of fatigue, shining like Apollo in the golden glow. His howl soared through the blue sky:
Had this wolf in sheep’s clothing finally stopped pretending and just taken off his disguise?
Seeming to notice McDonald’s gaze, Gao Wen laughed happily, “What are you stunned for? Let’s play another point! I can fight for three hundred rounds. You wouldn’t have given up already, would you, McDonald? Don’t you know that a man can never say ‘no’?”
‘I must be proactive in shearing this sheep!’
McDonald: “…”
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