Slaying the Serpent (1)

As usual, Link always woke up before the alarm went off.

In the cramped rental apartment, he washed up briefly, grabbed two slices of toast, and sat at home listening intently.

But Link suddenly realized that today he wouldn't hear Upshaw honking the horn downstairs—and he would never hear it again.

With a bitter smile, Link picked up the gear he needed for the day and prepared to leave.

The next chapter of Upshaw's life would be written by his own hands.

Link was the first to arrive at the arena, a habit he'd developed during his short ten-day stint in Houston.

After all this effort and the baptism of three NBA games, the progress bar before Link's eyes was nearly full. In other words, playing at different levels of competition yielded different progress bonuses.

Link pulled out his basketball shoes and suddenly remembered Upshaw saying that if he made it to the NBA, he'd give Link a pair of shoes.

Now, Link had written two words on his own basketball shoes.

"R.I.P. Zeke."

From now on, Zeke Upshaw would fight alongside Link.

After Link had practiced for over forty minutes, his teammates began trickling in one by one. It was clear that everyone was fired up today—no one wanted to lose against the backdrop of Upshaw's death.

Of course, everyone also wanted to help Link get some payback and show the Rockets what G League players were made of.

Before the game, the players returned to the locker room to change into their jerseys. Link didn't head for his own locker but sat down in front of Upshaw's and pulled on Upshaw's number 0 jersey.

"Link?" Conner looked at him in surprise, thinking Link was so exhausted he'd put on the wrong jersey by mistake.

"Coach, I want to wear number 0 from now on. I can't get a new jersey ready right now—can I just wear Zeke's?"

Link looked at the number on his chest and smiled faintly. His old number 5 had never meant anything; it was just the number randomly assigned to him when he played basketball in middle school, and he'd stuck with it ever since.

But now, Link had truly found his jersey number.

Number 0—starting from zero, charging forward. Number 0—carrying Upshaw's hopes, charging forward.

The entire locker room watched Link. No one there was more qualified than Link to wear Upshaw's jersey.

After hearing Link's explanation, Conner nodded and didn't stop him. "I'll talk to the refs. Today, number 0 is yours."

Link stood up. Upshaw's jersey was a little short on him, but it didn't matter. He looked at his teammates in the locker room, then raised his right fist.

"Today, let's win one for Zeke!"

"ROAR!"

Everyone in the locker room roared in response. In that moment, the Chinese-American wearing the number 0 jersey looked like a valiant army commander.

In that moment, Conner believed it too. That kid was going to make it.

※※※

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers might be the G League team most familiar to Chinese fans. After all, in the future, Chinese player Zhou Qi would play for the Vipers.

The Vipers were luckier than the Blue Team; they'd always had support from an NBA team. In the 07-08 season, the Vipers were affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In 08-09, they were acquired by the New Orleans Hornets.

And from the 09-10 season onward, the Vipers had been affiliated with the Houston Rockets. Unlike the Blue Team, the Vipers didn't have to worry about making ends meet or the team being disbanded one day.

So, compared to the Blue Team's players, the Vipers' players seemed very relaxed today.

Among them, DeMarre Carroll was the most relaxed.

Carroll was selected by the Grizzlies with the 27th pick in the first round of the 2009 draft. He played 71 games for the Grizzlies, averaging just 2.9 points per game.

This season, he was traded to the Rockets. But with little opportunity in Houston, he was sent down to the G League for development.

Carroll played hard and aggressively. Though he was frustrated in the NBA, he dominated the G League.

Today, the Vipers had heard that Link would be taking a break, and Carroll figured that aside from Link, there was no real competition. So he was very relaxed. Today's game was destined to be his to control.

But ten minutes later, when DeMarre Carroll saw Link warming up with the team, he couldn't help but swallow hard.

Carroll knew Link pretty well. When the Rockets gave Link a 10-day contract instead of recalling him, Carroll was a little angry. How could an undrafted player get a spot on the Rockets before him?

So during that time, Carroll had looked up a lot of info on Link. Of course, he'd also seen the triple-double Link dropped on Luke Ba Weiyuan and the easy double-double he got over Stephenson.

After that, Link's three games with the Rockets were all decent, which only made Carroll recognize Link's ability. He knew that the Chinese-American was indeed better than him.

So when he saw Link apparently playing today, Carroll's relaxed attitude vanished instantly.

Link, who was warming up, seemed to notice someone staring at him and turned to look at Carroll.

Their eyes met. Link's fierce gaze made Carroll drop his head immediately.

Even so, Link kept his eyes on his matchup. An ordinary win wouldn't satisfy Link's appetite. He needed a big win—a massacre! Grant Hill wouldn't be afraid of some NBA fringe player, and neither would Link!

Link actually knew DeMarre Carroll too. Starting with the Atlanta Hawks in the 13-14 season, Carroll had established himself in the NBA. He wasn't a star, but he was a solid "3-and-D" player averaging around ten points a game.

Up until 2019, when Link crossed over, Carroll's peak was being a decent starter. And even in Grant Hill's most downtrodden days, he could do what Carroll did at his peak.

Thinking about all this, Link's confidence soared. Carl Jones, Morey, and Upshaw—watch closely. The real fight starts today!

※※※

"Hello, everyone, and welcome to the G League game broadcast. I'm sure you've all been looking forward to today's game. The Vipers have come to Oklahoma City, about to face Link, who was just abandoned by the Rockets!"

The game hadn't even started, but the local Oklahoma City commentator on the broadcast desk was already waving his arms excitedly.

"The Rockets giving up on renewing Link's contract is absolutely a stupid decision! I believe that young man will prove it today. Zeke Upshaw's departure has dealt a huge blow to all of us, including Link. But the strong Blue Team won't fall just like that, and Link will surely turn grief into strength, sending those Houston folks back empty-handed!"

Before the game started, the Blue Team held a moment of silence for Upshaw. At that moment, the entire arena fell silent, and even the fans all stood up in mourning.

After the moment of silence ended, Link bounced around, loosening up his body. It was clear he was unusually fired up today.

And it was right then that the commentators and fans noticed something different about Link today.

"Wait, Link isn't wearing his usual number 5 jersey today—he's wearing Zeke Upshaw's number 0! He's going to play in Zeke's jersey, taking his friend's place in battle!"

At that moment, over three thousand fans in the arena cheered for Link's gesture. Yet Link remained unmoved; his eyes never once strayed from Carroll.

Carroll felt a chill under Link's stare. That guy wasn't here to play a game—he was here to fight for his life!

During the jump ball, Carroll was forced to stand next to Link. As small forwards, they both had to position themselves around the midcourt line.

"Hey, pass a message to Morey for me."

As soon as Carroll got close, Link spoke to him.

"Tell him this is my gift to him."

With that, the referee tossed the ball, and the Blue Team won the opening possession.

Link immediately cut toward the frontcourt, and Carroll, still a bit shaken, couldn't keep up in time.

Seizing that sliver of an opening, the Blue Team's point guard quickly pushed the ball up and passed it into Link's hands. The Blue Team was going for a fast break right from the start!

Link caught the ball, gathered all his strength, and leaped high in the paint, slamming it down with both hands!

Right out of the gate, Link hit Carroll with a "Heavy Hammer Attack," making him flinch.

Link landed and patted the number 0 on his chest. A massacre aimed at the Vipers had officially begun!