8: Kobe's gaze led to the contract being signed!

D'Antoni stood there stiffly, like a statue whose soul had been drained away.

The players of Team A were either kneeling or slumped on the floor, their eyes hollow, having completely lost the ability to think.

Nick Young, the previously arrogant "isolation king," was staring blankly at Lin Feng in the air with a look as if he were seeing a god or a ghost.

Just then, D'Antoni moved.

Like an awakened lion, he suddenly charged onto the court.

Ignoring everyone, he rushed straight to Lin Feng and grabbed his shoulders tightly with both hands.

He was gripping hard, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force.

"Look at me!"

D'Antoni roared, his spittle flying onto Lin Feng's face.

"Tell me, what is going on!"

"What was that? Was that God possessing you?"

"Twelve consecutive three-pointers, and the last one was a full-court buzzer-beater!"

"Tell me, damn it, that this isn't real!"

There was a hint of a breakdown in his voice; he would rather believe he had witnessed a miracle than believe this was something a human could do.

Lin Feng let him hold him, his expression remaining calm.

Looking at the famous coach's loss of composure, he simply replied flatly.

"Coach, I told you, it was just a shot."

"The game, we won."

D'Antoni's arms were trembling.

This answer made him feel more powerless than any provocation.

Yes, they won.

In a way he had never seen, or even imagined, in his entire coaching career.

"Monster... You're a monster..."

He let go, muttering to himself as he took two unsteady steps back.

Just then, another door to the training gym was suddenly pushed open.

"What happened?!"

A middle-aged man in a suit, his hair meticulously combed, rushed in.

It was the General Manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, Mitch Kupchak.

His office was right upstairs, and that earth-shattering game-winner followed by the eruption of noise had made him think a riot was breaking out in the gym.

Kupchak rushed in and immediately saw the strange standoff on the court.

On one side was ecstasy and adoration.

On the other side was despair and daze.

Right in the middle were D'Antoni and that Asian kid.

"Mike, what's going on?"

Kupchak asked with a frown.

D'Antoni didn't answer; he just raised his hand and pointed at the scoreboard.

25:27.

Kupchak glanced at the score, then at the Team A starters slumped on the floor, his face filled with confusion.

"Team B won? How is that possible?"

The assistant coach beside him, his voice trembling, recounted everything that had just happened as fast as he could.

"...He... that Number 1, Lin Feng, made twelve three-pointers..."

"The last one was a full-court buzzer-beating game-winner..."

Kupchak's expression went from confusion to shock, and then to ecstasy.

A light like never before erupted in his eyes.

He didn't question or doubt; as a top-tier professional manager, he only believed in results.

His gaze swept past everyone and locked onto Lin Feng.

That look was no longer that of someone scrutinizing a fringe player about to be cut.

It was as if he were looking at a priceless gold mine that had just been discovered!

"Where's the plane ticket?"

Kupchak suddenly turned around and shouted at the assistant coach.

The assistant coach was stunned for a moment before hurriedly pulling a printed electronic ticket itinerary from his briefcase.

It was the ticket booked for Lin Feng to fly back to China this afternoon.

Kupchak snatched it away.

Under everyone's gaze.

"Rip!"

He tore the ticket down the middle, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the nearby trash can.

This action made everyone hold their breath.

Nick Young and the others struggled to their feet and gathered around, looking at Lin Feng as if he were a monster.

They wanted to say something, but found their throats dry and couldn't utter a word.

They had personally pushed a god off his pedestal, only to find that the god had flown back up on his own, and even higher than before.

Kupchak strode over to Lin Feng, his face wearing a professional yet incredibly sincere smile.

He pulled a document and a fountain pen from his suit's inner pocket.

"Son, forget about that ticket."

His voice was full of persuasion.

"I have a new contract here."

"A fully guaranteed, official contract with the Los Angeles Lakers."

He handed the contract and the pen to Lin Feng.

"Son, welcome officially to the Los Angeles Lakers!"

Time took on a concrete shape at this moment.

The teammates from Team B erupted in cheers even more enthusiastic than when they had just won the game.

"Keep him!"

"Sign him!"

Lin Feng looked at the contract in front of him, then at Kupchak.

A ripple finally stirred within his heart.

He had won his gamble.

In the most insane and incredible way, he had pulled his career back from the edge of the cliff.

He did not hesitate and took the pen.

At the end of the contract, he signed his name.

Lin Feng.

The two characters were written with a flourish.

The moment he put down the pen, he knew everything had changed.

"Lin! That was amazing!"

"Bro, tonight's on me to celebrate you staying!"

The teammates who had previously ignored him now gathered around, enthusiastically patting him on the back.

The center named Sacre even gave him a simple-minded grin and a bear hug.

"Lin, that pass just now, I threw it pretty well, didn't I?"

"Of course."

Lin Feng responded with a smile.

He could feel a wonderful chemical reaction occurring in the air and in the relationships between people around him.

This was the respect brought by strength.

On the other side of the court, a figure had been sitting silently in the corner the whole time.

Kobe Bryant.

He had watched the entire game from start to finish.

From Lin Feng's first ultra-long three-pointer to the final full-court buzzer-beater.

His face didn't show the exaggerated shock seen on others.

When the final game-winner swished through the net, the corners of his mouth, on a face that had been tense due to injuries, only curled up ever so slightly.

In those sharp, eagle-like eyes, a flicker of appreciation passed that others would find hard to detect.

He saw things others didn't.

It wasn't luck.

It was ultimate confidence, the responsibility of daring to carry the entire team's fate on his shoulders, and an unwavering cold-bloodedness in the face of desperation.

It was a temperament that shared the same origin as his own.

"Interesting."

Kobe muttered to himself.

While the entire gym was immersed in the joy of the new contract signing,

an inconspicuous trainer quietly put down his phone.

He had just secretly recorded everything that happened in the last few minutes.

Especially that shocking full-court game-winner.

He hesitated for a moment, then opened the YouTube app on his phone.

He edited a title.

《Mysterious Shooter Appears at Lakers Training Camp, Full-Court Buzzer-Beater! Is This Even Humanly Possible?》

Then, he pressed the upload button.