"Coach, hello. I heard from Weber that you're the one who made this reunion possible."
"Thank you."
Jalen Rose was very polite, immediately thanking Lin Yu upon approaching.
Jamie King and Ray Jackson quickly followed suit, thanking Lin Yu as well.
"Jinx, you should thank Zhu Wan too."
Webb quickly interjected.
Lin Yu looked utterly bewildered, craning his neck to scan the training ground. Had he just heard the name Jinx?
"Chris? Jinx?"
Webb nodded with a smile. "Jinx is Jalen's nickname. We all call him Jinx."
"He's had terrible luck since he was a kid, so that's how the nickname stuck."
Lin Yu stared at Jalen Rose, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. You're telling me this burly guy over two meters tall is a Rage-Quitting Loli?
Rage-Quitting Loli Jalen Rose!!
Jinx, meaning bad luck, misfortune, or an ill-omened person.
When the next random aura didn't grant Jinx's passive ability "Sinful Delight" in League of Legends, Lin Yu was the first to protest.
Seeing the oversized Jinx before him, Lin Yu felt a wicked sense of amusement.
"Hey, buddy, read this with me."
"Rules are meant to be broken."
Jalen Rose stared blankly. He'd heard from Weber that this young coach was a bit crazy, but he hadn't imagined it would be this extreme—asking him to recite poetry right off the bat?
Newly arrived Jalen Rose didn't want to make a bad impression on the team's head coach. He forced a smile and recited it once with Lin Yu.
"Yeah, that's right. Now, if you could just put a little more feeling into it. Now, sing along with me."
"You're a loser, always looking like you're about to cry..."
Jalen Rose genuinely felt like crying. He sang along with Lin Yu, utterly embarrassed, goosebumps rising on his back.
"Excellent!"
"I'm a madman, with a doctor's certificate to prove it."
Those were the only lines from Jinx that Lin Yu could remember.
Jalen Rose couldn't take it anymore. He was convinced Lin Yu was truly insane—no doctor's diagnosis needed. He knew it without a doubt.
"Ahem, Coach, we're flying to Los Angeles for tonight's away game. Maybe let them rest first?"
Seeing Jalen Rose on the verge of tears, Weber rushed in to break the tension.
Lin Yu agreed it made sense. Besides, he needed to move out soon. He planned to move into the spacious, bright house after the away game instead of staying in that musty basement....
Upon hearing Lin Yu was moving, besides Ben, Fly, Legs, and General insisted on helping.
Lin Yu didn't refuse any of them. He didn't have a car, but Bike did, so he could help transport some stuff.
When Lin Yu brought the four of them to his place, they exchanged stunned glances before even stepping inside. Lin Yu lived in a place like this?
As Lin Yu opened the door and switched on the dim, yellow light, Big Ben saw the shabby furnishings inside and actually started tearing up.
The smell was unbearable, and the sound of insects crawling could be heard.
The room contained only a metal bed, looking like a relic from World War II.
"Coach, have you always lived here?"
Daben asked through his tears.
He felt a deep ache in his heart, his body trembling slightly.
All along, he'd assumed Lin Yu was a rich kid—how else could he have so generously gifted him a Rolex, and just now handed over twenty thousand dollars without batting an eye?
He never dreamed Lin Yu had been living in a basement all along. That twenty thousand dollars plus the Rolex would easily cover two or three years in a decent apartment.
In that instant, Ben felt he owed Lin Yu an enormous debt. He wanted to throw his arms around Lin Yu and weep.
"What are you crying about? This is weird—why is everyone so teary lately?"
"Harvey shed at least a pound of tears yesterday. Now you're crying too, Ben?"
Not knowing what had happened, Fei Che couldn't help but tease Ben as he saw his teary eyes.
"Coach, he..." Ben started to explain.
Lin Yu waved him off. "Never mind, Ben. I'm moving, right?"
"Damn it, my bluff's busted. I don't have that many Rolexes at home."
"Stop standing around like fools, free laborers! Get to work!"
Though he called it moving, Lin Yu didn't have much to pack—not even enough for Ben to carry alone. He'd refused any help from the others.
"Hey, that's funny—you really enjoy being a free laborer, huh?"
"We Black folks have been serfs for centuries. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech was all for nothing."
Fei Che's ideological awareness was truly high. No wonder he was the godfather of the European Immortal—anything he said could be elevated to a higher plane.
Dibben ignored him completely, hoisting all of Lin Yu's luggage onto his back. His mind was set on escaping this basement as fast as possible.
Staying here only deepened his endless guilt toward Lin Yu.
"Ding! Ben Wallace's Affinity increased. Current Affinity: Full 100 points."
"Host successfully completed a perfect player strategy. Reward: 1 Charm point. Current Charm: 7 points."
"The Charm attribute determines the host's interpersonal skills. Higher Charm makes gaining favor easier."
Lin Yu listened intently to the system prompts. Charm? Enhancing social skills? Could this attribute actually help with picking up girls?
Having finally crossed over, Lin Yu was eager to heed the adage about the dangers of lust and taste the bitter fruits of female charms.
Looks like he'd better focus on wooing more players—the benefits were simply too numerous to ignore.
Lin Yu secured his new place early in the morning—a spot just minutes from the training ground, less than a twenty-minute walk away.
The one-bedroom apartment spanned over a hundred square meters with excellent natural light. At $1,500 a month, the rent was well within Lin Yu's budget.
"Coach, here's the ten thousand dollars you gave me."
"I can't accept it. I'm sorry—I truly had no idea you were struggling so much."
"As for that other ten thousand in fines, I'll repay you as soon as possible."
Before leaving, Big Ben returned the stack of bills to Lin Yu, his eyes red.
"I'm living in a place like this now—do I really need your ten thousand? Just keep it."
"I've got over a hundred thousand sitting in my account, and I'll earn nearly a million more this week. Honestly, ten thousand doesn't make a difference."
"Don't believe me? When have I ever lied to you? Except for that Rolex incident."
Seeing Big Ben's skeptical expression, Lin Yu feigned anger.
The straightforward Big Ben merely nodded and blinked before heading back to pack for the upcoming road trip.
At four o'clock that afternoon, Lin Yu boarded the flight to Los Angeles with his team and entourage.
Facing a powerhouse like the Lakers filled Lin Yu with anticipation, especially the chance to compete against legends like Shaq and Kobe.
Webber held significant historical standing, but compared to Shaq and Kobe, he simply wasn't in the same league.
The OK duo stands as the highest-ranked pair in NBA history. In the subsequent list of the league's 75 greatest players, Kobe Bryant ranked tenth and Shaquille O'Neal eleventh—no other duo could match their standing.
Take the Utah Jazz's "Double Trouble" combo: Karl Malone ranked 23rd, while John Stockton placed 24th.
The Spurs' "Twin Towers" pairing saw Tim Duncan at eighth, while David Robinson only reached 25th.
Even in the Jordan-Pippen duo of basketball's greatest legend, Pippen lagged significantly, ranking only 32nd.
Upon learning that assembling legendary duos grants permanent auras, Lin Yu wondered what kind of aura he might receive if he could reunite the OK duo.
Of course, it was merely a fantasy. Lin Yu wasn't delusional enough to believe he could trade for both Shaq and Kobe.
After arriving in Los Angeles at 8 PM, the team rested overnight at the hotel. The next day, they trained for half a day before the evening game.
During the pre-game warm-up, Lin Yu sat courtside watching the starters take the court.
Ben Wallace's affinity was already maxed out. Under the Peak Aura's effect, he had officially entered his prime, giving Lin Yu added confidence for tonight's matchup.
The Lakers were too strong—or more accurately, Shaq was too strong.
Without Peak mode, Ben Wallace struggled against Sekulovic last game. Facing a monster like Shaq? He simply couldn't hold his own.
Now in Peak mode, Wallace still couldn't guard Shaq one-on-one. But at least he wouldn't get completely overpowered.
Legs was chatting and laughing with Kobe, whose face was full of collagen. Since he was close enough to Lin Yu, he could even hear Kobe calling Legs "Uncle Tim."
No matter how hard Lin Yu racked his brain, he couldn't fathom what connection these two could possibly have.
Once they parted ways, Lin Yu quickly motioned for Legs to come over.
"You know that kid?" Lin Yu asked curiously, his gossipy side kicking in.
"Of course I do. I even held him when he was a baby."
"Blink of an eye and he's all grown up, made it to the NBA, and got drafted so high too."
Leg Brother remarked with a tone of an elder appraising a younger generation.
Lin Yu was even more puzzled. To him, they seemed like players from two entirely different worlds, yet somehow they shared this connection.
Noticing Lin Yu's confused expression, Leg Brother explained.
"I graduated from Russell University. One of my seniors was Joe Bryant—nicknamed Sweet Pea. Ever heard of him?"
"Ten years ago, during our alumni reunion, I was still playing for Russell. Old Sweet Pea brought this kid along."
All these years, Sweet Pea and I've stayed in touch. What can you do? We were Russell University's most accomplished players, after all.
"He called me just a few months ago, asking me to look after this kid. Who knows who'll be taking care of whom in the future."
Hearing Leg Brother's explanation, Lin Yu felt a wave of absurdity wash over him. Man, what a small world.
Russell University wasn't exactly a basketball powerhouse. Since its founding, the school team had produced only two NBA players: "Sweet Pea" Joe Bryant, the 14th overall pick in the 1975 draft, and Legs.
The two had always admired each other's skills and maintained a close friendship over the years.
"Huh? Then why does he call you 'Uncle'?" Lin Yu pressed.
"I'm 33, and he just turned 18. What else would he call me?" Legs shrugged.
Lin Yu gasped. "What? You're already 33? I always thought you were around my age!"
"What? So by that logic, Kobe is actually my nephew?!"