"The game is over! The game is over!"

"10 to 4! The pinnacle duel of the first round, the victor is the Senbatsu champion, Waseda Real!"

"Their journey continues! The golden road of spring and summer domination still extends—this match was truly spectacular, perhaps the most exciting one of this Summer League so far!"

"In fact, Teikyo High School's performance in this match was already quite good—but unfortunately, their summer ends here!"

"The new era Heisei monster is continuously marching towards building an immortal legacy—while Teikyo, the former two-time Summer League champion, regretfully becomes the backdrop."

This is competitive sports: putting aside the passionate youthful and heartwarming daily stories, the moment the official match arrives, a winner means another will be the loser—the path to the victor ascending to the peak is destined to be paved over the bones of the defeated.

When the air raid siren signaling the end of the match sounded again, the players of Teikyo High School were already crying uncontrollably: before arriving at Koshien, they were full of ambition and passion, vowing to achieve great things this summer and restore their school's glory;

But now, less than a week after arriving in Hyogo, they must pack their bags tonight and embark on the journey home.

Especially for the two pitchers of Teikyo, if second-year Ishikura Masaya still has opportunities and is temporarily unable to accept defeat; then third-year ace Itou Takuro is immersed in endless sorrow—as the team's ace, being hit by the opponent's batters for three home runs in one game, this nightmare will likely haunt him in countless midnight dreams in the future.

Standing beside Itou Takuro, Teikyo's captain Matsuboto Gou wiped the remaining sweat and tears off his face with his sleeve, but could not stop the tears from flowing from his eyes:

As the team's captain and cleanup hitter, he believed he had given it his all in this match—all of Teikyo's scores were related to him, and his defense in the shortstop area was almost impregnable—yet ultimately, they still lost, forced to stand here and watch their opponents sing the school song, while quietly swallowing the bitter result of being eliminated in the first round.

After expressing their thanks to the cheering audience in the stands, Teikyo's players returned to their dugout, taking out bags of soil from their gear bags, and knelt in a row at the front of the resting area, beginning the post-match soil collecting ritual while crying.

Beside them were the constantly flashing camera lenses and reporters—more than the victors, Japanese people often favor the stories of the defeated, especially in Koshien events, experiencing the emotions of losing players after the match is an indispensable element for Takano Ren's audience.

On the other side of the field, Waseda Real, having finished singing the school song and the appreciation ceremony, quickly packed up their things, ready to leave the field as soon as possible and go back for post-match recovery.

The further Koshien advances, the higher the demands on the players' physical condition and stamina reserve, so after each match, the coaching staff must strictly monitor the players' physical status to prevent unforeseen player reductions before the start of a match, which could disrupt formations.

Reaching the entrance of the players' tunnel, the next match's school was also waiting there—Lin Guanglai glanced at the front of their uniforms: it was the players representing Yamanashi Gakuin University from Yamanashi.

Just standing there, Lin Guanglai could feel the strange sensation of being watched from behind, and from time to time, the murmurs of Yamanashi Gakuin players reached his ears.

"Four consecutive home runs—Is this really the level of a high school player? It's too unfair!"

"Hmm, thank goodness our captain lucked out—drawing Teikyo, a powerhouse, and still hitting four consecutive home runs, if they drew us, wouldn't they hit even more?"

"Ahem—even if we consider Waseda Real, that's something to discuss after they win today's game; don't forget, our opponent is Hanamaki East from Iwate! Their strength isn't weak either!"

Until Yamanashi Gakuin's captain put a stop to his team's behavior, the discussions targeting Lin Guanglai gradually calmed down.

Waseda Real's other players were taken to the locker room by Takano Ren staff, but Lin Guanglai clearly wasn't so lucky: as soon as he set his left foot into the interview zone, the cameras were already thrust into his face, and the reporters flocked to him as if they had spotted a rare animal.

"Player Lin, four straight at-bat home runs, the highest single-game home run record in Summer League history, the highest single-game RBI record in history—how do you feel right now? Do you have anything to say?"

"Player Lin, what is your batting secret? How did you improve so quickly?"

"Player Lin, between Hanamaki East and Yamanashi Gakuin, which opponent would you prefer to face in the next round?"

"Player Lin..."

"Player Lin..."

"Player Lin..."

Even though Lin Guanglai already had ample experience with interviews, he was still taken aback by this scene; the reporters bombarded him with questions, and he had to answer each one one after the other, barely coping with these overly enthusiastic journalists.

When the staff rescued him from the "sea of bitterness," Lin Guanglai almost wanted to cry: he would rather go play another game than face these frenzied reporters again—who, during interviews, almost wanted to consume Lin Guanglai completely, leaving no privacy or secrets intact.

And after finishing the routine post-match interview, Lin Guanglai was led by Asahi to the production team for "Hot Battle Koshien"—after all, having such a big star, Asahi couldn't pass up the opportunity to promote him well.

Last summer, Kuriyama Hideki, who hosted the program, had already accepted an invitation from the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, becoming the new manager of the professional team; and this year's successor who became the new host of the program is no small figure indeed, even achieving much more than Kuriyama Hideki during his player career.

"Mr. Kodama?!" Seeing the all-too-familiar face at that moment, Lin Guanglai was genuinely surprised—after all, the visitor was the famous Kodama Komei!

This renowned pitcher, who once played for the powerful Seibu Lions, Daiei Hawks, and Yomiuri Giants in his career, is known as the "Champion Contractor"—with a career featuring 14 league championships and 11 Japan's Number One titles, he still holds the record for the most strikeouts in the history of the Japan Series, undoubtedly a legendary pitcher among legendary pitchers.

Not just team honors, in terms of personal awards, Kodama Komei's career features 18 awards, including Gold Glove, Best Nine, Matsutaro Shoriki Award, Japan Series MVP, and many others; his career 2859 strikeouts further display his absolute prowess as a pitcher.

From this Hall of Fame-level pitcher, Lin Guanglai also received some advice and many experiences regarding pitching—this trip to the Hot Battle Koshien proved to be quite rewarding for him.

As the conversation between the two of vastly different ages hit a high note, the outside public discussion also erupted completely.

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