Chapter 113: Are You Serious About Fighting Me with That?

“Hey, brother, want to play a game?”

A voice sounded.

Hearing someone speak to him, Bai Qingming was momentarily taken aback.

He looked up and saw a person whose face was obscured by a mask addressing him.

“You want to play against me?”

Bai Qingming confirmed.

He had originally wanted to test his newly acquired skill with two elderly men nearby, but they completely ignored him.

Just as he was about to give up and go find his buddy, someone approached him instead.

Alright then.

He just wanted to experiment a little; it didn’t matter who he played against.

“Alright, let’s play.”

Bai Qingming agreed.

Upon receiving his answer, Zhang Ke pulled out a racket he always carried.

Then he suddenly remembered something and added,

“By the way, are you good at ping pong?”

Hearing this, Bai Qingming thought for a moment.

Since he hadn’t tested the ‘All-round Athlete’ special skill yet and wasn’t sure how reliable it was, it was better to stay humble.

That way, losing wouldn’t be too embarrassing.

So he replied,

“I’m really strong!”

When he said those words, even Bai Qingming was surprised.

He had intended to say he was average, but somehow the words that came out were “really strong,” sounding arrogant and almost asking for a beating.

If he lost after that, it would be a slap in the face.

Well, there was nothing to do now; he could only hope his opponent was weak and the system’s skill was dependable.

Meanwhile, Zhang Ke’s assistant was close by and heard everything clearly, as did the fans in his livestream chat.

The comment section was buzzing.

“This guy’s got spunk.”

“Trying to act tough in front of a world champion? This might be the highlight of his life.”

“That’s nothing. If I were him, I’d be even more cocky!”

“Hope he doesn’t end up crying from the big boss’s beating.”

Honestly, the fans were now excited to see what would happen next.

Zhang Ke’s eyes lit up, filled with delight.

Bai Qingming’s response was exactly what he wanted.

It’s not the arrogance that scares me; it’s the lack of it!

The more arrogant, the faster the comeback, the more entertaining for the fans, and the better the livestream’s engagement.

“Alright, big guy, go easy on me. I’m a newbie, just started playing ping pong, not very good.”

Zhang Ke feigned modesty.

Hearing this, Bai Qingming immediately relaxed.

A newbie, huh? No problem then.

“Sure thing, I’ll go easy on you.”

“Thanks, big guy. Let’s play with a scoring system—one point per rally, first to ten wins.”

Zhang Ke had already planned the next part of the show.

He would pretend to be a beginner, deliberately lose to let Bai Qingming reach nine points.

When it was 0-9, and Bai Qingming thought he had the game in the bag and started getting cocky, Zhang Ke would reveal his true skill and put on a show.

Once Bai Qingming was utterly beaten and on the brink of losing his mind, Zhang Ke would take off his mask and reveal his identity as the world champion.

As expected, Bai Qingming would cover his mouth and scream in awe, looking at him with admiration.

Finally, Zhang Ke would tell him it was all live on stream.

Then they’d greet the fans together, take a photo, sign autographs, and exchange some encouraging but cliché words like “Well played, keep it up” and “Keep going, you’ve got this.”

Thinking about it, the whole scenario was entertaining.

“Let’s get started.”

Zhang Ke spoke, eager to begin.

But just then, Bai Qingming suddenly interrupted.

“Wait a moment.”

“What’s up?”

Zhang Ke was puzzled.

Bai Qingming spread his hands.

“I don’t have a racket!”

Only then did Zhang Ke realize Bai Qingming had nothing in his hands.

The problem was, besides the ping pong ball, Zhang Ke only had one racket.

The elderly men playing nearby were deeply engaged and unwilling to lend theirs, and no one had any extras.

Awkward.

Bai Qingming glanced around.

“No worries, I have a plan.”

With that, he turned and left.

When he returned, he held a piece of cardboard about the size of a ping pong paddle.

It was the kind of cardboard older folks in the park used to sit on when they were tired, avoiding the dirty ground.

“Since I can’t find a racket, I’ll use this instead.”

Bai Qingming waved the cardboard in his hand.

Since the other person admitted he was a newbie, it didn’t matter what he used, and this felt pretty handy.

However, when Zhang Ke saw the cardboard, his eyes froze, and he was stunned on the spot.

What was this?

Playing ping pong with a piece of cardboard?

Did he look down on him?

At that moment, Zhang Ke felt humiliated.

Who did he think he was?

That fat guy?

Trying to control his emotions, Zhang Ke took a deep breath and asked slowly,

“Are you serious?”

“Of course.”

Bai Qingming nodded casually.

But to Zhang Ke, the tone was dripping with mockery, as if saying, “You’re trash; I can still beat you with a piece of cardboard.”

At once, the chat exploded.

“Haha, even the big boss has his day.”

“666, this guy is the king of cockiness!”

“My grandpa said he lived to a hundred and never saw anyone so full of himself. In his day, this kind of arrogance would get you dunked in a pig cage!”

“Hasn’t even started, and the big boss already lost half the battle.”

“Maybe this guy already recognized the big boss’s identity, knows he’s going to lose, so he’s trying to win by acting tough?”

“Maybe he really has the skill?”

One fan dared to say.

The next moment, the chat shifted, and a crowd began attacking that fan.

“Do you even know who Zhang Ke is? Need me to explain?”

“If this guy wins, I’ll shrink my little brother by ten centimeters from now on.”

“Watch your mouth! You can’t just say things like that!”

“Wake up, you don’t have ten centimeters anyway.”

“Come on, no one really thinks you can challenge a pro with just a hobby, right?”

At this point, the fans were saying all sorts of things.

Without exception, they all thought Bai Qingming was way too arrogant and needed to be taught a lesson.

After a moment, Zhang Ke calmed down.

Never expected that the first time he played the “play dumb to fool the strong” game, he’d run into something like this.

Interesting. Truly interesting.

“You serve first.”

Without another word, Zhang Ke tossed the ball to Bai Qingming.

“Alright.”

Bai Qingming accepted the ball without hesitation.

But instead of serving immediately, he stood still, closed his eyes, and focused on feeling the ‘All-round Athlete’ special skill within him.

After a moment of concentration, he felt as if he had mastered it.

He glanced at the elderly men playing nearby and observed their serve.

Mimicking their motion, Bai Qingming tossed the ball high into the air.

Smack!

The next moment, the ping pong ball whistled through the air.

What seemed like an ordinary shot left Zhang Ke utterly stunned.

He blinked, and the ball bounced in front of him before flying out of bounds.

“Good game!”

Bai Qingming said.

In that instant, Zhang Ke was thrown into chaos.