A Bountiful Harvest

In this game, Westbrook played 36 minutes, shooting 10-for-19, 1-for-2 from three, and 8-for-10 from the free-throw line, putting up a near triple-double of 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 15 assists to lead the team to an opening victory.

Chen Xi played 23 minutes, shooting 7-for-11, 6-for-9 from three, and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line for 22 points. His 5-for-6 three-point shooting in a single quarter also broke the NBA rookie record for most threes in a quarter (I made this up—couldn't find who held it or how many they hit, so let's say it didn't exist). He smoothly carved a bold stroke onto the milestone of his career.

After the game, unexpectedly, Chen Xi ran into a reporter for an interview on the court.

"Hello Chen Xi, I'm Zhou Ling'an from Tencent Sports," a delicately featured, curvaceous female reporter said, walking up to Chen Xi in fluent English.

"Hello, I'm Chen Xi."

"Wow, your Chinese is very good."

"Yeah, although I'm a U.S. citizen, my family elders have always communicated in Chinese since I was young, so Chinese can practically be considered my native language."

"That's great, then I'll interview you in Chinese," Zhou Ling'an said with a smile.

"As a rookie coming off the bench in your debut, scoring 22 points, how do you feel? Was there anything that helped you?"

"Of course I'm very excited. I never expected to get such a high score. I just followed the coach's arrangements, moved with the plays, and did my best to seize every shooting opportunity. That's all."

Chen Xi, in the middle of the interview, didn't realize the danger approaching.

Westbrook hastily wrapped up his own interview, grabbed a cup of ice water from a courtside staffer, then snuck up behind Chen Xi like a sneaky turtle, dumping the whole thing over his head in one go.

"What the hell!!" Chen Xi jolted all over.

"Shit! Russell, you're dead!!!"

Chen Xi shouted at Westbrook as he ran off, but obviously he couldn't chase him down right then and kick his ass, so he could only drop a harsh threat and turn back to continue the interview.

"You can tell you two have a great relationship."

"Of course. He's a very kind person. During my time with the Thunder, he's helped me a lot."

Back in the locker room, during the changing time, Donovan briefly shared his thoughts on the day.

"Great job, guys. We got the season opener win. I want to emphasize that it's thanks to Russell's efforts. Every minute he's on the court, he's helping the team. He's an undeniably outstanding leader. I hope you keep that passion, stay active, stay focused, and keep contributing your energy to the team!"

Donovan smiled and pointed at the Thunder's current leader.

"At the same time, we have to praise Chris's outstanding performance. He seized every opportunity, helped the team through the toughest stretch, and even scored 22 points. That's scoring we can't ignore for today's win. And of course, Victor, Steven, Andre—all excellent. Let's applaud ourselves for our brilliant performance."

The players clapped excitedly. Nobody dislikes winning.

The Thunder's atmosphere was reassuring. No cliché conflicts or drama—just a group of pure professional basketball players. At the very start of the season, everyone's mind was only on victory, and the pursuit of victory drove them to fight on the court.

The plane flew back to Oklahoma the next day. They would host the Phoenix Suns at home in one day.

After landing, Chen Xi went straight home early.

[Detected host completing multiple achievements. Rewards now issued.]

[Congratulations on completing the task: First time scoring 5 points in an NBA regular season game. Reward: 3 Free Attribute Points.]

[Congratulations on completing the task: First time reaching double digits in a single NBA stat. Reward: 1 Random Silver Badge.]

[Congratulations on completing the task: First time playing over 20 minutes in an NBA game and winning. Reward: 2 Random Bronze Badges, 3 Free Attribute Points.]

[Detected host successfully breaking through the first series of records. Achievement unlocked: Newbie on the Road. Reward: 5 Free Attribute Points, 1 Random Silver Badge.]

[Now issuing second series of record indicators.]

[First time achieving a double-double in a regular season game. Reward: 10 Free Attribute Points.]

[First time scoring 30 points in a regular season game. Reward: 3 Random Bronze Badges, Badge Upgrader (Bronze)*1.]

[First time winning Player of the Week. Reward: 10 Free Attribute Points, 1 Random Silver Badge.]

[First time winning Player of the Month. Reward: 15 Free Attribute Points, 1 Random Gold Badge.]

[First time winning Rookie of the Month. Reward: 10 Free Attribute Points, 1 Random Bronze Badge.]

[Winning Rookie of the Year. Reward: 15 Free Attribute Points, 1 Random Silver Badge.]

[Career Total Points exceeding 500. Reward: 5 Free Attribute Points, 1 Specific Bronze Badge.]

[Career Total Points exceeding 1,000. Reward: 5 Free Attribute Points, 1 Specific Silver Badge.]

[Career Total Points exceeding 5,000. Reward: 10 Free Attribute Points, 1 Specific Silver Badge.]

[Career Total Points exceeding 10,000. Reward: 15 Free Attribute Points, 1 Specific Silver Badge.]

[Selected for the All-Star Rookie Challenge. Reward: 10 Free Attribute Points, Badge Upgrader (Bronze)*1.]

[First time winning the All-Star Three-Point Contest. Reward: 1 Random Shooting Badge (Silver), Badge Upgrader (Silver)*1.]

[First time winning the All-Star Slam Dunk Contest. Reward: 1 Random Finishing Badge (Silver), Badge Upgrader (Silver)*1.]

[First time winning the All-Star Skills Challenge. Reward: 1 Random Dribbling Badge (Silver), Badge Upgrader (Silver)*1.]

[First time selected for the All-Star Game. Reward: 20 Free Attribute Points.]

"Yigiwoliaogiaogiao, wooohoo!!!!!"

This badge elevator was probably literal.

After the CPU finished processing the information, Chen Xi was so excited he jumped up and down in his room.

"System, put all 6 attribute points into on-ball defense."

[Points allocated. Host's on-ball defense increased to 77.]

"Draw a badge."

[Now drawing a random badge.]

[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the badge: Spot Shooter (Silver).]

[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the badge: Lockdown Defender (Bronze).]

[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the badge: First Step Master (Bronze).]

[Points allocated and badges equipped. Please practice diligently to quickly adapt to your new abilities. The system wishes you a bright future.]

"Yosh, you're a damn good system."

Chen Xi was so excited his philtrum itched.

"Fuck it, I can't take this. Time to play some streetball!"

Chen packed up excitedly, grabbed the ball from the corner of the room, and headed out the door.

He'd asked around—there was a streetball court about two kilometers away.

Tonight, he was going to show the basketball lovers of Oklahoma City what it meant to say fuck your basketball dreams!