Facing a Ban? Still Getting Rewards?

"Wow!"

"Wow!"

"Wow!"

When the Suns' home fans saw Raja Bell go down, they instinctively cried out in shock.

Not only the fans in the arena, but even the players and coaching staffs on both sides were stunned by the scene.

Zhou Ze, who had spent the whole night shooting threes and been mocked by the fans for playing "soft," had actually turned out to be this brutal.

But they quickly remembered that this was the thorn in everyone's side who had even dared to elbow Kobe, the team's leader.

Let alone a mere Raja Bell.

Raja Bell, struck by that iron elbow, had his forehead split open as though hit by a sharp weapon. Blood flowed out, and he passed out immediately after taking the blow.

A sea of boos and curses from the fans directed at Zhou Ze echoed through Phoenix's night sky.

The Suns players on the court also rushed toward Zhou Ze, demanding an explanation.

Kobe took the lead, bringing the other Lakers players with him to stand in front of Zhou Ze.

To be fair, while Kobe might not have been much of a fighter, his presence was certainly imposing.

Almost single-handedly, Kobe withstood the pressure from the Suns players, buying the referees time to mediate.

The referees promptly assessed Zhou Ze with a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected him from the game.

Arena security escorted Zhou Ze as Suns fans hurled insults at him.

As he passed through the visiting players' tunnel, quite a few water bottles, snacks, and pieces of trash were thrown at him.

Not long after Zhou Ze left, the game resumed.

The major broadcast platforms also weighed in on the incident.

"This guy should be fighting in an octagon, not playing on a basketball court."

"Is that body full of muscles really what he uses them for?"

"This bastard rookie might be the fastest player in NBA history to receive a Flagrant Foul 2. Remember, tonight was only his second game."

"The league should crack down hard on this kind of behavior."

"Exactly."

The Suns' home commentators were extremely displeased.

Heavenly Dynasty Sports Studio.

"Raja Bell was very physical while defending Kobe. Although Little Zhou wanted to stand up for his teammate, elbowing someone on the court was not reasonable. It may even get him suspended."

"It's normal for a hot-blooded young man to be a little impulsive, but Little Zhou was a bit too impulsive."

"That's right. Even if this kind of behavior makes opponents wary and discourages them from trying any dirty tricks, the cost is too high for Little Zhou, who has only just become a starter."

"Of course, I believe Little Zhou's actions tonight will earn him the respect of the entire Lakers team, and even the whole league."

Zhang Heli and Su Qun did not deliberately favor Zhou Ze just because he was one of their own, a fellow Chinese. On the contrary, they gave a very "objective" and "fair" assessment.

TNT broadcast booth.

"Haha, I thought this rookie was a softie, but I never expected him to have guts just like Sir Charles here." Charles Barkley grinned.

"Oh, Charles, do you strongly support what he did?" His partner, Kenny Smith, seized the opportunity to dig a hole for Barkley.

Barkley shot his longtime partner a glare and cursed inwardly, That damn bastard, is he trying to get the media out there to tear me apart?

"No! No! No!" Barkley shook his head repeatedly and quickly defended himself—oh, no, explained his view. "What I mean is that the rookie wearing the Lakers' number-zero jersey has a fire in him that many young players lack. When he saw his teammate subjected to a non-basketball play, he responded immediately."

"Of course, the way he expressed his dissatisfaction with the referees' call was not wise."

After hearing that, Kenny Smith teased Barkley again. "Dear Sir Charles, why don't you pay the fine for his flagrant foul?"

"What!"

"Shouldn't that be something the team leader does?"

"Kobe has more money than I do."

Meanwhile.

After elbowing Raja Bell hard enough to split his head open, Zhou Ze returned to the locker room in high spirits.

It was not entirely because he had knocked out the "Kobe Killer." After all, Zhou Ze did not have "supermale syndrome."

The real reason for his happiness was that he had obtained a hidden achievement from the Basketball Peak System—the "Little Court Thug."

[Ding, it has been detected that the host stood up for his teammate and elbowed a dirty player, obtaining the "Little Court Thug" achievement.]

[Little Court Thug Achievement Description: Fear no evil, bully no good.]

[Little Court Thug Achievement Reward: 500 Peak Points]

The reward for the hidden "Little Court Thug" achievement delighted Zhou Ze.

He had not expected such a casual act to earn him such a generous reward.

Hmm... since there was a hidden Little Court Thug achievement, perhaps there would also be Middle Thug, Big Thug, Old Thug...

The Basketball Peak System would not explicitly tell Zhou Ze about its hidden achievements.

But Zhou Ze could roughly guess that they were definitely related to the number of players he elbowed.

Thinking of this, Zhou Ze's heart began to burn.

He had activated the Basketball Peak System by elbowing Kobe.

And now he had gained another 500 Peak Points.

How about... I elbow someone once every game? Even though that would be pretty immoral.

No.

The Little Court Thug achievement description said: Fear no evil, bully no good.

It seemed he could only earn rewards by elbowing dirty players.

[123:110]

The Lakers ultimately won tonight's game by 13 points, securing their second straight victory of the new season.

As for the players' stats.

Kobe Bryant played 41 minutes, shooting 13-of-26 from the field, 13-of-14 from the free-throw line, and 0-of-2 from three, recording 39 points, 5 assists, 5 steals, 9 rebounds, and 0 turnovers. Zhou Ze played 28 minutes, shooting 8-of-16 from the field and 6-of-13 from three, with 0 free throws, recording 22 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 4 turnovers. It was worth mentioning that if he had not been ejected in the fourth quarter, with his hot shooting touch, there was a good chance he would have broken 30 points tonight.

[Post-Game Reward: 93 Peak Points]

[Peak Points: 609/1409]

After receiving the system's reward in the locker room, Zhou Ze immediately chose to draw.

[Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining 1 Random Attribute Point.]

[Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining 1 Random Attribute Point.]

[Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining a special item—Armspan Booster.]

The system allocated the 2 Random Attribute Points to [Release Speed], raising it to 74 (115).

But what excited Zhou Ze the most was the "Armspan Booster."

Armspan Booster: After use, total armspan increases by 2 cm for one week.

Zhou Ze's biggest weakness was his armspan.

It was only 211 cm.

His standing reach was level with that of the domestic guard Sun Yue.

If he could increase his armspan by 2 cm, his offense, defense, rebounding, and more would all improve to a certain extent.

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