[Congratulations to the Host for completing the special mission!]
[Additional reward granted. Total reward increased by 50%.]
Zhou Hao froze for a moment when the system notification sounded in his head.
So the mission rewards were actually measurable…
Otherwise, there wouldn't be a "50% increase."
But before he could think further—
Something changed on the pitcher's mound.
Veins bulged across Tanba Koichiro's forehead, as if they were about to burst.
He was furious.
Losing to powerhouse schools was one thing.
But now… he had clearly realized something.
He was not the best pitcher in the country.
He couldn't rely on raw pitching strength alone to crush every opponent.
That… was something only Zhou Hao could do.
He was merely the team's primary relief pitcher.
Even so—
There was no way his pride would allow a group of first-year rookies to challenge him like this.
"Damn it… I should've realized sooner.
Anger only throws me into chaos."
Against Kominato Haruichi, he could have spammed his high-drop curveball.
Against Kotori, he could have worked around him with intentional balls.
The only reason they found an opening…
Was because he hadn't taken them seriously.
That mistake should never have happened.
As long as he respected his opponent, he could control the game.
"I won't make that mistake again.
From now on… every batter is my strongest enemy."
Kataoka, acting as the chief umpire, clearly sensed the change in Tanba's mentality.
The always-stern coach slightly twitched the corner of his mouth.
From the result alone, Tanba Koichiro — Seido's second pitcher — had allowed a run against first-years… and without their strongest batter present.
Unacceptable.
But Coach Kataoka never judged players by results alone.
If results were everything, many talents would never be discovered early.
He observed rhythm.
Presence.
Game awareness.
Although Tanba gave up a run—
Right now, he felt better than before.
If Tanba understood his true role—
Not the Ace.
But the man who stabilizes the team when Zhou Hao rests—
Then stamina didn't matter. Pressure didn't matter.
He only needed to do one thing:
Keep the team from collapsing.
One or two runs were irrelevant.
Momentum was everything.
Tanba Koichiro might not be a true Ace…
But he was an outstanding relief pitcher.
Once the burden of the Ace disappeared, his thinking became razor-sharp.
"Now… show me whether you can follow through on that resolve."
Kataoka's gaze locked onto him.
Tanba suddenly looked like he had unlocked a cheat.
WHOOSH!
The ball screamed toward the plate.
Kanemaru, batting fifth, froze.
"Fast…!"
The rookies ahead of him had all made clean contact.
He thought Tanba-senpai wasn't as terrifying as rumored.
He was wrong.
The gap in strength exceeded his imagination.
Even the fastball alone was overwhelming.
He could barely react.
Gritting his teeth, he swung.
Ping!
The ball bounced weakly seven or eight meters in front.
The upperclassman first baseman easily fielded it.
Snap!
"Out!"
Three outs.
The inning ended.
They scored a run…
But the rookie offense had likely reached its limit.
Zhou Hao exhaled deeply.
He had spent tremendous effort designing that attack.
There were mistakes, but the result still came.
Most importantly—
Their opponent was Coach Kataoka and Tanba Koichiro.
That one run carried enormous meaning.
Outside the fence, spectators still refused to leave.
Because everyone shared the same thought:
This might become the most spectacular rookie welcome game ever.
End of the first inning — 1 : 0, Rookie Team leading.
Second Inning
The atmosphere changed.
The second- and third-years of Seido looked like starving wolves — eyes glowing.
The rookie pitcher remained Sawamura.
After experiencing his strange pitches once, the upperclassmen had clearly prepared countermeasures.
Maezono stepped into the batter's box.
The cleanup hitter.
He pulled out his heaviest metal bat — and deliberately moved half a step forward.
His intention to target Sawamura's moving fastball was obvious.
Zhou Hao frowned.
"They figured it out already?"
He wasn't very familiar with the current second-string roster.
But solving Sawamura's pitching in just one inning?
That level of adjustment…
Was abnormal.
Then Zhou Hao looked up.
Miyuki Kazuya stood there, glasses shining, casually holding up two fingers toward him.
The provocation was obvious.
Zhou Hao understood instantly.
"Miyuki…"
Now it made sense.
This guy wanted a battle.
Zhou Hao grinned.
"Then come."
"I've never been afraid of a challenge."
Whether as a player before…
or now, acting as the rookie team's temporary coach—
Zhou Hao always possessed absolute confidence in defeating his opponent.
Just like this moment.
Everyone believed it was impossible.
Yet Zhou Hao had forced that impossibility into reality.
In the very first inning, the first-years were leading 1–0.
And if he could create one miracle—
Who could say he couldn't create a second?
"Hey — Sawamura!"
Zhou Hao passed along instructions.
After hearing them, Sawamura Eijun's eyes widened in disbelief.
He immediately looked toward Zhou Hao.
His expression clearly asked:
Are we really doing this?
Zhou Hao gave a firm nod.
He had already thought it through.
Since the opponent had prepared a countermeasure—
There was no reason to pitch according to their expectations.
They wanted the moving fastball?
That was their wish.
Sawamura had no obligation to satisfy it.
Sawamura raised his leg and delivered the pitch decisively.
WHOOSH!
Maezono's eyes widened.
He had already received advice from his teammates about how to deal with Sawamura.
Now that the ball was coming—
He didn't hesitate.
"Swing earlier!"
His timing was good.
His swing was clean.
But—
The ball was faster than expected.
Even though he made contact…
He was still late.
PING!
The white ball shot high into the air.
The rookie team's dugout lit up.
Sawamura was amazing.
They had heard the rumors when he first joined—
But none of them imagined he could carry them this far.
These rookies were elite players in junior high.
Because they were skilled, they understood even more clearly—
They were at least two levels below the upperclassmen.
And yet—
Sawamura stubbornly kept them ahead.
Others played well too.
But no one could deny:
Sawamura contributed the most.
Even the cleanup hitter had been suppressed.
The ball fell neatly into the first baseman's glove.
Snap!
"Out!"
One out, bases empty.
All the upperclassmen turned toward one person:
Miyuki.
He had said he found a way to neutralize Sawamura.
Maezono followed his instructions and used the heavier bat.
But the result… differed from expectation.
Miyuki shrugged.
"Can't help it. Our opponent is craftier than expected."
His advice wasn't wrong.
He truly believed it could handle Sawamura.
But as a second-year, he couldn't accept losing.
More importantly—
He wanted to compete with Zhou Hao.
Partners could still be rivals.
In fact, the stronger the player, the stronger that rivalry became.
"I didn't expect his fastball to improve this much…"
If it were only moving pitches, Miyuki could deal with it.
Ever since Sawamura joined last summer, he had studied ways to counter him.
And after facing similar pitchers during their national run—
Seido should have handled this easily.
But now…
They had underestimated their opponent.
This pitcher wasn't weak.
He was strong enough that defeating him would require everything they had.
Next Batter
The fifth batter stepped in cautiously.
Sawamura didn't hesitate.
Fastball again.
WHOOSH!
The batter swung hard.
PING!
The ball bounced through the infield.
The rookie shortstop reacted a split-second late.
He couldn't stop it.
"My fault…"
The boy's face filled with frustration.
Their pitcher was doing everything — and he was dragging them down.
Just as he wished he could disappear—
A shadow flashed behind him.
Snap!
Without stopping, the fielder threw to first.
OUT!
Everyone stared at the boy whose bangs covered his eyes.
Kominato Haruichi.
"He's incredible…"
"He looked ordinary before…"
"No way…"
Even Seido's players were stunned.
"The batter and Kominato will definitely make Second String."
"Two others already made First String!"
"This rookie class is insane!"
"They're monsters!"
"Last year we only had Zhou Hao…"
"Now there are so many!"
Two outs.
No runners.
Even the upperclassmen's wolf-like eyes dimmed.
This was supposed to be the game where they showed their growth.
So why—
Did they run into a generation of monsters?
Could it be…
They really wouldn't score a single run?