Chapter One: The Man Who Lost Color

The corner defender stared at the ball. Zhou signaled Yellow Hair, who cut despite his surprise. The pass skimmed the center's ear. One point. Then Zhou stopped behind the line and scored. Nine-five. “Defensive Forecast activated. Synchronization: twelve percent.” No arrows appeared, but Zhou could feel where each defender wanted to step. He kept passing to the least trusted teammate. Glasses hit the corner; Yellow Hair finished a fake. Nine-nine. The red guard rammed Zhou aside. As the center rose, old instinct told Zhou to protect the rim, but he saw the corner player retreating. Bait. Zhou stopped and spun. The pass came exactly there. He tipped it away, Yellow Hair recovered—and passed back instead of forcing a shot. “One more!”