When Ooshima from Chiben Gakuen Junior & Senior High School's second baseman failed to make the double play at first base, allowing the third batter Kenshu Yasuda to safely reach base, the entirety of Koshien Stadium erupted in jubilant cheers.

Two outs, bases loaded, and up next was the extraordinary high school-level hitter Lin Guanglai, who has already hit 6 home runs in the tournament so far, setting a new record since 93 years ago—just the thought of what might happen next was enough to send waves of excitement through the spectators in the stands.

"Fourth batter! Lin Guanglai!! He's here!!!"

Marked by the excited voice of the sports commentator, Lin Guanglai stepped out from the dugout, slowly moving towards the home plate—his steps were firm and steady, his expression serious and focused; his handsome face alongside the black and gold metal bat in his hand shimmered brilliantly under the summer sun.

As he made his way towards the batting area near home plate, the live signal from Asahi TV was reviewing the spectacular performance of his 6 home runs in the previous three games—such dazzling footage also stirred the emotions of the viewers in front of their TVs, making them feel as if they were about to witness history once again.

Meanwhile, the stadium PA announced again:

"Fourth batter, pitcher, Mr. Lin!"

"Fourth batter, pitcher, Mr. Lin!"

Many of the spectators in the stands had already stood up—some of them took out their cameras, setting them up before focusing their lenses on Lin Guanglai; the girls gazed at the tall silhouette at home plate, their eyes revealing complex emotions.

The hearts of countless people were stirred by him alone, the entire stadium's fans spellbound because of him.

Seeing this, the commentator couldn't help but remark:

"Bottom of the seventh inning, two outs, bases loaded, coming up for Waseda Industries is their star player, the extraordinary high school-level monster, Lin Guanglai."

"This is Lin Guanglai's fourth at-bat in today's game—his previous trips to the plate resulted in two hits, one being out, and 1 run batted in; such performance naturally qualifies as competent, even excellent, for any regular fourth batter."

"But I believe, for Lin Guanglai, who boldly declared before the game that he hopes to hit another home run today, this is merely his ordinary level of play—and now, once again, the opportunity is before him, how will this super hitter, who has hit 6 home runs in the previous three games, perform in this at-bat?"

"Dear spectators, let's watch closely together—perhaps this will be another moment when new history is made."

At the same time as the commentator was stirring emotions, Ono Yohei on the pitcher's mound began his pitching motion.

Outside the player area near first base, Chiben Gakuen's coach Kosaka Shosang stood with his hands on his hips, looking stern: Actually, even before this at-bat, he had been hesitant about whether to change pitchers—after all, judging from the previous at-bats, Ono Yohei was almost at the end of his tether facing the pressure from Waseda's batters, letting him continue pitching might lead to disaster;

However, switching out the ace at this point, the second pitcher who'd come in hasn't had much time to warm up, what if he collapses under pressure? Wouldn't the team then lose a key player for nothing?

After much consideration, Kosaka Shosang ultimately decided to place his hopes on the ace, hoping that he could lead the team through this predicament.

Ultimately, Kosaka Shosang suffered from being inexperienced—for the current situation, his experience was still lacking, making it inevitable that his decision-making was somewhat indecisive.

Returning focus to the field, facing someone of Lin Guanglai's caliber, Ono Yohei dared not be complacent, the balls he pitched were mostly aimed at suppressing the batter's swing space, hence facing some issues in control.

After two balls, he didn't even manage a single strike count—not to mention tricking Lin Guanglai into swinging, standing in the batting area from start to finish except for the preparatory bat swinging, Lin Guanglai barely moved at all.

This left Ono Yohei mired in his own conundrum, stuck between advancement and retreat:

Bases loaded, facing the opponent's strongest hitter, Ono Yohei genuinely wanted to pitch into the strike zone, but the immense pressure left him somewhat helpless, while the tantalizing pitch wasn't even enticing to the opponent's batter;

But if he were to walk the opponent with four balls, not to mention the potential boos from the audience, just losing one more run was something Chiben Gakuen could ill afford at the moment; moreover, according to the team's pre-game research on Lin Guanglai, he certainly knew that this man had the capability to turn a bad ball into a long hit, recklessly walking him might even worsen the situation.

Stealing a glance towards the sidelines at the coach, Ono Yohei hoped to receive some direction but found not only himself, but even their young coach was furrowing his brows, contemplating the next move.

After a soft sigh, Ono Yohei refocused—at this point, it seemed like all he could do was grit his teeth and keep pitching.

With a swing of his arm, a push forward, a white flash surged fiercely towards home plate.

At the very moment, Lin Guanglai moved—it was his first action this at-bat.

Watching the fast-approaching baseball towards home plate, he smoothly swung his black and gold bat—the ball's position was somewhat high, but it was indeed within his preferred range, the confidence of a power hitter left no room for hesitation, decisively choosing to seize this opportunity.

The metal bat carved a lethal shadow in the air, striking the forthcoming baseball with precision and power.

"Clang——!!!"

Alongside the crisp, loud strike sound, came the massive cheers from the entirety of Koshien Stadium.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh——!!!!!!"

"Lin Guanglai! He swung at that ball!!"

"Ahhhh! The timing was perfect, and the power was sufficient!"

"Will it go out? Will it go out!! Will it go out!!!"

In the stands, nearly 50,000 spectators acted in unison: They lifted their heads high, shielding their eyes from the dazzling sun, while quickly searching for the trajectory of the baseball with their gaze.

The white ball, under everyone's watchful eyes, traversed the entire distance of Koshien Stadium, flew over the center field's home wall, then smashed heavily onto the scoreboard above the field.

With a "bang," not merely was it the sound of the scoreboard colliding with the baseball, but also the sound of Chiben Gakuen players and supporters' hearts breaking.

"Grand Slam!"

"Lin Guanglai! His performance continues!"

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