"This game has Sunflower! That 'da-da-da' sound effect has been looping in my head all day!"
"Why does Dave talk like he's got a potato in his mouth??"
"Wall-nut is the strongest tank! I wouldn't have made it past level three without it!"
"The zombies can jump fences, pole-vault, drive mine carts... The designer's imagination is out of control!"
"Fifteen bucks won't save you money, but it'll buy you 200 hours of fun."
"It was the first time I'd gotten so excited about planting a Corn Cannon that I slapped the table!"
On October 15, the casual game Plants vs. Zombies was released on Steam, drawing attention from a small number of people.
After that small group spent money to try it out, they were hooked. They played furiously for a full day and night, even leaving all kinds of comments on Steam to praise it.
And so, thanks to all the word-of-mouth promotion...
Sales went from just 76 copies on the first day to 269 on the second, then 1,108 on the third... By the tenth day, a total of 1,086,693 copies had been sold.
A full million copies.
Sales kept climbing steadily.
Xu Rui was stunned when he saw the numbers.
He'd watched Su Yi make the game from start to finish. The whole process had taken less than a month, yet after its release, it had sold a million copies in just ten days, bringing in a whopping 15 million dollars!
Holy shit! Holy shit!
This only strengthened his resolve to cling to Su Yi's coattails.
His dad was always telling him, "A Rui, don't try to start a business. After you graduate, do whatever you want for fun, or come work at the company."
Xu Rui had always refused to listen, though he knew his dad meant well.
After all, nine out of ten rich kids who started businesses failed!
But things were different now. Su Yi was the guiding light leading him to success. He was going to work hard and accomplish something big, then brag to his father: "Hey, Dad, I made it!"
As Xu Rui saw it, even if they failed, the only thing he'd lose was his allowance!
After all, the initial investment was his 1.03 million yuan in allowance.
So he'd stick close to Su Yi and work hard!
As Plants vs. Zombies sales shot up, Xu Rui was full of drive.
He'd already started working on the tasks Su Yi had given him.
Su Yi had told him to go to Santa Monica, California, find a company called Riot Games, and invest in it.
He also had to go to the University of Washington Tacoma and find a student named Eric Barone, then invite him to join Yirui Studio.
Finally, he had to track down a programmer named Markus Alexej Persson and recruit him.
He'd been so busy lately that he hadn't even had time to watch Su Yi play in the preseason, but he was enjoying himself.
Meanwhile, Su Yi was training hard, focusing almost entirely on his physical attributes.
Although he'd played six preseason games and gotten used to the NBA's pace, it still wasn't enough!
So, in the days leading up to the new season, he followed the system's prompts and trained furiously, completing the assigned physical training tasks.
Heaven rewards those who work hard!
Before October 31 arrived, Su Yi had successfully raised his speed and jumping by one point, while his explosiveness, strength, and agility had each increased by two points:
Speed: 76–77; Explosiveness: 73–75; Strength: 73–75; Jumping: 76–77; Agility: 73–75.
His next training goals would still focus on his physical attributes.
After all, the body was the capital of revolution.
He had to get all his physical attributes above 80 as soon as possible, and ideally even higher.
Time passed, and soon the new NBA season arrived—the 2006–07 season. There were two games on opening night:
Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Lakers.
The two teams had faced off in a particularly dramatic playoff series last season.
In the regular season, the Los Angeles Lakers had finished just seventh in the Western Conference, while the Phoenix Suns had taken second place!
So the two teams had faced each other in the playoffs.
Before the series, the media and fans hadn't given the Los Angeles Lakers much of a chance.
After all, the Los Angeles Lakers had Kobe—and then more Kobe.
After the first four games, the tide had completely turned, and everyone was backing the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers had taken a 3–1 lead in the series.
But then the Phoenix Suns won three straight, eliminating the Los Angeles Lakers with a 4–3 series victory.
This opening-night matchup was practically the Los Angeles Lakers' revenge game!
Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat.
Last season, the Miami Heat, led by Dwyane Wade of the 2003 Platinum Generation, had won the championship, so of course they'd be featured on opening night.
Their opponents were the Eastern Conference powerhouse Chicago Bulls, led by Kirk Hinrich, also of the 2003 Platinum Generation.
The two leaders had also been teammates at the World Championship. Unfortunately, they'd only managed to win bronze.
When they returned, fans had berated them relentlessly, and even now, the criticism hadn't let up.
For the Dream Team, anything short of gold at an international tournament was a disgrace.
And after three international tournaments in a row, they still had no gold medals.
They'd finished sixth at the 2002 World Championship, taken bronze at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and won bronze again at the 2006 World Championship.
That couldn't help but make fans wonder: Was the 2003 draft class really a Platinum Generation?
In the 2005–06 season, LeBron James had averaged 31.4 points, 7 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.6 steals, earning a spot on the First Team All-NBA.
Wade had averaged 27.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.9 steals, earning a spot on the Second Team All-NBA. He'd also led his team to the championship and won FMVP.
Carmelo Anthony had averaged 26.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.1 steals, earning a spot on the Third All-NBA Team.
Yet at the 2006 World Championship, the Dream Team, led by three members of the 2003 Platinum Generation—LeBron James, Wade, and Carmelo Anthony—had only managed to win bronze.
In the eyes of fans, this so-called 2003 Platinum Generation couldn't hold a candle to the 1984 Diamond Generation or the 1996 Golden Generation.
Putting them together was practically an insult to the 1984 Diamond Generation and the 1996 Golden Generation.
Meanwhile, Dallas Mavericks fans were once again speaking up to question the fairness of the Finals.
After all, Wade had taken 97 free throws in six Finals games, the most since the ABA and NBA merged in 1976. He'd taken 25 in Game Five alone, averaging 16.2 free throws per game!
The Dallas Mavericks had been afraid to defend him at all. The slightest touch meant a foul—how were they supposed to guard him?
In the end, the Dallas Mavericks had lost the championship, much to their regret.
That result had left Dallas Mavericks fans extremely unhappy, and Wade had conveniently gone on to win bronze, too.
How could they not make a fuss?
David Stern, the NBA Commissioner, also spoke up. He believed 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 affected the Dream Team's tactical system, making it difficult for them to adapt during games.
The change had cost the Dream Team its usual advantage, especially when it came to outside shooting.
Excuses! Nothing but excuses!
As soon as Stern made his statement, fans turned their attacks on him, one after another.
David Stern's lips curled into a faint smile.
It was a perfectly calculated move. He didn't care if they attacked him.
At the same time, he didn't want to affect the players' performances in the coming season.
Still, David Stern couldn't shake the feeling that the league was struggling to find new stars. It was like the 2003 generation: they'd been hyped up as incredible, but were they really?
Not really!
They still weren't ready to shoulder the burden.
That couldn't help but make David Stern feel frustrated with Kobe!
If Kobe hadn't caused that whole scandal and taken such a hit to his public image, Stern wouldn't have had to look for a new face for the league.
Su Yi didn't care about any of that. He stayed focused on training and buying doughnuts and Happy Water, grumbling to himself: Damn it!
Over the past twenty-odd days, he'd spent more than a thousand dollars on doughnuts and Happy Water, and he was seriously annoyed!
That stingy bastard! Cheap-ass!
At that moment, Su Yi felt just like an exploited wage slave from his past life, furiously cursing the boss who said he'd treat him but never paid!
Before you continue