Chapter Three: The Last-Place Club's Secret Adviser

“I don't care what you're hiding. I care whether your judgments are repeatable—and whether they'll get a player hurt.” Tang entered with a box of old headsets. “Enough interrogation. He sits with the team tonight against the Nangang Whales. Give him basic data access.” The Whales had finished third last year. Their starter, Han Yue, was a two-time All-Star. The Tides started Du Feng, an aging pitcher returning from injury. Pregame models put Haizhou's win probability at seventeen percent. The park carried separate Mandarin and English commentary feeds. Cheng routed one into each ear. The familiar needle-prick arrived as soon as they overlapped.