Helicopter Crash

"Hey, Gigi! Time to get up for the game!" Kobe Bryant called out. Having just finished his workout, he had washed away the sweat from his body. Though he had been retired for a long time, Kobe still kept the habit of getting up early to practice basketball. There had been a period when he let himself go, but being called "Fat Mamba" by netizens had infuriated him. Even though there were more and more trolls online, that nickname still made him furious.

This might have been just another ordinary morning for Kobe. His daughter, who had practiced in the backyard all day yesterday, was still fast asleep, and Kobe woke her from her slumber.

"Daddy, let me sleep a little longer." Kobe's second daughter, Gianna, rubbed her sleepy eyes and coquettishly pleaded with him.

"That won't do. Mamba Academy has to win today's game. Show me your Mamba Mentality!" Kobe's gaze remained fiery. His love for basketball had nearly faded away after retirement, but Gianna had reignited his passion for the sport. This time, that love burned even more fiercely. It made Kobe want to race across the court once again. He missed the lightning-fast clashes on the hardwood, and he missed those worthy opponents he respected.

So Kobe passed that passion on to Gianna, teaching her every technique hand in hand. Gianna did not disappoint him either, inheriting Kobe's basketball talent and finding few rivals among girls her age.

Gianna woke up fully. She remembered that Mamba Academy had a game today. She wanted to put on a dazzling performance on the court; making her father proud was what made her happiest. Gianna had even studied Chinese for three years so she could serve as her father's translator when he went to China. God knew how difficult Chinese was!

"Okay, okay, Daddy. Go have breakfast first. I'll get up right away," Gianna said.

Kobe smiled as he looked at his favorite daughter. He could see his own reflection in her. When she was little, she had even told her dad to shut up, saying, "That's not how my coach tells me to play." That stubbornness clearly ran in the family.

I'm Kobe Bryant! One of the greatest players in basketball history, and she'd rather listen to her elementary school coach than me? How could that possibly be okay? After that incident, Kobe began personally training Gianna. Now she had learned his Mamba Mentality and his fadeaway jumper. I firmly believe she'll become the female Mamba of the WNBA. Dad dominated the NBA, and his daughter will dominate the WNBA too. Kobe could not help laughing at the thought as he turned and left Gianna's room.

"Kid, you training?" Kobe sent a text to Shareef O'Neal. In Kobe's eyes, Shareef was the most suitable candidate to become his son-in-law. He was good at basketball, hardworking, and the son of that big guy.

Kobe could not help recalling those glorious days with Shaq. Thinking of all the media hype surrounding his relationship with Shaq, Kobe chuckled. Who could have known that the conflict between Shaq and him had also been something they manufactured for the media to see? Back then, the team had two superstars capable of deciding the outcome of a game. If their teammates felt no sense of urgency and only thought about relying on Kobe and Shaq, then in crucial moments, they would not be able to give the Lakers enough support. So Shaq had told Kobe at the time, "Hey, Bean. We need to make these guys nervous. We need to create an atmosphere of conflict so they won't slack off."

Shaq had always been exceptionally good at those little tricks. Kobe truly missed the days when they ruled the early twenty-first century together. Those glorious years, those teammates, those opponents—it all seemed to be right before his eyes, yet it was already a story from twenty years ago.

Kobe shook his head. He was getting old; he had become more sentimental. Seeing that Shareef had not replied, Kobe figured the young man was probably training and headed into the dining room.

"Vanessa, oh, my dear Vanessa. You made us so much delicious food again, and this is only breakfast," Kobe teased Vanessa, who was preparing breakfast for him and their three daughters.

"Old man, this is breakfast for our four daughters. Gianna has a game later, and Natalia and Bianka need proper nutrition too." Vanessa swatted away Kobe's wandering hand and replied irritably.

"Oh, you've truly broken my heart," Kobe cried dramatically. After so many years together, he and Vanessa were still like a couple in the throes of love. After the birth of their fourth daughter, they had even begun preparing to welcome a fifth.

"Daddy, go eat your food. Stop being so lovey-dovey," Natalia, the eldest daughter, said while pretending to gag.

Kobe burst into laughter as he looked at his seventeen-year-old eldest daughter, already over 1.7 meters tall. Then he turned to prepare a bottle of milk for Bianka, taking on the role of a stay-at-home dad for the moment. Gianna also came into the dining room, and the family spent a happy breakfast together. Kobe liked this kind of ordinary happiness. He loved his beloved Vanessa and his three daughters. Warm moments were always brief. Kobe loved this atmosphere; it would be even better if he had a son.

"Alright, we'll pick up your teammates first, then we'll take the helicopter together!" Kobe declared with a sweep of his hand. Vanessa kissed both him and Gianna.

"Come back victorious, my king and princess," Vanessa said.

Kobe picked up Gianna's teammates and their families, and they boarded his private helicopter, the Mamba. It was a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter. Judging from its overall performance, although the S-76 had been around for over forty years, it was still one of the best light helicopters in the world in the five-ton maximum takeoff weight class. Calling it the finest light helicopter around would not have been an exaggeration. This aircraft had cost Kobe a fortune.

"Boss, it's foggy. Flying might be a little unsafe," Kobe's private helicopter pilot, Ara Zobayan, said. He was a seasoned pilot who had served Kobe for many years. His loyalty was unquestionable, and his skills were more than reliable.

"We can't fly? Gianna has a scheduled game." Kobe frowned. He looked at the weather. The fog was not too thick, and they had flown this route many times before. He believed his pilot could get them safely to their destination. Confidence had always been Kobe's trademark, and so had punctuality. He did not want his daughter to miss this game.

"The fog isn't that thick. Let's take off." Ara Zobayan thought it over. He was skilled enough to fly by instruments alone without looking outside. So, after everyone had boarded and fastened their seat belts, he started the helicopter.

The helicopter flew smoothly for a while, but then the fog grew thicker and thicker until visibility became extremely low. Ara Zobayan began to feel uneasy. He had no way to fly into the urban area in such weather. As temperatures in Los Angeles rose, wildfires had become more frequent, and those fires had caused the heavy fog. Ara Zobayan first circled over the city, intending to wait for the fog to thin before continuing, repeatedly flying in loops through the air.

Kobe noticed something was wrong. "Ara? The weather is so bad that we can't reach our destination. Why don't we head back?"

"This is Los Angeles tower control. Two aircraft are waiting to take off ahead. Air traffic control is temporarily in effect. S-76 aircraft, please hold position," came a transmission from Los Angeles tower. Ara Zobayan turned the helicopter around, heading back toward the mountains from the city. By then, the fog had become far too thick, and the helicopter was flying too low. Ara Zobayan raised their altitude, intending to fly higher to avoid crashing into the mountains.

Perhaps the rapid climb caused the engine to malfunction. The engine began to shriek, and amid a shower of sparks, the helicopter lost its balance.

"Damn it, damn it! Boss, the engine failed because of the sudden climb. We're going down!" Ara Zobayan suddenly shouted. At the same time, the helicopter shook violently. Its lift vanished, and everyone entered freefall as they dropped toward the ground.

Kobe and the other passengers had not expected such a sudden emergency. The spinning helicopter plummeted at terrifying speed. The roar of the engine and the passengers' screams rose and fell one after another.

"Daddy, Daddy! I'm scared! Are we going to die?" Gianna screamed. Even she, far calmer than most children, was overwhelmed with anxiety in the face of life and death.

"Oh, my Gianna, Daddy's here." Kobe held Gianna tightly as his entire life flashed through his mind at incredible speed: his childhood years in Italy, making a name for himself at Lower Merion High School, the Lakers' glorious era, his accomplishments after retirement, and the warmth of his family.

The Mamba Mentality means never giving up, never despairing! Kobe thought. There has to be a way. There has to be something I can do. Helicopters don't have parachutes—how can I keep Gianna alive? Kobe clutched Gianna even tighter, hoping to cushion her with his body at the moment of impact.

The crash happened in an instant. There was no time to react, no time to think. The helicopter exploded and broke apart, flames swallowing everything.

Kobe felt no pain. He had never feared pain. He was a tough man who had reset his own dislocated finger, a tough man who had torn his Achilles tendon and still made his free throws.

He had once told McGrady that he wanted to die young, but that had been foolish talk from his reckless youth. Now Kobe had a family, a career, and honors. He did not want to die. He had never feared death; death had never made him afraid. He had said that it was a calm and comfortable process, a kind of realization. Without death, there would be no life; without darkness, there would be no light. In the end, one would always accept such things. Just as when he decided to retire, it had also been a process of accepting reality. No athlete was eternal. Everyone had to struggle with themselves at some point, so he believed death could also be a calm and comfortable process.

But he missed racing across the basketball court, missed battling powerful opponents, and missed the warmth of his family. He could face death calmly, but he did not want his daughter to leave with him. He could not accept it. He refused to bow his head to fate. He wanted the Mamba Mentality to be passed down forever.

A stretch of darkness, a stretch of silence. Is this what it feels like after death? Kobe thought. This quiet isn't so bad.

Ding. The Life Restart System has activated. Loading data.

??? A mass of question marks seemed to appear before Kobe's eyes. What was that voice? What did it mean?

Restart subject: Kobe Bryant.
Life Achievement: S-.
Life Difficulty: A.

Restart time: June 1, 1996.

Restart mission: Main mission—reach Life Achievement S+.

Due to the system restarting this life, Life Difficulty has been adjusted to S+.