Chapter 836 — Big Bang

"This isn't backing down. That was simply a courtesy earlier, but this third game is the deciding one, so I can't keep being courteous any longer!" Zhen Yingjun argued in his defense.

"Ha..." The onlookers burst into laughter. If this wasn't backing down, then what was? Earlier he had assumed they were beginners and easy to bully, and had talked big; now that he saw how formidable they were, he no longer wished to be courteous. This was plainly going back on his word, so how could it be anything but backing down?

Their laughter made Zhen Yingjun flush a little red, but for the sake of his reputation, he did not mind being mocked. Otherwise, if he, the dignified vice chairman of the Donghai City Billiards Association, were to be defeated by two nameless beginners, it would be utterly humiliating! If word got out, he would be laughed to death by everyone who knew him!

So today all he would lose was a little face before a small crowd—far better than losing face before a large one!

Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu were rather angry as well. This man had clearly seen through their strategy, and if that was the case, they could no longer have one person move the cue ball while the other took the shots!

"Oh, since you're changing the rules, then I'll change them too. Otherwise it wouldn't be fair to us!" Shen Yushu rolled her eyes and hit upon a wonderful idea.

"What rule do you want to change?" Zhen Yingjun asked.

"This time, we won't separate the suits. Whoever pots more balls wins. How about that?" Shen Yushu said.

"Fine. Are you sure you agree to what I said earlier?" Zhen Yingjun was slightly taken aback. In his heart he thought, what good would this change of Shen Yushu's do? Even if he no longer allowed Shen Yushu to move the cue ball, and Gu Mengyao kept playing the same way, then not separating the suits would only make it a little more convenient for them to find their targets when playing. Nothing important, surely?

Zhen Yingjun merely took Shen Yushu's proposal as a second-best compromise. Without separating the suits, they would not need to move the cue ball to hunt for their own suit—they could just play the balls directly! But did she really think they could pot the balls by playing them directly?

"Agreed. So who breaks first?" Shen Yushu nodded in assent.

"I'll go first. I gave you two games already, so it's about time I had a break myself!" Without another word, Zhen Yingjun stepped up and made ready to break.

The crowd watching regarded Zhen Yingjun with even greater contempt. Earlier he had thought they were beginners and easy to bully, so he had arrogantly conceded the games to them; now that he sensed they were formidable, he no longer conceded. This man truly had a thick skin!

Because he had used too much force the two previous times, Zhen Yingjun decided to reduce his strength a little more this time—as long as the cue ball did not jump, that would do. Now that the suits were not separated, it was even more advantageous to him, because on the break he could sink a ball outright.

Zhen Yingjun reduced the force he had used before by a little more and then struck. He thought, with this much force, it should be normal now, shouldn't it?

This time the result was within Zhen Yingjun's expectations. The cue ball did not fly off again, and this time it was not a jump shot either, but the cue ball merely crept forward a tiny distance and then stopped dead.

"Huh?" Zhen Yingjun was dumbfounded. What was going on? Why had the cue ball stopped without moving? Had he used too little force this time? Impossible—it was only a little less than before, so how could the difference be so great? Earlier he had produced a jump shot, and this time the cue ball only crept forward a few centimeters?

Zhen Yingjun rubbed his eyes, wanting to see whether he was seeing things. But he was not seeing things, because this time Wei Zhao had not "helped" him, had not added any energy for him, so he had simply struck with his own natural strength.

With the force he had used, he could only send the cue ball that far.

"Hahahaha!" Shen Yushu burst out laughing. She pointed at the cue ball Zhen Yingjun had struck, laughing so hard her stomach ached. "I let you break first, and it's as if you didn't even shoot!"

"I just missed my shot, that's all!" Zhen Yingjun's face reddened, though in his heart he had no idea what on earth had gone wrong.

"Missed?" Shen Yushu clearly did not believe his explanation, but she said nothing more. She walked to the edge of the table and told Zhen Yingjun, "All right, I'm going to clear the table in one run!"

"Clear it in one run?" Zhen Yingjun was startled. How could that be? He said hurriedly, "Isn't there a rule against running the table?"

"I didn't say I'd run the table. If I hit another elastic shot, won't that clear it in one run?" Shen Yushu looked at Zhen Yingjun as though he were an idiot.

Zhen Yingjun was struck dumb. He finally understood what Shen Yushu had meant about not separating the suits—so this girl had been planning to hit another elastic shot! Because that earlier elastic shot had been so utterly unbelievable, Zhen Yingjun had never once imagined Shen Yushu could produce another one like it! And when Shen Yushu proposed changing the rules, he had not thought along those lines at all. Only now did he realize what Shen Yushu had been scheming when she changed the rules!

But could she really hit a bouncy ball again? Zhen Yingjun was somewhat doubtful. After all, the bouncy ball already went beyond the bounds of billiards knowledge. A jump shot from Shen Yushu was at least possible, but a bouncy ball—even a world-class professional billiards player might not be able to pull that off!

"You can hit another bouncy ball?" Zhen Yingjun asked, somewhat unconvinced.

"I don't know if I can either, but trying should be about right, no?" Shen Yushu blinked, then raised both hands and cried, "Arrow Brand Brother, please grant me strength!"

Hearing this, Gu Mengyao nearly doubled over laughing, and Wei Zhao was likewise at a loss for words!

Fortunately, the people around them had no idea what Shen Yushu was saying and assumed she was reciting some words of encouragement for herself. Everyone knew that some athletes would shout out things others could not understand before a move—like weightlifters, who in the instant they hoisted the barbell would also call out words to spur themselves on.

After Shen Yushu's invocation, she struck the cue ball. The cue ball itself was quite unremarkable; it casually bumped into a solid-colored ball and then stopped.

It had no follow-through. Just as everyone thought Shen Yushu could not possibly produce another bouncy ball, and Zhen Yingjun heaved a sigh of relief, the ball the cue ball had struck seemed to erupt like a miniature universe, suddenly brimming with power, ricocheting wildly across the billiards table...

The bouncy ball was born once again!

That ball seemed tireless, ceaselessly careening around the billiards table. Of course, if only one ball was bouncy, that would still be nothing, since such an incredible thing had already happened once before. The key issue was that the present situation was even more astonishing beyond measure!