Su Xi had originally placed high hopes on Shaquille O’Neal. His Super Strength Talent had been stuck at 93, and he was eager for some physical confrontation with O’Neal... otherwise, he never would have touched O’Neal’s head right in front of Kobe. That was a truly flagrant foul.

Kobe was an incredibly jealous person.

But O’Neal was truly unlucky, getting injured and taken out of the game just three seconds after it started... even shorter than the time his wife would complain he lasted in bed on a radio show five years later.

He was up for the jump ball against Ilgauskas. Ilgauskas didn’t even jump, but he just had to show off that even at 2.16 meters tall, he had an incredible vertical. When he landed, his right big toe came down first... aggravating the big toe injury that would plague him for his entire career.

A forklift entered the court and carried the 0.27-ton Shark out of the Staples Center.

With O’Neal gone, Su Xi couldn’t help but feel that his perfect plan had fallen through.

The Lakers began running isolation plays centered on Kobe, but Phil Jackson insisted on having Carl Malone and Kobe run the triangle offense. However, they had no chemistry. For the last ten-plus years, Carl Malone had been running the pick-and-roll with Stockton; he wasn’t someone who could quickly grasp the concepts of the triangle offense.

From the very beginning of the game, Su Xi was matched up against Gary Payton, and they battled on both ends of the court. Gary Payton had high praise for Su Xi’s defense. In the process of this back-and-forth, Su Xi’s understanding of ’Super Wrapping Defense’ improved by leaps and bounds, and he soon reached the maximum integration he was currently capable of: 92%.

Moreover, Su Xi’s 92% was superior to Gary Payton’s 92%.

This was why Su Xi was able to give Gary Payton such a hard time.

After the first quarter, the two teams were locked in a stalemate.

Su Xi rested on the bench for six minutes. During that time, Kobe and Ricky Davis engaged in a contest to see who was better at bricking shots, so the game made no real progress.

As Su Xi was waiting at the scorer’s table, Carl Malone walked over and said to him, "Hey, kid. Heard you were studying some ’triangle tactics’ with the sexiest woman in the world, Jessica, the other night? Why didn’t you call me?"

"I’m a real beast, you know. I could send Jessica soaring. I love Mexican girls. I mean, I could lift her up and do a Thomas spin on her..." Carl Malone then made a vulgar hip-thrusting motion.

He was still snickering... SLAP!

Su Xi reached out and slapped him across the face. He wasn’t about to put up with Malone’s foul mouth, even if he was one of the league’s all-time greats.

’But that doesn’t give you the fucking right to spout bullshit in front of me. You’re an old man with no respect, so don’t blame me for not holding back.’

Su Xi hadn’t used much force, but the slap was incredibly loud.

"Fuck you."

Su Xi shot back before striding onto the court.

Carl Malone never in his wildest dreams imagined Su Xi would slap him. He was too stunned to react at first. By the time his fury caught up, Su Xi was already on the court. Malone hastily followed, his face burning.

He was going to teach Su Xi a lesson.

At that very moment, Earl Johnson of TNT was saying on the broadcast, "It looks like Little Sheep Su Xi gets along great with the Lakers’ big four! He patted O’Neal’s head before the game, just now he gave Carl Malone a little pat on the face, and he’s been exchanging pointers with Gary Payton throughout the match..."

On the court, Su Xi ran a pick-and-roll with Carlos Boozer and made a quick drive toward the paint. Carl Malone switched onto him, planning to use his strength to knock Su Xi down... but he was a step too slow. Su Xi blew past him, penetrated the lane, and lobbed the ball to Ilgauskas. Big Z caught the pass and threw down a one-handed dunk.

On the way back up the court, Carl Malone viciously bumped into him again. "Kid, you dare challenge me one-on-one? Sooner or later, I’m going to have Jessica Alba. What makes you think you can even compare to me?"

Carl Malone said with extreme malice.

Ever since coming to Los Angeles from Salt Lake City, he’d been like a dog in heat, constantly on the prowl for the Mexican girls he favored.

He had originally intended to use his standing in the league to talk some trash at Su Xi, a small test of dominance. He never imagined Su Xi would actually dare to slap his face.

He had desperately wanted to punch Su Xi right then and there, to start an all-out brawl. But his head wasn’t pure muscle. A fight at the scorer’s table would undoubtedly go against him, since he had been the one to provoke Su Xi first.

So, he decided to get his revenge on the court—that was what he did best. The number of players he had taken out with his iron elbows and dirty fouls was beyond counting.

When Malone slammed into him, Su Xi stumbled forward a couple of steps. He was thrilled to feel his Super Strength Talent stirring within him, on the verge of leveling up.

"Why would I be scared? All you’ve got left is that mouth." Su Xi turned his head and said disdainfully, "You think you can do anything with that limp little bean sprout of yours?"

Those words struck a serious nerve with Carl Malone.

Once they reached the half-court set, Carl Malone immediately started backing Su Xi down, not even caring that they were still out near the three-point line.

Gary Payton frowned but passed him the ball.

Carl Malone had completely lost his cool.

He got the ball and immediately started backing him down with brute force, playing pure football style as he unleashed his power.

Carl Malone was the most insidious and malicious power forward of the 80s and 90s in the NBA, bar none. He held the record for the most technical fouls in NBA history, lapping the player in second place. He’d done just as many dirty deeds as Lambier, but since he was always viewed as the backdrop to Jordan’s story, he never got stuck with the "villain" label.