harleyscars Chapter 9: A Deadly Shot Despite Injury, Summer League MVP
Chapter 9: A Deadly Shot Despite Injury, Summer League MVP
The moment Lin Hao landed, his left ankle felt like it had been twisted by a red-hot vise, the piercing tearing sensation shooting up his shinbone to the top of his head. He groaned, slamming his knee hard onto the floor, his hand gripping his instantly swollen ankle so tightly that his knuckles turned white and his fingernails almost dug into his flesh.
The team doctor rushed onto the field like a madman. Richardson, his eyes red, tried to shove away Williams, who was feigning innocence and shrugging, but Lin Hao grabbed him by the back of the collar. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead, staining the floor with small wet patches, but he forced a smile, his Northeastern accent trembling with barely suppressed emotion, yet each word was clear: "What are you going to do? Fight him? What's the point of winning? Get sent off and let this kid get a free victory?"
"I'll fucking step on your feet! I'm going to cripple you!" Richardson was trembling with rage, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
Lin Hao braced himself against the floor, slowly lifting himself up. The moment his left foot touched the ground, another tearing pain shot through him. He instinctively shifted all his weight onto his right foot, his jersey already soaked with cold sweat and clinging tightly to his back.
Images from his past life suddenly flashed through his mind—at sixteen, he had sprained his ankle in the same way. The team doctor told him to leave the game, but he stubbornly played the entire provincial tournament, ultimately tearing his cruciate ligament. The doctor showed him the X-ray and said, "You can forget about playing professionally for the rest of your life." That was a regret he carried for a lifetime, a lingering resentment he couldn't swallow even in the dead of night.
He looked down at his ankle, which was swollen like a bun, then looked up and scanned the audience staring at him, finally fixing his gaze on Williams, who was sitting opposite him with a smug look on his face.
Fuck the truce, fuck permanent damage.
I was reborn not to repeat the same mistakes, nor to leave with regrets.
"I'm not leaving the field." Lin Hao pushed away the team doctor's outstretched hand and said, word by word, "What's this little injury? Even if I broke my leg, I could still sit on the sidelines and call out tactics for 40 minutes. Today, I have to finish this game myself."
The audience erupted in thunderous applause as they watched the limping Chinese boy. Someone in the stands pulled out a suona and played the tune of "A Man Should Be Self-Reliant," prompting the entire audience to clap along. The applause and the suona's sound mingled together, striking Lin Hao's heart like a hammer blow.
Williams stood on the field, his face alternating between red and white. He had originally thought he could knock Lin Hao off the field with this move, but he hadn't expected the kid to be so tough, refusing to leave even with an injury. He felt inexplicably panicked, but he still wouldn't hold back, spewing trash talk at Lin Hao as he approached: "Kid, don't push yourself too hard, if your leg breaks later, no one will collect your corpse."
Lin Hao glanced at him, too lazy to even acknowledge him, and simply stretched his ankle before slowly replying, "Instead of wasting time talking nonsense, you should think about how to explain to the reporters if you lose, that the second overall pick was so thoroughly outmaneuvered by a second-round internet celebrity."
In short, Williams almost knocked the air out of him.
The game restarted, and Lin Hao stood on the court with a limp, visibly hesitant to use his left foot, and his running was much slower than before. Williams' eyes lit up; he felt an opportunity had arrived. He immediately waved to his teammates, calling for the ball to go one-on-one with Lin Hao. In his mind, a Lin Hao with a sprained ankle was like a toothless tiger—easy for him to handle.
But as soon as he dribbled the ball and charged forward, he realized something was wrong.
Lin Hao didn't try to outrun him at all. He just stood still, his center of gravity extremely low, his feet shoulder-width apart, as stable as a mountain. His left hand was held horizontally in front of him to interfere with passing routes, and his eyes were fixed on his shoulders and hips. Just as he was about to lower his shoulder and change direction, Lin Hao had already positioned himself in his path of attack, leaving him no space whatsoever.
It was as if he had opened his third eye; Lin Hao knew exactly where Lin Hao was going next!
For three consecutive rounds, Williams couldn't even break through. He was either forced to pass the ball by Lin Hao or forced to shoot but missed. He couldn't even score a decent attack.
The commentators on the sidelines were stunned, repeatedly exclaiming into their microphones, "My God! I can't believe my eyes! Lin Hao, with a sprained ankle, is actually managing to defend Jay Williams so well! His defensive anticipation is simply legendary! He doesn't even need to run; he knows where Williams is going!"
The audience went wild, chanting Lin Hao's name throughout the venue. Those who had previously mocked him as an internet celebrity now stood up and applauded wildly.
Only Lin Hao himself knew that every time he moved sideways, his ankle ached like it was being pricked with needles, and every time he pushed off the ground, it felt like a knife was cutting his ligaments. But he couldn't back down. In his past life, he lost his dream because of injuries, and in this life, he would never give up any match where he could seize an opportunity because of this injury.
Time ticked by, and before we knew it, it was the last minute.
The score remained tight at 87, with neither side able to pull away. Williams, frustrated by Lin Hao's defense, completely lost his composure. With 30 seconds left, he forced a shot over Lin Hao's defense, but the ball went way off course and hit the side of the rim.
The Warriors grabbed the rebound and immediately called a timeout.
During the timeout, on the bench, the team doctor applied an ice pack to Lin Hao's ankle, causing him to wince and gasp in pain. The head coach squatted down in front of him, looking worried: "Lin, can you still play the last possession? If not, we'll substitute someone, and overtime is fine too."
"We can do it." Lin Hao gritted his teeth, pushed the ice pack aside, picked up the tactical board, and started drawing on it like a veteran coach with over ten years of experience. "On the final possession, Jason, you run to the top of the key, use the center's screen to move up, and you'll definitely attract two double teams. The center will cut down to create space on the baseline, and I'll run to the corner and wait for Jason to pass the ball. They'll definitely defend Jason's drive; they'll never expect me to be the finisher."
The teammates crowded around, heads huddled together, nodding in agreement as they listened. Even the head coach was stroking his chin, looking as if he had just realized something.
No one thought there was anything wrong with a rookie setting up tactics. After these few games, no one on the Warriors team disagreed with Lin Hao.
Richardson patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, Mr. Canned Food! I'll definitely pass the ball to you accurately!"
The timeout is over, and the game has resumed.
With 8.7 seconds left, the Warriors had possession of the ball. The entire audience stood up, holding their breath and staring intently at the game.
The ball was inbounded, and Richardson received it at the top of the arc. Sure enough, two Bulls players immediately rushed over, double-teaming him and blocking his driving and passing lanes.
Time ticked by second by second, and only 3 seconds remained!
Richardson was double-teamed and didn't even have a chance to shoot. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lin Hao making a run to the baseline and shaking off his defender. Gritting his teeth, he slammed the ball over the two defenders!
The basketball arced through the air, heading straight for Lin Hao.
The entire audience gasped in surprise!
Williams reacted incredibly quickly, instantly abandoning his defender and lunging towards Lin Hao with a sinister grin. He'd been waiting for this moment; if he could block the ball, the game would be won! He'd also calculated that Lin Hao wouldn't dare to put force into his left foot, making it impossible for him to change direction!
Lin Hao caught the basketball as it flew towards him. The moment his left foot landed, a tearing sensation shot through his body like an electric current. He staggered and almost fell to his knees.
Williams had already pounced on him, blocking his shooting space like a wall, shouting, "You can't make that!"
But he miscalculated one thing—Lin Hao had long since ingrained his defensive habits into his very being, and had also incorporated over a decade of youth training experience from his previous life into every single movement.
Instead of using his left foot to push off, Lin Hao used the momentum of his stumble to shift his weight sharply to the right, lowering his right shoulder by half an inch, feigning a move to break through to the right. Williams instinctively shifted to the right, and in that instant, Lin Hao slammed his right foot into the ground, using his core muscles to pull himself back. A tiny crossover stunted Williams, causing him to lose his balance and land hard on his backside!
The entire venue erupted!
The second overall pick was actually knocked to the ground by an injured second-round pick with a single fake!
Just as Williams sat on the ground, completely bewildered, Lin Hao, enduring the excruciating pain in his ankle, pushed off with both feet and leaped into the air. He didn't dare jump too high, using only his core strength to stabilize himself. With a gentle flick of his wrist, the basketball flew towards the basket in a perfect arc.
The moment the basketball was released, the final whistle blew and the red light came on!
The entire stadium was deathly silent.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the basketball in the air.
"Whoosh!"
A crisp, clean swish as the ball went through the net could be heard clearly in the quiet stadium.
Lore!
A buzzer-beating three-pointer sealed the victory!
Three seconds later, the entire stadium was completely overturned!
The deafening cheers, screams, and applause nearly shook the roof of the stadium! The audience jumped up like madmen, waving whatever they were holding and shouting. The suona horns from the stands rang out again, mingling with the cheers from the entire stadium, creating a deafening roar!
Richardson was the first to rush over like a madman, but he didn't dare hug him as tightly as before. He only dared to carefully hold onto his arm, repeatedly shouting, "Awesome! Canned Food Bro! You're fucking awesome!"
His teammates swarmed around him instantly, rushing over one by one to surround Lin Hao, but deliberately avoiding his injured left foot. They patted his back and head, celebrating like madmen.
Surrounded by them, Lin Hao grimaced in pain, repeatedly yelling, "Easy! Easy! My leg hurts! I'm fucking breaking my leg!"
But his teammates were too excited to listen to anything. They carefully helped him walk around the entire stadium, which drew another round of cheers from the audience.
Williams sat on the ground, watching the Warriors players celebrate and the audience cheering for Lin Hao. His face was as white as paper, and he couldn't get up for a long time.
He lost, lost completely.
As the highly anticipated second overall pick, he was guarded the entire game by a rookie from the late second round, a social media star, and even faked out by the opponent, who then hit a buzzer-beating game-winner. After this game, he completely lost face.
At the post-match awards ceremony, Lin Hao limped onto the stage and accepted the Summer League MVP trophy from the organizers.
The audience erupted in thunderous applause once again, chanting his name repeatedly.
The host held the microphone to his mouth, wanting him to say a few words in acceptance speech.
As a result, Lin Hao took the microphone, didn't say anything, but instead took out the ebony suona from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and played a cheerful tune called "People in Our Village" for the audience.
As soon as the suona sounded, the whole audience burst into laughter. The applause and cheers grew even louder, and everyone clapped along with the rhythm. Even the award presenters couldn't help but sway their bodies and laugh from ear to ear.
[Ding! System task: Win the Summer League championship and get MVP, completed!]
[Rewards: Slightly improved physical attributes, ankle injury recovery speed doubled, unlocked skill: Clutch (Passive) - Increases shooting consistency by 50% in crucial moments!]
Lin Hao grinned as he heard the system notification in his head.
Back in the locker room, the teammates were still celebrating wildly, spraying champagne everywhere. Richardson even took out Lin Hao's suitcase and divided all the canned yellow peaches inside, one for each person, as if they were drinking a victory drink, making a loud clattering sound.
The team doctor, holding the examination report, walked up to Lin Hao with a grim face and slammed the report into his hand: "Lin! I must seriously warn you! You have a minor tear in your anterior talofibular ligament! You must rest for 2 to 4 weeks immediately! You absolutely cannot play again! Otherwise, the injury will worsen and may even affect your entire career!"
Lin Hao looked at the report, his smile fading. Just as he was about to say a few words to the team doctor, his phone, which was in the cabinet, suddenly rang with a "ding," indicating a voice message.
He picked up the receiver and a sweet female voice came through, clear and articulate, with a touch of coolness: "Mr. Lin Hao, hello. I'm an artist manager from Universal Music. Our company is very optimistic about your musical talent and would like to discuss music collaboration with you. If you have time, please call me back. Thank you."
Lin Hao raised an eyebrow.
The music line, here it comes?
Before he could think about it further, Richardson leaned over and asked with a gossipy look, "Canned Food Guy? Who's that? A woman?"
Lin Hao smiled, put his phone back in his pocket, patted him on the shoulder, and didn't reply.
He knew that the Summer League was just the beginning.
The regular season is the real challenge he needs to overcome.
Little did he know that after this decisive victory, his name had become a household name across the ocean in China, and that the call from the record company would lead him to the girl destined to enter his life.