Chapter 108: Chapter 35: [This Is the Strong’s Wanton, Over-the-Top Humiliation of the Weak]

LeBron James gave it everything he had, playing with a fierce energy born from pure resentment as he unleashed his talent like never before.

To be honest, it wasn’t that he had any strong designs on Jessica Alba. It was more that... having been the center of attention his whole life, he couldn’t stand being upstaged—especially not by the man he’d designated as his own ’second-in-command’.

The feeling was like if Scottie Pippen were dating Madonna, and Michael Jordan ran over to say, "I want a shot too, I’m better than Pippen," only for Madonna to tell him, "Not a chance in hell."

The difference was, Jordan could quickly let that feeling go.

LeBron couldn’t. He was like a spoiled child.

Su Xi wasn’t defending James with full intensity or trying to disrupt his dribble. He simply matched the rhythm of James’s drives, feeling the release of his talent.

James broke through Su Xi’s defense time and again. He attacked the rim, throwing down one vicious dunk after another and roaring at the sky to vent his frustration.

The kid had been holding a lot in.

He even started trash-talking Su Xi. "Jack, you’ve still got a long way to go to catch up to me."

Su Xi grinned, but on the inside, he was laughing.

’Because in just half an hour, my Super Speed Talent has shot up from 89 to 93. That’s top-tier, just one step away from a truly Super Talent.’ Su Xi estimated that James’s own speed talent was probably around a 97.

The jump from 89 to the 90s in speed talent was a night-and-day difference. When Su Xi sprinted now, he felt the roaring rush of a wild beast; he could keep up with over eighty-five percent of the guards in the league. His coordination and agility hadn’t quite caught up, though. When he unleashed his explosive power and speed simultaneously, he had trouble putting on the brakes and maintaining his center of gravity.

To put it simply, his chassis was unstable, and the brake-dive was severe.

But it was a good problem to have.

In addition to his speed, his Super Explosive Power Talent had also integrated further, climbing one point from 95 to 96. That single point was enough to surpass dozens of the league’s most explosive players. At these high levels, every single point brought a tremendous leap in ability.

Su Xi felt his talent was stronger than ever. With the upgrade of his physical "hardware," the ceiling for his "software" talents was also rising. Originally, his body could only integrate 86% of Gary Payton’s ’Super Clinging Defense Talent’. Now, with his improved speed and explosiveness, that number had reached 89%. ’At this rate,’ he thought, ’I’ll definitely be able to push Payton’s Super Clinging Defense Talent to an incredible height. 120%? 130%?’

Physical talent, technical talent.

The hardware and software were advancing in tandem.

He was progressing on two fronts.

"Jack, you need to step it up. If your defense is only at this level, you might not be able to handle Chris Webber," James said to Su Xi, wiping sweat from his brow after their 35-minute one-on-one session.

Having vented most of his resentment through his dunks, he started to show some concern for Su Xi. "Don’t make yourself a laughingstock. All the media outlets are watching you now."

Su Xi smiled. "I might not be able to stop you, but there’s a good chance I can stop Chris Webber."

"A chance?"

James’s brow furrowed. "You can’t stop me at all, Jack. Getting past you is like strolling across an empty street."

Uh...

Su Xi felt a flicker of annoyance. He really wanted to tell James, ’Alright, let’s go another round.’

But he decided against it. It was better to play the long game; he’d need James’s support down the line.

James had been in perfect form today. He played with raw emotion, unleashing everything, which was why Su Xi’s talent integration had been so fast.

Su Xi realized, ’Just three or four more sessions like this, and my explosive power and speed talents will be on par with James’s.’

Su Xi was beginning to understand James. He was different from Cameron; Antonio didn’t care about most things. James, however, was very particular. He liked being the leader, loved being flattered, and enjoyed hearing praise. You had to stroke his ego.

But, Su Xi also knew, ’I’m a natural counter to his style of play.’ Although he was still physically inferior to James in many ways, and not as tall, he could match James’s lower body strength. He could use his explosiveness and speed to stay with him for the first couple of steps, and with his Glove-level clinging defense, it would be enough to disrupt James’s offensive rhythm. ’His skills aren’t as refined as Antonio’s.’

...

Sacramento is the capital of California, supposedly a model city. But Su Xi’s impression of the place was not good.

The team bus hadn’t even reached Sacramento. While still on the highway, some basketball hooligans in a car pulled up alongside them, holding signs that read: "Fu-ck ’Su-Xi’" and other racist slogans like "Go back, Asian monkey."

For the past two and a half days, the media had been in a frenzy over the story. Su Xi was painted as an arrogant rookie who didn’t know his place, overestimating his own abilities by challenging a superstar and showing him zero respect.

It quickly escalated into a full-blown public condemnation from the entire basketball world.

Basketball media, commentators, stars, and fans all joined the pile-on.

They all believed Su Xi deserved to be taught a lesson.

The last person to get this kind of treatment was Allen Iverson. Back then, the media disliked his personality and deliberately seized on a single quote—"I don’t want to be the second Michael Jordan"—to launch a crusade against him. They accused him of being disrespectful to the God of Basketball, and the criticism was overwhelming. Those critiques persisted even after Iverson had firmly established himself as his team’s franchise player.

But Iverson was born defiant; he never backed down and never showed weakness. After he carved out his own legacy, the very same media outlets that had bullied him started praising his past defiance of authority.

So this time, Iverson didn’t go with the flow.

He said, "I don’t think Jack said anything wrong."

He made his stance clear but didn’t elaborate.

Across the entire league, only one NBA star came out in full public support of Su Xi.

That was Gilbert Arenas.

"Who does Chris Webber think he is? He’s old and fat, like an expired can of herring. The man stinks."

"What are those media hacks on about? The game hasn’t even been played. How do you know Jack can’t take down Weber? Jack’s my little bro. I know how tough he is. He destroyed everyone who provoked him in Chicago. Just you wait. You’re all going to eat your words."

"I can’t wait to see how you’re going to spin this when it’s over."

Arenas unapologetically took Su Xi’s side.

He demonstrated his loyalty in the midst of the firestorm.

However, this brought a barrage of criticism down on him. People attacked him for also overestimating his importance and for going against public opinion.

Kobe Bryant and Gary Payton both called Su Xi privately. They offered him encouragement and shared a few tips on how to handle Weber.

Payton couldn’t speak out publicly due to the politics of the league.

Kobe was dealing with his own troubles at the time; if he supported Su Xi, it would only bring more negative attention his way.

Aside from those four, almost the entire league was waiting to watch Su Xi make a fool of himself.

Kevin Garnett even played the clown for the media. He rubbed his dark, bald head and made a boxing gesture. "Heh heh. Chris, everyone’s saying you’re getting old. It’s time to show them what you’ve really got. Don’t let these rookies who don’t know their place keep provoking you. Little Sheep Su Xi... what a weird name. Anyway, you should probably go buy some insurance right now. I’m not kidding."

Besides Garnett, many other players publicly sided with Weber on television.

Their comments only added more fuel to the fire.

This was why the Cavaliers’ team bus was met with provocations before it even entered Sacramento.

In fact, a crowd of Kings fans had already gathered outside the Cavaliers’ hotel, waving banners and shouting all kinds of vulgar insults.

"Jack, it feels like we’re running for Governor of California. You’ve got people gathering everywhere and chanting catchy slogans," Ah Bu joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Su Xi’s mental fortitude was excellent; he wasn’t the least bit disturbed by the provocations. He knew his destination, and this was just a small pebble on the path. ’If I don’t even have the courage to face this, how can I ever dream of reaching the top?’

It’s true what they say: hardship reveals who your real friends are.

Carlos Boozer, who was a complete liability on defense, actually volunteered to take on a bigger defensive role during the pre-game meeting with Stephen Silas. He wanted to get physical with Chris Webber.

Jason Kapono, who wasn’t even in the regular rotation, also wanted to help shoulder Su Xi’s burden.

It was worth noting that Ricky Davis, despite the crisis Su Xi was facing, didn’t try to kick him while he was down in the locker room.

Of course, he didn’t offer any support either.

That in itself was pretty decent.

October 26th. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The opening night of the 2003-2004 NBA regular season had officially arrived.

Originally, this was supposed to be a carefully orchestrated debut for LeBron James. His nickname was "King," so the league scheduled his first game against the Kings. The symbolism was obvious.

However, after Chris Webber’s sarcastic remarks and Su Xi’s sharp counterattack, the situation escalated rapidly. It had now become the most anticipated game in the basketball world. Everyone was waiting for the superstar Chris Webber to unleash his fury on his home court and destroy the nobody, Su Xi.

TNT and ABC were both broadcasting the game nationally across the United States.

The game was also being broadcast live in 18 other countries, including on CCTV in China.

It was safe to say that Su Xi’s debut was the most anticipated of any rookie in the past decade.

It might even be unprecedented.

After all, it was the first time in history that a superstar had publicly declared he was going to destroy a rookie during a game, and the entire Kings team had come out in support of Weber.

Their head coach, Adelman, who had previously called the whole thing foolish, had completely changed his tune before the game. He now claimed they had made specific strategic adjustments to give Weber plenty of one-on-one opportunities against Su Xi.

He was bowing to the overwhelming will of the people.

American fans desperately needed a one-sided beatdown to lift their spirits.

They were just slowly recovering from the dot-com bubble and the stock market crash, and the shadow of the World Trade Center still loomed over them.

A host of complex emotions was brewing inside Akco Arena.

Before the game even started, twenty thousand people were chanting in unison: "Fu-ck! ’Su-Xi’! Fu-ck! ’Su-Xi’! Fu-ck! ’Su-Xi’!"

Even the arena’s DJ was leading the fans in their roar.

It was, without a doubt, a one-sided psychological assault on Su Xi.

And yet, in the face of this raging storm, the TNT cameras showed Su Xi looking completely calm. He chewed his gum, his expression impassive, and even reached over to pat the heads of Boozer and Kapono beside him.

Su Xi looked even more relaxed than Boozer and Kapono.

"I have to say, even though the guy’s arrogant, cocky, disrespectful, and rude, his mental fortitude is pretty good," Kenny Smith commented on the broadcast.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Kenny, Kenny. I can’t agree with that," Charles Barkley quickly interjected, waving his hands. "You need to get one thing straight: Chris Webber provoked Little Sheep Su Xi first. He’s the one who made fun of Su Xi’s nickname. He started it."

"No, Charles. My point is, he never should have called himself the ’Genius Killer’ in the first place. That’s an insult in itself. Besides, who does he think he is, challenging a superstar? He has to pay the price for his arrogance and cockiness. The NBA isn’t a playground. Tonight, he’s in for a rude awakening." Kenny countered from his perspective, siding with Chris Webber.

Barkley, however, felt Su Xi didn’t deserve this treatment. "This is just the strong shamelessly bullying the weak and blowing it way out of proportion. I guarantee you, if it were Shaquille O’Neal saying this to Chris Webber, they wouldn’t dare pull any of this. And Chris wouldn’t be acting all offended, pretending he has to get some tough-guy revenge."

"But he’s not Shaquille O’Neal, is he? Why couldn’t he wait until he *was* Shaquille O’Neal to say something like that?" Kenny Smith said, spreading his hands. He was one to kiss up to the powerful, even though he’d never been powerful himself.

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