Gradually, the sky outside brightened.
Wang Yi was already so exhausted he could barely catch his breath.
But he couldn't stop.
Because the countdown in his mind, ticking away like a death sentence, never let up.
He had no idea how long he had been practicing.
He checked the mission progress in his mind.
[Mission Progress: 300/1000] [Time Remaining: 9 hours 55 minutes]
Thankfully, at this rate, he should be able to complete the mission.
He stopped to catch his breath.
Just then, the door to the Training Hall opened.
A tall, muscular figure walked in.
It was James.
He was a little surprised to see Wang Yi.
Usually, Wang Yi came to practice at around eight, just like him.
But judging by how he looked now, he had clearly been training for a long time.
"Wang, you're here early today. Couldn't sleep because you were missing your girlfriend?"
James chuckled as he spoke, then glanced at Wang Yi's right hand.
Wang Yi shrugged and looked at his own right hand too.
"My girlfriend's about to be all used up."
James gave Wang Yi a thumbs-up.
"You're incredible! You wore your girlfriend out in one night?"
Wang Yi gave a bitter smile and shook his head without saying anything.
He didn't have time to waste.
He turned back and continued practicing his three-pointers.
But James had keenly noticed something was off about Wang Yi.
He knew Wang Yi was right-handed. Why was he suddenly practicing with his left?
"Brother, is your right hand injured?"
James asked, recalling how Wang Yi had seemed to clench his right fist absentmindedly after taking three-pointers the night before.
His expression had seemed strange, too.
At the time, James had thought it was some sort of personal celebration.
Now it seemed there was more to it.
Wang Yi's heart skipped a beat at being found out.
He turned around and said, "Please don't tell anyone. I really need this job."
If the others on the team found out he still hadn't fully recovered from his injury, they definitely wouldn't let him play.
Then his chances of getting a guaranteed contract would be over.
James furrowed his brow and thought for a moment.
"Don't worry, I won't tell. But you need to take care of your own body."
Wang Yi nodded. "I know my limits."
Seeing that Wang Yi was determined, James didn't press him.
He only said, "After practice today, come to my house. I'll have my personal doctor take a look at you."
Wang Yi felt a warmth in his chest.
It was rare for a team leader to care so much about a fringe player.
He nodded, then continued, "LeBron, could you talk to the coach and ask him to excuse me from the other drills today? I want to focus on my three-pointers. The team needs a reliable shooter."
James thought it over, then nodded.
"Go ahead and work on your threes. I'll talk to the coach."
Wang Yi didn't have the clout to disrupt the coach's training plan.
Only a Superstar like James, with unquestioned authority, could do that.
But James rarely abused his influence.
Making an exception for Wang Yi today was unusual.
Of course, James had his own reasons for doing it.
His style of play required a reliable three-point shooter on the perimeter.
Wang Yi continued practicing three-pointers with his left hand.
His stamina was gradually fading, but as his left-hand skills improved, his three-point Percentage had already reached forty percent.
By ten o'clock, the rest of the team had arrived.
Most of them had just woken up.
They were used to seeing Wang Yi and James drenched in sweat from training.
They said nothing and started the day's practice according to the coach's plan.
Since James had spoken to head coach Vogel, Wang Yi didn't train with the others.
He practiced three-pointers by himself in a corner.
At ten o'clock, the morning practice ended, and the players left the gym to get lunch.
Wang Yi checked the mission progress in his mind.
[Mission Progress: 602/1000] [Time Remaining: 6 hours 49 minutes]
At his current success rate, making the remaining 400 threes in a little over six hours shouldn't be hard.
But his accuracy would drop again once his stamina ran low.
So he had to hurry.
As the players left one after another, Wang Yi stayed behind.
He continued practicing.
Before leaving, the coach gave Wang Yi a long look.
He didn't say anything.
Seeing that Wang Yi had no intention of leaving, James tried to persuade him.
"Wang, I admire your work ethic, but training has to be done step by step. We also need to make sure we're getting enough nutrition. So come eat."
Wang Yi shook his head. "I don't feel like eating today. You guys go ahead."
James didn't say anything more.
But he was a little worried.
Training too little was bad, but so was overtraining.
Still, he understood how badly Wang Yi wanted to seize this ten-day opportunity and earn his next guaranteed contract.
James's lips moved, but in the end, he replaced his words of warning with just four words:
"Good luck."
Wang Yi panted a few times. "Thanks."
After the players left, Wang Yi rested for just ten minutes.
He took a few sips of water.
Then he resumed shooting practice.
At two o'clock, the players returned to practice.
Wang Yi was still shooting threes.
At four o'clock, practice ended for the day, and the players left one after another.
Wang Yi was still shooting threes.
Caruso stayed behind to practice for another half hour, then called to Wang Yi:
"Wang, it's time to head back. I'll wait for you."
Wang Yi checked the mission progress in his mind.
He was just eleven shots away from completing the mission.
He was so exhausted he could barely stand to move.
But he was still incredibly excited.
His eyes burned with anticipation.
"I'll be right there!"
As he spoke, he launched another three-pointer with his left hand.
James hadn't left either. He stayed behind to get in some extra practice.
Watching Wang Yi shoot threes as if possessed, he turned to Caruso.
"Did you get him fired up last night?"
Caruso shrugged and brushed what little hair he had left back from his forehead.
"I thought you were the one who got him fired up this morning, boss."
Wang Yi was nearly out of stamina, and his three-point percentage had fallen back to twenty percent.
It took him nearly sixty shots to make eleven baskets.
At last, the moment came.
Thump, thump, thump!
The ball bounced three times on the rim before rolling into the net.
In his mind, the red numbers turned green.
Then they stopped changing.
[Mission Progress: 1000/1000] [Time Remaining: 21 minutes 35 seconds]
Then the two lines of text disappeared.
At the same time, a cold, mechanical voice sounded in his mind:
[Mission Complete!] [Reward: Three-point accuracy increased to 45%]
"Whew—"
Wang Yi let out a long breath.
He collapsed onto the floor, limbs spread out like the character for "too."
"Whew—whew—whew—"
He panted heavily.
With the mission complete, the tension holding him together finally released, and he realized he was so exhausted he didn't even want to move a finger.
Both arms were numb, and his knees had long since gone numb with fatigue.
James and Caruso were both quiet. Neither said a word.
Only after panting for a full five minutes did a faint smile slowly appear at the corner of Wang Yi's mouth.
He spoke at last. "Do you believe me? In tomorrow night's game against the Clippers, you can trust me completely."
James and Caruso exchanged a glance.
Thinking of the twenty-percent shooting accuracy Wang Yi had managed during practice, they couldn't understand where his confidence came from.
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