Chapter 834 — Genius Shu

At this thought, a cold sweat broke out on Zhen Yingjun's forehead. He was a somewhat superstitious man, and seeing something so bizarre, he instinctively began to wonder whether some unclean thing was at work here.

Gu Mengyao was puzzled too, hardly believing that she had made that shot herself. She shifted her gaze from the billiard table to Wei Zhao's face, hoping to spot some clue—but Wei Zhao still wore that leisurely, unhurried look, both hands resting on the table as if he had done nothing at all.

Yet though on the surface Wei Zhao seemed above suspicion, Gu Mengyao knew very well that he was, in fact, deeply suspect.

"Yay! Sister Yaoyao, you're amazing too—you're a match for a genius like me, Shu!" Shen Yushu cried out excitedly.

Zhen Yingjun's face was grim. He refused to believe in any such nonsense. How could he, the vice chairman of the Donghai City Billiards Association, possibly lose to two beginners? Seeing that only three of Gu Mengyao's balls remained on the table, Zhen Yingjun could not help growing anxious: he could not let Gu Mengyao and the others sink another ball!

Fortunately, the rule they had set beforehand was one shot per player, with no continuation—so whether or not a ball went in, no one got to shoot twice in a row.

Now it was Zhen Yingjun's turn, and this time he dared not let his guard down. He had not taken it seriously before, and had produced a jump shot—but he remembered using no great strength at all. Had he simply been distracted at the time?

This time Zhen Yingjun was careful, applying ordinary force as he struck the cue ball. Yet the cue ball went "whoosh" once more, flying off as a jump shot and hurtling toward the people on the opposite side.

"Bang!" This time it did not strike anyone's face, but slammed into a muscular man's chest, drawing a yelp of "Aiyo!" The man clapped a hand to his chest and jabbed a furious finger at Zhen Yingjun. "You little punk, do you even know how to play? Are you doing that on purpose? First you hit someone else, and now you hit me? Have you got eyes in your head?"

Zhen Yingjun was rather dumbfounded too. Since when had he become so monstrously strong? He had struck the ball with perfect ordinariness—how had it turned into a jump shot? How had it flown off again and hit someone? But he truly had not used much force!

"This..." Zhen Yingjun had no idea what was going on either. He felt sure he had used no great strength—so what on earth was happening?

"What? You dare do it but not own up to it? Cat got your tongue?" the muscular man pressed, relentless.

Zhen Yingjun glanced at him and thought to himself: a fellow like you, back in Donghai I'd have had someone finish you off with a word—and you dare act tough with me? But this was Songshan City, and he did not care to stir up trouble. Frowning, he cursed his bad luck, pulled out his wallet, and counted out another three thousand yuan for the man. "Sorry about that, it wasn't intentional. Consider this medical expenses..."

"That's more like it!" In truth, the muscular man was only after money. He had thick, tough skin anyway, and his injury was much lighter than that of the man whose face had been struck earlier—just a bit of bruising, nothing to speak of at all. But having seen Zhen Yingjun pay to smooth things over before, how could he pass up such a fine chance to shake a man down?

"All right, my turn again!" Shen Yushu excitedly took up another cue ball and placed it on the table. "You really are something—two jump shots in a row, such difficult shots, truly impressive!"

"I suppose so," Zhen Yingjun said, somewhat peevishly. "As if you could make one if I let you try!"

"Even if I could, I wouldn't," Shen Yushu retorted, curling her lip and fixing Zhen Yingjun with a look of utter scorn. "I'd have to pay compensation if I hit someone!"

"Hmph! If you can make one, and you hurt someone, I'll cover it!" How could Zhen Yingjun believe that Shen Yushu could produce a jump shot too? That was simply impossible.

"Really? If I hit someone, it's on you?" Shen Yushu asked.

"That's right—this is a jump shot. Without years of billiards experience, it's impossible to make one!" To salvage his dignity, Zhen Yingjun had no choice but to dress up his blunder as a professional, high-difficulty technique.

"Fine. But since jump shots are the order of the day, I can't very well shoot anything else. If I make a jump shot, you have to count it as one of my balls sunk," Shen Yushu said. "Deal?"

"Deal! No problem—as long as you make a jump shot, I'll count it as one ball sunk." Zhen Yingjun did not believe for a moment that Shen Yushu could make one. "But if you can't make it, then what?"

"Then... I'll put one of my own colored balls back," Shen Yushu said after a moment's thought. She was not afraid of failing to make the shot, because she did not believe for a second that Zhen Yingjun had produced those two jump shots himself. In her eyes, it had to be the doing of Arrow-Brand Brother—so if he could make such a shot, then so could she. That was why Shen Yushu did not mind gambling with Zhen Yingjun at all!

"Good—it's settled! Go ahead and shoot!" Zhen Yingjun was rather pleased with himself, thinking: work yourself to death, you'll never make a jump shot!

"I'm a kindhearted sort, and I can't bear to hit an innocent bystander. So—how about I take aim at you?" Shen Yushu said, lining up the cue ball in Zhen Yingjun's direction.

"Hmph, suit yourself! Hit me if you like—then I won't have to pay a cent!" Zhen Yingjun said indifferently. How could he possibly believe Shen Yushu could hit him? Unless she threw the ball with her hand, it was impossible to do with a cue.

Shen Yushu offered no reply. She simply took aim at Zhen Yingjun and sent the cue ball flying.

With a "whoosh," the cue ball leapt into the air once more, hurtling straight for Zhen Yingjun's face!

Zhen Yingjun had never imagined Shen Yushu could pull off a jump shot, so he did not dodge at all. By the time he realized something was wrong, it was far too late—the cue ball smacked into his forehead with a loud "bang," raising a great lump there and leaving him so dizzy he nearly pitched headlong to the floor.

"Aah!" Zhen Yingjun let out a miserable howl. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible—this can't be real! You can't possibly have made a jump shot!"

The onlookers burst into a roar of laughter. Was Zhen Yingjun really such a fool? If he could make a shot like that, why couldn't she? And now look—he had finally tasted the fruits of his own arrogance! With that great lump swelling on his head, the man had only himself to blame.

Yet a chill crept through Zou Ruoguang's body... To his mind, this was plainly Master Lin's power at work—how else could such bizarre, unnatural phenomena occur? Three jump shots in a row—even in professional matches, that was rarely seen.