Hi everyone! Welcome Back to another issue of SVM News! In this issue, we will feed you guys with literally a newsfeed and fascinating stories. We also have a pretty big announcement to make. What is it? Read on and find out.

Updates

Our team has designed a new logo for SVM, you guys can all check it out on our website’s homepage. Please let us know what ya’ll think of it by leaving a comment on this issue.
SVM is now posting short fictional stories once in a while, all written by co-founder Matthew.

Newsfeed

The Exciting Start of the 2024-2025 NBA Season

The 2024 season tipped off with a big bang: exciting matchups, stunning performances, and high expectations for the year. Starting on October 22, 2024, the season kicked off with victories by the current reigning champions, Boston Celtics over the New York Knicks, and the Los Angeles Lakers over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Standout Performances

The most anticipated game would be the season opener of the Lakers hosting the Timberwolves. It was the Anthony Davis show as he put up an impressive 36 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks, and 1 steal. He followed through with 18 points and 5 rebounds by Rui Hachimura and LeBron James adding 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. It also marked the first NBA game of Bronny James, who played briefly in the second quarter for three minutes.

New Viewing Experiences

The latest and most immersive way for NBA fans to experience games this season is on Meta Quest. Now, fans are able to watch 52 regular-season games in VR, game highlights 24 hours after each game, and even mini-games and mixed reality experiences. This whole new approach will help increase fan interaction and offer a new dimension of viewer experience.

Valuable Franchises

The Forbes list for the most valuable NBA franchises is out with the Golden State Warriors leading at $8.8 billion for the 2024-25 season. The New York Knicks come in second, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, and Los Angeles Clippers to complete the top five. The average value of NBA franchises increases 15% from last year after gaining lucrative media rights deals.

Looking Ahead

With increased heat in the season, fans should expect an uptick in exciting matchups, breakout performances, and intense competition. With the likes of the Warriors, Knicks, Lakers, and Celtics at the top of the league in performance and value, the 2024 NBA season is shaping up to be one of the more memorable seasons in recent years.

Next we have an exciting story written by Matthew, not particularly newsfeed but still worth your time. Note that this series will be continued so stay tuned to read part 3(part 1 has already been posted on the website).

Unit 48: The Ghost Cars

Part 1 – Junior Officer Stefan

Junior officer Stefan parked his car in the lot. It was his second week working in Unit 48. He had frequently been told about the insect apocalypse that almost happened, so the vibrant, cheery atmosphere of the place was a shock. As he entered the lobby, checking in, a hand was clamped onto his shoulder. It was senior detective Vincent, the one that had saved unit 48 from the insect apocalypse. Vincent smiled easily. “Good news, kid. You got your first major case. I’ll take you to the chief’s”, he said. Stefan nodded, and followed Vincent to a pair of tall oak doors, which were pushed open to reveal an office, rather representing that of a school principal. Filing cabinet after filing cabinet were exploding with papers and folders, all about previous major cases. The chief, Austin himself, sat behind a desk piled high with files. “Hello Stefan. Please have a seat while I find your file”, he said in a gruff voice. Stefan sat as Austin proceeded to search the cabinets, until he procured a folder titled “The ghost car”. The name sent a chill up Stefan’s spine. “What’s the title mean, chief?”, he asked. Austin’s forehead creased. “We’ve had eyewitnesses of a car. Cruising from town to town. The funny thing is, seven witnesses have sworn it moves, but has no driver. They say it must be haunted. Now, I know you’re thinking ghosts don’t exist, but this is a world full of possibilities. That includes possibilities regarding the existence of the undead”. Stefan nodded. Austin handed him the folder. “Here. This’ll be all you need. It contains an image of the vehicle in question and the license plate”, he said. Stefan nodded, before heading out with Vincent. “I trust that you’ve chosen a vehicle, yes?” Vincent asked. “Yep. Teal Volvo wagon”, Stefan replied. As they reached the garage, a slim woman, about the same age as Stefan, was waiting for them. “That is Lydia. She’ll be your partner for this mission”, Vincent said. “Hey”, Lydia said, extending a fist to bump. Okay…not that prim, Stefan thought as he bumped her fist. They got in the wagon, Stefan stomping on the gas. The trip took days. The latest sighting, according to the file, was three weeks ago, in a town known as Freekschoe. Stefan made a point of not looking at Lydia, for fear of the AWKWARD conversation it could cause. As they neared Freekschoe with a couple spare hours, Lydia spoke up “So…you got a game plan, bro?” She asked. Stefan chuckled. “I was hoping you’d have one…but now that you ask, I think our best bet is to pull it over in some way, be it by PA or ramming”. Lydia nodded. “What after?”, she asked. “Well…I was thinking storm the car, see if there’s a human driver, and if not, total the car with our guns so that it stops giving people heart attacks”, Stefan said uncertainly. After another half an hour, Lydia almost broke the seatbelt as she sat up in the seat. “I think I saw it! Behind us, opposite lane”, she exclaimed. Stefan checked the side mirror. Sure enough, a white, rusty old Honda hatchback was cruising down the road in the opposite road. As the wall between the sides of the highway disappeared, Stefan stomped on the brake, twisting the wheel at the same time to do a 180, before speeding off after the old hatch. Lydia spoke over the loud-hailer. “Will the white Honda hatchback please pull over calmly”. Surprisingly, the car complied. As the two vehicles pulled over, Stefan jumped out of the wagon and jogged up to the rusted car, and threw open the (for some reason) unlocked door. No one in the car. As Lydia checked the car’s engine to see if it was a remote control design, Stefan sat in the driver’s seat. As he did, a unseen voice spoke. “So long…I’ve waited forever…”. “Who-who are you? Show yourself!” Stefan demanded, as the voice throbbed in his head, louder and louder. “I am the ghost in this car…or at least I WAS…NOW IT’S YOUR TUUURRRN”. Stefan looked down, and to his horror, his body wasn’t there! “NO! NO! IT CAN’T BE! I CAN’T BE A GHOST! NOOOOOOOOO…!”, Stefan screamed. Outside, he could hear Lydia as she finished her inspection of the car. “No driver, and it’s not remote controlled…I’ll just scrap this, like Stefan told me to. He’s probably in the wagon already”, Lydia muttered, raising her AK. “Lydia…please…” Stefan said. He heard three shots, saw the black bullets coming at the window, then…darkness.

Part 2 – Officer Lydia

“So let me get this straight: you think that because Stefan got in the car, he became the new ghost”, Vincent asked for the thirteenth time. Lydia rolled her eyes. “Yes, Vincent”, she muttered. Vincent gave her a steely glance. “And you shot the car”, he said. Lydia shifted guiltily from foot to foot. “Yeah…sorry about that. I didn’t see him in the car, and it didn’t occur to me at the time that if a new person like Stefan got into the car, they’d become the new ghost”. Vincent sighed, leading Lydia to the chief’s office. She began to breathe more heavily. This was the day every person in unit 48 feared: the day they got fired. As they entered the doors, chief Austin was waiting with a folder, which he handed to Lydia. “Sit. Much to talk about”, he said in his deep baritone. Lydia sat, relieved that she wasn’t getting fired. Chief Austin sighed. “We’ve had numerous more reports of unmanned vehicles. More unmanned cars, I’m afraid. However, the one you are about to tackle is particularly…violent. It can ram other drivers, and if the car doesn’t go up in flames, but the driver does, the rammed vehicle becomes yet another ghost car.” Lydia opened the folder, and was greeted with a horrifying image. It depicted a semi truck. A peterbilt, by the looks of it. It was probably once dark green, but had rusted to a mixture of black and brown. Most terrifying of all was the front. The bumper has old iron spikes all over it, perfect for head-ons. Lydia heard Austin chuckle. “Quite a car to behold, eh?”, he said. Lydia nodded, dumbstruck. She remained in that state until they reached the garage. There, a man in a leather jacket was waiting for them. Lydia read the badge: Officer Enrique Fernandez. “A pleasure…Enrique”, Lydia said. The man shook Lydia’s hand firmly, before going to the lower floors and taking out a black Chevy 1990s van. Lydia climbed into the shotgun, and waved to Vincent as the van sped away (as much as a van can speed). It was yet another three-day trip. As the third day rolled by, Enrique asked. “You got a plan, miss?”. Lydia shrugged. Neither of us is gonna be getting into, considering what happened to Stefan. We’ll just blow it up”, Lydia replied. Enrique friends. “How, though?” he asked. Lydia studied the depiction, before a lightbulb went off in her head. “The grille is wide. We could fire a bullet into…oh crud, did we forget the guns?”. Lydia checked the trunk. Thankfully, Enrique had packed the guns. “Anyways. We’ll drive in reverse. The semi will chase after us, and we’ll fire a bullet through the grille. That’ll make it go up in flames”, she said. Enrique nodded approvingly. After another hour of silence, Enrique pointed across the road. “That’s it?” he asked. Lydia looked. Indeed, there it was. The black semi. The six wheeled ghostly terror. Lydia fired a pistol at it. It wasn’t enough to damage the car, but the ghost manning it swerved around and gave chase. Enrique swerved and began to drive backwards as Lydia pulled out a H-MK2 from the back, and took aim. The shot rang out, followed by three more. The first bullet hit the grille, denting it. The second made a hole. The last two went though the whole into the truck’s systems. The semi’s engine growled, and the truck stopped, growling. Then, it combusted into a ball of fire, leaving nothing but the smell of burning metal and rubber, and a smoking chassis. Enrique swerved, and they headed back the way they came. Lydia smiled. “That was for you, Stefan”, she murmured.

Part 3 – Private Warren

Warren sat in the van, the axles creaking as he did so, adding his 115 lbs to the weight of the other two passengers in the van. “We’re tracking a pack of 15 sports cars. Shouldn’t we have chosen something a bit faster?” he said dubiously. At the wheel, Sargent Enrique chuckled. “Wait till you see, amigo. Es muy rapido. I replaced the V6 with a V10”, he reassured Warren. Warren studied the photo taken in the folder. It showed a group of…not exactly 15…maybe ten cars, all coupes and sports cars. “Hey, at least we have the RPG’s this time”, Lydia commented from the passenger seat. Enrique stomped on the gas pedal, leaving the garage stinking of burning rubber. As they went, Warren mulled over the situation. The coupes and sports cars were fast, but their van had brute force over the pack. According to the file, they hunted cars like a wolf pack, and were last seen in Yonkers. “Why out of all the names, they chose Yonkers?” Warren muttered. As they neared the town, a thin line of red was seen a few miles away. Enrique whistled. “That’ll be them. No consideration for the oncoming traffic”. As they neared the pack, Enrique pulled up to a straggler. Driverless, again. He promptly rammed it off the road, as Lydia climbed to the back, grabbing an RPG and taking aim. However, before they could do anything, all the cars did a 180. Enrique screamed as the cars’ front bumpers split, turning into snapping, pincer-like lower jaws. The hood flapped like an upper jaw going up and down, snapping at the air. “What is it with unit 48 and mouths gone wrong?!”, he roared. Lydia kicked open the back door, and took aim yet again. Warren beat her to it, firing his Grenade right into the “mouth” of the car. The car began to smoke, and as the pack caught up to it, it exploded, taking three others with it. Lydia whooped, firing her own, and taking out two more. The ghost cars picked up speed, and that was when disaster struck. One particularly fast corvette sped up and latched it’s jaws onto the back of the van. The front wheels lifted up, throwing Warren. He desperately clung onto the back of the van as it sped up, making the corvette release its grip on it. “Enrique! Stop the car! Warren’s gonna fall out of you don’t stop!” Lydia shouted over the loud engines of their pursuers. “I can’t! Then the ghosts are gonna catch up, and we’re gonna all gonna get devoured”, Enrique shouted back, swerving as a rusted 78 Camaro bit at a wheel, snapping it off. “Enrique, I think the van may need to go to the mechanics”, Warren commented mildly as the wheel rolled by him. At last, the inevitable happened. With a scream, Warren’s grip was torn loose from the rear bumper by a Maserati, which braked after sinking its jaws into Warren so that he was separated from the van. The car began to speed up, jaws snapping into Warren’s flesh. He screamed with every bite. To his relief, Enrique slowed down, probably haven seen Warren getting chomped. Lydia shouted to Warren. “TAKE MY HAND! I’LL PULL YOU OUT!”, she screamed. Warren swung towards her…and felt agony as he was pulled out. Once safely in the van, he looked at the source of pain and screamed. “OH GOD…MY LEFT LEG! THE MASERATI ATE MY LEFT LEG!”, he shrieked. Lydia shouted to him. “Hang in there bro! Only half an hour back to base!”. She pulled the trigger on an RPG, taking out the Maserati and two others. Warren grabbed feebly at the other RPG which was his, and as his vision grew fuzzy, he pulled the trigger. As he blacked out, his hand was still on the trigger.

Part 4 – Sargent Enrique

Enrique sat by Warren’s medical bed in the med sector, chin resting on hands. As the sleeping gas wore off, Warren grunted, coming to his senses. The doctor came in. “Officer Warren, I’m afraid we will have to amputate your leg”, he said. “Which one?”, Warren jokes. The doctor, ignoring the joke, said “The left one, of course. The one you say a Maserati bit off”. Warren nodded. The doctor put the gas mask over Warren’s mouth and nose, and Warren left the waking world again. Enrique left again, sighing. He met Lydia on lunch break, and wrinkled a his nose in distaste at his mac and cheese. Lydia leaned across the table. “Worried about Warren?”, she asked tentatively. Enrique nodded. “I just wish…if I’d just driven better in Yonkers…”, he mumbled. “You did good. We’re lucky all Warren lost was a leg, and that the cars didn’t eat us”, Lydia said softly. Enrique nodded. After he finished his meal, he and Lydia went off to their job for the day: Balcony patrol. Balcony patrol was basically just walking on the balcony that surrounded Unit 48’s main building. Enrique walked around. By his second lap, he was sure nothing was going to happen. Jinxed it, Enrique. His walkie-talkie went off with a crackle. “Police car coming in at east entrance. Half a dozen more, four corners”, Lydia said. Enrique nodded, speaking into the device to show acknowledgement. He had barely gone five steps when Lydia spoke again. “Guards let them through…I don’t think they even. bothered to check the driver…oh SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT! Enrique! Come to the front!” Lydia spoke frantically. Enrique rushed to the far side, peering over the edge. The police cars were in…except these were no ordinary cars. They were the same ghost cars that took Warren’s leg. “Lydia, you’re faster. Run for the inventory. Tell anyone you see on the way to arm themselves. Do not let them get in cars. Too much of a risk of more ghost cars. Get us two RPG’s. I can hold them for a few minutes with my AK”, Enrique instructed Lydia, who nodded and sprinted into the building. Enrique didn’t need to aim. The police cars moved together in a fleet, jaws snapping, heading for the garage in a hole to make more of them. “Oh no you don’t”, Enrique muttered under his breath, pulling the trigger, tearing hoods apart and blowing engines up. Two police cars to go. At that moment, two things happened. First, Lydia returned panting, two RPG’s in her arms like footballs. Second, a good ten dozen more police cars charged at the gates. Mingled with them was an assortment of cars, ranging from small convertibles to large pickups. At this point, the guards at the gates had heard the gunshots and caught on, lowering the gates. No matter. The cars at the front either but through it or rammed it apart. Enrique and Lydia wasted no time, taking out half a dozen with a shot each. Below them, at ground level, the rest of Unit 48 poured out of the doors, firing. At first, it went well. Half the cars went down in the first hailstorm of bullets. A pause, then another one third went down. The cars swerved and headed into the garage. As the last mustang headed into the garage, a deafening honking sound was heard. Lydia and Enrique reached ground level as the honk sounded, and two dozen trucks came in like a herd of bulls. Volvo Semi’s ran over people. Blood spurred. Peterbilt’s charged at officers, however, sustaining only the loss of four men, the unit totaled the trucks. And that was when dread descended on the group. Chief Austin turned around to give an order to march, when a hand popped up. “Sir…how are we gonna distinguish our cars from the ghosts?”. A ripple of unease ran through the crowd. Chief Austin considered the question. “I trust that you all know what your respective cars are. Shoot the ones that aren’t normally in the garage. A murmur of agreement was heard. The unit marched into the garage, and split up. Enrique and Lydia went together to floor 2. They were followed by seven other members of the unit. As they neared the middle of the lot, they heard a scream and a revving of an engine echo down from the floor above. They formed into a tight circle facing outward after that. As they neared the ramp to floor three, the crew looked back. There, a Mercedes G-wagon was charging like a bull towards them. The crew all leaped out of the way, except for one unfortunate officer. The bumper on the Mercedes split, swallowing the private whole…before the beast of a car smashed through the wall of the garage, plummeting to ground level. Half an hour later, the unit regrouped at the ground floor, confirming that their floors were cleared. Suddenly, from the back, left, and right underground ramps, out sped three identical Chevy suburban. “Who checked those floors?!” Austin roared as the crew ran for the exit. Just then, a hearse swerved in front of the exit, jaws snapping. Suddenly, it exploded into flames, and the crew leaped out. A sixth of the crew screamed as the chevies feasted and burned in the hearse’s flames. “Who shot that hearse?” Enrique wondered aloud. “Who do you think?”. A voice spoke from the alley between the main building and the garage. It was Vincent, yet again the savior of unit 48.

Credits

We’d like to thank…

Ren Cai for his contribution to the article about the NBA season
Matthew Fu for writing his story about the ghost cars…

Silicon Valley Middle School News

SVM News – October Issue

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