A Boss Who Offers to Treat but Never Pays the Bill!

"This game has it! The sunflower sound effect is looping in my head all day!"

"Why does Dave talk like he's got a potato in his mouth??"

"Wall-nut is the best tank! Without it, I can't survive the third level!"

"Zombies can actually jump fences, pole-vault, drive minecarts... the designer's brain is way too wild!"

"Fifteen bucks won't buy you a loss, but it can buy you two hundred hours of fun."

"First time I got so hyped planting a Corn Cannon I slammed the table!"

On October 15th, the casual game Plants vs. Zombies launched on Steam, catching the attention of a small crowd.

After that small group paid for the trial, they got hooked, playing like crazy for a whole day and night, even leaving all kinds of comments and praise on Steam.

And just like that, through word-of-mouth from these unpaid promoters.

From selling only 76 copies on day one, to 269 on day two, then 1,108 on day three... by day ten, it had sold a total of 1,086,693 copies.

A full million copies.

The sales data kept climbing.

Xu Rui saw this and was utterly stunned.

He had watched Su Yi make the game from start to finish, taking less than a month, and now it sold a million copies in just ten days, with revenue hitting 15 million dollars!

Holy crap! Holy crap!

This only made him more determined to cling tight to Su Yi's leg.

He remembered his dad always telling him: A Rui, don't try to start a business. After you graduate, just go have fun, and if you want to work, come back to the company.

Xu Rui never accepted that, but he knew his dad meant well.

After all, nine out of ten rich second-generation entrepreneurs fail!

But now it was different—Su Yi was the beacon lighting his path to success. He was going to make a big name for himself and show his dad: Hey, Dad, I made it!

In Xu Rui's eyes, even if they failed, it would only cost him his allowance!

The original cost was his 1.03 million allowance anyway.

So he'd stick close to Su Yi and work hard!

As Plants vs. Zombies sales kept soaring, Xu Rui was full of drive.

He had already started on the tasks Su Yi gave him.

Su Yi told him to go to Santa Monica, California, find a company called Riot Games, and invest in them.

Then head to the University of Washington Tacoma to find a student named Eric Barone and invite him to become an employee of Yirui Studio.

Finally, find a programmer named Markus Alexej Persson and poach him.

These days had been a whirlwind—he hadn't even caught Su Yi's preseason games—but he was loving it.

As for Su Yi, he was training hard, with almost all his drills focused on physical conditioning.

He had played six preseason games and adapted to the NBA's pace, but that wasn't enough!

So in the days before the new season started, he pushed himself through the physical training tasks the system set, training like crazy.

Heaven rewards the diligent!

By October 31st, Su Yi had managed to raise his speed and jumping by one point each, while his explosive power, strength, and agility all went up by two points:

Speed: 76-77; Explosive Power: 73-75; Strength: 73-75; Jumping: 76-77; Agility: 73-75.

His training direction remained focused on physical conditioning.

After all, the body is the foundation of everything.

He wanted to get his physical stats all above 80, or even higher, as soon as possible.

Time slipped by, and soon the NBA's new season—the 06-07 season—arrived. This season's opening games featured two matchups:

Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Lakers.

These two teams had quite the drama in last season's playoffs.

In the regular season, the Lakers barely scraped into 7th place in the West, while the Suns took 2nd!

Then they faced off in the playoffs.

Before the series, media and fans alike wrote off the Lakers.

After all, the Lakers were just Kobe, and only Kobe.

After the first four games, the tide completely turned, with everyone backing the Lakers.

In those four games, the Lakers led 3-1.

But then the Suns took three straight, eliminating the Lakers 4-3 in the end.

This opening game was practically the Lakers' revenge match!

Chicago Bulls VS Miami Heat.

Last season, the Miami Heat, led by the 03 Platinum Generation's Dwyane Wade, won the championship, so they were sure to appear in this season's opening game.

Their opponent was the Eastern Conference powerhouse, the Chicago Bulls, led by another 03 Platinum Generation member, Kirk Hinrich.

Both leaders were also teammates at the World Championship, but unfortunately, they only brought home a bronze medal.

When they returned, fans raged and cursed them, and they still do to this day.

For the Dream Team, anything less than gold in an international tournament is a disgrace.

And yet, they went three straight international tournaments without a single gold.

The 02 World Championship ended with a pathetic sixth place, the 04 Athens Olympics with a bronze, and the 06 World Championship with another bronze.

This couldn't help but make fans ask: Is the 03 draft class really the Platinum Generation?

In the 05-06 season, LeBron James averaged 31.4 points, 7 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.6 steals, earning him a spot on the All-NBA First Team.

Dwyane Wade averaged 27.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.9 steals, making the All-NBA Second Team, leading his team to the championship, and winning Finals MVP.

Carmelo Anthony averaged 26.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.1 steals, earning a spot on the All-NBA Third Team.

And yet, at the 06 World Championship, the Dream Team, led by the 03 Platinum Generation's three stars—LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony—only managed a bronze medal.

In the eyes of the fans, this so-called 03 Platinum Generation couldn't hold a candle to the 84 Diamond Generation or the 96 Golden Generation.

Putting them in the same conversation was practically an insult to the 84 Diamond Generation and the 96 Golden Generation.

At the same time, Dallas Mavericks fans jumped out to question the fairness of the Finals.

After all, Dwyane Wade shot 97 free throws in the six-game Finals series, the most since the ABA and NBA merged in 1976. In Game 5 alone, he had 25, averaging 16.2 free throws per game!

This made the Dallas Mavericks afraid to even defend him—any contact was a foul. How were they supposed to guard him?

In the end, the Dallas Mavericks heartbreakingly lost the championship.

This result infuriated Mavericks fans, and on top of that, Wade had just won a bronze medal.

If not now, when would they raise hell?

In response, NBA Commissioner David Stern stepped forward to speak. He argued that the Dream Team's failure at the World Championship was mainly due to a rule change by FIBA.

He pointed out that FIBA's introduction of the Three-Point Line Rule had negatively impacted the Dream Team's tactical system, making it difficult for them to adapt during games.

This reform caused the Dream Team to lose their previous advantage in games, especially in outside shooting.

Excuses! All excuses!

As soon as he spoke, the fans' attacks immediately shifted, and they started blasting David Stern.

At this, David Stern's lips curled up slightly.

This was a clear, open scheme. After all, he didn't care if they attacked him.

At the same time, he didn't want to affect the players' performance in the upcoming season.

But David Stern couldn't shake the feeling that the league was in a bit of a generational gap. Take the 03 generation, for example. They were hyped up, but were they really that good?

No.

They still hadn't stepped up to carry the torch.

This made David Stern feel a sense of frustration with Kobe, like a blacksmith disappointed in his iron!

If Kobe hadn't caused that incident and tanked his image, Stern wouldn't have needed to search for a new face of the league.

But Su Yi didn't care about any of this. He was still focused on his training and buying Donuts and Happy Water, cursing under his breath: (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻!

In the past 20-plus days, buying Donuts and Happy Water had cost him over a thousand bucks, and he was pissed!

Cheapskate! Stingy bastard!

At that moment, Su Yi felt like the pack mule from his past life, silently dissing his boss in his mind—the kind who says "lunch is on me" but never actually pays the bill!