It was past 11 PM when Lin Qumu opened Honkai: Star Rail and his laptop to play Genshin Impact, though his attention was clearly not on the games, but rather on the system panel.
“Phase One: Strength Training. Host, please complete 2000 repetitions of 40kg bicep curls and 1500 repetitions of 40kg weighted squats. All tasks must be completed within 72 hours. Reward: Core strength increased by 10%, leg strength increased by 10%, upper body strength increased by 15%.”
“Host, please complete 5000 backhand training sessions, 10000 smash training sessions, 5000 defense training sessions, and 5000 flat drive training sessions. All tasks must be completed within 96 hours. Please note, the time for this task begins tomorrow. Reward upon completion: Backhand ability increased by 10%, smash ability increased by 10%, defense ability increased by 10%, flat drive ability increased by 10%.”
“Host, please note the deadline.”
Lin Qumu was stunned.
Flat drive! Oh no, he had completely forgotten about the flat drive. Annoyed, he immediately wanted to call Lin Yusheng to practice flat drives with him.
“System, can Asheng and I simulate flat drives in the dorm?”
“Beep. In principle, there's no problem, but please be reminded, Host, that hitting the racket against bed legs or other objects will damage the racket. Please be careful.”
“Alright, alright.”
Lin Qumu had no choice but to focus some of his attention on flat drives tomorrow.
The next day, the training rhythm remained the same as the previous day, but the main content was flat drives. Lin Qumu specifically went to the doubles group to train with Liu Ou and Liang Wang.
They welcomed Lin Qumu's addition and even invited him to team up with Lin Sen to form a new men's doubles pair.
This put Lin Qumu in a difficult position. It was true that he had previously trained in both singles and doubles, even winning the World Youth Championships men's doubles runner-up and mixed doubles third place, and the Youth Olympics men's doubles third place.
However, Lin Qumu later focused solely on singles, and his doubles skills were almost abandoned.
Coach Chen Qiqiu expressed great delight. He had watched Lin Qumu's doubles matches and found him very intuitive, with excellent defense, distribution, and even a strong smash.
In Coach Chen Qiqiu's view, Lin Qumu was essentially a smash-enhanced version of Zhang Nan.
Zhang Nan is also one of the representatives with extremely high badminton IQ, performing exceptionally well on court. In the team, he acts as a distributor, making his teammates very comfortable.
For example, his mixed doubles partner Zhao Yunlei, and men's doubles partners Fu Haifeng and Liu Cheng. It has been proven that as long as Zhang Nan is paired with a powerful hitter who has a good brain, he can lead the team to World Championships gold medals.
Of course, Zhang Nan was most criticized for his soft smash, but this was not his favorite technique. He preferred to play defensive counterattacks, and his defense always yielded good results. Moreover, his flat drive speed was also very fast, even comparable to the peak Indonesian “Minions” Sukamuljo/Gideon.
Now, the “Minions” have almost disappeared, with no news heard from them.
Lin Qumu's partner at that time was also Wu Yongqing, who was from Chongqing, but he unfortunately suffered a car accident during an event, resulting in a comminuted fracture of his dominant left hand, forcing him to retire, which was a great pity.
“No matter how much you train, if it's not demonstrated in actual combat, it's all for naught,” Coach Chen Qiqiu said.
“Shuang Lin, come on, play against Liang Wang.”
Lin Qumu really wanted to say, “You're a bad coach, Coach Chen.” Lin Qumu and Lin Sen are about the same height as Liang Wang, or even a little taller, and Lin Sen's most outstanding skill in youth competitions was his unreasonable heavy smash.
All procedures followed a formal match. Liang Wang won the serve, and Lin Qumu received it.
Liang Wang's strategy this time was very clear: focus on serve-receive and the mid-front court, and absolutely avoid actively lifting the shuttlecock.
Lin Qumu was a given, but Lin Sen was truly terrifying, and he was left-handed, which reminded Liang Wang of Coach Zhang Jun, or rather, Fu Haifeng.
If Liang Wang didn't want to lift the shuttlecock, then their tactical core would necessarily have to be at the net. They had to gain the high point at the net to create opportunities. Liang Weikeng's speed wasn't slow, but compared to Wang Chang, he was slower.
However, Liang Wang didn't expect Lin Qumu's net-play to be so fast and aggressive, almost going head-to-head with Wang Chang at the net. Crucially, the quality of his shots was excellent, very close to the net, making it difficult for Wang Chang to handle.
But Liang Wang almost desperately tried to target the net, frequently losing his balance with desperate net shots.
This was a desperate net shot.
But Lin Qumu responded. He knew that Liang Wang's tactical core was at the net, so their net focus was very concentrated, which meant their backcourt focus would also be very concentrated, because they also needed opportunities at the net to then smash.
However, Lin Qumu seized a rhythm difference. Once Liang Wang played a good quality net shot, he would retreat to prepare for a smash, but Lin Qumu would pause and drop the shuttlecock, specifically placing it closer to the sideline.
Liang Wang didn't dare to drop it, so he could only lift the shuttlecock. But Lin Sen had already drawn his bow to the fullest, his expansive body erupting with almost overwhelming power, smashing directly into Liang Wang's mid-court junction.
They only subconsciously moved their rackets, and the shuttlecock had already landed.
In this match, Liang Wang's net rhythm was shattered, making it difficult to seize opportunities, but they weren't very anxious either. Lin Qumu did disrupt their rhythm, forcing them into an offense-defense game, but Liang Wang himself was also very proficient in traditional men's doubles.
Furthermore, for Lin Qumu to disrupt Liang Wang's rhythm, he had to put most of his energy into the net, so how long could Lin Qumu sustain it?
Ultimately, in Lin Qumu's rotation, a high-flying cross-court drop shot that Liang Weikeng failed to return led to an error, ending the first game with a score of 16:21.
Lin Qumu performed best in the first game, creating comfortable smashing opportunities for Lin Sen.
But afterwards, Lin Qumu felt his mind was a bit muddled, so he told Lin Sen: “In the second game, slow down the rhythm, actively show weakness to them, lift the shuttlecock for them, and don't play serve-receive or flat drives.”
“Okay,” Lin Sen nodded. He also noticed that Lin Qumu seemed a bit sluggish, which was related to his intense focus on Liang Wang's net play.
The energy Lin Qumu expended at the net was already almost terrifying, so in the second game, Lin Qumu couldn't guarantee that he could still seize opportunities while guarding the net.
So, the situation in the second game was that when Liang Wang tried to pull the battle to flat drives or serve-receive, Shuang Lin would directly lift the shuttlecock.
The result was either Liang Weikeng's powerful smashes going out of bounds, so in the first half, Liang Wang had a perfect start, 11:2.
After the interval, Shuang Lin deliberately reduced the arc and power of their lifts, which greatly improved the quality of their lifts.
Liang Wang's judgment sometimes led to disastrous consequences, and the score was quickly caught up to 16:10, with Liang Wang leading by six points.
Liang Wang adjusted his tactics. Whenever Shuang Lin lifted the shuttlecock, they would relentlessly smash downwards with all their might, which indeed put a lot of pressure on Shuang Lin.
After Wang Chang smashed diagonally from the overhead area and Lin Sen's return was blocked at the net by Liang Weikeng, Liang Wang won the second game 21:14, successfully tying the overall score at one game all.
In the third game, Lin Qumu reverted to his first-game tactics, which was to use his technique to control the net, making Liang Wang hesitant to engage him at the net.
This tactic was very successful. In the third game, Liang Wang's energy also significantly dropped, and their net coverage wasn't as tight. Unless Lin Sen played at the net, they wouldn't choose to fight desperately at the net.
However, later on, Wang Chang also competed with Lin Qumu at the net. Seeing Lin Qumu standing at the net but constantly lifting the shuttlecock didn't align with Liang Wang's style.
So, Wang Chang's delicate technique created some opportunities for Liang Weikeng.
As Lin Sen executed a powerful straight smash, Liang Weikeng's return was blocked at the net by Lin Qumu, giving Shuang Lin an 11:9 lead and entering the technical interval of the deciding game, with both sides switching courts.
After the interval, Wang Chang began to pressure Shuang Lin at the net. His speed was very fast, and Lin Qumu's speed was not as good as Wang Chang's.
In the first game, his ability to suppress Liang Wang at the net was purely due to his technique greatly assisting him, but with his energy declining, Lin Qumu couldn't guarantee that his technique would remain as consistent as in the first game.
Wang Chang stepped forward and directly pounced, Lin Qumu barely managed to lift the shuttlecock high, but it didn't go over Wang Chang's head, allowing Wang Chang to catch it perfectly.
But Shuang Lin still withstood Wang Chang's windshield-wiper-like net blocking. However, as Wang Chang changed his style, a gentle cross-court drop shot saw Lin Qumu dive but watch the shuttlecock land.
Liang Wang successfully tied the score at 15:15.
The two teams then battled for control of the net. Subsequently, the battle shifted to flat drives.
What many people didn't expect was that Shuang Lin's flat drives were not inferior to Liang Wang's, and it was usually Shuang Lin who varied the rhythm.
In advantageous situations, Shuang Lin would directly press, and in disadvantageous situations, Shuang Lin would soften the shot and block at the net or lift the shuttlecock.
But overall, Liang Wang's flat drives still specifically targeted Lin Sen, because Lin Qumu's flat drive rhythm changes were more varied than Lin Sen's. They couldn't say they could consistently suppress Lin Qumu, but they could suppress Lin Sen.
Lin Sen withstood Liang Wang's onslaught, but unfortunately, he couldn't hold on. With a flat drive into the net, Liang Wang took their first lead at 19:18.
However, Liang Wang's disastrous serve once again proved decisive. Liang Weikeng served into the net, and Shuang Lin tied the score.
Lin Qumu served. Liang Weikeng's center of gravity was very low, which indicated that Liang Weikeng intended to rush the serve-receive and push-pounce.
Lin Qumu's eyes were fixed on Liang Weikeng's feet, then on the shuttlecock. He swung his racket, added power, and stole to the backcourt.
Liang Weikeng didn't pay attention for a moment. He, who was originally lunging forward, quickly braked, then turned around and strode towards the falling shuttlecock, then directly hit a straight shot.
The quality of this shot was extremely low. Lin Qumu extended his racket to block at the net, and Wang Chang moved to cover and receive the shuttlecock.
Lin Qumu's racket suddenly sank, causing a momentary pause. He rotated his racket face, then directly pushed a diagonal shot to Liang Wang.
Wang Chang subconsciously swung his racket, only hitting the feathers.
20:19, Shuang Lin obtained match point.
Lin Qumu then served. He took a deep breath, relaxed, prepared, drew his racket back, and hit.
The shuttlecock traced a beautiful arc, crossing the net at a height that almost touched the net tape. After crossing the net, the shuttlecock immediately dropped rapidly, and its speed was still very fast.
Wang Chang hadn't expected Lin Qumu's serve to be of such high quality. He could only choose to flick diagonally instead of his initial push-pounce. But changing his action at the last minute made it impossible to produce a high-quality shot, so Wang Chang could only watch the shuttlecock go into the net.
The entire venue erupted in thunderous applause. A temporary combination that hadn't really gelled managed to defeat the world's number one. It seemed almost impossible no matter how one thought about it or looked at it, but these two young players, who hadn't yet shed their naivety, had done it.
Coach Chen Qiqiu was torn between laughter and tears. On one hand, one of his most prized combinations had been defeated by a temporary pair that hadn't really gelled. On the other hand, he was delighted to see good prospects emerging in the doubles group.
He couldn't understand why such a promising talent had been given to the singles group.
No, he had to snatch him over.
