"Strike one!"
Narumiya Mei stood frozen in the Batter's Box.
Zhou Hao's pitch had shaken him to the core.
He had never imagined that facing Zhou Hao directly from the Batter's Box would feel this terrifying.
A streak of white light suddenly expanded before his eyes.
Before Narumiya Mei could even react, the baseball had already flashed past him.
And before anyone could fully process what had happened—
Zhou Hao delivered the second pitch almost immediately.
BOOM!
The entire stadium fell silent.
The spectators sat there like statues, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.
It was simply too fast.
Even from the stands, they could feel how absurdly overwhelming the pitch speed was.
And Zhou Hao hadn't used a Breaking Ball.
Both pitches had been pure Fastballs.
Unlike the first pitch, however, Narumiya Mei finally reacted to the second one.
Although his expression looked grim, he still forced himself to swing the bat.
Unfortunately, his swing lagged a full beat behind.
In the end, he could only watch helplessly as the baseball screamed past him.
Pop!
"Strike!!"
Two strikes. No balls.
Narumiya Mei had instantly been driven into a corner.
The supporters of the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team felt their hearts rise into their throats.
To be honest, many of them could barely continue watching.
The pitch was too fast.
The baseball seemed to disappear the instant it left Zhou Hao's hand, giving the Batter no time to react whatsoever.
And that was merely from the perspective of the audience.
No one could imagine the pressure of standing inside the Batter's Box itself.
At that moment, the players of Inashiro Industrial finally understood why so many teammates had fallen silent after facing Zhou Hao's pitching.
It wasn't because they didn't want to encourage the team.
And it certainly wasn't because they lacked fighting spirit.
Rather—
Zhou Hao's pitches were so overwhelming that they instinctively lost the will to resist.
Narumiya Mei might not have been the strongest Batter on their team, but he was undoubtedly one of Inashiro's core players.
Yet even he had been stunned motionless by the first pitch.
And although he swung at the second, he hadn't even grazed the baseball.
The players and supporters of Inashiro Industrial understood perfectly well what that meant.
At this rate, even making contact with the ball would be incredibly difficult.
Their Fifth Batter—
One of the team's core offensive weapons—
Looked completely helpless against Zhou Hao.
Many Inashiro supporters couldn't help wanting to close their eyes.
But Narumiya Mei himself was completely different.
His eyes widened like a beast staring down its prey.
After experiencing the first two pitches, he had already regained his composure.
His gaze locked tightly onto Zhou Hao as countless thoughts raced through his mind.
After throwing two consecutive Fastballs, there was still a possibility that Zhou Hao would continue with another heater.
But judging from the flow of the game so far, Zhou Hao clearly didn't intend to crush them using only Fastballs and his Spiral Ball.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have mixed in so many Breaking Balls earlier.
"The next pitch is most likely a Breaking Ball... or maybe a Changeup."
Thinking that, Narumiya Mei tightened his grip on the bat.
He wasn't afraid of being wrong.
Even if the odds of failure were fifty percent—or even higher—
So what?
What Narumiya Mei saw was opportunity.
As long as there was even close to a fifty percent chance, he believed he could hit Zhou Hao's pitch.
And if he could get a clean Hit here—
Even if Inashiro failed to score afterward, they could still seize momentum from the Seido High School Baseball Team.
"Come on..."
"Grant my wish, Zhou Hao!"
Just as Narumiya Mei steeled himself, Zhou Hao moved on the mound.
He lifted his leg.
Stepped forward.
And swung his arm.
At first glance, Zhou Hao's pitching form didn't appear especially different from other pitchers.
At least, not until the baseball left his hand.
BOOM!
The instant the pitch exploded forward, the air itself seemed to tear apart with a deafening sonic blast.
Narumiya Mei's expression instantly changed.
He knew.
He had guessed wrong.
And more importantly—
He knew there was absolutely no way he could touch this ball.
Yet despite that, driven by pure instinct and pride, he still forced himself to swing.
Even though he understood it was already too late.
Pop!
The baseball ripped through the Strike Zone before crashing violently into Miyuki Kazuya's mitt.
"Strike!!"
"Strikeout!!"
Only after the call echoed through the stadium did Narumiya Mei's bat finally complete its swing.
He had been utterly overpowered.
"Consider yourself lucky this time, brat. Next time, you won't get off so easily."
Surprisingly, after returning from the Batter's Box, Narumiya Mei didn't look frustrated at all.
To him, this defeat seemed like nothing more than a minor setback.
Something too trivial to truly care about.
As long as another opportunity came in the future, he was convinced he could reclaim his pride.
But the crowd in the stands—
Including the supporters of Inashiro Industrial themselves—
Reacted completely differently.
Every single one of them stared with widened eyes and open mouths.
Some of the older spectators were so shocked that drool hung from the corners of their lips without them even noticing.
It was as though everyone had witnessed something unbelievable.
Narumiya Mei frowned slightly when he noticed the strange expressions around him.
He couldn't understand why everyone suddenly looked so shaken.
Subconsciously, he followed their line of sight.
Then he looked up toward the massive electronic scoreboard.
And in that instant—
Narumiya Mei froze completely.
Just like the stunned spectators around him, his eyes widened in disbelief.
Displayed brightly on the giant screen was one terrifying number.
163 km/h!
The enormous electronic scoreboard displayed a single number.
163 km/h.
That was the speed of the pitch Zhou Hao had just thrown.
The moment Narumiya Mei saw it, even his composure cracked.
"What the hell did this guy grow up eating? How can his pitching speed improve this fast?!"
Over the past year, Narumiya Mei had never slacked off for even a moment.
Anything that could interfere with his training or progress had long since been discarded.
Day after day, his life revolved around practice, studying baseball, eating, and sleeping.
Nothing else mattered.
And his efforts had paid off.
At this point, his Fastball could consistently stay above 150 km/h, with a top speed of 153 km/h.
That speed alone was enough to overwhelm the vast majority of opponents.
Combined with his other pitching weapons, Narumiya Mei had always believed he could compete head-on with Zhou Hao.
No matter what outsiders said, the proud Ace never thought he was inferior.
But now—
Reality seemed very different from what he had imagined.
Zhou Hao had once again thrown a 163 km/h Fastball.
That meant the earlier pitches over 160 km/h were not a fluke.
They were a true reflection of Zhou Hao's current ability.
And if he continued developing at this rate, his velocity would only grow even more terrifying in the future.
Just imagining it made Narumiya Mei feel sick to his stomach.
Too monstrous.
How could Zhou Hao possibly be this monstrous?
Why did he feel like a nightmare that constantly haunted the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team?
Because of Zhou Hao's existence, even the Seido High School Baseball Team now stood firmly above Inashiro.
"Damn it..."
If I already exist, why did someone like Zhou Hao have to appear too?
Narumiya Mei couldn't understand it.
A heavy frustration burned inside his chest like fire.
And if even Narumiya Mei felt that way, the other players and supporters of Inashiro Industrial felt it even more intensely.
Their eyes reddened as they stared at Zhou Hao with abnormal expressions.
If the rules had allowed it, they might have rushed the field and torn him apart themselves.
With a monster like Zhou Hao standing in front of them, when would Inashiro Industrial ever have a chance to truly shine?
Just thinking about it gave their supporters a headache.
Not to mention actually facing him on the field.
With two outs, the Sixth Batter of Inashiro Industrial stepped into the Batter's Box.
Unlike the others before him, his expression was unusually calm.
Although he wasn't one of the team's core sluggers, his batting ability was still solid.
But against Zhou Hao—
Forget the fans in the stands.
Even he himself felt nervous.
Could he really face the nation's number one pitcher?
Honestly, he had no confidence whatsoever.
Not even a little.
He simply didn't know if he could handle it.
But even so, he couldn't retreat.
As a player representing Inashiro Industrial, he had to show courage.
Even if he couldn't hit Zhou Hao's pitches cleanly, he could at least pressure him mentally and force him to waste stamina.
"A Fastball over 160 km/h? Fine. As long as you dare throw it, I'll swing."
Just as the Sixth Batter steeled himself, Zhou Hao moved decisively on the mound.
Whoosh!
The moment the baseball flew toward him, the Sixth Batter immediately realized how terrifying Zhou Hao truly was.
The pitch was incredibly fast.
But strangely—
It didn't feel impossible to hit.
Originally, he had thought there was absolutely no way he could make contact with Zhou Hao's pitching.
Yet now, seeing this ball approaching him, he suddenly felt an opportunity appear.
The instant that thought surfaced in his mind, his body moved instinctively before his brain could even react.
He swung the bat naturally.
Since the chance was right in front of him, there was no reason to hesitate.
Clink!
The bat connected cleanly with the baseball.
The Sixth Batter didn't even have time to feel excited before someone from the Inashiro dugout shouted desperately—
"Idiot! That's a trap!"
It was Narumiya Mei's voice.
A trap?
How could it be a trap?
The swing had felt perfect.
The contact was solid.
The rebound off the bat felt clean and powerful.
Just as the Sixth Batter began to think he might actually get a Hit—
He watched helplessly as the baseball floated directly toward Seido's Second Baseman.
Kominato Ryosuke didn't even need to jump.
He simply raised his glove calmly and secured the catch.
Pop!
"Out!"
The ball had come off the bat far too softly.
Whether it was a pop fly or a weak liner, the fielders of Seido could handle it easily.
"Three outs! Side change!"
At this moment, Zhou Hao gave off the feeling of complete control.
Fastballs.
Breaking Balls.
Even bait pitches designed specifically to lure swings.
Everything was perfectly under his command.
To the ordinary supporters of Inashiro Industrial, the situation still wasn't hopeless.
After all, their players could at least make contact with Zhou Hao's pitches.
And as long as contact existed, there was always a chance.
But the knowledgeable players understood something far more terrifying.
From Zhou Hao, they felt an unprecedented sense of danger.
As long as he stood on the mound, it felt impossible to even sleep peacefully.
He was simply too terrifying.
In their eyes, Zhou Hao radiated overwhelming pressure from head to toe.
Standing on an entirely different level, he manipulated the players of Inashiro Industrial with ease.
The Sixth Batter had only just returned to the dugout when he met the icy warning gaze of Coach Kunimoto.
Instantly, his body stiffened.
Only now did he realize his mistake.
How could free opportunities possibly fall from the sky so easily?
Especially when the opportunity had been deliberately handed to him by Zhou Hao himself.
The meaning behind it was obvious.
It had been a poisoned bait from the very beginning.
And the moment he took it, there had only ever been one outcome.
Originally, he could have forced Zhou Hao to throw at least three pitches.
Instead, he had been retired after only one.
Although Zhou Hao had thrown several high-velocity Fastballs against Narumiya Mei earlier, his overall stamina consumption that inning remained surprisingly low.
On the surface, the Sixth Batter's swing didn't seem like a major mistake.
But in reality, he had helped Zhou Hao conserve energy.
A little saved here.
A little saved there.
By the end of the game, who would come out on top?
That answer suddenly became uncertain once again.
"Too cunning..."
Now that he thought back on it, the Ace of Seido's second-year generation felt less like an ordinary pitcher and more like a terrifying schemer.
The Sixth Batter honestly didn't even know how to evaluate Zhou Hao anymore.
One thing, however, was certain.
This was a pitcher with overwhelming strength—and absolutely no mercy.
Defeating him would never be easy.
In today's game, Inashiro Industrial might not gain any advantage at all.
Bottom of the second inning.
The Seido High School Baseball Team came up to bat.
Stepping into the Batter's Box first was Seido's cleanup hitter.
"Fourth Batter, Number 3, First Baseman—Yuki Tetsuya!"
As Seido's captain and one of the most famous Batters in the country, Yuki Tetsuya's batting ability was every bit as terrifying as Zhou Hao's.
The instant he stepped into the Batter's Box, the players and supporters of Inashiro Industrial subconsciously held their breath.
Narumiya Mei wanted to overwhelm his opponents the same way Zhou Hao did—
Using absolute pitching dominance.
And aside from dealing with Zhou Hao himself, the biggest obstacle standing before him was Yuki Tetsuya.
Only by shutting down Seido's captain could Narumiya Mei keep pace with Zhou Hao.
And only then would Inashiro Industrial have a chance to win this game.