Open Three-Pointer Improved to C-Grade

At the same time, Elton Brand was a bit curious about what Li Chen and the other Easterner were muttering about.

However, when he saw the dumbfounded look on Wang Zhizhi's face, he knew nothing good was coming.

Thinking of this, Elton Brand moved as if he had Wind Fire Wheels under his feet, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Li Chen was also somewhat shocked. Could it be that this guy, Elton Brand, had the gift of prophecy? Why did he run off before he had even said anything? This made no sense!

At the same time, seeing Elton Brand run faster than a rabbit, the other players who had decent relationships with Li Chen seemed to realize something and hurried away as well.

Seeing this, the corners of Li Chen's mouth twitched slightly.

However, what comforted him was that Wang Zhizhi had agreed to his request.

When you're away from home, you really have to rely on your fellow countrymen; those guys who usually seemed friendly were all unreliable.

A short while later, Li Chen received a pass from Wang Zhizhi, then flicked his wrist, sending the basketball high into the air. The ball traced a beautiful arc as it flew toward the rim.

Bang! The basketball hit the edge of the rim and bounced away.

Seeing this, Li Chen gave a bitter smile. This D-rank skill was truly hard to describe.

At the same time, he opened his Character Attribute Panel to check the experience points under his Open Three-Pointer skill.

There was no change; it was still 0/3000. That last shot hadn't counted toward the experience points, and at this moment, he had a guess.

Immediately after, Wang Zhizhi passed the ball over again, and this time, Li Chen's open three-pointer went in.

The experience points for the D-rank Open Three-Pointer changed from 0/3000 to 1/3000, which confirmed that his guess was correct.

Two hours later, "Li Chen, let's take a break!" Wang Zhizhi suggested.

He didn't even know how to describe this monster, Li Chen, anymore. His own hands were numb from passing, yet Li Chen could still keep shooting?

He even felt that if this continued, his own Passing Ability might improve by a significant margin.

Li Chen glanced at the experience points for his Open Three-Pointer skill: 1051/3000.

Seeing this, Li Chen nodded, then laid down flat on the floor just like that.

In truth, Li Chen was also quite tired, as he had noticed his shooting percentage drop sharply toward the end.

At this moment, Wang Zhizhi also laid down beside Li Chen. He was a bit curious: why was Li Chen pushing himself so hard?

Thinking of this, he asked curiously, "Li Chen, why are you training so desperately? Honestly, doing this is very detrimental to your professional career."

Li Chen was silent for a moment. After thinking it over, he said, "Brother Zhizhi, since we've chosen to come abroad, we have to make something of ourselves. We can't bring shame to our 1.4 billion countrymen!"

Hearing this, Wang Zhizhi's entire body trembled.

At this moment, Li Chen continued, "Taking a step back, even if you give it your all and still end up with nothing to show for it, at least you have a clear conscience because you gave it your best effort. There wouldn't be any regrets, would there?"

Wang Zhizhi did not answer Li Chen's rhetorical question; he fell into silence.

After a long silence, Wang Zhizhi stood up. "Let's continue," he said in a low voice.

After that, Wang Zhizhi did not rest again. The sounds of a basketball hitting the floor and clanging against the rim filled the air.

Just like that, neither of them knew how much time had passed.

It wasn't until Li Chen heard the system's notification chime that he stopped his shooting motion.

[Notification: Through the host's unremitting efforts, the D-rank skill Open Three-Pointer has finally been upgraded to C-rank.]

Li Chen let out a long breath, then opened the mission panel again to look at the Open Three-Pointer skill that had been upgraded to C-rank.

At this moment, the experience points under the skill had become 0/10000.

Seeing this, the corners of Li Chen's mouth twitched slightly, and he felt a bit dizzy.

Damn it, if he wanted to upgrade this Open Three-Pointer to S-rank, how many three-pointers would he have to shoot? Let me calculate.

He didn't realize it until he calculated it, but it was a shock—he would have to shoot 100,000 three-pointers to upgrade the Open Three-Pointer skill to S-rank.

However, Li Chen was not discouraged. After all, this was the law of "no pain, no gain"; as long as he persisted, he would succeed.

It was still far better than others who were just crossing the river by feeling the stones, busy with nothing to show for it.

At the same time, Li Chen took another look at his personal attributes.

[Shooting Ability: 52]
[Dribbling Ability: 41]
[Passing Ability: 39]
[Rebounding Ability: 30]
[Defensive Ability: 30]
[Speed Ability: 62]
[Strength Ability: 70]
[IQ Ability: 85]

He noticed that his shooting attribute had increased by two points, which made him very happy.

Although, his system was not the type that allowed for manual stat allocation.

But Li Chen liked it. He liked the feeling of improving through his own hard work.

This gave him a sense of reality, a feeling that he was still a person of flesh and blood, rather than a machine or a tool.

"Li Chen, I want to improve too. Can I join you for extra practice?" Wang Zhizhi asked expectantly.

Li Chen was pulled from his thoughts by Wang Zhizhi. He was slightly stunned, then smiled and said, "Of course. Practicing alone is very dull and tedious."

Wang Zhizhi was taken aback. Now he knew that Li Chen wasn't the type of person who was unsociable or introverted.

But the fact that he could endure such loneliness and monotony to keep going—Wang Zhizhi truly admired that.

And so, the two began to practice one-on-one.

During this one-on-one, Wang Zhizhi was stunned to discover that Li Chen's defense and ball-handling were truly terrible.

At this moment, Wang Zhizhi felt a bit ashamed. If someone with such poor skills could work this hard, what excuse did he have to give up?

He couldn't help but ease up on his defensive intensity.

"Brother Zhizhi, don't go easy on me," Li Chen said firmly.

After matching up with Wang Zhizhi, Li Chen realized that he wasn't as bad as the rumors suggested; it was just that the coach hadn't given him a chance.

Of course, part of the reason was that Wang Zhizhi hadn't seized his opportunities when they arose.

Yellow-skinned players were already not highly valued in this country. If you couldn't seize your opportunities, it was extremely difficult to stand out.

Just like that, the two stayed in the training gym until past eight in the evening. They stopped training because Wang Zhizhi was exhausted, and Li Chen was also tired; after all, Li Chen hadn't slept much the night before.

He had been able to persist until now only because of his Tenacity passive skill. Although he could still keep going, there was no need to.

Afterward, the two found a Chinese restaurant and had a wonderful meal. Li Chen had intended to treat Wang Zhizhi, but when it came time to pay, he realized he didn't have enough money, which left him feeling incredibly embarrassed.

Li Chen slept very soundly that night. The sun was already high in the sky, and he still hadn't woken up.

He was eventually woken up by a phone call from Bill Duffy.

Bill Duffy was calling to tell him to go to the Clippers' general manager office to sign his contract.

Hearing this, Li Chen immediately rolled out of bed.

He had been so embarrassed last night, but now, finally, he would have money.

He was now a man with an annual salary of 500,000 US dollars. In 2003, the exchange rate of the US dollar to the RMB was over eight to one. In other words, he was now a millionaire?

Holy crap, I've actually become a millionaire. Li Chen found it hard to believe.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but think of his parents, whom he had never met. His feelings toward the two elders were complicated; he didn't know how to face them.

That was why Li Chen had never contacted them. He let out a breath and thought to himself, If I can make it to the playoffs this year, I'll call them.

Clearly, Li Chen was still trying to stall.