210: Chapter 210 The Emperor's Challenge! The One and Only Throne!

The press conference concluded.

Kobe was carefully escorted away by the Team Doctor and staff.

Every step he took triggered countless camera shutters.

Lin Feng followed behind him, not holding the game ball that belonged to the victor.

The ball was in Kobe's arms.

In the player tunnel backstage, the Los Angeles Lakers players were already waiting.

They didn't cheer loudly.

There was no wild celebration.

Everyone was very quiet.

They looked at Kobe, then at Lin Feng.

Everyone's eyes were filled with complex emotions.

There was the relief of surviving a disaster, admiration for Kobe, and even more so, awe for Lin Feng.

"Boss, your knee..."

Gasol stepped forward, his voice somewhat raspy.

Kobe shook his head.

His face showed no expression.

The effects of the anesthesia hadn't completely worn off yet.

He couldn't feel the pain.

All that remained was a bone-deep numbness and exhaustion.

"I'm not dead yet."

Kobe's voice was very soft.

"Go back and ice it."

He looked at Lin Feng.

"You, come with me."

The Miami Heat locker room.

The atmosphere was as oppressive as a powder keg about to explode.

No one spoke.

There was only heavy breathing.

Wade sat on a chair with a towel over his head, his shoulders rising and falling slightly.

Bosh stared blankly at his hands, lost in thought.

Coach Spoelstra stood before the tactical board, saying nothing.

The tactical board was empty.

Tactics?

Were they still useful?

Facing a monster like that, any tactic seemed pale and powerless.

The locker room door was pushed open.

It was the team staff.

"LeBron, there are reporters outside..."

Before the sentence could be finished—

"Get out!"

A low voice, suppressed with endless fury, came from the corner.

James sat in his spot, not looking up.

But the aura radiating from him caused the temperature in the entire locker room to drop several degrees.

The staff member shuddered in fear and quickly retreated.

A long time passed.

James stood up.

He didn't look at anyone.

He walked straight out of the locker room.

Wade looked up, watching his back.

"LeBron..."

James didn't look back.

He didn't go to shower, didn't go to the treatment room, and certainly didn't go back to the hotel.

He walked into the visitor's video analysis room at the Staples Center.

Bang!

The door was slammed shut.

He locked himself inside alone.

The room had only a giant screen and a playback device.

He pressed the play button.

The screen lit up.

The video recording of G3 began to play.

From the very first second.

James stared intently at the figure on the screen wearing the Lakers' number one jersey.

Fast forward.

Pause.

Slow motion.

Frame-by-frame analysis.

His eyes were bloodshot.

He watched it over and over again.

Watching Lin Feng's ghostly breakthroughs.

Watching his passes that were precise to an unreasonable degree.

Watching his shots that treated defense as if it were non-existent.

Especially before the end of the third quarter.

That anti-physics buzzer-beater three-pointer where his body was folded almost ninety degrees.

James replayed that shot no less than a hundred times.

With every playback, the shock in his heart deepened.

He tried to find even the slightest flaw in Lin Feng's movements.

He tried to use his own experience to predict, to deconstruct.

But the result was only despair.

That wasn't human basketball.

That was the perfect, ultimate form of basketball without any blind spots.

He finally understood.

What he was facing was no longer a gifted rising star.

But a monster standing at the same height as him, even surpassing him in some aspects.

An emperor truly qualified to challenge his throne.

Dawn gradually broke.

The door to the video analysis room opened.

James walked out.

The anger and resentment were gone from his face.

Leaving only the calm before a storm.

The rest day between G3 and G4.

The entire basketball world was in a complete frenzy because of the Los Angeles Lakers' incredible victory.

All media outlets were reporting Lin Feng's god-tier performance with the largest headlines.

"Succession of Power! Lin Feng Reaches Godhood in G3, Proclaiming the Birth of a New King!"

"The Emperor's Helplessness! James Suffers the Worst Defeat of His Career in Los Angeles!"

"Kobe's Sacrifice, Lin Feng's Awakening! G4 Will Be the Ultimate Pivotal Game to Decide the Dynasty's Fate!"

The direction of public opinion changed completely overnight.

The experts who previously thought the Lakers would be swept all shut their mouths.

Everyone realized.

Because of Lin Feng's existence, the suspense in this series was back.

The day of Game 4.

The Miami Heat's final pre-game team meeting.

The atmosphere remained oppressive.

Spoelstra was arranging tactics, but the players' faces all bore a hint of daze.

Just then.

James, who had been silent, stood up.

He walked to the center of the tactical board.

He looked around at each of his teammates.

Wade.

Bosh.

Ray Allen.

"Why are we here?"

James's voice was low and powerful.

"We didn't come here to be someone else's background."

"We came here to defend our title! To build our dynasty!"

"Last game, we lost."

"I lost."

He pointed to his chest.

"I was dominated, and I let all of you down."

"But that's in the past."

His voice began to rise.

"Tonight! Right on this court! We have no way out!"

"This is no longer an ordinary NBA Finals!"

"This is a challenge to all our hard work over the past year! A challenge to our dynasty!"

"And even more so, a challenge to me!"

Raging flames ignited in James's eyes.

"In G4, I will give my everything!"

"I will respond to him with a performance like you've never seen before!"

"I need you!"

"Join me and defend our throne!"

His words were like a bomb exploding in the heart of every Heat player.

The confusion vanished.

The fear vanished.

In its place was a reignited, boiling fighting spirit!

Wade stood up, walked to James's side, and bumped his chest with a fist.

Bosh stood up.

Ray Allen stood up.

All the Heat players stood up.

Their eyes became like those of wolves once again.

Before the game started.

The player tunnel was bustling with noise.

Lin Feng wore headphones, slowly walking toward the court alone.

His mind was still replaying what Kobe had said to him yesterday.

Suddenly.

He stopped in his tracks.

Not far ahead of him.

LeBron James was there alone, doing his warm-up exercises.

No teammates.

No trainers.

Just himself.

He felt Lin Feng's gaze and stopped his movements.

He turned around.

Looking at Lin Feng.

The previous anger and daze were gone from his eyes.

Leaving only an unprecedented, pure concentration and a burning fighting spirit.

He took the initiative to speak.

His voice wasn't loud, but it struck Lin Feng's heart like a heavy hammer.

"You are very strong."

"But tonight, I will let you know."

James's gaze was as sharp as a blade.

"There is only one throne."

This was a formal challenge from the Emperor.

Lin Feng looked at him.

He knew.

G4 would be the most difficult, most brutal, and most magnificent epic duel since the start of these NBA Finals.