Traffic is a double-edged sword. If you play well, the media will elevate you to godhood; otherwise, you'll face backlash and ridicule.
But for Link, while traffic is also a double-edged sword, it's not an ordinary one. No matter how it cuts, the blade will always be pointed at others.
"Ding, the Host has triggered the main quest — [Chosen One]!"
"Quest Description: Host, with this system, how can you not become a [Chosen One]? As a Chosen One, you must create historical precedents. The Host needs to become the high school player with the highest shoe brand endorsement fee before entering the NBA."
"Quest Reward: 2000 Goat Points; Superstar (Kevin Durant 13-14 Season) sparring partner card x1."
Link, who was at home, was stunned when he heard the system's newly announced quest.
"Isn't this quest too damn demanding? It's already hard enough to enter the NBA as a high schooler, and now you want me to sign a shoe contract, and on top of that, the highest-ever contract for a high school player."
Not many players enter the NBA directly from high school. The well-known ones include Moses Malone, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, and Kobe Bryant.
Before entering the NBA, only Kobe Bryant had signed a shoe brand endorsement contract. In '96, he signed a 6-year, $48 million endorsement deal with Adidas. [Source: ESPN and other media list Kobe as a typical example of 'receiving an endorsement contract before entering the NBA,' alongside LeBron James (2003), Zion Williamson (2019), and Cooper Flagg (2024).]
To become a Chosen One, one must secure the largest high school shoe endorsement, meaning surpassing Kobe Bryant's 1996 deal, with an annual shoe endorsement contract fee of no less than $800,000.
Furthermore, this means Link needs to possess greater commercial market value.
On another note, Link registered a smurf account with the ID "grim reaper loves chasing dreams" on an online forum.
He wrote a lengthy ten-thousand-word article, lambasting "Rivals" for ranking him 58th in Class 1.
The most scathing sentence in that ten-thousand-word article was: [With your vision, you'll never become one of the world's top 50 companies in this lifetime.]
It was precisely because of this sentence that the smurf account "grim reaper loves chasing dreams" gained hundreds of followers overnight and was frantically reposted by fans supporting Link.
At the same time, the act of using a smurf account to curse at haters also earned Link Kevin Durant's player personality badge — [Reapers Scythe].
Only by merging player templates of A-grade and above is there a chance to obtain personality badges. Additionally, personality badges do not have level divisions.
[Reapers Scythe] Function Introduction: During a game, each successful Mid-range Shooting will increase the mid-range shooting's anti-interference ability, which can be stacked infinitely.
The function of the Reapers Scythe personality badge surprised Link. As long as he made enough Mid-range Shootings, he could ignore the opponent's defense. In other words, as long as he wasn't blocked, it was no different from an open shot!
It's just that his main position is Point Guard...
Making me do the work of a shooting guard would easily get me criticized as a lone wolf.
In the current era, each position has clearly defined responsibilities.
However, Link felt that this [Reapers Scythe] was still super comfortable to wield.
...
...
Time passed quickly. Unbeknownst to him, Link had been back for a week. Tomorrow was the Round of 32 for the Texas High School Championship, and the game venue was Lincoln High School's indoor basketball gym.
And in the past week, Link had packed his schedule full.
Training, star sparring, special sparring, physical training, studying, oh, and also participating in media interviews.
This cost Link 1 star (draymond green) training partner card and 4 special sparring partner cards.
As for the All-Star sparring cards for peak Green and rookie Durant, Link wanted to wait a bit longer, striving to clear them all at once.
And this week of training also led to a qualitative leap in many of Link's player attributes.
Three-Point Shot base attribute +1, increased to 60 (89); Mid-range Shooting base attribute +12, increased to 80 (96); Free Throw base attribute +10, increased to 67 (87); Driving Layup base attribute +10, increased to 70 (88).
Except for Three-Point Shot, the above three player attributes all exceeded the high school player ceiling, especially Mid-range Shooting, which even surpassed the NCAA player ceiling.
Ball Handling base attribute +1, increased to 75 (88); Passing base attribute +14, increased to 70 (88); Passing Vision base attribute +16, increased to 70 (90); Steal base attribute +10, increased to 73 (87); Block base attribute +13, increased to 40 (80); Perimeter Defense base attribute +3, increased to 63 (73); Defensive Rebound base attribute +14, increased to 50 (88);
Defensive and organizational player attributes also underwent a qualitative change.
Many attributes exceeded the high school player ceiling.
Of course... for Link, who is about to compete in the NBA, this is normal.
The smallest improvement was naturally in [physical movement], as Link focused on training "Explosive Acceleration" and "Strength" rather than spreading his efforts evenly.
Under the 5x training effect boost...
Explosive Acceleration base attribute +8, increased to 4 (70); Strength base attribute +10, increased to 60 (80);
A strength attribute of 60 is considered T1 tier for high school big men. Of course, this doesn't mean Link can currently back down and hard-post in the paint, as his weight is only 92kg.
...
...
The next day.
Lincoln High School's Round of 32 game, being played at home, attracted dozens of media reporters.
Among them was "Rivals"...
Everyone wanted to see if this high school student from China, who had registered for the NBA draft in his first year, truly possessed the corresponding strength and qualifications.
This led to the basketball gym, which could only accommodate 539 spectators, being completely packed.
To prevent a stampede, the school management not only dispatched school security but also contacted the local police department to maintain order.
"Mr. Leonard, I think Link's games could be ticketed!" the assistant coach said jokingly.
Leonard's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this.