200: Chapter 20: Mamba's Determination! There's More Than One King!

The air in the locker room was heavy, as if filled with lead.

Every person's chest felt like it was being pressed by a huge boulder; even breathing became difficult.

Lin Feng stared intently at the stat sheet in his hand.

Every cold number on it felt like a needle, ruthlessly stabbing into his pride.

8 points in the half.

This was his worst first-half performance since the playoffs began.

Even more fatal was that all 8 points came in the first quarter.

Throughout the entire second quarter, under LeBron James's suffocating defense, he didn't score a single point.

He felt all his weapons, all his pride, being stripped away one by one by that man in the most brutal fashion, then trampled underfoot and crushed to pieces.

This sense of powerlessness was even more despairing than losing the game itself.

"Click."

A staff member suddenly turned on the television on the wall.

The screen was playing highlights from the end of the first half.

In the footage, LeBron James walked past him like a mountain.

That man reached out and gave him a light pat on the head.

Immediately after, a clear sentence was transmitted through the on-site audio equipment, spreading through the entire locker room and into the ears of all the fans watching the game worldwide.

"Welcome to the NBA Finals, young blood."

Welcome to the NBA Finals, young man.

That tone was full of condescending scrutiny.

That gaze was full of a victor's arrogance.

It wasn't encouragement.

It was a declaration.

It was telling him, and telling everyone, whose territory this was.

This sentence was like an invisible slap, ruthlessly striking Lin Feng's face.

It also struck the hearts of every Lakers player.

The temperature in the locker room seemed to drop several more degrees, depressing to the freezing point.

Nash silently lowered his head, vigorously rubbing his knees.

Gasol leaned against the locker, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Howard irritably threw his towel onto the floor.

The reality of the crushing defeat, combined with this humiliating declaration, made everyone clearly realize the insurmountable chasm between them and the defending champions.

Lin Feng suddenly crumpled the stat sheet in his hand into a ball and slammed it onto the floor.

He took a towel, covered his face, and said nothing.

No one could see his expression at this moment.

They could only see his chest rising and falling continuously, and his hands, whose knuckles were white from exertion.

In the entire locker room, only the sound of heavy breathing remained.

Just then.

"Screech—"

The sound of a chair scraping against the floor broke the suffocating silence.

Kobe Bryant stood up.

Everyone's gaze instinctively converged on him.

They thought they were about to face a storm of reprimands.

But there was none.

Kobe's face showed no sign of anger; he was eerily calm.

He walked step by step to the front of Lin Feng, looking down at the young man whose face was covered by a towel.

The air in the entire locker room seemed to freeze.

Kobe didn't speak, just watched quietly.

Time passed second by second.

Finally, he spoke.

His voice wasn't loud, but it was like a hammer, striking heavily on everyone's heart.

"He wants to tell you that this is his territory."

Lin Feng's body under the towel trembled slightly.

Kobe's voice continued, cold and clear.

"He wants you to submit."

"He wants you to know that everything you did before is just child's play in front of him."

"He wants to destroy your confidence, so that from now on, whenever you see him, you'll remember the fear of being dominated in the first half today."

Every word of Kobe's was like a knife, precisely dissecting the reality Lin Feng least wanted to face.

Lin Feng's grip on the towel tightened more and more.

Kobe paused.

When he spoke again, the calm tone vanished, replaced by an unparalleled sharpness.

His gaze was like an unsheathed blade, shimmering with a terrifying cold light.

"Game 2."

"We have to let him know."

"There is more than one King in Los Angeles!"

His voice fell.

Lin Feng suddenly ripped the towel off his face.

His eyes were bloodshot, staring intently at Kobe.

Kobe didn't look at him again.

He turned around and walked straight toward the coaching staff.

head coach D'Antoni was about to say something to boost morale but saw Kobe walking toward him with an unquestionable aura.

"Kobe?"

D'Antoni was somewhat confused.

Kobe stood before him, his eyes like torches, saying word by word.

"Next game, I'll be the primary defender on LeBron."

As soon as these words were spoken.

The entire locker room instantly fell into a dead silence.

Everyone seemed to be under a paralysis spell, staring blankly at Kobe's back.

Shocked.

Unbelievable.

Nash's mouth opened slightly, wanting to say something, but not a single word came out.

Gasol's eyes were filled with worry.

Even the usually boisterous Howard had a solemn look on his face.

Crazy!

The boss must be crazy!

Everyone knew what it meant for Kobe, given his current physical condition, to defend LeBron James, who was at the peak of his career and had a physical stature considered historic.

That wasn't defense.

That was suicide!

His Achilles tendon had only just healed!

His body was like a vintage car that had run countless miles, with every part wailing.

And LeBron is a heavy tank charging at full speed!

Using a vintage car to crash into a tank?

The consequences were unimaginable!

"No, Kobe, that won't work!"

D'Antoni was the first to react, immediately shaking his head in refusal.

"Your body simply can't handle it!"

Kobe's gaze didn't waver.

"I can."

D'Antoni got anxious, his voice rising a few notches.

"This isn't just one or two possessions! That could be a full forty minutes of confrontation! Your Achilles will tear again!"

"So what?"

Kobe asked back, his tone calm but carrying a resolution that could burn everything.

"Mike, listen."

"We can't let him have his way like this."

"We can't let that kid's backbone be broken in the first game of the NBA Finals!"

Kobe's voice echoed in the silent locker room.

Lin Feng stood in place, his body stiff.

He looked at Kobe's back, which wasn't particularly broad but was incredibly resilient, and a hot surge rushed straight to his eyes.

He understood.

Everything Kobe was doing was for him.

Because he had been dominated.

Because he had been humiliated.

So, this veteran, already covered in scars, was going to drag his broken body to stand before that monster once again, shielding him from the most violent impact.

D'Antoni wanted to say more, but when he saw Kobe's eyes, burning with obsession, all the words got stuck in his throat.

He knew he couldn't talk this man out of it.

From the moment he decided to step onto the court, no one could talk him out of it.

Kobe no longer paid attention to the coaching staff but turned around, his gaze sweeping over every teammate.

Finally, his gaze landed on Lin Feng.

"Kid, watch closely."

"Next game, I will use everything I have to wear him down, to bite at him."

"What I can do for you is open up a gap in him."

"As for you, whether you can plunge the knife into his heart depends on yourself."

But this was Kobe Bryant.

This was a massive gamble, wagering the final glory of his career.

He was going to use his scar-riddled body to create a sliver of space and opportunity on the offensive end for the new king, Lin Feng.