The Boss Is Meant to Pay!

Kobe Killer's Killer!

Rebellious Rookie Throws an Elbow for Kobe!

Furious Rookie Nearly Sparks a Massive Brawl!

<Raja Bell Suffers a Mild Concussion, Expected to Miss Two Weeks!>

<Lakers Rookie Posts 20+ Points in Two Straight Games, Helping the Lakers to a Winning Streak!>

Lakers Rookie May Face a Suspension!

Amar'e Stoudemire: Zhou, See You Next Time!

Kobe: Zhou Was Just a Little Clumsy!

After the game, news of Zhou Ze elbowing Raja Bell unconscious was reported by major sports platforms across the United States.

As one of the parties involved, Zhou Ze repeatedly insisted to the media that he was innocent.

But the angle of Zhou Ze's elbow had been far too precise, and before throwing it, he had even glanced at Raja Bell as Bell came over to press him. Anyone with eyes could guess that he had done it on purpose.

As a defensive stalwart on the Suns' perimeter, Raja Bell was expected to miss two weeks, and Suns fans had come to hate Zhou Ze, treating him somewhat like a public enemy in Phoenix.

The injured Suns star, All-Star power forward Amar'e Stoudemire, also publicly called Zhou Ze out, saying that once he returned, he would teach Zhou Ze a lesson.

Of course, quite a few people spoke up for Zhou Ze as well.

Lakers fans greatly appreciated Zhou Ze standing up for Kobe.

Even the haters who often questioned Zhou Ze—claiming that despite all that muscle, he was a softie who only floated around the perimeter shooting threes—

after Zhou Ze elbowed Raja Bell's head open and knocked him unconscious, they all switched from haters to fans.

Some even jokingly praised him, saying that those muscles of Zhou Ze's apparently weren't useless after all.

Besides Lakers fans, there were also the Lakers players.

"Zhou didn't do it on purpose."

"You know Zhou. He's an interior player who weighs 113 kilograms. He doesn't react as quickly as perimeter players."

"He was just a little clumsy."

"Haha, of course I'll pay Zhou's suspension fine for him."

When facing reporters' questions, Kobe blatantly took Zhou Ze's side.

As a result, local Phoenix media reporters were so furious that they gave Kobe and Zhou Ze a duo nickname—"Los Angeles Double Elbows."

The league announced Zhou Ze's suspension the next day.

A one-game suspension and a $15,000 fine.

Upon learning of the punishment, Zhou Ze's fans both at home and abroad, along with Lakers fans, could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

It seemed the league had believed Zhou Ze's "excuse" and did not consider the elbow on Raja Bell intentional.

Uh...

At least, that was what it appeared to believe publicly.

But ultimately, the league had still taken Zhou Ze's commercial value into consideration.

Take his compatriot Yao Ming, for example. After joining the Houston Rockets, he had made the Rockets' owner a fortune.

Of course...

Not every Chinese player who entered the NBA could receive the league's "special treatment." Everything had to be built on a foundation of ability.

The Los Angeles Lakers still had two games remaining that week.

On November 6, the Lakers would host the Denver Nuggets in a rematch. Zhou Ze, who was suspended, would be unable to play.

On November 8, the Lakers would travel to Atlanta to face the Atlanta Hawks, and Zhou Ze would return for that game.

With four days left before the game against the Atlanta Hawks, Zhou Ze focused on practicing three-pointers, hoping to upgrade [Catch-and-Shoot (Silver)], [Three-Point Agent (Silver)], and [Sharpshooter (Bronze)] as soon as possible.

Of these three shooting badges, the hardest to upgrade was [Sharpshooter (Bronze)], which resisted shooting interference.

He needed to make 5,000 three-pointers while under defensive pressure.

But Zhou Ze was good at exploiting bugs.

The system had never specified that the defensive pressure had to come from NBA players.

To exploit that loophole, Zhou Ze eagerly participated in the Lakers' community events.

On November 5, during a Los Angeles Lakers community event, the players visited a local elementary school in Los Angeles, where Zhou Ze enthusiastically interacted with actual elementary school kids on the basketball court.

He showed the children his precise shooting.

After all, for NBA players, attending community events was practically a political assignment.

Some veterans might put on an act, but Andrew Bynum, also a Los Angeles rookie, and second-year player Sasha Vujacic were distracted throughout.

They wished the boring event would end immediately so they could rush off to nightclubs and save the souls of fallen women.

But Zhou Ze threw himself into it wholeheartedly...

Letting more than a dozen children experience his ability to shoot over defenders.

The local Los Angeles media also gave the matter extensive coverage afterward, lavishly praising Zhou Ze as the NBA's new generation of goodwill ambassador.

The following day, November 6, the Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets 112-92 at home, earning their second straight win over the Nuggets and their third consecutive victory of the season.

With such a wonderful start, Lakers fans grew even more convinced that the team would surely make the playoffs this year—and perhaps go even further.

During this stretch without games, his daily one-on-one sessions with Kobe were indispensable.

Although Zhou Ze was still getting beaten one-sidedly, he had improved considerably compared to when he had first joined the team.

Moreover, during their one-on-ones, Kobe had nearly become the first victim of Zhou Ze's "Meteor Dunk."

Zhou Ze's Meteor Dunk was still under development...

The main issues were still his jumping speed and explosiveness.

Without explosiveness, it was difficult for him to accelerate in a short period of time.

Without quick elevation, it was easy for defenders to anticipate him in advance.

The date was November 7, 2005.

The Lakers arrived in Atlanta the day before the game.

After practice, Zhou Ze and Kobe headed to a fairly famous local Kobe beef restaurant.

After having dinner together, the two ran into media reporters as they left the hotel.

Neither of them particularly liked giving media interviews, but the reporters immediately surrounded them.

Reporter: "Kobe, Zhou, were you having dinner together?"

Zhou Ze: "Yes."

Reporter: "So who paid for the meal?"

Zhou Ze: "Of course Kobe did. He's currently the team leader."

Reporter: "Haha."

Zhou Ze added, "The leader is the one who's supposed to treat everyone to meals."

Reporter: "Zhou, you just said 'currently.' Does that mean you want to replace him?"

Zhou Ze immediately played dumb. "Did I say that?"

Kobe, standing beside him, couldn't help rolling his eyes.

Kobe understood Zhou Ze's intentions clearly.

That damn little bastard was no ordinary rookie. Even when facing him, Zhou Ze was neither humble nor overbearing, and he constantly wanted to defeat him.