One Year Left to Play-Chapter 345 - 108: What If We Win?
Itβs clear that his playing style now is not as stubbornly focused on showcasing skills as before; instead, he has learned to do whatever the team needs.
... π§π³π¦β―ππ¦π·π―ππ£π¦π.πΈπ°π
...
"Remaining life: 521 days, Usable life: 520 days."
Room 04, 4th floor, Four Seasons Hotel Chicago.
At 6:15 AM, Zhang Hao woke up and saw the life countdown.
However, seeing that recently made him quite happy, with life consistently above 500 days!
"Itβs a pity I canβt exploit the bug with 500 days of life. I really miss that bug pack!"
Zhang Hao checked the task list.
Tonight, a task with extremely generous rewards is about to begin...
Glorious Mark - Defeat the Bulls!
He completed this task once before but was traded that night, leaving behind a brief stint with the Brooklyn Nets.
"If we beat the Bulls tonight, Iβll instantly get 60 days of life and one Silver Lottery Draw Opportunity, roughly equivalent to 150 Celestial Mandate!
But itβs tough..."
After finishing the game against the Bullets at 7:22 last night, the Lakers flew to Chicago that same night. Fortunately, they arrived at the hotel at 11:40, and Zhang Hao went straight to sleep upon arrival.
However, upon exiting the airport in Chicago, Zhang Hao saw the news. Just as the Lakers defeated the Bullets, the Bulls had their first home game of a back-to-back against the Pacers, beating them 120-83 for revenge, thrashing them by 37 points.
Why is it revenge?
Because on December 8th, the Pacers defeated the Bulls 103-97 after double overtime, handing the Bulls their fourth loss of the season.
Then, when the Bulls faced the Pacers again, the entire Pacers team appeared dismal, with Reggie Miller scoring 14 points on 5-for-20 shooting, Schmitz scoring 10 points on 3-for-12 shooting... The highest scorer on the Pacers was Eddie Johnson, who was ignored and scored 23 points on 8-for-10 shooting from open positions.
The thought of Reggie Millerβs experience after defeating Jordan once in double overtime, and then considering the Magicβs defeat by the Bulls on December 13th, losing 89-113 with Anfernee Hardaway scoring 20 on 7-for-20 shooting... made Zhang Hao swallow hard.
Currently, the Lakersβ record has improved to 16-7, with Zhang Hao contributing to a 6-2 record after joining, which looks pretty good.
But he knows that during this period, the Lakersβ schedule has been dense, and their opponents have been generally weak; they lost to the only two really strong opponents, the Spurs and the Rockets.
Under normal circumstances, itβs tough for the Lakers to beat those top-tier teams.
Zhang Hao opted to open another long-term task, and his mood improved instantly.
Last night, facing fourth pick in the same draft class, Rashid Wallace, Zhang Haoβs team won, and he personally scored 23-4, easily defeating Rashid Wallace, gaining an additional 10 days of life as a reward.
"Whatβs meant to be will come, and who knows? What if we do win?"
...
"The Magician Returns to Battle Jordan"
Early this morning, various media outlets were promoting tonightβs game, with Time Warner Cable Sports and American Cable TV Station teamed up with CBC for a nationwide broadcast by two major TV groups!
Morning reports and TV program recommendations were all about promoting this game.
Itβs getting a lot of attention!
No time for preparation; with 10 games in 7 days, even the simplest prep time was unavailable, as many Lakers players slept till noon for lunch and headed to the United Center in the afternoon for pre-game preparations.
The Magician officially returns, and the number of reporters present was overwhelming. Before the warm-up, Zhang Hao wanted to watch the Bullsβ game against the Pacers from last night, but as the most popular rookie, many wanted to interview him.
Any slip-up by this rookie would become big news.
Obviously, it wasnβt just Zhang Hao; the media persistently tried to extract responses from Lakers players against the Magicianβs return, aiming for any expressions of discontent or anything that could be interpreted as such.
But ever since the Lakers and NBA officially announced the Magicianβs return, the Lakersβ press officer had briefed each player individually on this matter, ensuring they memorized official responses to various questions.
However, even though no comments were elicited, Zhang Hao was annoyed and sneaked off.
"Given the number of journalists interviewing us, the Bulls must be having it similarly... Nobody would suspect that I might sneak over to the Bullsβ side..."
Zhang Hao changed into casual attire and entered the United Centerβs commercial area, bought a Bulls hoodie and a cap with the Bulls logo, returned to the locker room to change, and quietly went to the Bullsβ training ground.
The number of reporters there was just as many as for the Lakers!
No one noticed one more "Bulls player" around.
But after discreetly wandering around, Zhang Hao didnβt see Jordan! Even reporters and Bulls staff were looking for him!
"Has Boss Qiao snuck out just like me? Could he be looking for me... Impossible."
Quietly coming and leaving, no one noticed Zhang Haoβs presence on the Bullsβ training ground.
But while walking, Zhang Hao got lost...
"Is this the warehouse?"
Zhang Hao was about to turn around and find his way again when he suddenly heard the sound of hitting.
Peering inside through the half-open warehouse door, Jordan was inside! He was punching a sandbag hanging inside the warehouse!
"Five crowns, five crowns, five crowns... F..."
After a vulgar remark, Jordan unleashed a stream of slang Zhang Hao couldnβt understand.
"Better not tempt fate..."
Just as Zhang Hao was about to leave, he heard Jordan shout another sentence.
"Everyoneβs talking about that guyβs five crowns. Are five crowns really impressive? Theyβre somewhat impressive... I must win six championships to surpass that guy, or I wonβt retire!"
Zhang Hao sneakily peeked again, only to find Jordan clinging to the sandbag with a fierce expression, as if he wanted to bite the bag apart.
"So scary..."
Zhang Hao decisively chose to leave.
Just as Zhang Hao finally found his way back to the visiting teamβs locker room, a task prompt arrived!
"Basketball realm, godlike player Michael Jordan vows to surpass the Magician Elvin Johnsonβs 5 championships, Optional Task: Godslayer triggered..."
