March 2012, early in the month.

Although it was the season when cherry blossoms were in full bloom, the weather in early spring had not yet warmed up. The air still carried a hint of winter's chill, and the gusts of spring morning wind blew against him, causing Lin Guanglai to shiver involuntarily even though he was wearing a windbreaker.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a year had passed since the day Waseda Jitsugyo completed their historic 7th consecutive Senbatsu championship and first-ever perfect game; in the past six months, the entire team structure had also undergone significant changes.

The departure of the third-grade players had a huge impact on the team, even more so than when Lin Guanglai was in his first year and those seniors left:

Among the championship team's starting nine, apart from pitcher Lin Guanglai, catcher Uesugi Yasuyuki, third baseman Egami Kenji, and right fielder Yagaki Kentaro, all other players left the team, including experienced veterans like Kenshu Yasuda and Chongxin Shen Zhong, as well as key role players like Manabe Kenta and Hagiyama Mitsuo who played crucial roles in the team's tactics; the departure of Uchida Saint and other reserve pitchers also left Waseda Jitsugyo's pitching lineup once again in a tight spot.

Even as a prestigious high school baseball powerhouse, Waseda Jitsugyo, without the infusion of new blood, found it difficult to emerge unscathed from such a large-scale exodus, and the overall strength of the team was severely weakened.

The entire autumn season was a tough ordeal for the Waseda Jitsugyo team:

The victory in the Summer League undoubtedly made them a prime target, facing continuous targeted challenges from opponents:

In the autumn games, every team facing them was eager to prove themselves by defeating the Summer League champions in order to make a name for themselves, leading to increased exhaustion throughout the team during matches. Just as Izumi Minoru, the coach, had told Lin Guanglai last fall, "This current Waseda Jitsugyo team is not a championship-level team; we still need more time to harmonize."

In the Tokyo Autumn Tournament, which determined the entry into the Shengong tournament and next year's Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament, Lin Guanglai and his teammates fought their way into the finals with all their might, but the new team's inconsistent performance since autumn became the decisive factor in the match's outcome —

In the final of the autumn tournament, Lin Guanglai delivered an outstanding starting performance, but his teammates in the batting lineup were unable to provide support when the opponent, Kantou Number One, chose to intentionally walk him repeatedly, resulting in the team losing 0-2 in the end.

This was also the last game of the 2011 season for the Waseda Industrial School Baseball Club.

Although they were unable to end the 2011 season with a victory in the Shengong tournament, looking at the past year's performance, even if measured against all the high schools in Japan, Waseda's performance was exceptional:

Without discussing their victory in three major tournaments, including consecutive Spring and Summer championships, the mere fact of reaching the finals in all formal matches throughout the year is an achievement that not many top schools in history have accomplished — such accomplishments are already worthy of pride for every member of the team.

Moreover, there was more good news at the end of January:

On January 27, the Takano Ren Selection Committee announced the participating schools for the 84th Players' Championship of 2012 — perhaps because last year's achievements were too remarkable, combined with their decent autumn performance. Although they didn't secure the precious Tokyo Region entry slot directly, Waseda successfully defeated Kantou University Takasaki in the competition with the Kantou Region, earning the shared entry slot between Kantou and Tokyo at the last moment, accomplishing a milestone of four consecutive Koshien appearances.

Calculating the days, it was almost time for the ban on practice games to be lifted — it was foreseeable that before the Senbatsu started, the intensity of both training and games for the entire Waseda Jitsugyo Baseball Club would increase significantly.

Over the past half year, the new batch of players had been biding their time for a long time and were eager to make a name for themselves in official matches, proving they were not inferior to their predecessors.

Following the familiar route, Lin Guanglai arrived outside Izumi Minoru's office — today was supposed to be a rest day for the team before the lifting of the ban on practice matches, but Coach Izumi Minoru called him over. Although he didn't know exactly what was happening, it must have been related to the team's upcoming arrangements.

"Knock, knock."

"Come in —"

After being given permission, Lin Guanglai pushed open the door and walked into Izumi Minoru's office, only to look up and find someone unfamiliar sitting there besides Coach Izumi Minoru.

"Sorry, Coach... Did I come at a bad time? Should I excuse myself?" Seeing someone else present, Lin Guanglai thought he had interrupted his coach's important business.

Izumi Minoru smiled and waved at him, shaking his head in response: "No need, Guanglai, just sit down — Mr. Miyata didn't come all this way today to see an old man like me; he came specifically to see you."

Saying this, Izumi Minoru stood up from his seat to formally introduce the stranger sitting there to Lin Guanglai:

"Let me introduce, this is Mr. Miyata Shinku, the scout in charge of the Kantou Region for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks."

"Hello, Player Lin, I'm Miyata Shinku." As Izumi Minoru finished the introduction, Miyata Shinku also stood from his seat and extended his hand toward Lin Guanglai.

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