Meanwhile, New York—the steel jungle hailed as the center of the world—was slowly awakening from a night of sleep.
The faint light of dawn pierced the thin mist above Manhattan, outlining the dense ranks of skyscrapers in pale gold.
Inside the Knicks' training facility in Tarrytown, the atmosphere was already bustling.
The thumping of basketballs against the floor, the players' shouts during practice, and the sharp blasts of the coaches' whistles interwove into a symphony of strength and sweat.
Li Fei had just finished a set of one hundred free throws. Sweat ran down his sharply defined jawline, dripping onto the floor and vanishing in an instant.
He took the towel handed over by an assistant coach, wiped his face, and calmly swept his gaze across the gym.
"Hey, Li, come over here."
A slightly hoarse voice called out in English, tinged with a heavy Lithuanian accent.
Li Fei turned and saw Arvydas Sabonis sitting on a bench at the sideline, holding a portable CD player—an old habit of his, using music to relax his tense nerves. Yet his brow was faintly furrowed, and a trace of barely perceptible concern lingered in his eyes.
"What is it, Arvydas?"
Li Fei walked over and sat beside him.
Sabonis removed his headphones. His weathered eyes fixed on Li Fei as he asked in a low voice, "Did you watch the Lakers game yesterday?"
"Of course." Li Fei nodded, answering casually. "A thoroughly convincing win. Phil Jackson really has something. He's trained that Shark well."
"More than well."
Sabonis sighed. The legendary center known as "The Roof of the World" looked nothing like a mountain at that moment, more like a lake rippled by the wind. "Did you see the comments online? ESPN, TNT—all the media are saying they'll be our biggest opponents