As usual, Link always woke up before his alarm went off.
In his cramped apartment, he washed up quickly, grabbed two slices of toast, and sat down to listen carefully.
Then it suddenly hit him that he wouldn't hear Upshaw honking downstairs today—and that he would never hear it again.
Link gave a bitter smile, grabbed the gear he needed for the day, and got ready to leave.
Upshaw's next chapter in life would be written by Link himself.
Link was the first to arrive at the arena, a habit he'd picked up during his brief ten-day stint in Houston.
After all his hard work and three NBA games, the progress bar before him was nearly full. In other words, playing at different levels of competition earned him different amounts of progress.
Link took out his basketball shoes and suddenly remembered Upshaw saying that if he made it to the NBA, he'd give him a pair.
Now, Link wrote two words on his shoes.
"R.I.P. Zeke."
From then on, Zeke Upshaw would fight alongside Link.
Link put in more than forty minutes of extra practice before his teammates started arriving one by one. Everyone seemed fired up today. No one wanted to lose with Upshaw's death hanging over them.
Of course, they all wanted to help Link get even, 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 uniforms. Link didn't go to his own locker. Instead, he sat in front of Upshaw's and pulled on his number 0 jersey.
"Link?" Conner stared at him in surprise. He thought Link was so exhausted that he'd gotten confused and put on the wrong jersey.
"Coach, I want to wear number 0 from now on. There isn't time to get a new jersey. Can I just wear Zeke's?"
Link looked down at the number on his chest and smiled. His old number 5 had never meant anything to him. His middle school team had randomly assigned him the number, and he'd worn it ever since.
But now, Link had finally found a number that was truly his.
Number 0. Starting from zero and charging ahead. Number 0, carrying Upshaw's hopes as he charged ahead.
Everyone in the locker room watched Link. No one there had a better claim to Upshaw's jersey.
After hearing Link out, Conner nodded and didn't stop him. "I'll talk it over with the referees. Today, number 0 is yours."
Link stood. Upshaw's jersey was a little short on him, but that didn't matter. He looked at his teammates in the locker room and raised his right fist.
"Today, let's win one for Zeke!"
"Yeah!"
Everyone in the locker room roared. In that moment, the Chinese American wearing number 0 looked like a valiant commander leading his troops.
In that moment, Conner believed it too. That kid was going to make it.
The Rio Grande Valley Vipers were probably the G League team most familiar to Chinese fans. After all, Chinese player Zhou Qi would play for the Vipers in the future.
The Vipers were luckier than the Blue Team; they'd always had an NBA team backing them. In the 2007–08 season, they belonged to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In 2008–09, they were acquired by the New Orleans Hornets.
Then, from the 2009–10 season onward, they belonged to the Houston Rockets. Compared with the Blue Team, the Vipers at least didn't have to worry about making ends meet or fear that their team might fold one day.
So, compared with the Blue Team players, the Vipers seemed very relaxed today.
DeMarre Carroll was the most relaxed of them all.
Carroll had been selected by the Grizzlies with the 27th pick in the first round of the 2009 draft. He'd played 71 games for them, averaging just 2.9 points.
This season, he'd been traded to the Rockets. But with few opportunities there, he'd been sent down to the G League to develop.
Carroll played with energy and never shied away from a fight. Though he'd struggled to find his footing in the NBA, he'd dominated in the G League.
The Vipers had learned well in advance that Link would be taking time off, and Carroll figured that without Link, no one could challenge him. So he was very relaxed. He was sure to dominate today's game.
But ten minutes later, when DeMarre Carroll saw Link take the floor with his team to warm up, he couldn't help swallowing hard.
Carroll knew Link pretty well. A while back, when the Rockets chose to give Link a ten-day contract instead of calling Carroll up, it had angered him. What did an undrafted player have that made him worthy of joining the Rockets ahead of Carroll?
So, around that time, Carroll had looked up a lot of information about Link. He'd also seen how Link had notched a triple-double over Luke Ba Weiyuan and easily put up a double-double against Stephenson.
After that, Link had played solidly in all three of his games with the Rockets, which had made Carroll understand just how good he was. He knew the Chinese American was better than him.
So when Carroll saw that Link seemed ready to play today, all traces of his relaxed demeanor vanished.
As Link warmed up, he seemed to notice someone staring at him. He turned and looked over at Carroll.
Their eyes met. Link's fierce glare made Carroll lower his head at once.
Even so, Link kept his eyes fixed on his matchup. An ordinary win wasn't enough for him. He wanted a blowout, a slaughter! Grant Hill wouldn't be intimidated by an NBA fringe player, and neither would Link!
Link knew DeMarre Carroll too. Starting in the 2013–14 season, when he played for the Atlanta Hawks, Carroll had established himself in the NBA. He wasn't a star, but he was a solid 3-and-D player who could average around ten points a game.
By the time Link had traveled to 2019, Carroll's peak had been that of a competent starter. Even at his lowest point, Grant Hill could do the things Carroll could only manage at his peak.
Thinking about all this, Link felt even more confident. Carl Jones, Morey, and Upshaw—just watch. The real fight starts today!
"Hello, everyone, and welcome to our G League broadcast. I'm sure you've all been looking forward to today's game. The Vipers have come to Oklahoma City, where they're about to face Link, the player the Rockets just gave up on!"
The game hadn't even started, but the local Oklahoma City commentator was already gesturing excitedly at the broadcast desk.
"The Rockets made a foolish decision when they let Link go! I believe that young man will prove it today. Zeke Upshaw's passing has dealt a huge blow to all of us, Link included. But the resilient Blue Team won't fall apart, and Link will surely turn his grief into strength and send those visiting Houstonians home empty-handed!"
Before the game, the Blue Team held a moment of silence for Upshaw. The entire arena fell quiet, and even the fans stood to pay their respects.
Afterward, Link bounced around and loosened up. He looked especially excited today.
That was when the commentator and the fans noticed what made Link different today.
"Wait, Link isn't wearing his number 5 jersey today. He's wearing Zeke Upshaw's number 0! He's going to wear Zeke's jersey and play in his friend's place!"
The more than three thousand fans in the arena cheered Link's gesture. But he didn't react. His eyes never left Carroll.
Carroll was unnerved by Link's stare. That guy hadn't come to play. He'd come to fight for his life!
At the jump ball, Carroll had no choice but to stand next to Link. As small forwards, they both had to line up near the center line.
"Buddy, pass a message to Morey for me."
As soon as Carroll came close, Link spoke to him.
"Tell him this is my gift to him."
The referee tossed the ball, and the Blue Team won possession to start the game.
Link immediately sprinted downcourt, and Carroll, a little stunned, failed to keep up.
Taking advantage of the brief opening, the Blue Team's point guard quickly sent the ball ahead and passed it to Link. The Blue Team was going for a fast break right away!
Link caught the ball, gathered all his strength, leaped in the paint, and slammed it through with both hands!
At the very start of the game, Link rattled Carroll with a Heavy Hammer Attack.
Link landed and slapped the number 0 on his chest. The slaughter of the Vipers had officially begun!
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