170: The Price of Emperorship! Kobe's Worries

In the Thunder's locker room.

The atmosphere was terrifyingly oppressive.

"Bang!"

Westbrook viciously threw a towel onto the ground.

His eyes bloodshot, he roared angrily at his teammates.

"What the hell are you all doing?!"

"Why can't you even defend against guys like Nick Young and Artest?!"

No one dared to speak in the locker room.

Each person's face still bore the lingering fear and confusion from being dominated by an unknown force in the first half.

Only Kevin Durant.

He sat silently in his spot, not uttering a word.

There was no anger in his eyes.

Only a deep, bone-chilling gravity.

His gaze was fixed intently on the stat sheet in his hands.

Lin Feng: 5 points, 2 rebounds, 15 assists.

These stats were too bizarre.

So bizarre that even this top-tier scorer in the league felt a chill.

head coach Scott Brooks was in the lounge, repeatedly watching the first-half game footage over and over.

He tried to uncover the secret behind the Lakers' bizarre offense.

He tried to find the pattern in Lin Feng's elusive passes.

But he failed.

Every pass in the footage looked so unbelievable, so incomprehensible.

Finally, he irritably turned off the footage.

He couldn't find any reasonable explanation.

He could only attribute it all to the damn, unbelievable home-court shooting streak of the Lakers!

"Second half!"

Brooks stormed into the locker room, shouting at the players.

"Use your bodies!"

"Crash into them! Fight them! Tear them apart!"

"I don't believe their luck can last the entire game!"

...In stark contrast to the tomb-like atmosphere on the Thunder's side.

The Lakers' locker room was like a championship celebration held early, filled with jubilation!

"Boss! You're practically a god!"

Nick Young hung onto Lin Feng like a koala, his expression exaggerated to the extreme.

"That shot just now! I didn't even know how I made it!"

"That feeling... wow! It was like Michael Jordan possessed me!"

Pau Gasol also walked over, his gaze at Lin Feng filled with curiosity and awe.

"Lin, those passes of yours are like... like they're from the future."

"I swear, I didn't even think about running to the corner, but my body just went there!"

Howard, Artest, everyone gathered around, chattering excitedly, expressing their shock and excitement.

The way they looked at Lin Feng was no longer that of a teammate.

It was like looking at an omnipotent deity!

Lin Feng just leaned back in his chair, smiling, dealing with his teammates' adulation.

No one noticed.

His smiling face was actually devoid of any color.

Fine beads of cold sweat were constantly forming on his forehead.

Deep in his brain, the needle-like stabbing pain grew stronger with each wave.

The entire world before his eyes began to blur slightly, with uncontrollable double vision.

The power of the Heavenly Emperors Eye · ZONE was too immense.

So immense that it almost completely drained his mental energy!

Amidst this noisy celebration.

Only one person didn't join in.

Kobe Bryant.

He stood quietly in the corner, wearing a sharp suit.

He wasn't swept up in the ecstasy like the others.

His sharp eyes remained tightly fixed on Lin Feng.

He saw the abnormal paleness on Lin Feng's face.

He saw the extreme fatigue hidden beneath the smile.

He picked up a towel soaked in ice water, walked through the cheering crowd, and approached Lin Feng.

Everyone's voices gradually quieted as Kobe drew near.

They all looked somewhat puzzled at their team leader.

Kobe ignored everyone.

He walked up to Lin Feng and handed him the cold towel.

Then, he leaned down and asked in a low voice only the two of them could hear.

"How much longer can you hold on?"

Lin Feng took the towel; the cold sensation brought a sliver of clarity to his foggy mind.

He pressed the towel against his burning forehead, feeling the dizziness from overexerting his mental energy.

He didn't look up.

He just replied in an equally low voice.

"Long enough to win this game."

Kobe was silent for a moment.

Then, he nodded.

He didn't say anything more.

He just reached out and gave Lin Feng's shoulder a firm pat.

He knew Lin Feng must have paid an unimaginably huge price.

But he understood even more.

This was their only way out!

This was the only chance to rebuild the Purple and Gold glory atop this desolate ruin!

...The second half of the game began.

"Bang!"

Right at the start of the game, Ibaka knocked Gasol to the ground with an extremely fierce move during a defensive play!

The referee's whistle immediately blew!

Defensive foul!

The Thunder players were indeed executing their head coach's strategy!

Each of their eyes turned beast-like, filled with aggression!

Every defensive play carried a ferocity as if they wanted to devour their opponents alive!

The tension in the game instantly intensified!

However.

All their efforts seemed laughable and futile before Lin Feng's eyes that could see into the future.

Lakers on offense.

Westbrook charged at Lin Feng, who had the ball, like a raging bull!

He wanted to disrupt Lin Feng's rhythm with a fierce foul!

But the moment he leaned forward.

A faint golden light flickered in Lin Feng's eyes.

The basketball in his hands didn't even pause.

A deft behind-the-back pass went straight to Nash behind him!

And Lin Feng himself, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, shifted half a step to the left.

"Crash!"

Westbrook, unable to stop himself, careened out of bounds like an out-of-control truck, crashing embarrassingly into the basket support!

The entire arena erupted in uproar!

And Nash, wide open beyond the three-point line, calmly and steadily sank the three-pointer!

Every fierce press by the Thunder.

Every attempt to crush the Lakers with physical confrontation.

Was effortlessly defused by Lin Feng with an unbelievable, exquisitely timed pass!

And each time, it turned into the deadliest counterattack!

The Thunder players were going crazy!

They felt like a bunch of fools being toyed with!

Every powerful punch they threw landed heavily on cotton!

That sense of helplessness made each of them gradually lose their composure.

The score gap widened further!

The Lakers' bench had completely turned into a sea of joy!

But no one noticed.

On the court.

That omnipotent, god-like number 11.

His steps had started to become somewhat unsteady.

Lin Feng felt his head growing heavier.

The scene before his eyes was becoming increasingly blurry.

Those once crystal-clear, faint golden trajectory lines began to flicker and break intermittently.

He knew.

His mental energy was almost completely depleted.

He could hold on for at most five more minutes!

After five minutes, the Heavenly Emperors Eye · ZONE would forcibly shut down due to mental energy exhaustion!

By then, the Lakers would revert to their original state!

No!

He had to, within these five minutes!

Deliver the deadliest blow, one that would completely shatter the Thunder's confidence!

And utterly kill the suspense of this game!

Lin Feng's gaze slowly swept over all his teammates on the court.

Gasol, Nash, Howard... No!

Not enough!

Their strength wasn't sufficient to deliver that final, game-ending blow that would sentence the Thunder to defeat!

He needed a stronger, more destructive ace!

Lin Feng's breathing became somewhat rapid.

He slowly turned his head.

His gaze passed through the noisy court, through all the running figures.

Finally, it landed at the far end of the Lakers' bench.

On the man who had been sitting there quietly the entire time.

The man wearing a sharp suit, whose eyes burned hotter than anyone else's.

The man wearing the legendary number 24 jersey.

Kobe Bryant!