Derby Battle

Li Chen didn't stay in the lounge for long before he left Staples Center again and returned to the training facility.

After returning to the Paravilla Training Facility, Li Chen couldn't wait to open the Function Shop and spent $1,000 to buy a bottle of Functional Drink.

At this moment, a small bottle, the size of an oral liquid, appeared in his hand.

Li Chen examined it back and forth for a moment, then opened it and poured the entire contents into his mouth.

Li Chen smacked his lips; it was sweet and sour, and quite delicious.

After drinking the Functional Drink and exercising for a while, Li Chen felt the fatigue in his body slowly receding and his focus gradually sharpening. This made him happy; this stuff was truly amazing.

Thinking this, he decided to stock up on more. However, when he opened the Function Shop again, he found that the icon for the Functional Drink had turned gray.

At the same time, a countdown timer of 23 hours and 55 minutes appeared before Li Chen.

Seeing this, Li Chen couldn't help but feel disappointed. No wonder the system said he could only take one bottle a day; it was waiting for him right here.

As his thoughts wandered, Li Chen picked up his basketball and continued training.

Meanwhile, while Li Chen was frantically leveling up, the Los Angeles city derby was also continuing to heat up.

So far in the 2002-2003 season, the Lakers had won two games, and the Clippers had won one. He wondered if the Clippers could turn the tide in this derby with the help of the "Eastern Miracle Boy."

Li Chen's unintentional prediction during his game against the Kings was dubbed "Eastern Sorcery," which served as a promotional gimmick.

The hottest topic in sports programs at the moment was the Los Angeles derby. Although the discussion was fervent, a consensus among retired legends was that they did not favor the Clippers.

Even the media had interviewed Boss Joe, who had just made a comeback.

Boss Joe, of course, was strongly supporting the Lakers, as his successor was there, after all.

In terms of stats, achievements, and team heritage, the Clippers were simply no match for the Lakers. Although their rankings weren't drastically different, it couldn't hide the undeniable fact.

Afternoon of January 21, 2003.

Li Chen's Open Three-Pointer skill had leveled up to B grade, with 10580/30000 experience points.

As for passing, Li Chen hadn't improved it because it required too much money, which he couldn't afford.

Besides, he didn't want to play point guard; he could improve his passing ability while playing games.

Oh, right, the skills rewarded by the system could not only be improved with money but also through training.

Just then, a system notification made Li Chen pause slightly.

[Notification: Congratulations to the host for significantly improving basic attributes through diligent training.]

The sudden system notification gave Li Chen an unexpected surprise, but he was also somewhat astonished.

However, he immediately thought of the effect of the Functional Drink and suddenly understood.

He eagerly opened his personal attribute panel.

[Shooting Ability: 65] [Dribbling Ability: 51] [Passing Ability: 59] [Rebounding Ability: 45] [Defense Ability: 50] [Speed Ability: 70] [Strength Ability: 75] [Basketball IQ: 85] [Physical Fitness: 99]

Holy crap, the attributes increased this much?

It wasn't surprising that Li Chen was startled, as his attributes had increased by an average of about ten points.

Li Chen's eyes widened, and his mind couldn't help but wander. At this rate, would he reach max level soon?

Thinking this, Li Chen chuckled self-deprecatingly. Was there such a good thing in the world?

He figured it was because he had taken the Functional Drink for the first time, activating his potential.

Casting aside his slightly restless thoughts, Li Chen continued practicing basketball until around 7 PM, when he drank his Functional Drink for the day.

This way, he could maintain continuous output.

8 PM on January 21, 2003. Staples Center was buzzing with excitement.

It was much livelier than when the Clippers played at home, and the attendance couldn't compare to the Clippers' games.

Tonight's starting lineup for the Lakers was as follows:

O'Neal (Center) Kobe (Shooting Guard) Fisher (Point Guard) Rick Fox (Small Forward)

Samaki Walker (Power Forward)

The Clippers' starting lineup is as follows:

Andre Miller (Point Guard)

Li Chen (Shooting Guard)

Corey Maggette (Small Forward)

Elton Brand (Power Forward)

Michael Olowokandi (Center)

The Clippers didn't play well in the first quarter, but the Lakers didn't play well either, because Kobe was really off his game today.

Li Chen watched Kobe brick shot after shot, and was dumbfounded.

At this moment, he couldn't help but secretly think of the nickname "Blacksmith," truly living up to its reputation.

But Shaq O'Neal's performance was very stable.

At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers were down 28-18 to the Lakers.

Li Chen looked up at the scoreboard, feeling a bit dejected.

The S-rank skill he obtained today was called Miracle Shot.

The description said it had a 70% chance of going in when driving and shooting.

Of course, this was only if it hit the rim.

However, Li Chen thought this chance was already incredible, but he never expected that...

Alright! He had to admit, it was truly incredible. With a 70% chance, he only made one shot.

Now he suspected Kobe had infected him. Thinking of this, Li Chen cursed inwardly, "Damn it, you're really toxic!"

After the Clippers players returned to the bench, Coach Alvin Gentry began to lay out the tactics for the second quarter.

In fact, Coach Alvin Gentry was very dissatisfied with Li Chen's performance today.

You have to know, Li Chen was guarding Kobe, and there was O'Neal under the basket. What the heck were you trying to drive for?! Your talent lies in the perimeter, in three-pointers!

But Alvin Gentry already considered Li Chen his confidant, so his tolerance was much higher than for other players.

Odom was overjoyed when he saw Li Chen playing so poorly in the first quarter, but he never expected that even though the quarter had ended a while ago, Alvin Gentry hadn't scolded Li Chen.

This ruined his originally beautiful mood. Now he felt like he was born into a stepmother's family, so lonely and helpless.

A moment later, Alvin Gentry finished explaining the tactics.

The tactic he devised was simple: speed up the game and make Shaq O'Neal run, wearing him down.

This way, his stamina would be rapidly depleted, and his offensive power would be greatly weakened.

As for Kobe, there was no need to worry about him today, because he had transformed into "Blacksmith" Bryant.

The whistle for the second quarter blew. On the court, Andre Miller passed the ball to Elton Brand.

Brand charged towards the basket like a wild dog, but as expected, he was blocked by O'Neal.

Elton Brand was feeling frustrated today, playing very stifled. He couldn't drive to the basket at all.

At this moment, he wondered why Li Chen wasn't playing point guard anymore.

The Lakers' Fisher grabbed the rebound.

The Clippers quickly got back on defense.

Fisher passed the ball to Kobe, who had already pressed the pass button.

Li Chen quickly stuck to him on defense. Kobe immediately took a stylish fadeaway jumper.

However, his stylishness was in stark contrast to the sound of bricks.

Li Chen knew Kobe would brick it. He grabbed a rebound and started a fast break.

But the Lakers' defense was fast. Four players, led by the "Little Blacksmith," returned to the frontcourt, with only O'Neal slowly jogging forward.

At this moment, Li Chen's eyes were firm. He decided to continue the strategy from the first quarter and keep driving.