Forbidden Link

30. Second Stage

"If you want to play basketball, you have to be mentally prepared to be eaten by the dinosaurs."

Bianca gave a warning with a serious face to the girl sitting across from her. While Lakelynn only responded to Bianca's words with a disdainful face.

“So, have you guys ever seen your opponent?”

As Lakelynn looked at Alex for an answer, Alex looked at Ezequiel and Zayden. Lakelynn's gaze crossed Bianca's face who looked annoyed at being ignored and looked at Ezequiel with an icy stare. The intimidating gaze from Lakelynn intensified as the girl folded her arms across her chest.

“Ah, my name is Ezequiel.”

"I do not ask."

Lakelynn's unfriendly remarks irritated Bianca even more. But Bianca couldn't do anything when she saw Alex who was so used to Lakelynn's attitude. Even Bianca got annoyed with Alex who couldn't take her eyes off the girl who had just joined in less than five minutes.

“To be more relaxed, I introduce myself first. You can call me Ez and my brother Hayden."

Still with an unfriendly face, Lakelynn's eyes moved to Hayden and then back to Ezequiel because he felt Hayden would not answer his question. There was no self-introduction from Lakelynn so Ezequiel couldn't help but continue after waiting for a while in an awkward state.

“Since Alex calls you Lakelynn, then I'll call you that too. So Miss Lakelynn, Hayden and I had a chance to play basketball in the middle of that court. The dinosaurs Bianca talked about really did exist. We're going up against five dinosaurs about ten times my size. Maybe not as big as the dinosaurs that usually appear in the movies, but it's enough to get us into trouble.

“Just as Bianca said too, that match could get us eaten…”

"Wait a minute. Can you tell me briefly without having to enter the name of that noisy girl every time?”

"Aaaah! I hate you. The way you talk is annoying and you act like a thug!”

Bianca half screamed as she looked at Lakelynn in annoyance. While Bianca was very expressive back then, Lakelynn didn't change her expression at all. Stay flat with a sharp look in your eyes.

"I hate you too. You are very noisy and don't respect people's privacy.”

"But I'm not as annoying as you. After all, I still respect people's privacy."

“You approached Alex like earlier. Isn't that obvious?"

"I do not…"

"You don't know that Alex feels uncomfortable. You're noisy, don't respect people's privacy and ignorant."

"I…"

“Why are you the only one screaming? I can scream too…”

“Should I just go and let you guys fight?” asked Alex in the midst of a non-stop conversation between the two women to his left and right.

"No, Al. It's better if the noisy girl goes away."

This time Bianca really held back her emotions and chose to remain silent. After Alex silenced the two women in his group, he asked Ezequiel to resume his plan. Alex also reminded Lakelynn not to interrupt Ezequiel's words by reasoning that they didn't have much time before the NPCs reappeared.

“I will shorten the story as requested. At first I thought there would be one more boy who would be the fifth player. But it's okay. The three boys will try to play as best they can and you two can avoid the dinosaur as much as possible,” said Ezequiel, looking at Lakelynn and Bianca in turn.

"I don't want to just dodge."

“Your presence as the fifth player has helped us quite a bit, Miss Lakelynn…”

"I said I didn't want to. You can't just define my role."

“We don't want women to get hurt…”

"It means you are discriminated against because you have demeaned women."

"It is not like that.."

"You don't have to play because you're going to trouble us."

Zayden's voice finally reached Lakelynn's ears. Somewhat taken aback by Zayden's opinion, Lakelynn fell silent before revealing a broad smile.

"Ah. I like people who are to the point like this. Why can't he just explain?"

Alex, who had not wanted to say much about it, finally straightened up. Lakelynn, who realized that Alex was about to speak, immediately shifted her focus from Zayden to the man beside him.

“This woman has a fairly good physique and a mind beyond normal human sense. So instead of playing an evasive role, Lakelynn might be able to shift the dinosaur's focus."

"Wow. I assume you're praising me right now, Al."

"I was praising you."

Ezequiel tried hard not to be distracted by the conversation between Alex and Lakelynn which he found unnatural. Instead of frowning, Ezequiel coughed and looked the other way so as not to attract attention.

“I will act as playmaker and Zayden as point shooter. The two of us who will play the full game as basketball players. Alex will be out of the game analyzing the movements of the dinosaurs but can help both of us if possible.”

"Then, does this noisy girl already know all the rules on the basketball court?" Lakelynn asked pointing at Bianca without looking at the person she was pointing at.

"The rules are very easy if you don't play because there are no rules about time in this forbidden link world."

Alex's words made Lakelynn nod. There is no time limit for being silent so even people who have never played basketball can participate in basketball games.

“And there are no foul rules. That's why those dinosaurs could easily have you dying in the middle of the field.”

“Actually, the current conditions are exactly the same as when we played basketball in the past. Kaira must have felt the rules were unfair so she created a match like this."

"What do you mean?"

Although Alex didn't immediately ask like Ezequiel, Alex was quite surprised by Lakelynn's statement. Alex had repeatedly thought about the meaning of this unfair match but had yet to find any connection with Kaira. But Lakelynn had just arrived at stage two and was able to conclude quickly.

“Do you think bullying only happens in the classroom? Certainly not. When exercising, Kaira struggles so hard to stand in the middle of the court just because everyone is attacking her physically and mentally."

"I've never heard of this case from the teachers," said Alex, looking at Lakelynn wide-eyed.

"Of course. Because the sports teacher actually covered up the bullying case.”

Alex's hands clenched into fists with anger suddenly rising. The absence of a time limit in the match is not a significant problem. However, the absence of foul rules is very crucial. Alex didn't have to ask Lakelynn about any bullying that happened to Kaira. He was able to draw his own conclusions when he recalled the events that made Kaira come home with bruises all over her body.

At that time Kaira said that she did not get enough sleep so she was careless and fell down the stairs. Kaira has also been taken to a psychiatrist in order to reduce her recklessness which is repeated many times. And it turned out that at that time Kaira only made excuses to cover up the real bullying case.

Alex was not only angry with the people involved in the bullying case. He was also angry with himself for not knowing much about his sister. And he was also angry with Kaira who didn't tell him many things.

The change in expression on Alex's face was only known to Lakelynn. Apart from Lakelynn, the other three people were busy questioning many things. Starting from the relationship between Lakelynn and Kaira. Until what happened on the basketball court.

“The point is we have to defend against this injustice. I've forgotten the rest," Lakelynn said with a shrug.

Lakelynn seemed lazy to tell stories and no one asked the girl to tell after knowing her character. Ezequiel who understood the most social situation around him tried to take over the conversation again. Apart from being the oldest of the five people, Ezequiel also has the most extroverted character so he is happy to receive attention.

Before Ezequiel could give a detailed strategy, the whistle sounded again. Even though they had seen the same scene over and over again, this time the people in the grandstand seemed to be more careful in their speech. They already knew Lakelynn's arrival would bring the squad to five so the game could begin.

Where originally everyone sat scattered on the grandstand, now almost all of them were seated at the very top. They had anticipated the event that once frightened them when watching it from too close. Some people even choose to be in the corner of the building and look at the wall.

Hundreds of people did not dare enter the basketball court which has a width of 91.86 feets and 49.2 feets except for five people and one NCP. Alex, Lakelynn, Bianca, Ezequiel and Zayden were already in the middle of the basketball court and ready to play.

“Do you guys want to compete?”

"Yes."

Alex's answer made everyone silent for a moment. More precisely what happened after Alex said “yes” to the question from the NCP.