Chapter 159: Don't Let Brother Iron Slip Away Again

Chapter 159: Don't Let Iron Man Slip Away Again

The News Figure task contains three sub-tasks with no set order of completion. Whenever Meng Fan is featured in local, national, or international media, the corresponding sub-task gains experience points.

Sub-task two gained one point, which undoubtedly meant that a national-level media outlet had reported on Meng Fan.

This was something Meng Fan truly hadn't expected!

Which national media outlet?

Full of curiosity, Meng Fan set aside his work and searched using his livestream assistant.

If it were print media, it wouldn't be at this hour; it would have appeared before eight in the morning.

Thus, Meng Fan figured it was most likely a television station, either news or sports. He searched and quickly found a CCTV program aired around ten o'clock, soon locking onto Sports Scene, which broadcasts every morning at ten on CCTV-5.

Since Sports Scene was still airing, Meng Fan connected to his smart TV, selected the channel, and rewound to the beginning of the program.

"Next, let's take a look at a set of news briefs."

The third item in the brief was it!

"In yesterday's CGL Basketball Championship Hangzhou leg, Meng Fan, a junior at the China Academy of Art, scored 840 points in the final, breaking the world record for the seven-ball arcade basketball machine! It is reported that this was Meng Fan's first time participating in a CGL competition. He will next compete in the Zhejiang provincial finals and the national finals. We wish Meng Fan even greater success."

Beyond the voiceover, the clip included a brief video of Meng Fan shooting and a headshot. Of course, it was very short; after all, even the national finals of the CGL might not get coverage on CCTV-5, and this report was primarily due to the broken world record.

Short didn't matter; no matter how brief, it was still a report!

Having confirmed the source of the experience, Meng Fan couldn't help but wonder: if he broke the record again in the provincial finals, would there be more coverage?

Thinking this, he couldn't help but congratulate himself for stopping after the record was broken, with two seconds left on the clock.

Was he just showing off at the time?

Hehe, well, it could certainly be called foresight now!

Around noon, perhaps due to the airing of various midday news programs—especially those from Zhejiang and Hangzhou stations, which would naturally report on a world record set within their own territory—the remaining three reports for the first sub-task of News Figure were easily cleared.

"Ding! As a news figure, you have been featured by local media 10 times. Sub-task one of News Figure is complete. Rewards: +100 points, +1 presence, +1 charm."

Points and presence held little appeal for Meng Fan; the highlight was undoubtedly the +1 charm.

He had gained one point yesterday for completing the fourth stage of Livestream Master, and now another—that was two points of charm in twenty-four hours... Time to check the mirror!

Feeling good about himself, Meng Fan felt a significant change after the charm boost, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly had changed.

He wasn't the only one; by one o'clock in the afternoon, the people by the basketball court also felt that the "Iron Tower" man looked better and more captivating than before. They couldn't help but steal extra glances, though most attributed it to his world record. After all, wouldn't one's eyes automatically add a filter when looking at a legend who had broken a world record?

"Fatty Meng, you're awesome!"

"Go, Iron Tower senior!"

"Wow, senior looks so handsome today! He even has a spring in his step!"

"Is that him? The one who broke the world record? Didn't they say he was really fat? He doesn't look that fat to me. Actually, he looks quite sturdy and gives off a sense of security."

When Meng Fan arrived at the court with the basketball team, the crowd was much larger than before. Partly because it was the quarter-finals, and partly because so many had come out of curiosity.

Legends of the "Iron Tower" had existed on campus before, but not everyone was curious enough to seek him out. Now that he had broken a world record, those who knew were bound to come and see. It was usually hard to catch a glimpse of a world-record holder, but since this one was at their own school, how could they miss it?

Before he even arrived, Meng Fan saw the crowd and noticed two banners. One was the "Your Grandpa Is Always Your Grandpa" banner from the school sports meet, and the other read, "Congratulations to the Iron Tower Man for Winning a World Record."

This wasn't a basketball game anymore; it was a fan meet!

"These guys are just making trouble," Meng Fan said with a laugh to Senior A-Ning and the others. "Doing this makes you guys look so awkward!"

"Why would we be awkward? Our opponents from the Industrial Design department are the ones who should be awkward," Senior A-Ning replied. "How about we all wear women's clothing and cheer for you like crazy?"

The red-haired guy and the other teammates immediately backed away. "Big brother, if you want to cross-dress, go ahead, but don't drag us into it! No, no, better yet, you shouldn't cross-dress either—it's too distracting!"

"Warm up, warm up."

Senior A-Ning led the team onto the court, checked the time, and shooed everyone off to warm up. After the warm-up, his only tactical instruction to Meng Fan was: "Just shoot freely."

Meng Fan wanted to shoot freely, but the students from Industrial Design wouldn't allow it. Double-teaming Meng Fan was the bare minimum; sometimes three people would swarm him.

Of course, they were banking on the fact that the rest of the Animation department was mediocre, and that the remaining three could hold off the other four.

And it worked—as long as they forced Meng Fan away from shooting, they actually led by ten points in the first half.

However, they could stop his normal shots, but not his impossible, high-difficulty angles. Meng Fan, who had only scored 3 points in the first half, racked up 27 points on his own in the second, effectively ending the Industrial Design department's chances.

The same scene played out in the finals the following afternoon. After defeating the Sculpture department, they faced the Animation department, and the Sculpture team simply didn't know what to do.

The entire Animation department wasn't strong, but they just couldn't stop Meng Fan's release. If you pressed him, he'd draw a foul, and Iron Man never missed his free throws. If you didn't foul, there was no way to predict when or from what angle Meng Fan would shoot.

Shooting from just past half-court wasn't a one-time occurrence. What could you do? It was hopeless!

Pure offense?

You couldn't keep up with his three-pointers. And if you tried to match him and missed, the rebound was Meng Fan's anyway!

The Animation department won the school basketball championship. No one seemed surprised; all the shock and wonder had already been exhausted by Meng Fan breaking the world record.

Since he’d broken a world record, why would it be strange for him to lead a team to win a mediocre school basketball tournament? It would only be strange if they hadn't won!

"You guys, you must keep an eye on him!"

After the game, before Senior A-Ning could even celebrate, he issued a stern order: "Don't let Iron Man slip away again! Tonight, we have a victory banquet—foot massage, KTV, the works! Winning the championship is an honor for our entire Animation department. As your temporary coach, I’m honored and happy. Tonight, you must all dress up to celebrate!"