225: Chapter 225 The Final Tranquility

The busy tone on the phone sounded particularly harsh on the empty beach.

Lin Feng slowly put down his phone.

He stood there, motionless, like a sculpture eroded by the sea breeze.

The night in Miami was humid, muggy, and suffocating.

His mind was a mess.

The bet.

The spoils.

All win, or all lose.

These three women were truly insane.

Did they know what they were saying?

Betting themselves?

All for a damned championship?

This wasn't love at all; this was the most insane coercion!

An unknown fire ignited in Lin Feng's heart.

Why?

Why should all this pressure be placed on him?

Lose the game, and lose you all too?

What kind of logic is that!

The waves crashed against the beach, emitting a dull roar, as if mocking his incompetence and anger.

Lin Feng's chest heaved violently.

He felt like he was about to be crushed by this immense pressure.

He even had an absurd thought.

He wouldn't play.

He didn't want this championship.

He didn't want them either.

But this thought only lasted a second before he extinguished it.

He remembered Kobe.

He remembered the man's back, dragging a broken leg, still returning to the court to shoot free throws.

He remembered Nash.

He remembered the veteran's persistence, burning the last of his career for a championship dream.

He remembered Howard and Gasol.

He remembered their bloody battles in the paint, time and again, for victory.

He couldn't back down.

He had no retreat.

But...

Could he really win?

The crushing defeat in Game 6 played repeatedly in his mind like a black and white movie.

James's tank-like breakthroughs.

Wade's ghostly phantom steps.

The Miami Heat's suffocating team defense.

And that white, boiling, hellish home court.

Despair.

Game 6 had brought him a thorough, hopeless despair.

Now, on top of that despair, they had added three immeasurably heavy mountains.

How to win?

With what could he win?

Lin Feng slowly squatted down, holding his head in his hands.

He felt like his head was about to explode.

Time passed, minute by minute, second by second.

The night grew deeper.

The sea breeze also grew colder.

He didn't know how long had passed.

A faint glimmer of light appeared on the dark horizon in the distance.

Dawn was breaking.

A golden ray of light tore through the heavy clouds, piercing the boundless darkness.

The sun rose.

Warm sunlight bathed Lin Feng.

It dispelled the cold from his body.

And illuminated his chaotic heart.

Lin Feng slowly raised his head, looking at the rising sun bursting forth from the horizon.

His eyes stung a little from the light.

But his mind, at this moment, became clearer than ever before.

He seemed to have... figured something out.

Pressure?

No.

That wasn't pressure.

That was trust.

It was the most extreme, most insane, most unreserved trust from three women standing at the pinnacle of the world.

Why did they dare to make such a bet?

Because they believed.

They believed from the bottom of their hearts that he, Lin Feng, would surely win!

They weren't putting pressure on him.

They were using the most decisive way they could think of to inject him with the final and strongest motivation!

They were telling him.

Go win it!

No matter the cost!

No holds barred!

Win that damned trophy, and then, come back and claim your spoils!

Lin Feng slowly stood up.

He brushed the sand off himself.

The confusion, frustration, and exhaustion on his face vanished without a trace at this moment.

In their place was an unprecedented calm.

A profound calm, like the depths of the ocean before a storm.

He had to win.

Not just for the glory of the championship.

Not just to fulfill Kobe's dream.

But even more, not to betray the heavy and fervent trust of those three women placed upon him!

...

The next morning.

In the Lakers' hotel restaurant.

The atmosphere was as stagnant as a pool of dead water.

The players silently ate breakfast; no one spoke.

The crushing defeat in Game 6 hung over everyone's hearts like a massive dark cloud.

"Hey, guys, cheer up!"

Howard tried to lighten the mood, but his smile was uglier than a cry.

Nash shook his head, saying nothing, just looking down and cutting the fried egg on his plate.

Everyone knew what Game 7, two days later, meant.

It would be a bloody battle, destined to be recorded in history.

And they were the underdogs.

Just then.

A figure appeared at the restaurant entrance.

It was Lin Feng.

Everyone subconsciously looked up at him.

They expected to see a face just like theirs, filled with exhaustion and worry.

After all, Lin Feng was the one most targeted in Game 6.

However.

What they saw was a calm, even somewhat indifferent face.

Lin Feng's eyes were clear and focused.

The gloom brought by the crushing defeat had completely vanished from him.

It was as if yesterday's rout had never happened.

"Morning."

Lin Feng nodded to everyone, then walked straight to the buffet counter and picked up a plate.

Everyone was stunned.

What was going on?

Was this guy heartless, or had he been beaten senseless?

Only one person noticed the difference.

Kobe.

He sat in the corner, slowly drinking coffee.

He watched Lin Feng's back, watching him calmly choose his food.

Kobe's eyes revealed a hint of relief, even a smile of approval.

He knew.

In just this short night.

This young man had completed his final, and most important, transformation.

He no longer needed comfort or encouragement from others.

He already possessed a heart truly belonging to a king.

A powerful heart that would not change its expression even if Mount Tai collapsed before it.

Lin Feng carried his plate and sat down opposite Kobe.

"Sleep well?"

Kobe put down his coffee cup and asked casually.

"Not bad."

Lin Feng picked up a slice of toast, took a bite, and replied just as casually.

Neither of them said another word.

But they both understood everything from each other's eyes.

They both knew what they would face two days later.

They also both knew what they were going to do.

Game 7!

The final chapter of the NBA Finals is about to unfold at the American Airlines Center in Miami!

This is a battle that will determine the ownership of an era and Lin Feng's entire life!

He will step onto the final battlefield with the bet of three queens!