"Chris Webber joined in too! Green Stewart charged over!"
"Li Fei came too!"
"This is awesome, awesome! This game is getting more and more exciting!"
"Holy shit, Li Fei's move!"
"I declare that in the entire NBA, only Li Fei is the most like me!"
"..."
United States, Phoenix
Barkley, the Flying Pig, sat on the sofa at home, watching this highly anticipated March Madness semifinal.
The game had already been intense enough, but no one expected Chris Webber to charge into the fray, making the spectacle even more explosive.
Barkley shot straight to his feet.
However, the true climax came when Li Fei rushed in to break up the fight.
No, more accurately, Li Fei had blatantly taken sides.
Li Fei used his long arms to firmly control Chris Webber, letting Stewart repeatedly land sneak attacks.
It was exactly like 1985, when Barkley had held Larry Bird tightly while the aging Dr. J beat him senseless.
Thinking back on the glory days of his rookie season, what Barkley remembered most vividly was that beating of Larry Bird. Larry Bird was famously full of himself in the NBA; whenever there was even the slightest chance to show off, The Great Bird would never let it pass.
In that game, The Great Bird Bird had faced the aging Dr. J. How could the old Dr. J have been Bird's match back then? Dr. J scored only six points, while The Great Bird erupted for forty-two.
Then that cocky bastard Bird started showing off, constantly muttering "42 to 6" in Dr. J's ear. Dr. J was finally driven over the edge and went up to grapple with Larry Bird.
Seeing that, Barkley grabbed Larry Bird from behind, allowing Dr. J to unleash a barrage of heavy punches. Bird was beaten into a miserable state, and the incident became one of Larry Bird's most infamous humiliations.
Now, Li Fei's move was practically identical to what Barkley had done back then.
"Just for that move alone, I have to team up with Li Fei!"
Although everyone on the court had already been separated, Barkley admired Li Fei even more than before.
It was like looking at his younger self!
Thus, the excited Barkley immediately called his team's general manager.
"You have to bring Li Fei onto our team."
"I love Li Fei more than I love myself!"
The camera returned to the court.
The referees and security personnel had already pulled everyone involved in the conflict apart.
Without even checking the replay, the referees announced that Chris Webber, who had charged onto the court and thrown punches, was ejected.
After reviewing the footage, they ruled that Green Stewart had committed a Flagrant 2 foul and was likewise ejected.
As for Li Fei, thanks to his outstanding acting skills—
He emerged completely unscathed from the conflict.
The referees gave Li Fei no punishment at all, not even a technical foul or a warning.
Chris Webber, his face swollen and bruised from the beating, instantly flew into a rage upon learning the ruling.
He rushed up, grabbed the referee by the throat, and shouted.
"Are you fucking blind?"
"Why does Li Fei get no punishment? Tell me, why?"
"You call that breaking up a fight?"
However wildly Webber raged, the ruling would not be changed.
Judging from Li Fei's actions, he had indeed gone over to break up the fight.
Not to mention the words coming from his mouth, which sounded like maxims of world peace.
And, of course, there was the most important factor of all.
Just moments ago, David Stern had called the NCAA organizers directly.
David Stern had practically humbled himself to the point of kneeling and begging the NCAA executives.
"Please, you have to protect Li Fei. Whatever you do, don't eject him!"
Of course, even if Stern had not come to plead for him, the NCAA would never have ejected Li Fei anyway.
After all, Li Fei represented the ratings of the entire NBA.
Thus, the NCAA executives immediately contacted the game venue.
They directly instructed the on-site referees remotely on how to make the ruling.
There was no helping it. Li Fei had people backing him.
Hard backing.
He had not even entered the draft yet.
Yet Li Fei was already receiving heavyweight support from both the NBA and the NCAA.
"Brother Li, I'm leaving, but you have to win."
Before walking off the court, Green Stewart actually put on the air of a warrior heading off to battle.
"You haven't left."
Li Fei patted Green Stewart on the shoulder. "Your will will always be with me."
The moment he embraced Li Fei, Stewart actually felt tears welling up in his eyes.
Brother Li, I'll wait for you to come back.
Meanwhile.
Chris Webber was also passing on the Will of Fire to Juwan Howard.
"Remember what you said, Juwan."
Chris Webber tightly embraced Juwan Howard. "You have to restore Michigan's glory!"
To be fair.
The instant Juwan held Webber close, tears streamed from his eyes.
Was this the romance of men?
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"Don't worry, Chris. I'll carry your will forward forever."
Honestly.
This was not some cringeworthy line between men.
For tonight's victory, Juwan Howard was truly willing to leave his life on the court.
From then on, Howard nearly risked his life on both offense and defense.
But when men got fired up, they often acted on impulse.
Even the normally steady and humble Juwan Howard was no exception.
Not long after the conflict, he was called for a foul on defense because his defensive motion was too aggressive.
Combined with his foul on Li Fei at the start of the game, Juwan Howard had already picked up two fouls before ten minutes had even passed.
By halftime, Juwan Howard's foul total had risen to three.
And it had to be said.
In the NCAA, players fouled out after five fouls.
Juwan Howard's foul situation was already extremely dangerous.
Even more dangerous was this.
The California Golden Bears had already established a lead of more than ten points early on.
Under a format with thirty-five seconds per offensive possession, a ten-point gap was already a huge dividing line.
Yet after the second half began, the physical intensity of Juwan Howard and Li Fei's clashes did not lessen.
Fortunately, spurred on by Juwan Howard's fiery spirit, the team had not collapsed.
The suspense remained alive throughout.
But time was merciless.
Under Jason Kidd's powerful control of the game and Li Fei's absolute dominance.
The Golden Bears entered the final three minutes with a twelve-point lead.
The intensity of Li Fei and Juwan's battle remained unchanged.
Li Fei posted up high, swinging his elbows within the limits of the rules.
And Juwan Howard refused to back down.
One arm wrapped around Li Fei's waist while the other arm shoved and grabbed at Li Fei's body.
They were practically fighting with a basketball involved.
But the referees did not dare call it anymore.
Li Fei established position, and Kidd quickly fed him the ball.
The next moment, Li Fei spun into the paint with his back to the basket, then instantly changed his footwork and spun again in the opposite direction, sending his defender flying.
Low Post Double Spin.
Wooooow!
The dazzling footwork drew wave after wave of gasps from the crowd.
It was a perfect recreation of Hakeem Olajuwon's Dreamy Footsteps!
Truly, Dream Time!
Just as Li Fei shook free of the defense and prepared for a scoop layup.
"Don't even think about it!"
Juwan Howard burned through his knees, violently changing direction at the joints.
At the absolute limit, he recovered his position and lunged at Li Fei.
But.
At the critical moment, Li Fei's length once again gave him the complete advantage.
Juwan Howard's huge hand smacked directly into Li Fei's arm.
"Tweet..."
Unable to endure it any longer, the referee finally blew the whistle again.
Juwan Howard had picked up his fifth foul of the game.
Everyone in the arena, players and fans alike, knew Juwan Howard was about to foul out.
But.
Lost in his own world and still desperately trying to close the gap, Juwan did not realize it.
He even ignored the baseline referee's whistle.
He quickly dove onto the basketball on the floor, then, with no one contesting him, passed it to Jalen Rose. When Jalen Rose did not react, he screamed hysterically, "What are you thinking? Counterattack! Fucking counterattack!"
"I blocked Li Fei's layup! I destroyed Li Fei's Dreamy Footsteps!"
"What are you standing there for? Don't you fucking want to win? Don't you fucking want to restore Michigan's glory? I promised Chris I'd inherit his Will of Fire!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Juwan Howard ignored his injured knee and charged at Jalen Rose, snatching the basketball from his hands.
Then, while all nine other players stood motionless, Juwan prepared to race downcourt alone.
"Calm down, Juwan!"
But after taking only two steps, the referee beside him stopped him. "You fouled, Juwan. You've been ejected."
"Foul?! Where did I foul? I hit the ball, you bastard! We were about to catch up!"
"I promised Chris I would restore our glory. I promised him myself, so why the fuck are you stopping me from keeping that promise?!"
Juwan Howard was consumed by rage, but when he looked up, he saw the replay of his block on the big screen.
The footage clearly showed his huge hand striking Li Fei's arm solidly without touching the ball at all.
In an instant.
Juwan deflated like a punctured balloon.
The burning blood.
Went cold...
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