Lin Yu and Webber left the general manager's office.
"Coach, thank you! If it weren't for you, Jalen might be finished."
"After being traded back-to-back times in less than a month, which team would still want him?"
Webber said with lingering fear.
He was feeling extremely mixed emotions. He felt sorry for Dwight Howard, but he also wanted Jalen Rose to stay with him.
"Ding! Chris Webber's favorability has increased. It's now 90 points."
Lin Yu understood. He had just stepped up to protect Jalen Rose, thus completing Webber's favorability mission.
Just like Ben Wallace, reaching Webber's favorability at full value required certain specific scenarios.
"Where's that Jalen kid? Call him over."
A moment later, Jalen Rose followed Lin Yu into a taxi outside the club.
"Coach, where are we going? You're not sending me away from Washington, are you?"
"I've been traded?"
Jalen Rose asked with a bitter face.
"Where are we going? To church, of course. Go and confess. Confess all the bad things you've done in your life."
"I just don't believe it. Not even God can stop your bad luck."
Lin Yu was truly terrified. There was no telling what might happen to the other Bullets players next. He simply took Rose to pray to the gods, at least to find peace of mind.
After arriving at the church, Lin Yu pushed Rose into the confessional. He confessed everything from how he stole other children's lollipops at the age of three to how he slept with a decent woman a month ago and hadn't contacted her since.
The priest was stunned; he hadn't seen such devout believers in a long time.
Not long after leaving the church, Rose realized he had lost his wallet. He rushed back to the church and searched for it for half an hour but couldn't find it.
Lin Yu was speechless. What kind of monstrous bad luck is this? Even God can't stop it?
"Let's go to Chinatown!"
"If God can't do it, let's go find the Three Pure Ones, the Tathagata and Guanyin. I really don't believe in superstition."
Lin Yu thought Chinatown should have these deities.
Unfortunately, he searched around and found nothing. However, he did see a statue of Guan Erye in a Chinese restaurant.
Lin Yu made up his mind and simply invited Guan Erye back to Ross. Could it be that Guan Erye couldn't control it? Who knew the Chinese restaurant wouldn't give him anything? You can't just invite someone like that.
Money talks. Lin Yu simply took out five thousand US dollars in cash and finally invited Guan Erye.
As they left Chinatown, passing a stall selling used books, Lin Yu spotted an antique painting that was, surprisingly, of the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan.
So he simply invited them along.
"Coach, are you sure this works better than God?" Ross was on the verge of tears, cradling Guan Yu in his left hand and holding the statue of the Heavenly King in his right.
"Sincerity is the key to success, understand? Go back and make offerings to him daily.
"Well, you don't have much to offer here, so why not offer steak and wine? Let us, the Eastern gods, enjoy some foreign cuisine."
Lin Yu felt a little more at ease, feeling certain this time it would work.
"Then I should know what they're called, right?" Ross asked with a doleful look on his face.
"The one on your left is the loyal and valiant Guan Yu, the Martial Saint and formidable Guan Yu. No luck can withstand a blow from him.
"The one on your right is Hong Xiuquan, the second son of God, the younger brother of Jesus, recognized by the Vatican. God is old and ineffective, but perhaps his son can resolve your misfortune."
Hearing Lin Yu's clear reasoning, Ross felt reassured and decided to pay his tribute daily as Lin Yu had instructed.
"Ding, Jalen Rose's favorability has increased, currently at 60 points."
How could Ross not be moved by Lin Yu's efforts, even inviting an Eastern immortal to his side?
That evening, there was a game against the Seattle SuperSonics. In the afternoon, Lin Yu allowed the players to practice for a while, and he called Mashburn and Cassell over to his side.
So ugly!
This was Lin Yu's first impression of Cassell. He had never seen Cassell in person in his previous life, and now that he saw him, he felt even uglier than he had on TV.
So strong!
This was Lin Yu's impression of Mashburn. This guy looked a bit like Webber, but he looked much stronger than Webber.
Although Cassell was ugly, he was always smiling, giving off a very polite vibe. Mashburn looked good, but he always had a stern expression, looking a bit rebellious.
"Sam, go practice first. I want to talk to Jamal alone for a while." Lin Yu sent Cassell away, keeping Mashburn.
"Man, I'm going to start you tonight."
"Originally, you were about to be traded to the Heat. When I heard the news, I used Chaney to intercept the deal." "Do you know why I'm doing this?"
Lin Yu smiled gently.
Before Mashburn could speak, Lin Yu continued, "Because I know you'll return to your peak sooner or later, and become that top-tier forward who can both drive and shoot."
"Your career will be revitalized in my hands. I'm absolutely certain of it!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a smile crossed Lin Yu's face. He heard a system notification, and Mashburn's favorability level activated.
Despite appearing unruly, this guy actually has a soft heart. Lin Yu easily won Mashburn's favor. Although his favorability was only 10 points, Lin Yu could now view Mashburn's stats.
[Jamal Mashburn]
[Strength [Speed 82] [Bounce 84]
[Low Post Offense 43] [Peripheral Defense 91] [Rebounds 75] [Blocks 78] [Steals 81]
[Mid-Range Shooting 61] [Three-Point Shooting 48] [Free Throwing 81] [Passing 51] [Ball Handling 62] [Drive 73]
This attribute made Lin Yu frown. It was far worse than he expected.
His athletic talent is top-notch, on par with Webber. His perimeter defense is also top-tier, but his offensive attributes are a bit ridiculously low.
61 points in mid-range shooting and 48 points in three-point shooting. Honestly, Sun Yue might even be better than him.
Judging from his attributes, he must have fully recovered physically, otherwise he wouldn't have such athleticism and defensive prowess. But what the hell is this offensive attribute?
Is it a psychological issue?
Lin Yu remembered that Mashburn's serious injury occurred while driving for a layup. Did this injury haunt his offensive game?
"Hey, man, I wonder if you've ever heard the saying, 'Defense wins championships.'"
Lin Yu pondered for a moment before asking.
Mashburn nodded. "I've heard of it. Pat Riley said it."
Lin Yu was stunned. "Why do I remember Jordan saying it? Never mind. Regardless of who said it, it's true."
"I really need a strong defensive 3-position player. That's the main reason I traded you."
"Offense is secondary. As long as you can defend well, even if you score zero points every game, I won't replace you in the starting lineup."
"Do you understand what I mean?"
Lin Yu asked, looking directly into Mashburn's eyes.
"Ding, Jamal Mashburn's favorability has increased, currently at 30 points!
This beep confirmed to Lin Yu that Mashburn truly had an aversion to offense. This was the real reason his averages had plummeted since returning from 24 points on 44% shooting to 10 points on 37% shooting!
'It seems like if I want Mashburn to get back to his peak form, I need to find him a psychiatrist.' "What the hell is this? I just prayed for the unfortunate guy, and now I have to find a doctor for the monster.
"My job as a coach is so tough!"
Lin Yu complained bitterly. He wished he could be a hands-off manager like Unseld, but if he did, the Bullets would be completely finished.
At seven o'clock in the evening, Lin Yu and the other players were in the locker room.
"Why aren't we playing Seattle away? You may not believe this, but I've never been to Aurora Boulevard!" Ever since he started his business in the Holy City, Brother Tuizi has been constantly talking about obscenities.
Seattle's Aurora Boulevard is considered one of the world's three new holy places, along with Shenyang Avenue and the New York Subway.
The name Aurora sounds romantic, but it's actually a massive den of prostitution, home to women of all races and from all over the world, even having a street called "Xiaozizi" and a street called "South Korea."
We've all heard of sleepless nights in Seattle. Why? It's all because of Aurora Boulevard.
"Don't even mention it. Aurora Boulevard is a place I never want to go again."
"Two years ago, when I was still with the Houston Rockets, I went to Seattle for an away game and went to Aurora Boulevard with my teammates to see the world."
"I saw a woman blocking a man's drink in a nightclub. I thought, what an elegant woman! I wish she was my girlfriend!"
"When I got closer, oh my god, she's my girlfriend."
"The alien Cassell covered his face in agony. Everyone in the locker room burst into laughter, even Lin Yu joined in.
"It has to be said," Cassell, though ugly, was much more sociable than Mashburn. He'd only just arrived, but he'd already gotten along well with his teammates." Lin Yu gathered the players and announced tonight's starting lineup.
"Center Antonio Davis," "Power Forward Webber," "Small Forward Mashburn," "Shooting Guard Derrick Rose," and "Point Guard Speed."
When Harvey heard that he would be a substitute tonight, he and Brother Tuizi looked at each other and smiled bitterly. They were both beaten to pieces in Denver. Lin Yu did not let them start, and the two of them really had no temper at all.