Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 268 (Patreon)

Chapter 268: Now There Is a Chance

At the start, Netero's first serve was aimed to Luo's right side, but with a twist, both balls ended up being straight.

Conversely, Luo's first ball was straight, but his second not only involved a feint, but also was not straight.

This is the change brought about by the twist; be it the stance or the perspective, both players did not want to lose, or rather, wanted to win.

Not to mention why Netero's serve could explode upon Luo catching it, but Luo's serve, which contained a feint, utilized a very fluid 'Ryu' technique.

That ball emphasized 'going with the flow'!

If the right hand hitting the ball was not merely a feint, but actually changed direction suddenly, sending the ball to the other side, such a move against the flow would not allow the ball's power to be fully exerted.

Therefore, to go with the flow, one could only use the left hand to hit the ball after the feint.

Luo did just that, and his 'Ryu' provided ample support for the ball, unfortunately, he was facing an old monster, so the ball did not achieve its intended effect.

Although it failed, it did let Netero discover some highlights.

Bisky and her group entered the martial arts room, watching the two players inside maintaining the release of 'Ken', faintly perceiving the confrontational atmosphere.

Something seemed off...

This was no longer just post-meal entertainment; it was evident that Luo and Netero both harbored a strong desire to win.

They were unaware that a twist had been added to the match, so they were surprised by the scene before them, and they tactfully moved aside, trying not to disturb the atmosphere.

The room had more people now, and Luo, seemingly oblivious to Bisky and the others, had his mind solely on winning.

To win, one had to do two things: catch the ball and serve to break through Netero's defense, between them, catching the ball was more important.

As long as he could reliably catch the ball, he would always have a chance to attack!

However, the rule was to make the opponent fail to catch the ball, so it was not necessary to use both hands to catch it, one could also focus all their energy on the field, and then calmly catch the ball.

With this in mind, Luo took a deep breath, concentrated, and adjusted his state to the best condition.

He threw the ball up and served!

This time, he infused more energy into the volleyball, rather than focusing on increasing the power and speed in his hands.

This motive, on one hand, was to hope that the ball would explode when it reached Netero's hands, and on the other hand, to observe how the energy gathered between Netero's hands circulated.

Bang!

Whether Netero saw through Luo's intentions is unknown, but this time, he didn't catch the ball; instead, he hammered it back, completely denying Luo any chance to observe.

Seeing this, Luo immediately deployed his highest intensity field, attempting to stop the powerful ball in front of him.

His will to stop the ball was extremely firm, and the aura he emitted responded accordingly.

The volleyball paused half a meter in front of Luo, to be precise, it didn't completely stop because while the ball remained suspended in mid-air, its rotation did not cease.

This was a bizarre phenomenon; a volleyball hovered in front of Luo, but the force of its rotation did not diminish.

Seeing this, Luo frowned deeply, before he could think further, he saw the volleyball break through the field's confinement and head straight for him.

Luo was startled but managed to catch the volleyball with both hands in time.

However, he had almost all his energy focused on the field a moment ago, so when he hastily caught the ball, there wasn't much energy left in his hands, and in an instant, his hands were injured.

Fortunately, the power of the volleyball was much reduced by the field, so even though there wasn't much energy in Luo's hands, the rotating ball didn't cause his fingers to break.

This time, the volleyball did not explode immediately; it remained firm in Luo's hands for more than ten seconds before it finally exploded belatedly.

Luo fumbled again, bringing the score to three-zero.

"The third ball."

Netero quickly grabbed a new volleyball, his demeanor as calm as ever.

Compared to a well-prepared serve, hastily returning the ball with an added high-speed rotation made it even more challenging, but it seemed easy for Netero.

Netero tossed the volleyball to Luo, who caught it but did not serve immediately.

Three more balls, that was the distance to failure.

"So it's like this..."

Luo pondered the differences between this ball and the previous ones, then slowly raised

 his head, revealing a smile.

"You've noticed, huh?" Netero's expression remained unchanged.

What Luo had noticed was not just that the volleyball would explode; the phenomenon of breaking through the field had actually alerted him to the danger, essentially revealing the field's weakness through this ball.

Traditionally, fields could stop many bullets, even rocket-propelled grenades, and many long-range attacks imbued with Nen could also be halted by the field, but it was broken by Netero's returning serve.

The ball was the medium, and aura was the booster, that was the relationship between the two, but Netero's ball reversed this relationship, and that was the reason for breaking through the field and the ball's explosion upon catching.

Usually, when catching the ball steadily, one would first neutralize the booster, but in Netero's hands, the ball became the booster, meaning that Luo's inertial thinking to neutralize the booster actually destroyed the ball.

Also, breaking through the field confirmed a principle, that the outcome of a clash of Nen ultimately depended on the Nen itself.

"My turn."

Luo looked at Netero, his thoughts stirring to a conclusion. Ignoring the minor injuries on his hands, he prepared to serve.

He threw the ball up and hit it!

No feints, no tricks, just a straightforward serve like Netero's.

With a hypothesis in mind, now was the time for verification!

Although there were no conditions for experimentation, Luo still wanted to try.

Bang!

The ball, wrapped in abundant Nen, shot out towards Chairman Netero.

The operation might seem rough, but Luo succeeded on the first attempt.

Netero narrowed his eyes slightly, catching the volleyball with both hands. Three seconds later, during its rotation, the ball exploded.

However, at the moment of explosion, Netero's hands and his entire body remained as immovable as a mountain, unlike Luo, who was pushed back by the explosion's force.

"The first ball."

Seeing the results, Luo's smile brightened considerably.

The score was now three to one.

Netero said nothing but extended his thumb, giving Luo high praise.

In fact, he could have prevented the ball from exploding, but to let Luo verify his results, he deliberately caught it in a regular manner.

As seen just now, the volleyball exploded, and he lost a point.

Having discovered a method of response and also a method of attack, it could be said to be well-rounded in both offense and defense.

"From now on, I won't hold back."

Netero grabbed a new ball and gave Luo a friendly reminder.

Luo didn't speak, but the energy flowing through his body clearly told Netero: bring it on!

It was still a very ordinary-looking serve, but the rapidly flying ball was extraordinary.

This time, Luo again chose the field, but this field was quite different from before.

The task was not to neutralize the booster, but to neutralize Netero's energy!

The volleyball was once again stopped by the field in mid-air, and this time, its rotation did not weaken, but the ball did not break through the field again.

It worked...!

Just as Luo was excited about overcoming the weakness, the ball exploded again, this time the explosion's force was stronger than before, blowing him away.

Outside the court, the spectators were slightly shocked, but they did not rashly enter the court.

Luo flew backwards several meters before sliding on the ground for a few more meters, finally coming to a slow stop.

He lay on the ground, spread out in a 'big' character shape.

"The fourth ball."

Netero stroked his beard, announcing the score was approaching match point, his attitude changing as he felt that the next two balls probably wouldn't be so easy.

Interesting, interesting!

His blood temperature seemed to be rising.

Ever since that kid Ging no longer wanted to play with him, it had been a while since he had this kind of experience.

The next two balls, indeed, were not so easy to score.

Luo lay on the ground, laughing out loud despite being at a complete disadvantage in the score.

This game, which he initially thought was boring, had completely piqued his interest at this moment!

Indeed, whether something is boring depends on the opponent.

The opponent is Netero, the chairman of the Hunter Association, the strongest man half a century ago, the founder of the Heart Source Style.

Interacting with such a being, whether it's playing ball or even exchanging insults, is worth cherishing and seizing.

Luo suppressed his laughter and then stood up.

His fighting spirit, his interest, had reached their peak.

At this moment, Netero tossed the ball over to him.

Luo caught the ball in front of everyone and asked, "Do you think I have a chance to win?"

Netero was silent for a moment before saying, "Now you do."

Meaning that before, there was no chance of victory, but now there is.

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