Chapter Three: A Three-Million-Yuan Slap

He waited while the crowd jeered. At two in the host's countdown, Lu turned and struck the ball at an advertising board behind him. It rebounded onto a roof beam, passed behind the fan instead of approaching its face, then arced over the spectators and rolled into the cup. First ball: in. “The rule says through the fan,” Lu told the pale host. “It doesn't say from the front.” The bell for the second ball was the size of a fist, swinging between four air jets. Possible paths filled Lu's vision until darkness pulsed at its edges. The gold route split in two. One struck the bell but missed the cup. The other entered the cup without touching the bell. Under current conditions, the goal had no solution.